Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
JAKE
Jake
Did you sleep well last night?
I hit send and feel like a teenager who’s scared they are going to be ghosted. I returned home from Crystal Isle a little while ago and forced myself to wait at least a couple of hours before texting her.
Nothing could have surprised me more when I received that text from her last night. Even though I left her my number, I wasn’t counting on her using it. It made me feel better for her to have it, though. I get the feeling she doesn’t have a lot of people in her life looking out for her, and I want to change that. I’m hoping I can get to know her a little bit better through texting and can earn some of her trust.
I stare at my phone, willing the dots to appear.
“I’m going to join Mom and Dad at the beach if you want to come. Miles is already down there.” I look up and see Savi filling up her water bottle from the fridge. She changed into a blue bikini and a pair of cut-off shorts .
“Yeah, I’ll be down in a minute. Let me get my swim trunks on, and I’ll meet you guys down there.”
“Sounds good.” She throws on her sunglasses and heads to the balcony doors. Her flight back to Georgia leaves in the morning. I wish she had picked a college closer to home, but she wanted a change. It’s different not having her around, but she comes back for the summer, and once she graduates, she wants to work here in Blue Haven, so at least it’s temporary. I worry about her all the time up there by herself.
My phone dings, and I grin when I see the text come through.
Lyla
I did. I still wanted to throw my alarm across the room this morning when I heard it, but I managed to make it to work on time.
Jake
How is work going?
I type, wanting to keep the conversation going while I have her here.
Lyla
It’s been good. I tried out a new recipe that the customers loved. My boss isn’t here today, so it makes things easier.
So, her second job does include baking as well.
Jake
Why is it easier without your boss there?
I get a bad feeling in my gut. Something doesn’t sit right.
Lyla
Besides being a giant ass?
Jake
Yeah, besides that.
I frown into my phone and wait for her answer.
Lyla
He just gives me the creeps. I get more done when he’s not constantly hovering over me while I work.
Jake
Is he harassing you?
Lyla
Nothing I can’t handle.
Lyla
I need to get back to work. My break is over.
I let out a frustrated sigh and run my hand roughly through my hair. I hate this feeling of being helpless. Maybe I need to meet this boss of hers and get a feel for him.
Jake
Okay
I pause my thumbs. There’s so much I want to say. I want to tell her how I can’t stop thinking about her…how I need to see her again. How I want to erase every bad thing that has ever happened to her and desperately want to be the person she runs to and not away from.
Jake
I hope the rest of your day at work goes well.
I type the generic words out instead.
Blowing out an agitated breath, I head to my bedroom and toss my phone on my bed before changing into my black boardshorts. Needing to work out my frustration, I grab the football from my dresser and open the cottage doors in my room as I step outside on the deck.
The ocean breeze hits me in the face, and I inhale the salty air. I spot my parents sitting in chairs on the beach with Savi and Miles. I’ve lived in Blue Haven my whole life and can’t imagine living anywhere else. I grew up on the beach and these waters.
My dad made a few good investments, and my parents decided to sell our childhood home and invest the money he made into rental properties. This beach house was one of them, but unlike the others, they wanted to keep this one just in our family, so they gifted it to us kids, wanting a place we could all stay for holidays and summers.
They’ve been enjoying their retirement by traveling and staying at their properties when they’re not in use, so for the most part, it’s just me and Miles who live here full-time since Travis and Ryder recently got married and bought homes of their own. We’ve been talking about renting out the guest house by the pool since Ryder no longer lives there, but we haven’t made any solid plans yet.
“Hey baby, I was wondering when you would join us,” my mom smiles as I approach them. Her dark hair is tied back into a ponytail, and without even seeing them behind her oversized black sunglasses, I know her grey eyes, identical to mine, are bright with love.
“I was just replying to some work emails real quick.” I feel bad lying, but I’m not ready to answer questions that I don’t even know myself.
I toe the lifeless Miles lying on the towel beside me. I can’t tell if he’s sleeping under those sunglasses or not. “Let’s throw the ball around. I need to get a workout in after all the alcohol and food I consumed last night. ”
He turns his head in my direction. “If you wouldn’t have been such a party pooper last night, you could have burned all your calories last night in bed like I did,” he grins.
“Miles Thomas Montgomery!” Mom slides her sunglasses down and peers at him. I hear my dad chuckle, causing my mom to focus her stern eyes on him. “Don’t encourage him.”
“He’s twenty-six and single. I highly doubt he needs encouragement,” he laughs as my mom swats him. My dad is a good-looking guy with some grey mixed into his dark hair and trimmed beard. His blue eyes are identical to Savi’s. You would never know my parents were in their early fifties. Both of them stay active and love the outdoors.
“The girls make it too easy for him,” Savi mutters. “Doesn’t anyone make you fight for it?” She asks, looking up from one of the romance books that she loves to read.
“If they do fight, it’s because they want to fight each other over me,” he laughs, earning an eye roll from Savi.
“One of these days, you are going to meet your match,” my mom says, pushing her sunglasses up and sitting back against the chair again.
“I can’t wait to see that,” Savi chuckles before going back to her book.
“Come on, lover boy. I’ll go easy on you today with my throws,” I grin at Miles.
“Keep telling yourself that’s the reason why your throws suck today when we know the real reason is I’m just better.” He jumps up and grabs the football from my hand before running down the beach with it. “I knew that would get his lazy ass up,” I chuckle and look over at my dad. “You want to join?”
“No,” he laughs. “I’m enjoying just sitting here doing nothing. It takes me longer to recover after a long night of partying than it used to. ”
“Suit yourself, old man.” I grin and run down the beach in the opposite direction of Miles.
“Your bait tricks don’t work on me,” he yells after me. “I taught you those!”
Laughing, I turn and get into position, easily catching the spiral to my chest. I shoot one back down to him, and it’s a perfect throw straight down the center. I run to the side to catch the next one, my body moving fast before the ball hits the ground. My arm flexes with the movement as I send another one off down the beach. By the time we are done, we are sweating and burning from the workout.
I jump into the ocean to cool myself off before sitting on the chair beside my mom. Savi joins Miles in the water, and I watch them swim out deeper. My mom digs in her beach bag as a text goes off.
“Oh good! Trevor, remember how I told you I talked to the caterer last night and got her number for Laura?” She asks, reading her phone.
The word caterer immediately gets my attention as I look over at them.
“Mm-hm,” my dad says.
“Laura just texted me, and she talked to Lyla today. They are going to meet this week on her lunch break!” I sit up in my chair on full alert now.
“That’s great, honey. Hopefully, she will get the ones we had last night added to her menu so I can enjoy a full piece this time since you ate half of mine.”
“And I don’t regret it one bit,” she laughs.
“Laura is meeting with Lyla?” I ask, unable to stop the question.
“Yes, do you know her?” My mom asks, surprised.
“Not really. I met her last night when she was passing out desserts.” I keep the rest to myself as I try and keep it light. My mom is good at reading her children, and I really don’t want to get into what I’m feeling right now.
“She seems like such a sweetheart. I hope she and Laura can work together. Lyla’s baked goods would be a perfect addition to the cafe.” My mom glances out to the ocean in deep thought. “I couldn’t help but notice, though, that there is a sadness in her eyes that never seems to quite leave, even when she smiles. I found myself hugging her and wanting to give her some motherly comfort.” My mom shakes her head as if clearing the thought. “She probably thinks I’m nuts. I think I mentioned that we were supposed to meet, and she’s what Blue Haven is missing,” she laughs.
“Does she live in Blue Haven?”
Could she really live here and me not know it? I just assumed she lived in Crystal Isle, where the wedding took place.
“I have no clue,” she shakes her head. “She works in Bayside.”
“Bayside?” It’s a bigger town about thirty minutes from here.
“Mm-hm, some bakery called Al’s.”
Al’s. I have a name, and I got it from my mom, of all places. Maybe she is right, and they were supposed to meet.
Later that night, I crawl into bed and immediately pull up Al’s. My parents and Savi leave tomorrow morning, so we had a late-night family dinner by the pool. This is my first chance to dive in and do some research without being interrupted.
Pulling up Al’s Bakery on the map, I see it’s near the downtown tourist area. I click on the website and scan the information . It looks like a typical bakery that serves various desserts and baked goods .
I click on the about page to learn more about the owner, but no personal information is mentioned. All it shows is a map and hours of operation, which I make a mental note of before getting off the page and clicking on messages.
Jake
Why do you still work for that dick? You could work at any bakery with your talent.
I hit send, hoping she will give me more. Ever since she told me about her boss making her feel uncomfortable, I haven’t been able to shake the feeling that it’s worse than what she’s letting on.
I glance at the clock and see it’s after ten. She’s probably in bed already. Fifteen minutes go by, and I finally see a text come through.
Lyla
Why are you doing this, Jake? I already told you this can’t happen. All you are doing is prolonging the inevitable, and it does neither of us any good.
Damn it. She’s getting ready to run again.
Jake
I just want to be your friend. And as a friend, I’m just worried about you. That’s all.
Lyla
I think we passed the friend zone already.
God, that kiss. I wonder if she thinks about it as much as I do.
Jake
As much as I enjoyed that kiss and want to do so much more, I won’t cross that line again.
Jake
Unless you ask me to.
Jake
I like talking to you, and something tells me you like talking to me, too. So…friends?
I hold my breath as I wait for a text to come through.
Lyla
I can’t give you what you want. My life is…complicated.
Jake
And what is it that you think I want?
Lyla
I don’t have friends for a reason. There are parts of my life I can’t share with you.
I ignore the ache starting to form in my chest. God, this girl is going to ruin me. Except for my family, I’ve never wanted to take on someone’s pain like I do right now. I want her to let me hold it so she can be free.
Jake
How about you share only what you want to? If I ask a question you don’t want to answer, then just let me know.
Lyla
I’m going to be the worst friend you’ve ever had.
Chuckling, I type out a response.
Jake
I’m a big boy. I think I’ll take my chances.
Jake
So…friend. How was your day at work? I want to hear all about it.
Lyla
First friend fail. I can’t text anymore. I’m in the middle of baking. I have a baby shower tomorrow at eleven, and I’m helping Clara with it. I have to get these done tonight.
Jake
Easiest friend fail recovery. Prop me up somewhere.
Lyla
What?
I read her confused text seconds before I hit send on FaceTime. By the third ring, I’m almost convinced she’s not going to answer it, but I see her face fill up the screen.
I’m not prepared to see her again as I get the same punch to the gut when her beautiful face comes into focus. She’s wearing a messy bun on top of her head this time, and her white apron is covered in smears of various desserts she must be working on. Her caramel eyes roam over my bare chest quickly before she looks away, but not before I see the faint hint of redness line her cheeks.
She can pretend all she wants that she doesn’t want me to cross the friendship line, but everything about her right now is screaming for me to storm right across it. I’ll play by her rules for now, even if it means being in the dreaded friend zone. Seeing her again, I’m in way deeper than I thought to be able to walk away. I’ll take her any way she’ll have me .
“There, now you can prop me up, and I’ll keep you company while you work. That’s what best friends do.”
I see a smile play on her lips as she sets me up on the counter next to her.
“Best friends already? Don’t you have to work up to that?”
Her sweet, honey voice slides through the phone, and for a moment, I wonder what my name would sound like coming from her lips as I’m buried deep inside her. I shake the thought away. God, it’s only been two minutes, and already I’m becoming the worst best friend ever.
“I’m very competitive, so I’ve already placed myself as your best friend. Just let someone try and take my spot,” I grin at her and see a smile break through that gorgeous face.
“Lucky for you, there’s not likely to be any competition.”
She starts mixing ingredients, and I lean back against the headboard to get comfortable. For the life of me, I can’t imagine why this girl wouldn’t be surrounded by friends.
“So tell me about your day, bestie.”
Chuckling, she starts talking, and I find myself mesmerized by how she works. There’s something about the way she effortlessly moves in the kitchen. You can tell she loves it by how her eyes light up when she tastes the batter and gets it exactly right.
I listen to her as she tells me about her day, and the more we talk, the more I see the tension leave her body. She’s becoming more at ease with me, which stirs something in me that I’ve never felt before. I find myself wanting to make her laugh as often as possible just to hear it.
Because she’s busy baking, I’m able to fully take in every little thing about her without her noticing. I can’t get enough of her and want to memorize every little detail I can for as long as she lets me.