Chapter 3
Chapter Three
PARKER
T hree cups of coffee down and it’s not that bad of a day.
The weather is warm and sunny, and the waves in the ocean aren’t too rough—so there are quite a few people on the beach. Some of them are even having parties and cookouts. That means they’re in an even better mood. The sales seem to come in bursts. I sell a few pieces, then hang out for a while, watching the waves from across the shore, then sell a few more. I’ve got a piece I’m working on in the back too. The contractor is nearly done and even though I’m barely hanging in there and tired as hell, I’m damn happy with how the day’s gone.
By the time people start to head out in the afternoon, sunburned and carrying crying kids who are way past their naptime, I’ve made my weekly goal. That’s a good sign of what’s to come for summer.
The shitty sleep I mostly didn’t get last night is starting to catch up with me. Part of me cares way more that my stomach is growling though. The sandwich I bought for lunch isn’t going to be enough to tide me over until whenever the beach clears out.
My stomach growls again.
So I lock up shop.
A couple of people wave to me on my trip across the street. I take a few seconds to lean against the hood of the truck when I get there. It’s warm, and the beach makes for a hell of a view when I can stop to appreciate it.
Which I do, until my stomach growls again. I have a frozen pizza at home that’ll only take half an hour to bake the way I like. It’s a simple pleasure, but I’ll take it.
That’s when movement catches my eye.
It’s a beautiful girl in a blue coverup that goes down to her shins and a bag over one shoulder, the towel slung over the other. Her skin is sun-kissed and her hair still damp from the water.
Oh, shit—it’s the girl from the condo. It’s Luna. My heart beats faster watching her move over the sand. She’s moving slow, her flip-flops hanging from two of her fingers, and as annoyed as I was last night—and this morning, if I’m honest—I’m captivated now. There’s just something about her. Yeah she’s gorgeous but the way she carries herself… I just …
My mouth goes dry.
If I’m going to say anything to her, now’s the time. With my keys in my hands rattling I debate on whether or not I should. The beach is neutral ground. It’s not quite as casual when I’m on her doorstep.
Fuck it.
At least it’s a reason to talk to her. Luna steps onto the sidewalk by the strip of parking spots by the beach just as I move around to the driver’s side. She blinks over at me like she didn’t realize anybody was here, then nods to me distractedly.
“Hey, Luna,” I say, and nod to her.
“Hi?” She looks again, her eyebrows going up when she recognizes me. Luna has a summer tan, but parts of her are pink from what looks like a full day on the beach. I couldn’t take my eyes off her if I tried. “Oh, hi, Parker. I didn’t see you. I was—” She waves to the street behind me. “On my way home.”
“Any plans for tonight?”
Luna blinks, it’s then I notice the tiredness lingering under eyes. “I don’t think so. Why?”
“Just wondered. Last night was pretty loud. Sounded like you had a pretty good time.”
Her face flushes an even darker shade of pink. “I had a few friends over. Sorry.”
“I’d appreciate a heads up next time,” I say without thinking.
Her brow furrows and near anger comes over her. “Not sure why that’s your business.”
The irritation I felt last night comes back in full force. All the time in the sun isn’t helping. I’m tired and overheated and now Luna is snapping at me like I accused her of something.
Well, if she’s going to take it like that, I might as well earn it.
“The party wasn’t any of my business. Except for the parts that kept me up all night. I wanted to know if you were planning the same thing for tonight so I can make other arrangements to get some sleep.”
Her fingers clench around the straps of her flip-flops, and she grits her teeth so hard I’m surprised her jaw doesn’t shake. She’s upset. “I have no idea what our plans are, but I’ll be sure to let you know once I find out.”
“No need to do that.”
“I wouldn’t want to disturb you or anything. I didn’t mean to keep you awake. I didn’t realize the music was that loud, or that it would bother you. But, sure, take it out on me, if that’s what you want,” she snaps at me.
Whoah. I’m taken off guard for a moment. “I didn’t mean?—”
“Yes, you did,” she shouts, her voice cutting through the breeze and the waves and everything else. Her hazel eyes are sharp and glistening with tears. Her hands tremble. “I didn’t come here looking to—all I wanted was to spend some time at the beach, and you had to start in with these questions. If you had such a problem, why didn’t you knock on the door? You could have done that, you know. You have my phone number from the lease. You could have sent a text. You could have said something.”
“That’s not what?—”
“But you didn’t ,” she continues, her voice rising. Everybody on the entire beach must be able to hear her. “You didn’t do any of that. You waited until it was too late for me to do anything. So what do you want me to do now that the night is over? Most of the day’s over, too. There’s nothing I can do about that, so you’re being an asshole for no reason. You know that, don’t you? That you’re being this way for no reason, and it’s not like you told me there was a curfew or that you could hear through the walls!”
“All I’m trying to say?—”
“There was no time on the lease!” Luna’s words hit much harder than they should. She’s furious, but the tears in her eyes are spilling down her cheeks, and it’s a lot . It’s much more intense than I meant it to be, which must mean something else is going on here. “I read every word of the agreement, and there weren’t any specified quiet hours! So if you wanted me to follow rules , then you should have put them in the lease! That only seems?—”
Something flies out of her hand in mid-sentence as she waves her arms, and Luna’s eyes track it as it flies down to the sidewalk and breaks in half. I reach for it and miss. A shell. It’s just a shell.
“Oh, no ,” she says, her voice going even higher, like whatever she dropped is priceless. “Oh, shit.” Her bottom lip wobbles and all I can think is this woman is on the brink of genuinely losing her shit. She’s beautiful but holy fuck, I did not think she’d blow up like this over asking her to just keep it down.
I swear she’s going to cry again when she looks down at the broken shell. Maybe she liked this one in particular for some reason, but it’s not the end of the world. There are hundreds of other shells on the beach. If she wanted to, Luna could turn around and find one right now. She probably wouldn’t have to walk all the way back to the ocean, either.
“Hey.” I take a step toward her, glancing again to make sure it’s just a shell, and it is. It’s a normal shell, just broken. “I didn’t mean to upset you. I was up most of the night, too.” I let out a laugh that sounds ridiculous. “Just thought I’d check to see if?—”
Luna takes a sudden step back, wiping at her face with the back of her hand. She’s not letting any more tears fall, but they’re welling in her eyes. Soon there will be too many to hold back. Over what I said to her? Over the shell? Something else? It has to be something else, right?
“Really, it’s not a big deal. I thought?—”
“There weren’t any quiet hours on the lease,” Luna snaps. The sun gleams off her hair. “Send me a text of what the hours will be so I have a record.” Then she gives me the finger and stalks away without another word.
But I see her shoulders shake. I watch how she holds herself when she walks. I try to think back to what I said. What the hell did I say?
Fuck me, man.