Page 8 of Summer Nights

"Of course I do," Shep said with a grin, and when a blonde sidled up next to him with a friend, I moved away.

I didn't feel right talking to women after I'd been intimate with Ivy. When I saw her heading toward the bathroom, I followed her.

I waited in the hallway for her to come out.

A few minutes later, she opened the door. When she saw me leaning against the wall, she asked, "Can I help you?"

"I wanted to make sure you were okay." As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I knew they were the wrong ones.

She was taller than other women I'd dated, so I only had to drop my head slightly for her to talk into my ear. "I'm always okay," and then she was gone.

I wanted to touch her skin to remember what she felt like under my palm. I wanted to find out what she tasted like. Our encounter was too short. I wanted more time with her, getting to know her. I wanted her to scream out my name. Too bad she was never going to let anything happen again.

Chapter Three

Ivy

I couldn't believe I'd fucked a business partner in one of my houses. It sounded really bad when I put it like that. But there was something about the storm that had made me want to do something.

It was like time had been suspended, and there was no need to worry about anyone walking into the house.

It was just me and Cooper and our undeniable desire for each other. As much as I wished I could experience it again, it wasn't smart.

I felt vulnerable with Cooper in a way I didn't with anyone else. Maybe it was the storm or the memory of my childhood, but I suspected it had something to do with him. I needed to stay away from anyone who had the ability to see the real me.

I put on a facade, one that served me well. I wasn't the poor girl with a dad who left before I was born or a mom who was too busy with her current boyfriend to ensure I had field-trip money or clothes that fit.

I took care of myself, and I did a great job of it. No one who met me now would suspect my less-than-ideal upbringing. I drove an expensive SUV, I wore designer clothes, and I never went out without being dressed nicely.

I'd worked too hard for anyone to see me as the girl I was before. Cooper remembered her, and I didn't want to answer the questions I saw in his eyes. What was different about me? Was there anything of that other girl left?

I shuddered at the thought of talking to someone about those days growing up, an afterthought in my mother's too-small trailer.

I tried to stop in and check on my mom and my half-siblings once a week. They still lived in the same trailer I grew up in, and it wasn't the cute RV park when you first came on the island. It was the one that the local politicians hoped the tourists never saw.

I drove to the trailer park and parked on the road in front of my childhood home. The house itself was worn and run-down. The same broken swing set I played on was still in the backyard.

I knocked on the door and opened it carefully. I was never sure of what I'd see when I came home.

One time, I'd opened the door to one of her boyfriends snorting drugs on the kitchen table and to another fucking another woman on it.

This time, Mom stood at the stove, waving me in. "It's so good to see you."

I kissed her offered cheek and sat at the table. It was the same one that had seen so much abuse from her long line of boyfriends. I had two younger siblings from different fathers. None of them had stuck around.

There was one man who took care of us for a while, but when Mom cheated on him, he left. I always suspected she couldn't deal with a nice man and pushed him away before he could break up with her.

I shook off the realization that I had the same radar. I only dated guys who were looking for a one-night stand. I didn't want anything to do with a nice guy, which was what Cooper Kingston was.

"You don't have to check in on me every week, ya know?"

I shook my head. "I'm here to see my family and spend time with my brother and sister. Where are they?"

"In their room."

Before I could leave, she said, "There's something I wanted to talk to you about."

"What's that?" I asked, my stomach dropping. I didn't want to give my mom money, but I couldn't resist helping my siblings out when they needed it. And I'd never tell my mom, but I had college savings plans set up for each of them. I wanted them to have a way out should they want it.