Page 26 of Bayside Heat
Clutching the envelope, she headed upstairs to his apartment. It had been a struggle to keep her emotions in check when she’d helped decorate his apartment, wondering if she was choosing sheets and pictures for other women to enjoy. But she’d never actually seen Drake bring any women home. She knew he dated, but as far as she knew, he’d never been a player or the type of guy to hook up with random women. She hadn’t thought about that too much recently, because Drake had made it clear that she was only a friend, but now, knowing what she did, she wondered about his personal life. Was her impression of him skewed by wishful thinking?
She’d dated a few guys over the past four years, but they’d all left her wanting something more. Only she didn’t know what more was. It was like an itch she couldn’t scratch. Had Drake had his itches scratched? Had women spent the night at his apartment and he’d been careful to shoo them out before she arrived at work?
She ran her fingers over the blue envelope, tracing the white rope and anchor over the hard ridges of the key to his apartment she’d put inside. Why hadn’t he ever asked for it back? She opened the old-fashioned mail slot on the door and hesitated. This might be it. Our final goodbye before I leave town.
Well, if this was it, it was his choice, wasn’t it? His loss.
She slid the envelope into the slot, and then she hurried out to her car and drove away from the office. At a time when she should be celebrating her future, all she could do was cry. She didn’t even try to stop, because at this time tomorrow, she’d be far away in a new city, making the fresh start she’d always dreamed of.
Her mother’s voice, the voice she rarely heard anymore, whispered through her head. What you wish for today may not be what you truly want tomorrow. She and Chloe had been young, wishing on the dried seeds of dandelions, and in a rare moment of parenting, their mother had doled out that truthful piece of advice. She’d gone on to explain that she’d always wished she would become a mother, but she hadn’t realized it would be so hard. It was one of those eye-opening moments when Serena’s little-girl heart had ached so badly she’d gotten on her bike and pedaled straight over to Mira’s house. She’d seen Drake in the yard, and rather than let him see her tears, she’d pedaled all the way to the creek, almost two miles away. Drake had shown up on his own bike a few minutes after her, and when she’d asked how he’d known where to find her, he’d said, Anyone who knows you would know where you were going.
She pulled into her driveway, and all that sadness turned to frustration. She had sworn she wasn’t going to let this thing with Drake lead her astray, and here she was, completely entrenched in thoughts of him. No way. This could not happen. She couldn’t afford to be sidetracked when she started her new job.
My new life.
A sting accompanied the thought, but as she’d learned to do years ago with her mother, she buried the sadness that came with her leaving and told herself that whatever Drake did or didn’t do tonight should have no impact on her. She had a car and could drive herself to the damn bar. She just wouldn’t drink much.
She went inside and walked directly past the sealed boxes, into her bedroom. She showered, taking her time to meticulously apply Nair everywhere just in case she found someone worthy of distracting her from Drake. She dried her hair, then took extra care applying her makeup. If Drake wanted to shun her because it was too hard to face what they shouldn’t have, that was his business. She was going to celebrate her fantastic friendships and the start of something new.
She’d packed most of her nice clothes, but tonight she wasn’t looking for nice. She dressed in the white eyelet crop top she’d bought right after college, when she’d moved back to the Cape. She hated strapless bras, so decided to go without one, which turned out to be a good thing because, as she laced up the top, she noticed it was a little tighter now. She pulled on the matching miniskirt with a lace hem, leaving her midriff bare, and slipped her feet into a pair of cute strappy sandals. Then she checked her phone for messages, reading one from each of the girls telling her how excited they were to see her tonight—and tried to ignore the sting at not finding one from Drake.
