Page 68 of Those Summer Nights (Sweet Cravings 2)

I had never woken up smiling to a hangover. But the pain in my head didn't even compare to the butterflies in my stomach. Just thinking about my lifeguard left me breathless. I ran my fingers across my lips where he had kissed me. I had never been so excited to see someone again in my life. And I couldn’t even contain my excitement. “Kristen!” I yelled as I sat up. “You won’t believe what happened last night!”

But there was no response. I glanced over to her empty bed. My smile couldn’t possibly get any bigger. If she hadn’t come back, that meant that she and Reggie had actually hit it off. Which meant…yesterday had kind of been the perfect day.

I grabbed my phone to see if she had texted me. I did have one waiting from…crap. Aiden. As I was staring at the unread message icon, debating whether or not to even open it, his name lit up on my screen. He was calling me. Again.

I dropped my phone on the bed and pulled my legs into my chest. Shit. I took a deep breath. The butterflies in my stomach were replaced by knots. Why was he still calling me? I closed my eyes until the buzzing stopped.

As soon as the silence returned, I opened my eyes again. I had finally given my number to J.J. and I was hoping he’d be the one calling me this morning. Part of me wanted to answer my phone when Aiden called so that I could tell him that I was seeing someone else. That would feel so satisfying. I wanted to tell him off. But I couldn't do that. My lifeguard and I hadn't talked about what we were now. All I knew was that we were more than friends. We were clearly more than friends. I smiled to myself.

My phone bleeped, letting me know I had a new unread text. I grabbed it and opened the texts from Aiden, ready to delete him out of my phone and my life.

It was just the two: “Are you up yet?” and "I really need to see you."

I deleted both messages and then found his name in my contact list. My finger hovered for a second. He wasn't allowed to need me. I wasn't his to need. He certainly hadn't needed me for the past few months. And he definitely hadn't wanted me. I was glad I was all the way across the country. If he had shown up to my dorm room, I'm sure I would have heard him out. I had been so weak for so long. I deleted him from my contacts and breathed a sigh of relief. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that I was better without him.

I jumped out of bed, grabbed two Tylenol, and downed them with a glass of water. Everything was different now. Just because Aiden didn't want me didn't mean there was anything wrong with me. He was just an asshole. The fight that my lifeguard and I had last night came back in my mind. I bit my lip. He had said I was pathetic for latching onto Aiden in the first place. Was he right? Honestly, he probably was. I left Cali for all the wrong reasons. Maybe I’d be staying in Delaware for all the right ones though. I glanced at my phone again. I hadn’t heard back from admissions yet, but I still needed to call my dad and tell him to hold off on tuition. But now was not that time. I wanted to just think about J.J. and how happy I was. All the crappy men in my life like my dad and Aiden could suck it.

I opened a drawer and pulled out a sports bra and shorts. I may have been pathetic freshman year of college. But now? Hell no. And I certainly wasn't going to wait around all day for a text from J.J. to come through. I needed to make sure I didn't make the same mistakes I had when I was with Aiden. And just because Kristen was out shagging her new lifeguard, it didn’t mean I couldn’t go for a run.

***

Even after my scalding hot shower, my body was still sore. I had run as far as I possibly could before collapsing in the sand. The walk home had taken forever, but it was relaxing staring out at the water. I wasn’t sure I had ever run so far in my life. Although, I was sore for more reasons than that. I felt my face flush, remembering last night. And I couldn’t help but wonder if we’d be repeating that anytime soon. Fingers crossed we would.

I pulled my towel around myself

and walked out of the bathroom to see if Kristen was back. But after a quick glance, I knew she was still missing. I thought back to when she reprimanded me for not coming home one night and leaving her wondering if I was dead in a ditch. It was a two-way street. I picked up my phone to see if she’d messaged me and smiled. There was no word from her. But there was one from an unknown number. My lifeguard had finally texted me while I was in the shower. I added his number to my phone and then clicked on his message.

“I’ll be picking you up after work. And you better not be planning on pretending you’re busy and running away from me. Or changing up your schedule again to try to ditch me.”

I smiled. There was something sexy about him just telling me our plans instead of asking. And the fact that he didn’t even say it was J.J. He was just confident enough to know that he was the only man in my life. I typed out a response as I headed back into the bathroom. “I would never. What did you have in mind for tonight?” I grabbed my hairdryer and started to blow my hair dry. For some reason I was nervous to see him. I hoped he still felt the same way he had last night. When I switched the blow dryer off, I had another message from him.

“Bring a bathing suit.”

So much for drying my hair. But I didn’t even care. There was no better sight in the world than J.J. in his swim trunks.

“Deal,” I wrote back. “I’ll see you at five.” Now all that stood in between me and J.J. was a boring shift at work. I quickly put on some waterproof mascara that I hoped would withstand whatever we’d be doing tonight, and pulled on a pair of jean shorts and a tank top. After tossing a bathing suit into my bag, I was out the door in less than a minute.

The morning and afternoon did not go quite as quickly. First, I had been incredibly early for my shift because there was a pep in my step. And then I got paired up with Becca again who wouldn’t stop talking. I’d excused myself an hour ago to put my bathing suit on under my clothes. I was hoping J.J. might come save me early. But I knew his shift ended around the same time as mine. So no such luck. I never thought I’d miss my previous co-worker who liked to spend her whole shift talking to her boyfriend in the storage room.

“I can’t believe you got second place,” Becca said. “That was so cool!”

“Mhm.” I scrubbed down the counter for what felt like the millionth time.

“I tried to find you after to congratulate you, but you were gone. Did you go straight home?”

I felt my face flushing. “Yup.” Just thinking about J.J.’s hands and mouth made me start to feel all sweaty. God, I wanted him again.

“So, so awesome,” Becca said. “I don’t know how you had the confidence to go up on that stage. I never could have done it.”

I stopped scrubbing the counter and looked over at her. “Of course you could have.”

She shook her head.

I finally felt like there was something we actually had in common. “The only person that can hold you back is you, Becca.”

“I guess that’s true.”

“Trust me. I’ve been doing it my whole life.”

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