Page 85 of Those Summer Nights (Sweet Cravings 2)

It was like I had willed the email to come today when I was thinking about committing to a business degree. If Kristen had been here I would have screamed and started jumping up and down. But it seemed weird to do alone. I jumped once anyway, because who the hell cared if I was being weird, and let the tears stream down my cheeks. I fucking did it.

I was coming back to the east coast for good. That dismal, empty life that I’d started in Cali was over. I let go of a breath I hadn’t known I’d been holding. The thought of going back there at the end of summer had been daunting. And now…not happening. Not a chance in hell. I never had to go back. I wiped the tears out of my eyes. I got in!

And now I’d be a short drive away from this beach. An hour tops. If I wanted to, I could come here all the time. Not that I wanted to be here without J.J. Oh my God, J.J.!

I was about to call him to tell him the good news, but I paused. This was an in-person conversation. I wanted to see his face when he found out I’d only be a few hours away from him. I glanced at the time. If I left now I’d have time to stop at the beach on my way to work. I couldn’t wait to see his smile. I could picture him hopping off the lifeguard stand and lifting me into his arms, twirling me around, and giving me the hottest damn congratulations kiss possible. Plus it was a perk that he’d do it in front of all those girls that tried to flirt with him every day at the beach. J.J. was mine and this acceptance email sealed the deal.

I pulled my hair into a messy bun as I slipped on my Keds. My mind was racing as I headed out the door. I couldn’t even wait to tell him. And I had so much to do. I needed to let my dad know so he could send tuition. I needed to call my mom and tell her I was coming back to Delaware. I needed to figure out where I’d live and what classes to enroll in. But telling J.J. was the only thing that mattered right now. God, he was going to be so excited.

I ran down the stairs two at a time and turned so quickly that I ran straight into someone. I started to fall but he caught me.

“I’m so sorry,” I said. “I wasn’t watching where…” The smell of expensive cologne hit me like a ton of bricks. It was the opposite of how J.J.’s skin smelled. J.J. exuded warmth and natural summer scents. He smelled like the ocean breeze and sunscreen. My stomach churned. My nose was currently being affronted by the smell of sleazy ass. Which was a fairly generous description considering who was wearing it. I couldn’t look up to confirm my suspicion. This can’t be happening. I was supposed to be celebrating. Not…whatever the hell this was.

“That’s okay,” said a deep voice that was all too familiar. “I wanted you back in my arms anyway.”

Fuck. I felt like I was going to be sick. I looked up at Aiden. My ex. The one that stomped on my heart, pissed all over it, and then punted it into a volcano just for fun. It was like all the good news had filled up a balloon and he’d just popped it in my face.

I pushed his arms off me and took a step back. “What the hell are you doing here?” I didn’t sound nearly as angry as I should have. It was just a casual question like you’d ask an old friend. But maybe that was for a reason. Because I felt nothing when I looked at him. Nothing at all. I wanted to pinch myself. Was it possible that I was imagining him standing there? That this was some sort of nightmare?

“It’s nice to see you too, Mila. You look…good. Tan. I didn’t realize how much you liked the beach.” His eyes trailed down my legs.

I was definitely going to be sick. I pinched myself just to be sure I wasn’t in that nightmare. Ow. “I didn’t like Santa Monica. I love Rehoboth.”

“What’s the difference?”

“Everything. It smells different for one.”

He laughed. “Okay. I’m not so sure that’s true. When are you coming back home?”

I am home. I wasn’t having this conversation with him. “I have to go to work.”

“Skip it. I came all this way to see you, babe.”

I shook my head. “You shouldn’t have.” And don’t fucking call me that.

“I told you I wanted to give us another shot.”

“And I told you to go to hell.” My hospitality had diminished rather quickly.

He smiled. “But we both know you didn’t mean that. Come on. Invite me up.” He nodded to my apartment.

I wished I could go back in time and not give him my address. Or go back in time and never date him to begin with. Definitely that one. I just stared at him. The books and clothes I’d left at his apartment had felt like a big deal at the beginning of summer. But now I didn’t want anything that had ever been associated with him. Not that it mattered. He wasn’t here to give me back my stuff. He wasn’t even holding a box. He came all the way out here for…what? I just stared at him.

“We can catch up.” He gave me the smile I once found so charming. But now I realized how fake it was.

“Uh, yeah…no. Like I said, I have to get to work. I’m sorry you came all this way, but we have nothing to talk about, Aiden.”

“I just want you to hear me out.”

I shrugged. “A few months ago, maybe I would have entertained that idea.” I started walking away from him backward. “But I have better things to do with my time than waste another second listening to you.” I turned around and picked up my pace.

“Mila!” He called from behind me.

But I was already turning onto the boardwalk, disappearing into the crowd. I glanced out at J.J.’s lifeguard stand down on the beach. Aiden had wasted the extra time I had before my shift. And I didn’t want telling J.J. the good news to be tarnished by whatever the hell that just was. I’d tell him about my acceptance after my shift when he picked me up.

I took a deep breath and made my way to work. Aiden had impeccable timing. But I was relieved. Not that he’d come here. That was fucking stupid. I was relieved that I felt nothing when I saw him. Besides sick to my stomach. But there was no love there. Only regret for staying with a dick like him for so long. All that time

I’d wasted. All the bullshit he’d fed me that I willingly believed. I wasn’t the same girl that he knew. And whatever part of me that used to love him, if I ever even had, was long gone.

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