I was his tutor. And we had been best friends since the second grade. Of course when his parents found out we might be something more, they threw a fit.
And then there was the draft. After that he was gone. I get it, there were millions of dollars at stake and he spent years preparing for it. It was the lack of a goodbye that bothered me the most. And the fact that he never reached out. Like I meant nothing to him.
All of a sudden, I snap out of it and realize that I stopped walking when I saw Jake bend over. Here I am too busy admiring his ass, sculpted abs, and handsome face to do my part of the plan.
I forgot that I’m currently in the middle of a pirate war with Jake.
Fi's sharp voice cuts through the general commotion of volunteers making sandy beach art on a perfect late afternoon. She's really giving it to him.
I have to squint, but I swear I can see Kaylee sneaking up behind the two of them, as planned.
Oh, that means I have to hurry. I have a bucket of water with Jake’s name on it, after all. I force my feet to move. The closer I get the more I can see of the chaos.
Jake's volunteer crew surround him, but judging by the looks on their faces, they have no appetite to take on Fi. Smart.
Even Jake takes a step back from Fi's verbal onslaught as I come into range.
"You idiot,” Fi screams, “you know damn well that Kaylee is the best sand sculpture artist on the beach four years running, and she gets better every year. If I didn't know better, I'd say you guys are trying to sabotage us."
Fi tries to make eye contact with the gathering of twenty-something guys in Jake's crew. They all decide they have other things to look at.
"Pirate," I hear Jake's answer to Fi, "the spirit of this fucking event is literally piracy." He glances around and notices his volunteers have begun to wander off. "Hey, guys come back. Crazy lady here has no idea what she's talking about."
That's when Kaylee comes up behind him and tosses half the sand from her sandbag over his head. Ha.
For a moment, he just stands there with a smirk on his face. Then he glances at Fi. "Seriously? Weren't you just telling me that shooting off the pirate canon isn't in the spirit of things? And now you're resorting to throwing sand in my face? I mean, it' a little cliché, don't you think?"
"Pirate," I announce as I finally get close enough to throw the bucket of water on him. Except I trip halfway through the throwing motion, tossing most of the water from the bucket onto Kaylee, who screams when the cold water hits her.
To my horror, the motion of the throw carries me forward. Right into Jake.
The last thing I see before I crash into him is the surprised expression on his face. Then we make contact and I drop the bucket. Only my feet get tangled with his, and then we both go over.
In the end I drop the bucket entirely and land body on body on top of him. And let me tell you, it feels like he never skipped a single workout in the league. His rock-hard abs and chest break my fall.
I put my arms into the sand on either side of him and push myself to a sit-up position, straddling him. My nipples are threatening to break hulk-style out of my bra and tee shirt and my core is on fire at the feel of him beneath me.
I try to calm myself by closing my eyes and counting to five. That's when I feel that his abs and chest are not the only things that are currently hard.
I open my eyes and stare into his face, willing myself to glare at him, but my face won’t cooperate. Then I realize with a start that the sadness and longing in his eyes matches my own. We stare at each other for a long moment. And in that moment, I see the old Jake, the one I knew so well.
"I'm sorry, Angie," he whispers softly.
I shake my head, coming to my senses. Then I roll off of him. He may look like the old Jake, but he's not. "Oh yeah? Well, I'm sorry too." I am. I'm sorry that I never got over him. And now I'm sorry that he's back.
I hear a commotion after I get off of Jake and see a group of photographers taking our picture. Shit. That's the last thing I need.
Then, of all things, people start clapping. Not Fi and Kaylee of course, they're looking around at everybody and they’re just as horrified as I am.
I hear whispers of aww, they're back together. All of a sudden I realize that if that's what the locals are saying, that's what the out-of-town media are going to assume.
"No, no," I say out loud, realizing what it looked like when I was lying on top of Jake. "We're not back together. I tripped. Really. That’s it."
None of that matters though. Because when I look down, all I see is Jake with that million-dollar smirk of his and everybody with huge smiles on their faces. And the backs of the paparazzi as they walk away.
I do what any girl would in this situation I never expected to find myself in. I sit back down in the dirt.
Jake scoots over to me and fixes me with that cocky smile. "Angie, can we talk? Please?"
Sweat is glistening off of his tan, perfectly sculpted biceps. God, how I missed those arms. And those full lips. His blue eyes stare at me with a hungry expression that causes my lady parts to officially break with my leave me alone party line and go on strike.
What's a girl to do? Say hell no, that's
