Seaside Nights Read online

  “Well, that’s a big thing, but it doesn’t have to be a make it or break it thing, does it? What if he were a lawyer who defended criminals or a stripper or—”

  “A stripper? Really? I would never date a stripper.”

  “Wow, you are uptight.” He laughed with the tease.

  “I’m being serious. He’s fighting for a noble reason—to earn money to pay for his dad’s future medical care—but still…I don’t think I can watch him fight again.”

  Blue shrugged. “I don’t see the problem. So don’t go to the fight.”

  “His mom won’t go to his fights either. Oh, let me show you something else.” She headed up to the front and grabbed the basket of tattoos she’d collected. She fished out the one Sawyer brought with him and the two Cree had brought in and handed them to Blue. “Same handwriting, right?”

  “I guess. Close anyway,” he said as he looked them over.

  “Well, I think Sawyer is the P-town poet.” She crossed her arms and tapped her foot.

  “And?”

  “I asked him if he was and he said no.” She grabbed the napkins and papers and read them again before setting them back in the basket. “And that one on the napkin?” She pointed to the napkin on top of the pile. “That’s what he said to me the other night. Those exact same words.”

  “What are you worried about, Sky? That he’s hiding that he likes to write poetry?”

  “No. It’s just…Why would he hide something like this?”

  “This is why I don’t date. Weird shit comes up and then everything falls apart over notes in a basket.” Blue reached for his tools. “He doesn’t seem like he’s the kind of guy who’s hiding anything. Show him the papers and ask him about them. It seems like a simple thing.”

  “I’m going to, but I asked him already.”

  “I don’t know, Sky, but if you’re having trouble with his fighting and you don’t trust him—”

  “I totally trust him!” She grabbed the basket again, knowing she wasn’t making any sense, but she had to know if the man she was falling for was the same man who wrote all the beautiful sayings she’d been saving for two years.

  “Then why are you questioning this? If he said he’s not the guy, he’s not the guy.” He reached for the back door. “I have to run. Lizzie asked me to come by and fix a leak in her roof.”

  “She did? Good. Go.” She shooed him toward the door.

  “Don’t get any ideas. It’s a leaky roof, that’s it.”

  “Yeah, and I’m going to walk away from Sawyer,” she said sarcastically.

  “So you are really into him!”

  “God, Blue. Guys are so slow sometimes. Of course I’m totally into him. I told you I really liked him. Otherwise why would I care if he told me the truth about being the P-town poet or not? Now, go see Lizzie, and tell her I said hi.”

  “You’re bossy when you’ve got a boyfriend.”

  She blew him a kiss, closed the door, and leaned her back against it. The basket sat on the counter, taunting her with the little slips of paper and crumpled napkins. She snagged it and headed out to her car.

  An hour later, freshly showered and wrapped in a towel, Sky stood in the cottage with Bella, Amy, and Jenna, staring into her closet.

  “Everything is long and flowing,” Bella said as she flicked one of Sky’s skirts.

  “That’s what I like to wear.” Sky took a skirt from the rack and held it up against her. “The miniskirt I wore today isn’t long or flowing. I could wear that.”

  “But it doesn’t say Tell me all your secrets, does it?” Jenna asked. “Why don’t you wear this?” She held up a black silk tank top.

  “I love that. And what skirt?” Sky asked.

  “Just the shirt!” Jenna said, holding it up against her pregnant belly. “Look, it comes to my thighs. We want answers, and the best way to do that is by being ultrasexy so he can’t think about what he’s saying.”

  Sky held the shirt up in front of herself. “It comes to your thighs because you’re four foot eleven. I’m not. This would barely cover my coochie.”

  “Even better,” Jenna teased.

  “No. No way. I’m not going to get answers by flashing my naughty bits.”

  “At least you’re not wearing Hello Kitty shirts,” Amy said. “They had a field day with my clothes when Tony and I finally got together, remember? Luckily, he likes me best with no clothes on.” She leaned in close and whispered, “Saves on clothing expenditures, too.”

  Sky grabbed a black miniskirt. “This will work, with a few long necklaces and my bangles, don’t you think?”

  Jenna rolled an assessing eye over the dark outfit. “I like it. It’s sexy, but with your accessories it’ll be understated enough that he won’t feel like he’s under attack.”

  “Says the girl who wanted me to go with no bottoms,” Sky said.

  “Oh, he’ll be under attack, all right,” Bella said. “Didn’t you hear Sky say that every time she kisses him she can’t stop?”

  “I was too focused on the basketful of romance to hear that part.” Jenna rummaged through the back of Sky’s closet. “Don’t you have any scarves? It might be chilly tonight.”

  “I think I left them all in the apartment.” Sky opened a dresser drawer. “I’ll take a sweater.”

  Amy pushed the drawer shut. “Bad idea. You can’t get cold if you wear a sweater. Jenna taught me that. Jenna, can’t you lend her a scarf?”

  “I’m on it!” Jenna headed out the front door.

  “You guys have dating down to a science. It’s kind of scary.” Sky smiled at her friends.

  “You’re lucky, Sky.” Bella sat on the bed with a hand on her burgeoning belly and pulled Sky down beside her. “None of us was very good at the whole dating thing. We learned as we went along. Sweaters keep you warm. Scarves leave room for a chill. You want the chill so you can snuggle up to your man. See? You get to benefit from our mistakes.” She sucked in a breath, eyes wide. “Oh my God. Feel this.” She grabbed Amy’s and Sky’s hands and placed them on her belly.

  “Oh my God! Is she kicking?” Sky asked. “Or is that a knee? Or an elbow?”

  “I’m not sure, but I wish she’d come out already.” Bella sat on the bed and leaned back on her palms. “It’s hard to breathe with her in there sometimes, and when she kicks my bladder, you better make room for me to dart to the bathroom.”

  “I know what you mean,” Amy said. “I swear I have to pee every five minutes. Speaking of…” She headed for the bathroom just as Jenna came in the door with an armful of scarves and dumped them on the bed.

  “Wow, thanks, Jenna.” Sky began sifting through them.

  “You can’t pick out a scarf until we pick out your shoes. They have to match. Flip-flops, sandals, or…” Jenna picked up Sky’s favorite ankle boots. “Fuck-me boots?”

  “Let’s go with sandals, please. I don’t even know where he’s taking me, but just in case, I think I better not look like a hooker.” Sky took the boots from Jenna and tossed them in the back of the closet.

  “You never look like a hooker.” Jenna scrambled to pick them up, despite her burgeoning belly. “You can’t just toss your boots.” She set them up beside Sky’s other shoes and sandals, then began lining them up so the toes of each pair aligned.

  “Jenna,” Sky said. “You know I’ll just mess them up tomorrow when I grab something to wear.”

  “Then I’ll come back and line them up again,” Jenna said with a smile.

  Merlin sauntered into the closet and rubbed against Jenna’s leg. “Merlin will be my watch cat. He’ll claw at you if you mess them up.”

  “Good luck with that. Merlin’s more likely to lick me to death.” She picked up her kitty and kissed him, then set him down and began getting dressed.

  Amy came out of the bathroom with a bottle of perfume. “This is so yummy, Sky. You should wear it.”

  “Okay.” She held out her wrist and Amy sprayed it. Sky waved her hand in the mist. Then she pu
lled her tank top over her head and put on several bracelets and two long necklaces. “What do you think?” She spun around, and all the girls smiled.

  “Stunning,” Amy said.

  “You always look hot,” Jenna said.

  “Is it too much?” Sky hated the idea of looking like she’d tried too hard.

  “No! You look comfortably sexy,” Bella said.

  Jenna sifted through the scarves and draped a pale blue one around Sky’s neck and wiggled her brows. “Scarves are so handy. Feel free to play, if you know what I mean.”

  “Oh my God.” Amy grabbed Jenna’s arm. “Have you gone all Fifty Shades on us?”

  Jenna laughed and turned beet red. “No. Not all Fifty Shades. Besides, Bella has fuzzy handcuffs. What’s wrong with scarves?”

  “And don’t you try to look innocent, Amy.” Bella narrowed her eyes. “You told us all about your little hands-behind-your-back escapade with your sexy surfer husband.”

  “Hey, I never heard about that,” Sky said. “Where was I?”

  “That was the night you and Sawyer were learning the ins and outs of each other,” Jenna said with a loud laugh.

  “I thought we told you about Amy’s sexy romp,” Bella added.

  “I think I’d remember Kitten getting tied up,” Sky teased.

  There was a knock at the door, and they all gasped.

  Amy peeked out the bedroom window. “He’s here, and ooh la la, he looks yummy.”

  They stumbled over one another to fit through the bedroom door.

  “I feel like I’m in high school.” When Sky opened the door, her heart nearly stopped. She was vaguely aware of sounds of appreciation coming from behind her. She’d seen Sawyer wearing jeans, shorts, and completely naked, all of which were enough to make her go a little crazy, but she’d never seen him look like this. His broad shoulders were even more powerful in a black dress shirt tucked neatly into a pair of dark slacks, opened at the top to reveal a smattering of chest hair.

  His eyes took a slow drag down her body, making her feel hot and electric at once. He touched her hand as he kissed her. The scent of his cologne embraced her, and when he spoke, it was like she was hearing his voice for the first time, sending her stomach into flurries.

  “You look gorgeous,” he said with an easy smile. “You ladies look gorgeous, too,” he said.

  “Thank you,” they said in unison.

  Sky glanced over her shoulder at the girls and caught sight of the basket sitting on the table. Somehow it didn’t seem as pressing now as it had earlier. She didn’t want to get into a serious conversation about poems right now. Did it really matter if he was the P-town poet? Not enough to sidetrack what was sure to be a lovely evening.

  “They were just leaving,” Sky said.

  “Right,” Bella said, but she made no move to leave. “What’s the plan? Can’t you clue us in on your secret date?”

  Sky shooed them toward the door. “Come on, my married and preggers friends. Stop drooling over my man and prying him for information.”

  The girls wished them a fun evening and filed out the door in a gaggle of whispers.

  “Sorry. I think when we all get together we turn into teenagers.”

  “I wish I’d known you as a teenager,” he said in a voice that could melt butter. “Then we’d have had even more time together.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  SAWYER PARKED IN front of Undercover, a bar overlooking the beach in Truro. Sky had never been there before. Sawyer helped her from the truck and said, “Okay, sweet summer Sky, it’s time for you to get to know another side of Sawyer Bass.”

  “Should I be worried?”

  “Maybe so,” he teased as he held the door open for her. They stepped inside the dimly lit bar. “You don’t mind meeting a few of my friends, do you?”

  “I would love to, as long as I don’t have to watch them fight.”

  With a hand on her lower back, he led her past booths and tables that were filled to the brim with happy customers. They crossed the crowded dance floor to a booth by the bar.

  “Songbird!” a guy with white-blond hair yelled from behind the bar.

  “Hey, Colton.” Sawyer waved and slid into the booth beside Sky.

  “I guess you come here often?” she asked, glancing at the guy behind the bar, who ran a hand through his hair, flashing a number of tattoos on his left arm.

  “That’s Brock’s younger brother,” Sawyer said. “He owns the place.”

  She studied Colton’s face a little more closely. His cheeks were chiseled and much narrower than Brock’s, and while Brock’s eyes had been intense, Colton’s were a soft blue, with a gentler look to them.

  Sawyer draped an arm over her shoulder and pulled her in closer. “I know I should probably wine and dine you to make up for my lack of a more acceptable career, but—”

  “Hey.” She could tell by the lightness of his tone that he was kidding, but she still felt compelled to clarify. “I didn’t mean that your career wasn’t acceptable to anyone.”

  He pressed his lips to hers. “I know. I just want you to get to know all of me, including the people I hang out with.”

  “All of you?”

  “When you think of me, you see a guy who fights in the ring, and there’s a lot more to me than that, Sky. There’s more to my friends than that, too, and that is what tonight is about.”

  Colton came around the bar to their table. “Hey, Songbird.” He lifted his baby blues to Sky. “Hi. I’m Colton.” The year 2012 was inked on the inside of his left forearm, and the sleeve of his T-shirt revealed sharp lines of another tattoo.

  “Hi, I’m Sky. I like your ink.”

  “Thanks, Sky.” He looked down at his tattoos. “Everyone’s got a story, I guess. It’s nice to meet you, too. What can I get y’all?” he asked.

  “Sky?” Sawyer asked.

  “A sea breeze, please. Thanks.”

  Sky followed Sawyer’s gaze toward the front door as he asked for a beer and was surprised to see his trainer and Brock heading toward them, with two tall blond women in tow.

  “Cool. Sibs are here.” Colton waved at Brock and the others. “I’ll be right back with your drinks.”

  “You brought your coach? Am I in for a lecture?” She fidgeted with her necklaces nervously. The taller of the two girls wore a white crinkled cotton skirt and a black and green tie-dyed tank top with lace circling the bottom. The other girl had on a pair of cutoffs and a flowing pink and blue blouse that hung off of one tanned shoulder. Her long blond hair hung halfway down her back, and she wore a cute leather headband across her forehead. Like Sky, both women wore a number of bracelets.

  “No lectures. I promise. Tonight I brought my friend Roach. He left the coach side of himself at home. And those are Brock’s sisters, Harper and Jana.” He rose and shook Roach’s hand, embraced Brock with a brotherly slap on the back, and then hugged each of the girls before sitting back down beside Sky.

  Brock leaned down and hugged Sky. “Nice to see you again, Sky. These are my sisters, Harper and Jana.”

  Roach moved in for a hug next, barely giving Sky time to catch her breath. “Glad you’re here.”

  “Hi,” she said as Roach sat down beside Sawyer.

  Harper and Jana sat down across from Sky, and Brock slid into the booth beside them.

  “How’s our other brother?” Jana asked.

  “Doing great.” Sawyer leaned closer to Sky and said, “Harper’s a screenplay writer, and—”

  “And television writer now, too,” Harper interrupted, smiling at Sky. “I just got hired to work on a sitcom.”

  Jana bumped Harper with her shoulder. “Show-off. Hi, Sky. I’m Jana, not a screenplay writer.”

  “Hi,” Sky said, immediately liking the girls’ energy. Sawyer reached for her hand.

  “Jana’s a dancer,” Brock said, then added with a proud smile, “and a fighter. The girl packs a mean right hook.”

  Sky thought they were kidding. Jana was gra
ceful and lithe, not muscled or harsh-looking like Sky pictured female fighters. “Really?”

  Harper patted her sister on the back. “She really is. Strange, I know. But when you grow up with brothers like Brock and Colton…” She shrugged.

  “Do you fight, too?” Sky asked Harper.

  Jana laughed. “Her? No way. She wouldn’t hurt a bee if it stung her.”

  That made Sky a little more comfortable. At least she wasn’t the only girl who didn’t like fighting. “What kind of fighting do you do, Jana?”

  Jana gathered her hair over one shoulder and twirled a lock around her finger. “Brock’s been training me to box for the last two years. I haven’t won anything big yet, but I will.” Determination filled her eyes. “You should come by and watch sometime. Brock could show you a thing or two if Sawyer hasn’t already.”

  “Sky isn’t really into fighting.” Sawyer squeezed her hand.

  “Then she can watch,” Jana suggested. “It’s fun to watch, too.”

  “Thanks. I’ll think about it.” She still couldn’t imagine the pretty blonde fighting. “What about dance? What type do you do?”

  “Everything from ballet to tap and hip-hop. I perform with all the local theaters.”

  “I did a ton of theater with local groups in New York when I was in college.” Sky smiled at Sawyer. “We should go watch her dance sometime.”

  “I’ve been watching Jana dance since she was a kid. Sounds good to me.”

  They talked a little about Jana’s dancing and Harper’s script writing, which Brock teased her about, saying she was writing porn, because the sitcom she was writing was for cable and apparently very racy.

  “I don’t even want to hear Harper and porn in the same sentence, please,” Sawyer said with a grimace.

  Harper rolled her eyes.

  “Did you put our name up?” Brock asked Sawyer.

  “No. We just got here,” Sawyer answered.

  “Name up?” Sky asked as Brock headed up to the stage.

  “You’ll see,” Sawyer said.

  “Ooooh! We’re being secretive tonight. I like that,” Jana said. “How long have you two been dating?”