Wallbanger(72)

“Of course friends. What else would we be?” I swal owed hard and forced a smile. He smiled too, and we began to walk back up the trail.

Okay, that wasn’t too bad. Maybe this could work. He stopped to pick up a handful of sand from the beach and put it in a little plastic baggie.

“Bottles?”

“Bottles.” He nodded, and we started up the path.

“So it looks like our little plan worked,” I began, searching for conversation.

“With those guys? Oh yeah, I think it worked wel . They seem to have found what they needed.”

“That’s al anyone’s trying to do, right?” I laughed as we crossed the patio to the kitchen. Four heads disappeared from the window and began

to assume positions of nonchalance around the table. I chuckled.

“Always good when what you need and what you want are the same things,” Simon said, holding the door open for me.

“Boy, did you say a mouthful.” A pang of sadness hit me again, but I didn’t have to force the smile once I saw how happy my friends were.

“You want some breakfast? There are stil some cinnamon buns, I think,” Simon offered, walking over to the counter.

“Um, no. I think I’m gonna go pack, get my stuff together,” I said, noticing a flash of disappointment cross his face before he smiled bravely.

Okay, so this wasn’t great. Wel , that’s what happens when two friends kiss. Things are never the same. I nodded at my girls and headed for

my room.

Spurred by my insistence about getting back to the city, within two hours we were al packed and deciding who was going to ride with whom. I

didn’t want to ride alone with Simon, so I pul ed Mimi aside and instructed her to bring Ryan along with us. Now we were al outside arranging bags.

As Simon piled everything into the Range Rover, I shivered a little, realizing too late that I’d packed my fleece jacket into my bag, which was now

buried. As he turned back toward me, he noticed.

“You cold?”

“A little, but it’s fine. My bag’s at the bottom, and I don’t want you to have to rearrange everything,” I answered, stamping my foot to keep warm.

“Oh! That reminds me, I have something for you,” he exclaimed, rummaging in his bag, which was on top. He handed me a lumpy package,

wrapped in brown paper.

“What’s this?” I asked, as he blushed deeply. Simon does blush? I rarely saw that…

“You didn’t think I forgot this, did you?” he replied, his hair fal ing into his eyes a little as he smiled a boyish smile. “I was going to give it to you

last night, but then—”

“Hey, Parker! Could use a little help over here!” Neil cal ed as he struggled to load al of Sophia’s luggage. Yesterday, this would have been

Ryan’s job. Now it was Neil’s. Yesterday. How the world had changed in one day.

He backed away from me as Mimi and Ryan got themselves settled in the backseat.

I opened the package to find a very thick, very soft Irish sweater. I lifted it out of the paper, feeling the weight and the nubbly texture of the

weave. I pressed it against my nose, inhaling the scent of wool and unmistakable Simon that clung to it. I grinned into the sweater, then quickly

slipped it over my T-shirt, admiring the way it hung loose and low, yet stil wrapped me in a comforting way. I turned to see Simon watching me from

over at Neil’s truck. He smiled as I twirled for him.

“Thank you,” I mouthed.

“You’re welcome,” he mouthed back.

I gave my sweater a long, deep sniff, hoping no one noticed.





Chapter Fourteen


INSIDE A BLACK RANGE ROVER on the way back to San Francisco…

Caroline: Okay, I can do this…It’s only a few hours back into the city. I can be the bigger person here. I can act like he didn’t pul an al stop at the

thought of seeing my tatas last night—and what the hel ? What man says no to tatas? I mean, they’re nice tatas. They were pushed up nice and

tight, and they were wet, for Christ’s sake…Why didn’t he want my tatas? Caroline, just settle down…Just smile at him and act like everything is

fine. Wait, he’s looking over here. Smile! Okay, he smiled back…Stupid tata turner-downer…I mean, what’s up with that? And he was hard!

...

Simon: She’s smiling at me…I can smile back at her, right? I mean, we’re acting natural, right? Okay, done. I hope that looked more natural than it

felt. Jesus, who knew a giant sweater would look so good on a girl…But everything looks pretty good on Caroline—especial y that green bikini. Did

I real y turn her down last night? God, it would have been so easy to just…But then I couldn’t. Why couldn’t I??? Jesus, Simon. Wel , we were drunk…Correction, she was drunk. Would she have regretted it? She might have. Couldn’t risk it? Might have been a bit of a disaster…Or was it