Aggro - CoraLee June Page 0,126
inhibitions. Loving deeper. Kai was my soul, Chase my brother.
When we were done, I was drying off and shrugging to put on a T-shirt when Chase spoke up. “I’ve got something to show the two of you.”
“For the millionth time, I’m not interested in your sex tape,” Kai teased. Their relationship was built on snarky comebacks and playful banter, but there was a deep appreciation growing between the two of them. They even had started hanging out without me present. The bromance was fun to watch and made me teary-eyed when I thought about it too much.
“You couldn’t handle my sex tape, bro. I don’t want to hurt your fragile masculinity with a dick measuring contest,” Chase replied.
“I’ve seen your dick, remember? That wave took your shorts clear off, and you did the walk of shame to your Mercedes while cupping your junk.”
I cackled at the memory. “I happen to remember Breeze sneaking some peeks,” Chase protested.
“Only ’cause your tan line was so hilarious,” I replied. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen an ass that pale.”
We all hollered with laughter before piling into the Jeep. Chase told me where to go, pointing at familiar streets with a mischievous grin on his face. Once we pulled into the surf shop’s parking lot, my heart sank. It was hard to look at the boarded-up windows and Permanently Closed sign hanging in the window.
“Why are we here?” I asked in a soft tone. This was the one part of our happy little life that felt off. I missed the shop despite the bad memories associated with it. Kai reached over and grabbed my hand, knowing how difficult this was for me.
“I bought it,” Chase said proudly.
I snapped my head and turned in my seat to stare at him. “What?” I asked incredulously.
“Dad’s good at real estate. He was more than happy to let me follow in his footsteps. It’s a good investment. When we visited your dad, I got him to sign it over to me. And once we sit with the lawyers, the two of you will own it too. We can have a three-way partnership.” Chase waggled his eyebrows. “What do you think, Kai? We could eventually build a cafe attached to the north side overlooking the ocean. I bet you’d create a kick ass menu. It’ll get more foot traffic. And we both know I’ll need your help overhauling the interior design. I figured since you built your bus, you’d be good at that.”
I unbuckled my seat and hopped out of the Jeep and tackled Chase in an awkward hug as tears streamed down my cheeks. He was halfway out of the Jeep and laughing into my neck as I squeezed him. “Thank you,” I whispered.
“Now that you’re taking online college classes in business, you can run the shop while getting your degree,” Chase added excitedly. This was too good to be true.
We all went to the front door, and Chase pulled out a key to unlock it. Inside felt like a slap to the face. There were so many memories of my Dad in here that made my skin crawl. “We could put in new floors,” Kai murmured. I smiled at his attempt to help me see the fresh start.
“We could get a local artist to draw murals on the walls. My dad is also looking to get some famous surfers to come to our grand opening. We could have them sign boards over here.” Chase pointed to the corner of the shop with a boyish grin.
“No shit?” Kai asked, his excitement bleeding through the dusty shrine.
“I just...uh, have one request. You can totally say no. We’re partners in this, you know?”
I grabbed Chase’s hand. “Anything,” I replied.
“Can we change the name to Violet’s Surf Shop? I think she’d like that. But if it would hurt too much—”
“It’s a perfect name, bro. I vote yes,” Kai replied.
“I second that,” I added.
Chase wiped a stray tear and nodded. “Th-thank you,” he choked out before clapping his hands together. “Let’s get to work, yeah?”
Over the next few months, we poured our blood, sweat and tears into Violet’s. We completely gutted the store and changed every detail. We painted the inside a soft purple and hired a local artist to cover up the previous mural. Where there were once dolphins, now sat a beautiful mermaid with long dark hair and blue eyes. She was perched on a rock and surrounded by water and fish of every color and size.
On the day before