ASH WAS WONDERFUL. Based on his recommendation alone, I got the first job I applied for.
Chill Bar and Grill might not have a mermaid on the wall for customers to wish on, but it was new, fancy, and had a panoramic view of the pier from its third-floor rooftop deck. Better yet, it paid a base rate ten dollars an hour higher than the Deck Bar.
The only issue?
I had to wear a uniform, a skimpy one.
Regardless, I was feeling pretty good and wanted to share the good news. And the first person I thought to call was Storm.
In the past, there would have been no hesitation. He would have been the first person I shared any news with, good or bad. I considered calling him even now. I wanted to.
Outside on the sidewalk, under the awning for Chill, I stood motionless, a rock in the middle of a stream. People moved past me in both directions, ones who knew where they were going and what they would do when they got there.
But not me. Not yet.
Fear undermining my certainty, I gnawed on my lip and glanced in the direction of Outside. Storm was probably at band practice. I decided not to bother him. It was too soon. We hadn’t been apart more than a few hours, but I felt every minute of those hours like they were as long as days.
Get a grip, Lotus. Storm isn’t all that.
But he was.
He so was.
He was everything I wanted in a man—kind, considerate, and strong. Maybe his motivation for not telling me his identity wasn’t important.
Should I just tell him what I knew? Was I gaining more time to convince him we were good together, or was I only tainting it by staying silent?
I was confused, and when confused, I needed my bestie. In this instance, my new bestie, not my old one. So I pulled out my cell and called Sophia.
“Hey,” her recorded voice said. “I can’t come to the phone right now. Leave a message.”
Shoot. It was the afternoon, which meant she was working. My days were usually flexible, but my nights were busy. Our schedules were opposite each other, and often, it was difficult to coordinate.
I left her a message. “I got fired from the Deck Bar last night, but I start a new job tonight at Chill.” Before being fired from the Deck Bar, I would have asked her to come by to visit me at work. “I need to see you, talk to you, heart to heart. Something happened with . . . Journey. Call me.”
After leaving my message, I noted the time and decided to risk calling Storm.
Again, I got a voice mail. And again, I left a message.
“I got a new job. I need to surf. I’m headed home to grab my board, then to the cliffs, the usual spot. If you and Cork get free, come join me.”
I went home to get my board and my bikini, the red one Storm seemed to like. Throwing a beach towel over my shoulder and carrying my board, I jogged down the stairs and hit the sidewalk. Along the way, my cell rang.
“Hey, it’s me,” Sophia said. “It’s slow, and I explained the situation, so Heidi let me leave early. I’m starving. Wanna grab a bite and talk?”
My stomach grumbled, reminding me I hadn’t eaten breakfast or lunch. “I’m hungry too, but I’m already on my way to surf.”
“The cliffs? Bottom of the stairs? Your favorite place?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you alone?” she asked.
“Yeah,” I said sadly. “I’m alone.”
“Not for long, you’re not. I’ll go by my place, make a few sandwiches, and snag some drinks and my gear. Meet you there,” she said brightly. “It’ll take me fifteen minutes, tops.”
She wasn’t kidding.
Sophia lived in a huge mansion on the cliffs. Her housekeeper, Esmerelda, would make the sandwiches. She was awesome. It was Sophia’s parents and her stepbrother who weren’t so nice.
“See you soon,” I said, and hung up.
I continued walking, my flip-flops snapping on concrete, then packed sandstone. Storm didn’t return my call. I strained my ears for the bloop of a text, or a ring, but neither came.
Was he that busy at the studio? Or was the band more important than me? Was he more like Saber than unlike? Or had I been the problem all along?
My brow was creased when I reached the entrance to the stairs, but on the way down, it smoothed. I lifted my chin into the welcome breeze and filled