looked good in swim trunks, the sight of him in faded blue jeans and a black tight-fitting T-shirt took her breath away.
“Becki,” he returned softly, purposely keeping his distance. He knew if he touched her again he might not have the strength to leave. “Becki, it’s for the best. I have a job to do. I’m on a tight schedule and running behind.” Running two years behind, if you wanted to get technical.
Her tear drenched eyes suddenly dried, and shutters immediately dropped down over any expression remaining there. “I’m getting in the shower. Lock up when you leave,” she said evenly, “you never know who might just walk in.” With that, she brushed past him moving quickly toward her bedroom.
Doors opened and slammed; drawers slid open and then banged shut. “A tight schedule,” she mumbled furiously. “What an ass.”
She was mad now which was preferable to the tears he had seen earlier. Royce felt a smile tug at his lips as he listened to her slam things around and mutter curse words directed toward him. Her temper had bubbled over, and he sure wished he had time to take on that temper. The knowledge that she was getting naked in the next room made it difficult to even think about leaving. Had circumstances been different, had they met in a different time and place--. He heard the shower running and knew he had to go, now.
Royce saw the rental car pull up in front of the house-- a black SUV, how cliché. Sean had a twisted sense of humor; he knew Royce would rather have been riding in a red sports car. He was going to have a serious chat with that kid one of these days. Time to get moving, he had a lot of ground to make up. He locked the front door and pulled it shut behind him.
Becki replayed this morning’s events in her head becoming more frustrated and confused by the minute. “That’s what I get for waking up before noon,” she muttered. Natie should be calling soon. If she hurried there was enough time for a quick trip to the dive-shop. She had her eye on a pink snorkel and fin set, and God knew she needed a little retail therapy.
By the time Becki finished getting ready, the house was empty. Royce had gone, and she felt a great heaviness in her chest, a sadness she didn’t care to dwell on. He had made it very clear; he was busy and had things to do, and she didn’t fit into his schedule. “His loss,” she announced to herself flippantly. But if she were being honest, she was the one feeling a loss; feeling it all the way to the pit of her stomach.
#
“Heyyy Girl,” Vickie called as Becki strolled into Supreme Scuba. “What have you been up to?”
Vickie owned the local dive shop and had worked hard to “sex-up” the hobby. Her new line of female scuba fashion had taken off like gangbusters. She had all the newest gadgets with bling galore.
“You here for the pink set?” Vickie asked knowingly.
Becki had fallen in love with the new hot-pink snorkel and fin set as soon as she had spotted them.
“You know it,” Becki grinned. “I’ve gotta look good out there.”
“You always look good, and you know it,” Vicki scoffed. “Did you score some teeth for me yesterday?” she asked, her eyes shining in anticipation.
“No, but we did find a crate of some sort,” she said browsing through the sale rack of bikinis. “We couldn’t get the darn thing open, so I brought it home and put it on my deck last evening. Unfortunately, the brats decided to prank me last night and took it.”
“Awww, bummer; you might be the new rich girl and don’t even know it,” Vicki said, playing along. “Those crazy kids will probably call you later demanding a ransom of chocolate chip cookies.”
“I know, right? I’m sure it’s empty anyway or filled to the top with worthless crap. It wasn’t even a pretty crate, so I may just refuse their demands,” Becki joked as her cell phone rang.
“Hi, Natie, where are you guys? I’m at the dive shop. Go left at the next intersection, and it’s on the left. Ok, see you in a sec.”
“My sister and her boyfriend are in town,” she explained to Vicki. “We wanted to go back out in the boat today, but the water is starting to get a little rough. I think we’ll walk around The Battery