Shark Bait (The Grab Your Pole Series) (19 page)

“Okay, sounds good. Camie, Melissa’s right, you should get something in you. It’ll probably make you feel better. Here, at least take this,” Kate directed, handing me some aspirin and a glass of water.

Even that was hard to get down, but I managed. At least now I can appreciate Melissa’s reluctance to drink outside of a celebratory toast from time to time. You know though, I honestly thought that when something happened to me that I didn’t really want other people to know about, I’d have a decently justifiable reason for why it happened. But no. No such reason exists aside from being just plain stupid and that’s not even a reason. That’s just stupidity…

10.

Water Is Life Indeed

“Hey, I’m sorry if all that stuff Brandon said about the shark weirded you out,” Derek said as we spread our towels and blankets out on the sand. He sounds concerned, but I kinda don’t want to talk about it today.

“Whatever. Now I know what I’ve gotten myself into, right?” Wow, that sounded really bitchy.

“True. Um, I don’t wanna get all in your business or anything but, he hasn’t tried to get you to do anything you don’t wanna do, has he?”
Ugh.

“Nope.”

“Okay, good. You know Samantha wasn’t at all pressured, but still…I kinda got worried about that. So if he does, I’ll kick the shit outta him for you, but only if you want. ” And again I say,
ugh.

“Thanks for the offer, D, but I’m sure that won’t be necessary.” Derek is really pretty built but Tristan is way more cut. I also think he might outweigh Derek, too, which leads me to think my cousin would have his hands pretty full defending my honor. Not that it needs defending. Even something like a freaking toy slingshot would prove to be overkill at this point.
Ugh, ugh, ugh
.

“No really, it might be fun just to see...” He mused aloud with a chuckle.

“
Humph.”
What is it with guys beating their chests to see who deserves to be the Alpha?

“What’s wrong with you? It seems like something’s buggin’ you. That’s kinda why I asked if he’d done anything…”

I’m still feeling really lousy. Even though we’re having a warm spell today and the sun feels good, I’m tired, my head is killing me, and my stomach is still protesting the violation of its rights. And the only reason I feel this way is because I was stupid, and even without the physical repercussions I
hate
being stupid! “Well he hasn’t. He’s been a perfect (well maybe not perfect) gentleman, and I’m sorry for my slightly bitchy state of being today.”

“What’s goin’ on?”

I sighed. I don’t think he’s gonna let this go…I might as well just tell him and get it over with. “Don’t tell anyone, but I have
the
worst hangover…” I replied, feeling sheepish. I’m really disappointed in myself, too, you know? Maybe Adam Ant didn’t write that song “Goody Two Shoes” about me after all.

“Ooh. That sucks. Did you take anything? I have Excedrin if you want it,” Derek offered sympathetically. Clearly that song wasn’t written about him either.

“No thanks. I’ve been popping Tylenol like Pez since I woke up. I think I’m just gonna lay here and close my eyes…maybe take a nap,” I told him as I stretched out on my abused tummy.

“Okay, I’ll try to keep the kidlets out of your hair then.” He then turned around to face all the other kids swarming around us and asked, “So who’s up for some Frisbee?”

All told, Derek has three younger siblings of his own, and counting Jill and two of our other cousins; he’s got six kids under the age of fifteen to keep track of today. I wish him luck.

I lay on my towel feeling the warm sand below and with the sun ministering to me from above; I found that being here at the beach seemed to help make me feel better. The sound of waves crashing against the shore then the water rushing back, along with the cries of sea gulls was soothing. I listened to it all, allowing the ocean’s lullaby to infuse me with peace and after a time, I drifted off. I must’ve been more asleep than I realized, though, because I woke with quite a start when I felt several drops of water hit my back and a foot gently nudge my rear-end.

“Go. Away,” I growled and made a shooing gesture with my hands. How dare they? Really, the nerve of some people…can’t these kids see that I’m trying to nap? Not to mention that the water is cold, and now I probably have sand on my butt as well.

“Has anyone ever told you that your manners are kinda shitty?”

My eyes popped open and even though he was on the other side of me and I couldn’t see him, I
knew
that voice. He’d asked the question with amusement too, so I didn’t have a problem picturing the lop-sided grin he was most likely wearing as well.

“They are not. I’ll have you know that my manners have been widely acclaimed by many. What do you expect when you not only drip water on someone’s bare back, but wake them up too?” I grumbled in reply while holding my position.

I didn’t turn my head to look at him and I’m still too out of it to pretend like I’m in perfect health, so, Tristan gets to see the real me today. Unfortunately for me, that could go either way with Mr. Moody here. I could end up coming off really snotty and he could be offended, or he could actually like me for who I am. Let’s hope for the latter.

He chuckled and I heard something hit the sand. “Who are you here with?”

I pointed towards the water where my family was frolicking about. “My family. Well, my sister and cousins.”

I turned my head to look at him then and saw he was wearing a wet suit and sitting on the sand next to a surfboard. Beads of salt water were dripping from his hair and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look as happy…no, that’s not right; maybe the word is euphoric…as he did in that moment. Water is life indeed.

“Your family? You’re
related
to Derek Bailey?” He asked with some surprise.

“Yep. He’s my cousin,” I admitted. I’m not in the mood for games, and besides, I’d have lied if I said no. I don’t want to lie to him. Mislead from time to time in the interest of keeping him chasing me, maybe, but not outright lie.

He started laughing and then looked at me for a moment before saying, “Zack’s been telling everyone that Derek was…or,
is
your boyfriend.”

“That figures.”

“Why?” He asked, making it obvious he’d held a fair amount of his own misapprehension on the topic.

Then I realized what that meant. I had been a topic of conversation, one that he’d been a part of. Not that I didn’t know before now, but hearing it confirmed in words that came straight from his mouth is different somehow. I sighed and smiled to myself in what felt like long awaited satisfaction...and relief.

“Because Kate told him I’d broken up with my boyfriend recently and then I showed up at the football game holding hands with Derek. It wasn’t that far of a leap if someone didn’t know the relation. Don’t get me wrong, I really love my cousin, but I don’t
love
my cousin…I’m pretty sure God frowns on that sort of thing too. And just so we’re clear about
my
thoughts on the subject, EW,” I explained and closed my eyes again.

He chuckled. “I think you’re right, God probably takes issue with that sort of thing.” Once again, we shared a quiet moment that wasn’t awkward; rather it was familiar and, easy. Then, Tristan broke the affable silence by saying, “So, I’m guessing you’ve got a killer hangover.”

I wish he wasn’t so accurate about that. I opened my eyes to look at him again and even though I’m pretty sure he’s laughing at me, I have to be honest…he’s got the most ridiculously gorgeous grin on his face and if I felt better, I’d be hard pressed to not tackle him on the spot. I’m already wondering if his wet suit is as hard to get off as my wet jeans were. Oh my God...seriously,
what
is wrong with me?

“You would be correct.” Like I said, no lies today. Besides, he was there last night so I’m sure he knows just how much I drank.

“Did you puke?”

“Boy howdy, did I... Oh God…that poor dog,” I gasped, suddenly remembering the whole grotesque scene.

“
What?
” The surprise and confusion about how a dog would have anything to do with me tossing my cookies was entirely understandable.

“I threw up on Pete’s neighbor’s dog. I didn’t mean to and I didn’t even see him down there until it was over… I wonder if I should go back and leave a sorry note and cash for a good grooming though.” Wow, I’m not holding anything back, am I? I guess my motto for today is “what you see is what you get.”

Tristan started cracking up and I have to say, his laughter was a better balm than the hypnotic sounds of the ocean. “Oh that’s awesome! Pete hates that dog, it’s always barking in the middle of the night.”

“Well then, I’m glad to have been of service. However, my days of vomiting on yappy dogs are over…I’m never drinking again.”

“It was the combination of beer, champagne, and the hot tub,” he told me, still chuckling.

“What was?” I asked and rolled over to get some sun on the flip side. Thank God my sunglasses are pretty dark or this would be excruciating for my eyes.

“Why you got so sick. First off, sitting in a Jacuzzi will dehydrate you pretty quickly if you don’t replenish what you sweat out and alcohol makes dehydration worse, but there’s also the rule…haven’t you ever heard the rhyme or been told not mix certain kinds of alcohol?” He asked as he ran his eyes over me. How do I know he’s doing that? Well duh, I’m watching him through my lashes…

“No, I must’ve missed that part of the lecture in my teenage alcoholism dos and don’ts 101 class,” I replied flippantly.

“I kinda aced that class…you want me to help you feel better?”

What kind of question is that? Like I’m gonna say; “No, I want you to leave me alone.” I just have no idea what he could do aside from sitting vigil next to my death towel to make me feel better.

“Are you gonna kill me and put me out of my misery? I’d love nothing more than if you did…” After all, I already feel like I’m dying so his work is partially finished.

“Well, that’s no fun, so no,” he said with a smile and stood up.

“Really, I’d be forever grateful.” I closed my eyes again.

“You have no sense of adventure...”

“Uh, I beg to differ...if you want proof, though, you can go see for yourself. I believe you’ll find remnants of my sense of adventure on the side yard of Pete’s neighbor’s house.”

“Yeah, I think I’ll just take your word for it.” He chuckled again and then grabbing my hand to haul me up he said, “Come on...ups a daisy.”

“
Ugh
. I don’t
wanna
go in the water,” I whined, dragging my feet through the sand as he pulled me towards the ocean. “Can’t you just let me die on the beach like a whale?”

“Nope. Trust me, Camie, you’ll feel better,” Tristan told me as we reached the water’s edge.

“
Oh, hell no!
” I shrieked emphatically, having felt the frigid water with just the tips of my toes. Then I turned to go back to dry land.

“Oh, you’re goin’ in!” He said firmly, grabbing both my hands to prevent my flight.

We struggled for an all too brief moment, playing a kind of tug of war, which Tristan won hands down. I yelped when he picked me up and threw me over his shoulder. Then he carried me, kicking and screaming, out into the surf.

Now, you have to understand something here; I’d be more than thrilled to be thrown over this guy’s shoulder any day, hung-over or not—Hey, that was a kind of pun, wasn’t it? Ha!—but have you ever felt the Pacific Ocean in October? I don’t care how warm it’s been, that water feels like the freaking polar icecaps have melted into it! Although I guess since I didn’t have a choice about it anymore, I should just be grateful that my bikini stayed in place when he tossed me into the waves.

I came up spluttering and hollered, “And you said
my
manners are shi—”

I couldn’t finish yelling at him, though, because a tower of salt water crashed down on me from behind. I lost my footing with the unexpected force, the wave catching me up and sweeping me forward. Right as I was about to go past him, a jubilantly laughing Tristan grabbed me around the waist and pulled me to him with my back against his chest. He held me there for a charged moment filled with anticipation until another surge came, then we fell backwards together into the swell. His eyes were dancing as the backwash of the wave began carrying us towards the shore. Then he pulled me up with a big beautiful grin on his face and led me back out to repeat the process.

A quick word of advice: Regardless of the temperature, if you ever have the good fortune of being given the opportunity to play in the ocean with an incredibly gorgeous guy...do it.

“See? You get used to the temperature,” he said as we stood waiting for another breaker to roll in.

“Easy for you to say, you big cheater…you’re wearing a wet suit,” I retorted and held my breath just as the sea pushed me over.

He was laughing again when he wiped the water from his face and shook his hair out at the same time, sprinkling my face with delicious drops of Tristan-ized saltwater as he did.

“True. I’d take it off just to be fair, but I’d get arrested for indecent exposure.”

OH.

Well
that
was entirely unexpected. I wasn’t sure how to respond to that remark and I hope he didn’t see the light bulb moment I had right before I was rescued from commenting by another wave. The current of this one, however, rushed me on a collision course to slam bodily into him. Tristan caught and steadied me in his arms and let me just tell you; I’m not the
slightest
bit cold anymore. Quite the opposite in fact as the impact created so much energy and electricity between us; I swear Ben Franklin would’ve been jealous about how easy we made it look. And I thought he might’ve been about to kiss me, but unfortunately, the ocean had other plans and we were separated by another whitecap.

Tristan and I played in the water for a little while longer, sadly, without experiencing any more close encounters. Then I noticed my family on the beach beginning to pack things up. Crap. The whole afternoon has been like a page out of a fairytale for me and I really don’t want to read those last two words: The End.