Tear Stained Beaches (2 page)

I got to the register just in time to see a gorgeous brown haired guy in a dark-blue button-
up shirt walking in. His muscular arms and broad shoulders filled every inch of the sleeves. I looked up into grayish-blue eyes.

I stumbled my words as I prepared to take his order. “Good morning, how can I have you, I mean help you today?”

“Can I get a large coffee with extra crème and a shot of espresso?” He smiled. 

Once the order was entered into the register I found myself lost in his eyes. I’m sure most guys would have been slightly freaked out at how intently I was staring, but if he was, he didn’t show it.

“It’s $3.75 right?” He asked, gently placing his black briefcase on the counter to gather the change.

“Yea, right down to the penny. I guess you come here often?” I asked

“Every Monday around this time.” His deep voice sent shivers through my body.

I nodded my head then turned away from him. “Hey Jessica, can you get me…”

I didn’t even have to finish as Jessica hurriedly made her way over to the counter, drink in hand. She almost knocked me over as she reached out to him. Apparently, those same boyish good looks had distracted her just as much as they had me.

“Here you go Chase,” she said.

That was when I first learned his name. Just as she set the drink on the counter, that’s when it happened. I made a permanent mark on this fine-looking stranger.

“Exact change as always,” He said reaching his hand towards me.

As I reached out to grab it, my hand grazed his, and the calmness I had tried to exert since he’d walked through the door unraveled. I jerked my hand back. The change dropped to the counter and as I scrambled to pick it up, I knocked the freshly brewed cup of coffee to its side.

“Whoa watch out,” Jessica yelled as she pulled me back.

              Chase pulled his briefcase off the counter and Jessica frantically looked around for some towels. I, on the other hand, did nothing, just stood there with my jaw dropped open staring at the coffee that was dripping to the floor.

“Here, take some of these,” Jessica said as she thrust a roll of paper towels into my chest. 

My bad luck continued as I missed Jessica’s handoff and ended up dropping the paper towels onto the floor as well. I reached down to pick them up, and on the way banged the back of my head on the counter.

“Ow!” I screamed and grabbed the back of head.

“Oh dear gosh girl, what is going on with you.” After Jessica made sure everyone had noticed the catastrophe, both her and Chase burst out laughing. I was horrified, but thankful at the same time that he didn’t seem upset.

“Thanks guys, real nice. My new concussion and I will be over here preparing another cup of coffee while you two bask in my humiliation.”

“Oh come on, you have to admit it was funny,” Jessica yelled after me.

“Real funny,” I said as I waived my hand at her.

It took only a moment to remake the order, and this time I made sure to step away as I carefully placed it on the counter.

“Will you be here every Monday?” Chase jokingly asked.

“Unfortunately for you, I will be.”

“Don’t worry, we all have bad days.  And look,” he said holding up his briefcase, “clean as a whistle.”

“Glad to hear it.”

              “Well, I’ve got to get out of here. Thanks for an eventful morning.” He winked at me.

“Good to see you again Jessica.”

As the door closed behind him, Jessica turned and looked at me. Inquiring with those eyes of hers just what in the world had happened.

“Wow, I really just did that didn’t I?” I asked, breaking the silence.

“Ha, yes you did. And in front of Chase of all people.”

I shrugged my shoulders. Until that incredibly embarrassing moment, I had never seen him before. And with eyes that blue and a body like that, I surely would have remembered him.

“What? You don’t know Chase Julian? Everybody knows Chase Julian. He was captain of the soccer team. He’s a first year law student.” She paused, waiting for a light bulb to go off in my head. When it didn’t, she continued, “He dated Morgan Harris all of last year.”

Although I had known Morgan Harris, her dating life it seems, I was completely unaware of. Morgan was a popular volleyball player around campus and model material. She stood at 5’8”, with long, curly, blond hair and legs every girl would give their life for. The surprising part was, she really was a nice person. Not the typical mean girl you’d picture. She did a lot of community charity events, helped fundraise for local school sports teams, and said hi with a smile to everyone she walked by. She was in my biology class sophomore year, and we did a couple of projects together.

“Never heard of him,” I said, as Jessica went on to tell me how she had heard Chase was officially ‘back’ on the market. It was rumored that Morgan was offered a job in New York City this past summer, and they both decided the long distance just wasn’t going to work.

“I wouldn’t mind mending his broken heart. Even if it’s just for one night,” Jessica laughed.

“Jessica!” 

“Alright, I’ll let you have first crack at him.”

I shot her a look and shook my head. I told her she was free to do whatever her heart desired, with him. I was so not interested. At least that’s what I kept telling myself. There was something about him I couldn’t get out of my mind. Something Jessica definitely picked up on.

“Right, so the way your jaw dropped when he walked through the door was what?” She asked.

“It did not,” I blushed. “Anyway, I’m nothing like Morgan Harris. I’m sure we have nothing in common.” Yet, little did I know what the future held for the boy in the dark-
blue button-
up shirt and I.

I find it funny that you could pass the same person on the street, in a store, or even in your neighborhood many times before actually meeting, thinking you’ve never seen them before, but when you are finally introduced, they seem to pop up everywhere. I saw Chase in the coffee shop bright and early every Monday (his visits were something I pretended I didn’t look forward to), but when it came to seeing him anywhere else, even around campus, I had never seen him; at least not until I made a total fool of myself, again.

I was cutting it close to the start of my marketing research midterm. Trying to do my hair as I raced down the sidewalk, I looked down for a quick second to tie my ponytail and wham! Papers flew everywhere.

“I’m so sorry,” I said hurryingly gathering the scattered mess into a partially organized pile.

With my focus on picking up the papers, I hadn’t paid attention to who it was I had run into. My hands froze at the sound of Chase’s voice: “It’s fine really, don’t worry about it.”

I stood, and there he was.

“Ah, you again. You certainly have a way of getting a guy’s attention don’t you?” He said as I handed him a not-so-neatly-stacked pile of papers.

My palms began to sweat and my legs were shaking. “I think you just happen to catch me at the worst times.” I laughed out loud, hoping it masked my utter humiliation, and my obvious infatuation. “I’m about to be late for my final exam of the semester.”

              “Well, then you better keep running, we wouldn’t want you to miss that midterm now, would we.”

              “Thanks. Chase right?” He nodded. “Sorry again.” I said, walking as fast as I could as I made my way to the business building of the campus. Before I had gone too far, I heard him shout out.

“Hey, coffee girl.” I turned around. “You know my name, but I don’t know yours.”

So, for the first time since our original meeting at the coffee shop, I officially introduced myself. “It’s Haylie. Haylie Manning.”

“Well, you have a good day Haylie Manning.” He said as he waved from a distance.

“You too,” I shouted after him. My heart was about to pound out of my chest. He was just as cute in those jeans and polo shirt as he was in business attire. Maybe even better looking. Anyway you put it, I guess Jessica was right. He was gorgeous. I stood there, frozen for a minute until reality kicked in. I was so going to be late for my marketing midterm.

Chapter 3

We had come a long way from that day at the college campus. We fell in love, married and now called Charlotte, NC home. Sure it hadn’t been totally perfect, but nothing in life ever was. The move to Charlotte was a fast one and came as quite a surprise. It had caught me off guard the day Chase brought the idea home. It has been a long day of work for me, and I was just finishing preparing dinner when the door to our apartment flew open. He pranced in excitedly and I could tell he was eager to tell me something.

“Well look at you” I smiled. “Someone obviously had a good day.”

“I did as a matter of fact. I went out to lunch with Jack, and he made me an interesting proposition.”

Jack was one of the partners in the law firm Chase worked for in Copper Grove. He had seen great potential in Chase from the start. When Chase’s internship was coming to an end, Jack didn’t hesitate to offer him an associate position within the firm. Since then, Jack had taken Chase under his wing, preparing him for bigger and better things.

“I’m intrigued,” I said. “Go on.”

“Jack has a good friend working at a big law firm up in New York. He said they just opened an office out in the Charlotte area and they’re looking for some up-and-comers to train within the firm to eventually become partners down the line. I guess a few weeks ago Jack had thrown my name into the mix, and they want to make me an offer.” His smile was stretched from ear to ear.

“In Charlotte? That’s quite the drive for a daily commute.”

He laughed. “I think it could be a great opportunity for us-a new start in a new place for us to grow into. It would be a great adventure to share.”

“You want to move to Charlotte?” I wasn’t very fond of the idea at first. “What about me? I can’t just leave my job.”

“Honey, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Do you know how hard it is to become partner in a law firm? I can’t pass this up. I need you with me on this.”

“And I am with you on this. You know I support you in everything you do, but I thought we were happy here. I like my job, our apartment and our friends.”

I threw out every reason why we shouldn’t move to Charlotte. Starting over was scary, and I was perfectly comfortable with the life we were living. I had just been promoted to Assistant Director of Marketing within the personal products company I worked for. A pretty good step up for someone just two years out of college, and I enjoyed the job. Chase and I had a routine that worked. Our life was very predictable.

It was that very word that made me finally understand Chase’s thoughts.
Predictable
. In other words, boring. I thought back to our routine. Sure it worked for us, and yes we were happy, but excitement was not a word I would’ve used to describe our lives. I think Chase really wanted the excitement, the adventure that Charlotte was offering. I went over and over it in my mind after that conversation. Trying to figure out if it was the best thing for me, for Chase, and most of all, for us. It wasn’t an easy to decision to make, but when it came down to it, I knew what decision was best. Life in Copper Grove would eventually hit a glass ceiling for Chase. One I knew we both would regret in the long run, and I didn’t want it to dig up any resentment when it did. It was time to think not only about myself, but my family. The one I had and the one I’d hoped someday to grow. With that, Chase and I packed up our memories in eastern North Carolina and headed west.

Chapter 4

Our first few months in Charlotte were a little rocky, as it took me a while to settle in
to our new life. It was frustrating not being able to find a job. I took my frustration out on Chase. I wanted to be the supporting wife I promised I would be, but I felt like I was losing a little bit of who I was. I had worked my way up in Copper Grove, and it was hard to leave knowing I’d come to Charlotte with nothing lined up. As the understanding and mellow guy that Chase was, he always looked the other way at my grumpiness and assured me that in time I would find my place in this city as well. Moping around feeling sorry for myself wasn’t getting me anywhere, so after a ton of searching and unsuccessful job interviews, I finally landed a part-time job as a Special Events Manager at a local country club. It wasn’t the big corner office sort of job I had hoped for, but I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Coordinating weddings, business meetings, private family parties and charity events made up my job responsibilities.

After awhile, once I settled back in to a normal work routine, I became much more pleasant to be around, and Chase and I were back to the happily-married couple we had moved there as.

We had lived in an apartment for most of our first year, before we came across our current home in a quiet little cul-de-sac in the small town of Oak Creek. It was an upscale neighborhood, and everyone was very friendly. Being just thirty minutes outside the Charlotte city center, it was a convenient commute for Chase and easy access to enjoy city life when we so desired.

Once we closed on our new home, Chase and I immediately got busy making it our own. We spent most weekends painting, decorating and furniture shopping. I couldn’t believe how involved he wanted to be with it all. We’d come home with loads of paint swatches, a different color palette every weekend, and Chase would tape them up on the walls of every room trying to figure out which color would be best. Once we finally decided, we spent many nights after work dressed in old clothes, paint-brushes and rollers in hand making it all come alive.

It took awhile, but after the painting was done and furniture in the right place, we started to feel at home. We’d watch movies every Friday night, and enjoyed sipping wine via candle light while taking a bubble bath in our new Jacuzzi tub. We couldn’t have asked for anything more.

Two years after we moved to Charlotte, Chase’s career began to thrive. Summer was just around the corner and he’d been working hard to prove his worth within the firm. He was really making a name for himself. I could tell, though, that it was taking its toll. At first, he brought home his extensive paperwork. He’d spend hours in the office sorting through documents and preparing for each case. I put on my understanding and sympathetic wife hat, and before I headed up to bed I’d bring him a coffee to help him get through it.