It was the Fourth of July.
Southport was the next town over and highway 211 was closed down every year for the Fourth of July Festival. Since 1972 over 40,000 tourists and residents gathered around to enjoy the day’s festivities. It was usually my favorite day of the year.
Not this year.
This year, my boys were leaving the very next day.
“Alex, honey, what are you doing here? Why aren’t you at the festival?” Mom asked as I cleaned my last table.
“I’m working,” I simply stated.
“Alex, you don’t need to be working. You’re missing the fun, you’re missing your boys. They leave tomorrow.”
“Don’t remind me.”
“Oh, honey,” she sighed as she grabbed my arm, making me sit with her.
“That’s what this is about?”
I shrugged because I didn’t know what to say.
“They’re going to come back for every holiday and I bet some random weekends, too. You will visit when you can. I promise.”
“Right.”
“Oh, Alex, at times I wish we would have been more careful with you and those boys.”
That grabbed my attention, making me look up at her. “What?”
“You’re so attached to them. Sometimes I worry if that’s healthy for you.”
“I’m fine. I’m just sad, is all. They leave tomorrow and I don’t want to ruin their last day here.”
“Now you know that’s not true. Do you have any idea how many times Lucas has called the restaurant begging me to let you off work? Why did you tell them that we’re making you work? That couldn’t be further from the truth.”
“It was easier that way. If I didn’t, they would be sitting here instead of enjoying their last day on the island.”
“Easier for who?”
I bowed my head.
“I don’t have to tell you, but you know that you’re so young. You all are. Honey, your lives are going to go in separate directions eventually, but that doesn’t mean that you won’t be in each other’s lives at all.”
“How do you know that?”
“It comes with age.”
“It doesn’t feel that way to me.”
“Just trust me, Alex, for once, I promise. Your heart is here, which is true for all of you. Sometimes it takes leaving to know where you come from. To know where you belong.” She wrapped her arm around my shoulder and tugged me closer. “I love you, but if you don’t get the hell out of here right now. I’m going to fire you.”
I laughed.
“Now go!” She pushed me off the bench, smiled and left.
I went to the bathroom to change into a bikini under my dress. I let down my hair and put on some mascara, blush, and lip-gloss. After a few minutes I felt better about my appearance and walked out into the restaurant.
Cole sat on the exact bench that my mom and I were just on. I hadn’t been spending much time with him since he arrived on the island. I gave Lucas and the boys my undivided attention. Cole never complained about it, he knew they were leaving. We still talked on the phone and texted all the time. He was there for me as he had always been. The past summer’s incident was long forgotten.
Boys will be boys.
“What are you doing here?”
He grinned, his dimples prominently on full display. “Is that anyway to say hello, Darlin’?”
“Hello. What are you doing here?” I sassed and he chuckled, standing in front of me.
“I’m waiting for you.”
I cocked my head to the side.
“I hear there’s this beach party in Southport after the festival and seeing as the festival is over and it’s almost sunset, I’m assuming the party is just now getting good.”
I shook my head, confused. “I’m not much for those types of parties, Cole.”
“I’m aware of that, but I’m here now. Don’t you want me to have the full Fourth of July experience?”
“The festival is the experience.”
“You’re the experience. Fuck the festival.”
I smiled, blushing. The boy had a way with words that still made me blush like it was the first time I had spoken to him.
I nodded. “Fine.”
“Great. My car’s out front.”
We rode in silence while I tried to ignore the uneasy feeling knowing what awaited us.
Lucas.
“What are you doing here?” I asked Alex with pretty boy standing beside her. “I thought you were working?”
She looked from me to him even though my eyes were solely focused on her.
“Oh, I was but my mom said to go hang out. It was slow so she said to leave early.”
I knew that was a bunch of bullshit. It was the Fourth of July, their busiest day of the year.
“Why didn’t you call me? I would have come back to drive you.”
“Oh… well… Cole was already there and he wanted to check this out, so I came with him. I mean… I knew you’d be here so…” she said, nervous and uneasy.
“Is that right?” I nodded, taking my stare from her to him. “Thanks, Cole,” I said with a wide fake smile. The last thing I wanted to do was spend my last night in Oak Island with this fucking douchebag. “I really appreciate you bringing Half-Pint, but I’m here now so you can go.”
“I’m staying,” he affirmed.
“Of course you are.” I grabbed Alex’s hand and turned with him following close behind us.
She tottered close to my ear and whispered, “Be nice, Bo.”
I spent the next few hours with her close to my side and with him at hers. I wanted more than anything to be alone with her. As soon as her shift was over she would have walked out into the parking lot with me in my truck waiting for her. I hated that Cole got to her first and my plan went to shit.
I took a swig of my drink and Alex took it from my hand.
“What are you doing?”
She innocently shrugged. “I want to try.”
“Half-Pint—”
“Lucas,” Cole chimed in. “Let her fucking try the drink. She’s not a kid.”
I raised my eyebrow at him not backing down. “No shit. Except I’d rather make her a new one, she doesn’t drink and mine is really strong.”
Alex coughed and wiped her mouth, proving my point.
“I’ll make her another one,” he argued.
“Hey!” Alex shouted. “I’ll make myself one,” she announced before walking away from both of us with my drink still in her hand.
“She’s not a little girl, Lucas. The problem is you still see her as one. Maybe it’s time you realize that.”
Motherfucker.
I turned to face him, mere inches away from his face. “Who’s going to make me realize that, Cole? You?”
“Just sayin’, brother.”
“I’m not your brother. I’m not your friend. I don’t fucking like you! The problem is you need to mind your own goddamn business. It has nothing to do with that. I know Alex like the back of my hand. She doesn’t drink. I’m just watching out for her. I’m fully aware that she’s not a little girl,” I scoffed, glaring him up and down. “And when her body was lying beneath mine, my cock was fully aware of that too.”
He jerked back, stunned.
I smiled, angling my head to the side with a smug grin. “I guess Alexandra doesn’t tell you everything? Aren’t as close as you thought, huh, brother?”
“Lucas!” Jacob shouted from afar before he could reply.
“Come over here, you fuck and play beer pong! I’m losing because Dylan can’t play worth shit!”
I took one last look at Cole who hadn’t regained his composure, and I couldn’t tell if he was pissed or disappointed, I imagined it was both. I made my way to the boys and we played a few rounds of beer pong just shooting the shit with everyone and trying to enjoy our last night there. My attention was never too far from Alex. I didn’t even see it coming, it happened so fast. I looked around and she was gone.
My phone pinged with a text message, as Aubrey’s face lit up my screen. I swiped over the icon.
Aubrey: Need you now! We’re by the pier.
I took off like a bat out of hell, not bothering to say anything to anyone or explain. As I’m running, a million thoughts raced through my mind and the minute I saw Alex bent over with Cole holding back her hair, each one of them were confirmed. He looked up when he heard my rapid footsteps in the sand and stepped away from her like he knew.
“Listen, man, it’s not what you—”
My fist had collided with his face before he got the last word out. His head whooshed back, taking half of his body with him. He stumbled, shaking it off.
“This is how it’s going to be?” Cole asked, spitting blood onto the sand.
“Hell yeah! It’s go time, motherfucker. I’ve been waiting for it.”
I charged him, ramming my body into his torso, taking him to the sand. He was prepared for it and instantly fought back. We wrestled around in the sand for a few minutes, each of us trying to get the upper hand on the other.
“You fucking son of a bitch!” I hit him. “You let her get drunk!” I hit him again. “For what, Cole? To take advantage of her?” I hit him twice.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” he yelled, blocking another blow.
“Lucas, stop!” Aubrey shouted, trying to pull me away. “This isn’t helping anything! Alex needs you!”
Every angry bone in my body stopped in an instant. We both breathed heavily, sweat pouring from our overheated bodies. I jumped back, removing myself from his body with one last shove, spitting blood to the ground by my feet. The crazed look in my eyes warned him to stop. That’s when I saw Alex. She was doubled over, dry heaving into the sand, one hand covering her stomach. Cole was no longer in my sights. I didn’t give a shit about him anymore. I wiped blood from my bottom lip and went to her. I went to Alex.
“Jesus, Half-Pint, what did you drink? I just saw you.”
“Whatever the fuck was in the punch. It hit her out of nowhere,” Aubrey answered.
I glared up at Cole while rubbing Alex’s back. “I fucking told you she doesn’t drink. Why the fuck would you let her drink this much?”
“She told me she was fine.”
I wanted to continue to yell at him and threaten him, but all it would do was reaffirm that he didn’t know her. By the look on his face he finally fucking realized it.
“What time is it?” I asked Aubrey.
She looked at her phone. “Almost eleven.”
“Shit, she can’t go home like this.”
“I… don’t… feels… so… goods… Bo...” Alex mumbled, leaning her tiny frame against my chest and hiding her face in the nook of my neck. “You… smells… good…”
I chuckled. I couldn’t help it, even being drunk as shit and smelling like vomit, she was still adorable to me.
“Don’t worry about it. She called her parents a while ago saying that she was crashing at my house.”
I sighed in relief and kissed the top of her head.
“I’ll take care of her,” Cole claimed.
“The fuck you will,” I roared, standing up with Alex passed out in my arms. I faced Aubrey. “Thank you.”
She nodded. “Don’t mention it. Just get out of here before the boys see you and her.”
“Will you at least text me and let me know she’s all right,” Cole hollered from behind me as I walked away.
“She’s all right. Consider this your text message, motherfucker!”
I gently placed Alex in my truck and buckled her seatbelt. “Baby, what did you do?” I murmured, sweeping all her hair away from her face, making sure it didn’t have throw up in it. It was just on her clothes and I needed to get her out of them. I got in my truck and looked at my face in the visor mirror. Not much damage, my lip was a little swollen but not enough to where Alex would notice. I took a deep breath and drove her to the only place that ever felt like home to me.
Our abandoned house.
“Mmm,” I groaned when I felt something hard beneath me. I opened my eyes to Lucas sitting above me.
“Shit. I didn’t mean to wake you.”
I laughed even though I was disoriented as all hell. “I’m thirsty.”
He handed me a bottle of water. Surprisingly it was cold. I drank half of it down in a few gulps while trying to look behind him. Everything just appeared fuzzy to me. “Where are we?” I asked, squinting my eyes.
“Our place,” he simply stated, grabbing the water and taking a few sips for himself. “How do you feel?”
“Funny,” I beamed.
“You’re drunk.”
I frowned and pouted. “Nah uh.” If I were standing, I probably would have fallen over. I decided to lie down because the ground was on the move. “What’s that smells?”
“You,” he laughed, placing a shirt by me.
“I need helps. Will you please help me’s?”
He nodded, easing me up. I immediately placed my hands on his chest. “Whoa, tell the floor to stop moving.”
He laughed again. It vibrated his entire body. He felt so good that I wrapped my arms around his torso. “You smells good and feels nice. I’m going to stay right here… mmm… kay…”
“I need to change you before you can lay down again.”
“In your arms?”
“Of course.”
I smiled into his shirt. “Mmm kay.” I hugged him tight one last time and stepped away, swaying. I closed my eyes and put my hands up above my head, and he swiftly pulled off my dress.
When I heard him hiss I opened my eyes to find him staring at me with lust and desire. I was drunk, but I could see it clear as day. I don’t know what came over me. We were in our place, our home, our safe haven.
Away from everything and everyone.
Away from the lies and the truths.
Away from expectations and insecurities.
Away from it all…
It sobered me up enough to know what I wanted.
Him.
I stepped toward him and he stepped back, shaking his head like he knew. “Don’t,” he warned, in a tone I remembered all too clear.
I stepped again, except this time I reached for the strings of my bikini top.
“Alex,” he coaxed with a look I had never seen before.
“You’re leaving tomorrow,” I stated, untying the strings to my top and then bottoms, letting it fall down my body to the ground.
I stood there in front of him with a familiar yearning in both of our intense stares.
Naked.
Vulnerable.
Exposed.
I whispered, “Make love to me. I’m yours. I’ve always been yours.”
I saw a look of pure unadulterated fear and confusion reflected through his stare as he looked at me. Except he wasn’t looking at my naked body like I assumed he would. His eyes never wavered from mine. They were bonded together by the severity of my words and what I wanted.
What I needed.
It all seemed to happen so fast after that.
He was over to me in one stride, roughly grabbing the back of my neck and colliding my lips with his in the most forceful and passionate kiss…
Of my entire life.