Chapter Eight

 

SAM

 

“Come here!” Nikki annoyingly yells, tugging at my arm with her sharp acrylic fingernails.

“What’s up?” I ask, making my way through my brothers and cousins as they continue to debate the upcoming football season.

“I wanted to introduce you to Tasha. Tasha, this is my brother Sam,” Nikki smiles, changing her entire demeanor from when I saw her earlier with Jamie.

“Hi,” I nod to Tasha, and she bats her eyes at me while biting her bottom lip seductively.

She’s a gorgeous woman – thin and tan, with long blonde hair and big, fake tits. She would fit in at any Sutton Hills gathering because she has on the full uniform. Her dress is flowing in the subtle summer breeze, leaving just enough cleavage to catch my eye, without coming off as desperate. A thin necklace of pearls lines her neck, as she twirls her hair around her manicured nail.

“I think we met before,” she giggles like someone has made a joke.

“Oh really?” I frown, trying to remember meeting her. She looks so much like all the other women from Sutton Hills that is difficult to separate her from the pack.

“Yes! That’s right! You were at the Cheshire wedding!” Nikki exclaims clapping her hands as if she’s just solved a puzzle.

“Oh yeah, that was a few years back,” I nod, guessing that’s why I’d forget her.

“Let me go check on Mom,” Nikki says before abruptly leaving so I’m alone with Tasha.

“I’d never forget a face like yours,” Tasha says as soon as Nikki is gone.

“Excuse me?” I look at her with confusion coating my face.

“That’s how I can remember you from those years ago. You have a memorable face. Plus you made me a promise,” she puts her hand on her hip as she pouts the words.

“A promise?” I repeat, doubting its existence.

“Yep! You told me you were going to teach me how to surf,” she bats her eyes as she looks up at me through her false lashes.

“Did I now?” I ask, taking a sip of my beer.

She’s so desperate and obvious, just like my sister. It all makes sense now. Nikki was shocked I’d brought a girl to the party, but she was also upset because she planned on playing love connection with her friend. The realization is annoying, but I know better than to make a scene or make Tasha feel uncomfortable.

“Have you ever been surfing?” I ask.

“No, but you can’t let that deter you. I might not know a lot, but I’m a fast learner,” she blinks slowly, and I’m a bit taken aback by how hard she’s coming onto in such a family setting.

“I bet you do,” I tease.

“No, really. I played tennis growing up, and I’ve swum competitively since I was little. So, I’m really athletic,” she adds, smiling.

In another time, at another place, I might be interested in Tasha. Probably not for what she’s looking for, but I’d take her out and have some fun. Now, women like her just seem shallow and empty to me. She makes me appreciate Jamie even more, which makes me realize that I haven’t spotted her since she was in the yard with Alyssa.

“I bet you’d be great,” I assure Tasha, but my focus is on looking through the party for Jamie.

“Seriously! Don’t make fun of me,” she slaps my chest with her hand, begging for my attention.

I can tell she’s flirting, but I’m pretty sure I haven’t done anything to encourage it. She came here with this intention, and I’m going to let her get it all out. Hopefully, it will be the reason she doesn’t try this again in the future.

“I’m not. Surfing is hard, but it’s not impossible. If I can do it, so can you,” I smile, hoping that’s the end of our unnecessary conversation.

“So, then you will live up to your word? Because I’ve heard the Ellis word is as strong as oak, and I plan on finding out,” she smiles up at me.

“Sure. Let me know when you want to go, and I’ll be happy to give you your lesson,” I agree.

“What’s that? Are we setting up a date?” Nikki asks from behind me.

“Oh, there you go. I’ll be back,” I move to leave, but she grabs my arm again.

“What’s up now, Nikki?” I ask irritated.

“Nothing. Can I spend a little time with my baby brother? Would that be such a crime?” She asks sarcastically.

“Well, he’s just agreed to teach me how to surf, so that should be some cool sibling time. You can come with us!” Tasha excitedly invites my annoying sister.

“No, I think I should let you two have some alone time,” Nikki sinisterly replies, and Tasha blushes from her obvious hint at there being something between us.

“Do you know how to surf?” Tasha asks my sister as I again look around the party for Jamie.

“Oh, my god! Sam! Tell her the story of you teaching me how to surf when we were kids,” she giggles, turning towards me.

“You know how you were saying you’re athletic? This one is not. She fell so hard on her first wave, I had to carry her out of the water,” I quickly tell the story, and Tasha and Nikki break into laughter as if it was hilarious.

“I haven’t touched one of those boards since!” Nikki cries, her hand on Tasha’s shoulder as they both laugh hysterically.

“Alright. I’ll see you two ladies later,” I announce, moving to leave their performance.

“No! You just got here,” Nikki pleads.

“I’m not leaving. I just need to find Jamie. Have you seen her?” I ask, and her face instantly changes, her shoulders dropping as she shrugs and shakes her head.

“It was nice to meet you again, Tasha. See you later,” I excuse myself.

“I’ll let you know about the surf lesson. I’m serious! Don’t forget about me,” she reminds me, her voice sultry and needy.

There’s something about needy women that just rubs me the wrong way. Growing up in Sutton Hills with my last name, I was always bombarded by women who wanted nothing more than to be associated with me. The thought of being used for social gain has never made much sense to me.

These women would do and say anything just to be seen with me. It was beneath low in my book, and Tasha was another one of them. Don’t get me wrong, I slept with a lot of women just like her, but that’s all it was. And maybe that’s all they wanted from me because they never seemed disappointed when things came to an end.

The community was so small, everyone knew everyone, and gossip was cheap. After one date, the entire neighborhood would be putting me on the track to marrying someone I barely knew. Tasha was sure to try to parlay her opportunity into more than it was, and I doubted she cared about the exaggeration.

She was the type of woman I’d have to watch while out because she would secretly take pictures of me and then post them to social media as if we were more than friends. I couldn’t stand women like that, but it was all that Sutton Hills offered.

After strolling through the backyard with no sign of Jamie, I decided to head into the house, hoping I can at least find Alyssa. She’s always been very vigilant, so she probably knows where Jamie is at all times, making sure no one is giving her a hard time.

For the first time, it occurs to me that someone could have been rude to her or even made her want to leave. My heart rate spikes, as my adrenaline races, as I rush through the house to find her.

Just when I’m, sure she’s gone, I turn the corner into the living room and she her, holding her hair back as she looks over the pictures of my family lining the walls.

Of course, she’s found a way to entertain herself, learning more about me. I can tell she appreciates me bringing her here, I just hope no one has upset her while we were separated. I could tell Nikki wasn’t the most welcoming and imagined her friends felt the same way.

Jamie is so lost in her studying of the photographs, she doesn’t even notice me watching her. She’s so beautiful, and interesting, always wanting to learn about something. Jamie knows the real me like no one else ever has, and somehow she still loves me.

There’s so much we have to learn about each other, but that only excites me, because she’s my favorite topic to study. While this trip has meant a lot to her, it has also shown me that she is the one for me. I am not interested in having a woman more concerned with pretending to be happy together when I can have the real thing, and that’s what’s standing right in front of me.