I got back into my car with the coffee and fresh muffins but instead of heading back to my room, I decided to go for a drive. It was such a beautiful morning, and since I got into town so late, I really hadn’t seen what Pismo Beach had to offer. I followed the signs for the beach.

I rounded a corner and caught my first glimpse of the Pacific Ocean. It was breathtaking. The morning mist was lifting in the distance and the sun sparkled on the water like diamonds. I was in awe. The beauty was distracting as I tried to drive along the road, curving my way around steep cliffs.

Around the next tight bend, I noticed a beautiful beach at the bottom of the cliff. A little further up was a parking lot. One other car was parked there, a Jeep, but no one seemed to be around. I decided to stop and take in the view while I enjoyed my breakfast. I parked facing the ocean, opened the sunroof and put down all the windows. The ocean air was warm and fresh.

From the corner of my eye I noticed a man carrying a surfboard down to the beach. He was in the distance but I could tell from the way his wetsuit clung to his body he was super hot. I stopped what I was doing and watched in a trance as he made his way to the ocean.

For the second time since arriving at Pismo Beach, I realized I was in a town with an unusually hot male population.

As he walked, he switched his board to the other arm, and that’s when I noticed he was also carrying two wildflowers. Two wildflowers that seemed very out of place. He was rugged and ripped with long, messy hair and a stubbled face but there he was, holding two vibrant, delicate flowers.

It made me curious.

I didn’t take my eyes off of him as he walked toward the water. He paused at the water’s edge and looked around as if he was afraid someone would see what he was doing. The second his face turned my way I recognized him.

It was that asshole from the brewery the night before.

Of course it was. Just my luck.

There I was, trying to have a relaxing morning, and now my blood was boiling. I wanted to scream. He’d been so freaking mean. So freaking rude.

The day I finally put myself first, the day I leave my cheating, lying husband behind, what does the first man I encounter do?

He treats me like shit, that’s what.

What did I ever do to the universe that I deserve such bad treatment from men. I honestly couldn’t imagine a girl with less luck in the love department than me. First, I was cursed with falling in love with a lying cheat. Now, I’m cursed with strangers calling me fat in restaurants!

Maybe it was me. Maybe it was my fault. Maybe I brought it on myself.

I’d played my part in the scene at the bar last night. I’d said some pretty awful things to that guy, things I regretted. I’d called him a sad, pathetic drunk. That wasn’t like me.

But looking at him now, I knew I didn’t deserve what he’d done. The comments, the insults, the big, heavy duty chair.

Fuck. Him.

I hated this jerk. I don’t care how hot he is.

I watched him paddle his board out into the ocean. He lay flat on his board with the flowers in his mouth to protect them. Despite my anger, I was still curious to see what he was doing with those flowers.

Why on earth was he bringing them out to the water?

And why did his ass have to look so damn perfect in that wetsuit?

Seriously, it was like a perfectly ripe piece of fruit. No, one of those marble statues from ancient Rome. I imagined grabbing those two, ripe cheeks in my greedy hands and squeezing them.

As the waves began to wash up against him, I felt a wetness of my own between my legs.

What would it feel like to hate fuck that guy? For him to really give it to me? For him to take out all the anger from the night before, all the aggression and rage, and unleash it on my tiny, defenseless body?

I squirmed in my seat.

He sat up and straddled his board, holding the flowers as he stared off into the distance. The board rose and fell with the rise and fall of the waves. I couldn’t help but imagine the abs that must have been under that wetsuit. The way the sun was shining down made him glow.

The way he looked, sitting there staring at the ocean, made me feel there must be more to him than what I saw the night before in the brewery.

I watched as he carefully placed the flowers in the water in front of his board. He slowly sat back up and I was pretty sure I saw his hands make the sign of the cross.

Was he really praying out there?

The jerk from last night, the guy who humiliated me for eating too much, was actually having a moment of peaceful prayer?

Wow.

What did that mean?

What did it say about me if I was able to offend even someone like this?

I was strangely touched by the scene. If this was the first time I’d seen him, I’d have been smitten. I’d have been seriously in love. I felt embarrassed when I thought of what he’d seen of me. What we’d seen of each other. He only knew one side of me. I am not the woman he met. I was exhausted, pushed to my breaking point, and even though it was definitely he who’d been the asshole, I wished I could have somehow come off better from the exchange.

What did I know about him? I’d been having a bad day but maybe he was going through something too. What had the bartender said to me? Something about going easy on him?

He moved back onto his stomach, and paddled towards a wave. I watched in awe as he hopped to his feet and caught it. He had such skill, such control, it was obvious he’d been surfing for years.

He looked amazing, a God of the waves. I watched him ride as I finished my muffin and coffee.

I didn’t even notice the time passing until the radio announcer said that it was eight-thirty a.m. That meant the stores were open. I took a final sip of my coffee and started my car. I watched him ride one more wave, and then backed out of my spot and got back on the road.

I rushed into the store to buy the few essentials I needed to make myself presentable. I started with the bathroom basics, a toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, hair brush, a hair straightener, hair spray, facial cleanser, deodorant and a few more makeup options, foundation, concealer, eyeliners, eyeshadows and the must have mascara.

Like I said, just the bare essentials!

Next, I made my way to the women’s clothing section. I was pretty convinced there’d be nothing that I’d actually be caught dead in at Walmart but I found a bra and a few pairs of underwear that didn’t look too bad. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw some adorable dresses and tops too. There were even cute flip flops with gold flowers between the toes.

I had no idea I’d like Walmart so much. The clothes were great. Maybe being out on my own wouldn’t be so bad after all. Matt had trained me to think I needed fancy, expensive things, but maybe he’d just wanted me to believe that so I’d be too afraid to leave him. I was so set in my designer lifestyle that I never even thought to look in a store like this. I was genuinely excited about the items in my cart as I strolled through the clothing section. Getting an all new wardrobe was going to be fun. I grabbed another beautiful summer dress and threw it in on top of the rapidly growing pile.

It was perfect for the beach, but it was classy too, perfect for a date in a fancy restaurant. I had an idea. I’d go back to the brewery that night in it. Maybe my guy would be there. My enemy. Maybe he’d be sober and apologize for his drunken behavior the night before. Maybe we’d both have a second chance to make a good first impression.

When the cart was completely full I made my way to the checkout. As the cashier rang everything through, I noticed the phone chargers on display. I grabbed one, wondering if I’d have any messages waiting for me on my phone.

Had Matt even noticed I was gone yet?

Was he trying to get a hold of me?

The cashier told me the total, and even though I had a purse full of cash, I handed her my credit card. I was curious to see if Matt had cut me off yet.

“Ma’am, it says your card has been declined,” he said bluntly.

“I had a feeling that would happen,” I said, reaching into my purse.

The reality of my situation really sunk in then. I’d known Matt would cancel my cards, but it still hurt. It was a final slap in the face.

It hurt and it made me feel scared too. It wasn’t easy to know for certain I was alone. The money I had in my purse really was all I had in the world.

And I had no idea how long I could make it last.