Seven long days later and I still haven’t seen Cam.

Just because I spent the day after we slept together trying to figure out whether he drove the Jeep or rode the motorcycle—both were parked in the driveway of the house to my right—doesn’t mean I haven’t been busy.

My days have been very, very busy. Unpacking. Scouting out the area. Merchandising my wares in Derek’s surf shop. Talking to Andre’s supplier. Creating a website with Maggie’s help so I can sell my most popular designs to anyone searching gemstones online. And looking for a car.

Busy.

Busy.

Busy.

And yes, this counts as a plan, but I can’t help myself. Maggie knows this too, which is why she’s not judging.

I am who I am. Soon, maybe, I’ll be a little less uptight, but I’ll always be me.

Andre did ask me out, and first I was going to say yes, but I couldn’t. I knew I wasn’t into him in that way. When I said no, he was cool with everything. Obviously he was about as into me as I was into him. Which was nothing past considering a possible friendship, but more than likely only the business relationship we were building.

You know what they say, anyway—don’t mix business with pleasure. I think that’s good advice to follow.

Still, even without dates, like I said, I’ve been busy.

Busy.

Busy.

Busy.

So it’s not like I have been running out to my balcony to see if Cam’s Jeep, which I figured out to be his vehicle only when Maggie finally told me, is the one coming and going whenever I hear the sound of crunching gravel.

And it’s definitely not as if I care that he quickly brought our night to an end. I have a life to start living. A list to check off. I’m very busy.

Busy.

Busy.

Busy.

Too busy to care what made him turn from hot to cold faster than the speed of light. Mr. We Are Going to Need Multiple Packs of Condoms needed only one, and I know it wasn’t because he didn’t enjoy himself. No one could fake the noises of pleasure he was making.

Whatever.

So what if it was the best sex I ever had.

I’m single.

In a beach town.

With a lot of half-dressed men.

Hot sex will happen again.

Right?

“You’re not happy.” Maggie makes this observation over turkey sandwiches at The Cliff. It’s her lunch hour and she asked me to meet her here.

“Why would you say that?”

She points to my food. “You’re not eating.”

That would be because the food tastes disgusting.

But I don’t tell Maggie that.

I pat my stomach. “Just watching what I eat. I have to wear that bikini. You know, item number one on the list.”

She laughs. “You have to buy one first.”

Nibbling on the gluten-free bread that tastes like nothing, I set it down. From afar it looked really good. “For your information, I’m doing that after lunch. And then I’m going to look at cars.”

Maggie is working on the Main Beach today, which is a ten-minute walk at most from our house, so I have her car to run errands. While I’m out, I’m grabbing a hot fudge, filled with dairy, sundae. Again, I don’t tell Maggie that. Pinkberry is where she’d direct me. Dairy free, made from coconut milk, vegan yogurt. Looks good. Tastes terrible. “It’s to die for” are her words, not mine. Yet they might not be that far from the truth. I might die if I have to eat another one. Sure, I believe in balance. Eat healthy. Exercise. And a small cheat here and there. That is not Maggie’s philosophy. In fact, everything in California is so extreme.

Gulping her wheatgrass shot in one swallow, she sets the glass down. “Cam asked about you this morning.”

Outwardly, I shrug, but inside my belly flutters. “And?” I ask nonchalantly.

“And nothing. That was all. Just wanted to know how you were doing.” She wipes her mouth with her napkin.

“Oh, okay.”

She stares at me for a long while. “Are you sure you’re not upset about what happened with him?”

I poke my fork around my side dish of kale salad. Chips would have been so much better. “No, I’m not. I shouldn’t be, right?”

She shrugs. “Did he make any promises?”

Choking down a bite of the bitterness, I set my fork on the table. “No, he didn’t.”

Maggie puckers her lips. “Then you probably shouldn’t be upset.”

I sigh. “But he didn’t even ask me for my number.”

She laughs. “He lives right next door.”

“Yeah, but still, it would have been nice for him to have asked me for my phone number after I spread my legs for him, even if he never intended to use it.”

Maggie laughs again. “Oh, you shouldn’t get hung up on that—it happens to me all the time.”

I narrow my eyes at her. “That’s a lie. You’re the one who never calls guys back.”

“Well, you know me—it’s all about having fun.”

“Yeah, when I think about it, we did have a lot of fun.”

“And besides, there’s a bright side.”

“And that would be?”

“He helped you check number two off the list—have sex with a stranger.”

“That’s true, but to be honest, forgetting about that night is harder than I thought it would be.”

Maggie frowns and pushes her plate aside. “Do you want me to talk to him? Find out where his head is at?”

My stomach flips at the thought, and it hasn’t been doing well this past week. “No, Maggie, that will only make matters worse. We’re neighbors. I want us to be cordial, not awkward. Everything will be forgotten soon enough. One-night stands always are.”

Her sun-streaked, long blond hair blows in the wind from the open window beside us, and she ties it with the elastic around her wrist. “You’re certain?”

I nod and look out at the water down below. “Most positively.”

“Okay then,” she tells me, reaching under the table into her bag. “Two things. First, this is for you.” She plops a black bag with the name Adam & Eve scrolled across it and an outline of half an apple around the last e.

My suspicion radar goes up immediately. “What is this?”

She dips her finger in the last of the tofu-something sauce on her plate and then sucks it off. “A gift.”

Eyeing her skeptically, I peek over the bag but can’t see anything beyond the red paper. Slowly, I poke around inside as if a giant anaconda might announce its presence at any second. When I’ve shifted enough tissue, I pull the item out slightly. The small box reads LELO Mia 2 Rechargeable Clitoral Vibrator. My jaw drops and I shove it back inside.

Maggie sits in her chair and crosses her very tanned, very long legs. “Number seven on the list,” she says with a grin. “It’s small and portable. And you can use the USB on your laptop to charge it.”

Shoving the bag in my purse near my feet, I sit up and slurp the last of my berry smoothie. “Why, thank you, Maggie, you shouldn’t have,” I say through gritted teeth.

Big, blue eyes sparkle in the sunlight with an innocence that would make any best friend want to claw them out. Okay, that wasn’t nice.

The waiter takes our money for the check and I know lunch is coming to an end.

Almost afraid to ask, I do so only to get it out of the way. “Do I want to know what the other thing is?”

Maggie checks the time on her phone and stands up. “We’re going to the Underground tomorrow night. It’s a dance club, so while you’re out shopping maybe you should pick something up to wear.”

Taking a deep breath, I blow it out. “Maggie, I don’t want to go out with Andre. I already told you that. He’s a nice guy; I’m just not into him.”

All five feet, ten inches of her looms over me in her red shorts and white tank top. “Makayla, I think I got that when you left him sitting at my table to go fuck Cam. Derek, you, and I will be meeting up with a bunch of people from the patrol.”

“The patrol?” I question, knowing that means the people she works with.

“We go all the time and you don’t have to worry, Cam never comes with us. Dance clubs aren’t his thing.”

“I guess karaoke is,” I laugh.

She takes a step back. “Yeah, about that: next time you two talk, you should ask him why he ended up there.”

I stand up and make sure the Adam & Eve bag is buried deep in my purse. “If you know, why don’t you tell me?”

“I can’t. I’m sorry. Besides, I have to run. See you home later.”

And just like that, the California girl is gone.

And the New Yorker is left to spread her wings.

As I head toward the car, I eye the bag in my purse. Maybe I should say I’m left to get myself off.

Just my vibrator and me.