Six
Lola
“Need some help?”
Justice’s grandpa Cliff carried cartons of my swimwear into the surf shop, Bobbie trailing closely behind.
Ginger, Bobbie, and I had dedicated our day to working at the shop, and I had high hopes for big sales. When Cliff called to ask for my help, I jumped at the chance. Even though I worked for him, it sickened me to think of the shop going to Devin. I had even offered a larger than usual cut on my one-of-a-kind suits.
We walked past racks of wetsuits, glossy surfboards neatly lined up in rows, and a display case that held the latest in designer sunglasses. I inhaled the aroma of neoprene wetsuits and smiled. The scent never failed to infuse me with a jolt of nostalgia—my childhood growing up with my pro surfer dad and the sheer fun of surfing.
Ginger touched Cliff’s arm, and he turned quickly, a huge smile spread across his handsome face. She tossed her hair over her shoulder as she kept step with him. “So, Cliff, has anyone ever told you that you look exactly like Paul Newman?”
Justice yelled from his post at the counter. “You missed your calling in Hollywood.”
Ginger batted her eyelashes as I watched their flirtation unfold. “You’d have done great in Hollywood. Glad you stayed here, though.”
Cliff bowed deeply in front of her. “Paul Newman at your service.” He straightened and gave Ginger an enamoring smile. “Only, he looks like me.”
Ginger smiled, and her laugh lines only made her more beautiful. “You got that right.”
My nervous gaze strayed to the sales counter where I knew Justice stood. He was wearing a pair of low-slung, faded jeans and nothing else. I was totally screwed. My gaze wandered to his six-pack abs, and I took in his broad chest, his muscular arms. I swallowed hard.
“Hey there, stranger,” he said to me.
“For God’s sake, put some clothes on,” Cliff said.
Justice covered himself in mock modesty. “Sorry. Just got back from surfing.”
“I think it might help sales,” Ginger said, touching Justice’s bicep. She turned back to Cliff and her eyes danced. “Justice is almost as good looking as his grandfather.”
Justice grabbed a faded T-shirt off the counter and shrugged into it, smoothing his hair away from his face. I averted my eyes, not wanting to be pulled into the magnetism of his total hotness and was surprised when he materialized at my side. I jerked my gaze up until his mesmerizing blue eyes met mine. He touched my shoulder, and I flinched.
“Sorry I was such a jerk the other day. Caught me off guard is all.” He stuck his pinkie out and gave me a crooked grin. “Truce?”
Damn him. I was still pissed off. How could I tell him all the things I felt?
After Justice left town, I’d spent weeks throwing things and crying. I had finally worked up my courage to say, “Screw this.” I didn’t need him. I convinced myself that what we had was no more than a fierce adolescent crush. I’d pulled myself up the way my dad had taught me and got on with life. What happened between us was years ago.
But seeing him again brought me right back to an intensity of emotion—a feeling deep in my belly that he was my soul mate. Stop it, Lola, he’s not!
I played the game, but my hands shook, and I forced them to still as I held my pinkie out. “Truce.”
“Let’s see what you’ve got here.”
Pride filled my soul as Justice surveyed my creations. I felt like a happy mama showing off her new baby.
He unpacked a few of my suits. He held up one made of crocheted fabric with small coins hanging as fringe on the bikini bottom. “Hey, I like this.”
“Got the idea from a belly dancing class.”
His eyebrows raised. “Well, I love it.” He picked up another, this one featuring a tie-dye motif. “Ah. The summer of love.”
“That’s exactly what I was thinking. Know where I got the idea?”
“Where?”
“Remember that old bus that used to cruise through town that looked like a hippie bus?”
“Heck yeah. The one with the wild colors painted all over.” He grinned. “Remember the time we found it empty and snuck in?”
I hooted laughter. “I thought you were going to freak out when we saw the owners heading back and we had to high-tail it out of there.”
We stared at each other. Neither one of us said what really happened on the bus which was one hell of a make-out session, Justice’s hands underneath my blouse as he kissed me and whispered, “I love you.”
He studied a few more of my suits and as we stood together it felt like the rest of the world faded into the background. His eyes grew misty. “I love your designs.” He glanced up at me. “You always were the talented one in the family. I mean in town. Not in the family. You’re not part of my family. I mean you’re not— I mean you kind of—”
“Zip it, Justice,” Cliff said. He smiled broadly and indicated Ginger and Bobbie. “Justice, this is Bobbie and this is her aunt, Ginger. They live next to Lola.”
Bobbie jumped in front of her aunt and stuck her hand out. “Pleased to meet you. I’m Bobbie Julia French.” She smiled so hard that her dimples showed. “But you can call me Bobbie.”
“Well pleased to meet you Bobbie Julia French.” Justice cleared his throat and hesitated. He extended his hand and blinked rapidly. “Pleased to meet you Ginger.”
Cliff quickly moved to Ginger’s side and placed an arm around her. “Ginger’s been taking care of Bobbie for years and they moved to town about five years back and …” Cliff went into babble mode. “… and she drives this really great car and she helps Bobbie with making sure she gets surf lessons and …”
Bobbie waved her hands and opened her laptop. “Okay, guys. Here’s what I’ve done. I advertised the sale on Craigslist, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and even in the local paper.” The five of us leaned toward the computer screen. She maneuvered the trackpad and showed us each ad. “It’s going to be a huge success.” She smiled at Justice and then she turned the slightest shade of pink. “You’ll see. We’ll raise the fifty grand.”
“Pretty freaking awesome,” Justice said. “Papaw said you were a whiz-bang with computers. Thanks, kiddo.”
Bobbie began directing traffic. “Ginger, you and Cliff hang up the swimsuits; Lola, you straighten the board shorts; Justice, you and I will look over the financials.”
“Financials?”
She thumped her forehead. “Duh. The money, dude. You’ll need to maximize your profits, so let me show you what I do. Now you sit here.” She patted the stool next to her and Justice sat. Bobbie rubbed her hands together briskly. “Prepare to be dazzled.”
I watched over her shoulder as Bobbie proudly displayed her various accounts. “This is where I place all my stock trades, these are my precious metals holdings. You want to be real careful when you play the commodity market. Make sure you’ve got stop losses in place or you’ll go broke.”
Justice sat forward on the stool, peering at the screen. “Looks like you’ve got it wired.” I marveled at how easily Justice captivated Bobbie. As they went over the financials, he laughed at her jokes, complimented her abilities, and bantered about stuff like the surf, even telling her the locations of all the secret surf spots. One of the things I’d loved about Justice was the easy way he charmed everyone from my father to classmates to strangers. When we were teenagers, Justice was always the ringleader, gathering friends together for surf sessions or a day at the movies or a night at the local diner where we’d pig out on burgers and chili fries.
My eyes glazed over as I watched his protective way with Bobbie. Justice would make a fantastic father.
“Reason I’m showing you this is because you’re going to need to invest your money once you start raking it in.” She sat up straight and pointed to her chest. “And I’m just the one to help.” She opened another account for Justice’s inspection. “This is where the real magic happens. You’ve got your Sports bets here.” She opened another. “And this one’s called Gambler’s Oasis. That’s where you place the NBA bets.” She elbowed Justice. “But my favorite’s the surf gambling.”
Ginger held one of my bikini bottoms against her pelvis and swayed hula dance style as Papaw scratched his jaw, his eyes not leaving Ginger. She stopped swaying and yelled at Bobbie. “You are going to go broke with those gambling sites.”
“Am not!”
“How’d you get started in all this?” Justice asked.
“I started small. At first I got money from odd jobs like walking dogs and selling mistletoe door to door. I invested everything. All the money gets invested. Now I’ve got a business on Fiverr where I teach people how to write Tinder ads. Some people haven’t got a clue.” She clapped her hands together. “You need to see the website I helped Lola set up for her business.” I drifted to the counter while Bobbie pulled up my Etsy store. The vibrant colors filled the screen, and Justice smiled.
“Wow, totally cool.” He placed a warm hand on my arm, and our eyes met. A tingling swept up the back of my neck. “I always knew you were talented, but these styles are something else.”
“Lola’s sending her patterns to Mystic Seaweed,” Bobbie said. “Somebody on the design team’s all hot and heavy …” She clapped a hand over her mouth. “I mean they might buy them.”
Justice looked at me long and hard as though seeing me for the first time. His gaze seared my soul, and I hoped he didn’t notice the heat rise to my cheeks. I swallowed hard and did everything but fan myself. “They’d be idiots if they didn’t offer you big money. Then Bobbie can help you invest it.”
Bobbie pointed her finger at me. “Exactly what I’ve been telling you.” Bobbie sat up straight and motioned to the laptop. “All Lola needs is around fifty grand or so and then she can start her own business.” She shrugged. “Maybe the Mystic Seaweed deal would do it.”
“That’s only if they like my stuff,” I said.
“Seriously Lola,” Justice said. “I love your designs. Maybe you can sell more in the shop, and we can work together, and I’ll see if any other surf shops would be interested.”
I held up a hand. “I’ve got it covered.” When I saw the crestfallen look on his face, I amended my statement. “Thanks for the offer, though.” Who did he think he was offering to help with my business? Did he think he could just stroll in here and take over after six years? I forced myself to take a deep breath. I needed to be here to help Papaw. Our community was small. Everyone helped one another.
As we all worked together that day, I couldn’t take my eyes off Justice. There was a new dimension to him since the last time we’d seen each other at nineteen.
He was a man now.
A very handsome man.
Justice stood tall with the athletic grace of a professional surfer. He moved like a dancer. I sucked in my breath at the way he held his broad shoulders back and held his head high. His sable hair fell almost to his shoulders and I wanted to run my fingers through it to see if it felt the way I remembered. Silky and unmanageable. His broad shoulders filled out his T-shirt with the muscular definition worthy of a male model and when he reached a top shelf, and his shirt rode up, I was treated to the most delicious view of his ripped abs.
Holy smokes!
I wanted to run my tongue along his six-pack and work my hands underneath his jeans until I felt his deliciously hard cock.
Jesus Cristo. I was in trouble.
But there was that other aspect to Justice, the same one I loved when we’d dated. Everyone loved him. He treated customers with wit and humor, joking with them like they were old friends.
“Come on, Justice,” Bobbie said, tugging on his sleeve. “I’ll help you straighten the window display.”
He stood up and followed her with a small salute. “Yes’m, boss.”
She raised a finger as she walked. “It’s just that I know how designs look best. You’ve got to get the colors meshed just right.”
During a lull in the shop, the five of us gathered around the counter.
“How long have you had the Pinto?” Cliff asked Ginger. “Sweet little ride is what I always said.”
She licked her lips. “I’ve seen you working on cars, and I bet you know just what that little ride needs. A man’s touch.”
“If you ever need help …”
“There’s something so elegant about a classic car.” Her perfectly manicured hand touched his forearm and squeezed. “They don’t make them like they used to.”
Cliff cleared his throat. “You still working at the Grind and Gossip?”
“Yep,” Ginger said. “I also got me a new gig at The Booty Shop.”
Cliff’s eyebrows shot skyward. “Really?”
“The money’s good and, well don’t laugh, but I’m determined to master that pole. I’m not very good at it, but I’m going to be the best darn pole dancer in town if it kills me.”
“That would be a rather extreme reaction,” Cliff said.
She threw her head back and laughed. “Oh, Cliff. You’re such a hoot.” She gazed at him through mascaraed eyes. “Why don’t you come down and watch the show sometime?”
“Ginger!” Bobbie said. “Cliff doesn’t want to know about your night job.”
“Yes he does. Lighten up, Bobbie. You’d think you were eighty-five, not fourteen, the way you carry on.”
“It’s okay,” Cliff said. His fingertips grazed his jawline. “I’d love to come watch the show.”
Ginger winked. “I’ll make sure you get a front row seat.”
At the end of the day Justice rang the final sale.
“Your suits were a hit,” he said to me. “Sold every single last one.” He laid a hand over his heart. “They are beautiful. Just like you.”
I ran a jerky hand through my hair. Was Justice flirting with me? No way was he worming his way back into my heart. As easy as it would’ve been to fall under his spell, it was going to take a lot more than a few compliments to gain my trust again.
Finally, Justice counted the till. I knew we didn’t come close to our goal, but we all held our breaths just the same. “Just over ten grand. Dammit. We need another forty grand.”
Bobbie patted his shoulder. “It’s okay. We’ll figure out a way.”
His eyebrows knit together. “Maybe Devin will give me an extension.”
He didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell, but I held my tongue.
My chest felt heavy thinking about the shop his uncle had built meeting with a wrecking ball.
Justice inhaled deeply through his nose and exhaled through his mouth. “No fucking way is he taking the shop.”