Shady Bay Read online

  “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “You just seem to be cracking yourself up back there.” He looked at me through the rear-view mirror and grinned.

  “Shut up, Dumbass.” I grumbled under my breath.

  “Did you just call me a dumbass?”

  “Sort of. I didn’t call you a dumbass. I referred to you as Dumbass.”

  “You’re gonna feel it in the morning. You’ll thank me tomorrow, too, when you snap out of that alcohol-induced love coma.”

  “Love coma?”

  He pulled into his carport. “Yeah. You had rose-colored love glasses on, pointing straight at Jarod Lincoln. You were on his radar big time, so you’re welcome. I saved you from the walk of shame.”

  He walked around and opened the car door, and pushed up front seat so I could climb out the back. I stumbled a bit. “Well, I’ll have you know,” I poked his chest, “that I was well aware of the fact that I was on his radar. Maybe I liked it.”

  “He’s bagged half the chicks in Myrtle. I’m no saint, but that dude lays with anything that walks and has a pussy.”

  My mouth dropped open. “Oh, so I’m not good enough for the pussy-whisperer?”

  He shook his head. “What?”

  “So, I’m like, not good enough for the man-whore?”

  He began to back up toward my front door. “That’s not what I said.”

  “You said you saved me from the walk of shame. I wouldn’t have been ashamed.”

  “You were asking for it, Mercy.”

  “Hell yes! I was asking for it and you ruined it for me.” I pouted.

  “You wanted him?” His voice raised an octave.

  I smacked him. “I didn’t want him. I wanted sex with him. Or, at one point, I thought I did, but that’s beside the point. You went all big-brother on me and embarrassed me, Jax.”

  “That’s enough,” he growled. “Where’s your key?”

  I handed it to him. He unlocked my door and stepped inside, started turning on my lights. “You can apologize tomorrow. Lock the damn door behind me!” He slammed the door. The sound of his footsteps on the wooden staircase echoed through the townhouse. I hoped we hadn’t woken Celeste.

  I was off on Sundays. Thank the Lord for small miracles. My head was going to crack open. I was sure of it. I pulled the comforter over my head and groaned. I vowed to myself, “I am never drinking again.”

  I peeled the blankets back and stepped onto the floor, then slowly made my way to the shower. The warm steam enveloped me and I let it. I washed my hair twice, and then just stood and let the scalding water pound my back. After scrubbing with Irish Spring, I grabbed a fluffy purple towel and stepped out onto the floor. That’s when I saw it. It was peeking at me from beside the toilet, two arms sticking out and its sharp fangs poised to strike. To say that I screamed would be an understatement. I shrieked like Jason himself, ski-mask and all were standing in front of me, knife poised and ready to slash my shit up.

  I did what any other girl would have done. I climbed back into the shower stall and slid the door closed and shook like a leaf as someone tried to beat their way into my bathroom. “What the? What is wrong? Are you okay? Mercy?”

  “Jaxon! Jaxon, it’s in here. Help me! Please!”

  “What is it?”

  “Please, please help me! Please. It’s going to bite me!”

  The door gave way and I could see Jaxon’s blurred form through the door. He looked around, waving something black. He tapped on the glass and I inched the door open. “What is it and where?”

  “Not in here! Near the toilet!”

  He eased forward slowly and then laughed. “Are you serious?”

  “Did you kill it?”

  “You’re serious.” He said incredulously.

  “Please kill it, Jaxon. Just smash it to bits and flush the damn thing!”

  “This is why you screamed? I thought someone was murdering you, woman!”

  He chuckled. I poked my head out of the stall and cringed as he smashed the evil thing with his boot, picked it up with some toilet paper and sent the beast to a watery grave. I breathed again and relaxed my abs. “Oh, thank you so much, Jaxon. It was going to bite me. I saw its fangs.”

  “It doesn’t have fangs. Those were its front legs. Spiders have eight legs.”

  “I know how many legs they have, but those pointy ones were teeth, fangs to be exact. It was so huge! I’ve never seen anything like that before. Do you think it was a tarantula? Do they have tarantulas in South Carolina?”

  “Um, no. Not a tarantula.” He chuckled.

  “This isn’t funny, Jax.” I stepped out of the stall, holding tight to the towel around me.

  He cleared his throat and looked at the wall. “Um, you should get dressed or something.”

  “Duh.” I moved past him and went into my bedroom and pulled on a pair of boy shorts that said, “Milkshake” across the butt and matching hot pink bra and tank top. Jaxon appeared in the door frame.

  “Milkshake?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Kelis?”

  His brows pinched together. “The Milkshake song?” I could see his light bulb come on. “Ahh. I get it.”

  I tugged on a pair of yoga pants and high-tailed it to the kitchen where I found some ibuprofen. Oh, thank God for these.

  “Headache?” He smirked.

  “Shut up, Jaxon.”

  “Tell me...how do you feel about Jock Itch now?”

  “Excuse me?” I said.

  “The pussy-whisperer, I believe you called him? Jarod Lincoln. Glad you aren’t making that walk of shame now? Hmm?”

  I threw the roll of paper towels at his head, which unfortunately he easily avoided. He grinned and ran out the door before I could grab it and hit him with it again. A muffled, “You’re welcome!” came from outside.

  The following weekend, June had to work. She’d started waitressing at a restaurant at Broadway at the Beach, an enormous outdoor shopping and recreation area. I still didn’t have a television, and I’d used Celeste’s sewing machine to alter all of my Goodwill finds, so I turned the radio on and began to crochet. I’d been making scarves, shirts and now was trying to fashion an intricate bathing suit. It was hard, but I loved it and would look smokin’ hot on the beach in something that I made, something no one else could run out to the store and buy.

  At one o’clock in the morning, my eyes were blurring and I was starting to nod off, so I put my work away, brushed my teeth and hair and washed my face. I climbed into bed in my tank top and panties and drifted off to sleep. The sweet relaxation was rudely and abruptly interrupted by a loud thump. I jumped up, my hands poised like a seasoned Jujitsu pro. I couldn’t hear anything. Looking out the window, the shop was closed. Maybe it had been Celeste bumping into something.

  What the? High-pitched giggles flittered through the vent in my bedroom floor. “Jaxon,” the woman flirted.

  You have got to be kidding me. “Oh, baby. Yes, Jaxon. Oh!”

  Thump. Thump. Thump. The thumping wouldn’t stop. His headboard was beating the hell out of the wall that separated our apartments. Come on!

  “Come on! Can’t you hurry that shit up? I need some sleep, Jaxon!” I screamed, facing the vent to make sure he heard me loud and clear.

  “What was that?” the bimbo shrieked. “Who is she? You have someone else here? Where is she, Jaxon?” Crash. Clang. More thumps, but not of the headboard variety. The sound of a slamming door sounded outside and I moved to the window.

  Jaxon followed the busty red-head outside and tried to stop her from getting into her matching red sports car. “Come on. Don’t leave. It was my neighbor. Being a complete bitch!” He aimed that at me, along with his stare. I smiled sweetly and wiggled my fingers at him. “See?”

  “Whatever. I’m so out of here.”

  She revved her engine, backed onto the road and squealed her tires as she drove away. Jaxon watched, hands on his hip bones, as she left. Then he turned toward me, clad only in black
boxer briefs. He pointed at me and then stomped back inside. Game on, Harrison. Game on.

  On a Friday evening in early April, Celeste helped me once again. I began to wonder when I would ever be able to repay this woman’s kindness.

  “Bring some of your scarves and things that you’re making and put them for sale in the store. You can keep all of the money from whatever you sell.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yes, seriously. Look at you. That scarf is better than anything you can get around here and your bikinis will be a huge hit this summer. Get ‘em in here. Price ‘em well and make some extra money.”

  “Thank you! I’ll work on some things this weekend!” I kissed her on the cheek and accepted my envelope, but instead of heading across the street, I started walking. I walked all the way to Goodwill. I’d had my eye on a new means of transportation and I was going to get that bad boy today.

  The bicycle was vintage, painted blue and had an enormous metal basket attached to the front handlebars. It was my favorite part. I could tote groceries, and as I was doing now, yarn back to my place with ease. It was a warm evening and the sun was setting when I got back home. I went straight to work with the thin, delicate yarn, weaving two intricate infinity scarves before ten pm.

  I hadn’t seen Jax since the night of the thumping incident. He’d been working. I’d been working. And we just hadn’t bumped into one another. Two car doors closed outside, followed by giggles. Ugh! Did every girl he date giggle so annoyingly? I mean, really. Who would find that attractive? I pushed my black-framed reading glasses up on my nose. Time for a walk. I didn’t want to hear their “thumping.”

  I was wearing a t-shirt that said, “Nerds Are Hot,” and a pair of stretchy capris. I shrugged on a thick navy blue sweater, grabbed a towel and a plastic grocery bag before setting out for the shore. The tide was low, perfect for shelling. I walked up and down the shore collecting beautiful treasures given up from the ocean and wading in and out of the cold water. It was a ritual I’d perfected.

  For some reason, the beach at night was calming to my soul. When I’d scoured enough, I returned to my towel, spread it in the soft, thick sand and plopped down to watch the moon dance across the waves.

  There was always a breeze coming off the ocean. Sometimes it roared and sometimes it blew lightly. Tonight, it was light and sweet, purring and comforting. I dug my toes into the sand, reveling in how something so grainy could feel like silk. My thoughts traveled back home. I wondered how Mama was. I loved her. I missed her. Part of me felt guilty for leaving her. But how does one help somebody who doesn’t want it?

  I’d spoken with and had written Daddy a few times and had finally received a reply yesterday. He was fine. Same old. Same old. But he was proud of me for finding work and a place to live. He told me to make something of myself, to avoid the mistakes he’d made. I wanted to do just that, to make something of myself. But what I wasn’t sure. For me, it had always been easier to see the finish line than it was to visualize the path. Besides that, point A and B were never in a neat, straight line. There were always curves, obstacles and detours along my paths.

  Lost in my own thoughts, I didn’t hear him until he settled down beside me, taking up the empty half of my towel. I nudged his knee with mine. “Well, that must have been disappointing to her. Didn’t last very long.” I winked at him.

  “She didn’t stay long. It never got started. But rest assured, Mercy, I never disappoint.”

  I tried to laugh it off, but something told me he was being honest. And, holy hotness, I wondered for a minute just how it would be with Jaxon.

  “You’re thinking about it, now, right?” He raised his cocky eyebrow.

  “No. I’m not thinking about it. I’m not thinking about anything.” I huffed.

  “Sure you’re not.”

  “So why didn’t you seal the deal, big guy?”

  “Just wasn’t feelin’ it with her.”

  I nodded.

  He looked over at me. His jade eyes looked ghostly in the moonlight. “Why are you out here?”

  “How’d you know I was here?”

  “Heard the door shut and figured it out. You come out here a lot.”

  I was taken aback. “Yeah. I do.”

  “So, what’s your deal?”

  “My deal?”

  He nudged my shoulder. “Tell me about your family. Why’d you come to Myrtle?”

  I sucked in a deep breath. He’d probably run screaming to his house. “Well, I got here by hitchhiking and taking an awesome ride in big rig with a trucker named Booger.”

  “You’re shittin’ me.”

  “I would never!” I guffawed. “No, it’s the truth.”

  “That was dangerous.”

  “It could’ve been, but it wasn’t. He was really sweet.”

  Jaxon nodded. I looked out at the waves that were gently lapping the shore, creeping ever so closer to us. “Let’s see. I’ll give you the abridged version. My dad is in prison. My mom is a junkie and I left because I didn’t want to end up like her, and couldn’t help her. She didn’t want my help. Didn’t want to quit using, and I didn’t want to start.”

  Jaxon’s brows knitted. “You don’t start using if you don’t want to.”

  I laughed. “I wish that were true, Jax.”

  He stared at me expectantly, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.

  “Her latest boy-toy tried to shoot me up with his dirty needle, the same one he’d shared with my mom an hour before. I was working two jobs. They took all of the money I’d saved for our rent and bills and went on a weekend bender. And I decided I was done. So, I packed my stuff and took the last forty some dollars I had to my name, visited Daddy to tell him I was going and hitchhiked my way to the coast. That’s my story.”

  He smiled. “That’s just a small part of your story, Mercy. But it makes me respect you that much more.”

  I fake punched him. “Come on. You? Respect a woman?”

  His smile faded. “I do respect women. The ones that come here with me know what they’re getting. I don’t do commitment. I tried that once and got burned. I don’t have any intention of going down that road again.”

  “What did she do to you?” I stared into his eyes, as if they might reveal the answer. I could see it the moment they dimmed and he slammed the wall between us back into place.

  “Well. It’s late. I’m going to head back. See you around, Mercy.”

  “Yeah.”

  He stood up, turned around and quickly walked back to his place. I propped my elbows on my knees and stayed there staring at the water.

  Spring Break came way too early. The beach was constantly packed with horny teenagers and college students, trying to score some alcohol illegally. At Shady, we were carding everyone who walked in. Twenty-one and up only. No way was I going to lose my liquor license over some pimple-faced nerd with a perpetual hard-on. Speaking of which, Mercy had come in yesterday to apply for a seasonal server position. Of course, I gave her the job.

  She’d somehow imprinted herself into my brain. I thought about her all of the time. I stopped bringing home chicks from the bar, knowing she’d do one of two things rather than listen to that. She’d either scream through my vent or spend the night at the beach. Neither were good options.

  She was busy shadowing Summer, one of our seasoned waitresses. To work around her schedule at Celeste’s, I scheduled her for the evening and weekend shifts. I tried to give her as many Sundays off as I could, though. Everyone needed a break once in a while. Mercy worked harder than most anyone I’d ever known. The dinner crowd was thinning and we were transitioning for the first night of Spring Break week. Should be interesting. I’d have to keep my eye on her, though. Some guys didn’t know how to keep their hands to themselves.

  Sure enough, the place was slamming. By ten o’clock, the bodies spilled far out onto the sand, grinding to the music our DJ was spinning. It seemed like every second someone needed my attention. There was a small
scuffle, which we handled by escorting the brawlers outside. One of the sinks in the men’s room wouldn’t work. I called a friend of mine to come and fix it. I had to approve his payment. Servers needed to exchange out their ones. I had to put money in the safe. You name it, I did it. Brody showed up just after midnight when his shift with the local EMS ended. He grinned when he saw me wiping down the bar. “This is insane.”

  “Yep. Crazier than last year, but we just opened.”

  He nodded, looking around. His eyes fixed on something, and I looked in that direction. Mercy stood with Summer, smiling and laughing at some guys at a table she was serving. “You didn’t tell me Mercy was working here.”

  “Mercy’s working here.”

  “Ha. Ha. Hmm. That, my friend, is interesting.” He waggled his brows at me.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Nothing man.” He smiled and took a long drawl off his beer. “When’s her break?”

  “Shit! I knew I forgot something.” I walked over to the two girls, who were now getting soft drinks and ordering beers for the last table.

  “Break time. Can you rotate?”

  Summer smiled sweetly. Her bright red hair was cut short, like a guy’s, but she didn’t look masculine. “Mercy, you go ahead, babe. You’ve been on your feet for a long time. I’m used to it. I’ll finish out these tables.”

  Mercy looked from Summer to me and then back again. “Are you sure? You haven’t had a break either.”

  “I’ll take one when my boyfriend gets off work. He always comes in after his shift.”

  “Okay. If you’re sure, I’ll be back soon.”

  Summer was already heading back with their drinks, when she called over her shoulder. “No rush!”

  “Help yourself to a drink. Nothing alcoholic while on the clock, but you can grab a Coke or some sweet tea or something.”

  “Thanks. I’m dying of thirst. I’ll take you up on that.” I followed her back behind the bar and glared at Brody as he chuckled at me from his stool.