Dirty: The Complete Series (Secret Baby Romance Love Story) (191 page)

“It’s okay… No, I was going to because I
thought you weren’t coming. I’m not leaving, but Lance was just taking off.”

Lance smirked at me and gave Summer a look
that I wanted to punch him in the mouth for, again. He picked up his board and
as he walked off he said, “Remember Catalyst.”

“Who’s Catalyst?” she asked me.

“Nobody important,” I told her. “Are you
ready to get started?”

She dropped her board and before I knew
it, she had her arms around me. Her mouth sought mine out and the next thing I
knew, her delicious tongue was wrapped around mine. I was confused, but not
stupid. I wrapped my arm tighter around her waist and pulled her up off her
feet and deepened the kiss. Nothing in my life thus far prepared me for how
good this woman feels in my arms and I meant what I told Lance. Whoever doesn’t
like it can go fuck themselves. When we finally had to come up for air, I said,

“Not that I’m complaining, but what the
hell was that?”

She smiled and everything inside of me
ignited. “Thank you. I almost didn’t come out today. I spent most of last night
walking around, thinking about how worthless I was and how I didn’t mean
anything to anyone in society. When I finally decided to come today, I thought
I’d just thank you for your time and give you back the surfboard…and then I
walked up on you defending me to that guy. Who the hell is he, anyways?”

I smiled. “He used to be a very good
friend, but after I punched him in the mouth today, who knows? By the way,
don’t ever think those things about yourself. They’re absolutely not true.”

She ignored the last part and with a laugh
she said, “You punched him?”

“Yeah, it was the pre-show you missed.
He’s not a bad guy, really. It’s just the way he was raised. He has certain
ideas about things…”

“Like homeless people?”

“Like anyone that’s not in our so-called
social class. I’m sick of that social class bullshit. I’m sick of people
telling me who I should or shouldn’t like. I’m sick of fake everything.”

“I’ll go.”

“What?”

“To the gala. I’ll go with you, if you
still want me to.”

“I want you to, very much so. But there is
one thing Lance said that was right. They’re going to be assholes to you. If I
hear it-”

“You’ll let it go. I don’t want to go to
this gala only to watch you get thrown out by security. If your family hates me
because of who I am then so be it, but they’re not going to hate me because you
kick the shit out of someone at this fancy gala in my honor.”

I couldn’t stop smiling. I couldn’t wait
to see her all dressed up. Even if she went like she was right now, she’d still
be the prettiest one there. I would do my best not to kick someone’s ass for
being rude to her, but it would be damned hard. “So, you want to surf today or
shop?”

“Surf. I still have a contest to win.” I
love her determination.

CHAPTER
THIRTEEN

SUMMER

Drake and I surfed every day except
Friday. While we were surfing, we were talking. I told him things about myself
and my grandfather that I had never told anyone. It felt good to talk about my
past when my life was comfortable. It reminded me things could be that way
again someday. He told me a little about his family, but I got the impression
that as “privileged” as he may have been, his childhood wasn’t an overly happy
one. We had lunch after our lesson every day, and every day except Friday, we made
love.

On Friday, instead of getting to ravage
his hot body, he insisted that I go shopping and have my hair and nails done
and, in his words, “Anything else you want.” Then the crazy fool handed me an
Amex card. I could steal him blind. I wouldn’t, but he didn’t know that.

I took the card and a handwritten note
with his phone number that I was supposed to give the girls at the dress shop
and salon. I went back to the homestead to leave my stuff and see if Phoebe
might be around to go with me. I was a nervous wreck about shopping. I had no
idea how to buy a dress for a gala and the thought of sitting in a salon having
my hair and nails done with “normal” people made me want to pee my pants.
Unfortunately, the only person I found in the cave when I got there was Bennie.

“That was a quick lesson.”

Bennie had no idea that the lessons
weren’t what took up most of my day. “We cut it short. I have to go shopping.”

Bennie raised an eyebrow at me.
“Shopping?”

“Yeah… I have a date tonight.”

He laughed, but when he saw my face, he
said, “You’re serious? You’re going to that dance or whatever it is with that
guy? Summer-”

“I told you already Bennie, I’m not
listening to you tell me I’m not good enough to be with him or that he’s using
me. This is the first time I’ve actually looked forward to anything in five
fucking years and I’m going.” He didn’t say anything to that. I put my things
away and asked him, “Where is Phoebe? I thought she wasn’t going out today?”

He shrugged. “Probably with that hippie
you stole the board from. She’s almost as infatuated with him as you are with
your rich boy.”

“And, you are so jealous that you can’t
see straight.”

For the first time since the day I met
Bennie, he actually scared me. He stepped up into my face and spoke to me in a
tone that I’d heard him use before only when he was threatening someone that
was trying to hurt one of us or trying to take something that was ours. He had
definitely never used it towards me. “I have done everything for you, Summer.
For the last year, I have done everything for you.”

I tried to keep all traces of fear out of
my voice because at that moment, I suspected it was what he was hoping for. “I
never asked you for a thing, and you forget that I did just fine without you
for four years. I’ve given as much to this group as I’ve gotten out of it, and
you being some kind of self-appointed leader does not make you my fucking
father. You will not tell me what to do, who to see, or where to go. If you
choose to keep acting like I’m your fucking property, I’ll find somewhere else
to sleep – starting tonight.”

I saw him breathe in and hold onto the
breath before slowly letting it go. He stepped back out of my space and looking
slightly remorseful, he said, “You’re right, Summer. I’m jealous.” I hoped he
was going to leave it at that or that he was just being sarcastic, but of
course he didn’t. “I love you, Summer.” It was one of those things you heard
that you wanted to un-hear. I had no idea how to respond. Bennie was the only
person besides my grandfather to ever tell me that he loved me. I wasn’t
unaffected by it, and if I looked deep inside myself, I’d find love that I had
for him myself…but I knew that wasn’t the kind of love he was talking about.

“Bennie…”

He put up his hand. “Don’t, Summer, I know
you don’t feel the same way. It’s okay. I only told you as an explanation for
why I worry about you so much. It’s not because I think I own you or that I
think you owe me anything. It’s just because I can’t stand the thought of you
getting hurt.”

“Thank you for that, Bennie. But I’m not a
child, and if I’m going to make mistakes, I have to make them myself.”

He still didn’t look happy, but he nodded.
“Just know I’m always here for you if you need me.”

“I know, thank you.” He nodded at me again
and stepped completely out of my way. I got out of there as quickly as I could
and went to find Phoebe.

*******

“What about this one?” We were in the
dress shop and Phoebe was holding out something that looked like bubble gum
vomit.

“Please tell me you’re joking.”

She shrugged. “I don’t like any of them,
to be honest. They’re all over the top.”

The salesgirl gave us a narrow-eyed look.
The only thing that stopped her from having us thrown out when we first walked
in was that I gave her the Amex card and the note right off the bat. She spent
ten minutes on the phone with Drake and was blushing and giggling when she hung
up. I didn’t even want to know what he said – it was a sickening thing to
watch.

“They’re not over the top, they’re dressy.
What about this one?” I held up a green mini with a soft lining and a lace
over-lay. It was one of the few I’d found in the petite section that actually
looked petite enough that it wouldn’t be six inches longer than it was supposed
to be on me, and most important of all it had long, lace sleeves that would at
least mute the tats on my arms. It was short, but I thought the hem would come
down below the ones on my legs, too.

“I like that one,” Phoebe said. “It’s the
same color as your eyes.”

“Okay, I’ll try this one and the off-white
one there,” I told the salesgirl.

“I’ll get you a bra and underwear to put
on first, but you’ll have to keep them, they can’t be returned,” she said it
with disdain, assuming that mine were too worn or dirty to touch even the
underside of her precious dresses. She was right, but it still kind of pissed
me off. I kept the sarcasm in check as I thanked her.

I told her my sizes, and she was back in a
few minutes with a bra and underwear the likes of which I’d never seen. On top
of the nice fabric they were made of, they were exactly the same shade of green
as the dress I’d chosen. I slipped into the dressing room and peeked at the
price tag on the bra. My heart nearly stopped. I wasn’t sure I had enough boob
to stuff into a bra that cost a hundred and fifty dollars. I had to force
myself to put it on and once I did, I wasn’t certain that I’d ever take it off.
It was the most comfortable thing that I’d ever had next to my body…besides
Drake. I pulled on the underwear next. I didn’t bother looking at the tag on
those. I slipped on the off-white dress first, but as soon as I got it over my
head I knew that it wasn’t for me. It had a plunging neckline and even in the
pretty new bra, I had nothing for it to plunge into. I pulled it off and put
the green one on. My breath caught in my throat when I looked at myself. The
dress was gorgeous and in it, so was I.

I left the dress shop with the underwear,
the dress, and a pair of shoes with four inch heels I wasn’t sure I’d be able
to walk in. The girl tried to talk me into a three hundred dollar bag, too, but
what the hell was I going to put in it? I figured I’d spent enough of Drake’s
money already. I had no idea that he wasn’t even close to finished.

He’d written directions down for me, first
the dress shop and then the salon. I was more nervous about that than I was the
dress shop, but after Drake finished making the girl at the front desk blush
with whatever magic words he uttered over the phone, she insisted that Phoebe
and I both would be treated to “the entire spa experience.”

Not long after, I lay submerged in hot,
bubbly water that smelled like a field of wildflowers and wondered if I had
died and went to heaven. When I got out of the sensuous bath, I was treated to
a massage and then a facial. I wore a fluffy robe and slippers while my nails
were buffed, lengthened, and polished, and then I was treated to something I
hadn’t had in many years – an actual shampoo and condition of my hair. I’ve had
the dreads for so long, I had almost forgotten how good it felt to have a scalp
massage and I’d never had one from a professional. A girl could definitely get
used to this. I was so relaxed while she was trimming and dyeing and fluffing
my hair that I almost fell asleep in the chair. When she pronounced that we
were done, Phoebe was staring at me with her mouth wide open. She looked great.
I actually hardly recognized her.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You look…you look like one of those girls
on the front of the magazines. God, Summer, you’re beautiful.”

“Really?”

“Oh, yeah!”

“So are you, have you seen yourself?”

I think she actually blushed when she
smiled. I’ve never seen her do that before. “I do look hot, don’t I?”

I laughed. “Yeah, you do.”

“Okay, honey, here you go.” The girl who
had been tirelessly working on my hair for the past three hours handed me a
mirror. My gaze was caught on the reflection in the glass I was holding, but
the girl staring back looked nothing like me. She has my green eyes and tanned
skin, but the long, soft hair with varying shades of blonde from platinum to
honey layered on top of each other that hung down across her shoulders and
framed her face certainly wasn’t mine. This girl’s green eyes looked happy and
relaxed. They sparkled with the kind of joy that I’d personally not seen or
felt in years.

“Wow…”

The girl and Phoebe both smiled. “Just you
wait, honey, our make-up artist Lulu gets to have a go at you next. You really
won’t believe your eyes when she’s finished.”

“I already don’t believe them. I’m not
sure my date will even recognize me tonight.”

“Speaking of your date,” the girl said, “I
have a message for you.” She handed me a note. I unfolded it and read it twice.
I shook my head and folded it back up.

“What?” Phoebe asked.

“This man is crazy,” I whispered to her as
we followed the girl towards the make-up room.