The Shore (5 page)

Cody began to pull back, adding a couple of soft pecks on Ryan’s lips as he ended the kiss. He looked into her eyes.

“Hi,” he said quietly.

“Hi,” Ryan answered, trying to stop her smile from taking over her face.

That kiss was so worth the 20 year wait!

They looked at each other and then Cody turned, lacing his fingers once again with hers and walked back toward the bonfire.

“I can’t believe we didn’t recognize each other yesterday,” Cody said after they had walked a short distance.

“I know. Kind of weird, wasn’t it?”

“Yeh, I mean, I know we didn’t really hang out when we were younger, but…”

“And leave it to Mac to be the person to pull all of the pieces together.”

Cody laughed. “Yeh, that’s Mac for ya.”

Ryan was quiet for a minute and then added bravely, “You know, I had a really big crush on you when I was younger.”

Cody stopped and turned to face Ryan again, taking her other hand in his. “You did, huh?” He smirked.

She looked at him and nodded. “I remember the day you helped Abby and me rebuild a sandcastle.”

“You do?”

“Yeh. You had me all tongue-tied as we worked to rebuild it,” she grinned.

“Hmm.”

“Someone kicked the ball and totally smashed the castle. You were nice enough to help us rebuild our masterpiece.”

“I kind of remember that. But I don't remember it being a masterpiece, exactly.”

“Okay, that's probably fair,” Ryan grinned. “You asked me where I lived, and I told you Rodanthe.” She paused.  “I can’t believe you remembered that.”

“I don’t think I did until Mac said something.”

“It’s a small world, isn’t it?”

He took a small step toward her, leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her lips. “So what about now?”

Ryan raised an eyebrow.

“Do you still have a crush on me?”

She wanted to be cocky and say something like, “Not so much,” or “In your dreams,” but the moment was so perfect – standing next to the water, the kisses they shared, looking into his soft brown eyes – she couldn’t, wouldn’t, ruin it.

“I’d have to say I’m crushing pretty hard,” Ryan said with a grin.

“Good,” Cody responded, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer. “I think I’m crushing pretty hard myself.”

This time Ryan initiated the kiss and Cody loved it. She put her hands behind his neck and pulled him down to her while she raised herself up on her toes to reach him. Her lips were so soft and sweet, Cody felt like he could get lost in them. He opened his lips to her and felt her tongue sneak inside, seeking his own. He pulled her even closer and could feel every inch of her body against his.

Ryan had forgotten what it was like to be held like this. Touched like this. Her last relationship had been a while ago, and she hadn’t had much luck in the dating department. Madison tried to set her up with a few of her friends, but there hadn’t been anything there. Standing here in Cody’s arms, feeling his lips on hers, Ryan knew there was something. And it was something she wanted to explore.

Slowly pulling back from her, Cody looked into Ryan’s eyes with a smile. “Did you ever think we’d share a kiss like that when you were younger?”

“No,” she said honestly. “But then, I’m pretty sure I didn’t know kisses like that even existed when I was 12.”

“Good point,” he said with a laugh and placed a small kiss on her nose.

Cody turned and they started walking toward the bonfire again. “I hate to say this, but we should probably call it a night,” Cody told Ryan.

“Yeh, you probably have to work tomorrow, don’t you?”

“Unfortunately. I can think of a few other things I’d rather be doing,” he said, squeezing her hand.

“I get it. Websites await,” Ryan chuckled. It was nice they had a common bond they could share. She’d have to ask him more about that the next time they were together.

Ryan was feeling ballsy and had an idea, and she needed to get out what she had to say before she lost her nerve.

“Do you have any plans tomorrow night? After work, I mean?”

“Nothing that I know of. What were you thinking?”

“You know how much I love climbing the dunes,” she said with a quiet chuckle. “How about we go to the dunes at the state park tomorrow night and watch the sunset over the Sound? I haven't been up there in forever. We could grab something to eat after?”

“That sounds really nice.”

Cody stopped walking and tugged gently on Ryan's arm so she faced him. He smiled as he once again cradled her face in his hands and lowered his mouth to hers. It was a short kiss, but one that spoke of promise for the coming day.

Ryan opened her eyes and saw a beautiful morning with blue skies and a warm sun. There was even a soft breeze coming through the window she had left open the night before.

Thinking back to last night, she grinned and let out a quiet giggle. She thought about the ocean-side kisses she shared with Cody, and the really long, slow goodnight kiss he gave her when he walked her to the door. This was a feeling she could get used to.

Feeling slightly guilty about not being in the office that morning, Ryan booted her computer to check her email. She at least wanted to be accessible in case anyone had any questions.

Opening her inbox, she found the usual barrage of spam that had accumulated over the weekend. After perusing the contents quickly, she deleted the majority of it. Nothing looked that important – just the usual emails to the entire staff about upcoming fire drills or updates on the nearby road construction. What was left could easily wait until next week.

That was easy.

Ryan closed her email and shut down her computer. She was usually one of those people that constantly checked her email on her phone and carried her computer with her everywhere, but she was doing her best to stay disconnected. She had earned it. Besides, if they really needed her, they all knew how to reach her. They had proven that by sending texts and calling her at all hours of the night during various projects.

She spent the rest of the morning lazily making breakfast for herself, walking Berkley on the beach and laying in the hammock reading a book. She loved the new contemporary romance novels and couldn’t help herself from getting lost inside the characters. Seriously, who wouldn’t want to cuddle up with sexy Kellan Kyle? Or Mr. Alpha himself, Gideon Cross? Or cocky Sawyer Beckett?

Deciding she should probably get ready for her lunch with Abby, Ryan hopped in the shower. As she went to dry her hair, she reached for her phone to turn on some music and noticed she had a text message.

Cody: 
Hey beautiful. Thanks again for a really great day yesterday. Looking forward to tonight. Pick you up at 7?

Ryan’s smile went from ear to ear. She couldn’t help it.

How did he have this effect on me?

Ryan: 
Hey there yourself. Yesterday was a lot of fun. 7 sounds great for tonight. Working hard today?

Cody: 
Working alright. But someone keeps popping in my mind making it hard to work. Have any suggestions for that?

Ryan: 
I understand the dilemma. Fortunately, no work for me this week.

Cody: 
That’s just mean.

Ryan: 
You’re right. I’m sorry. Just hunker down and get your stuff done. I’ll have other things for you to think about tonight.

Cody: 
Is that so?

Ryan: 
It is.

Cody: 
Care to share?

Ryan: 
Nope. You’re a smart boy. I think you can figure it out.

Cody: 
So mean!

Ryan: 
:)

Cody: 
Alright, I’m heading back to it. Have a good afternoon NOT working.

Ryan: 
You, too. See you tonight.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ryan drove up the Causeway to Nag's Head where she was meeting Abby for lunch. It had been so long since they’d seen each other, she was feeling a little nervous. She seriously needed to work on her anxiety levels. It was just Abby – the same girl she spent nearly every day of every summer with as a kid. And after the conversation they had yesterday, it was nearly like old times already anyway.

The GPS system led Ryan to a shop decorated in bright pink and green. The Abby Ryan remembered didn’t do anything half-assed, so they probably had really great ice cream inside.

Opening the door, it was just
cute
. There were bright colors everywhere with different cutesy animals placed around the walls, and a bunch of different colored ice creams in the coolers. The place was empty, but it was a school day. Ryan could only imagine what it would be like during the summer season. She was thankful it wasn’t a month later.

Looking up from the ice cream selections, Ryan saw Abby walk out from the back of the store. She was tall, thin, and had long brown hair with just a tint of red to it – and looked exactly like she did the last time Ryan saw her. Like her sister, Abby had piercingly beautiful eyes, although hers were brown.

When their eyes connected, they both smiled.

“Ryan?” Abby asked.

“Hey girl,” Ryan answered with a grin.

Abby came out from behind the counter and hugged her friend tightly.

“It’s been so long! And you look great!” Abby said excitedly.

“It has been quite a while. You look just the same. Time has treated you well.”

Abby grinned, “Thanks.”

Ryan looked around the store. “So this is your little piece of heaven, huh?”

“Yeh,” Abby said with a smile. “I spent a lot of time in New York working for a big investment company. The money was great, but the hours and commitment were more than I wanted to give, especially after I had Jake.”

“Mac said you had a son. How old is he?”

Abby smiled and walked around the counter, grabbing a picture that had been tucked away near the cash register. She handed the picture to Ryan. “This is my little guy, Jacob. Actually, now he prefers to be called Jake. He claims he’s too old to be called Jacob anymore.”

Ryan laughed. “That’s so cute! Are you still allowed to hug him in public?”

Abby shook her head and smiled. “Thankfully, yes. But I can see that coming to an end soon. He’ll turn seven in a couple of months and I’m certain hugging your mom in public will be a complete no-no. I can’t believe he’s so big already!”

Ryan could easily see the resemblance to Abby. He had the same color hair as his mom and beautiful blue eyes.

“He’s adorable. This must be a really fun age.”

“It is. I’m dreading the awful teenage years, but relishing the time we have together now.”

As Ryan handed her back the picture, Abby looked at it for a moment with a soft smile on her face. When she turned to put it back behind the register, Ryan asked, “You ready to grab some lunch?”

“Sure! Where should we go?”

“I have no idea around here anymore. You pick.”

Abby drove to a little dive place that was frequented by the locals and few vacationers knew about. It had great sandwiches and even better fries.

Ryan listened to Abby talk about her life after high school – college at Colombia, working for an investment company, and the relationship she had with her boss, Trey. Abby wasn’t proud of her actions, but the affair lasted about a year and the result was a broken heart, and Jake.

When she told Trey she was pregnant, he reneged on all of the promises he made about leaving his wife, and the two children he had with her, and said she needed to get rid of the baby. Abby had always believed in a woman’s right to choose, and she chose to have the baby.

Ryan’s heart broke when Abby told her about the only time Trey saw his son, the day he was born.

“Mac came to New York to be with me for the delivery,” Abby started. “A few hours after I delivered, there was a knock on the hospital room door. I told the visitor to come in and was shocked to see Trey walk in. He didn’t have the typical flowers or balloons, instead he just had this expression of distaste on his face. I had texted him to let him know I was in labor, thinking it was the right thing to do, but never expected him to show up at the hospital.

“I introduced him to his son, Jacob Trey, and asked if he wanted to hold him. With a very curt, ‘No,’ he walked over and laid an envelope on my legs. He looked once more at Jake, then at me, and walked out of the room.

“Mac had grabbed my hand and held it tight. She was convinced I was going to throw up.” Abby chuckled as she remembered the expression on Mac’s face from that moment. “I let go of Mac’s hand, picked up the envelope and handed it to her to open. Inside were two things: documentation, signed by Trey, giving up his parental consent, and a check for a half-million dollars.”

Ryan gasped in disbelief. “He did not!”

Abby nodded slowly. “It didn’t take much for Mac to convince me to move back to the shore with Jake after that. Here I would have my family and a support system to help with a newborn. Within two weeks we had cleared out my New York apartment, put most of my things in storage, and Jake and I were living with Mac and Riley.

“After the first year, we got a place of our own. And since there wasn’t a huge market for investment banking in the Outer Banks, I decided to use the money Trey gave me to invest in our future and set up the ice cream shop – something I’d wanted to do since I was a little girl.”

Ryan looked at Abby with her mouth hanging open, wanting to cry for her friend. “What an ass!” she said a little loudly.

“Yeh, that’s one way to describe him,” Abby sighed.

“Has he made any attempt to see you or Jake since that day?”

“No. I’ve heard from friends that he and his wife are still together, and believe it or not, they had another child.”

“No way!”

“My guess is he didn’t write off that kid.”

It was obvious Abby still felt hurt by Trey and Ryan couldn’t blame her. She had certainly been to hell and back, but at least she had her family here, and there was no doubt they loved her and Jake.

It was quiet for a moment, both of the women lost in their own thoughts. Ryan couldn’t help but think about her date with Cody and it made her smile. Then, putting together that Abby had lived with Riley for a while, she asked, “Was Riley always quiet when you lived with him?”

Abby’s expression was almost priceless. “Where did
that
come from?”

Ryan laughed and explained how Riley hardly said two words at dinner the other night.

Abby chuckled, “He’s kind of the quiet type. Get a few beers in that guy though, and it’s a whole different story. Honestly, I don’t think I could have asked for a better brother-in-law.”

“He seemed really nice, even though he really didn’t say much. I mean, he and Cody did stop to help me, after all.”

“So what
is
the story with you and Cody?”

Ryan could feel herself blush. “I don’t know, really. We had dinner with Mac and Riley that night, and the two of us spent yesterday at the beach with a bunch of his friends. And tonight… We're going to climb the dunes at the park to watch the sunset over the Sound.” Ryan couldn’t help the smile that crept on her lips.

“Ooh, sounds romantic,” Abby grinned. “Is he a good kisser?”

Ryan’s face went from slightly pink to red in half a second. She could feel it. Abby just laughed.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Abby said, still laughing.

“Let’s just say he kisses like I could have never imagined, Abby,” she grinned as she pretended to swoon.

The two friends continued their lunch, catching up on events they had missed in each other’s lives. This was definitely the type of relationship to treasure. They hadn’t seen each other in years, but it was like they had never been apart.

They finished their lunch and Abby promised to get in touch with Mac to figure out a girls’ night out while Ryan was in town.