Totaled (21 page)

But his tattoo. Seeing those words in permanent ink over his heart shook me to my core. How is it possible that this man, whom I’m so strongly attracted to, had come out of nowhere into my life and had something etched into him that I had always thought of as mine? Well, not mine, but my family’s. It was ours!

Oh my God. What if it’s there for some girl?

Taking a deep breath, I willed myself to calm down. I wasn’t going to let another awkward run-in with Drew Dougherty ruin yet another day for me. This disturbing pattern of occurrences was exhausting. I was determined to get myself together and enjoy this day. I decided that I was going to make an effort today, picking out a brand new, never worn before coral halter maxi dress out of my closet. I called Sue, and she was so excited that I couldn’t even understand half the words she rattled off before she hung up the phone. Thirty minutes later she bursting into my room holding wedges, sandals, three Vera Bradley accessory bags filled with costume jewelry, and her entire case of makeup.

“Let’s get started, shall we?” she asked with an eager smile.

She finally decided that I should wear her jeweled sandals, which had light turquoise gemstones in a crisscross pattern over the top of my foot. They were comfortable and flat, so I didn’t argue the selection. She insisted on me also wearing a pair of her drop earrings that had a similar colored jewel in the center. I was confused as to why we were “matching” turquoise with a coral dress, but she assured me that the colors contrasted perfectly and the pairing was very on trend for summer style. Whatever. It did look kind of cute, I supposed. I refused to allow her to do my makeup though. It was supposed to be 84 degrees today with enough Florida humidity to make it feel like 95, and I didn’t want to sweat off three layers of mask before two o’clock. I put my normal SPF 75 sunscreen on my face and finished with my normal, natural looking makeup. I let her brush a little bit of sparkly, subtle pale pink shimmer onto my eyelids to appease her, and was actually thrilled with what it did to bring out my eyes. The maxi dress fit me perfectly and the halter style squeezed my breasts together just enough to be a little sexy without looking too provocative.

Sue put on a navy blue tank top with small white polka dots and a pair of white shorts. She looked amazing as usual and finished her look with a pair of absurdly high heeled sandals, turning towards me with a look on her face as if to say, “I know you think I’m crazy, but these are cute and I’m comfortable.” I shoved my license, cash, lip gloss, a hair tie, and my cell phone into a wristlet and we were on our way.

Sue drove us almost to 8
^th
Street and parked her car at a friend’s house. We walked the rest of the way. It was a beautiful day and the festival was already crowded and chaotic, but it was the best kind of chaos. Vendors lined the streets on both sides, selling crafty knick knacks, handmade jewelry, boutique clothing, and artwork of all kinds. The smells were conflicting and overwhelming, but spectacular. On one corner was the candy shop, luring you in with the mouthwatering aroma of fresh fudge and cotton candy spinning in the window. Ten steps down, the hot and spicy Creole flavors drew you in as the gentleman passed out sample cups of his jambalaya and shrimp étouffée. There were beer stands everywhere and the kegs were flowing. The closer you walked to the river, the stronger the smell of fried seafood got. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a skewer of Mama Tammy’s blackened shrimp. Her fried coconut shrimp was almost as good as the blackened shrimp. Before I knew it, I had a whole Styrofoam box full of shrimp and a tub of parmesan cheese grits. Sue had wandered away a few minutes ago to say hello to some of her old friends from school, so I continued to walk, looking for somewhere to sit and eat.

As I meandered around the throngs of people leading to and surrounding the dock where I’d just sat a few days ago with Drew, I finally found my way to an empty spot to eat my shrimp. My stomach was audibly growling in protest, as if to say, “What the hell are you waiting for already? FEED ME!” I sat down, folding my legs underneath me and settling my long dress over them, and situated my meal. I audibly moaned at how good the first bite was. Seriously, like heaven. And then to wash it down with my crisp, refreshing, ice cold beer—perfection. The cocktail sauce was smooth with just the right amount of kick, and the cheese grits were pure heaven. My moans and groans of pleasure while I chewed would’ve been embarrassing if anyone else was around.

The people watching was always entertaining, so I turned to observe my surroundings. Cute families of two and half were abundant, even some with the cliché golden retriever in tow on a leash, bandanas wrapped around their necks, a part of the festivities. There were plenty of teenagers, some way too young to be holding the plastic cups full of unidentified beverage that looked like beer. Beautiful women in their forties or older were wearing clothing that they obviously stole out of their sixteen-year-old daughter’s closet. Shirtless men, some magnificent, some grotesquely overweight with bushy chest pubes creeping out were everywhere. As usual, there was pirate-themed attire for the true Fernandina regulars and residents. But everywhere I looked, I was hard-pressed to see anyone alone, like myself. Who walks around shrimp fest alone? I turned back around to watch the water off my little dock location instead of the festival. At least the water was peaceful. It even looked as though a few rain clouds were approaching. I finished most of my shrimp and was half way through my foam tub of parmesan cheese grits when I heard Sue’s voice coming down the dock towards me.

“There you are! I’ve been looking for you for forever!” she yelled giddily, alcohol obviously lacing her words.

“Here I am. I’ve been here for a while,” I responded coldly. “You left me a while ago to go say hi to the Keizer twins.” I attempted to limit my eye roll to no avail.

“Oh, right. Well, Brock and a couple of his buddies have a boat docked over on the side of the seafood restaurant and they invited me to come party with them,” she explained. “I told them I was with you and they said it was fine if you came too.”

It was awful to feel like the outsider in any situation, but especially wretched with Sue, who was the life of the party wherever she was, no matter who she was with. I wasn’t looking forward to having to stomach Brock Woods all day long.

I looked behind her to see him waiting impatiently with two of his douchebag friends for her to come along. “Oh they said it was ‘fine’ if I came too, huh?” I said, laughing. They looked anything but “fine” with me joining them. “That’s okay, Sue. You can go ahead. I’m good here. I’ll catch up with you later or grab a ride home with someone else.” I made sure she could pick up on the obvious disdain in my tone.

“Are you sure? Thank you so, so much, Bree! You’re the best!” she squealed as she bent down to hug me and trotted down towards Brock. So much for caring about my disdain.

I couldn’t help but roll my eyes in annoyance. My bitchy girl brain awoke in a fury.

Seriously? Who does that?

Who just ditches their best friend that they planned on spending the day with at the first sight of a cute guy?

Well, she has been crushing on him for a while now.

But it’s HIM.

He’ll probably try to sleep with her.

She’ll probably let him.

Maybe not, but probably.

What if he slips something in her drink?

He’s just the type of asshole to try something like that.

“Don’t get stung by any jellyfish!” I yelled after her, making sure that she heard me.

She turned, smiled in agreement, and left.
Once again, I’m all by myself, as usual.

I took a huge bite, putting the entire piece of butterflied shrimp into my mouth and mumbled, “Story of my life.”

“Are you talking to yourself now?” a voice said to the left side of me.

Turning my head, I opened my mouth to respond, only to remember it was full of shrimp. And there was Drew Dougherty, standing next to me, smiling his adorable smile. I was sitting on the dock so he looked enormous towering over me but quickly say down next to me.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

I finished chewing my mouthful of food. “Sue ditched me,” I replied jokingly. “I have to talk to someone.”

“Well, now you can talk to me, unless you don’t want the company,” he suggested a little skeptically.

Great. What do I say to that?
“Oh no, join me, please. I’m just finishing my meal. My first plate, anyway.”

“First plate? Seriously? How many plates do you eat?” he asked, eyeing my nearly empty foam to-go box and what was left of my tub of cheese grits.

“Don’t judge me! This is shrimp fest. It’s my favorite day of the year. I eat more on this day than I eat on Thanksgiving,” I boasted. “Where’s your plate, anyway?”

“I haven’t gotten anything yet. I haven’t been here for too long, just been walking around with Mick, but he’s busy saying hi to all of his old friends. I think he knows everyone here. I felt like a third wheel.” He smiled kindly. “I was excited to see you over here by yourself.”

He’s excited to see me? Even after last night?

“I’m glad you noticed me too,” I said, blushing a little. “What do you say we get you a plate? And it’s about time for another beer for me. I’ll show you around and tell you the best tents to stop at. What are you in the mood for?” I asked him as I stood up and straightened out my dress.

He just sat there looking up at me, so I offered my hand for him to grab to help him up. He took my hand and the electric charge I instantly felt was enough to knock me back down. I managed to keep it together long enough for him to stand and end up right up against me, invading my personal space in the best way. I looked up at his face and held my eyes on his for a few awkward seconds until I grinned and broke our gaze.

Jesus, help me get through this day.

We walked down the dock to make our way back to the vendor area. “So, you want fried shrimp, grilled shrimp, or coconut shrimp? Or are you more of a fish guy? Crab cakes? Oysters? Clam strips?” I rattled off all of my favorites and he just watched me, smiling.

“You really like seafood, don’t you?” he teased. As we passed a tent selling corndogs and burgers, he stopped. “This is fine. I’ll just grab a cheeseburger,” he quipped as he turned away from me towards the Landlubber’s tent.

I quickly reached out to grab his arm, unable to ignore the instant rush it gave me to see my small hand not able to wrap around even half of his huge bicep. “Ohhhh no! No you don’t. You are NOT buying a burger at Shrimp Fest! I won’t allow it!” I warned, as if he had insulted me personally.

“Aren’t you a little bossy?” he joked. “Okay, fine. You just order for me then.”

“Good answer!” I responded with a smirk, and made my way over to the Fisherman’s tent. There was a small line of maybe ten or so people in front of us.

“So, thank you for dinner last night. It was incredible. That’s my very favorite meal, you know. Shepherd’s pie. I always thought my mother’s was the best, but you’ve given her a run for her money,” he complimented.

“Really? Thank you! That’s a huge compliment. I take pride in my shepherd’s pie. It’s actually my favorite thing to make. I wouldn’t even know how to write down a recipe. I just sort of do it. And it always comes out good. How are you feeling? Your ribs, I mean?” I asked with hesitation, remembering how I stormed out of the bathroom and left in a crying fit.

“A little better today, thank you. I really do appreciate you helping me. You didn’t have to do that. You weren’t even expecting me over, and then to show me such kindness, it’s just, I just...you’re a really nice person,” Drew said. A few seconds, ones that seemed more like minutes, passed and he broke the awkward silence again. “Listen, Bree, I’m really sorry if I made you uncomfortable last night. I didn’t mean to.”

“It’s okay. You didn’t make me uncomfortable. It just—your tattoo—it caught me off guard. I didn’t mean to get weird and emotional on you. I’m sorry,” I apologized. “That phrase… those words...they’re just very meaningful to me and I didn’t expect to see them there, tattooed on your chest.”

“Can I explain?” he offered.

“It’s okay. You don’t owe me an explanation. We can just forget it,” I said in a hurry, dismissing him, my mind racing and screaming that it wasn’t prepared to hear that those words were permanently etched on him from a prior relationship.

“NEXT!” the vendor yelled out in front of us. I ordered the half/half seafood platter, a ridiculously too big sampler of half fried seafood, half broiled. It was supposed to be for two people but could easily feed four. Drew looked at me like I had lost my ever loving mind when he saw them plating it up for customers in front of us.

“Trust me!” I reassured him, grinning.

“I’ll go grab us drinks while you’re waiting on this,” he proposed. “You want another beer?”

“Actually, I’d love a hard cider. The blue tent over there has it on draft. 32 ounces for $4. You can’t beat it! You should try it. Here, my treat,” I offered, holding out a ten dollar bill.

He waved his hand at my money. “Nah, I got it. And I’m buying the food too. You fed me last night.” He smiled playfully and shoved a twenty dollar bill in my hand.

I didn’t argue with him. He wanted to be chivalrous and I welcomed the gesture. I also welcomed the sight of his broad, muscular back and tight ass walking away from me. He was so incredibly hot it was almost obnoxious. And he possessed this magnetism that made everyone, male and female alike, stare at him everywhere he went. I knew I was staring and I didn’t care. I couldn’t not stare. I couldn’t help that it felt like it was 100 degrees outside yet my nipples were hard as a rock with arousal. I wanted to backhand every other woman who was staring upside their faces and scream, “He’s MINE!” But he wasn’t mine at all.