“I don’t think that’s possible Nate.” Her voice was soft as she said it and it waivered as if she didn’t want to say or believe her own words. Then she left me standing there. Watching her go.
Eli was waiting at his truck. The look on his face said it all. She may see him as a friend, but he saw her as more than that. I believed he always had. There was a possessiveness in his stance. The way he held her door and watched me. Waiting to see if I spoke.
I met his gaze and the warning was clear. He was staking his claim silently. Just for me. I understood it. That made more sense than what Bliss believed they were. A girl like that didn’t have a guy as “just a friend” not when you looked like Bliss. Any fucking man would want more from her. She was the perfect package of beauty and innocence, nothing ugly about her; inside or out, and you could see it.
Other than Bliss I’d never seen that combination in a woman and trust me, I’ve looked. A lot. More than I should have. After my summer with her I measured every female by her standards. Until I convinced myself that what I was remembering was an illusion, because we’re all imperfect. I let it go and the line of beauties that followed had little more than unbelievable bodies. That was their selling point.
Octavia was a drama free selection. Easy, unchallenging and simple. She had been a relief. What I thought I was looking for. Until I came back here. Until I saw Bliss again. Then I remembered what perfect actually was. What I wouldn’t have. What I had once had.
Eli opened the door for her and I watched as she climbed inside. He spoke to Bliss, she only nodded, Eli quickly closing the door. Again, he looked at me. If Bliss were anyone else I’d take that as a challenge. I’d win. I always did. But this wasn’t a game I would play.
She was what I knew I couldn’t touch. My world wasn’t for her. She was Sea Breeze and her world was here. Mine was out there waiting. Getting the hell out of one coastal town and settling in another wasn’t change. It was another fucking coastal town.
What I wanted was Bliss’s friendship. Being friends with her would be the hardest damn thing I ever did but I could do it. Eli was what Bliss needed. I was made for the Octavia’s of the world. No matter what my mom believed. She had other ideas concerning me. I didn’t have the heart to tell her how off she was about her son.
I was my father’s son. But there wouldn’t be a Blaire to save me. I wasn’t open to that. Bliss wasn’t going to change me. Just for this summer I’d like for her to be exactly as she was back then. To feel truly happy, full of hope, and alive as I’d once remembered. Life became dark at times. Bliss knew that better than anyone. Yet, she lived with a smile, maintained that hope in her eyes. For three months I could enjoy it.
Getting past Eli was the problem. He didn’t trust me. Didn’t even like me. I thought about how much he’d hated me seven years ago. Bliss had been naïve, hadn’t seen it. I did and hadn’t cared.
Bliss York
“IS HE EVER going to realize she doesn’t like him?” Crimson disgustedly asked as she came to stand beside me. I searched for Cruz knowing it was him we were discussing without any explanation. He was, as always, talking to Hadley. Poor boy was fixated on her.
Hadley had flown in on her father’s private jet with her parents and sister for this party. In the morning they’d return to their home in Beverly Hills. In June, they’d come back, to yet another house, the one here they occupied for the summer. She lived a life so distant from any of ours that none of us was close to her.
“He has to try,” I replied. The real issue here was that Crimson had, as of late, become interested in Cruz . . . again. It wasn’t the first time. When they were little they were inseparable. Much like Eli and me. But Crimson had always had stars in her eyes whenever she was around him. Time had changed them both, but the stars were still there for Crimson. Cruz led the terrible six. It took a lot to keep them constantly in trouble. Crimson was too smart for that. Or I thought she was.
“He’s the son of my father. Or so my momma says. So be careful Crimson. He’s not the settling down type. I love him, don’t get me wrong, but he’s in it for women period. All women. Every single one.”