Falling In Page 7

  “No. It’s a damn shame, too. I love coming out here and so does everyone else.”

  Audrey moved away from his touch and took a few steps closer to the aging factory.

  “I wouldn’t do that,” Liam said and pulled her back by the waist so that she bumped up against him. “It’s not safe to actually go in there.”

  “Oh,” she said with a fair amount of disappointment. “I would love to see the inside.”

  His hand reached around and cupped the patch of flesh where her navel sat.

  “Well when I’m ready to watch a building collapse on you, I’ll let you know.” He squeezed her hot, sticky skin. “It’s getting pretty damn nasty, even for here. Do you want to head back?”

  “Yeah,” she said and stared through the massive openings on the sides of the building. Beyond them, only the black recesses stared back. Though she couldn’t put a finger on why, the place seemed so peaceful. Its disrepair and neglect was almost artistic, drawing in her attention so forcefully that she wasn’t sure that she could look away.

  It was, in a sense, a mirror image of the state of her life.

  “Come on,” Liam said and tapped the back of her hand. “Let’s head back.”

  By the time the two marched back toward where they left the kayak, Audrey was sure that her skin was going to melt right off. Somewhere between the old school house and the graveyard, the temperature spiked at a miserable 102 degrees. With the humidity, it was like someone put Florida’s weather on the “hell” setting.

  “Why is it so damn hot?”

  Not realizing that he put some distance between them as Audrey slowed and gasped for air, Liam turned back at the sound of her voice and waited for her to catch up.

  When she reached him, she asked, “How do you live with this?”

  “Just like everything else,” he responded and stripped off his damp shirt. “It’s a trade-off.”

  It took everything Audrey had to make her feet continue onward in light of the glistening, wash-board body staring back at her. She bit the bottom corner of her lip and trudged toward its tempting glow. Fat, meandering drops of sweat rolled down her back, giving her chills in spite of the oppressive heat.

  “We’re almost there,” Liam said. He reached back and took her hand like he did the night before. “It’s okay. I’m kind of surprised a city girl like you made it as long as you did.”

  Though she was weak, Audrey had just enough energy to reach up and backhand him across the arm. It wasn’t hard enough to hurt, even though a loud, wet pop echoed through the deserted landscape.

  “You’re a jerk.”

  Still a step or two ahead, Liam peered over his shoulder and replied, “Not always.”

  He pushed aside the low-hanging plant that signaled that they were, indeed, back at the rotting dock. Near it, his red kayak sat waiting right where they left it. But instead of leading Audrey toward it, Liam veered off and started toward a different section of the hot, white sand.

  “What’re you doing?”

  Continuing on toward the lapping water, he answered, “I’m doing you a favor.”

  “Oh yeah,” she said with a little attitude. “What’s that?”

  Before she knew what was happening, Audrey’s feet left the ground as Liam scooped her up.

  “You know how to swim, right?”

  Being pressed against his naked chest was something that she didn’t want to end.

  “You’d better not,” she giggled.

  “You sure seem to have a hard time just saying yes.”

  “Liam, you-”

  Audrey’s petite frame flew through the air and fell into the surf with an impressive splash. To her surprise, the water that seemed so warm on the way over was suddenly like a cool oasis. Even though her clothes were soaked through and the little bit of cash she brought was probably ruined, she spread her arms and legs out to float, letting all of her stress and tension melt into the sea.

  The water wasn’t deep where she was. As she bobbed on the gentle surface, the sandy bottom and scattered shells brushed against her arms and legs. Through the patch of blue sky that occupied her vision, little cotton ball clouds marched along in a line.

  Liam kneeled down into the water and leaned over so that she could finally see him again. They were close enough so that Audrey’s arm grazed his rippled core in the brief lull between waves.

  She picked her head up out of the water and asked, “And what if I didn’t know how to swim, tough guy?”

  He inched in and held her up with a hand in the middle of her back.

  “Then I would have saved you.”

  I wish you would, she thought to herself.

  A faint flash of light made both of them snap their heads in the other direction. Miles out to sea, a blistering series of lightning bolts illuminated the open ocean.

  “Don’t worry,” Liam said and turned back to her. “Storms like that pass by without hitting land all the time. Sometimes we all get together, have a few brews and watch them roll past.”

  “Are you sure about that? They seem really close.”

  “I’m sure,” he repeated and moved in for a kiss.

  When they met, the salty layer on Audrey’s lips spread between their groping mouths. Though both were searching for something, the one thing that Audrey wanted most was to be able to trust him; to let go of the pain that haunted every waking thought and emotion.

  A deep, rumbling clap of thunder sent sound waves racing through the calm waters and into their increasingly intertwined limbs. Liam stood up on his knees so that the warm water rolled across his bare abs as his ink-riddled fingers settled under Audrey’s shirt, just over her navel. His touch in such a sensitive spot made her moan softly into his mouth. She closed her eyes and let another thunderous vibration sweep across her goose bump-laden flesh.

  Liam’s hand inched up her ribs like stairs. Without skipping a beat, he dipped below the thin barrier that separated them and closed his shaking palm around her bare breast.

  Behind her clenched lids, Audrey saw more of the bright flashes from the nearby storm as Liam’s calloused fingers massaged her swollen, pointed nipple. She also felt him as he moved her floating body and positioned himself between her legs, only releasing her from their kiss for a moment. When his lips came back down, a bulging swell pushed outward against Audrey’s thin, wet shorts. A violent chill racked her spine and forced her to shiver under his touch.

  Letting go of her breast, he finally pulled her out of the water and lifted her face to his.

  Audrey mumbled like she was drunk, “I don’t know if...”

  “If what?”

  As badly as she wanted to know what he felt like on a deeper level, all of the guilt and uncertainty made her doubt whether or not she could actually go through with it.

  “If I should be doing this.”

  Liam guided her legs shut around his waist and asked, “Why?”

  It was a simple question with a very complicated answer; one that she tried to formulate as they bobbed with the tide’s gentle rocking. Audrey had her back to the passing storm, but could see the stunning flashes reflected in her handsome caller’s eyes as he waited for a response.

  “I,” she said softly but hesitated before copping out as she did before. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Oh.” The disappointment in Liam’s stormy eyes was painfully apparent. “Okay. We should probably get back to town soon anyway. That lightning is getting a little close, after all.”

  Dripping wet from head to toe, the two quietly packed up the kayak and pushed away from the decimated shell of a town, leaving Audrey to struggle with the conflict that raged in her broken heart.

  ---

  Audrey’s phone waited near the sink, where two voicemails were there to greet her when she arrived. The first was from Kim, who was just checking in. The other, however, was far from being so innocuous.

  “Look,” the recording of Max said angrily into her ear. “I know that what
I did was wrong, okay? I know that I should’ve never taken things to where they got...”

  Audrey tapped the counter and waited for the inevitable, which came just as she expected.

  “...but you shouldn’t have said the things that you did.” He paused and took a deep breath in. “I’m being the bigger person and apologizing first. I think you owe it to me to do the same. Right? Anyway, call me back as soon as you get this.”

  She could hear him slam the phone onto the table before the recording ended. When it did, she quickly deleted the voicemail and re-dialed Kim.

  When Kim answered, she did so with a chipper tone.

  “Hey there! I was starting to worry about you.”

  “Sorry about that,” she said and rubbed the back of her neck. “I went kayaking today and didn’t bring my phone.”

  “Wise move. I’ve lost more than one in that ocean.” She paused and asked, sounding cautious, “How’re you feeling?”

  Audrey thought about it for a second and was surprised by the answer that she came up with.

  “Pretty good, actually.”

  “Well do you need anything?”

  “No, not right now. I think coming out here was the best decision that I’ve made in a while.”

  “Good.” Kim sounded pleased. “Things are creeping along over here, but I’ll call you back in a few days with an update.”

  “Sure. Talk to you soon.”

  The women hung up their respective ends and Audrey threw her phone back down. Only then did she realize how much less burdened she felt without the thing around.

  In spite of her doubts, the long-missed feeling of butterflies in her stomach made Audrey feel like she was going to float right out of the open window and into the dark swamp, where the night-prowlers already started to sound their creaking cadence.

  “I’m okay,” she whispered to herself. “I’m okay.”

  Chapter 6

  Arthur McBride waited in front of his historic hotel like before: with the day’s paper spread out in front of his round face. A nearly-empty cup of coffee sat next to him on his favorite bench, which faced the quiet intersection.

  “Good morning,” Audrey called to him and absentmindedly checked the bandage on her wrist.

  It was actually closer to the afternoon. The clock near the entrance said that it was almost eleven.

  “Nice to see you again,” he responded and went about his careful paper folding routine. That time, however, he tossed it onto the ground and picked up his coffee mug. “One of my housekeepers just got back with everything you’ll need.”

  “Great. But I have to ask: how can you drink coffee? It’s almost 90 degrees.”

  “Eh,” he said with a shrug. “You get used to it.”

  “Why does everyone keep saying that about this town?”

  Arthur started toward the lobby and patted her on the shoulder as he passed.

  “Some of the best, most unique things in this world take some getting used to.”

  Audrey couldn’t argue with that, so she decided to get down to business as she followed him in.

  “Do you have more lights that I can use? It’s like a cave back...”

  Before she could finish, Audrey shuffled into a room that already looked completely different. Two large, bright lights were suspended on poles and faced King Neptune. Under their powerful glow, the sad state of its condition was painfully apparent. The water damage that she noticed before fanned out pretty far into the interior and there were dozens of notches where only grey showed through.

  “Someone already cleaned it?”

  Arthur leaned up against the bar, which was completely wrapped in heavy, white painter’s cloth. It was obvious that he took a lot of care in getting the space ready.

  “Yeah,” he replied and blotted his forehead with his sleeve. “That cost a small fortune. I had to bring some guy up from Tampa who sat here and washed it down with cotton swabs one inch at a time. It was something else.”

  Audrey walked around the bar, where every imaginable kind of oil paint, brush, thinner and tool that she could ever need waited.

  “Wow,” she said over her shoulder. “You really pulled out all the stops.”

  He slowly started out of the room with his cup of coffee still held tight.

  “Of course. I expect you to do the same.”

  With a quick wave and no time for Audrey to respond, he disappeared around a corner.

  Alone with the painting for the first time, she climbed a short ladder and carefully eyed the water-damaged corner, doing her best to figure out how to mix her colors. Like riding a bike, the ideas started to flood back as if the dam holding them back just burst.

  She scurried down the ladder and started to work. Even though it was quite a bit cooler in the building, the blazing lights that illuminated her work area made little beads of sweat start to form on the gentle slope of her nose.

  Perhaps because it was a welcome respite from her restless thoughts, Audrey went about her work with a determined focus. It felt so good to paint the way that she used to and just let the time slip by without the worries that seemed to weigh her down all the time.

  Before she knew it, an old grandfather clock near the front desk chimed a single time, signaling that it was already 1. Audrey stopped, mid-stroke, and set down everything that she held. With two hands clasped tightly together, she stretched out her back, careful not to tip over her small ladder. All the way down, her spine crackled and popped from being stuck in one position for so long.

  “That sounds like it felt good.”

  She hopped down to find Liam, who waited with a soft-sided cooler slung over his shoulder.

  “It did.” She walked around to meet him. “What are you doing here?”

  He raised his shoulder--and the cooler--toward her and replied, “I thought you might get hungry, so I made us a little something.”

  “Oh really?”

  Audrey didn’t know how to thank him. It had been a long time since anyone did something so nice.

  “Yeah. Where’s Arthur?”

  “I’m not sure. I was kind of in the zone.”

  “I could see that.”

  She started to feel a little nervous and responded warily, “And how long were you standing there?”

  Liam laughed, “Not long. I just parked my bike outside a few minutes ago.”

  “Good,” she said with relief and turned back to check out her work from a distance.

  In the couple of hours that she worked, all of the water stains were covered and she started down onto Neptune’s infamous trident. All of her additions were subtle and smooth, only brightening the colors that once resided there to their former glory.

  Feeling pleased with herself, Audrey crossed her arms over the growing rumbles in stomach.

  “So what did you bring me?”

  She tried to grab the cooler, but Liam jerked his shoulder away at the last minute, forcing her to stumble forward and into his arms. He gave her a quick, strong hug and left his arm over her shoulder, which he used to start both of them out of the room.

  “You’re feisty today, huh?”

  “Me?” She said jokingly, “I would never.”

  It wasn’t until they entered the breezy hallway that Audrey realized just how hot her work room was. The crisp sea air flooded past the small, glistening beads of sweat the studded her body, giving her a cool shiver.

  “There he is,” Liam said and pointed toward the check-in area. “Hey Arthur!”

  The hotel’s ever-smiling owner looked up from whatever he was doing and waved.

  “What brings you here, Mr. Stone?”

  “I thought you two might be hungry, so I stopped by with some lunch.”

  When he and Audrey arrived at the counter--with his arm still wrapped tightly around her shoulder--Arthur’s eyes briefly glanced at where his hand sat. He was, however, quick to look away and not mention it. If there was one thing to be said about the man, nobody could deny that he had plen
ty of tact.

  “That sounds like a great idea. Why don’t you two go around back and I’ll bring out something to drink.”

  “You got it.”

  Through a lonely door at the other end of the hallway, Liam and Audrey exited at the rear of the building. It wasn’t until they arrived at a wooden table surrounded by four matching chairs that she realized it wasn’t somewhere she had been before.

  Unlike the front part of the hotel, the view from where they settled in next to each other was like its own little beach. Though they could see the ocean from where they sat, it was a modest distance away. Separating it from where Liam carefully unpacked the meal, yards of small, undulating sand dunes lay spiked with tall bunches of wild grass.

  “Check it out,” Liam said, drawing her attention away from the beautiful vista. “The deli got some prosciutto and salami in from Genoa the other day. I’ve been waiting for this stuff to get here for a minute.”

  He pulled a tightly-wrapped, flattened sandwich out of the cooler and started to peel away the sticky layers of plastic that covered it.

  “I think your lunch got squashed, bud.”

  He shook his head and pulled a chef’s knife out of the cooler.

  “It’s supposed to be like that. It’s called a ‘picnic sandwich’.”

  Audrey leaned back in her seat and pulled her knees up to her chest. She watched him carefully unpack the food and slice it into more manageable wedges.

  “That’s a thing?”

  “Yep. You basically you make it with relishes or dressings, meat and whatever else you want, then press it overnight to let all the flavors combine.”

  “Wow,” she said, feeling a little impressed. “So you like to cook?”

  Done with the sandwiches, he tucked the knife back into the cooler and uncapped a glass bowl full of fresh, juice-laden fruit.

  “Not as much as I like to eat.”

  “Fair enough,” Audrey laughed.

  Arthur appeared behind her with a tray of glasses and a tall, globe-like pitcher of lemonade. Between the square ice cubes, thinly-shaved slivers of lemons and limes mingled with each other, further marinating the sweet brew.