A/N: Since I heart you guys so much, I decided to post Chapter 21 tonight. The rest will be up later, or tomorrow morn'...
Enjoy. . .
If heaven came with white sand, clear skies, and water made up of so many shades of blue that a person could lose count, then the beach at Boca Grandi on the windward side of Aruba had to be the celestial paradise. Spencer leaned back on her elbows and felt the sun warming her skin.
"Don't burn," she reminded herself, reaching for the lotion again.
Two weeks ago, Spencer never would have admitted to anyone that she would willingly lie on a beach, still in a cast, wearing only a bathing suit top and some cut-off jeans. But here she was. And enjoying it too.
Spencer looked at a tree on a low rise near the shore. Mac had pointed it out, telling her it was a divi-divi tree, the symbol of Aruba. It had the strangest shape for a tree, its trunk and branches brown and twisted like an ancient hand and holding a puff of greenery in its palm.
She sat up and shielded her eyes against the sun as she looked out at her friends racing across the water. The surf was high and powerful, and the spray often reached her, even where she was lying on her blanket far from the edge of the water. Ash had told her they were trying to get ready for Aruba high-winds Amateur Challenge, a competition that would take place in June. It was one of the most popular windsurfing competitions in the Caribbean, and the race attracted competitors from ore than thirty countries.
Ashley, Mackenzie, and Aiden were out in heavy swells far beyond the rollers crashing into the shore. As she watched, Spencer saw them all disappear into a trough. She frowned, thinking for the twentieth time that they must have been swallowed up by the sea, only to see Mac come flying up the far slope of the wave and sail straight up into the air. She flexed her legs expertly and dropped down smoothly into the next trough.
Ash was next to appear, and that wasn't good enough for her, obviously. As the fins of her board cleared the top of the wave, Spencer watched her lean back, forcing her board into a backward summersault. She held her breath as the brunette tumbled down into the water, and only let it out when she completed the flip and landed in the water smoothly in control. Aiden followed, flying off the top of the wave, and he too, quickly disappeared behind the other two into the next trough. They were amazing to watch.
It had been an educational experience hearing them talk this morning. Chop and reef passes. Jibes and Broad reaches. Boardmarkers named Geert. Sails named Pryde. Boards of carbon and kelvar. Bump and jump. Sheesh.
It was actually fun, though, to see how into it they were. She didn't really have a clue what they were talking about most of the time, but she did understand it when they said things like "scary fast."
My god, she thought. She was looking at scary fast now.
The three had come up into an area of slightly flatter water, and they were skipping across the surface like three triangular disks hurled from a slingshot.
Spencer lay back on the blanket again and pulled the baseball cap over her face. Except the sound of the sea and the wind, it was quiet out here. Few tourists came to Boca Grandi, it seemed, preferring the calmer waters on the other side of the island.
Last night, Ash had taken Spencer out to eat at an Italian restaurant overlooking those calm waters. The chairs and tables had actually been set on the beach with torches burning around the edges of the place. Spencer had loved the food, the atmosphere. . .and especially the company.
Ever since the conversation about her father's conversation with Ash about sex, the thought wouldn't leave Spencer's mind. Ash's words about waiting for her to be ready continued to dance in her head. She wondered hoe long Ash would wait.
How long did Spencer want her to?
Life was not as simple as deciding something and going through with it. At least, not Spencer's life. She couldn't be happy. Here she was in paradise with a hot and attentive woman, and she was killing herself worrying about what would come after. When summer was over. She'd be back in Cincinnati. Ash would be in L.A. Plus, her parents had failed at their long-distance relationship. Nevermind the distance. Could they keep a relationship going for that long? And would Ash want to?
Spencer realized she was giving herself a headache. Ash was thinking of today, tomorrow, this weekend. . .and she was already planning their retirement. She wished she could be more like Mackenzie. Her friend told her she and Aiden had a great time last night. But Mac wasn't picking out wedding dresses. She was only planning as far as this morning's sailing. She was living the moment and enjoying Aiden's company now.
Spencer tore her cap off and sat up. She wondered if she were even capable of having a relationship. She shook her head. What a piece of work.
Looking out at the water, she saw two other people had joined Ash, Mac, and Aiden. Three more people were dragging equipment down onto the beach. "Five more days," Spencer muttered. Five more days and she'd be trying everything. Swimming, scuba diving, windsurfing, snorkeling, horse back riding. Name it, and she'd be up for it. She was ready.
She looked to the south, wondering if she dared to hazard a walk along the sandy beach. The tops of only a few houses could be seen in the distance, and the pretty Alto Vista Chapel was visible slightly inland, high on a hill. She looked north towards the lighthouse. There was nothing but sand, sea, and rock in that direction.
Except for the two men sitting in the shade of a divi-divi tree just above the beach.
Spencer stared at the white car behind them.
A hundred yards offshore, Ash caught sight of Spencer pushing to her feet. The brunette was thinking about taking the board for another run, but she decided against it. Instead, she jibed and headed straight for the shore.
The blonde had been sitting there for a couple of hours, and the sun was getting pretty high in the sky. For the last two runs, she'd began to worry about Spencer sizzling to a crisp. Ash had brought a sun umbrella for her to the beach, but she'd refused to let him open it, telling the older girl she'd take care of it. She must be ready to get out of the sun, Ash thought.
To her surprise though, the blonde wasn't heading back to the car. She was walking north, in the direction of the lighthouse. The sand on the beach was soft, and as Ash got close to the shallows, she could see it was hard going for the blonde with the crutches.
Guilt hit Ash like a wave. Spencer was probably bored. As well as burnt. She called to the other girl as she got off the board, but she doubted Spence heard her.
By the time Ash had came out of the water, she realized the other girl wasn't following the beach, but climbing a low, stony embankment beyond the beach. By a grove of trees beyond it, Ash saw a white car. Two men were standing on either side of the car, the doors open, engaged in an animated conversation. She remembered what the blonde told her last night. She'd seen two guys in a white car.
Ash ditched her board in the sand and took off after her. Spencer made it a surprisingly good distance, despite the crutches. The stony incline she was on now, though, worked in Ash's favor, and she caught up with the younger woman halfway up the hill.
"Where are you going?" Ash asked, reaching her.
Spencer seemed relieved to see her. "That's them. The two from yesterday. The ones who were watching the house."
"What were you going to do?"
"I'm going to ask them what they want."
"Spencer," she took her arm, forcing her to stop. "If these two are the same guys, and if you were the only one they were watching, don't you think it would be complete lunacy to approach them alone?"
She nodded. "But I'm not alone. You're with me."
"Yeah, but I wasn't a minute ago. You could have waited for me," she said, more sharply than she intended. "Look around you. If you reached them, and they decided to stuff you in the trunk, who would have heard you scream?"
"You're being a little overly dramatic."
"No, I'm not. I'm worried about you. You cant keep doing dangerous things."
"I really wasn't trying to," she said softly, leaning into the brunette. "I figured if I get close enough, I could read the license plate on their car." She leaned back on her crutches.
"And what were you going to do with that? Call your good friends at the fire department?" she asked, tapping the blonde's cheeks with her fingers.
She stared at Ash for a moment, the color rising in her face. "I might have," she said stubbornly.
Frustrated, Ash ran a hand through her hair. Standing there in that little bikini top and tiny jean shorts that showed off a knockout body, Spencer didn't even realize how beautiful she was. She didn't know that two strange men in a place secluded at this might get some sick ideas. . .even if they weren't the same men as before. They could easily grab her, even if they didn't know her from Adam, Or Eve. Of whatever.
Spencer looked up the hill. "They're gone."
Ash looked to see the white car making its way up the rough road over the hills separating Boca Grandi from the rest of the island.
"You don't have to sound so disappointed," the brunette said.
"Well I am. I don't particularly like the idea of being a victim, and somebody watching me from a distance makes me fell like one. So if taking a two-by-four or a crutch to their heads is the answer, then I'm ready to go that route."
Before Ash could argue, she wheeled around and headed toward the parked cars, leaving a small bruise on the brunette's shin from her crutches she swung around.
Ash had a feeling Spencer was headed to Mac's car.
What the heck was the brunettes getting into? Spencer was stubborn, temperamental, and accident prone. She didn't particularly like the idea of having to explain their relationship to Spencer's father. . .who also happened to be her boss.
Then again, Spencer was smart, funny, passionate, and beautiful. And Ash was falling hard for her. . . In the capital L sense of the word.
That was the scariest thing of all.
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A/N: Thanks so much for chapter 20 reviews!
Review now or I will let out the evily sweetness of my monkey ningas. . . roar. Hear them scream.