Hello everyone! Here is the second chapter of this story. See, it didn't take me long to post it! It would've actually taken less time, but I wanted some English person to read it to correct my French induced mistakes, and I didn't find one… Ugh. So it's not proofread, which I HATE but I hope it's not too bad…
Anyway, hope you like this second chapter!
The waves were slowly caressing her feet as the young woman looked at the ocean with a small smile.
"I told you it was worth it to come here, right?" Traci asked Andy, the sound of the waves half covering her voice.
"Yes you did! It's just been a big week you know? And with everything that happened with Sam… And Luke!" She added, looking at her friend.
"I know. Speaking of Luke, did he call you, yet?" Traci asked, starting to walk again along the shore.
Andy shook her head. "No, not yet… I don't think he will come Trace." She said, looking at the soft waves rolling on the sand. "Honestly, I don't even know why I wanted to give us a second chance." She said in a voice so low that the waves almost covered it.
"Still fantasizing on that TO of yours, I see?" Her friend told her, looking at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Trace! That's not the point!" Andy quickly replied with an incredulous look. "Although at least he's here. I can't fantasize on Luke, I barely ever see him." She added, raising her hands in the air, annoyed.
"I know." Traci said, resting a hand on her friend's shoulder for a couple of seconds. "You know no one's forcing you to be with Luke." She continued.
"Yeah, well I can't really be with him if he's not there right?" She asked, getting her phone out of her pocket to see if he had called her. The screen was still just displaying the time. No missed calls.
Traci was opening her mouth to speak again when someone called her name. The two friends turned around to see Jerry coming their way.
"I should leave you two alone." Andy said as he got closer.
"Okay." Her friend told her before adding: "But remember Andy, just go with your heart."
"Not sure it's the best idea since the last time I did that it got me in trouble, but thanks!" She said with a small laugh before going back to the inn, leaving Traci with Jerry.
Andy was just entering her room when her phone rang. The caller ID said Luke Callaghan and she answered quickly.
"Hey Luke, how did the job go?" She asked, trying to sound cheerful.
"Hey, yeah not too good actually. Andy, I'm sorry, I won't be able to make it." He said on the other end of the line.
"Oh… Okay, I guess I saw that coming." She said in a disappointed tone, sitting down on the chair by the window.
"What does that mean?" He asked, a little bit on edge.
"It means that you're never there anyway so…" She simply stated, breathing in deeply to keep her voice steady.
"Yeah, well, I wish I was there. I don't like you being in the same inn as Swarek, especially after what he did on the night of the blackout." The detective told her, jealousy sticking a little out of his voice.
"What do you mean what he did?" She asked, knowing very well that Sam hadn't really done anything that night.
"He told me Andy. That he was the one to try and kiss you, and that you shut him down." He told her, leaving her speechless. He had told him what?
"When did he say that?" She asked in a low voice.
"The night of the prisoner transport. Anyway, it doesn't change anything…" He started, but Andy wasn't listening anymore, everything finding its place in her head like pieces of a big puzzle.
"It actually changes something, Luke. It changes everything. I was the one who went to see him, not the other way around." She said with a controlled voice.
"What do you mean?" He asked, his tone a little harsher than it was just a few seconds ago.
"I went to see him, on the night of the blackout. I needed someone, and he was there. I am the one who tried." She simply stated, wondering why Sam had told him that.
"Oh so now it'll be my fault?!" Luke said roughly.
"I never said that, Luke, I just…" She started, trying to explain herself before stopping again. "Actually, you know what? I don't have to explain myself. You weren't there then, and you're not here now." She said, not wanting to talk about it anymore.
"What does that mean then?" Luke asked as Andy bit her lip, trying to keep her voice steady, knowing what she had to do.
"I just can't do this anymore." She finally said a few seconds later. "I'm sorry." She said.
"Yeah, me too…" He simply said before ending the call. Leaving her sitting alone in her room, tears silently running down her cheeks.
She quickly changed into her pajamas and slipped under the blankets, concentrating on the sound of the waves crashing on the beach just outside her window.
She couldn't understand why Sam had told Luke that it was his fault and not hers. That was also probably why Luke had decided to talk to her again that night. If he had known that it was her fault, he probably wouldn't have changed his mind.
Shaking her head, Andy turned to lie on her side. It was probably better for everyone that it had ended like that.
She deserved someone who would be there for her, she tried telling herself. "Someone like Sam." A little voice whispered in her head.
Pushing that voice away, Andy closed her eyes, trying to sleep. She had a big day tomorrow.
A knock on her door woke Andy up the next morning.
"Time to get up McNally." She heard Sam say through the closed door.
Groaning, she put her head under the pillow, wishing to go back to sleep, but she knew she had to get up. It was already past 9am and they had to take the pictures this morning, and then the rehearsal dinner that night.
Still wishing she could've slept more, she got up and quickly threw some clothes on before making her way down for breakfast. When she got to the dining room, almost everyone had finished their breakfast, but Traci was still there, drinking her coffee.
"Good morning." Andy said as she sat down next to her, grabbing one of the chocolate muffins from the tray in front of her.
"Hey, good morning. Did Luke ever call last night?" Her friend asked, setting down her coffee mug.
"Yeah…" Andy simply said, grimacing to her friend before taking a bit of her muffin. The sweet taste of chocolate warmed her inside and she pushed the little voice in her head telling her that it was bad to have chocolate in the morning.
"That bad, ey?" Traci said with a sympathetic look.
"Let's just say that I won't be waiting for him anymore…" Andy simply said, pouring herself some coffee before adding milk in the mug.
"What happened? Do you wanna talk about it?" She asked, wondering why she had suddenly decided to break it off.
"He brought the blackout incident up again." Andy started, taking a sip of her coffee before continuing. "Sam told him that he was the one who had made the move and that I had pushed him back."
"And I'm guessing you wanted to set the record straight?" Her friend guessed, raising an eyebrow.
"What was I supposed to do Trace? I just had to, and then I realized that he only took me back because of what Sam had said, and I just couldn't do it." She explained, shrugging. "At least now I'll stop waiting for him all the time."
"So what now? Are you gonna tell Sam?" Traci asked, finishing up her coffee before setting her mug down.
"Tell me what?" Sam asked, sitting next to McNally and stealing a bite of her muffin before eating it.
"Tell you that you can have your own muffin if you want one!" Andy said, slapping his hand that was going to take another piece of her breakfast.
"You shouldn't be eating chocolate anyway." He started, giving her a smile before he continued. "And I don't have time, I have to get dressed now." He said, getting up and walking towards the stairs.
Shaking her head, Andy quickly finished her muffin and coffee and went to get dressed too.
The picture taking didn't take too long for Andy since she wasn't a big part of the wedding, and she was back at the hotel a little after lunch.
The weather was super warm that day, and Andy decided that it was the perfect time for sunbathing on the beach. After putting her bathing suit on, she got out of her room and ran into Traci.
"Going sunbathing without me?!" Her friend asked her on a fake offended tone.
"Never. I was coming to get you." Andy told her with a wink.
"You better had been!" Traci said with a grin. "I'll put my bathing suit on and I'll join you in a minute."
"Okay." Andy said before going down the stairs.
Getting out by the front door, the young woman made her way to the beach. The sand was warm under her feet, sliding softly between her toes, tickling her sensitive skin. Walking a bit quicker to avoid the sand burning her feet, Andy got near the ocean and laid down the towel she had gotten from her room.
Taking off her jeans shorts and t-shirt, Andy laid down on the towel smiling. The sun was so warm on her skin, it totally felt like a summer day. The waves were rolling a few meters from her as the tide continued to go down.
Closing her eyes to get away from the sting of the sun, Andy breathed in deeply, taking in the salty smell of the ocean. There was no point in letting what happened with Luke ruin her weekend off, she tried telling herself. She was probably better without him anyway.
A few minutes later, her friend came and laid her towel next to hers.
"It is such a beautiful day." Traci said, turning her head towards Andy, smiling.
The young woman returned her smile and nodded. "It really is. It was definitely what I needed after a crazy week like that." Andy told her before turning back to the sun.
Andy was rubbing sunscreen on Traci's back when Sam and Jerry came down to the beach to join them.
"Hey ladies." Jerry said, stopping right beside them.
Sam was following right behind him, and he couldn't help but stare at Andy a little longer than he should have. After all he wasn't used to her wearing a bikini, and he had to say that it made quite a difference from her being in uniform.
She was wearing a white bikini top with light blue stripes and an all-white bottom. The light color was making her freckles stand out, probably brought on by the sun she had been taking in for a couple of hours now. She was so beautiful, Sam thought, trying to tear his gaze away from her.
"Wanna go for a swim?" Jerry asked, pointing at the waves. They were even bigger now than earlier, crashing over the sand with that typical wave noise.
"The water must be freezing." Traci replied, emphasizing on the word freezing as she look at the ocean.
"So now you're scared of a little cold water Nash?" Her boyfriend teased her, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow.
"Me? Scared? Hell no!" She replied, looking at McNally to be sure she was done with the sunscreen before she got up. "I'll race you to the water."
With that, Traci got up and started running to the water. Jerry quickly took off his shirt before following her, sand flying behind his feet as he rapidly caught up with her just as they reached the ocean.
"Traci, you didn't do my back!" Andy screamed to her friend as she realized that her back was still free of sunscreen.
"Just get Sam to do it." She heard her friend reply as she jumped over the first small waves.
Sighing, Andy turned to Sam with the sunscreen and a pleading look. He nodded and got closer to her. This was not what the young woman had planned; she had to say that the thought of having Sam's hands on her body right now was something quite troubling.
He knelt next to her before taking the tube of sunscreen from her hand.
"Thanks Sam, she was supposed to do it but I guess the ocean is more interesting." She told him with a small laugh.
"No problem. What about you McNally? Want to go play in the water?" He asked as he started to rub the sunscreen on the top of her back.
"Yeah, well as soon as we're done with the sunscreen we can go join them." Andy replied, trying not to show how much the warm hands of her partner were affecting her.
"Oh because you think I'm one to go swimming in freezing water?" Sam said, raising an eyebrow that Andy couldn't see.
"Why not? It can be fun." She told him as he continued to rub sunscreen on her, his hand on her lower back now.
"Yeah, sure." He scoffed, concentrating on his task.
Andy laughed, not trusting herself to talk as his hands continued caressing her lower back. The combination of warm hands, cold sunscreen and the occasional grain of sand scratching her skin was giving her goosebumps that she hoped her TO wouldn't see.
"There." He finally said, putting his right hand on her left shoulder as he turned around to face her. "All done."
"Thanks." She said, getting up and grabbing the hand that he had on her shoulder to make him get up too. "Now you're coming with me!"
"McNally…" He said, pulling on her hand to get up, but not even taking one step towards the water.
"Swarek…" She said, teasingly as she pulled a little harder on his hand.
Groaning, Sam finally let go of her hand to take his shirt off. "I'm gonna make you regret this McNally." He said with a huge grin.
Giggling like a child, the woman in question started running towards her friends that were already deep in the water. Sam was quickly behind her and as they got to the water he caught her in his arms, holding her up as she screamed and giggled some more. When they were in deeper water, he finally released his grip only to grab her under the knees and throw her in the water.
She emerged near her friends, shaking her head to get the water out of her eyes. "It's freezing!" She said looking at Sam.
"Well I told you so!" He said, jumping upwards as the next big wave made its way to them, going over Andy's head.
Concerned, Sam took a step towards her to make sure she was okay. She got out of the water with a huge smile and laughed some more.
"Yeah… But it is fun!" She said, turning towards the ocean so that she could see the next waves coming.
"I guess." Sam said with a smile. Playing in the waves wasn't his favorite activity, but looking at his partner in front of him almost made him change his mind.
She was right beside Traci, jumping every time a wave came, and letting herself being dragged by it for a few feet. The sight was making his heart swell. She was so beautiful, the sun was reflecting in her eyes, making them shine like diamonds, and her smile was just something else.
He loved the way that she could still get amazed by the small things in life. The way her smile lit up every part of her face. She looked happy like a child at the moment, and he couldn't help but smile too. He was still stunned at how she was still so young at heart even with the life she had lived growing up and the job she was doing now.
A few minutes later the guys decided to get out of the cold water, letting the two friends alone in the ocean as they got back to the towels that were still laying higher on the beach. Sam let himself drop on his, still watching Andy from afar.
"She's beautiful isn't she?" Jerry asked Sam, giving him an understanding look as his friend turned his head to look at him.
"Traci? Yes I guess she is." He simply replied as Jerry raised an eyebrow.
"No brother, Andy. You're looking at her like she's the 8th wonder of the world. Don't even try to deny it." He said, giving Sam an insistent look.
"Yeah, maybe, but she's with Callaghan anyway." He told Jerry, giving a quick glance to the two women who were still laughing. He knew that he had missed his chance with her and he just had to get over it.
"I'm not sure about that. Traci didn't tell me everything, but he's not coming here this weekend." His friend told him, making Sam's heart skip a beat.
"What do you mean he's not coming?" He asked Jerry, wondering if it was because of work or because of something else.
"I told you all I know. But from what I understand, it's more than just work that's keeping him away." He replied, not having time to say much more as the two young women were coming up their way.
Trying to push back the little voice in his head that was telling him he might still have a chance, Sam turned to grab McNally's towel before he got up. Andy was holding her arms around her, shivering as she walked and Sam took a few steps towards her.
He held up the towel and wrapped her in it as she got close to him. Making sure it was covering her, he rubbed her arms over the towel a few times, trying to warm her up as he could feel her trembling under his hands. He couldn't know that having him that close to her was making Andy shiver with something other than cold.
"Told you it was cold McNally." He said with a smile when he took a step back to sit on his towel again.
"Yeah. It was worth it though." She said, still looking at him with sparkling eyes.
Sam laughed before he laid down on his back, taking in the warm sun that was quickly drying the cold water off his skin. Soon, Andy put her towel down between Sam's and Traci's and laid down between her two friends, feeling way warmer already.
"This is just heavenly…" Andy whispered a few minutes later, sighing from contentment.
Sam nodded, sliding his hand to hers, squeezing it just for a couple of seconds before he took it back, crossing his hands behind his head as he closed his eyes.
"It definitely is." He replied on the same tone, smiling as he breathed in the deep salty smell, mixed with the sweeter one of the woman who was lying just beside him.
It was definitely heavenly.
That's it for tonight! I hope you liked it! (And I REALLY hope there weren't too many mistakes… I really need to find a backup proofreader!) Leave me a review if you liked it! I'm gonna try and get the next chapter up sometime this week!