Hey there lovelies!
Another Rose chapter coming your way, and I hope you enjoy every bit of it!
I loved seeing a lot of you at the meetup and I'm still recovoring from an amazing weekend that has me filled with so much inspiration! So without further ado, let's get back to the beach B)
Special thanks to the ever amazing Pamela who prereads for us and gives us the suggestions that make our chapters really shine!
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-14-
Rose
July 5, 2023
Lighthouse Cove, Maine
Hangovers are so much worse when you start edging closer to thirty. Back in college, the girls and I could party all night, sleep for two hours, then wake up and take finals. Including Bella, who may be focused and driven now but once upon a time, she had her fair share of parties under her belt.
Damn, it's a miracle we graduated.
The house is quiet as I make my way to the kitchen, knowing the girls are likely already on the beach. It's nearly noon, but I still need my coffee, so I opt for iced this morning instead of hot. I don't need the heat of the sun mixing with the heat of my drink making me toss my cookies in the sand.
There's a dry-erase board hanging on the fridge that we've used over the years to jot down lists for the small market in town and random quotes, so I decide to add a little something before I make my way to the beach.
The only cure for a real hangover is death.
"There she is!" The girls chorus just as my foot sinks a little too far in the sand, making me stumble while they erupt in laughter.
"I think I left part of me back at that party," I sigh, plopping down on the blanket they have laid out.
"I'm kind of shocked you didn't bring someone home," Ali teases me.
They've never judged me for the way I've lived my past year. If anything, they've lived vicariously through me and loved to hear all about my sexcapades when we would talk.
But her comment brings back the thought of Emmett. The way I kept finding myself staring at his lips all night. How I still feel the spots on my skin where he touched me tingling as I think back about it.
"The week is young," I shrug. "I did run into someone last night though."
"Ran into someone? Here? Who on Earth would you run into out here?" Bella asks.
"Emmett. The journalist I mentioned to you guys? He claimed he was following that band I went to see, so we hung out for a while, but it turns out he…I don't know, came here for me?" I chew my lip, looking out over the waves coming in.
It's all so surreal. I've never really been pursued before. With Royce, I fell in with all the naïveté of a twenty-two-year-old. He didn't have to try to win me over.
I can't wrap my head around someone flying halfway across the country just to be with me. Especially when I didn't even know this person had any sort of feelings for me besides professional.
"Talk about a grand gesture," Ali beams, sunglasses covering the knowing look I know she has in her eyes.
"Too grand. We work together," I push.
"Barely. It's not like he works directly with you at the station. You could avoid him if things went bad pretty easily."
She may be right, but…
"I'm not getting involved with someone I know at work. Not even if it's just casual."
"Maybe it's time for something not so casual," Bella side-eyes me, mischief written all over her face.
"I don't need that right now. I told him to go home." I dismiss her with a wave, but something about her comment sticks with me as we spend the afternoon by the beach and I get to listen to the girls talk about Jasper and Edward. It makes me happy to see a hint of the Alice I once knew, whose main priority was making sure everyone's life was full of light and fun. She's still fun now, but we've all changed over the years as life has gotten harder for us, and it's wonderful to see her youth again. As for Bella…the time is finally coming when she maybe, might consider someone and I know Edward is worth considering. I think he'll be good for her.
A couple of hours later, we're walking back to the house when I spot something sitting on our porch.
"Did we get a package?" I ask the girls, shielding my eyes from the sun while I peer at the package. It's a small thing, whatever it is.
"Well it's certainly not big enough to be my clothes," Bella sighs. She's currently wearing her only bathing suit and a pair of Alice's shorts.
As we get closer, I can see what it is as clear as day. Coffee, and a small bag sitting next to it.
Together, our steps pound against the worn wood of the porch and I pick the items up, only to see there's writing on the bag.
"Why would I want to go? Now that you're all I know.
-Emmett"
My heart sinks right down to my feet as I read the words from a song I know well, and stays there as I notice that he found some way to get my exact drink along with a chocolate croissant here on the island. I didn't even know we had a coffee shop.
"Whoa," Bella blows out a large gust of air, peeking over my shoulder to read the note. "I guess he didn't listen to you, did he?" She grins.
"He sure didn't," I say, unsure what to do.
It's strange, this pull I have towards him. I've always gravitated in his direction when he's around, but I just wrote it off as Emmett being Emmett. He's charismatic. He can carry on a conversation for hours with anyone and make them feel special. It's just who he is.
I never paused to wonder if there was something more than carnal attraction because…why would I? I was a married woman. And even when I wasn't anymore, there was the whole matter of working together.
"Rose, come back to Earth," Alice says, nudging me with her elbow. I tend to get lost in my thoughts sometimes and need to be pulled back down to the ground, and Bella and Alice both never hesitate to grab the string that keeps me from floating off. "Don't overthink this. It's a good thing. We're taking a break from the real world, let's have fun."
Fun. Alice has always been good at that. Always the one finding the best outings for us when we were able to scrape enough together to go out and do something during our college days. Always funny and outgoing and the life of the party.
I've had a lot of flings in the past year, but I wouldn't call any of them fun.
I spend the day stalking Emmett on any social media platform I can find. For the first time, I let myself imagine it. Being in pictures next to him, what it would feel like to give him more than a friendly hug. I wonder what he's like in a relationship.
I stop that thought before it can go too far.
At some point, Bella comes in to borrow a shirt, and I know she sees right through the facade I'm trying to put up of not caring about this man.
And, eventually, I convince myself to text him.
Rose: Thank you for the coffee and croissant. I devoured them instantly.
Emmett: I'd be disappointed if you didn't.
The response comes almost immediately and I realize I didn't actually think I would get this far. After waffling for who knows how long, I didn't think to consider what I was going to say.
Rose: I'm glad you stayed.
Emmett: I'm beginning to think I am, too.
Rose: Can I see you?
Might as well get to the chase.
The only response I get is a dropped pin, and he's only about a block away from me.
I don't let myself think about what this means. How he stopped his entire life to come be with me. I don't even think about the fact that I may be taking a life-altering step when I head in his direction.
I just dive. Headfirst. Because I deserve some fun and Emmett is just the kind of trouble I'm looking to get into.
I may not know who I am. But I'll get there, somehow. For now, I'm grabbing any opportunity life hands me.
The place he's staying at is cute. Much smaller than the one I share with the girls, probably only one room with a little kitchenette and bathroom if I can tell from the outside, but it's all white and I can see the path leading to the beach behind it from the sidewalk.
My knuckles connect with the door only two times, and every shred of confidence I built on the way up here falters when he swings open the door looking like he stepped right out of my wet dreams.
He must have showered recently as his hair is still wet, making his curls stand out. He's wearing a black Adidas t-shirt that stretches across his muscles and a pair of black board shorts, and the smell of fresh man hits me in full force. It makes my mouth water. But when his forearm comes up to rest on the doorway and he throws in a casual lean and a smile that lights his whole face up, I have the opposite problem when my mouth dries up immediately.
"Hi." It's all I can muster.
"Hey," He replies, making no move to let me in or say anything more. He just stands there. Smiling. Ogling. And I hate that I like it so much, but it's getting awkward fast.
"Could I come in?" I offer.
He shakes his head a little, seeming to clear it, and it makes me feel better that he's a little uneasy on his feet as well. It helps to know I'm not the only one treading unfamiliar waters.
"Yeah, of course," He steps aside and I squeeze past him, my shoulder brushing his chest and making my skin tingle.
It's about what I expected to be inside. Clean and white with seashell decorations. A true little beach haven.
I'm so nervous, stomach rolling, and sweaty palms. I don't know what to say, but a million options are running through my mind, followed by his possible responses, none of them in my favor.
"Rose," my name on his lips makes me turn my head towards him to see him standing by the door, hands shoved in his pockets. "Did you know it's written all over your face when you're overthinking?"
I roll my eyes a little because honestly, he doesn't really know me. He only knows the shiny, professional Rosalie I let him see. All except for that one time.
"What's happening here, Emmett?"
"What do you want to happen?" He takes a couple of steps closer to me. A couple of steps go a long way in this place, so he's standing right in front of me now, making me crane my neck to look up at him.
"It doesn't matter what I want." I turn from him to the sliding French doors that lead to a small back deck that overlooks the ocean. Being in such close proximity to him in such a new capacity is making it harder to breathe. Especially with a perfectly nice bed only a couple of feet away, the fact that I haven't been laid in three weeks, and this gorgeous man ready to have his wicked way with me.
I assume.
"Then why are you here?" He removes his hands from his pockets, crossing his arms over his chest in that confident way only Emmett can make look sexy and not douche-y.
I don't have a good answer for him. I may have sat and thought about it for a few hours, but that doesn't mean I came up with any sort of results.
"Sit down, Rose." He waves a hand towards the bed. I don't know if I can be on a bed with him, and it must be written all over my face. "I just want to talk."
I hesitate, but not for long. Sitting will ground me a little. My own way of tying my string down.
"Do you remember that charity thing we went to about six months ago?" He asks after he sits next to me.
I don't know why he's bringing it up but, "Yes."
"You had that tool there with you. What was his name?"
I have to think a little too hard to remember. "Liam."
"Yeah, that fuck. He kept grabbing your ass in front of everyone and staring down your shirt. He didn't care about you at all."
"I didn't care about him," I shrug. The truth is, men have been just as disposable to me as I have been to them. We used each other, so why would I be upset about it?
"Regardless. I didn't even know you had left Royce at that point. And then I saw you with yet another man that didn't appreciate what he had." Emmett throws his hands out, frustrated.
"What's so great about me?" I'm not asking to fish for compliments. In fact, it's the closest I've let him get to the real me — to see a little glimpse of vulnerability beyond the version of me he has gotten to see.
"Are you kidding me? Have you looked in a mirror? Seen how you work your goddamn ass off? You have passion. Hunger for life and adventure. You're kind, funny, hot. Am I missing anything here?"
"You're missing a lot," I sigh. "You don't know me, Emmett. You don't see how broken I am. I don't even know myself, so how am I supposed to let anyone else in?"
"And? We all have baggage, Rose. We're all a little fucked up. I like what I see of you and I'd like the chance to see more, but mostly," He pauses, blows out a breath, and scratches the back of his head. Then he looks me right in the eye. Into my soul. He continues, "Mostly I just want you to see yourself the way I see you. You deserve that."
"I know logically that you're right, but I'm not there yet mentally, Emmett. I'm relearning a lot since my divorce. I'm rusty at best."
"So we'll get you there," He shrugs. "You're not alone, Rose. You have the girls, I know you know that, but if you'll just let me in…let us find out where this could go…I think I've already shown you I'm not going anywhere."
I let his words hang in the air for a little bit, processing everything he has said.
"This can't be anything more than a fling," I push, though something in the pit of my stomach is already telling me I've already crossed that boundary just by coming here.
"Ya know what?" He leans his forearms against his knees, turning his head and smiling that smile that's both innocence and sin. "I'm gonna give you the next ten days to change your mind."