woman he was with. Spring Break had ended a few months prior with a heart-felt promise from him that he would change his bad boy ways and become the man he felt she deserved. But the communication dwindled as the semester got back into full swing and then ended abruptly with no explanation. I have to assume that he changed his mind. She shrugged and piled her items into the back of her father’s rental jeep. But her heart was heavy with the loss of a man that she had come to love despite their two separate worlds. While she was studying hard in the field of ecology, he was a biker and a womanizer, constantly in trouble with the law as well as the woman he lied to. She had a very specific idea of what it meant to have a happy relationship and though he was incredibly handsome, his lifestyle didn’t fit into that picture at all.
“So what’s this big news?” Monica leaned forward to the front seat.
“Oh no,” Her father chuckled, “I can’t let the cat out of the bag until your brother gets there. It effects the whole family.”
“Step-brother,” Monica snapped, a pang churning in her stomach, “And how do you know he will even come? He might be busy.”
“I spoke with him this morning,” Carrie chimed in pleasantly, “He is of course up to his neck with work, starting your own company is no easy task after all, but he was excited to here you were arriving and promised to break away.”
Monica was speechless at the news so politely given to her by her step-mother, feeling a wave of guilt wash through her. The jeep pulled into a space near the hotel and the three clambered out, her father assisting her with the three weeks of luggage she had packed. Was it possible that the reason she hadn’t heard from Alex all this time was that he was busy starting some type of business on his own, perhaps as part of his promise to build a better life for himself. For a moment she felt terribly guilty then shook off the feeling, reminding herself that success in money didn’t mean much when it came to his ways with woman. She found her hotel room, gazing down at the unpacked things with another long sigh. Rather than spend her night unfolding and folding laundry, she headed back out into the steamy afternoon sun and towards the white sandy beaches across the way from the hotel. She needed to take a walk and clear her mind. School had kept her preoccupied, but now that it was done for the year, and she was back in the place her love had first found her, the memories were flooding back. She recalled the night she stumbled into his bonfire and the way she felt when he first appeared around the fire. And of course, of the many romantic encounters on the beach where her body betrayed her and allowed him to take her in the sand. She shivered, a tingle of desire running through her as she reflected on the way his body shone in the Florida sun.
But the happy memories weren’t all that came flooding back to her, as she recalled the night at the bar and that woman Melissa. It had been so easy to drag him away from her and into her arms. The feeling of rejection came back like a sudden wave crashing on the shoreline and she sniffed back a tear. Melissa was his ex-girlfriend and a stunning tall blonde. She knew that if that was the sort of woman he attracted there would be no fighting them back. Yes, she was beautiful, in a girl-next-door fashion, with long brown hair that fell into tight curls at the tips and sparkling hazel eyes. But to compete with these wild, over-the-top gorgeous woman that flocked to his side was more exhausting that she wanted her relationship to be. As she walked along, the sun began to set below the ocean horizon, splashing deep red and yellow sparkles in the waves below. Her first experiences with this beach had been that of one gigantic party, but now as the season wound to a close it was rather beautiful and almost peaceful. After the sun disappeared entirely, she turned and headed back