Clallam Bay (A Fresh Start #2) Read Online Free PDF

told, I wasn’t pissed. Just disappointed. Mostly in myself.
    Leaning back against the counter, he pressed his palms into the tile. “No real reason, I guess.” He shrugged. “It’s just …” He paused. “Ya know, just forget I said anything.”
    “Okay.”
    Nodding at the ground, he sniffed before pushing off the counter. “Well, if you’re all set here …” He gestured around the kitchen.
    “Yeah, I’m good. And thanks again. I—”
    “Anytime.” He cut me off again, heading for the door, and I did nothing to stop him. There was nothing to stop him for.
    But as the hours passed, I felt more and more guilty for the way I’d handled things. It wasn’t his fault he was so smooth and therefore completely irresistible. It wasn’t his fault I felt the way I did. He was just being friendly. Flirty in a way he probably was with all the girls. It was obvious he didn’t need another one hanging around, fawning over his every word. No. What he needed was a friend. A friend who fed him food, not flattering lines of bullshit.
    Headlights shining through my window caught my attention. He was leaving, and who knew when he was coming back. If he was even coming back at all.
    Swallowing my pride, I got up and took the leftovers out of the fridge, piled them onto a microwaveable plate, then covered it with Saran Wrap for the short trek over to his house. Without bothering to knock, I left the plate on his porch in hopes of patching up what damage I had done and picking back up where we left off before. As friends.
    *
    “So, he said he just wanted to be friends? Those exact words came out of his mouth?” Alyssa asked.
    I sighed, having to go over this for the millionth time today. “No. He didn’t say that. He didn’t really say anything. He didn’t have to. I just know. It’s best we stay friends.”
    “Is this because of the blonde? Because she could have been anybody. A sister. A cousin. Just a friend.” Alyssa eyed me. “Besides, you said yourself you haven’t seen her since. In fact, you haven’t seen anyone of the female persuasion since, so what’s the issue?”
    “The issue is I highly doubt he’s looking for a real relationship.”
    “And you are?”
    “Well, given the alternative.”
    “Exactly.” Dropping her sandwich, Alyssa pointed at me. “You think you’re ready to get raw and real with this guy, Hailey. But you’re not. Not really.” Gesturing widely with her hands, she sounded exasperated. “What we’re talking about is fun. You’re holding out for his issues. And let me tell you, Hailey, he’s got issues. A lifetime subscription full of ‘em. They all do.”
    “Who’s they? Fishermen?”
    “Fishermen. Men in general. You name it. Pretty much everybody on God’s green Earth does. Everybody but you.”
    What was that supposed to mean? Did she seriously think I didn’t have issues? “Oh, I have issues.”
    “Like what?”
    “Like, it’s impossible for me to have a one-night stand.”
    “That’s not an issue, Hailey. It’s a mindset. Try again.”
    “Okay. Well, I woke up one morning to find my cat had been run over. She was flat as a pancake. My dad had to scrape her off the street.”
    “And you watched?” Alyssa asked in disgust.
    “Well, yeah.”
    “Then I take it back,” she said, picking up her sandwich. She waved it at me before biting off a mouthful. “You just might have more issues than all of us.”
    I was in a funk all the rest of the afternoon. Alyssa had dragged up some less than stellar memories, and I couldn’t seem to shake them or this foul mood.
    Along with my poor cat Buttons, her calling my inability to do casual sex a mindset was on my mind the rest of the day. Maybe she was right. Maybe I could sleep with my neighbor as if it were nothing.
    My stomach was in a series of knots that rolled up into one big ball when I saw him sitting on my front porch swing, clean, empty plate in hand. My decision that I could casually sleep with him