Giving In (The Sandy Cove Series Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

played at the
same bar Porter worked at when he was in college. They became
friends, but Max travels now with his band and goes to school for
engineering.”
    See, I knew he had a big brain. Looks and brains
are a big turn on, and totally Willow’s type. I have a type as
well. Assholes. Write that down. Harlow Hannum has a thing for
assholes. I guarantee one of the girls is about to bring up the
biggest asshole of them all.
    Wait for it, wait for it… It’s coming. Which one
will say it first? I’m taking bets.
    “Well, at least you don’t have to see Cha…”
    Ding, ding. Leave it to Willow.
    Thea doesn’t even let her get his full name out
before covering her mouth with her hand.
    “Willow, he is a name we do not speak. He’s like
Lord Voldemort from Harry Potter. You know better.”
    She shoves Thea’s hand away from her face.
    “Fine. We do not speak his name. So maybe you’ll
find that guy you got banged by in the bathroom last year.”
    I reach over and smack her.
    “Ow. What was that for?”
    “Because, it’s something I’d like to forget, and
if it wasn’t for the constant badgering and questions like did I
have diarrhea or something because I was in the bathroom for so
long, you would never have known. It’s embarrassing enough, and I
hold myself 100% accountable for my actions.”
    Willow takes her hands away from her head and
lays her head back on the pillow.
    “I wouldn’t go as far as to say you were all to
blame for it. I’d say Jose Cuervo was also responsible. But all in
all, it was super hot!”
    The thoughts of that night make me nauseous. I
swallow hard thinking of how later that night I expelled the
contents of the Jose Cuervo from my belly into the porcelain God. I
never get that drunk, and I mean never. But I had just seen the one
whose name we do not speak, making out with a girl in the corner of
that bar. All the while he was flashing his infamous, sexy glare at
me, while his tongue probed the inside of the trollop’s mouth. I
sat back down at the bar, not returning to where my friends were
playing pool with some guys they met and that’s when I saw him. He
was sitting four stools away from me, ordering a beer, as I was
ready to consume my sixth tequila shot of the evening. A totally
detrimental decision on the part of a smart girl like myself.
    I bounce off the bed and pull each girl up by
the hands.
    “Time for bed. Summer starts tomorrow and I plan
on making it a day of fun and sun, after I get a cop fired. Now,
get out.” They trail off to their rooms one by one with
half-hearted waves. I slip into my tank top and pajama bottoms. I
retrieve my toothbrush from my knapsack, find a bathroom, brush my
teeth, and I know sleep will claim me in no time.
     

     
    I wake up to the sun beginning to shine in my
eyes. I had forgotten to close the blinds before I fell asleep. I
look at my watch on the bedside table. 6:45 a.m. This is only
fifteen minutes later than I get up for student teaching. I roll to
my back and punch the mattress. Coffee is calling my name, I
suppose. I rise and head to the bathroom, run a brush through my
hair, splash some water on my face, and brush my teeth. The house
is quiet. I seriously doubt anyone is awake. They are normal,
unlike myself. I tiptoe into the kitchen. The living room is bright
from the sun’s rays, and as I go to fill up the coffee pot with
water at the sink, I look out the kitchen window to see the calm
waters of the bay. There is a large dock that extends outward
towards the back. It appears to be in the middle of the two homes.
I see a small boat on Porter’s side. It’s so peaceful.
    I need peaceful.
    I need relaxing.
    I need stress-free.
    I need not to be reminded of him. The one whose
name we do not speak.
    I make the coffee and stalk the consistent drip,
drip of the savory grounds, working their way through the filter
and pouring into the pot. I tap my fingers on my cheek, as I hold
my head in my hands. The anticipation is a