Stay: A Shores Novella (The Shores Book 2) Read online

  Stay

  The Shores Book Two

  Allie York

  Copyright © 2019 by Allie York

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  Formatting: AB Formatting

  To Netflix for inspiring hours or procrastination

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  Stay Connected

  Also by Allie York

  Chapter One

  Blair

  The man across from me was hands down the most boring human on the planet, but possibly one of the hottest. Up until the week before, I just called him the ‘hot dragon guy’ but he finally asked me out on a date, and I accepted. I spent weeks tailoring my gym schedule around him for the worst date ever. Jeff Sharp, also known as number one bad Blair decision of the evening, sat across from me at the cheesiest restaurant in the Shores and talked about himself for an hour straight. Before my salad was done, I knew all about his workout schedule, his rich mommy paying for his apartment, and his penis car. Jeff talking about his car was worse than listening to Harris talk about his Mustang, Jolene. At least Jeff didn’t name his. I could tell you how many miles were on it, the date he got it, and how often he changed the oil. I also knew his mommy paid for it with her alimony money. The guy was hot, but if he didn’t shut up, he would die before we got back to his place for dessert.

  I checked my phone for the fifth time and secretly sent Ozma the code. She would get me out of having to listen to Jeff any longer with one phone call. The downside was that I didn’t get to sleep with him. Surely all the muscles he spent his time building could be put to good use on my body. I momentarily regretted calling in my secret weapon, but Jeff started talking about a frat party and meeting drunken college chicks the following evening. I’d never been so happy to hear my phone ring. While I didn’t mind the occasional promiscuous guy, Jeff was actively looking for girls who were too drunk. Not cool.

  I held up my finger to stop him from telling me more about his amazing pick-up lines and slid my thumb across the phone. “Hello?”

  “One of these days I’ll sleep through your text.” Ozma sounded more than amused at my unfortunate situation. “Or better yet, you will find a real man to settle down with and quit messing with idiots. Then I won’t have to save you from the fourth guy this month.”

  I decided to strangle her later since she was saving me. “Oh no.” I covered my mouth. “Is everyone okay? Did they take anything?” Oz and I had the whole conversation down to an art. I tossed a twenty on the table and mouthed how sorry I was to Jeff the meathead. Before he could protest, I was out the door to my car. I had ‘escaping from bad dates’ down to an art.

  “Anything else I can do for you princess?” Ozma deadpanned.

  “Nope. Thanks again!” Being free of my date puts a little pep in my step, and I let the weight drop from my shoulders as I start the car.

  “Don’t you have another date tomorrow night?” Ozma has gotten super judgmental since her man knocked her up. Part of me understood; she just wanted me to be as happy as she and Harris were. Unfortunately, I wasn’t wired for monogamy, never would be. I was not the kind of girl to be tied down or play house.

  “I sure do, right after the shower.”

  “Then why don’t you take some time from your busy schedule to come help me decorate?” Ozma was way too round to be decorating anything.

  “I’ll be there in ten. Want a smoothie?” I really could have found something better to do than sit and listen to Ozma talk about how amazing her soon-to-be husband was, but she was my best friend.

  “Chocolate! Thanks, bye!” She hung up, and I headed over to our favorite smoothie place before making my way to Ozma’s new house. Every bad date was a fine line between being pissed that I didn’t at least get laid and being relieved that the person didn’t actually interest me. I’m sure my therapist has books of notes about my phobia of commitment being a direct result of my Dad not being able to keep it in his pants. In short, I have daddy issues. He married my mom, but he had a mistress and three kids across town. Not that anyone knows. I found out when I was fifteen and followed him in my boyfriend’s car when he was ‘going away on business.’ I was the perfect picture of what happens when you have an unfaithful father.

  The line at the Tropicabana drive-thru was too long, so I parked to go in. There was no line inside, so I walked up to the counter. “I need a chocolate banana and a mango with extra protein.” I pulled my card from my wallet and tossed it on the counter.

  “Anything else?” The guy behind the counter picked up my card, and I looked up. He was cute in a nerdy sort of way. Blond wavy hair, glasses, and a crooked smile got me every time. I shake my head and smile. If there is anything, I’m good at, it’s flirting. The nerdy guy swiped my card, handed it back, and started making the smoothies.

  “You new?” I adjusted my top, so my cleavage is a little more visible. If I knew how to do anything, it was to draw attention to the assets.

  “Just transferred from across town. You a regular?” He may have looked nerdy, but there was a swagger to the way he makes a smoothie. Or it could have been that I was really hungry.

  “Maybe. Does the transfer from across town have a name?” I leaned on the counter, ignoring the bitch working the drive-thru. She was just mad because I stole her boyfriend for a night. I gave him back once I was finished with him, but the girl held a grudge.

  “Ty.” Ty turned to inspect me. “You?” He sat the smoothies down on the counter and waited for me to give him my name. Instead, I reached across the counter, tore the receipt paper off and took the pen from his front pocket. I wrote my name and number on the paper then put the pen back. I licked my lower lip for effect.

  “Have a nice evening, Ty.” I winked at him and grabbed the smoothies off the counter. Adding a little sway to my hips, I left the Tropicabana to deliver my pregnant friend’s smoothie. I knew Ty would call; they always did. Except Jeff, I never had to work to get dates. Jeff only had me work so hard because he was busy banging one of the trainers at the gym. She was more of a whore than me, but not nearly as hot. Call it vain, but I worked too hard for my body not to know how hot I looked. Co-owning a boutique meant I got the most fashionable clothes at cost, and I knew how to play up my assets. Some of the guys understood the arrangement. Men don’t want a real relationship anyway, well except Harris, but he’s the exception. Men all wanted one thing from me, and they got it, but I wasn’t being used, they were. I only wanted a good orgasm, two if I am lucky, and then to move on. Occasionally I would go out with a guy a few times, but not for sex, even girls like me needed intelligent conversation sometimes. Most women, like Ozma, didn’t understand my booty call mentality. It worked for me though, no attachments, no neediness, and no complications — just good old fashion sex; no strings attached.

  I barely got in the foyer before Ozma was waddling down the hall at me. “You are late.” My short, round best friend looked up at me with her best angry face. Oz was lots of things, but scary was not one of them. Being a whole five
feet tall with a cute round face and a big pregnant belly meant she was the most docile looking creature on the planet.

  “Sorry, the line was long at the Tropicabana.” I hand her the smoothie and let my hand rest on the top of my little niece or nephew. I wish she would have just told me whether it’s a boy or girl, but she and Harris insisted on not knowing. I had to respect it.

  “You saw the new guy.” It wasn’t a question, Ozma knew I saw him, and I hit on him.

  “Maybe.” I gestured her down the hall to the living room. “What do you need me to do while I’m here?” I watched her kick back and prop her swollen feet on the end of the couch. Her perfectly manicured toes looked like pained beans stuck on the end of her fat feet.

  “I need you to tell me why I rescued you from a bad date, again, while your tall self hangs up green streamers.” Ozma gave me a dimpled smile, and I had to give one back. No matter how different our lives were, no matter how far apart our thinking was, Ozma was my best friend. She was my business partner and my sister in so many ways. Ozzy pointed at the pile of green decorations and snapped her fingers.

  “You better be glad I love you.” I rolled my eyes and started taping the streamers in the doorway between the kitchen and living room. I got about halfway done before she started. It was our new dance since she settled down into domestic bliss.

  “Harris has a cousin.” I hear her smoothie slurp and brace for the onslaught. “He lives a little north of here, left for college, but is moving back. Rose says he’s cute,” Ozma said it knowing the last part would catch my attention. She was right.

  “How cute?” I glance back over my shoulder and wink.

  “Really cute, and according to Gloria, he wants to settle down. He has this great job at the newspaper. Editor or something,” Ozma said it so hopefully, I almost broke down and agreed to see him. It’s not that I went out of my way to go against what she wanted; it’s that I had no interest in the settling down aspect of life. Why stick with one guy, when the guy wasn’t sticking with me? Plus, I had way too much fun.

  “Great but tell me how hot.” I move to the next doorway hanging the streamers. The longer I work, the more I regret it. I love Oz, and I love the baby, but I am not real thrilled about losing my best friend. On the one hand, I’m happy for her, on the other, I know our relationship will never be the same.

  “I haven’t seen him,” Ozma admits. “But Rose said he’s a brunette with blue eyes and he works out a lot. You guys have that in common,” Ozma said hopefully. “I can see it now, you and I run the boutique, the guys go to work at their respective jobs, our kids will be close together. It’ll be sweet.” I clenched my fist around a wad of streamers and took a deep breath. It took a huge amount of effort to not snap at my bestie. Ozzy meant well, but I wanted to beat her with my favorite stilettos every time she started talking about the dream of us doing our lives together, it made me bitter and angry. I wasn’t meant for that kind of life, never would be, and I needed my best friend to understand it.

  “Maybe we should set something up then?” I know she’d kill me later for bailing an hour before the date, but I couldn’t tell her no with her pouting in front of me. I knew I didn’t have the energy to fight with or makeup with Ozzy, so I fed into her delusion.

  “I think that would be wonderful.” Ozma happily let the conversation drop after that and we went on to talk about her shower, and the wedding and all the fun stuff. As much as I was a little contemptuous about her idea of how my life should have been, I helped her plan every bit of it. Once she found out about Baby Oswin, she started planning the wedding for after the little one made an appearance. It pissed Harris off to wait for the wedding, but he would have done anything Ozma asked. The man worshipped her. That part of her life made me a little jealous.

  With the house covered in green balloons and streamers, Ozma was pretty satisfied. She was also pretty tired. I did all the work, but the girl was exhausted. Growing a small human wore her out. Harris was working overnight at the vet hospital, and I had to open the boutique in the morning, so I locked up, setting the alarm before I left. After the incident with Ozma’s stalker father, Harris went all out with security at their house. I’d known Ozzy’s dad my whole life and knew he was always creepy, but the amount of crazy he was capable of shocked everyone.

  Ozma didn’t turn over or stir when I left. I kissed her on the forehead, rubbed her belly and left her alone. After so much talk about ideal lives and her happily ever after, I wasn’t ready to go home. Instead, I drove around the shores and picked a random boardwalk to park at. It was dark, but I used my phone flashlight to make sure I didn’t step in a hole and twist an ankle. I took off my shoes and let my feet sink into the sand before I started walking. The sand was cooling from the heat of the day and sand crabs scuttled along in the shadows. I made it through the sand and to the edge of the wooden planks.

  A light wind danced over my damp skin as the last of the sun reflecting off the choppy water as I made my way out to the edge of the boardwalk. It had been a long day. Between working the floor at work, stocking the shelves, and fetching things for Oz, I was exhausted. Bad dates and decorating for a baby shower aside, normal life was getting harder for me as Ozma got more pregnant. She earned her time getting pampered though, so I tried hard not to be bitter about it. Every time I needed to be bailed out, Ozzy was there for me, so being her bestie through a pregnancy was the least I could do. I leaned over the railing and watched the sun vanish entirely. In a few hours, I’d be home alone in my bed, waiting for my gym alarm to go off. No responsibilities other than getting to work by ten in the morning. I didn’t have to worry about keeping a spouse happy or being exhausted because I got knocked up. I had to worry about the new hottie at Tropicabana calling me for a date and seeing how hot Harris’s cousin was. Oz could keep her way of life I’d stick to mine.

  Chapter Two

  Jax

  Men shouldn’t go to baby showers or house warming parties, but I was about to go to both. At least Harris promised booze, and maybe Oz had a hot friend I missed. Maybe it’s wrong for me to troll a baby shower for a hookup, but when opportunity knocks, a man should answer. No matter how bad I didn’t want to attend the shower, I was happy for them. Oz and I’d been friends for five years, and if nothing else she made working with Harris bearable. Before they started bumping uglies, the guy was a dick. I knew I had to go to support them, because they would do the same for me. Not that I’d ever have a baby shower, but they’d support whatever I did.

  I messed up the front of my hair and checked my phone. Harris needed three bags of ice along with the other shit I’d already picked up. The ice was for the party. I knew damn well that pitted olives, a pepperoni stick, and pink marshmallows were for Ozma, not the guests. I left the apartment early enough to swing by the gas station for ice before heading to their new house. I knew other guys were going, but the whole idea still made me want to puke. Why did they have to call it a house warming, or a baby shower? Why couldn’t they just tell everyone to come over to hang? We did it nearly every weekend anyway. Since they bought a nice new house, Harris had tons of room to entertain. The rest of us lived in little apartments, so going to the Oswin abode just made sense. They had to put a label on it though. A label made it all girly which meant I didn’t want to go — damn responsibilities.

  I got to their place ahead of all the other people so got prime driveway parking space. If I knew Ozma, she invited half of the Shores. People would be lined down the cul-de-sac. I hopped out the Jeep, ice and pregnant food in hand. Pale green streamers hung all over the place. Everything was always a nauseating shade of light green. They didn’t want to find out what they were having, so we all just called the baby ‘bean.’ It was weird shit, but catchy. The only other cars in the driveway where Gloria’s and Blair’s. Two of my favorite women. Gloria Oswin was Harris’s mom and cooked for us at work all the time. If she catered the party, I was a happy man.

  Then there was Blair. She was lik
e the female version of me. Blair Smith was the hottest thing I’d ever seen and never slept with her. Fuck, did I want to, but it’d never happen. Kind of like code about not shitting where you eat, you don’t fuck your friends. We hung out all the time, Ozma, Harris, Blair, Porter, Rose, and Ember. Rick and Angie came with us sometimes, but it was mostly us. They were my family. I never had any thoughts about Oz because I didn’t want Harris to kill me. Rose was his little sister, so that would have gotten the same result, and Ember went to school with me from fifth grade on, so that would have been weird. Blair though. Blair was like the drug I never took.

  A car door shut behind me and I got my ass out of the car. The ice was starting to melt in my floorboard and Ozma was probably tired of waiting for her weird-ass pregnant food. I unloaded, and Rose came up behind me at the door.

  “Here.” She took a bag of ice from me. “Isn’t this exciting?” Rose leaned in to kiss my cheek.

  “Uh, exciting?” I couldn’t hide it. I tried but wasn’t the kind of guy to sugar coat shit.

  “Parties are exciting.” Rose rolled her eyes and jiggled the door handle, knocking again. “Plus, the guys are playing poker, not baby shower stuff.”

  “Okay, now it’s exciting,” I admitted, rapping my knuckles on the door harder. Gloria opened the door after Rose knocked the fourth time and let us into the house. Rose hurried off with the bags of ice, leaving Gloria and me near the door.

  “Jaxon, I’m glad you made it. I was worried Harris would be the only man here.” His mom hugged me.