“I said no. End of discussion!” Will argued with Jamie as he loaded the back of his Jeep to go to the beach.
“But you won’t even notice that I’m there.” Jamie was still trying to persuade him to let her accompany us to the beach.
It was summer vacation, and we’d gotten back from college. We called our friends to see if they wanted to spend the rest of the day at the beach.
Will leaned down to whisper something to his little sister. Once they were done, Will looked at his parents' house as Finn stepped outside.
“Oh, come on, big brother. You’re going to be with your friends while I spend my time with Shadow. It’s a win-win situation.” Jamie looked at her brother with pleading eyes.
“Come on, baby. Let her come spend the day with us. It won’t hurt anyone,” I said, deciding to come to her rescue.
“Ugh, fine, you can come, but you watch your dog. I don’t want any trouble while we’re there,” Will said, pointing his finger at his little sister.
She jumped into her brother’s arms. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”
“Just don’t make me regret this.” He hugged Jamie back.
They kept whispering to each other as Finn interrupted them, leaning against the Jeep. “What’s going on?”
“We’re making room for two more. Jamie and her dog are coming with us,” Will informed him.
“Great. The more the merrier,” Finn said, winking at Jamie.
He did it while Will wasn’t looking. Jamie turned away from Finn. She was shy under his stare. Her little crush was obvious. Finn chuckled, seeing her reaction.
“Tell you what. To make sure we aren’t too crowded in the Jeep, I’ll take my truck and bring Jamie and Shadow to the beach,” Finn suggested.
“Campbell, be careful with my little sister, or I’ll kick your ass! Best friend or not,” Will warned Finn before climbing into the Jeep.
“Sometimes I think you’re hard on your sister,” I said, looking at the road before me while Will drove.
“She has to get her head out of the clouds. Finn will never be interested in her. She has to understand that.”
I shake my head. “You can’t always decide who you like.”
“I know one thing, cricket. I love you.” He smirked, knowing I wasn’t too fond of that nickname.
Maybe that was why he never called me that when we were in public.
Once we chose a spot at the beach, we put our stuff on the sand. Travis was already there with a girl beside him. No surprise there. He was a man whore, after all.
A little way from us, I saw Jamie with her dog. She was putting on sunscreen.
“Want some help with your back?” I asked Jamie as I took the tube.
“Yes, thank you.” She turned around so I could apply the cream to her back. “And thank you for coming to my rescue earlier, too.”
“Don’t worry about it. You know, I’m sure your brother won’t mind if you join us.”
Jamie looked where the others were. When she saw Finn had his attention on a random girl, I saw the disappointment in her eyes. She shook her head, biting her lip.
“Maybe later. I have to walk Shadow. He needs exercise,” she informed me.
As I returned to my friends, I saw Juliet coming our way and I ran toward her. “Juliet! I’m so glad you could make it.” I wrapped my arms around her.
“I’m happy you invited me.” She returned my hug.
I saw Juliet staring at Travis. “Umm, Juliet. You have a little drool coming out of your mouth.” I pointed to the corner of my mouth.
She quickly wiped it off with the back of her hand.
“Juliet! Hey, girl.” Lauren, my cousin, joined us.
“Hey, girl. How have you been?” Juliet asked her.
“Oh. My. God. Did you see Finn? He’s so handsome. I want him so bad!” Lauren was staring at Finn while he was talking to some girl.
I shook my head as I saw Jamie walking toward us. I decided to go to her instead of listening to how Lauren hung up on Finn. He wasn’t interested in her. We all knew it, except for her.
“Kristen, would you mind looking after Shadow? I want to go for a walk. I won’t be long.”
I smiled at Jamie. “Of course. My pleasure.”
Shadow went to Juliet. She knelt down to pet him. “Hello, handsome. What’s your name?”
“Shadow,” I informed her. “Jamie asked me to watch him.”
“Where’s Jamie?” Finn asked.
“She went for a walk,” I told him.
Finn looked at Will. “I’m going to see where she is. Is that okay with you?”
Will nodded his head. “Sure, and tell her to hurry up. I didn’t sign up to take care of her dog. I told her so before we came here.”
And just like that, Finn was gone to search for Jamie. Lauren wasn’t happy about that.
Finn had always been protective of Jamie. After all, he had known her since they were children. He probably saw her as his responsibility since he was best friends with her brother.
“Hello, red. What’s your name?” Travis asked Juliet.
Juliet didn’t answer him. She was clearly smitten by him.
Oh boy, I’d have to warn her about him, wouldn’t I?
Travis chuckled. “What’s your name, red?”
“Um…what?” Juliet couldn’t answer properly.
He had her under his spell, like all the others.
Travis smirked. “What’s your name, red?” he asked again.
He found the situation pretty funny.
She cleared her throat. “Juliet Schwimmer.”
He took her hand, kissing her knuckles. “Travis. Travis Johnson.”
“Sweetie, I’m back with our drinks.” The girl that he had been with earlier stood behind him.
He let go of Juliet's hand and took his drink. “Thank you, babe.” His eyes went back to Juliet. “It was nice meeting you, J.”
The girl giggled as Travis grabbed her butt, kissing her full on her lips.
Maybe I didn’t have to warn Juliet about Travis. She just saw his true character.
Thank God I had a good man. I was so lucky to have someone like him. I loved him so much. I couldn’t believe it had been five years since we got together.
I hoped we’d have more years in the future. I didn’t see myself with anyone other than Will. I knew he was it for me.
