“It’s not you…it’s just—”

“Her. I know. It’s her.”

“I’m just not ready to—”

She spoke louder. “You don’t have to explain, Chance.”

Carla looked sad. I hated hurting her feelings, but being with her like that didn’t feel right at all.

“I’ll get dressed and go, okay?”

“You don’t have to leave.”

“I really should.”

After she put her clothes on, Carla came over to where I was standing and kissed me gently on the cheek. “One day she’s going to wake up and regret it. I hope by that time, you’ve found the one you’re really meant to be with. Because it’s not her.”

“Thank you, Carla Babes. Thank you for everything.”

“Please come back someday when your head’s on straight again, will you, Aussie? I want to know that you’re happy.”

“I will. I promise.”

Just like that, Carla drove away into the night.

Left with a minor case of blue balls, I retreated to the shower. Letting the warm water run down on me, I squirted some shampoo into my palm and fisted my cock into my hands, jerking it roughly. Despite best efforts to block her from my mind, all I could think about was Aubrey as I stroked myself. Visions of her rubbing her clit while we masturbated together in my bathroom infiltrated my brain. I jerked myself harder and imagined coming inside of her instead of my hand. As I finished, my thoughts were spiraling out of control. I leaned against the tile wall, overcome with emotion as the orgasm shook me.

Fuck you, Aubrey.

Fuck you.

I hate you.

I love you.

I hate you.

I love you.

Shit.

I still love you so much.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Back in Hermosa Beach the following Sunday, I still hadn’t heard from her. I refused to reach out first, especially knowing what I knew. If she didn’t care enough to at least call me to let me know what was going on, then I wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of contacting her.

A flock of seagulls followed me as I walked along the beach near my loft. Kicking the sand, I wondered where my life would go from here, how I would spend my days without the focus on getting Aubrey back. More than anything, I wondered how I could possibly make myself forget her long enough to move on.

Picking a spot, I sat down and gazed out into the ocean. The water was rough. A brisk wind blew some sand into my eyes. A few surfers rode the choppy waves in the distance. A group of people were playing volleyball a few feet away. One of the girls ran over to me.

“Hey, we need another player. Want to join?”

Why the hell not? A distraction certainly couldn’t hurt. “Yeah. Alright.” Lifting my sluggish body off the ground, I joined a guy and a girl on one side of the net. Repeatedly serving the ball under arm, I kept my team in the lead for several games.

At one point, we took a break, and the only other guy player went to fetch some waters for us from the beach concession stand. When he returned, he was cracking up.

“Dude, you’re never gonna believe what I just saw.”

“What’s that, Mate?”

“There was a chick in line with a goat on a leash.”

I dropped the ball. “Say what?”

“A goddamn goat on a leash! This smoking hot chick, too. She wa—”

“Where?”

He pointed in the direction from which he came.

When I immediately took off, one of the girls yelled from behind me. “Hey, don’t leave! We’re starting another game.”

“Play without me,” I shouted without looking back.

My heart felt like it was beating unnaturally fast.

When I got to the concession stand, no one was in line. Looking around frantically, I wondered if it were possible that this were just a coincidence. A goat on a leash? No way. She was here.

Then, I saw her.

Aubrey.

My God.

She and Mutton were sitting alone on the sand. She was feeding him an ice cream cone as she looked out towards the water. The wind was blowing her hair around. She looked heart-stoppingly beautiful. Staring at her in disbelief, I stood there for the longest time without saying anything.

Somehow, he noticed me first. The “blind” goat suddenly bolted toward me, nearly knocking me down in the process.

Not knowing why the animal took off, Aubrey jumped up in a panic before she realized he was in my arms.

She stood up and brushed sand off of her pale yellow sundress. “Chance.”

“Princess. What are you doing here?”