“I met Darren when I did my senior internship at D&A. We suffered through that hell together.”
“D&A?” I repeated the name slowly, not sure if I’d heard him correctly.
“Davis and Associates,” he clarified.
“Wait, doesn’t Darren’s dad run that company? He’s Ned’s nephew right? So isn’t his dad Ned’s brother?” I asked confusedly.
“Yes, Darren’s dad runs the company. He’s Ned’s older brother.” Nick dropped his shoes on the sand and held his hand out for mine.
“So if Darren’s dad runs the company, why was Darren doing an internship? Don’t the ridiculously rich usually just hand things to their offspring?” My voice was thick with bitterness.
Nick smiled, clearly not missing my vitriol. “How much do you know about Ned and his brother?”
I shrugged, “I don’t really know Ned that well. He’s always been nice to me, but he works a lot so I don’t see much of him.”
“Ned and Tim Davis grew up in the typical suburban middle class family. Their dad worked two jobs so that their mom could stay home and raise the boys. They weren’t poor, but they certainly weren’t rich. When Tim graduated from college, he decided to start the business. Ned joined him when he graduated and they worked hard to build the company into what it is today.” Nick’s voice was full of reverence for his bosses. “Tim wanted his son to know what it was like to start at the bottom.”
“You have a lot of respect for him, don’t you?” I could tell that he looked up to Tim Davis.
“Who? Darren?” he said in a shocked tone. “How can I possibly respect someone who clearly has no respect for women?”
I laughed and rolled my eyes, “I meant his dad.”
Nick laughed, “I have a great deal of respect for Tim and Ned, both.” He took a deep breath and put a more serious look on his face. “I respect anyone who works hard to better themselves.”
Something about the way his face had changed and the words he’d said made me think that Nick knew a lot more about what it was like to better oneself than he was willing to share. I smiled politely at him, hoping that he couldn’t tell what I was thinking. We walked silently for a minute. The sand beneath my feet started to cool as we approached the water line.
When the water began to wash over my feet, Nick stopped and looked at me.
“I didn’t make friends with Darren so that I could advance in the company. I didn’t even know who he was until the second week, and we’d already hit it off by then. I know it sounds like I zeroed in on the boss’ kid, made friends with him, and then found myself in a favorable position a few years later, but I didn’t.” He stared intently at me. “I worked hard to prove myself and I work hard to stay where I am. I earn my keep, and if I don’t, I would expect to be let go.”
He kept his eyes on me after he spoke. I could tell by the look on his face that he needed me to acknowledge what he’d said. For some reason, he needed me to know that he wasn’t a climber.
I smiled, “You don’t have to explain to me. I know all about the things people can say about you when you are friends with someone who’s not your social equal.”
His shoulders relaxed and a small smile formed at the corners of his mouth.
“I know the things people say behind my back when they meet me. I actually hate going to functions with her because of it. Plus, she’s absolutely gorgeous, so not only am I Chrissy’s poor friend, I’m also her homely looking one too.” I smiled and rolled my eyes.
“You are definitely not homely,” he said sweetly.
“Thanks, but I wasn’t fishing for a compliment.” I nudged him with my shoulder. “I just know that I can’t compete with women who have plastic surgeons on speed dial, and spend thousands of dollars on hair and makeup products and services a month.” I shrugged and started walking again. He walked beside me as I continued, “Of course, I’m not trying to compete with them because I actually don’t want their life. It all seems so pointless and shallow.”
Nick smiled, “There’s no competition, Cami. You are on a totally different level than they are, you know that don’t you?”
His comment made the blush rise on my cheeks. It also made me realize that there was something that had to be said before we went any further. I exhaled loudly and started.
“I have to tell you something.” I didn’t look up when I said it. It was much easier to be confident if I didn’t have to look at him while I said it.
“Okay,” he said the word slowly and hesitantly.
“This is never going to happen.” I waggled my finger back and forth between us, indicating the two of us. “You live in LA and I live in New York. We’re only here together for a few days, and we’ll probably never see each other again. I’m not that kind of girl, so I’m not going hook up with you while we’re here. Okay?” After the last word was out, I finally looked up at him.
“Okay,” he said with a nod. I could tell he wanted to say something else, but was holding it in.
Feeling slightly embarrassed for being so bold, I stammered out more of an explanation. “I just wanted to be upfront with you about that, because if you’re investing all this time in me just for sex, then you should know that it’s not going to happen. I don’t have sex with guys I’m not dating. I don’t go to bars or clubs and pick up guys and I didn’t come here to have a summer fling. I’m here to spend a week at the beach before I go back to work. I’m not looking for any type of sexual escapade.”
Nick smiled and put his hands up, “Okay, I got it. You’re not interested in having sex with me.”
Blushing, and feeling bad about how he’d interpreted my meaning, I stupidly kept talking. “It’s not that I’m not interested in having sex with you. I’m not interested in having sex with anyone I’m not dating.”
He grinned even wider, “So you are interested in having sex with me, but only if we date first?”
Still blushing, I started backtracking again. “I don’t hook up, okay. That’s not who I am, and I just thought I would tell you that to potentially avoid any awkward moments later.”
“Because this isn’t awkward at all?” he laughed.
I laughed nervously.
“Don’t worry, Cami. I know what you’re saying, and I respect it.” He flashed a friendly smile.
Relieved, I sighed loudly.
“For the record, though, I was never investing time in you just for sex. If that’s all I was looking for, I would have gone for Chrissy.” He shrugged apologetically at me, but continued. “I like talking to you. I also like getting to know you. You’re not like the girls I usually spend time with.”
“Because I have breasts, and not tits, and I can carry on an adult conversation? Is that what you mean by different?” I said teasingly.
“Can I just say that I love the fact that you use the word tits in conversation without even the slightest bit of shame?” he laughed lightly and shook his head.
“I noticed how you skirted around the issue of your lack of taste in women. Clever,” I teased him again.
“Tasteful women are a lot harder to pick up,” he shrugged nonchalantly.
“Oh, so you’re a lazy lover?” I wiped my brow, “Phew, I really dodged a bullet with you, didn’t I?”
He stopped walking and looked sternly at me. “Okay, now you’ve done it! I’m going to give you a head start, and a warning this time, because when I catch you I will throw you into that ocean with absolutely no regard for your dry clothing. You better get running!”
I laughed at him until he lunged at me. I took off running in the opposite direction and ran as hard as I could while still laughing. It only took him a few seconds to catch me, but he didn’t have a firm grip on me. I wiggled out of his grip and double-backed on him. He chased me down and wrapped both arms around me, picked me up by my waist, and carried me towards the water. I screamed and laughed, but he repeated his warning.
“Please don’t!” I screamed and laughed.
“You insulted my abilities as a lover and since you’ve already declared you won’t sleep with me, I have no other way to defend my honor!” he yelled over my pleas.
“Okay, okay! I’ll have sex with you!” I shouted back in response.
“Too late! You missed your chance!” he said and tossed me into the waist deep water.
When I came back up, I jumped onto his back and dragged him down into the water with me. We wrestled in the water for a few minutes, laughing and splashing water in each other’s faces. Finally, he grabbed me by the waist and tickled me until I couldn’t breathe.
“Truce! Truce!” I screamed breathlessly.
“Take back what you said,” he growled at me. He still had his hands on my waist, but he’d stopped tickling me for the moment.
“Fine, I take back what I said,” I groaned at him, “Even though I have no way of knowing this, you aren’t a lazy lover. There, are you happy?”
“I am,” he said and let go of my waist.
I turned around and glared at him, “I can’t believe you threw me into the ocean fully clothed!”
He grinned, “I would have stripped you naked first, but I figured that would go against the whole not hooking up thing you just finished telling me about.”
I blushed at the thought of being naked in front of him. “Thanks,” I muttered sarcastically.
He laughed and turned back towards the beach. I followed behind him, trying my best to put my clothes and hair back in place.
“We should probably dry off a bit before we get back on the bikes, don’t you think?” Nick asked when we were only ankle deep in the water.
My shirt was clinging to me in an unflattering way, so I had to hold it out to try to keep it off my skin. The thought of not being able to stop that from happening while I was riding a bike flashed through my mind.
“Yes. Too bad someone didn’t think to bring a towel.”
He laughed, “I can’t think of everything! I found the restaurant and the pottery place, didn’t I? Don’t I at least get credit for that?”
I shook my head and smiled. “How did you find those places anyway?”
He shrugged, “I looked them up online last night.”
“Was that before or after the beach blanket bimbos and the billiards?”
He grinned, “After. I couldn’t sleep, so I did a little searching.”
“Couldn’t sleep, huh? More like wanted to leave the room so that when the bimbo woke up, she would leave the house without a scene.” I mumbled and giggled.
“No,” Nick said loudly. “I couldn’t sleep last night because there was too much noise in the house, what with a party going on and all.” He nudged me and pushed me sideways. “Plus,” he added quietly as I stumbled back to my position, “I don’t really sleep much.”
“Why don’t you sleep much?” I asked and wrung out the right leg of my shorts. We’d made it back to the sand, but were now strolling along the edge of the water.
He shrugged again, “I don’t know. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been a restless sleeper. Most nights, I only get about four hours of sleep.”