Break Away (7 page)

They both laughed, and we all went inside the house to eat lunch. For the first time since arriving in Charleston, I didn’t feel completely alone.

When I returned home, I saw Sadie in the yard with a guy I didn’t recognize. The two of them were sitting in the grass on a checkered blanket having a picnic together. Amy hadn’t mentioned a boyfriend, and it didn’t sound like Sadie’s dad was in the picture, but I wondered if it maybe that was him. As soon as she saw me, Sadie came running over.

“Oleeva!”

She still hadn’t quite gotten the hang of my name yet and I couldn’t help but smile. “What’s up, girlie?”

“Me and Dee are having a tea party.” She took my hand and dragged me over to where she was playing. “Will you come play with us?”

The guy she was with, “Dee,” turned around when we approached, and my jaw dropped to the grass. There, holding a tiny pink teacup in his enormous hand, was the jerk from the beach. And the bar. His lips turned up in a smile when he saw me.

“This is my Uncle Dee,” Sadie announced, patting him on the back affectionately.

He flashed me a cocky grin. “Well, isn’t this a surprise. You must be my sister’s new neighbor… Olivia, right?”

“Yeah,” I choked out, still confused. “So, Dee… you’re Amy’s brother?”

“Actually we’re twins, but I’m a whole three minutes older,” he jokingly pointed out. “And it’s Dex. Dex Porter.”

“Olivia Mason.” I shook his extended hand, in what was easily the most polite exchange we’d had so far.

“Are you joining in our tea party festivities?” Dex asked, gesturing to the blanket and tea set that he and Sadie had set up.

“Yes!” Sadie said, jumping up and down.

“Well, I can’t say no to that,” I smiled, sitting down while Sadie poured me a cup of “tea.”

There was something about seeing a tough guy like Dex playing tea party with his little niece that made my heart melt. I knew it was probably an act, but I still couldn’t help wondering if there was more to him than the crude jackass I’d previously encountered. Anyone who acted as sweet as he did with Sadie couldn’t be all bad, right?

“It’s good to know that there’s at least one girl in the world who can hold your attention,” I teased Dex while Sadie was busy handing out fake cucumber sandwiches.

“That’s because she’s my special girl. Ain’t that right, Sadie?” Dex smiled the first genuine smile I’d ever seen, and I couldn’t help but return it.

“Right!” Sadie giggled.

Just when you think you have someone all figured out, they turn around and surprise you.

Olivia. Of course, she had a beautiful name too. I couldn’t believe that she had actually agreed to play tea party with us, and I was strangely excited about it. Sure, she was only doing it for Sadie, but it was good to know that I didn’t repulse her so much that she couldn’t stand to be near me. I made a mental note to buy my niece a new doll or an ice cream cone to reward her for getting Olivia to stay.

“More tea?” Sadie held up her pink plastic teapot to Olivia.

“Oh, yes please!” Olivia said, holding out her cup. “This tea is delicious, Sadie. I’m so glad you invited me to your party.”

“Now we’re friends, so you come to all my parties!” Sadie exclaimed.

“What about me, Sadie girl?” I said. “Am I invited to all your parties?”

“Umm… yes! Except when it’s girls only, then no boys allowed. Not even you, Dee.”

“Fair enough.” I locked eyes with Olivia, holding her gaze until her cheeks flushed pink and she looked away. I liked making her blush—it was so unexpected coming from her. She seemed like such a tough girl, with her witty comebacks and confident take-no-prisoners attitude. Then there were times when she seemed almost shy. She was really sweet with Sadie, too. Kind of adorable, actually. I was a total sucker when it came to my niece, and anyone who made her smile and laugh the way that Olivia did automatically had my stamp of approval. She didn’t pay much attention to me, but at one point when I was sipping my “tea”—which was really just a glass of fresh South Carolina air—I was pretty sure I saw a smile directed at me. It vanished almost as quickly as it appeared, but I was glad that I could get a reaction from her that wasn’t disgust.

I felt bad about the way I’d treated her during the first couple of times I saw her. The truth was, I didn’t know how else to interact with women. Except for my sister, my mom, or Sadie. All other women were kept at arms-length because I didn’t want to get close to them, or have them get close to me. Unless it was in the physical sense, of course. That was the extent of my female relationships. Anyone other than family or a one-nighter existed in a gray area that I didn’t know how to navigate.

Now that I knew Olivia was Amy’s neighbor, any hopes I might have had about her falling into the one-nighter category were long gone. Chances were that I was going to be seeing her a lot and spending time with her, which meant I could never get involved with her in the way that I wanted. I needed to figure out a way to be friends with her and put my obvious attraction aside. It was time for me to find my way around the gray area.

Every once in a while, I would catch Olivia looking at me. Not in a dreamy or admiring kind of way, it was more like she was studying me. Trying to solve a puzzle. I wasn’t used to women looking at me like that. In my experience, all women looked at me the same way—like they expected or wanted something from me. None of them gave a damn about anything beneath the surface. Normally I liked to keep it that way, but Olivia… she looked at me like she wanted to get to know me, and a part of me wanted her to. That thought terrified me. If things were different, maybe she could. They weren’t, though. If Olivia caught a glimpse of what was beneath the surface, it would only send her running.

Something beeped in Olivia’s pocket, and she pulled out her cell phone and glanced at it.

“Yikes! It’s already four o’clock. I have to get to work.” She stood and ruffled Sadie’s pigtails affectionately. “Let’s do it again soon, okay?”

“Okay!” Sadie beamed up at her.

“See you guys later,” she said, glancing quickly at me before turning toward her car.

I started packing up Sadie’s tea set and was folding the blanket when I heard the familiar whine of an engine straining to start, followed by an aggravated voice.

“Ugh! Stupid piece of junk!”

I walked over to where Olivia was trying—and failing—to start her car. “What’s wrong?”

“This stupid dinosaur of a car has apparently chosen this moment to curl up and die,” she huffed, continuing to turn the key and further aggravate the engine.

“Well, I’m a mechanic. So, it’s your lucky day,” I said, stepping closer. “Mind if I take a look?”

“Be my guest,” she said, popping the hood. “Although knowing my luck, it’s probably beyond repair.”

I examined the engine, and it didn’t take long for me to figure out that the problem was a faulty ignition switch. “It’s an easy fix,” I assured her. “Amy will be back any minute to stay with Sadie, so how ‘bout I give you a lift to work, then I’ll swing by the garage and grab the part I need. She’ll be good as new by the time you get home.”

“Oh no, you don’t have to do that,” she said. “I can walk, it’s not that far to the Seaside.”

“No way am I going to let you walk. Come on, I thought we were finally becoming friends. This is what friends do.”

“Hmm… I don’t know about friends. That might be pushing it,” she teased.

“Okay,” I laughed. “Well then how ‘bout you let me do it to make up for being such a dick to you before? Then we can call it even. I promise I don’t have any ulterior motives other than friendship. What do you say?”

“Okay, fine,” she conceded with a smile. “Thank you.”

When Amy pulled into the driveway a couple of minutes later, Olivia and I climbed into my truck to make the short drive to the Seaside. Truthfully, I probably could’ve gotten her car going right then, but I was selfish and wanted a few minutes alone with her.

“Do you want me to swing by and pick you up when your shift is over?” I offered when we pulled into the restaurant parking lot.

“That’s alright, I can catch a ride with one of the other waitresses.” She stepped out of the truck and looked up at me with those gorgeous eyes of hers. “But thank you for all your help, Dex. I really appreciate it.”

“Any time.” I watched her walk across the parking lot, fixated on her smooth stride and the gentle sway of her hips as she moved. It wasn’t until she disappeared inside that I finally tore my eyes away and drove off.

I ended up grabbing a few extra parts when I stopped by the shop. I only needed the new ignition switch to get the car running, but some of the other engine components were really old and worn so I figured I might as well replace them now and save Olivia a trip to the mechanic later on.

I couldn’t remember the last time I had the desire to help a woman out and expect nothing in return. Okay, well maybe not nothing. I wanted to get to know her. She had so many different sides—feisty, sweet, shy, and funny—I wanted to know more. There was something about her that drew me in, and I didn’t understand why. We couldn’t be anything more than friends, yet I still wanted to be around her.

As I was finishing up the repairs on her car, Amy came down from her apartment with a beer in her hand. She was smirking in the way that warned me she was about to give me crap about something.

“Got a little crush on my new neighbor, Dex?” she teased, handing me the beer.

“Yeah, right…” I said, taking a long pull from the beer and swallowing. “You know I don’t do the girlfriend thing. I’m just trying to be a Good Samaritan over here.”

“I wouldn’t blame you if you were interested in her. She seems really great, and in case you haven’t noticed, she’s drop dead gorgeous.”

Oh, I had definitely noticed.

I shrugged. “She doesn’t seem like the one-night-stand type, and that’s all I’m good for.”

“That’s a load of crap, and you know it,” Amy said, narrowing her eyes at me. “I wish you would let other people in, Dex. It’s impossible not to love you when you do. You don’t need to isolate yourself so much. You deserve to be happy.”

It wasn’t the first time we’d had a conversation like this. My sister knew me better than almost anyone else, she still didn’t know everything. I deserved a lot of things, but happiness was definitely not one of them.

***