Beach House

"So, that's pretty much it!" Kristen said, spinning her chair to face me. I tried not to stare, but her massive preggo stomach was really all I could see. "Any questions?"

I shook my head, glancing down at the two pages of notes I had taken on how to run the blog. "But I'm sure I'll have some next week." 

"Great," Kristen said, her hand instinctively resting on her belly. "Well like I said, we can have you take over starting next Wednesday so that if you have any questions I'll still be in the office for three days to answer them." 

"Perfect," I said, taking that as my cue to leave. It was already 5:30 which meant I had less than an hour to hightail it down to Penn Station in rush hour.

I quickly shut off my computer and started to gather the things I had strewn all over my desk throughout the day, while trying to send a quick text to Ash to let her know I was leaving work. I was hunting in my desk for my phone when I heard Elena behind me.

"Plans this weekend?" she asked. 

"Sea Isle," I said shortly. We still hadn't gotten the chance to talk about what had happened and until she apologized, I wasn't budging.

"Oh, well have fun," she replied, still lingering. 

"Thanks!" I squeaked, yanking the phone out from under a pile of advertising contracts. I headed towards the elevators without another word to Elena.

Three hours, one cab, one train and one car ride later, Ash and I were walking into the gloriously air conditioned house in Sea Isle. I hadn't seen a beach in nearly a year and the smell of the salty air was lifting my mood tremendously after such a long week. The house was three stories high and settled just two blocks from the beach. A few of our friends from high school rented the place for the summer with a handful of their miscellaneous friends from college. 

We spent the next hour getting ready and sipping loaded coronas while catching up with friends who I hadn't seen in months. I sat on the floor curling my hair while Ash stood above me, applying a second coat of mascara. Our friend from high school, Laura, was cross legged on the bed telling us stories about their summer so far.

"It's been so much drama," she said, after finishing a story about how one of their housemates had been sleeping with a guy Dylan, who was also in the house. "She really likes him but he's a total player." 

The story reminded me a lot of Elena and Jeff, and I made a mental note to stay away from this Dylan character. If he was anything like Jeff then he was probably trouble with a capital T. That was, until he walked in to introduce himself a few minutes later and I realized he was some sort of cruel hybrid between Patrick Dempsey and Freddie Prince Jr. Swoon.

As soon as he walked out of the room, I picked my jaw up off the floor and turned to Laura. "For the love of all that is gorgeous - are you kidding me?!" 

Ash just stared at the empty doorway, longingly wishing for him to come back. 

"Guys, no." Laura said firmly. 

"Hey, I'm just looking. I have enough on my plate," I said, throwing my hands up in surrender. "But she's the one you should be worried about," I pointed at Ash who was now craning her neck around the door to try and catch a glimpse of Dylan in the kitchen.

"You said the girl he hooks up with isn't here this weekend?" Ash asked, trying to sound casual and failing miserably. I bit my lip to stifle the laugh that was bubbling up in my throat. 

"Yes, she's at a wedding this weekend. But don't say I didn't warn you," Laura narrowed her eyes at Ash for about ten seconds before she started laughing.

We finished getting ready and headed into the large kitchen to have another drink. The bars here were dirty and musty, so most people required a strong buzz before entering them willingly. 

I was making small talk with a few of my high school friends when I felt my phone buzz in my back pocket. I pulled it out, knowing it was Bray before I even saw his name on the screen.

Heading to the OD - you? 

I put the phone away and decided it'd be best not to answer. I was definitely not going to pre-plan a meeting. 

I rolled over in bed and peeled my eyes open one at a time. It took me a minute to figure out where I was, but the white walls adorned with beach scenes quickly reminded me. I sat up, and groaned with my head in my hands. I felt the body next to me shift. "Oh my god, Ash," I groaned, trying to remember the last thing I could. I had a recollection of being at an outdoor bar, doing a round of tequila shots and then - nothing.

I heard a chuckle next to me - and it was not Ashley's light laugh. I immediately dropped my hands and saw Dylan sprawled out in bed next to me, shirtless.

"Oh my god," I said, glancing down at myself. I felt a wave of relief wash over me when I saw I was still in my dress from the night before. "What happened?"

"I wish I could say something fantastic, but in reality I saw you asleep in here and there was an empty spot next to you. So I jumped in," he shrugged, turning on his side to face me. I tried not to let my eyes linger too long on his perfectly sculpted pecks. I silently prayed to the morning-after gods that I didn't have mascara running down my face. 

"Gotcha," I said, trying to keep my mouth as closed as possible to avoid killing him with my morning breath. "Where's Ashley?" 

"Last I saw, she was heading up to the third floor with Ryan," he said, wiggling his eyebrows. 

"Who is Ryan?" I said, trying to rack my brain for the names of all the guys I had met last night.

"He's my buddy from college, he's a good guy. A little bit engaged though."

"Define 'a little bit'," I said disapprovingly. 

"Wedding is in four months.." he trailed off, suddenly fascinated with a stray thread on the pillow case. 

"Ugh," I groaned, flopping back down into the mattress. "I'm too hungover for this." 

We sat in bed for the next hour talking. It was funny to hear about my high school friends from his perspective. I was shocked at how humble and down to earth he was for being so ridiculously good looking. He worked as an accountant, was on the board for two nonprofits and volunteered with big brothers big sisters. 

"What time is it?" I asked Dylan, noticing that the sunlight filling the room had shifted significantly since we woke up. 

"No idea," he said, patting around in the bed. "This yours?" he asked, offering me my iphone.

"Yes, thanks," I said, relief flooding me that the phone had made it's way home safely. 

I clicked it on to see it was only 9:34, I repeated this to Dylan before scrolling through my texts. My heart stopped when I read one from Bray.

Great catching up. Hope you're not too upset with me. But I really meant what I said. Miss you, D. 

"Oh.. my.. god.." I said, reading the text twice more. I had the faintest memory of seeing Bray, but no clue what I had said. Or what "meant what I said" was in reference to.

"What, did you drunk text an ex or something?" Dylan asked with a chuckle.

I shook my head. "No. More like apparently ran into one." I showed him the message.

"Oh, the tall dude with the long hair?" Dylan asked. 

I nodded slowly, "Yesss.. wait, did you see us?" 

"Yeah, you were talking to him at the bar for awhile. Looked pretty serious. Then you two started making out," he said. 

My eyes widened in horror. "We what?!" I nearly screamed.

Dylans serious face broke out into a huge grin, the skin around his aqua eyes crinkling in a way that I noticed. "Okay I'm sorry, no you didn't make out." 

I reached over and punched him square on the shoulder. "So not funny." 

He laughed a deep, loud, infectious laugh and I tried my best to ignore the fact that he made my stomach flip and lose every other breath. 

"But you two did talk for awhile, and when I asked you who he was you said, and I quote, 'a giant new york asshole'." 

"Sounds about right," I said with a grin, glancing down at my phone once more. "I wonder what he meant about what he said though."

"Are you going to text him back?" Dylan asked. 

I shook my head, "No. Past is the past. Even if drunk me decides against that theory." 

Dylan hopped out of bed and it took every ounce of willpower I had not to devour his body with my eyes. He walked out of the room and I took the free minute to sprint over to the mirror and wipe away any stray makeup from my face. Luckily it wasn't as bad as I had thought. 

A minute later, Dylan walked back in holding two bottles and silently handed me one. "No one is up yet," he said. "Want to grab breakfast? There's a bagel place we can get coffee and a couple dozen bagels for everyone." 

"Sure," I said in between gulps of the glorious water. "Let me just get changed." 

"Why? I think last nights outfit looks great on you," he winked, reaching over to tug at the hem of my dress. Every particle on my skin felt like it was reaching out for him and I couldn't help but take notice that no guy had ever done this to me. 

I tried my best to smile back, "Ha, well I think a little black dress would be too much for 9 a.m." I headed to my bag to dig out shorts and a t-shirt. Dylan left the room to give me some privacy to change. As I stood in front of the mirror brushing out my hair I tried my best to reason with myself. Laura said he was a player, and I already had too many men on my plate. I would not make a move on Dylan, no matter how badly my body wanted to. I just needed to get through 24 more hours. 

"You ready?" he said, popping his head in the room. 

I nodded and followed him out the door, staring at his strong, tan shoulders as he bounced down the stairs in front of me.

Just 24 hours.