IMPORTANT UPDATING INFO IN AUTHORS NOTE BELOW!

Highest rank on the hot list over the last two weeks - #222 in Chick Lit

There's a sneak peek at chapter 18 up on the site now! It's linked on my profile!

________________

© 2017 Shay Spencer. All rights reserved.

Something Real

[ Chapter 17 ] I'll Take That As A Compliment

....................................................................

Out of all the mistakes I had made throughout my life, last night had to have been the biggest.

Despite my best efforts, my mind refused to shut off a replay of my moment with Hayden from the night before; and although I felt entirely wracked with guilt over what happened, I couldn't shake this spark that ran over my body anytime I thought over the almost kiss.

Not only had I almost kissed my soon to be step brother, the man that had gone from the vain of my existence to my best friend in a few short weeks, but Wren had somehow called the unexplainable connection brewing between us.

I was surprised I hadn't pulled out all my hair. Especially with my mother's unexpected phone call this morning.

"You should have gotten up by now," she scolded. "What time did you even get in last night?"

"Sometime around nine." I sighed, setting the phone down on the desk near the mirror. I picked up my brush, leaving my phone on the lowest volume in hopes that she wouldn't wake the whole house after I'd put her on speaker. "But we didn't eat until ten or eleven."

"Mary just seems very irresponsible," the woman huffed on the other end of the line. I could hear her playing with the coffee maker that she still had yet to figure out in the Pennington Mansion.

The only way I had figured out how to use it was with Hayden's help.

"Click the green button after you put the coffee grounds in," I tried. I narrowed my eyes in on the space between the door and the doorframe. I had left my door cracked open last night, but now, someone else was up and walking around. "It should start after that."

"That's what Elias said," she muttered. "But don't worry about me, how was last night after you finally got to the Hampton's?"

"Fine," I replied all too quickly.

I could practically hear her scoff on the other side of the phone. "What could be wrong in a place like that?"

"Nothing," I shook my head. "I just didn't expect Wren and Jay to be here."

"Well Hayden's there," my mother reasoned. "You two have been getting pretty close lately."

"Yeah," I sighed. "But it'll be okay. I'll be home tomorrow night, anyways."

"Well tell me what's wrong-" I quit listening to my mother once Wren popped her head in the room.

"Hey," Wren mused. She widened her eyes a bit as she caught sight of my phone. "Oh, hi Angel."

"Is that Wren?" My mother asked. "Hi, darling."

"I need to go, mom. I'll talk with you later," I cut her short before hanging up the phone.

I gave a small smile to Wren and turned back to my mirror thereafter.

"Sorry about that," I sighed. I shook my head before shutting my laptop and shoving it off my lap. "What's up?"

Contrary to what I had been expecting from her since last night, Wren had kept her cool about the whole thing. She had continued to go on as if nothing had happened.

Wren flashed me on of her signature smiles, one of which I hadn't seen for quite some time now. "Jay agreed to meet the guys at the beach, and I thought maybe you'd want to tag along. Things would be kind of dull around here without Jay or me around."

I set my brush down on the desk for a second. Though my fights with Wren usually ended somewhat like this, the two of us brushing whatever our problem was under the rug, I hadn't expected her to cave so quickly after getting to the Hampton's.

Something had definitely shifted between the two of us since the night before. But if going to the beach with her meant not having to dodge awkward conversations with Hayden all day, I was more than ready to go.

"Just let me grab my things," I nodded, looking back towards the closet.

"And wear that bikini you got at the mall last month," Wren called as she strolled out of my room. "It looks hot, and Zane should be there."

It was almost like we were friends again.

-

Slipping out of the house without Hayden noticing had been easy enough. Knowing him, he was planning to sleep in all day, and the beach Jay and the guys had picked out was far enough away from the house that he wouldn't know where we had escaped to.

I was just scared to see Zane. If Wren said anything relating to what happened, I wasn't sure how to explain myself to him.

"Look what the cat dragged in." Axel flashed a winning smile our way as we walked down the beach in their direction. His teeth were white enough that I could see them from twenty feet away. "How's it feel to be a part of the NFL?"

Jay shrugged his shoulders and grabbed onto Wren's hand. "It feels like I made it into the NFL."

"That's justifiable," one of the three nodded. He stood up from his spot on his beach towel as we walked over, the man then holding out his hand to me. "I don't think we've met. I'm Eddy. Eddy Hassid."

I smiled and took hold of his hand, "Scarlett Blaine."

Eddy was the kind of guy who stood out from the rest of the group. He had a nerdy vibe going, what with his round-rimmed glasses and his white button up shirt. He wore plaid shorts, and his sandals were the kind that used velcro to stick together.

When compared to Axel the buff businessman, and Zane the slick manager of the Reynolds resorts', Eddy was not what I had expected.

"So you're Zane's new girl," Eddy laughed. "He said you were cute."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

Eddy took my bag and set it down on the ground next to Zane. "She's even funny, too. I like her already, Miranda."

I bit my lip to contain a smile with Eddy's nickname for Zane. After meeting Axel, and after the stories Hayden was reluctant to tell me, I hadn't expected to take such a liking to one of Zane's friends. Eddy was definitely different.

"Speaking of my girl," Zane started as he held his hand out to me. "Can I steal you away, Scarlett?"

"Only if you bring her back," Eddy whined. "She seems like a lot more fun than Ax or Jay."

"No promises, Ed." Zane shook his head and led me away from the group. As I looked back, Wren gave me a worried look, one that I knew was caused by my indiscretion with Hayden.

Knowing Wren and how she was acting this morning, she was probably waiting for me to tell Zane myself.

"I haven't seen you for a while," Zane started. He pushed his hands into the pockets of his swim trunks and quickly kicked the sand from his feet as we stepped up onto the boardwalk overlooking the beach. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too," I smiled. "I just got caught up with my mom and Elias."

Zane nodded, "I kind of figured. What with Jay and Hayden staying with their mom these last few days."

"Things have been pretty low-key since they left," I agreed. Though Zane bringing up Hayden was a bit odd, I knew the only way to avoid the topic, was to move right past it. "But I was happy to hear that you'd be in the Hampton's."

"I was ecstatic when I heard you were coming," Zane chuckled. He stopped near the edge of the boardwalk, looking down at the water when he did. "I felt like I needed to talk with you."

"About what?"

"What happened at the brunch a few weeks ago," he said simply. "I didn't expect Elias to bring up my return to New York. I wanted to tell you about it myself. Especially since I'd asked for the transfer before we'd met."

I kept quiet, knowing Zane needed this time to explain himself. I had been hesitant to hear him out, after all. Just finding out that he would be leaving so soon after we'd gotten together left me feeling like he saw me as a summer fling.

Not that I didn't look at him like that.

"Before we met, I was involved with someone else; someone who was very special to me," Zane nodded slowly. "She was offered a promotion in Los Angeles a few months back, and knowing that I was working for Axel's resort, she thought we could move to LA together and everything would be okay. We broke up a month after moving here."

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

Zane shook his head once more, "I'm over it. But once we ended things, I called Axel to transfer back to New York. Axel told me it would be a few months before I could come back, what with the paperwork and the approval of the second transfer with the board. So I decided to wait things out in LA, and that was when I met you."

I was almost touched by his confession. If it wasn't for all that had happened since the start of this summer, I would have been over the moon.

Only, it seemed like we weren't as close as I had hoped we would be at this stage.

"I know it might be a long shot, but I wanted to show you what my life is like in New York," Zane suggested. "I want to take you back to the city for a few days. I don't want you to think that I'm not invested in us. I really like you, Scarlett, even for only knowing you this short time."

"I really like you, too," I laughed. He reached out and took my hand in his own. "I'd hate to give up on us without giving us a real shot."

"Then come back to the city with the guys and me," Zane repeated. He had this look on his face that told me everything I needed to know. He really wanted me there with him. "You can stay a few days, and we can go back to LA whenever you want."

In the spirit of avoiding Hayden, and a potentially awkward confession session with Wren, New York sounded like the perfect escape.

"I'd love to, Zane."

....................................................................

A whole chapter without Hayden? That must have been why it was so hard to write it... But how did everyone like it? Scarlett will be staying with Zane and the guys in the city! How do we think that will end up?

And so follows the important updating news...

The next update will be on May 15th! Updates will now be weekly on Mondays!

Remember to vote guys!
It would mean the world!

Also! Check out The Buddies Rule - the final chapter has been up since last week!

Thanks guys!

Ps: Tides and I Liked You Better on YouTube will be updated on Wednesday, the 17th - and there's a sneak peek at Tides up on the site now!