Chapter 12
Jade
The salt air was heavier than I remembered it being. Either that or it was my new wolf that was making the experience different. My parents had let us borrow their house on the beach and somehow, the guys had managed to get the house next door. I knew it was a pretty penny based on the size of it. Rafe nor Gabriel had begged once to get into our vehicle though when I spied them on the road, I noticed that they both had noise-cancelling earbuds in their ears. I wondered how they worked with their wolf sense but wouldn’t bother asking.
I didn’t unpack the Jeep or rush up to the house. Instead, I ran right for the waves. My feet sunk into the gritty sand and the water lapped at my ankles. The sun was starting to sink in the sky and I felt a new kind of peace wash over me. My shoulders relaxed as I stood in the surf of the private beach. I could sense Rafe watching me but he didn’t join me. After a few minutes, disappointment set in. But when I finally dragged myself out of the water and up to the house, I noticed that he had brought my bags up for me. I climbed the steps slowly, enjoying the feeling of the drying sand on the bottoms of my feet.
The beach house was like I had remembered when I was little. I hadn’t been here since I was a child. It was like my parent’s private oasis. When they came here, they left everything behind. They didn’t want the outside world interrupting their paradise. That was why I was so surprised when they had offered it to us. It was nice to not have to spend our own money but it was even nicer feeling the nostalgia of the place.
The building was painted white and lifted off of the ground. It was kept immaculate even if my parents hardly came here anymore. They made sure someone took care of it so it was ready no matter what. It wasn’t too far from the Crimson Pack either, which was nice. I could hardly believe it was snowing back home but sunny and warm here.
Tracey was already pouring herself a glass of wine and looking out the floor-to-ceiling windows at the back of the house that overlooked the beach. Having parents that had money was nice. The couches in the open living space were new. They were a light grey and there was a white coffee table in the center of the room. To the left was a massive kitchen with a bar that stretched the length of the room. Twelve grey barstools were tucked against it.
It was a four-bedroom house with a bathroom in each. We had plenty of room and didn’t have to worry about being up each other’s butts. My mom had called the housekeeper and had the fridge loaded for us. I peeked into the pantry. Not a single vegan item in sight. My brows crinkled together. She must have picked up on my new tastes. She didn’t miss much. She was my mother, after all.
Tracey sighed as she sunk down into the hammock at the corner of the room. It was positioned perfectly to look over the beach.
“This is magical,”
“I didn’t remember it being like this,” I breathed.
Everything was white with baby blue accents. It was the perfect getaway.
“How do you think the boys are doing?” I peered out the side window and laughed. Gabriel and Rafe were on the porch leaning over it, watching us with pleading eyes. They looked like tortured little puppy dogs. From the windows, I could see Knox dancing on the table with a bottle of whiskey in his hands. The funny thing was that he didn’t need the alcohol because it did absolutely nothing to him. He was simply high on life. Tracey joined me at the window and her eyes got as big as saucers.
“What the hell?”
“Think they’re gonna have a good time?” I asked while giggles escaped me.
Archer joined him on the table and I closed my eyes in horror. Nothing good would come out of this. Rafe’s face was pale and Gabriel was slowly sinking down onto the deck. His face was buried in his hands like he could die from mortification alone, except there was nobody around. This was about as private of a getaway as anyone got.
Tracey shook her head. “I bet they will be up all night. Knox loved to pull all-nighters.” She got a faraway look in her eye and I thought back to what Knox had said that night at dinner with my parents. I wanted to bring it up but knew I shouldn’t. We were here to have a good time, not relive the past.
The sun had disappeared into the night and the moon was heavy overhead. Tracey looked out to the beach and turned completely away from the shit show next door. “Do you wanna go for a swim?”
If I was going to get comfortable with my body, going swimming at night was probably my best bet on doing so. I still hadn’t come to terms with what had happened in Damian’s dungeons. I avoided the mirror at all costs when my clothes were off. It had been easy to ignore in the winter back home, but here it would be different. I wouldn’t have the luxury of being able to hide behind my clothes. Tracey’s face went from excited to concerned.
“I ordered you a ton of one-piece swimsuits. There’s nothing to worry about.” I could have taken my sweater off hours ago. I was comfortable in the car in short sleeves even with it snowing outside but it wasn’t just the ‘D’ marking my stomach that made me self-conscious. It was also the vertical scarring on my legs and arms. They had faded to light silver but it wasn’t the way they looked that bothered me. It was the memories that were dug up from looking at them.
I nodded my head. “Yeah, that’s fine, I’ll try them on.”
My suitcase was like a ticking time bomb as I carried it to the bedroom I had occupied as a child. Back then the walls had been a soft lavender. Now they were painted a light grey. The little twin bed that had been pushed into the corner was now replaced with a massive king-sized bed in the center of the room with a whitewashed dresser across from it. The suitcase felt heavier in my hands as I lifted it and placed it on the bed. As I unzipped it, the sound echoed around the room like it was mocking me.
All the clothes I had packed were things I didn’t know how to wear. They were items from my closet back at home and new things that I had bought recently. I hadn’t thought past the wintertime and what I would do when summer rolled around. Unfortunately, I hadn’t had to wait around to find out.
My heart thundered through my chest as I unzipped the pocket on the inside of it. Swimsuits of all different colors sprang out and sprawled across the little space. I picked one without even looking at it and shucked my clothes off. The one-piece was cheetah print and even though it wasn’t as much my style, as it was Tracey’s, I felt somewhat comfortable in it. My scar didn’t feel irritated against the fabric and I avoided looking down at the exposed parts of myself. A thin black long sleeve cover-up was on the bottom of the pile, I grabbed it and pulled it over my arms quickly before I exited the room. Tracey was already waiting for me at the bar. She wore a tiny cheetah bikini and no cover-up. She grinned when she saw me.
“Great minds think alike.” She winked. “Hurry up, we don’t want the guys to see us. At least we will get a little private time.”
I had a feeling that Rafe knew where I was at all times. I didn’t believe for a second that he was enjoying himself or the hot mess that was happening next door. He had to keep himself occupied somehow. I glanced over out of the corner of my eye and didn’t see any of them through the windows. It was probably a good thing. It meant we would actually get some time to enjoy this place without them. I had a feeling once we got all mixed up together again, there would be no separating.
The sand between my toes brought me a peace I wasn’t expecting from this trip. My shoulders, once again, relaxed and my breathing felt deeper. The salt air stuck heavily to my skin but there was something comforting about that too. Tracey wasted no time as she barreled across the beach and dove right into the waves. She broke through the surface of the water and giggled. The sound of it eased some of the tension from my body some more.
Tracey swam out farther into the surf while I got comfortable with the way the waves felt around my ankles. A prickling on the back of my neck notified me of someone watching me. I knew it was Rafe and because of that, I didn’t turn around. There was something freeing about the way he watched me when he thought no one was looking. I let the cover-up slip off my shoulders and down my arms before it pooled in the sand at my feet. I kicked it far enough out of reach from the water before I really made my way into the ocean. The cold water splashed my ankles and caused goosebumps to ignite up and down my body. I didn’t mind though because I knew he watched me.
Tracey paid neither of us any mind as she crashed through the waves. All she cared about was the water. I could hear her gentle laugh on the breeze when the water was finally up to my knees. Then and only then did I have the courage to turn around.
