Chapter 51: Maggie

Kelly walks slowly back to her beach house and turns on the shower. As she takes her clothes off, she remembers last night. She still cannot believe she slept in his arms last night and he did not make a move on her. No man has ever done that. Maybe, he is not attracted to her, but then again, the way he was staring at her, she could swear he was going to jump her. He is a genuinely good guy to be a friend with.

After her shower, she goes to town and gets her groceries. When she gets back and puts her stuff away, she hears a knock at the door. She opens it and she sees a smiling friendly face of an older woman who appears to be in her fifties. “Hi, I’m Maggie. I live just around the corner there.” She points. “On the other side of you there is Joel. He is a nice young man, very friendly about your age, I think. Are you alone?”

“Yes, I’m alone. I am Kelly and I have already met Joel yesterday. He was kind enough to give me some leftovers of everyone’s party. I went shopping this morning so now I’m stocked up.” She smiles as she stands by the door.

“Well, I must be going. My grandson is running around back at home with my husband Jim. He is visiting for a couple of days. I hope you get along well with Joel, perhaps you two can get together.” Maggie suggests with a raised brow.

“Actually, I am here because I needed to get away for a while.”

“Well, dear. If I were younger, I would get lost with Joel. He is the type of guy that romance novels are made from. I am sure you know what I mean. I must be going. Nice to meet you.” She waves and disappears behind the sand dune.

Kelly makes some lunch for herself and takes it out on the porch. As she eats, she watches the seagulls on the beach. She closes her eyes for a few minutes and takes in the sounds of the waves crashing on the sand. Deciding to go swimming, she cleans up and changes.

The sand burns under her feet as she runs to the water. It is a very pleasant temperature as it soaks her bathing suit. She can feel a slight undertow tugging at her feet, but otherwise it is just a gentle sway as the waves push her towards the shore. When she turns around and swims, she sees someone on the shore.

A little boy is running around, and Maggie is chasing after him. It is a funny site, because Maggie is a little rounder then she might want to be. The little boy is winning the chase, but then someone else runs up and grabs him. She realizes that it is Joel. He picks up the little boy and puts him above his head, running around with him. Kelly laughs and continues swimming.

After a bit, she lets herself be swept to shore on a wave. She lays on the beach where the water meets the sand, letting the water cascade over her. It feels very relaxing as she lays there quiet without anyone else around. The others had left already, completely alone she stares up at the clouds and sees a seagull flying high above. It circles and then slowly descends.

She gets up and walks back to the porch. As she stands there, she can feel the breeze on her skin as it blows her suit dry. Sitting down on the porch she closes her eyes again and after a few minutes she falls asleep. Suddenly she wakes up to hear her phone, so she runs in and answers it.

“Samantha, what’s up?”

“I wondered how your first day went. I also wanted to tell you that Aaron is going nuts without you. He keeps trying to get me to tell him where you are. It’s not working of course.” Samantha comments.

“Well, it is beautiful and peaceful here. I met the neighbors, and they seem really nice. I just relaxed and got drunk last night with a neighbor.”

“Kelly, I can hear the tone of your voice. There is something you are not telling me.”

“Um, the neighbor I got drunk with, I ended up sleeping with. I know that sounds bad, but I did not have sex with him. I slept with him. I was drunk and he did not take advantage of me. He is a real gentleman, and he looks like a god. I don’t think he even likes me that way. He treats me kind of like a sister.” She tells Samantha.

“Really? You can’t even spend one night sleeping alone. I thought you were supposed to get away from all this. It sounds like you stepped into a romance novel. So, tell me all about it.” Samantha anxiously awaits.

She tells her all about it, “I just can’t believe that I stripped in front of him and all he did was stare at me.”

“Kelly, what you don’t get yourself into. You really need to become celibate. Sex always gets you into trouble. If this guy could keep sleeping with you and not have sex with you, then he is your man. Could you imagine the will power it would take? Either that, or he really does not like you that way. Now remember, celibate does not mean you can’t kiss him. Just no doing the dirty. I suppose that is one way of finding out if he likes you or not. Anyway, let me know what happens.” Samantha hangs up.

She changes out of her swimming suit and takes another shower to get the sand off. Stepping out, she sees someone standing in the doorway staring at her. “Oh, I’m so sorry. The door was open I was making sure you were o.k.” Joel looks away. She realizes that she did not put a towel on and grabs one quickly after feeling a brief chill in the air.

Wrapping it around her, “Yeah, I was out on the porch taking a nap when my sister called. I must have forgotten to shut the door.” She looks at him wondering why he came over.

“You must be wondering why I came over in the first place. I want to know if you would come over and have dinner with me about seven? I make a mean plate of alfredo noodles.”

“That sounds absolutely delicious.”

“By the way, thank you for last night. I haven’t slept that well in a long time.” He looks at her wrapped up in her towel and almost drools.

“What do you mean?”

“I could feel your warmth all night and it comforted me, knowing I wasn’t alone.” He takes a few steps forward and kisses her on the cheek.

Shocked, Kelly drops her towel. They both bend down to get it and hit heads. Kelly grabs it and struggles trying to put it back on as he checks her forehead and then kisses it. “Hopefully, that makes it better.” He smiles at her warmly as she keeps dropping her towel. “Are you having problems?” He looks at her amused by it all.

“Yes, I have butter fingers this morning it seems.”

“Well, let me help you, so we don’t butt heads again.” He bends down and retrieves the towel for her. “I don’t think I have seen a woman naked this many times since I was engaged.” He holds it out for her, but she doesn’t grab It right away.

“Does it bother you?” She looks into his eyes and sees a hint of wanting.

“No, not at all.” He lies as he struggles to keep his composure.

“My sister and I agree that I should become celibate. Since sex gets me into all my problems, not having it should get me out. What do you think?” She finally takes the towel and wraps it around herself.

“I think that it’s a great idea, but I doubt it is going to solve any of your problems. Since the guys you are involved with already love you, it will not matter. If anything, it might make them love you more. You know, absence makes the heart grow fonder.” He reminds her.

“Just like you, soon you should start to notice that you can’t live without one of them. If you do not, then maybe you never really loved them in the first place. Maybe it was just about sex. I know when my fiancé left me, I missed her every day. I felt like I died and could not take it anymore. That is why I moved here to escape it all. I figured the beautiful backdrop would take away the memories of her. I was wrong, but I finally am getting over her. With your help.” He winks at her.

“What do you mean?” She looks confused.

“Every time I see you naked, I can honestly say that the furthest thing from my mind is my ex-fiancé.” He jokes.

She smiles seductively, “Then maybe I should just stay naked all the time. You would not ever think of her again. Problem solved.”

“Yes, but then I would be thinking about you all the time and I wouldn’t be able to help you with your problem.” He reminds her that she has her own problems to work on.

“Just because I would not take advantage of you when you were drunk, doesn’t mean I wouldn’t when you’re not. I am a guy and guys usually think with their little heads. You’re just lucky that I can show as much restraint as I have.” He subtly suggests that he can’t take much more. His beautiful and intriguing blue eyes stare into hers as she wonders what he would do if she dropped her towel again.

He starts to lean over and kiss her, but he stops himself. “I must go and get dinner started. Remember seven o’ clock.” He smiles so charmingly as he walks out the door. She thinks to herself, what is she doing? She is playing with fire. That is what she is doing. She needs to think about her problem and not create more. I mean really, another guy. You cannot handle the two you already have, and you aren’t any closer to coming up with an answer either.