“I’ll just stay back at the house and wait for you.”
“I’m not going if you don’t.”
“This is your family. You have to.”
“They’ll understand,” I said.
She stood up and started to walk away. “Where are you going? Come back here.”
“Maybe this was a mistake coming here this weekend.”
I quickly got up and walked over to her. “Why would you say that?”
“Because you and your family like to do the things I can’t and it’s not fair to you.”
“You mean the things you won’t. Not ‘can’t.’”
She turned away from me and didn’t say a word.
“Amelia, look at me.”
“It’s not up for discussion anymore, Collin. This is who I am, and nothing, especially you, is going to change that. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to lie down for a little bit.”
She walked back to the house and left me standing on the beach. She was upset and I could see the terror in her eyes when I mentioned the boat. I put my hands in my pockets and walked back to the house. I grabbed a beer from the fridge and sat outside. I wanted to go comfort her, but I could tell she wanted to be alone and I was going to respect that. Her fears were understandable, but she couldn’t stop living life because of the accident and I needed to make her see that. Maybe I was crossing the line, but I cared about her more than I ever cared about anyone in my life and I wasn’t about to sit back and watch her stop living.
A while later, as I was sitting outside, Julia came and sat down next to me. “Where’s Amelia?” she asked.
“She’s lying down.”
“Are you okay? Did something happen between the two of you?”
I sighed and looked down at my beer bottle. “She’s too afraid to go in the water and she won’t go on the boat. I don’t know what to do about it.”
Julia placed her hand on mine. “You’re going to support her decisions. She’s obviously traumatized by what happened and she should be. I know I would be after experiencing something like that. You haven’t walked in her shoes, little brother, so it’s hard to understand.”
“You’re wrong, Julia. I do understand. I want to help her.”
“You understand as an outsider. You weren’t there. You didn’t see what she did and you certainly didn’t go through what she did. I get that you want to help her, but pushing her to do something she’s not ready for is only going to push her away from you.”
I couldn’t say anything. I got up from my chair and kissed Julia on the cheek. “Thanks for the talk. I’m going to go check on her.”
I quietly opened the door and poked my head in. She turned around and looked at me. I walked in the room and climbed in next to her, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her into me.
“I’m sorry, Amelia,” I said as I kissed her head.
“Don’t be. I’m the one with the issues.”
“We all have issues, baby. Some more than others, but in the end, everyone has issues. But issues can be worked on.”
“Can we please not talk about this now?” she asked.
My phone started buzzing. When I reached in my pocket and pulled it out, I noticed a text message from Aiden.
“Bro, I’m in the Hamptons. You here?”
“Yeah. I’m at the beach house with Amelia and my family.”
“Awesome. Let’s hit the club tonight.”
Maybe that wasn’t such a bad idea, since Amelia wouldn’t go on the boat. I asked her if she wanted to go and she said yes.
“We’ll meet you there around eight.”
“Cool. I’m bringing Sonya. I can’t wait for you to meet her.”
Chapter 22
Amelia and I walked out from our rooms at the same time. I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw her. She looked so sexy, I had to put my hand in my pocket.
“Wow, you look amazing.” I smiled as I looked her up and down.
Her short black skirt complemented her long legs and her silvery spaghetti-strap top clung to her hourglass shape. She wore the sides of her hair pinned up with curls cascading down her shoulders.
“Thanks,” she said as she walked to me and ran her hand down my silk shirt. “So do you.”
I smiled as I kissed her and we headed downstairs. My family had already taken the boat out, so I grabbed my keys, locked up, and then we drove to the club.
“Dude!” Aiden smiled as he walked up to us right outside the club.
“Hey, bro,” I said as we high-fived. “This is Amelia. Amelia, this is my best friend, Aiden.”
He took her hand and lightly kissed it. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
“Thank you. It’s nice to meet you,” she replied.
“Where’s Sonya?” I asked.
“We got into an argument and she left. No big deal. There’s plenty of ass in there to look at.”
I shot him a look. “Aiden, not in front of my girl.”
Amelia laughed and told me it was okay. She hooked her arm in mine and Aiden’s and we walked into the club. Aiden turned and mouthed to me, “OH..MY..GOD..YOU..LUCKY..DOG.”
We grabbed a table in the corner and Aiden went to the bar and got us a few drinks. He set down Amelia’s glass of wine and handed me my scotch.
“Dude, remember the last time we were here with that pizza delivery girl and you got her off and then she said she was a virgin and not ready for sex? That was classic!” He laughed.
I closed my eyes at the idiocy of my so-called friend. Amelia looked at me and raised her eyebrow.
“That was the night I met you.” I smiled as I took her hand and kissed it.
“Sorry, Amelia. My bad,” Aiden said.
He always had a habit of saying the wrong things at the wrong time. Now I was embarrassed and I could tell Amelia was less than pleased. A waitress came over to our table and asked if we needed anything. Amelia held up her glass of wine and ordered another. I ordered another scotch and Dumbass ordered us two rounds of lemon shots. After we downed them, I looked at Amelia.
“Would you like to dance?” I smiled as I held out my hand.
She smiled, put her hand in mine, and we went to the dance floor. She downed her glass of wine pretty fast after the shots and I could tell she was feeling it. She was all over the dance floor. I grasped her hips with my hands and brought her close to me. She began moving her body up and down mine, causing some excitement. I took in a deep breath as I bit my bottom lip to distract me from my hard-on. She turned to me and wrapped her arms around my neck.
