Chapter Eleven

“Promise me that if this sucks, we can just get outta here,” Sullivan said as he and Spencer approached the dancing firelight of the enormous bonfire on Del Monte Beach.

“Either one of us uses the magic word, we jet,” Spencer confirmed, agreeing to the same plan they’d had since they were teenagers.

They looked at each other for a moment before both uttering the same word. “Tardis,” they said in unison, both of them grinning for a moment at their Doctor Who code word.

“Check it out, though,” Spencer said, looking around. “We have fire, beer, pretty good music to dance to, some burgers on the grill… this may end up being a mighty fine shindig.”

Sullivan had to agree it looked like a pretty successful beach party from where they both stood. Dozens of people were thronged around the fire, eating and drinking, talking and some were even dancing. He and Spencer made their way to the ‘bar’, grabbed a couple of brews, and promptly ran into two of Spencer’s current gym clients.

Sullivan was polite during introductions, but once Spencer and the two men began discussing protein shakes, he tuned out a bit, instead turning towards the waves to take in the view.

God, he loved the ocean. Was there anything better than standing on the beach, staring out into the black with the sound of the waves as a backdrop?

He excused himself from the trio a few minutes later to get another beer and found himself circling closer to the group of people dancing to the music playing nearby.

Some clearly had had one too many beers and were instead swaying, rather than dancing, but a few had some pretty nice moves, he noted dimly.

And of course, there was that one couple that inevitably confused a public place with a private hotel room, where they could, um, whatever that was, in private, Sullivan mused, continuing his trajectory around the group.

His eyes fell on one girl, a bit further away from the fire and dancing alone. She swayed her hips and moved her arms in sinewy movements above her head, her hair dark in the firelight and swinging past her shoulders. Her whole body was ample and curvy, but he was drawn to the length of her legs and to, let’s face it, a fantastic bosom.

She was just so confident and happy looking and… free. She looked like she’d forgotten everyone else on the beach, and was solely in the moment.

He envied that. In a million years, he would have been too shy and self conscious to dance on a beach as though no one was watching.

He watched for another moment or two then, was afraid of being viewed as a lecherous lump he moved back towards Spencer, giving the girl just one more glance over his shoulder, smiling at her closed eyes and blissed out expression.

She really was pretty, he thought absently.

If only he could relax like that and let himself go like that, he’d probably be a lot more comfortable in these social situations. Instead, he detoured to the food tables and accrued a mass of food to share with Spencer, as well as two more bottles of beer. He drifted back to Spencer’s side, smiled woodenly at the women his twin was chatting up, and silently dug into his meal.

**

Lucy dropped herself onto the overturned log beside Brandt and smiled happily. “Great bonfire,” she said, grabbing his bottle of water from his hand and taking a large swig.

Brandt laughed. “Help yourself,” he said, gesturing for her to keep the bottle. “Having fun?”

“Not at first,” Lucy admitted. “Those first few minutes were torture, but now… now is better.”

“I haven’t seen you dance in so long, Luce,” Brandt said, his voice affectionate. “We used to go dancing all the time in college, and you were always in the center of the dance floor. I missed that Lucy.”

“Me too,” Lucy admitted. “I’m not sure where she went, but I’m slowly finding her. At first I didn’t want to get up there, afraid everyone would comment on the poor little fat girl dancing alone, but then I thought, to hell with it. Dancing always made me happy.”

“You should ask Spencer to make it part of his workout regime with you,” Brandt teased. “I bet he does a mean foxtrot.”

“Har, har,” Lucy said with no intonation. “Speaking of, have you seen Mr. Hubba Trainer Man?”

“No, but I did make some good contacts,” he said. “One guy wants to give me a listing on Seventeen Mile Drive!”

“Wow, that’s great!” Lucy enthused. “Sounds like we both got something out of this – you, a new real estate sale, and me, some aerobic exercise and a reminder of how I used to get my groove on.”

Okay, Stella, how about…” Brandt trailed off, then grabbed her wrist. “Omigod, he came!”

“Spencer?”

“No, not Spencer,” Brandt said excitedly. “Josh.”

“Mr. Whole Foods?” Lucy asked, catching some of Brandt’s excitement.

“Yes,” Brandt said, suddenly fidgeting nervously. “Do I look okay? Do I look like a doofus?”

“A doofus? You, you tired old queen?” Lucy teased as Brandt worried at his clothes. “Relax, you look fine. Go say hi. I’m going to dance some more. Just don’t forget me,” she chided firmly, remembering a few instances in the past where Brandt went home with someone and stranded Lucy at one club or another.

“I won’t,” Brandt said, kissing her cheek swiftly. “See you later.”

Lucy watched as Josh and Brandt greeted each other with smiles and a quick peck on the cheek, both of them looking nervous and shy.

Brandt was never shy. This Josh must be something special…

She was glad to see Brandt was over his last heartbreak, and only hoped this one would last.

She glanced up and could have sworn she saw Spencer on the other side of the bonfire, but when she squinted to get a better view, she saw that the man had a plate piled high with barbeque and beyond that – potato salad.

Spencer would never eat that much in one sitting, she rationalized; it must not be him.

Squaring her shoulders, she stood back up, dusted off the sand from her clothes, and went back to dancing by the fire.

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