A/N: I would just like to say, first of all to anyone who reads this, thank you so much for reading. But i would also like to explain something. I have never in my entire life been to California, or anywhere near the beach for that matter. I have also never written a romance novel. So, if you spy anything that does not seem to fit in with anything please let me know, because i don't want to seem like a fool for putting something in there that should not be. Any critique is both welcome and wanted =-). ~Frankie Belle~
He was always there. He was always alone. And he was always thinking.
He was like a ghost, detached from society, haunting the same place day after day just to stand at the very end of the pier where he worked each summer and breathe in the salty sea breeze and feel the caress of the setting sun. But he also came to remember her...
.1.
Cal breathed in the bittersweet aroma of brewing coffee as he stepped nonchalantly into ‘The Bean’, calling, “Dom!”
“Hey, Dom?” he said upon reaching the counter. He scratched his head and looked about the coffee shop for his friend, “Dominic?”
“I’m right here,” said Dom as he rushed in from the kitchen with a bin of clean cups and saucers. He did not look at Cal.
Cal cocked his head at him and hopped over the counter top, hardly noticing how Dom was keeping his back toward him.
“What do you need, Cal?” Dom said after a while of silently stacking the dishes beside the espresso machine.
“We’re all about to head up to the secret cove for the first surf of the summer, I’m here to help you escape,” he replied, “Come on, man, grab your board and all that jazz; I know you keep it here.”
“Uhh... I can’t go,” Dom rasped, stuffing the empty bin into the cabinet beneath the coffee machines.
Shocked, Cal raised his brow and walked over to be beside Dom, but Dom turned his back on him again.
“What do you mean ‘you can’t’?” he gasped, “We’ve gone to the secret cove since we were ten years old, Dom.”
“Get off my back about this, Cal, I can’t go this year,” Dom said, filling two cups with strong black coffee and topping them with steamed milk. He placed them on the counter top with the sign labeled “pick-ups” and rang the bell, “Besides... The secret cove isn't even a secret cove. It's just a private beach we've been sneaking onto without anyone knowing for the passed few weeks."
He danced around Cal and hurried into the kitchen, where he picked up three full garbage bags and carried them out the back door. Cal followed, saying, “Give me one good reason why you can’t go and I’ll leave you alone.”
“I already did give you a reason,” Dom pointed out, “I can’t.”
“Well, that’s not good enough,” Cal said, folding his arms across his chest.
Dom’s shoulders slumped as though he had tired of playing his game, and he slowly turned around, removing his red plaid fedora as he did so. Cal’s jaw clamped shut when his eyes fell upon the dark bruise painted over the left side of Dom’s face. His brow was cut as well as his bottom lip.
He loosened his tie to reveal the ring of bruises around his neck.
“Jesus!” breathed Cal, cupping Dom’s face to examine the wounds, “Jesus!”
Dom rolled his eyes, nodding.
“What the heck happened to you!” cried Cal.
“I got into a fight,” Dom replied flatly.
“With who?” Cal demanded.
Dom shoved him away and shouted, “None of your business!”
Cal swallowed and fell silent.
“I’m sorry, Cal...” Dom muttered, “I’m just really stressed out trying to keep up with my jobs here and working toward that whole scholarship thing with my art and all that... And all this crap with my mom and dad...” He seemed as if he knew he had said too much.
“What’s going on with your mom and dad?” Cal asked.
“They split up, Cal, you know that,” Dom replied, tossing the garbage into the dumpster, “And now that I’m old enough they want me to decide who I want to stay with.”
“Sounds nasty,” Cal remarked.
Dom sighed, put his hat back on, and tightened the tie around his neck, “Yeah well... I gotta get back to work...”
“Where are you staying at tonight?” Cal asked.
“Probably with my dad,” he replied, gulping.
Cal nodded.
“Look, I’ll make it up to you,” Dom promised, “I just can’t today... Or this week... But I will make it up to you, I swear.”
