Take Me Home: Chapter Two: The Nectarine

The Nectarine

Carrie hung up the phone, rolling her eyes. She had just gotten off the phone with Lizzy, requesting a second fan for her room. Stonessa, Florida was definitely more humid than Rillmont. Being only April, it was still spring weather. It was now 6:00pm, and she decided it was probably time to get ready. Having only brought one suitcase with her, she didn’t have very many options for tonight’s attire. She ended up settling on a pair of jeans with a white lace tank top, complete with her turquoise cowboy boots. Putting the finishing touches on her mascara, her blue ocean eyes staring back at her in the mirror, she smiled. Tonight might be fun, the guy was cute, and it gives me something to do besides sit in this muggy motel room. Then she heard a knock from the door. Hoping it was Lizzy with a second fan, she opened the door to find the teenage girl with brown frizzy hair in a pony tail smiling at her.

          “This should help, sorry it’s so muggy, the air conditioning has been touchy lately. I’ll tell my uncle when he gets back to the office,” Lizzy said, handing Carrie the fan.

.         “Thank you Lizzy,” she replied.

          “You goin’ somewhere?” she asked, noticing that she looked like she was headed out.

          “Yeah, someone I met at the beach invited me to The Nectarine, I guess it’s a bar.”

          “Oh yeah! My uncle goes there sometimes, it’s just down Main Street. You want me to call ya a cab?” Lizzy was trying to be nice, but Carrie figured she would just walk, save the money.

          “Nah, I think I’ll just walk. Cabs are a waste of money, and I’m living on a budget until I figure out some work. Thanks though, I better head out.”

          “Nonsense. If you don’t want a cab, than at least take a bike, we got a few for guests down by the lobby, you’re more than welcome to use one,” Lizzy said waving her hand at Carrie as if she was insane to think about walking somewhere.

          “Uh, thanks. Sure, I’ll take one. And thanks again for the fan.” With this, the two ladies exited the room and Carrie proceeded to grab one of the bright blue bikes and went to the bar.

To her surprise, a lot of people used bicycles as transportation around here. Probably because everything is so packed together on one main street. I wish Rillmont was like this. No, scratch that, I’m glad I left. I can have a future here. Pulling up to The Nectarine she noticed it was a nice place. There were already plenty bikes outside, and cars in the parking lot. This place looked pretty popular. It had an orange exterior (fitting, considering the name of the bar) with a small deck in from with two simple chairs next to the door. Carrie opened the door and walked into the noise-filled bar. Feeling stupid, she stood in the entry for a good minute and a half scanning the room for Steven. She saw the bartender point at her, and that was when her date swiveled around on his seat to face her and smile. In return, she gave a half smile and stalked towards the open seat next to him.

          “Well you came! Wonderful. What can I buy you to drink?” Steven asked, his hand supporting his chin complete with a grin.

          “I’ll just take a rum and coke please,” she addressed the bartender.

          “Comin’ right up darlin’,” he replied.

          “So, you from Florida?” Steven asked her. Carrie turned her head slightly, and replied,

          “No, I’m actually from Michigan. Are you?”

          “I’m from New York. Moved here after college. But you are a long way from home aren’t you? May I ask what brings you to the beautiful beach?” She smiled at his care-free attitude, just as her drink appeared in front of her.

          “I decided I needed a change. Flew in this morning,” she said, expecting him to look surprised or laugh at her. However, he did the exact opposite. He stared, quietly.

          “Thank you Kurt,” he finally said to the bartender and his empty beer was also replaced, with a full one. “Interesting. Any particular reason why you left?” He seemed deeply curious.

          “Well, to make a long story short, I knew I could have a better life here. So here I am,” she said, staring back at him. Looking at her drink, she took a sip.

          “I see. Well, you’ll like Stonessa. It’s a fun place. Full of entertainment,” he said raising an eyebrow.

          “So, Mr. Steven. Tell me what do you do for a living?” Carrie asked, deciding that she was curious in his life also.

          “Well, firstly, it’s Steven Canter. And secondly I own a business. You?”

          “Really? What is your business? And honestly? I was a receptionist at the local clinic back home, but quit last week. Now I’ll have to find something down here, if I plan on staying. I can’t really live at the motel the rest of my life,” she replied. At this she got a funny look from Steven, he raised his eyebrow again and paused a moment before speaking.

          “My father and I own Alten Pharmaceuticals. And you’re staying at a motel? Which one?” he inquired. Carrie hesitated, should I really be telling him where I’m staying? Well it is just a motel, and he seems like an honest person. Especially if he owns a company.

          “Sunray’s Inn, it’s just down the road.” She was trying to figure out what was going through his head. At first she thought it was pity, and that almost made her mad. However his face showed something else, more similar to confusion.

          What’s with this girl? Who just picks up their life and moves halfway across the country with no job plans and probably no money. Much less staying at one of the trashiest motels I’ve ever seen.

          “Hmm. Well, it’s pretty stuffy in here, how about we take a step outside on the back deck?” Steven suggested

          “Sure.” Carrie grabbed her drink and followed him to the back deck of the bar. There were chairs and tables with a few people eating dinner, enjoying the sunset. They walked over to the corner and Carrie stared out at the ocean.

          “By the way, nice boots,” Steven smiled, looking down at her feet. In return, Carrie blushed and smiled back. They continued to talk for some time, about life, likes and dislikes, and Steven’s brother, Jay. They danced a little inside, and played some pool. Soon, it was close to midnight and time for Carrie to go back to her motel room. Both of them walked out to the front, and Steven prepared to say goodnight. When he noticed that she came to the bar on a bike, he chuckled.

          “Would you like a ride home? It’s dark out,” he offered.

          “What? Oh that’s okay, I’ll be fine,” she replied, walking towards her blue bike. He then stepped forward, touching her arm so she would turn around.

          “I had a really nice time tonight, I’m glad you came,” he said, right before pressing his lips down on hers without warning. Surprised, but happy, she accepted the kiss, and smiled as he pulled away staring at her with a grin.

          “Good night,” he said, handing her a business card with his name and phone numbers on it. Getting on her bike, she winked at him and rode off towards the Sunray’s Inn. She felt full of adrenalin, nobody had ever given her a good night kiss like that. There was an instant connection, and she couldn’t wait to call him in few days.

          A few weeks passed, and Carrie was holding up okay at the motel. She was quickly running out of money though, and had no luck finding a job yet. Lizzy had let her stay a few nights for free, and invited her to dinner with her and her uncle. Carrie had gone on many dates with Steven, even though she said she couldn’t afford any of the places they went. He always paid for things. He even bought her new sunglasses when they were shopping at Terry’s, a store in the town center. She was on her way to Tivondra Café, right in town to meet Steven for lunch. Over the course of the past few weeks, they had become very close. Arriving at the café she didn’t see Steven, so she got them a table. A few minutes later, he arrived in his fancy Mercedes. It was odd how different they were, Carrie who barely had a dime to her name right now, and Steven who obviously had a lot of money. He always dressed nice, in a dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up and nice pants. He was young though, only 26, just two years older than her. His black Mercedes gave away his wealth also, not to mention his excessive tipping. Waltzing up to her, he put his hand on her shoulder and sat down saying,

          “Afternoon Miss Moore. Did I keep you waiting long? My brother Jay was having an issue and needed some help.”

          “Just a few minutes, no big deal. How are you today?” she asked, curious what Jay needed his help with. She had never actually met Jay, except the day at the beach where she was hit with the ball. He was the one yelling in the background.

          “Ahh, good. And me? I’m great! You?” he said, with a touch of sarcasm in his voice.

          “Well, I’m hungry, and kind of starting to get concerned,” she said, looking over the menu.

          “Why is that? The concerned part I mean”

          “Well, Lizzy said she can only let me stay at Sunray’s until the end of the week, which is in two days. I can’t find a job and I don’t know what I’m gonna do,” she said, worry slipping through the last sentence. Immediately Steven smiled and said,

          “Let me loan you money.” Carrie’s mouth dropped open, while she gave him a death glare. She opened her mouth to say something back but then the waitress approached their table and asked for their orders.

          “Oh, I barely looked. Umm… I think I’ll have the Caesar salad with grilled lemon shrimp please,” Carrie said to the waitress.

          “And for you,” she asked Steven. She barely glanced at Carrie when asking for her order and instead had her eyes on Steven the whole time.

          “I’ll take a turkey club. Thanks,” he said, still staring at Carrie waiting for her to yell at him, or whatever it was she was going to do before their interruption.

          The waitress walked away, looking a little disappointed that he hadn’t given her the time of day. Carrie looked back at Steven who was waiting for her reply.

          “I’m not going to accept charity. I am not this honest with you so you’ll give me money. I’m honest with you because I believe you deserve to know the real me, and the real me doesn’t have near as much money as you do,” she snapped.

          “Fine. What about a different solution,” he suggested. What other solution could he possibly have? Buy the motel complex so she could stay there for free? Yeah right! The longer she took to reply the more she thought this an actual thought that might cross his mind, uh oh.

          “What’s that?” she asked

          “Move in with me,” he said, completely serious.

          “WHAT?!” she said, rather loudly because other customers turned to look at them momentarily.

          “Why not? We’re kind of dating, and I have plenty of room in my house. You’re more than welcome. And once you find a job and save up money you can find your own place. Or whatever you planned on doing,” he explained.

Carrie took a minute to let this sink in, and seriously thought about pros and cons over the time period of about two minutes. She didn’t know what to say to him, so instead she just stared at him, maintaining eye contact while she sipped her lemonade she had ordered. He’s crazy! Are we dating? I don’t even know if that’s what we would call it! We’ve only been going on dates for a few weeks. How do I know he’s not out with a different woman every night? Who else is living at his house? He just continued to wait for an answer, playing with his water glass. Then again, what options do I have? Lizzy has been a sweetheart, and I understand why I need pay or be out at the end of the week. I don’t want to accept money from Steven, but now he’s offering me to move into his house until I get a job?

“Who all lives at your house?” Carrie asked. This took Steven by surprise, it was the last thing he expected her to say.

          “Just my brother and myself,” he answered, looking slightly confused.

          “And you’re sure I won’t be any trouble?” What am I doing? Carrie thought.

          “Promise,” he replied calmly, with that sideways smirk.

          “Here you go. Enjoy,” the waitress said, setting down their plates.

          “I’ll pick you and your stuff up at 6:00pm tonight,” Steven said, grabbing his fork.

          “I never said I was moving in!” Carrie exclaimed, staring at Steven holding a fork. He stabbed one of the shrimp on Carrie’s plate and ate it quickly. Then he said,

          “I know. But you’ve already made up your mind. You just didn’t say it out loud,” he smiled, taking a sip of water.

          “Whatever. And hey! That was my shrimp!” She smiled back at him, taking her first bite of the salad.

Later that day a black SUV pulled up the Sunray’s Inn. A man walked into the motel lobby, and Lizzy stood staring at him. He was beautiful, even though he looked much older than her. She tilted her head slightly to the left and said,

          “Can I help you?” in a timid voice, squeaking at the end. Steven put on the charm and gave her a flashy smile, putting his keys in his pocket.

          “Yes, actually you can. I’m here for Carrie Moore.”

          “Uh…room 22. Out the door and to the right,” Lizzy replied, still staring like a fool.

          “Thank you…Lizzy…you’ve been helpful. Have a good night!” he said as he walked out the door towards room number 22. Carrie opened the door soon after he knocked, and she had a suitcase in her hand and a backpack over the shoulder.

          “Hey roomie. Want me to grab the rest of your stuff?” he asked. She rolled her eyes, and said,

          “This is all my stuff. Just these two bags.” Steven’s eyes widened, and he chuckled as he grabbed her one suitcase.

          “You are the only girl I know that travels this light,” he explained as he walked down the path towards his SUV. She eyed his vehicle, and concluded that he owns at least one practical vehicle instead of the flashy Mercedes. Soon they were driving down the main road of Stonessa, and took a few turns towards a neighborhood. The houses were really nice, all with fresh looking paint, and fancy landscaping. At the end of the road of similar looking houses there was a gate. Steven stopped the SUV at the gate, looked to the left at some box, and the black iron gate opened.

Driving up the driveway Carrie could see fancy landscaping here too, which included palm trees. As they neared the massive house, she realized that he must own beachfront, as she could see the ocean past some trees. His home was enormous, and beautifully decorated from the outside. She was sure the inside would not disappoint either. Stopping at the entrance, she got out of his SUV and turned to look at the house up close. The outside was tan brick, with plants adorning the front of the house, complete with a small fountain. Steven came up to her side, and was about to say something when,

          “STEVEN! STEVEN? I can’t find the boat keys! STEVEN? Are you even home? This is serious Steven! I have friends waiting to party right now and you are holding up the plans brother!” yelled a voice from inside the house. The windows were open, letting in fresh air and also making the voice from inside much louder.

          “That would be my brother Jay. Welcome home,” he said as he walked towards the door.