48 First Dates (Seeking Romance #1)

The Prince of Two-Timing

15

Real-life Baywatch guard;

I watched as he saved a life.

Then, we had a shot.

S everal weeks later, I found myself all alone.

Mitz and her family had gone on the annual Katz family trip. Cynthia was visiting her mother’s family in New York. And the boys had gone back to northern Alabama to work on Stretch’s family farm.

I was working at a paddle board rental shop. One that delivered the boards to the beach where the client was staying and also gave lessons on how to use them. I loved the job. I got to put my toes in sand all day long and help people learn how to paddleboard.

One day, I was on the beach soaking up the sun and salt air as I helped a mom of six learn how to stand up on the board. I spotted a blur of a person out of the corner of my eye. I looked up. A lifeguard held a buoy as he ran toward the water. He dove in and immediately started swimming toward a person stuck in a rip current. The whole beach held their breaths as the lifeguard reached the person and used the buoy to hold them up. We watched as the lifeguard swam parallel to the shore to get out of the rip current. Then he pulled the exhausted individual to the shore. A sigh of relief and a huge round of applause released as the two hit the shore.

Just down the beach from us, the rescued person hugged and thanked the lifeguard. My eyes stayed on the lifeguard as he turned to go back to his post. The theme from Baywatch played in my head as he ran down the beach. As he passed us, his short, spiky brown hair and greenish-brown eyes reminded me of a grown-up version of Hobie, Mitch’s son.

“He’s hot. And tan. And those muscles. Yikers, they make my fingers itch.” I pulled my gaze back to the client, who just said what every woman on the beach was thinking.

“Yep,” I said with a nod, forcing my attention back to our lesson.

By the end of the thirty minutes, she was standing with confidence. I watched as she paddled around in the Gulf like an expert tourist. She waved to say she was fine. I gathered my things from the beach, making a point to walk by the lifeguard stand as I was heading out.

“Hey, that was a great lesson.” I stopped and looked up at the lifeguard. “Thanks for teaching her about how to handle getting caught in a rip current. Makes my job easier.” He grinned, keeping his focus on the water.

“Thanks.” I ran a hand through my hair and tucked it behind my ear, drawing in a breath before adding, “That was a great rescue.”

“That’s what we do.” He said as his head swiveled back and forth, still scanning the water.

“Okay... well... thanks again. Have a great day.” I turned to walk to the parking lot, wishing my words had been better with every squeak of sand.

“Cannon, you have the water,” I overheard him say to his partner. “Hey, wait up!” I heard him shout.

I grinned as I stopped mid-stride. The scent of sunscreen wafted over me, and I turned to face him.

“I’m Hobie.”

“Adelaide,” I said, grateful I had a job that let me wear cutoffs and a bikini top to work as I felt Hobie checking me out behind his sunglasses.

“Look, I could come up with some lame excuse about wanting to talk shop, but the truth is that I want to see more of you. Are you free tonight?”

Oh, he was smooth. Like his Baywatch namesake, he seemed like someone who pushed the boundaries. Hopefully, he was also someone who always did the right thing in the end.

“Sure, I’d like that,” I said.

“Great, what time do you get off?”

“Five-o’clock.”

“I’ll be at the paddleboard shop then.” Hobie turned and ran back to the lifeguard stand.

So my prince might wear a bathing suit and carry a lifeguard buoy? I am a beach gal, after all...

I stared after him. Hobie turned around and got to the stand. He grinned when he saw I was still staring at him.

My face flushed with embarrassment. I spun around and continued squeaking my way to the parking lot. When I got to the truck, I almost turned back to tell Hobie where I worked. But I remembered my gear had the company logo splashed all over it. Plus, we were the only paddleboard shop in the area that gave beachside lessons.

I considered it a test.

If he found me, we would have our date.

If not, well, I would have to come to this stretch of sand on my day off.

Hobie passed the test. That night, we went out to my favorite shrimp shack on the beach. It was a total dive, but the food was amazing, and the prices were well within what a college student could afford. We sat on a park bench overlooking the ocean as we ate.

“Thanks again, Adelaide, for the food. Totally unnecessary, but it’s nice to be appreciated.” Hobie took the last bite of his taco.

“You are most welcome. You should get a free meal after you save a life!”

Hobie chuckled. Silence fell as we both watched the ocean lapping at the shore. I finished my food and crinkled up the wrapper. At the sound, Hobie turned to face me.

“You have a bit of sauce right there.” He pointed at my face.

A blush crept up my neck as I fumbled for a napkin.

“Let me.” He reached up and rubbed a spot on my cheek with his thumb. His hand lingered and cupped my jaw. As we stared at each other, I hoped he was going to lean in for a kiss.

Instead, several kids rode by on scooters and broke the trance.

“Tell me more about yourself, Adelaide. Have you always lived here?”

We talked for hours about growing up near the beach. He was from the east coast of Florida and had recently moved to our little section of the panhandle. We laughed about the differences between the two parts of Florida and how you have to go south to go north. My cheeks hurt from smiling by the end of the night.

He walked me back to the car and hugged me. With his arms still around me, he leaned into my neck and inhaled. “You smell like the ocean on the best summer day, Adelaide.”

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” I said with a laugh.

“A good thing.” He looked me in the eye and licked his lips. “A very good thing.”

And then he bent down and touched his lips to mine with the gentleness of an ocean breeze. Like a wave on the shore, he didn’t linger. Hobie stood up and said, “Let’s do this again.”

“Definitely.” I nodded my head.

That was the start of our summer romance. We would go out at least once a week. Either I would try to meet him when he worked at the beach where we had met, or he would come to the shop.

I naively never asked if he was seeing anyone else. I never questioned why he didn’t want me to meet him at his other post thirty minutes down the beach. That summer, I was just happy that Hobie, the real-life Baywatch morsel, wanted to date little old me.

All was well until Mitzi and Cynthia got back from their respective trips. They saw the red flags I had ignored when they came with me to meet Hobie at the beach one day. Hobie was super polite, and the girls all smiled. I assumed all was well until Cynthia turned to me after he had left to go back to work.

“I think I’ve seen him before. He looks just like a lifeguard at the beach where my aunt lives. Yesterday, that lifeguard kissed a blonde that was definitely not you. He walked down the beach hand-in-hand with her.” Cynthia’s words cut into me and sliced out my breath.

I stared at my two friends. The sound of the crashing waves and seagulls filled the blank space.

“Breathe, Ads, we’ll sort this out,” Mitzi said as she rubbed my arm.

I nodded as I sucked in hard, catching a whiff of coconut sunscreen. How could I not see this? “Maybe it’s not him…” I said with a slow shake of my head.

“Possibly. But now that we’ve met him, we can find out for sure. Cyn and I will stake out the beach. We’ll get answers, Ads.” Mitzi pulled me in for a hug, which Cynthia joined.

Two days later, Cynthia confirmed my worst fears. She sent me a picture of Hobie kissing another girl. From behind, the blonde was vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t place where I knew her from.

I took a chance the blonde would still be there when he got off his shift. At least, that’s what I would have done. I drove down to the other beach after my last lesson. It was an early day for me, so I arrived before Hobie finished.

I saw them before they saw me.

A good thing. Because the identity of the blonde looking up at my boyfriend clicked into place, I was surprised the Cynthia and Mitzi hadn’t warned me. They had to have recognized the blonde hair belonged to none other than Libby Jane Barnes. Her pale skin was slightly tanned by her time out in the Florida sunshine. With. My. Boyfriend.

How in the fluffernutter sandwiches had she ended up here?

I shuddered and plucked up the courage to approach them. Hobie was getting off his lifeguard stand and pulling Libby into a hug.

I walked up alone. Please let this not be what it looks like.

“Hey, Hobie. Libby.”

“Princess Snot-Rocket, so nice to see you.” The corners of Libby’s lips curled upward along with her eyebrows.

Sure it is. I folded my arms and asked, “What are you doing here? They let you out of Montana.”

“It’s college, not prison, Snot-Rocket. Of course, I come home for summer.” Libby and I glared at each other.

Hobie stepped in between us. “Adelaide, what are you doing here?”

“Hobie, tell me this is not what it looks like,” I pleaded.

“What does it look like?” Hobie asked, glancing back and forth between us.

Like you’re with Libby when you’re supposed to ONLY be with me! I wanted to scream. Instead, I calmly said, “It looks like you are dating someone else at the same time that we are dating.”

“Umm… we never said we were exclusive.” An air punch hit my gut. “We were having fun, and so are Libby and me.” Hobie’s eyes shifted as he glanced at Libby and then back to me.

I bet you are, you son of a biscuit.

My nostrils flared as I used my hands to gesture between Hobie and me. “Well, for me exclusivity was implied, or at the very least, one would say something if they were not. I am not okay with dating someone who is dating someone else,” I said, raising my chin a bit.

Hobie stood there. His forehead wrinkled, and he bit his bottom lip. He looked like he was considering how to handle things.

I can make it easier on you, buddy.

I took a step back and opened my mouth, but Libby beat me to the punch. She stepped closer to him and took his hand. “That’s alright, Princess Snot-Rocket. I can share, or I’ll take Hobie all to myself any day of the week.”

Libby looked up at Hobie, batting her eyes. She glanced at me and sneered before turning back to Hobie. She leaned in and kissed him right there in front of me.

The nerve!

My mouth dropped open as I watched her grab his hand and walk down the beach. Hobie turned back to look at me, shrugging his shoulders and lifting his hand to wave goodbye.

I will wipe that smile off your face so fast…

My lips pulled up as I glared at him. Hobie turned around quickly. I felt my shoulders fall. The threat of tears burned at the corners of my eyes.

Welp, Zack just got dethroned by Hobie.

I sat down on the beach and stared at the water. I grabbed a handful of sand and squeezed. As my fingers relaxed, I let go of a deep sigh. I expected the tears to flow, but as I thought about the whole situation, the droplets in the corners of my eyes dried up. Hobie was right. We had fun together, but there was no real substance to our relationship.

I missed being with a boy I could trust.

Someone who understood when I needed an ice cream or when I needed a kick in the pants to go for a workout. Someone who knew when I needed a listening ear or when I needed a suck-it-up speech. Someone who made me feel like I was the most important person he knew in the room.

I missed all of us being together. But staring at the retreating form of Hobie and Libby, his hand in her back pocket, I missed Brenn the most. And that’s when the seedling-crush pushed into my mind.

Could there be something more?

Again, I dismissed it. If Brenn and I should have been together, there would have been a more immediate sign. We were best friends, and I would not let that be ruined by a bad first date or an errant crush. That was a colossally horrible idea— right?

For a moment, my certainty cracked. Instead of exploring the fracture in the friend-wall, I went with a line of thought I knew was true.

Hobie, the Prince of Two-Timing, is not the one. My search continues...