48 First Dates (Seeking Romance #1)

The Prince of Lifeguards

16

Ran into Cannon,

a legendary lifeguard,

but still not the one.

A few weeks after the beachfront showdown, I ran around the local big-box store, grabbing the last of the stuff on my list before heading back to school. I was ready to put the whole summer romance debacle behind me and start fresh. Plus, I was eager to see Brenn again—Tom, too. Life was sweeter when the five of us were together.

As I rounded the corner of the aisle, the overstuffed shelves limited my view. I ran into a wall of a man—literally smacked right into him.

The problem was that I hadn’t gotten a cart. My just-a-few-things had morphed into an arm-filling pile-o-stuff. The pile had already been threatening to spill over before I turned the corner. So when I ran into the human wall, boxes flew up and slid several feet away as the pile-o-stuff hit the smooth terrazzo floor.

“Adelaide!” the wall yelped as he jerked his head back, reaching out simultaneously to keep me from falling.

Once we were both back on sure-footing, I gasped in surprise. “Cannon! I’m sorry. I wasn’t paying attention.” I stooped to gather my stuff back up.

Hobie’s lifeguarding partner squatted beside me and picked up a notebook. “No, no, I wasn’t looking where I was going. But I am glad that I ran into you.” He grinned.

“Me, too,” I said as I nodded and reached for a pack of pens.

“Let me help you with this stuff.” He held onto the stack of notebooks and paper as we headed to the checkout.

“Nice charm.” Cannon gestured to the red and white paddleboard I had added to my bracelet.

“Thanks.”

“Hobie give that to you?” He asked through clenched teeth.

“Oh, heck no. I would have trashed it by now if he did. It’s...” I paused, grasping for the words to share what the bracelet was to me.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to explain.” Cannon dropped the subject as we got to the checkout. He helped me bag the pile and wrangle it into my car. Along the way, he told me that Hobie and Libby had lasted another week before they broke up. We laughed about the whole incident as he placed the bags in my car.

I leaned on my car and chatted with Cannon in the parking lot for over an hour. When we hugged goodbye, I thought that would be the last time I laid eyes on him. It made me kind of sad that I would never find out what might have been between us.

But I was wrong.

Three weeks later, I sat on a concrete bench outside of the gym, waiting for Mitzi and Cynthia. I was watching a caterpillar crawl across the expanse beside me when I heard someone calling my name. A voice that I recognized but couldn’t immediately place. I looked up, and my eyes found sun-bleached hair on top of a splendidly tanned lifeguard.

“Cannon!” I squealed, scraping the back of my legs on the bench as I jumped up to meet him.

“Adelaide,” he said in his low, gravelly voice as he pulled me into a hug. The tiny scrapes mattered less and less the longer we embraced. I took in his coconut, lemon-bleached spice, enjoying the familiarity of it.

When he let go, I opened my mouth to respond. Before I could get out a word, Mitzi and Cynthia showed up.

“Hey guys, you remember Cannon, the lifeguard who worked with Hobie?” I winced at the mention of the Prince of Two-Timing. “I’ll catch up with you guys inside in a sec.” I shot them a look.

My friends picked up on what I was saying and waved. “Nice to see you again, Cannon.” They turned and walked away.

“So, Adelaide, this is where you go to college,” Cannon said.

“Yeah, apparently you do, too,” I said weakly as I played with the strap on my bag.

Why was this boy making me nervous?

Was it the way he was looking at me with those gorgeous gray eyes?

I looked up and into the clear blue sky. Finding the words I wanted, I glanced back into his silver eyes. “I’m supposed to go work out with my friends, but I’d love to see you again. Do you want to swap numbers?”

“Yeah.” He took my phone so he could enter his number. Once he typed in his information, he handed my phone back and grinned.

“See ya soon, Adelaide,” he said as he turned. As he walked away, the mature trees that lined the brick path framed his swagger. Once more, I enjoyed a lifeguard’s backside. Hopefully, he won’t act the same as the other one did. I sighed and headed into the gym.

After a sweaty Zomba class and a shower, I called Cannon. We agreed to meet up for lunch at the Mexican restaurant that Saturday.

When the day came, my fingers were so jittery that I had a hard time braiding my hair. I ended up putting it up into a messy bun because you can’t mess those up. I chose my clothes carefully, wanting to show Cannon a side of me he hadn’t seen before. One that he would like and one that he would still recognize.

The look on his face when I arrived at the restaurant let me know he appreciated the effort. The aroma of fried tortillas and earthy enchilada sauce greeted us as he opened the door. He let me go in first and placed his hand on the small of my back as the hostess showed us to our table in the colorful restaurant.

As we settled into the red leather booth, he ordered a queso dip. “Sorry, I love queso ,” Cannon said with a shrug of his shoulder.

Loves queso—score one for Cannon.

Hobie hated queso. I should have known at that point that it would not work. “No, don’t apologize. When you said queso , I knew we were going to have a great time tonight. I love it, too.” I leaned forward and smiled.

“Oh, so it’s going to be a great time?” Cannon’s eyes lit up.

“Of course it is. You’re with me.” I flirted back.

“That’s good because I intend to make up for what other lifeguards may or may not have done.” Cannon’s voice lowered as he leaned toward me.

“And I bet you will, Cannon.” I stared at him and raised my eyebrows suggestively.

Over the bowl of chips and queso , I started hoping he was the one.

When we ordered the same Speedy Gonzales —cheese enchilada, chicken taco, and beans—I wanted him to be the one.

And when he handed me a red and white lifeguard ring charm for my bracelet, I needed him to be the one.

After all, we liked the same Mexican food. We both loved being on the beach. He was thoughtful, and we had plenty to talk about. As we exited the glass doors of the restaurant, we set another time to go out.

We hugged and said goodbye at my front door. Before I reached my room, my phone dinged.

Cannon

I had a great time tonight.

Me

So did I.

After that, we texted each other hilarious snippets of our lives every day. When we ran into each other around campus, it made my day brighter. Our friendship was growing, and I was sure that the spark would soon follow.

But when he kissed me the next week after our second official date, it didn’t feel like he was the one.

The spark I had expected to come never showed up.

Even so, Cannon and I kept dating. He met the cinco compadres and got along with them all. I thought maybe I needed to give it another shot. He would make a perfect seis for our little group. Plus, I enjoyed his company.

I kept seeing him every week, hoping I could force the fiery connection. Cannon treated me like a princess. But every time he kissed me, there were no sparks, no weak knees, no loss of breath.

I ignored my true feelings—or rather lack of them—until fall break.

During the time off, I went home to be with my family while Cannon traveled up north to go skiing. I saw my mom taking my dad to his appointments. I witnessed her hold his hand as he faced the difficult treatments. They embraced the everyday moments and found joy in the monotony of life. I caught them laughing about the noxious cancer-fighting tea he drank twice a day. I observed them rejoicing together when the doctor said that the tumor was shrinking.

It was poetic to watch—a real-life fairy tale playing out in front of my eyes.

On the last night of the break, my thoughts turned to Cannon. I finally allowed my brain to make an honest assessment of our relationship. I enjoyed hanging out with him, but did he light up my life the way my dad did for my mom?

The answer was no.

And I suspected he might feel the same way. He never tried to deepen a kiss or do anything beyond a quick peck on the lips.

Driving back to college, I knew I needed to end things with Cannon.

When I arrived, I texted him. He headed over, and I met him outside. I greeted by saying, “Let’s go for a walk.”

He grabbed my hand, and we started down the path in front of my dorm.

I plucked up the courage and said, “Cannon, let’s be honest here. We’re both trying to manufacture a romantic connection that doesn’t exist. You want to make up for what happened with Hobie—to be the knight in shining armor that puts everything right. I want this to work because you are amazing, and I enjoy being with you. But it’s not. We both know that there’s no spark between us, and I don’t want to keep you from pursuing something real. You deserve a damsel who adores you in a way that...”

I paused and sighed, letting my words hang in the air as we stopped to face each other.

Cannon raked his free hand through his hair and pressed his lips tight. He let go of my hand with a heavy sigh. “I really wanted this to work, Adelaide.”

“So did I, but it doesn’t always happen that way. And life is too short to force something.” I lifted my eyes to meet his.

He shrugged his shoulders and nodded. I stood up on my tippy-toes and kissed him briefly on the lips one last time.

“I’ll see you around, Cannon.” I waved as I turned to walk away.

But I didn’t.

I never saw the Prince of Lifeguards again. All that I had to remind me of him was the charm he left behind.