Chapter 6: Chapter Six

Karla sprawled out on the blanket, the morning sun warming her body as the rays kissed her flesh, the sound of the breaking waves a soothing melody behind her, almost lulling her to sleep. That is, until the high-pitched screams of Abigail Asher mixed with the sound of the waves as she played with her father, Clint, in the Atlantic. Karla had to admit, she grew quite fond of the little girl over the past couple of weeks. While she couldn’t see herself ever getting involved with someone who already had children, it seemed like the perfect thing for her sister. Aimee was always the one itching to start a family, whereas Karla only saw it as something to hold her back from enjoying life on her own terms. It wasn’t that she didn’t necessarily desire children of her own; she just didn’t want the husband who usually came along with them. She knew the scene that would unfold. She’d get married, have a child, and then her husband and she would begin bickering about her behavior or his attempts at controlling her, and soon she’d be taking off, leaving the child as another statistic of society. Hell, she never survived a relationship longer than six months, so she knew a marriage would never be long term. Her craving for independence was just too strong. She had enough foresight not to do that to a child. Too bad Bonnie Asher didn’t feel the same way.

“So, how did your date with Mitch go the other night?” Aimee sat in a beach chair; her pale legs stretched out before her in an attempt to tan without burning. It never really worked. Aimee Harper was notorious for frying the flesh off her bones whenever she went to the beach.

Karla didn’t even open her eyes or turn her head to face her sister. “It went. I bought him dinner and then we went back to his place so he could fuck my brains out. You happy?”

“How did it feel being the one to pay for a change? Did that make him the whore Thursday night then, since he was the one who got dinner for sex?”

Karla propped herself up on her elbows, glaring at Aimee. “Did you just call me a whore?”

“I’m only using your descriptions and definitions. Aren’t you the one who said there wasn’t any real difference between a woman on a date and a street hooker? At the end of the night, the guy still gets laid while one woman gets cash and the other dinner and a movie? I do believe those were your words, if I remember correctly.”

Those were Karla’s words, but she hated having them thrown back in her face. She learned a long time ago that men would do just about anything if they thought they were going to get a piece of ass. She made ample use of that knowledge ever since.

Karla settled back down on her blanket, choosing to ignore her sister’s barbs. Since she started dating Clint, Aimee grew way too cocky for Karla’s taste. Still, it had been so long since Aimee had a man of her own, Karla would allow her a little leeway in the smart mouth area. “Has there been any more from Bonnie, the Repugnant?” Bonnie was Clint’s ex-wife…well, not really an ex, since they were technically still married…who ran out on Clint and their daughter shortly after Abigail was born. Bonnie decided to live her life to the fullest and didn’t need a family dragging her down. Karla felt uncomfortable at how similar her viewpoints on life matched with Bonnie’s, which only proved to Karla that she was right in her decision not to start a family. Bonnie was proof that people with their temperament were better off single, where they could live life on their own terms without hurting anyone else.

Aimee turned her gaze back out to where Clint and his daughter played in the waves. “The past few days, she’s been quiet. Clint thinks it’s just the calm before the storm. I talked to Ginny and she’s on top of things, researching Clint’s options. We’ll just have to take it one day at a time.”

“How is Abigail handling her mother being back in town?” Karla turned her head so she could see Aimee’s face.

“She hasn’t seen her yet and Clint is not allowing her to for now. Bonnie left. He’s not going to put Abigail through the pain of knowing her mother is here if she’s just going to turn around and run off again. She says she wants to be a family again, or at the most, to be a part of her daughter’s life. Who knows if she means it, though?”

“How long will he be able to keep Bonnie at bay, though? She is the girl’s mother after all.”

“That’s what Ginny is going to find out. I would think it would be like a case of abandonment or something. I mean, the woman just disappeared. They haven’t heard from her since the night she left.”

“Fingers crossed she finds something.” Karla closed her eyes, truly hoping Aimee’s boss could find something to help them out. It wasn’t right that Bonnie just barged back into their lives, bringing her chaos with her without caring what she was doing to little Abigail, and what she did to the little girl three years ago. Karla only wished she punched the woman’s lights out when she first saw her. She wouldn’t throw away that chance if it reappeared.

“So, are you going out with him again?” Aimee asked.

Karla propped herself up on her elbows again and stared at her sister. “Since when do you care about who I dated?”

Aimee shrugged. “I like Mitch. He’s a good guy.”

“You didn’t like him well enough to go out with him instead of Clint, though. So why are you pushing him on me now?”

“I’m not pushing him on you.” Aimee shrugged. “I just think he’d be good for you. You should give him a chance to prove it to you.”

“Pfft,” Karla said, as she dropped back down on the blanket. “You just like that he pushes my buttons.”

“Well, there is that,” Aimee agreed. “However, I do think he’d be good for you. I don’t know why, but he just strikes me as someone different than the other men you’ve dated.”

Karla closed her eyes again, settling back onto her arms. “He is different. He’s a pain in the ass.”

“Who’s a pain in the ass?” Clint asked as he walked up toward them, water dripping from his bathing suit, which, from the look on Aimee’s face, was sticking to all the parts she wanted to see. Abigail sat in the sand nearby, digging a hole to rival all other holes.

“Karla thinks Mitch is a pain in the ass because he isn’t as pussy-whipped as all the other men in her life.”

Clint took a chair beside Aimee, scrubbing some of the water out of his hair with a towel. “I like Mitch. Seems like a standup guy.”

“You would,” Karla said, turning her head—and her attention—in the opposite direction. “You men stick together.”

“Hey, I’m not a man,” Aimee protested.

“No, but you’re glued to one, which is just as bad,” Karla said, still not looking at the two of them.

“You still haven’t answered my question, though,” Aimee said. “Are you going to go out with him again?”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Well, is she?”

“Is she what?” Mitch stared at Sandy, who stared right back, arms across her chest as she watched him working on a Toyota Tundra.

She rolled her eyes at him. “Is Karla going to go out with you again?”

He laughed as he walked over to his workbench, tossing a wrench onto it. “Of course she will. Why wouldn’t she? This roguish charm is hard to resist.” He winked at her as he picked up a screwdriver and returned to the truck.

“Oh, this I know. But does she?” He could hear Sandy giggle behind him.

He bent over the side panel of the truck, leaning into the engine cavity. “Oh, she knows it. That’s why she’s fighting so hard. She’s finding it hard to stay away. I’m just too charming.”

“And modest, I see.”

“That’s part of my charm,” he said, turning toward her, grinning.

“I’m still waiting to see this charm you keep yakking on about.” She slid off the workbench, walking over to him and running her hands up under his shirt and around to his chest, caressing his flesh. “Of course, with so many other, much more erotic qualities, I can overlook the missing charm.”

“That’s sweet of you.” He turned around, but Sandy never took her hands off his body. Instead, she allowed them to glide around to his back as he turned in her arms. “You are one confusing lady, you know that?”

She leaned up and nibbled his neck. “And…why…am…I…confusing?” she asked, biting him between each word.

“Because you know I’m going to go out with your friend that I’m actively pursuing, and yet, you’re still here.”

“I’m used to sharing with Karla. Besides, I know Karla Harper and relationships never last long. You’re going to need someone here to console you when she breaks your heart. And she will break your heart.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“Because that’s what Karla does. She’ll date a guy, even get serious with him, or as serious as she ever gets, pretending he’s the one and they’ll be happy together.” She shrugged as she stepped away from him, sliding her hands into her back pockets. “Eventually, she’ll get that itch she always gets, needing someone else to fill her bed or some crazy adventure to make her feel alive again, whatever the hell that means, and soon, she’s cheating on her boyfriend and antagonizing him until he finally storms off, calling her every name in the book and her agreeing that she’s everything he’s calling her. I’ve seen the drama played out over and over. Like I said, I know Karla.”

“But you don’t know me,” he said, walking over to the bench and tossing the screwdriver among his tools.

“Each one of the others said that as well. Look, I’m not trying to discourage your attempt. I’m just saying I’ve seen this play before, and I don’t mind waiting until the curtain call for my turn on stage. I don’t mind being the understudy, especially for her. I’m pretty confident my time will come.”

He just grinned at her. “I always did like a challenge.”

“Oh, trust me, you have one.”

He snatched a towel from the workbench and wiped his hands. “How about some lunch?” He wasn’t sure if Sandy was being real with him or not, but he’d enjoy her company while it lasted. He was sure about one thing, though. He would prove to Karla he was not like the other men she dated. He was sure of that, because he didn’t need what those other men needed. He didn’t need her fidelity. He just needed her.

“Lunch sounds great. What do you have in mind?”

He swatted her on the ass as he walked by her. “You’ll just have to trust me and find out. C’mon, we’ll take the bike.”

“Oh, I get to snuggle close to you while wrapping my legs around something that vibrates. Nice.”

He rolled his eyes before stepping into his office to grab his keys. The weather outside was excellent for a bike ride and he saw no sense in wasting a perfectly good Saturday. While he didn’t have Karla’s company—yet—he still had Sandy to keep him entertained and to spend time with until Karla came around a little more.

He yelled at Lloyd, who was tinkering in the back of the shop, that he was leaving for lunch and to keep an eye on things. Hiring his friend on as another mechanic was the best decision he ever made, allowing him more free time for spontaneous jaunts such as this.

Sliding into his seat, he waited until Sandy slid in behind him, her hands on his hips, before he started the bike. With a twist of the accelerator, he sped off down the deserted street.