Love Me

Then he stands up, takes the gun out of my hand, and puts it back in the bag along with his.

“What the hell were you thinking? He didn't know you were in here until you called attention to yourself.”

“He was going to the house.” I picture Gracie sleeping in my arms and feel sick. “I couldn't let him.”

“He put something in one of your sister’s backpacks, didn’t he?”

“Yes.”

He runs his hand across his buzzed hair. “Garrett just fired me.”

“Bullshit,” I say.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, bullshit. Although I appreciate everything he's done for me, and although he may think he is, Garrett is not the boss of me. He works for me.”

“It seems personal to him.”

“It's always been personal to you. And it just got more personal because you met my sisters.”

He nods.

“You were right, Cooper. About me being the weakest link in my security. I need you to teach me all the martial arts stuff you know. And how to shoot. You're not leaving school.” I roll my eyes and give him a grin. “The girls would all be grieving for days.”

After we level out, the co-pilot comes back. “We were just informed that our flight plan was changed. We’ll be landing at Santa Monica airport in a few hours.”

“Santa Monica?” I ask after the pilot goes back into the cockpit.

Cooper shakes his head. “That’s where Garrett is meeting us. He’ll be getting you back to school.”

I get up and pour us each two fingers of scotch.

I set the glass in front of him. “Drink.”

“I can't drink on the job.”

“Technically, you just got fired. Drink.”

When we land, Garrett pulls Cooper aside. They’re having a very animated conversation.

 I walk in between them. “That’s enough, Garrett. There’s no reason to yell at him if you’ve fired him.”

“The hell there isn’t. I can’t believe the two of you pulled a stunt like this.”

“Garrett, calm down. Cooper pla

“What? No.”

“Um, yes, Garrett. Otherwise you're fired.”

Garrett's head practically does a 360-degree spin. Almost like a horror movie.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Garrett says, now completely pissed off.

“Garrett, you know I appreciate everything you've done for me, but I have to put my foot down on this, just like I did with Cooper. I need both of you working together to help keep me safe. My rehearsals just ended and Cooper is going to start teaching me martial arts.”

“And how to shoot,” Cooper says with a grin.

“Because even though school is pretty secure, I’m the weak link.”

 “The weak link?”

“Tell him, Cooper.”

He does and then, finally, they shake hands.

Garrett gives me a hug, then dangles a set of car keys in front of us and says, “Drive from here to Vegas. Spend the night. Catch a charter there.”

Cooper and I get into the car and drive away from the airport.

“I don’t want to go to Vegas tonight.”

“We don’t have a choice.”

“Sure, we do. It’s past ten, we’re exhausted, and it’s over a four-hour drive. It’s not safe.”

“Where do you want to go then?”

“We’ll stay here in Santa Monica.”

“Vincent can check our flight plans.”

“If he does that, he’d go to Malibu. Shit. I wonder if he knows B was in Vancouver? Hang on. I need to call him.”

I push B’s number. “Hey, are you still in Vancouver?”

“Yeah, spending the night at your parents’ and then flying to my next tournament.”

“Where’s that?”

“Portugal. Then Hawaii for the Thanksgiving break. You doing anything? You could come.”

“I don’t think that would be very smart, B.”

“Yeah, I know. Wishful thinking.”

“Thanks again for spending Gracie’s birthday with her.”

“No problem. Bye, Keats.”

I hang up. “He’s not coming home. And I know just where to stay. Let me call and see if they have any rooms.”

Cooper and I get to the iconic Shutters on the Beach in Santa Monica and check into the Presidential suite. It was all they had available and I would pay just about anything to stay on the beach tonight.

After we get checked in, I immediately swing open the balcony doors and take in the fresh ocean breeze.

I get a crazy idea that Cooper will probably never agree to. But I check anyway. I pop on Facebook and pull up Mark’s profile. He always posts the night before where they are surfing in the morning.

There across my phone are the words: Manhattan Beach is where it’s at.

“You better get some sleep tonight,” I tell Cooper. “We’re getting up at sunrise and going surfing.”

Cooper stops drinking the beer he just pulled out of the refrigerator. “No, we are not.”

“Yeah, we are. We’re going to Manhattan Beach. It’s nowhere near Malibu. Some of B’s old surfer friends are going to be there.”

“I think it’s a bad idea.”

I smile at him. “So’s going to sit out on the beach right now, but I’m still going to do it.”

“I’m coming with you and you’re going to pretend to be with me. Understand? Like we’re a couple.”

I grab his hand. “Come on then, sexy. We’re going to make out in the moonlight.”

I drag him down to the beach and plop down in the sand.

He wraps the blanket he took from the suite around us.

I close my eyes and take it all in. The smells, the sounds. All of which feel like home.

Except.

Not quite.

“Tell me about your sister,” I say to Cooper.

He shakes his head. “It’s not a pretty story.”

“I’m sure it’s not. Please. I need to know.”

“She broke up with her boyfriend because he was cheating on her and that’s when things changed. He started showing up at her apartment una

My hand flies up to my mouth. “Oh my god.”

“The neighbors heard the shot and called the police. There was a standoff and he shot himself.”

“That’s awful.”

“My parents still blame themselves. They tried to get her to stay with them, but she wouldn’t listen.”

“She was trying to live her life,” I say, sort of understanding.

Tuesday, November 8th

The single biggest reason.

5am

Cooper and I get up early and drive to Manhattan Beach.

Last night I asked the hotel to get us wetsuits, swimsuits, towels, and changes of clothes. We didn’t pack anything since we weren’t pla

“Have you ever surfed before?”

“On a summer vacation to Hawaii.”

I carefully look at the surfers who are assembled, double checking that Vincent’s not one of them. Or even to see if there’s someone who looks like they don’t belong.

I spot Mark and wander over to him.

“Keatyn!” he says, giving me a full body hug. “What’s up, girl?”

“Not much. I was back in town and saw this was the place to be. I don’t even have a board.”

“Aw, hell. I’ve got three in my van. You can borrow one.”

“Thanks. This is my friend, Cooper.”

Mark gives Cooper a fist bump, and I say hey to the guys that I used to surf with almost every day.

“Brooklyn is shredding it up on the tour,” one says.