That Boy: A Small Town, Friends-to-Lovers Romance (That Boy Series Book 1)

My God! What is that noise?

I think someone is slamming a sledgehammer against my door.

Why are they doing that?

I practically fall out of bed, and when I do, I am genuinely surprised to see that I’m still wearing my dress from last night. And it’s all freaking sandy.

Whew. I feel a little fuzzy, but I must make that noise stop.

I look through the peephole in my door and see Danny. I fling open the door, let him in, and crawl back into bed.

“Jeez, Jay, you look like crap,” he says in a booming voice.

It hurts my head.

“Why are you still wearing that dress? Oh, wow, did you just get back from Phillip’s room?”

“Danny, could you please talk a little bit quieter?” I beg and bury my head under the sandy pillow.

“O-kay,” he says more quietly, quickly appraising the situation and taking charge. “Go wash your face and get dressed.” He looks at my dress and says, “As in not the dress you wore last night. I’m taking you to breakfast. You need to eat and take some Advil.” He looks at me with real concern. “And I hate to say it, but you might even need a drink. We’ve got less than an hour to get you ready to meet Lori.”

Oh God. I feel awful, but I do as I was told; I drag my butt out of bed and go into the bathroom.

I wash my face, brush my teeth, and pull my hair back into a ponytail.

I have a sudden feeling of déjà vu. It’s all very blurry, but I vaguely remember being in here last night with someone.

Was it Phillip?

Was someone throwing up?

Was it me?

I think it was, and I think Phillip helped me get here.

So, why am I wearing my dress?

Why isn’t he here, in bed with me?

I have a feeling that things didn’t go exactly as I had planned.

But, wait, I remember!

I think he was mad at me.

Then, I remember the not-so-gay guys and arguing with Phillip.

Me crying on the beach.

Oh, not good.

The only good thing I remember is, I’m pretty sure it was me who threw up last night.

That means, I might actually survive this day.

I open the door to the bathroom and am startled.

Danny is standing right in the doorway with my yoga outfit in his hands.

I forgot he was here.

“Put this on,” he bosses.

I do, and after sliding my feet into a pair of flip-flops, we head to breakfast.

Just my luck, when we get there, Phillip is there.

He shoves his remaining food into his mouth and says to Danny, “I’ve gotta run. See you on the golf course at ten.”

He doesn’t say a word to me.

Doesn’t even acknowledge my presence.

I frown.

Danny, who can’t help noticing the frigid climate between Phillip and me, asks, “What’s up with you two?”

“Nothing,” I say, putting on my sunglasses.

Where is Manuel? Someone really needs to get him to turn down the sun out here.

It is way too bright. It’s making my head hurt.

“Stay here,” Danny orders, leaves, and comes back with a huge plate filled with all of my favorite things for breakfast.

None of it looks very appealing.

“Eat something, Jay. And drink some water.”

Shall I tell him that I’m not really in the mood to be bossed around? Probably not. It’s his wedding day; I should try to be nice.

So, I pick up a triangle of toast and take a teeny bite.

Danny hands me a mimosa and commands, “You’d better drink this.”

Yuck.

“I can’t, Danny. I am so never drinking again.”

“Like I’ve never heard that before.”

Danny is teasing me. He seems to think this is hysterical.

Yeah, ’cause it’s not him for once.

So, I go against my better judgment and do as he said. I drink the mimosa and am surprised that, after a few sips, it’s not half bad.

But then Danny makes me feel sick again when he asks slowly, “J-a-y, what did you do to Phillip?”

Me?

“Nothing, Danny. I swear, absolutely nothing.”

He shakes his head in apparent understanding. “Ah, well, that’s the problem then.”

“Danny,” I cry, “the night was a flipping disaster.”

“Why?”

“It’s not my fault, Danny. Really, it isn’t. We were dancing and having a great time, and in my mind, I pictured us dancing, and then I was going to invite him back to my room. I had such great plans.”

“I’m proud of you. So, what went wrong?”

“Well, then those cute guys that we killed in volleyball yesterday came over and started dancing with us.”

“I thought they were gay,” he interrupts.

“Me, too, but they didn’t act like it last night,” I say, raising an eyebrow and shaking my head even though it hurts to do so.

“Anyway, we were all dancing together, drinking, and having fun. And Phillip didn’t say a word. He just left me. I thought he had gone to the restroom or something, and I kept waiting for him to come back, but he never did.”

Danny looks at me with a shrewd eye. “So, you were dancing and drinking, and knowing you, you were flirting with these guys. And you’re surprised that Phillip left you? What are you, stupid, Jay?”

Hey, that’s not very nice!

“No wonder he’s mad at you. It was supposed to be a date. You were supposed to be with him, not other guys. I’d be pissed at you, too!” He gives me a disgusted look.

Hey, you were just complimenting me on my plan.

Traitor.

“I’m a flirt. You know it. Phillip knows it. It’s never bothered him before because he knows I’m harmless. Maybe he needs to loosen up.” I pause, thinking. “But, honestly, Danny, even though he says it’s what he wants, I’m not convinced Phillip really wants this either. I mean, if he did, he wouldn’t have given up so easily.” I shake my head at Danny. “Regardless, now, I give up.”

“Can you honestly tell me you gave it your best shot with him?” He looks at me with squinty-looking eyes, and I have a sneaking suspicion he doesn’t believe that I did.

“Over the years, I’ve seen the many ways you can wrap a guy around your finger.” He rolls his eyes at me. “I should know. Phillip is not immune to you. I think that, if you had really tried with Phillip, he’d probably have married you last night.”

I sigh.

“Did you try, Jay?”

“Yes. No. Oh, I don’t know! I know he expected things to progress, but I was very clear that I wanted to take things slow. That I didn’t want to be pushed. I hate being pushed.”

“It doesn’t sound like he was pushing you at all. It sounds to me like you were pushing him away.”

I take off my sunglasses, so Danny can see just how miserable I am. “Look, I did try. I told you, I had big plans for last night, and now, I’m miserable. And not because I drank too much, but because I think I am in love with him. And I’ve probably already lost him. I want things to work out so much, but at the same time, I find myself holding back. I’m so afraid I’ll screw things up.”

“And I think that’s exactly what you need to do. Screw things up.”

“What?” I ask, completely missing the double entendre.

Give me a break! I’m having a rough morning here.

“Sleep with him, Jay,” Danny says very seriously. “Get it over with before you lose him.”

Somehow, I manage to get through the day. I do yoga with Lori without throwing up, although my instructor makes some snide comment about me looking a little green.

I make it through the massage, which is normally really relaxing but made me nauseous. After the massage, we break for lunch, and they bring us some healthy and crappy-looking spa food. I beg them for a cheeseburger and fries, and, yay, they bring it to me. Lori and I have champagne with lunch, and I’m starting to feel almost normal.

After lunch, we’re both getting pedicures and manicures, and then I’m scheduled for a detoxifying body wrap.

Now, that is something I need.

Suck all the alcohol out.

How much do you want to bet the yoga instructor set that one up?

During our pedicures, Lori finally brings up the subject of Phillip. She doesn’t know about the disaster last night, and I have no intention of telling her.

“I saw you at breakfast the other morning,” she says, like she knows some big secret. “When Phillip whispered in your ear, you just melted. Your eyes got all dreamy-looking. You know, I have never seen you react to any guy like that.”

She does an imitation of how my eyes looked. She looks ridiculous, and I’m sure she’s exaggerating.

“You’re a smart girl. You always amaze me with your ability to see the world as your great big playground. You can see miles into the future, so why can’t you see a good thing when it’s right in front of your face?”

“Phillip,” I state, knowing full well what she means.

“Yeah, Phillip. You know, Danny thinks so, too.”

“I know. He told me once after he dumped me.”

“He didn’t dump you.”

“Oh, I know,” I say with a wave of my hand, “but it bugs him when I say he did. Sorry, it’s an old habit.”

“You know, I know all about the flag bikini, Jade. I’ve even seen that sad, tattered little picture.”

“He still has it?” I’m surprised. “You know, I love it that it doesn’t bother you. A lot of girls would have a problem with it.”

“Well, I think Danny has kind of a been-there-done-that attitude toward you.”

“Been there maybe,” I say, “but never done that.” I grin at her and then frown and say, “Unfortunately.”

“No. Fortunately. Because, if you had, he’s right; you probably wouldn’t have stayed such good friends.”

“Why? Is he that bad at it?”

“Well, I think you could expect that he approaches it the same way he does everything else in his life,” she says cryptically.

But I understand completely. “One hundred percent focus and full-out energy.” I sigh and shake my head.

Figures.

“Jadyn, the end result is, I’m not jealous. Whatever works. He signed a six-year, forty-eight million-dollar contract. I don’t care if he visualizes himself playing football with a donkey and a naked clown. Hell, I’d blow the picture up and hang it on the living room wall if I thought it would help his game.”

I squint my eyes at her.

“Okay, maybe not, but my point is that I understand your friendship with Danny, and we both value it.”

“So, brilliant wife-to-be, why do you think I should risk my friendship with Phillip by dating him?”

“Because you’re perfect together.” She pauses for effect. “Jade, it’s like you were made for each other.”

“That’s all great, Lori, but I think it might be too late. But you don’t need to hear about my problems; this is your wedding day.” I smile. “We’re only going to talk about happy things.”

“Did something happen between you two last night?”

“No.”

“Oh,” she says, understanding. “Is that the problem?”

“Evidently,” I say with a roll of my eyes.

Lori and Danny’s wedding is held on the beach at sunset.

We stand beneath a beautiful white archway that’s laden with tropical flowers and smells heavenly. The hotel’s wedding planner must have weddings down to an art because they say, “I do,” and kiss just as the big orange sun is sneaking below the horizon. It is the simplest yet most beautiful and romantic wedding I’ve ever seen.

It’s intimate and personal.

I think, if I ever find a man crazy enough to marry me, it needs to be on a beach just like this.

I recovered from my massive hangover, and because I had been pampered all day, I have to say I looked pretty darn good at the wedding. Unfortunately, Phillip, who was looking damn fine himself, didn’t seem to even notice. He was cordial and overly polite to me at the reception dinner with everyone.

And, as maid of honor and best man, we did have to dance together and toast the happy couple. But, the whole time, he was stiff, and I just wanted to cry and beg him not to be mad at me. I even thought about telling him I was sorry, although I’m still not convinced I did anything wrong. I also thought about telling him that he might be right about me being a little in love with him, but I couldn’t. I wasn’t sure he’d believe me.

Before we had come here, I had pictured in my mind how much fun Phillip and I would have at our two best friends’ wedding. Needless to say, my picture didn’t happen.

As soon as Danny and Lori left, Phillip said, “Good night,” and walked away.

I thought about going dancing to try to make myself feel better, but I couldn’t.

I thought about going to his room, but I didn’t know what I’d say.

So, I went straight to my room and kept hoping he would knock at my door.

Of course, he never did.

I know it’s over between us. It got completely screwed up.

What am I going to do without my best friend?