Love Left Behind

Mia sat down next to me and handed me a cold beer.

"Thanks," I said, taking a long sip. I sighed, looking around. "Life doesn't get much better than this, huh?"

Mia nodded, the slight breeze causing her dark brown hair to flutter around her face. She propped the heel of one foot on the edge of her chair, leaning her head against her folded leg.

"It really is perfect. The crazy city seems so far away here. I love New York, but sometimes the pace can get tiring. Sometimes I just want to look up and see trees. And not just when I'm in Central Park."

"Would you ever consider leaving?" I asked. I was surprised hearing this from Mia. I thought of her as a diehard New Yorker and couldn't understand how someone could get sick of New York. Then again, Mia had lived here a lot longer than I had. I could imagine how the pace and crowds could get tiring after a while.

Mia smiled ruefully. "Probably not. Don't listen to me. After a couple of days, I'll be itching to get back into the city."

I nodded towards Claire who was on the beach, close to the water's edge. I wasn't sure why she was off on her own when the rest of us were on the porch. Her figure looked solitary and lonely. "Is Claire okay?"

"I'm sure she's fine," Mia said, rolling her eyes. "Like I said before, she's moody. She'll be the life of the party thirty minutes from now."

Mia and I chatted about her favorite places in the Hamptons since she was a frequent visitor until Jackson and Nathan announced that dinner was served. Nathan called Claire over to join us and we settled around the table on the back porch. Nathan and Jackson had grilled steaks, as well as some potatoes and asparagus.

"Everything tastes amazing," I said as I dug into my food. I smiled at Jackson. "Compliments to the chef."

Nathan cleared his throat and I turned to him, my smile widening. "To both chefs, of course."

Nathan grinned widely, but Mia groaned. "Don't encourage him, Emma. If Nathan was left to his own devices, he would have burned everything and called it Cajun style."

"That was just one time," Nathan protested. "And it did taste kind of Cajun after you cut away the burnt parts."

This led into a discussion about whose culinary skills were the best. I was content just to listen, feeling happy and full as the voices chattered around me. Jackson caught my eye every now and then, giving me an amused wink as Nathan's defense of his cooking got louder. Claire was sitting on the other side of me and had been silent for most of dinner, just picking at her food.

"Are you okay?" I asked in a low voice, although it wasn't necessary since the others were talking so loudly.

"I'm fine," Claire replied, smiling. "Just a little tired. It was a long drive and I think my fatigue is killing my appetite."

"I wish I had that problem," I said with a self-deprecating laugh. "Nothing kills my appetite."

Claire just nodded and turned back to her food, although she didn't do much besides poke her steak with her fork. I decided to let her be. She didn't seem to be in the mood to talk and nothing was more annoying than having someone bug you when you kept insisting you were okay.

After dinner, Nathan suggested taking a walk on the beach but Claire claimed exhaustion and went to her room, saying she was going to bed early so she would be refreshed for tomorrow.

"I'm pretty beat too," Jackson said, stretching his arms above his head. I opened my mouth to say I wasn't tired at all, but Jackson just grabbed my hand.

"Goodnight," I called out to Nathan and Mia as Jackson dragged me up the stairs, not leaving me much choice in the matter.

When we got to our bedroom, I crossed my arms against my chest. "I'm not tired," I said with a frown.

Jackson waggled his eyebrows. "Neither am I."

I couldn't help giggling at Jackson's silly suggestive gesture, but when he pulled me onto the bed and slid my panties down my legs, I was no longer laughing. And I wasn't laughing when we had the wild crazy sex that I had been looking forward to earlier.

Chapter Nine

The next morning we decided to go to a local cafe for brunch on Mia's recommendation. She raved about the food there and she was right. The apple cinnamon waffles I ordered were out of this world and Jackson promised to try to replicate the recipe back home.

Claire seemed to be back in good spirits and she and Mia decided to spend the afternoon shopping. I insisted that Jackson go to the beach with Nathan while I went back to the house to work for a few hours. He wanted to go back with me, but I knew he would just be a distraction. Besides, the last thing I wanted Jackson to do was waste time sitting around just because I had to work.

Back at the house, I powered up my laptop in the living room and got to work. The changes in the presentation were time consuming and I had to go over it again and again to make sure it flowed correctly. I breathed a sigh of relief when I was finished. I emailed a copy to Janet and saved a copy to a disk.

I checked the time and saw two hours had passed. I was about to pick up my phone to call Jackson to see where he was when I heard the front door open. Claire walked in with several shopping bags.

"I see you had a successful shopping trip," I said, indicating the bags in her hands. Claire set the bags by the couch and sat down with a tired sigh.

"Most of these are Mia's bags. She went on a shopping spree."

"Where is she?"

"She wanted to join Jackson and Nathan at the beach, so I told her I'd bring her bags back since I was tired and wanted to take a nap." Claire rolled her eyes. "I didn't realize all those pairs of shoes she bought would feel as heavy as bricks."

I laughed as I stretched my back, tight after being hunched over the computer so long. "I think I'm going to go join them on the beach. Do you know where they are exactly?"

Claire nodded, pointing to the back porch. "They're on Main Beach. Just go out and take a right. You'll be right on top of them in about a quarter of a mile."

"Thanks," I said, closing my computer. "I'm going to go change. Are you sure you don't want to come with me?"

"No thanks," Claire said. "I need a nap if I'm going to be able to keep my eyes open tonight."

We had been invited to a lobster bake on the beach by one of Mia's friends and I was ecstatic at the prospect. However, I had plenty of energy to last me well into the evening and I was eager to see Jackson.

I went upstairs, taking my laptop and papers with me, and quickly changed into a bathing suit, throwing shorts and a t-shirt over them. I had bought a new bikini with Jackson in mind. It was red and mini, scraps of fabric barely holding in my curves and generous chest.