Free Like A Boss by Logan Chance

sat down on the bed and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “I’m sorry, Mar.”
    “It’s ok. I’ll figure it out or find someone new to stalk.”
    “Yeah,” I whispered, barely listening.
    “What’s wrong? What happened with Theo at the club the other night?” She sat and waited for my answer.
    “Nothing happened. Nothing at all.” Part truth. He didn’t touch me, but I felt the ghost of his hands everywhere.
    I hated myself, completely hated myself. I hated how turned on I was. It was wrong. Dex should have been on my mind, but I couldn’t focus with Theo’s hot breath saying those things to me.
    His filthy mouth I loved on the beach, now dripped with poison.
    Once I arrived at work my stomach filled with butterflies. Dread set in at seeing Theo. Saturdays were busy, and I couldn’t wait to drown all my nervous energy with tending to the happy guests who would need some liquor to enjoy their day further.
    “Ready for a hot day?” Seth asked as I set up the bar.
    “I heard it’s going to be a scorcher.” I threw my hair into a low ponytail.
    “Yeah.”
    “Wish we had some fans.” I felt the heat of the pending afternoon looming in the air.
    The crowd picked up as we sweated to the sounds of Jimmy Buffett’s ‘Cheeseburger in Paradise’ over and over.
    What was it with Jimmy Buffett being the epitome of tiki bar music?
    I worked the outside bar while Seth took care of the guests inside. Around three o’clock I went on my lunch break.
    I decided to stroll the beach while I let the salty air flow across my skin. I stopped at a few of the vendor booths lined along the large sidewalk on Ocean Drive. Glancing at the jewelry for sale, I saw a beautiful turquoise bracelet with little turtle charms. The silver and blue sparkled in the sunlight. After purchasing the bracelet and slipping it onto my wrist, a squeal of laughter caught my attention.
    Down by the water, I saw Theo chasing a small brown haired child in a pink swimsuit and knew instantly he wasn’t lying the night we first met. I moved away from the jewelry booth and tried to get a closer look. He laughed as he grabbed her and lifted her above his shoulders.
    What really made my jaw drop was the sight of him without a shirt. His shoulders were broad and his muscles lean. His sun-soaked body was lickable, and I remembered the one fateful night we shared when his body pumped inside me. A shiver skated across my arms and down my back.
    After kicking off my tennis shoes and socks, I took a few steps onto the sandy beach. Theo and his daughter sat plopped down in the sand close to the shore, the waves crashing beyond them. He picked up a yellow shovel as she picked up a purple one and together they dug into the sand. I laughed quietly to myself as she tossed a shovel-full of sand in his lap and squealed with little girl giggles. Watching the carefree way he played with her made me doubt him to be the asshole I pegged him for.
    I stalked closer as I watched. He lurched forward, picked her up, and tickled her.
    I could hear her this time as she squawked and laughed calling out “Daddy” which in turn rooted me to the spot, I was too close.
    It was sweet the way they played together and I smiled as I noticed the carefree expression on his gorgeous face. Without knowing it, my feet moved of their own volition until I stood mere inches away. I blocked his sun, casting a shadow over his ripped chest, and he glanced up.
    His smile vanished as soon as the recognition dawned on his face. “Penny, are you stalking me now?”
    “I…I didn’t mean to.” My attention flitted to the little girl covered in sand, who looked curiously at me. “I should go,” I said. Feeling like an intruder encroaching on his time with his daughter, I took two steps back.
    “You don’t need to,” he whispered. “Penny, this is my daughter Lucy.”
    With a wide grin, I sat down in the sand next to her.
    “Hi,” Lucy said, not stopping her task of filling her bucket with