Free Finding Serenity (Serenity Beach) by Hunter J. Keane Page B

throw them away as soon as I was off the phone.
    “I’m going to miss you,” he said shyly.
    I pictured his adorable smile and an unexpected wave of emotion washed through me. “I’m going to miss you, too.”
    “Good.” He paused and I felt myself falling hard for him in that moment. Even more so when he added, “Jordyn, I’m coming back to you. Just promise you’ll wait for me.”
    Without a thought, I replied, “I promise.”

CHAPTER SIX
    The ocean was beautiful on a warm sunny day. The sunlight would dance off of it, transforming it into a silver sea that spanned farther than the eye could see. I enjoyed the ocean on those days, but I much preferred it just before a powerful storm.
    When I heard the thunder rolling in, I skipped down to the water and stood at the shore. The waves were tossing and crashing violently and the water was nearly indistinguishable from the stormy sky. If someone were to get caught in those waves, they would have a hard time deciphering up from down, survival from death.
    As mesmerizing as the turbulent ocean could be, I didn’t envy that struggle. I was safe on the shore, and I intended to stay that way. The ocean’s struggle was easier to avoid than the struggles of life, however.
    “You need to stop moping,” Kennedy said when she stopped by my place unexpectedly a couple of weeks after Nolan left town.
    I handed her a glass of wine and said, “I’m not moping.”
    “You are. And you need to stop obsessing, too.”
    Again, I started to protest, but this time she pointed to my laptop. It was sitting on my kitchen table, openly displaying a website dedicated to Nolan Meyers.
    “Okay, this looks bad,” I agreed. “But I really am not obsessing. I’m just checking to see how he’s doing. The games aren’t on television, so this is the only way to see if he gets to play or not.”
    “You’re a baseball fan now?” She rolled her eyes. “Just admit it. You’re obsessed.”
    “He said he would be back in three or four days,” I said, trying a different approach. “He’s been gone two weeks.”
    “He called and explained, Jordyn.” Kennedy started flipping through the various pictures on the website. “This is pretty good evidence to support that. He’s busy working. No skanky girls hanging on his arm.”
    “I know, I know. Maybe I am just being a crazy girl.” The last picture she clicked on made me smile. Nolan was about to get into his car and he was holding his keys in one hand, his other arm wrapped in an ice pack. He was pitching again. “I just miss him.”
    “That’s adorable.” Kennedy groaned and flopped down on the couch. “Have you talked to him recently?”
    “Not in a couple of days.” Our conversations had been infrequent due to our busy schedules and the time difference. I just had to trust that he wasn’t off falling back in love with a superstar ex-girlfriend. When we finally did find time to talk, our conversations lasted for hours. We talked about anything and everything, with just one exception. Nolan refused to talk about baseball.
    “I’m supposed to be taking your mind off him, not encouraging this pathetic behavior.” Kennedy turned on the television. “Should we watch a movie?”
    She found an old murder mystery movie and we left it on in the background while she told me crazy stories about her modeling gigs.
    “They covered you in lettuce?”
    “Well, it was an ad for a veggie restaurant,” she explained. “I was just glad I wasn’t the girl covered in beets.”
    “Gross.”
    We finished the movie and two bottles of wine, and I only thought about Nolan half of the time. I considered our evening a success until Kennedy changed the channel, coincidentally landing on one of the sports networks. Even more coincidentally, they happened to be talking about Nolan.
    “Oops.” She looked quickly in my direction. “Should I turn it off?”
    “No. It’s okay.” I actually wanted to hear what they would say. Since Nolan had