Sea Breeze 03 - While It Lasts

water.
    “Why ? W hat did she do?” h e asked , following m e out deeper into the water.
    “She drank a little too much,” I admitted.
    Cage’s eyes went wide in surprise , “Really? Fairies drink? I’ll be damned. I had no idea. Would you mind letting her know I don’ t hold it against her? I happen to have made some bad choices where tequila was involved.”
    His acceptance of my stupidity made something in me melt. Had I ever known anyone like him before? He made mistakes and fessed up to them. He didn’t make excuses for the things he did wrong. He just dealt with it and went on. I wanted to be that strong. I wanted that kind of determination to just live.
    “I wish I were more like you,” I said before I could think about it.
    Cage’s eyes really did go wide with shock this time. “ What?” he asked.
    Shrugging , I dipped my head back to wet my hair and slick it back out of my face. “You heard me. You accept life and your mistakes and you go on. I don’t do that well.”
    “Don’t say that Eva. You don’t want to be anything like me . I’ve done some fucked- up stuff. Made some really bad decisions. If I hadn’t had Low there to keep me grounded , who knows? I’d probably be in jail by now.”
    Low? As in Willow the redhead? So, she was his girlfriend? If Low had been the one to keep him from completely screwing up his life then why the heck was he flirting with Becca Lynn and me? The old me would have stormed off in a huff. I didn’t want to do that now. Josh would have run after me and tried to fix whatever was wrong. Cage wouldn’t do that. He would expect me to tell him what was wrong with me. He wouldn’t run after me. Cage York didn’t run after women.
    “Does Low know that you flirt with every attractive female you come in contact with?” I asked , trying hard not to sound jealous. Because I was not jealous. I was not.
    “Hell yeah, she knows.” He replied. The confused look in his pretty pale blue eyes changed to understanding. “Oh wait, you think Low and I have a thing?” He let out a loud amused laugh , “Not even cl ose. Low is engaged and it ain’t to me.”
    What was an engaged woman doing changing his sheets and bringing him towels? “She’s awfully helpful when yo u need her. Does her fiancé know this?”
    Cage smirked, “Yeah , he knows. When he got Low he got her best friend too. Low and I grew up together. We both had shitty families in an even shittier part of town. We watched out for each other. We were each other’s family . She’s the only family I got.”
    My heart ached a little at the picture he’d just painted with so few words. Two kids who only had each other. No parents or siblings to love them. I remembered Low’s sweet smile and confused expression when I’d been so rude about the sheets. She probably thought I was a complete bitch.
    “Oh,” I replied. “I didn’t realize that. I thought she w as one of your many beck-and- call girls.”
    Cage roared with laughter, “Please don’t ever let Low hear you say that. She’d go all redhead spitting mad.” He took a step toward me and his cocky smirk returned . “You think I got beck-and- all girls?” he asked
    I raised one eyebrow and returned his stupid smirk, “I know you have beck-and- call girls. Guys like you have them lined up and waiting.”
    Cage took another step toward me, “You think you have me all figured out , don’t ya ?”
    I nodded and cle nched my fist to keep from reaching out and touching his nipple barbell now that it was so close to me. So very tempting.
    “There’s a lot you don’t know.”
    “Like what?’ I asked , needing to get my mind off his nipple and abs so very close to my hands.
    “Like the fact I think you’ve got the prettiest damn eyes I’ve ever seen. I think about them way too often. Or that I told Low about you. I never tell Low about girls. They’ve never been important enough. And that Sunday night was the best fucking night of my life even if your drunk ass probably can’t remember it.”
    “Oh,” was the only response I had. My heart was beating so hard in my chest I wondered if he could hear it.
    “Speaking of engaged females,” Cage picked up my left hand where my ring finger was now bare. I’d taken it off when I was drunk and tucked it away in my purse. Wearing Josh’s ring while I drank tequila shots and danced in a bar just felt wrong. I hadn’t put it back on.
    “There’s a lot you don’t know about me too,” I