Every Rose has it's Thorn.

Chapter 11 - Let me Help.

Meanwhile - Back on the Beach;
Jeremy Irvine...

Shay and I had run as far as we could - to the point where the flat terrain turned to jagged and uneven cliffs. We could keep going but it seemed neither of us were in the mood for the more strenuous activity this morning. Instead, we moved to the spot where I had sat with Hailey the other day and sat down close to each other.

I'm not going to lie, it felt good to have her close. In fact, it felt calming in a way that I hadn't expected to feel and for a few moments that rendered me speechless.

The sweet, decadent notes of her perfume permeated the air and settled around me until I couldn't remember a time when that scent hadn't been a part of my existence. The heat from her body seeped across the small divide between us until it was warming me up more than I had already been. Would her flesh feel as soft as I imagined it to be? I find myself longing to know. Desperate to touch her.

After feeling this way for a few days, I had thought I had gotten used to the idea - Hell, I had more or less succumbed to the way I was feeling but having her this close it was much more distracting than it had been when we barely talked. However, seeing her leave with that meat-head last night - I knew that I had to find a way, in with her. I had to have her within my orbit, regardless of how uneasy it made me to feel this way about someone again. It felt more uneasy to be at odds with the woman.

Movement caught my eye and I watched as she pulled a pack of cigarettes from her arm-brace and handed one to me before taking one for herself and lighting up, holding the lighter out to me so I could also light up. Inhaling deeply, I pulled my eyes from her and looked out at the calm water before us. The air was stuffy in the way it got before a thunderstorm, and I couldn't help but wonder if we were in for another one.

"Did you guys enjoy the rest of your night?" She suddenly asked me - breaking the compatible silence that has stretched between us.

"Yeah, we actually went somewhere quieter after you left -," I answered, not sure whether to ask or to keep my mouth shut, but eventually the former thought won the battle, "what about you? Did you enjoy your night?" Keeping my gaze on the water for fear of her catching the interest in my gaze, but I caught the way her head snapped around to look at me.

What was that?

"Uhm, yeah I had a good night," she eventually replied.

Just good? Why did that make me happy? I mean, if it had been just good, surely that meant she wouldn't be seeing him again. I can't help but feel somewhat relaxed that it hadn't been a mind shattering evening for her.

Why? Because surely that meant that I wasn't out of the running. Is that what I want though? I mean, yes, I have admitted how I am drawn to her, how utterly beautiful I think she is, but the question still stands - am I really ready for another relationship? Believe me when I say it would be a relationship because Shayne isn't the type of woman you just have one night with. Or at least that is how I feel about her.

"Where did you guys end up going?" She asked me, her cigarette almost smoked down to the filter already as she brought it to her lips one last time.

"Oh, we came back here and went to a little dive bar down in the yard -," I explained, "we played pool and had a few drinks then headed home,"

"Cool -," she nodded, stubbing the cigarette out and sticking her tabby into the small bag she had looped through the drawstring of her yoga pants.

I could tell there was something that she was holding back. I don't know what, but it was clear that she was somewhat on edge. The way her face fell when she received that call just before turning her phone off completely and a part of me has a sneaking suspicion that it was Jonah.