The Mistakes I've Made (By the Bay #4)

Chapter One - Taylor

My alarm woke me, as it did every day. The blaring sound of the radio made my eyes spring open, the sun barely breaking over the horizon on a new day.

"Jesus," Sierra cursed beside me. "What the hell is that?"

"It's called an alarm," I said, throwing the covers off me. The cool air hit my bare skin at once, and I immediately missed the warmth of my bed. "It's what responsible people use to wake up in the morning."

I heard her groan into the pillow. The sight of her naked body moving underneath those sheets did all sorts of things to me as I dragged myself out of bed.

"I'm responsible," she argued.

I listened as she rustled out of my bed, and by the time I managed to pick up a shirt and shorts for my morning run, she had found her own set of clothes.

"You're a fifth-year college student, taking a semester off to spend time with your grandparents on a nearly deserted island."

She finished pulling her shirt over her head, just in time to give me a hard stare. "I am a double major. That takes longer, and I happen to like my grandparents and this island, even in the low season."

My brow lifted. I didn't believe her for a second.

The truth was, she'd broken up with her boyfriend last semester and taken it hard, and she was using Ocracoke—this little blip of a island town where her grandparents had chosen to retire—as a place to hide out while she tried to get over her heartbreak.

I was just someone she used to pass the time, and I was more than okay with our arrangement because, as a guy who didn't do more than casual dating, low season, as she'd called it, was also a dry season for me—at least in the ladies department.

"Now, what does a girl need to do to get breakfast around here?" she asked, giving me a pouty look that made me all sorts of uncomfortable.

And not in the there's a naked girl in my bed sort of way.

"Creep back to your Grandpop's place and make some there?" I suggested. I watched as her pout only deepened. "Come on, Sierra. You know I don't do breakfast. Hell, I'm already a dead man if Jimmy finds out you've been sleeping over at my place. You know he flew me and my mom to the hospital when my brother was nearly killed on that ferry? He's a good guy, your grandpop."

"Yeah"—she nodded, her hands going to the pockets of her jeans—"he is."

"Look, if this is getting to be too much for you, maybe we should just call it quits before anyone gets—"

"No," she said a bit too quickly. "I'm fine. Really." A fake smile pulled at her cheeks. "Just hungry. I'll grab something when I get home, and you're right. We wouldn't want Grandpoppy finding out about this. God knows he doesn't need the spike in his blood pressure. Go ahead and grab your run, I'll let myself out."

"Okay," I replied, knowing full well this wouldn't be the last time we saw each other—the town was too small for that—but it would definitely be the last time we saw each other like this.

Because, if there was one thing I didn't do, it was complicated.

***

My morning jog did nothing to help clear my head, and after I came home to an empty house, I noticed how Sierra had tidied up after herself. The twinge of guilt I felt for even allowing this thing between us to move past drunken flirting only grew as I drove into work.

"Dude, you look like shit, little brother," Dean said the moment I stepped into the office.

"Thanks," I replied. "That's real kind of you. I'd say the same, but...well, you always look like shit."