Everything Changes

Chapter Twenty-Two: April Showers Bring May Flowers

April showers bring May flowers... and Jordan Evans.

It was the first sunny day that West Coral had seen since the rainy past few days. Jordan was working at his uncle's boat rental shop that afternoon in May, greeting a customer who was docking their boat.

Once the customer left, he continued to stand at the end of the boat dock, awaiting his food order. He watched the small white boat come into his view as it sailed towards the marina.

Cassie stopped the boat at the end of the dock, this time having zero reaction seeing her ex-boyfriend. She had already been alarmed and surprised to see him in West Coral, which prepared her for more unannounced visits. Plus, it was summer now. She saw it coming. "Here," she said with no emotion in her voice, handing him the bags of food.

"Thanks," he said as he accepted the food. He was thankful Cassie delivered the order instead of Trevor, for two reasons. One: Trevor would lash out and try to banish him from West Coral. Two: he wanted to talk to Cassie, which was the main reason he ordered Fiesta De Taco. Doing that was the only way he could see her without chasing her down. Smart... on his part.

"Cassie, we need to talk," he said in a serious tone. He tried to not make himself sound desperate, knowing that would make her even less interested to speak to him. He watched as she rolled her eyes, which was what he expected. He knew he deserved that reaction. "Please."

"I'm at work. I can't talk," she said sassily as she tried to come up with more excuses to avoid talking to him. Why did he think she would be willing to have a conversation with him? The last time he tried to do that, he said nothing. She would rather not face the awkward silence for the second time.

"Tomorrow then?" He suggested, praying she would agree to that. He guessed he did sound desperate after all, which made sense, because he was desperate.

"I have work," she answered, which was the truth. She worked almost every day - but now she was just making excuse after excuse, and she knew Jordan realized that.

"After work?" He suggested again. She was resistant, feisty, and difficult. He was expecting a hard no from her.

But to his surprise, she gave him the answer he wanted to hear. "Fine," she surrendered, taking the sunglasses off her head to put them on her face. "Since you want to talk to me so badly, Jordan," she said in a sassy tone once again. It made him chuckle. "I'll meet you here."

"Okay," he nodded, letting out a sigh of relief. He watched as she sailed farther out into the canal.

Cassie was cursing at herself the entire boat ride back to the restaurant. After everything he said to her, after the way he made her feel... she would agree to talk to him when she didn't want to do that? What was wrong with her?

But part of her was curious about what he had to say, which was why it was so easy to agree with him.

✰ ✰ ✰ ✰

As Madison Rivera and Jen Crawford were best friends, they always planned family get-togethers - like dinners, beach trips, and pool days. As their children were back home from college, they figured tonight would the perfect night to plan a dinner.

Brittany sat at the outdoor dining table on the patio, awaiting the Crawford's arrival with her family. She was mentally preparing herself to see Toby. Every time she saw him, the more hurt she felt. She thought it would be the complete opposite and she would slowly be getting over him, but that wasn't the case. She couldn't get over him. It didn't matter how hard she tried. She was in love with him.

Seeing him was hard. It reminded her that they weren't together. It also reminded her that he had a girlfriend now. It was a feeling she knew all too well - a heavy chest, a pounding head, and a lack of confidence. She was used to feeling that way, as when she was thirteen to fifteen, she hid her feelings for Toby. No one knew then, and no one would know now. She was good at putting on a show and acting like nothing was wrong.