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socalwriterbee · 2 years

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Better In Time: Chapter 2 - Memories of Us

Want to catch up on Chapter 1? Check it out here: Collide

Chapter Title: Memories of Us

Series Title: Better In Time

Book: The Nanny Affair

Characters: Samuel (Sam) Dalton, Wyatt Kent, Marie Castro

Rating: Fluff/Some Angst/Adult Language

Word Count: 8006

Series Summary: For two years Marie thought Sam would change, be the man she wanted and the father she knew he could be. But broken promise after broken promise, Marie leaves the city she has come to know and the man she fell in love with. Moving across the country back to her home state of California, needing to put the ghosts of her past behind her and move on with her life. Meeting someone new was out of the question until one day on the beaches of Malibu she meets a handsome stranger she befriends

Chapter Summary: Back in New York, after another failed attempt to get in touch with Marie, Sam remembers the night she left.

The day is finally here, Wyatt gets to see Marie again. A day spent riding the waves, how could he possibly not feel more, then the friendship he is trying to convey.

A/N: Friendly reminder that This series has 3 POV's Marie's, Wyatt's and Sam's.

A/N 2: I finally get to share the incredible artwork from Ainna on Instagram (handle: artbyainna) check her out! She is AMAZING! I've attached it at the end of the chapter 🥰🥰 I will post the image alone later.

some characters in the series/chapter belong to pixelberry

🔹🔹🔹

Sam

Time heals all wounds.

I hated that saying. It was said to me when my boys and I lost Addison. And now it was being said again, not in the same meaning as before but still being said.

I hated it then and I hate it even more now. With Addison she had died, she wasn’t coming back. I grieved my wife, the mother of my children. Marie on the other hand was still very much alive, what am I to grieve, she wanted nothing to do with us, scratch that nothing to do with me. She spoke to Mason and Mickey on occasion but once I tried getting on the line she would tell them goodbye and hang up.

The warm orange glow of my desk lamp illuminated the lonely space I created once more around me. The silence of my office clashing with the knowing loud sounds and bright lights that colored the dark sky of the city outside. The look of happiness on Marie’s face that stared back at me, sat on my desk, next to the one of my boys. If I didn’t have every feature, the feel of every curve of her burned to memory before, I did now. I will forever wonder what had I done right in my life to have a love like hers. At one point in our time together we were happy, those smiling faces looking back at me confirmed that.

Time.

Time or rather the past, I would say, caught up to me. My mistakes making a comeback but this time tenfold. Apparently I hadn’t learned anything from the past, I thought she was different but in the end it was too much for her. Just like before.

The Dalton Persona overwhelmed another.

It’s been five months. Five months and twenty days to be exact that Marie left to California. Six months and nine days since she broke up with me. I, we— the boys and I haven’t been the same.

That wasn’t really true, having fallen back to the same pattern that she always said I never got rid of. I was the same Samuel Dalton before she came into my life, the one Addison knew well and like Marie tried to change.

But when you have the weight of a family business, a child’s future to secure that work ethic and responsibility was instilled into me no matter the cost. My flaws of working late, not spending time with my sons, a list that could go on and on. It’s my safe place, the one place I knew what the outcome would be. I did this and I got that. Simple.

Except it wasn’t.

It’s what I expected to happen when we started our little publicity stunt. Making our life as simple as can be. She was better than what I was trying to mold her to be. Deep down I knew that, that was my first mistake. No, that had been one of many. Was I a fool thinking that was the way she needed to be for my world to accept her?

I wasn’t.

She would have been chewed and spit out if she didn’t have the guidance of Naya and everything that came with it. And I couldn’t bear seeing that happen again. I would do anything, throw any obscene amount of money at it to not lose the person that I love with everything that I am in this lifetime.

In the end, I had lost her.

Twice.

It was late Friday night and still no word from her. I would check my phone what felt like every five minutes waiting for a text or the phone to ring.

It didn’t.

I called her on Tuesday, she hadn’t answer. Foolishly I was expecting to hear her voice on the other end. All I got was just a taste when her voicemail greeting picked up and told me to leave a message. So I did. It was a small victory because I wasn’t blocked. But I would never know if she indeed listened to my plea, my apology. Was I on her mind every second of every hour of everyday, like she was on mine.

That night she broke things off played in my mind like a horrible rerun that I would live with until my last breath or until she returned to me. God, how I wished every time that it wouldn’t be forever. The days had turned into weeks and those weeks turned to a move across the country and my hope was slowly diminishing as the months went by. Six months, a rather much bigger moment apart in our lives than I expected. This life of ours, the one were we were meant to spend forever together.

“It’s all a lie. Don’t you see that.”

“All that matters is that we know the truth.”

“What is the truth anymore Sam, the lines have blurred past recognition.”

I had just gotten home, I was tired. Arguing with her was the last thing I wanted to do that night. She had been waiting for me and I knew immediately that our night would end in another fight.

My tie loosened, tired hands on my hips, I watched her in silence, Marie sat down on the edge of the bed in my bedroom.

When Naya had wanted her to move out, the day she packed and moved to another penthouse that would be the last time it would be our bedroom. I feared it would never became ours again.

Her shoulders slumped over in a signal of defeat, head lowered, she wouldn’t look at me. She hid her face in the palm of her hands, her brown hair cascading down. A whimper escaping from her and filling the quiet space between us.

I run a hand through my unruly hair as the memories of that night play once more. Bringing the glass filled with the liquid gold of scotch to my lips, tossing back the remainder, the burn no longer having an affect on me, as that night continued to haunt to me.

I couldn’t see her like this. I was the cause for the pain. I went on bended knee in front of her, silently pleading for her to look at me. She wouldn’t budge. She removed her hands from her face, taking them instantly into my own and held onto them. Her small hands always fit perfectly into mine. Now, I wasn’t so sure. I saw tears run down her face, I reach up and gently wipe them away with the pad of my thumb.

“Say something. What can I do to make this right?” I wince with regret as soon as those words left me lips. Throw anything at a problem and it’ll go away. It's what I did, no matter the person, no matter the situation. I did this with Marie to many times to keep track of. Flowers, jewelry, a day away from the chaos and sex.

“You can’t just keep throwing pretty things and empty promises at the problem and expect them to change.” Her voice was soft as she spoke, she repeated as if she could read the thoughts that ran through my mind.

“I know.” I did, know that is. But it was how I solved all the issues I came upon. Another fault of mine, one more to add on to the ever growing list.

There was a tremble in her voice when she said.“I’m sorry.”

“I’m the one that needs to be sorry. It’s just that I am this close to taking over once dad finally steps down…”

She cuts me off before I could give her that same apology that I have come to memorize these past years.“Sam.”

The moment her whiskey brown eyes flooded with tears, finally looked at me, I should have known this wasn’t going to end the same way our arguments ended. Her body intertwined with mine and with my whispered promises to change and do better for our family as she fell asleep in my arms.

“Talk to me baby. Whatever it is we will work through it.” my voice huskier, pleading with her trying to stop what I fear is about to come.

“I—I can’t do this anymore.” She says calmly, gone the tremble in her voice. Marie pulls her hands away from my grasp. Straightens her back and firmly tells me,“I can’t do this anymore. I. just. can’t.”

I try taking her in my arms ignorantly thinking that would make her rethink this but she pulls away from my touch. “Don’t. Please.”

“I’m sorry.” She repeats.

My mind racing with every possible plea. Everything I could possible say, staying on the tip of my tongue refusing to be spoken. Was it because I knew deep down they would turn into promises I couldn’t keep?

It was too late, I fucked up over and over. Nothing I could say would change her mind. So I didn’t. What would be the point. She would hate me more. My world had finally caught up with her.

My vision blurred. staring blankly at nothing but at everything in front of me, if I didn’t focus on what was happening, it wasn’t real. The future that was waiting for me wasn’t real. The silhouette that sat on my bed shifted. I felt the warmth of her body brush against my side as I watched the shadow move past me. The sweet scent of magnolias, citrus and her surround me as a faint click of the door opened and closed.

She was gone. Gone with out saying another word and I let her…

A gentle knock on my office door brings me back to the present. I glance down at my Rolex, a gift from Marie, one I wear everyday. The time blurry, I’ve had one to many drinks to help drown the past. Or were they un- shed tears threatening to finally fall? If I read the time correctly it’s just past one in the morning, Saturday. How long I had been lost in the memory of Marie that time slipped away from me?

“Mr. Dalton.” the smoky voice seeps through the door, the boys new nanny.

It was late, I wonder what she was doing up at this hour. The boys were asleep when I finally arrived home, she immediately excused herself to her bedroom. I call her in. “Come in Kat.”

Poking her head in, her luscious golden blonde hair in a messy bun sitting at the top of her head. Her lips form a smile, the green in her eyes pop from the rosiness flush on her cheeks. She steps into my office, leaving the door slightly opened. Kat was wearing shorts and a tank top and from here I knew she wasn’t wearing anything underneath that top. I had no issue with what she wore when the boys were asleep, but coming into my office like this was not acceptable. I would need to have a talk with her, and the temptation she displayed innocently.

“I saw the light on.” She says it as if she offering an apology. “I was getting some water when I noticed..”

“Yes, well.” I clear my throat. “I was about to call it a night.”

Kat hesitates “I see.”

“Something on your mind? Have the boys been behaving?” I hope to god they have, I couldn’t go through looking for a nanny again.

“Yes of course, as well as nine year old boys can behave.” She says as a sigh of relief leaves me. “Are you ok, Sam?”

My jaw tenses, I don’t have a clue why. That is my name. I never allowed her to call me by my name. I had given that privilege to Marie, right on the spot of her hiring. I’d given her everything I could think of that mattered to her and she left. Shaking the last thought from my head I didn’t need Kat to know about Marie.

She seemed to have noticed and immediately apologized “I’m sorry Mr. Dalton. It’s not my place, I didn’t mean to cross into something personal.”

I run my fingers through my hair before answering. “No need to apologize. It’s just been a long day is all.” It’s been a long fucking six months.

“Well than if that’s all, goodnight.” She bites her bottom lip before the raspiness in her voice says “Mr. Dalton.”

“Goodnight.”

I waited until I was alone in my office once more before pouring myself another drink. Taking my phone from the desk, our last family Christmas picture greeting me. It was just past ten o’clock at night on the west coast. A few swipes and clicks of the phone and I would hear her voice, I wanted to know what she was doing. How she was doing. I never got enough information from Robin to satisfy my need of her. Mr. Castro, her dad, would let somethings slip about her when I called him, I tried making those calls rare so she wouldn’t notice her dad was still talking to me. But it was never enough, I closed my eyes to let the happy memories of the our little family take over the unpleasant ones.

That rarely happened and it wouldn’t happen tonight, they were always much stronger.

🔹🔹🔹

Wyatt

My calloused hands tightened the harness of the dark colored strap to the roof rack of my jeep, securing the boards in place. The crunch of the gravel from passing cars on the road made me look up every time. The cars that brought my hopes up drove by slowly, looking for a spot to park before the beaches became crowded. And every time they didn’t stop in front of my house, the hope I had for Marie to show up faded with each passing minute. It was ten pass five in the morning and she wasn’t here. Yeah, the view from my home was beautiful but not the spot to surf, at least not for us. Every Saturday, the boys and I would all meet up further up the coast, spending the morning riding the waves. And in a few minutes that was where we were heading but as of right now it would be just my brother and I.

Marie hadn’t shown up.

“She’ll show.” Michael said.

Hoping he was right, I spent a sleepless night thinking about today. I tossed and turned counting down the minutes when I would see her again. I regret not getting her phone number before she left Wednesday night, but the way she looked at me and how well she got along with my family made me forget the simplest things.

“If she doesn’t I get to have her breakfast burrito.” He adds.

I roll my eyes at him, he could have mine if he wanted for all I cared. All I wanted was for her to be here. “I’m gonna get the rest of the stuff. Make sure everything is tightly in place.” I instruct him, Michael gives me a salute letting me know he’s got this. He should he’s done it hundreds of times before. Cool it Wyatt, telling myself just be grateful that he doesn’t have a smart ass comment to throw back.

Stepping through the front door, looking at the cooler on the floor and up to the streamers hanging on the hook. Right were I left them the night before and minutes ago after rearranging them multiple times to make them easy and ready to grab and toss in the car once Marie showed up. It would take me less than five minutes to make sure everything was locked and to get everything in the car.

Not enough time for her to show up.

I paced around like a fool, running my hand through my hair. Letting out a deep sigh as I hated coming to terms that she didn’t show. She said she looked forward to seeing me today. What if she was just being nice? Hoping that I didn’t scare her off, every thing that I could remember played as I secured the locks on the doors. Did she not like me calling her ex idiotic? Because he was. In the little time I had spent with her, I didn’t want to let her go, I didn’t want her out of my life. Checking the final lock, I was out of time. We needed to get going.

Grabbing the streamers and cooler, I made my way through the front door. Micheal was standing on the foot step of the car, the passenger door open and his upper body leaning over the roof of the car. I couldn’t make out what he was saying to the person on the other side. Looking around, there was no car parked in front. It must be a very early beach goer he was surely flirting with, I couldn’t tell with the tint of the windows.

I call out to him a bit irritated. “Michael.”

“You look like crap. Beautiful but like crap.” Michael said, this time louder for me to catch.

What an odd thing to say to someone, I thought that was until I heard it. Her laugh. Marie. She was here. Happiness, that wasn’t the right word, it was much stronger feeling pulling at the strings of my heart knowing that she came, came over me. She said something that I couldn’t quite make out that made Michael laugh.

“Michael.” I call out, louder this time. Both of them oblivious to my presence. “Michael.” I call once more.

He turns to me with a foolish grin on his face. “Wy, look who the cat dragged out. Your prayers have been answered.” He says stepping down, making his way to me and grabbing the items from my hands.

And that’s when I laid eyes on her and yes my prayers had been answered. She stopped at the rear of the Jeep,

“Hi.” She smiled.

“Hi.”

Rocking my weight back on my heels, taking her in. Michael had been right, she was beautiful today, just as the day before. Standing there in dark gray linen shorts, sandals, a white cropped tank top with the hunter green color of her bathing suit top peeking through, her hair in a high ponytail with whispers of hair framing her delicate face.

“Sorry it took me so long, I was wrestling with the covers.” Marie jokes, blowing away a strand of hair that fell over her eyes.

The image of her dragging herself out of bed after she admitted that she liked her sleep made me chuckle. That would be a lovely image to have burned in my mind for the rest of my days. But I told myself once more that I was a friend. How was I to make it through the day, when my heart beat faster when she was near.

“Wyatt here thought you weren’t gonna show. I, on the other hand never doubted you.” Michael called out as he exited the car and stood next to her. I held back a laugh as I watched her roll her eyes at him.

“Never doubted? You just told me that you wanted my breakfast.”

“That’s in the past. Now M, are you ready to get pummeled by the waves?” He playfully nudges at her.

“Are you ready to lose the best set of the day to a newbie?” She nudged back.

“Oh you’re on.”

“Ready?” I ask the both of them.

She nods as Michael shouts shotgun. “Michael you’re going in the backseat. Marie sits up front.” I tell him.

“Does shotgun not mean anything anymore?” He asks but still makes his way to the backseat.

“You remind me of one the boys I used to take care of.” Marie told him, patting him on the shoulder. “He’s just more adorable than you are.”

“Hey! I do not act like a little boy. Besides he must be awesome if you are comparing him to me.” He answers back.

“You do act like one most of the time.” I call back.

After locking the front door and hurry to open the passenger door for Marie. I close the door once she is settled in, then make my way around to the drivers side. Turning on the engine, Island in the Sun by Weezer plays through the speakers as I lower the windows to the car. Glancing at Marie before pulling out of the driveway, making sure she is safely buckled in once more.

During our drive, I listen as Michael and her debate on whether Marie should introduce her best friend Jenny to him. She said no but Michael keeps trying to convince her for that to happen. She stirs clear from any mention of the boyfriend and what I am assuming are heartbreaking memories of her life there. The life the press wrote about, one I got the picture of when curiosity got the best of me.

I hated to admit that I looked her up. But not after the many times of deleting her name, only to have typed it again. And then finally hitting enter. Article after article. Photo of photo of them together. Of their family together.

It all sounded like a fairytale. Almost to good to be true. The press ate it up, a widowed father of twin boys, a failed engagement and finally having found love with the boys ex-nanny. I had to stop I couldn’t see her with him. It had me seeing red, jaw clenching red when I stared too long at the photos of how she looked at him. What I wouldn’t give to have that look staring back at me.

So I did what any non-jealous man who had just met the most amazing beautiful person. My fingers glided across the keyboard and typed, Samuel Dalton. He had been another rabbit hole I went down. The man she clearly came to love back in New York, the golden boy of the Dalton family, the soon to be CEO once his father retired from Dalton Enterprises. A man who lost his wife in a tragic accident. An engagement to his friend that was leaked to the press. A man that in the end didn’t lift a finger when the press’s love for Marie turned. Or so I read.

“Will it just be the three of us?” Marie asked.

My thoughts being interrupted “What was that?” I glance over at her before returning my attention to the road.

“Will it just be us?” She asked again.

I hadn’t told her that Ben and Daniel would be joining us and from the sound of it Michael hadn’t either. I told the guys the next day and they welcomed the idea, my sister and Bridgette not so much, not because they didn’t like her. They weren’t big on surfing. I wanted Marie to be comfortable, the last thing she needed was someone trying to hit on her. Me, I was that someone. I knew from the moment I asked her, it was going to be a group thing.

“No. Daniel and Ben will meet us there.” I say. “They should be there already actually.” Giving my watch a quick look to see the time.

“What about Olive and Bridgette?”

“They are not really into it. They already had plans, when I mentioned it Olive almost killed me for inviting you without them being there.”

“It’s not like Olive and Bridge surf.” Michael chimes in.

“Maybe next time, we’d just sun bathe.” I could hear a giddiness in her voice without having to turn around, I knew the expression she would have on her face because I knew I had the same one. She wanted a next time.

For the remainder of our drive, we talk about all sorts of things from sports to Michaels many adventures around the world. Moments later I pull into an open spot next to Daniel and Ben, who are already in their wetsuits.

“Good Morning.” Marie cheerfully calls out from the open window to them. “What’s with the gloomy weather?”

“It should burn off in a couple hours. It’s good to begin the morning surfing like this.” Daniel tells her.

I turn off the engine and we all make our way out, making my way around to see Marie hugging my best friends, there goes the beating of my heart at her comfort level around us.

“So Marie, what do you know about surfing?” Ben asks her.

“Well. I did some research on it..” She begins. “It was very interesting…”

“Hold up. You researched surfing?”

“Yeah.” There is a shyness in her voice that I find adorable at her admitting she looked into surfing.

“Please, please please don’t tell us your gonna give a report.” Michael butts in.

She shakes her head at him. “No. Not unless you want one.”

“I think it's a good thing she did.” I add.

“You would. Suck up. Wyatt, she likes you already.” Michael joked.

My head drops with embarrassment at Michaels words. He could have said anything, anything at all and he decides to say that. When I look back up my eyes land on Marie, she is looking at me with what I want to be hope.

“I didn’t want to be clueless, of course there are things I need to learn by actually doing them than reading about it.” Marie answered. “Besides I like all of you. I’d like to consider each one a friend.” She did catch Michaels remark. My face warms with embarrassment.

“Ouch. Friend zoned Wy.” Michael whispers to me with a chuckle.

Ignoring his comment, through the open car door I grab everything we need for a day out on the water.

“We should get into these, once in those we could head towards the water.” I tell Marie, handing her the black suit I got her.

“Ok.” She takes it from my hand, looking around at the four of us all of us looking at her and then she settles back to me.

Daniel points towards the beach as the three of them begin their way down “We’re just gonna go get our spot. See you in a few.”

We watch as they leave us alone. “It’s pretty easy putting it on.” I nervously say, pointing to the suit. “Once you get into the streamer..”

“Streamer another name for the wetsuit.” She proudly tells me.

“Yeah. you did do your research.”

“Of course. I’m not just a pretty face.” She teasingly says to me.

Opening the passenger door, she places the suit on the seat. Marie begins to undress, pulling her top over her head, tossing it in her bag. Next she kicks off her sandals, unties the string on her shorts and pulls them down, the sandals and shorts go into the bag. Standing there in a hunter green bikini, staring as if I had never seen a woman in a two piece bathing suit, I turn around and give her some privacy to let her suit up. A little to late for that.

“Wyatt.” She calls out.

“Yeah?”

“It’s a bikini. It’s safe to say you’ve seen a bit more the first time we met.”

“I know.” Answering awkwardly, I was trying to be a decent guy, at the end, to give her some privacy.

Calling out once she is finished. “That wasn’t as hard as I thought it be.”

Turning around to her as she is tugging the string to pull the zipper closed. Taking a couple steps, I close the gap between us. “Here let me.” I tell her, securing the zipper with the velcro closure.

“What do you think?” She says turning around, moving in the streamer. “Do I look like a surfer now?”

I simper like a fool at her. “It looks good.” She looked beautiful. “You may look like one but the challenge is to have you be one.” I say.

“Your turn. I could turn around and give you some privacy. You now do the decent thing before you strip down.” She winks at me.

God I’m in trouble, I’ve been in trouble since I first laid eyes on her.

I smirk. “You can.”

Marie turns around and I begin to undress tossing my clothes into the car haphazardly. Standing there in my briefs, I catch a pair of brown eyes looking over her shoulder as I step into the suit.

Once I’ve secured the zipper, I hand over one of the boards to Marie so she can carry it. Tucking them under our arms, we head towards the guys waiting on the sand. Standing the board in the sand when we get closer with Marie lowering hers onto the sand. Watching her tentatively, she glides her hands over the rough layers of wax that cover the top.

“It’s put on so you have a better grip when your on.” I inform her.

“I read about it.” She tells me, but there is this look on her face as she continues to feel the wax.

“What is it?” I ask in wonder.

“Is it safe?”

“Of course. It’s why we use it.”

“I didn’t mean it like that. I was wondering if it's environmentally safe.”

“I..I uh. I’m not a hundred percent sure.” I fumble, looking towards the guys, seeing the look on their faces of “What?” Wondering where she was going with it. As if she could feel me and the guys staring at her, she looks around and her lips spread as if she realized some crucial information about her as not been shared with us.

“I’m a chemist.” She tells us.

“Fuck off.” Michael quips. “Really?” “Oh shit.” Chimes Ben. “Impressive.”

Laughing at their response. “Yes. I’m a chemist. I work and help manage the environmental lab at Cal Analytical and before that for Dalton Lab, a division at Dalton Enterprises.”

Her ex’s company, the one he was soon to take over. Though she was working under someone else not him, if I remember correctly. I read the hoopla of her working for her boyfriend and the nastiness of her sleeping her way into the company.

“So the question.” I bring up again.

“Oh that. Well..umm— you see if pieces of wax chip off and go into the ocean, the sea life would eat it. And if it’s toxic for human consumption, imagine for wildlife.”

Color me fascinated. I didn’t think she could surprise me more but she has and in the best and most impressive way.

“So imagine the smallest form of life in the water, plankton and such and then whatever feeds on that and so on and so on until you get to the top of the food chain. You have the whole ecosystem in chaos, granted it may take many years but at the rate the oceans are being destroyed…”

She stops herself as she looks back at us, the guys and myself stand there with our jaws dropped.

“Oh, I get a bit carried away with..” Marie nervously tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.

“No. It’s actually quite fascinating.” I say. In awe of the passion that comes out of her when she is discussing her career. “Is that something that would be doable?”

“Making something environmentally safe?”

I nod.

“Yes. With some work and research one should be able to find a suitable alternative.”

“Well as much as I would love to hear you nerd out M, we are gonna get started while you begin your lessons. The waves are calling my name.” Michael winks at her.

“Yeah, sorry that’s why we are here.” Marie stands and wipes the sand from her hands. “So where do we start.”

“Well, I uh..umm. Let's get you into the water.” Picking up her board and heading into the water.

“What about your board?” She jogs to my side, the cold water crashing at our feet. Sending goosebumps through out my body, but it's not the water that does this to me, its the company in present.

“It’ll be easy if I don’t have to hold on to mine when I’m showing you how to stand on yours.”

Marie nods “Right.”

Side by side, we move further into the water. Stopping when the water is a bit calmer, chest level to me, tapping on the board. “Hop on.” I tell her, holding it still, watching as Marie steadies herself against it and swings a leg over, straddling it. “Good. Now lay on your front.”

She does, my grip on the side of the board steady as the water laps over her and crashing into me. “You are going to to push yourself up, not all your weight in the center. Just a bit off the center and back. Legs slightly bent at the knee, your gonna want one leg back and the other forward. Whenever you’re ready stand up.”

She nods again that she understands.

“Whenever you’re ready my little daredevil.” I affectionally say.

Letting out a breath she pushes herself up. Her arms flailing up as she tries to catch her balance only to go off the side and into the water. I call out her name and just as quickly as she went in she pops right back up. The biggest grin on her face as she wipes the water from her face.

“You alright?”

“More than ok. I’m not a fragile little thing Wyatt. I can handle some rough waters that knock me down.”

“I’m beginning to learn that.”

“Let me try again.” She says with determination.

“Try keeping your arms at your side. It should help you balance.”

“Ok.” She hops back onto the board.

Trying a handful more times, Marie is able to stand without falling over, only I’d say about three times in all. “That’s a bit harder than I thought. Or my balance is completely off. So when do the cool maneuvers come in? The weaving through the water —“

I chuckle. “How about we get you to learn the basics before you go pro on us.”

“Ok.” She beams.

“You can try a few more times if you like or we can meet up with the guys. The swells are decent this morning. Good for a beginner.” I tell her as she sits on her board.

“Can we go to them?”

I nod. “Paddle over to them. I’m gonna get my board and I’ll meet you there.”

“Yay!” She cheers, leaning down and placing a quick kiss on my cheek. She gives me one of those smiles I’ve come to like. If the sensation of her kiss was not burning against my cheek, I could easily say I dreamed it. “I’ll see you out there.” Maries says as she begins to paddle her away from me.

After grabbing my board, I make quick work and close the distance. All four of them seem to be in a serious discussion when I finally reach them, catching only the end. Having no idea what they were talking about, I don’t ask, only because it’ll cut into our time.

Staying by Marie’s side as Ben, Daniel and Michael each catch a set, pointing out somethings here and there. I fidget with anticipation, wanting to get on one begins to show but I try my best to hide it. Moving my board and myself closer to her.

“So you see where they begin to paddle their way onto the wave and then get on their feet.” I point out to her. “For you, that’s what you want to be doing at first.”

“Wy.”

“Yes.”

“Go. I know you’re dying to get ride one.”

I look at her, her brown eyes staring back at me, a faint smile spreading across her lips. “Go.” she says again.

“I will. Just waiting for the right moment.” It wasn’t just the waves I was talking about. The right moment will come.

Some sets later, I get the one I’ve been waiting for and start to paddle before it breaks. Pushing myself up onto my feet the cold ocean water spraying on me as I sway back and then down, gripping the board, riding the wave until it begins to die and crash against the shore. Jumping off and into the water, quickly surfacing, running my hands through my wet hair. Reaching for my board and getting back on top I make my return to her.

But before I could make it far enough, I catch Marie making her way onto a set. Peddling, hearing what I can say are shouts from the guys, until the right moment comes and she pushes herself up and arms flailing just slightly before she brings them down. Her knees wobbling trying to find her balance, not really moving along with the wave, just a simple ride until she looses her balance for a brief moment but that is all it takes for her to lose a perfect beginner set and slip into the water.

Making my way towards the guys, I line up next to them. “Did you guys send her?”

“Yeah. Not bad right?” Ben tell me. “Picked a good one for her.”

“It was good. Lasted a bit longer on it.”

“She is a fast learner Wy. She’ll be one of us before you know it.” Michael says.

“It’s what I’m hoping for.” I whisper under my breath as Marie makes her way back to us.

A huge grin on her face. “Oh my god, did you see that? That feeling you get right before, during and after. I feel like I am falling in love.”

Burning the morning away, with the five of us having enough sets under us. Muscles burn from the workout, we make our way back towards the shore. The sun and blue sky having taken over the gray gloom from earlier. With our surfboards tucked under our arms I turn and catch a glimpse of delighted Marie looking straight ahead. The carefreeness in her demeanor brings a smile. Something I can’t help when I’m around her.

“That was so much fun. Thank you.” She tells me.

“I’m glad you liked it.

“Not bad for a newbie M” Michael tells her.

“Thanks. I’ll get you next time.”

“Uh huh.” Michael slowly jogs passed us, setting down around our things.

“Now, where are these famous breakfast burritos I heard about because I am starving.”

****

After spending a couple more hours at the beach we packed up and headed back to my place. Michael saves me a trip and more importantly an odd or awkward introduction of Marie to our parents when he decided to go with Ben.

Hopping into the Jeep, I hand over my phone to Marie so she could pick the music on our drive back home. A subtle way of trying to a sense of what she likes.

“What do I do with this?” She asks, raising an eyebrow curiously.

“I’m letting you pick the music.”

“Hmm.” She eyes me suspiciously. “You trust me with this?” She waves the phone in the air, as I begin to pull onto the road.

“The way you’re looking at me has me thinking twice on it.” I joke. “I can promise there isn’t anything highly inappropriate. Just my schedule, family chats nothing too crazy.”

From the corner of my eye I can see her smirk. “Shame.” She mutters with a laugh. “So you’re saying I wouldn’t find pictures of your exes you still hold on to or Tinder or naughty pictures?”

At that moment there is a chime of a notification that rings from my phone.

“Oh, my! Wy?” She gasps.

I could feel my face flush with embarrassment as I have no clue what could have possibly popped up. Her laugh fills the car, I turn and she is staring at me, phone in her hand showing me what came up but quickly pulls it back to her.

“You should see the look on your face. You are absolutely blushing.”

“I’m not.” My face heats up with even more embarrassment.

“Huh uh.. yeah right. Totally believing you right now.” She giggles.

The next thing I hear is the clicking sound of the phone’s keyboard. “What are you doing over there?”

I feel her hand move gently over my arm, making the hairs on it raise with awareness “Oh you know. Just responding to this very sexy text that came through. I think I should be able to respond like a guy. Shouldn’t be too hard.”

Ground just suck me up right now. I have no clue who could possibly be on the other end. I haven’t seen anyone in months, I haven’t been with anyone for a bit longer. A drought would be an understatement. I hold my breath waiting for Marie to say something.

“There all done.”

My voice shakes. “What is all done?”

“I think you may have a chance. Although I’m not sure how much you like her but….”

I interrupt her “Who in the hell..”

Marie lets out a deep laugh. “Now you have my number on your phone. I sent myself a message so I can have yours.”

I try to wrap my head around what she is telling me, surely she sees the look of confusion that has settled on my face.

“We didn’t exchange numbers the other day.. so I thought what the hell. You know.”

I rub the nape of my neck, god she got me. For a second I was really racking my brain around who I could possibly be having a conversation with.

“Wy.”

The way she says my family nickname for me, as me shifting in my seat and swallowing the lump forming in my throat.

“You have a date later next week. Alex sent you a reminder. She or He wants to confirm.”

Crap. Double crap, I forgotten about that. “It’s something Olive set up a while ago. I keep canceling or rescheduling.” I answer quickly. “It’s with a woman, the date that is.”

“No need to explain. I get it.”

“Will you be putting some music on or..” I begin, stirring away from the date topic. I need to cancel that for good.

“I’m liking this blushing Wyatt. But I fear that is all I’ve come to know today. I really don’t know that much about you.”

I could say the same thing, I tell myself. “What do you want to know.”

“Everything. What do you? Please don’t tell me you’re a trust fund baby who spends his days surfing.”

I laugh at the typical outsider assessment. “No. I mean, my family is well off. I won’t lie.”

My father did instill a hard work ethic in all of his children but he also wanted us to live a life away from work. Money wasn’t everything. Family is and always will be first. “I’m in charge of the family business. My grandfather started it then my father took over and now it’s myself and my siblings.”

“And what is the family business?”

“Architecture.”

“Olive is an architect?”

Shaking my head no. “Olive does interior design, for the company and independently. Michael and I would be the architects and occasionally contractor. When the project permits, I’m out there working with my crew.”

She lets out a sigh as if she is wrapping her head around what I said. “How old are you?”

“Thirty-seven. You?”

“Thirty-two. Oh I know! What is something you’ve built that you absolutely love?”

“My home.” I say proudly. “Not built from the ground up but gutted and added on.”

“It is beautiful.” She whispers.

“Thank you. Tell me what would be your dream home would be?” I ask, turning onto the street that will take us to my home.

“Will you renovate it and get every last detail down to the T?” She chuckles at some inside joke she only knows.

“Possibly.”

“That sounds like some Notebooking to me.” She says.

I don’t answer as I pull in and stop in front of the house. Until I park and turn the car off “What’s Notebooking?” Turning my attention to her.

“Come on.” She smiles. “You know the movie The Notebook. Noah spends a long time renovating the home Allie dreams of.”

I reach up and cup the side of her face, her eyes holding my stare as her breath hitches at my touch. I smile “No. I don’t know what your talking about. But that sounds clever.” I drop my hand and reach for the door and open it. The smile never leaving my face as I go around to open the door for Marie. “Come on.”

She looks at me with a look that tells me she isn’t buying it. “What’s your favorite movie?”

Letting out a hearty laugh. “The Notebook.”

Marie lets out a gasp and playfully smacks me against my chest and begins to walk away. Reaching out, grabbing her by the wrist I pull her into me. Our eyes lock on each other, the last thing I see before lowering my lips to touch hers, is her biting her lower lip. But my lips never do touch hers because she gets out of my hold and runs up the stairs.

Dropping my head in frustration, why did I think it would be ok to kiss her. The look in her eyes told me she wanted it too. Or was it all in my head. When I look up, I see Marie’s biting her lip as if she was holding back a laugh. Oh, she is messing with me. I can play along.

Shutting the door to the car, I make quick strides and close the distance. Fumbling with the keys to the door, until what feels like hours I get it open. We both walk in not saying a word, tension bouncing off us.

Until Marie finally says. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to freshen up.”

I watch her disappear.

As I wait, I begin to open the windows and sliding door. Letting the refreshing, cooling ocean breeze in, a perfect, at least I hope its perfect, idea comes to mind. Taking my usual spot on my living room sofa, I turn on the television. Searching for the perfect movie for us to watch. Having found it, letting it play and pausing at the right spot so I don’t give anything away. I make myself comfortable and wait.

Boy, does she make me wait, not an obscene amount of time but enough for me to lose comfort in my spot. “Are we taking the things out from the car?”

I look to my left and watch her walk towards me. “Not right now. I thought maybe we could just chill and watch something.” I say.

“What are we watching?” Marie asks as she comes to a stop next to me.

For the second time that day, I grab her by hand and pull her down right next me. Her body pressing against my side. I look down as she makes herself comfortable, snuggling closer to me. She rests her head on my chest, right over where my heart beats like crazy for her.

“My favorite movie.”

“Which is? And don’t say The Notebook because I don’t believe you.”

My body shakes with laughter, “Fine. You’re right. It’s Point Break.”

“Not stereotypical at all. A surfer loving a surfer movie.”

Pointing the remote to the TV. I press play. “It’s more than a surfer movie. Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze, the ultimate cop and robber film.”

The music begins to play, the lake and red sky come on screen, the name of the cast appearing on the bottom of the screen. No reaction yet comes from Marie until the man on the boat begins to row across the lake and she lets out a squeal of excitement.

“The Notebook.”

continue to… Chapter 3: Delicate

Tags: @choicesficwriterscreations @thenannyaffair-fanfics @cariantha @issabees @txemrn @chemist-ana @nikirennie87

#better in time fanfic #marie x wyatt #choices sam dalton #marie castro x sam dalton #chapter 2 memories of us #surf date #the nanny affair #choices tna #choices art

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choices-binglebonkus · 1 year

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Every 2022 Choices Release – Rated on a scale of 1-10

Several people have said that 2022 has been the best year for Choices since 2018. And…as sad as that is, it’s pretty true. Like 2020, 2022’s releases had high highs and low lows. As I’ve said once before, the good books were awesome and the bad ones were really, really, REALLY bad. This post is going to be covering every 2022 book release and rating them on a scale of 1-10 because I haven’t done that on this blog and felt like spicing things up. It’s the new year, bitches!

Quick disclaimer: to qualify for this list, a book must have been initially released to wide audiences (non-VIPs) in 2022, because we don’t do that VIP shit here. So, for example, Wake the Dead was released on December 29, 2021, so it doesn’t qualify for this list even though it ended in 2022. With that out of the way, let’s dive right in.

Ms. Match: January 28, 2022 – April 29, 2022

Ms. Match’s story itself was not terrible, but the general skeleton of the plot is super overdone. I am sick to death of the plots centered around rising to the top of the competition and blowing everyone else away, and that’s pretty much exactly what Ms. Match does. The idea behind it is cute, though: we join a matchmaking company and compete in matchmaking contests and challenges to determine who the next CEO will be. My biggest complaint is that the love interest is…not great. The Rival Matchmaker is far from the worst love interest, but my god, they’re so cocky, full of themselves, and overall annoying as hell, not to mention totally uninteresting. Quite frankly? The cutest couple in the book, as unexpected as it was for me, was Veronica and our character’s dad. 4/10, not a terrible book, but it was a chore to play through at times.

Surrender book 1: February 11, 2022 – June 10, 2022

There are a lot of bad books in Choices, but Surrender is definitely one of the worst. We play as a vulnerable divorce-seeking woman whose spouse has cheated on her, which got her into BDSM. As soon as I saw that that was going to be the plot, it was all over. It was not a great look for the BDSM community, which is already stigmatized enough as is. But it gets worse. Our love interest is Reagan Thorne, our billionaire lawyer who’s also into BDSM and agrees to dom for the MC and teach her about BDSM even though she’s a client, which already introduces an imbalance of power. Barring the shitty plot, terrible love interest, and horrible misrepresentations of BDSM, the dialogue is all sorts of fucked in the book. Reagan utters some of the cringiest lines in the entire app and calls us such embarrassingly bad nicknames like…ugh, little lamb. 1/10, horrible book, horrible story, horrible love interest, horrible everything. Some of the outfits were cute. That’s it.

Crimes of Passion book 1: April 6, 2022 – July 20, 2022

Crimes of Passion is one of the best books we’ve seen in a while. Sort of like Most Wanted, it has us teaming up with a love interest (in this case, Trystan Thorne) to investigate and stop a string of murders tied to a serial killer. Unlike Most Wanted, however, the murders in this book are much, MUCH grislier and more visceral, and are tied to a cult as we come to find out. The plot was very gripping and every clue we uncovered was exhilarating. I cared about pretty much all of our friends/coworkers: Mafalda, Ruby, Luke, and Trystan. I wasn’t totally sold on Trystan as a love interest, though, and I’m still not. 9/10, really good story, crazy fucking shit, love it. One point off for Trystan because I’m not really into the whole cocky/flirty and stubborn partner pairing, and I think we should’ve been able to romance Ruby and Luke.

Untameable book 1: April 15, 2022 – August 5, 2022

We return from college to help out on the family ranch which has been barely kept afloat by our controlling misogynist of a brother. We spend the whole book sneaking around with Kit Jackson, our bland-ass cowboy/cowgirl love interest because we don’t want to upset our brother. The ranch is on the brink of failure and we also have to deal with that too, but we’ve already had this same plot a whole bunch in other books, so it’s not super noteworthy. That’s it, that’s the book. 1.5/10, no interesting characters, plot is uninspired, dialogue is SUPER cringey, and goddamn it, stop reusing cowboy shit, PB! You’re never going to make it happen!

The Princess Swap: May 13, 2022 - September 2, 2022

The premise of this story is that our character studies abroad for a semester in the kingdom of Monterre, where she accidentally stumbles upon another girl, the princess, who looks just like her. Spoiler alert: they’re twin sisters and don’t know it until much later in the book. The two switch places The Prince and the Pauper style: the princess takes on the role of college student and sorority girl while our character takes on the role of princess. Both grapple with challenges unique to each other’s lives and navigate them as best they can. Yes, the story was cheesy as hell, but you know what? It was a really pleasant read. I liked Devin all right, but only as a friend for the princess, and I didn’t care for Clarke at all. Otherwise, The Princess Swap was a lighthearted, feel-good book. 6.5/10, by no means is this book amazing, but I’m a sucker for princess stories, and like I said, the book was pretty light and enjoyable.

The Cursed Heart book 1: June 8, 2022 – September 14, 2022

Let me preface this by saying that I did not like Kieran at all. They were ugly, creepy, and possessive, and yes, I’m aware they eventually change for the better, but they really left a bad taste in my mouth. The plot was centered around us being claimed by Kieran and eventually trying to find their missing heart pieces to cure them of their beastly form and general hollowness. That being said, I love the rest of the book. The outfits, backgrounds, character designs, and music are all gorgeous. No joke, The Cursed Heart, in my opinion, is the most aesthetically beautiful book in the app. Not to mention, we meet Leaf, who is absolutely precious. 5.5/10, the rating would be MUCH higher, but Kieran really takes away from the book since the plot is centered entirely around them.

The Nanny Affair book 3: June 24, 2022 – November 4, 2022

The only good things about this book were Carter, the twins, and the fact that this was the last book in this wretched series. We deal with Sam’s former wife coming back from the dead and contend with forced, trashy interpersonal conflict with her while we plan our wedding. Sam and the MC’s relationship continues to be toxic as hell, unpleasant to watch, and impossible to root for. Even worse, Jenny and Aditya start their own affair because Sam and the MC have enabled them, and unsurprisingly, we’re forced to continue enabling them. I can’t even do the horrid quality of this book justice so I’m not even going to try. 0/10, yes I know it’s a 1-10 rating list but fuck it, this book is just that bad. As I said, the only redeeming qualities of the book are Carter and the twins, but not even they can get this book any points. Speaking from experience, falling into a hole is more fulfilling than engaging with this content. This book and series as a whole are so transcendently bad that if they were an actual real-life book, it would be a Worstseller, and I’m so happy this two-year-long nightmare is finally over.

Immortal Desires book 1: July 6, 2022 – October 12, 2022

Immortal Desires is kind of a weird one for me. On one hand, the beginning to early middle is so slow and such a huge chore to play through, but on the other hand, the rest of the book plus Gabe and Cas are so awesome. The premise of a vampire serial killer and cult is honestly kinda metal as fuck, but Gabe and Cas are where the book REALLY shines. They’re each other’s perfect foils and I love interacting with them and seeing them interact with each other. Plus, my parrot loves M!Gabe. And, full disclosure, Gabe and Cas were the only love interests I actively wanted to pursue since Tom Sato from It Lives Beneath. 8.5/10, the story’s pacing was kind of fucked but Gabe and Cas are priceless.

Slow Burn: August 19, 2022 – November 25, 2022

Not much to say about this one. Generic and repetitive contest/competition plot, bland MC, uncompelling Big Bad. I didn’t care about Julian/Julia, and Everett/Yvette had absolutely ZERO chill and always got on my nerves. 3/10, super boring and uninspired, Chef Flynt Stop Losing Your Fucking Temper Challenge 2022.

Murder at Homecoming: September 14, 2022 – December 21, 2022

This one really got my attention when it was announced: our character investigates a murder at homecoming, but I bet you couldn’t guess that from the title. Our character is sort of a busybody and they’re absolutely not perfect in any way, but I truly do think they’re the best MC we’ve gotten in a very, very, VERY long time. Also, they’re named after Valentine from The Two Gentlemen of Verona, and I am a shameless sucker for Shakespeare. I also like all the love interests, and I love the non-binary rep we got. The love story between Gabbie Navarro and Joanna Morgan was incredibly tragic and really made me stop and think for a while. But unfortunately, as is the case with most modern Choices books, the ending was very…lackluster, to say the least. 8/10, I love a good murder mystery and the high school setting actually made it considerably more interesting. The ending was a letdown, though.

Laws of Attraction book 2: September 30, 2022 – present

I was originally very worried about this book, because the cliffhanger at the end of book one made it seem like it was going to be an us vs. Martin book. In a way, it is, but Pixelberry really threw us a curveball when we, Aislinn, and Gabe left McGraw-Byrne and formed our own firm. We spend the book uncovering a conservatorship conspiracy which runs all the way up to the mayoral candidate of New York City. I’ve always loved the MC, and they only get better in this book. My only complaint is Joaquin. As someone who has repeatedly hooked up with him in diamond scenes, he is creepy as hell to people who aren’t interested in him. Otherwise, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the book so far, and though it still has one chapter to go, my rating isn’t going to change unless they REALLY fuck it up somehow. 9/10, likable cast of characters, interesting plot and mystery, badass MC, Sorcha fucking Flannery.

The Phantom Agent: October 19, 2022 – present

Not much to say about this one either. The Phantom Agent is basically an amalgamation of Most Wanted and Crimes of Passion. Agent Gray is an incredibly dull love interest and I can’t stand their dynamic with the MC because it’s that super boring cocky/flirty and stubborn partner pairing again. I also can’t stand the MC either because they’re so goddamn annoying. I find myself very bored and unimpressed as I progress through the book and at this point, nothing can save it for me. 3/10, everything is boring. That is all.

Surrender book 2: December 28, 2022 – present

I hate that we have to have TWO Surrender books on this list, but this one unfortunately barely meets the date cutoff. Solely based on the two chapters I’ve read so far, this book is shaping up to be just as awful as the first. 1.5/10, all the same reasons as the first book, but that extra half a point is because I think this book has the potential to improve on the original material. Because let’s be honest here, I don’t really think they could make the book worse.

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