The Shore Read Free

that always made her heart pound. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. In the heat in his kiss she tasted something unexpected and pulled back. “Drinking already?”
    Here we go, Curt thought, annoyed. They’d hardly been together a minute and Avery was already upset about something. What was the big deal, anyway? He’d only had a beer. So what if it was the middle of the day? She probably thought he was just goofing off, and didn’t understand how hard he’d been working to get his band, Stranger Than Fiction, or STF, ready for a summer of shoreline gigs. The afternoon beer was just a way to relax a little, cut through the tension and stress of trying to get the guys in STF to rehearse. Especially when they were so close to the beach, beautiful water, and lots of babes in bikinis. Avery would understand soon enough. In the meantime, he wanted to check out the house where she’d insisted they stay this summer instead of with the band. He had to admit that from the outside, at least, the place looked nice, nicer than the dump his bandmates were renting.
    â€œThey’re a corrupting influence,” Avery said, referring to the other members of STF. She was only half teasing.
    â€œThat’s what they say about you,” he replied, also only half teasing. He slid his fingers through her soft brown hair. He liked the way her eyes sparkled when she gazed up at him. Like I’m the only guy in the world.
    She let go of him and moved to the back of the pickup and began unhooking the tarp. He got on the other side to help her. “You bring the rest of my stuff?” he asked.
    â€œOf course.” She paused. “Where’s Lucille?”
    Lucille was not a person, it was a cherry red 1975 FenderStratocaster guitar and, Avery sometimes suspected, the closest “woman” to Curt’s heart.
    â€œI’m going to keep her at the other house,” Curt answered. “It’s easier than hauling her back and forth.”
    â€œOh.” Avery averted her eyes and busied herself with the bags, but Curt knew she was disappointed. It was some dumb symbolic thing to her, like if he left his guitar with the band, then he wasn’t entirely there with her.
    A nerdy-looking guy with brown hair and black-framed glasses came out of the rental house. He was wearing plaid shorts with black socks and shoes. “You two moving in?”
    â€œFred, this is my boyfriend, Curt,” Avery said. “Curt, this is Fred. He’s our landlord.”
    Curt was surprised. While nerds often had an ageless quality, this Fred guy didn’t look much older than he was. Kind of young to own properties.
    â€œHow did you know my name?” Fred asked Avery.
    She looked stunned. “I’m Avery, remember? We just met. You know, inside, when that other girl stole our room?”
    â€œSomeone else got our room?” Curt asked with a frown.
    â€œOh, uh, I’m really sorry about that,” Fred said sheepishly. “Like I said, I’ll refund the difference in rent to you, and I’ll be glad to show you the other rooms right now.”
    Curt bristled. Half the reason he’d agreed to stay here instead of with the band was that Avery had told him she’d found a really nice room for them. “You mean someone elsesnagged our room and you didn’t do anything about it?”
    â€œI tried,” Avery mumbled.
    Curt knew Avery wasn’t real big about asserting herself, but given what a wimp this Fred nerd was, he thought he could take advantage of the situation. Curt narrowed his eyes menacingly at the landlord. “We paid for that room in advance. You had no right to give it away.”
    â€œLook, I said I’m sorry and I’ll refund the difference,” Fred answered uncomfortably. “I’ll let you have the next best room.”
    â€œI think you’ll have to do better than that,” Curt said with just a hint of a