Lucinda sat up in bed and stretched her arms as she yawned. Merrill was due to arrive that weekend and she could feel the excitement of it deep in her bones. It made her anxious for the day to go by quickly, which Raif had been helping her with throughout the week by keeping her occupied both in the cafe and during their leisure time. After their romantic night, Raif and Lucinda had become inseparable.

In the mornings she would go jogging while Raif surfed, but then they would get cleaned up and have breakfast together. After breakfast they would sit around cuddled while reading or watching TV. Then their cuddling would often lead to kissing and then eventually to the bedroom. Once they were at the cafe, however, they tried very hard to behave like professionals. Raif didn't make things easy though, since he would find moments to steal kisses at every chance. Sometimes he did it so much that he'd almost get caught by a customer, but it was part of the thrill and made Lucinda dizzy with how much she liked it.

After work they would take turns fixing dinner at Raif's and would then spend the night releasing their pent up tension from the day. In a short amount of time, Lucinda had developed an overwhelming liking for Raif and there were moments during the day where she even felt in love. Except she kept trying to convince herself that it was just her hormones going crazy after breaking a three year dry spell of abstinence. Either way, having Raif in her life definitely did something for her and she couldn't wait to introduce Merrill to him. So as his hand ran up her bare spine and she looked over her shoulder to see Raif awake, that intense feeling of being in love with him returned. She fell back onto the pillow and nestled into his arm with a sigh.

"Morning."

"Morning," Raif replied with a sleepy yawn "I don't think this will ever get old."

"What won't?"

"You. In my bed." He squeezed her thigh.

"Lately it seems like I sleep in your bed more than I do my own."

"I like that fact," Raif said as he wrapped his arms around her and began kissing her neck.

Lucinda let out a soft laugh and then pushed away from him to sit up again. "Are we heading out to the beach this morning? Cause I'd really like to get a jog in before work."

She slid out of the bed and could feel Raif trying to reach for her, but she was too quick for him. He groaned and as she made her way to the bathroom, she could hear the rustling of sheets as he scrambled out of bed. The next thing she knew his arms were wrapped around her again. Instantly a smile spread onto her face.

"I'll definitely never get tired of watching your naked body walking around my bedroom!" He playfully growled into her neck as they walked into the bathroom, completely glued to one another.

"Oh please, I have the chest of a little boy!" Lucinda snorted.

"I beg to differ! My dad has always said all you need is a good handful and sweetheart, my hands fit perfectly over yours," he said as he cupped her breasts.

"Raif!" She tried to wiggle away.

"And this right here..." he squeezed her butt. "Is about three handfuls!"

Lucinda gasped and slapped his hand away. "That's not very nice."

"Oh it's plenty nice to me. Trust me."

She shook her head blushing. "We really should get out to the beach."

"Why? We get all the exercise we need in that bed right behind us."

Lucinda stopped and spun around. She opened her mouth to say something, but then paused and closed her mouth as if taking back the thought. They did spend a lot of their spare time in bed. Was that normal?

"What's ticking in that pretty head of yours?" Raif asked.

"Do we... do it, too much?"

"Do what?" He grinned slyly.

"You know... do it."

Raif shrugged and brushed past her to turn on the shower. "Do it, could mean a lot of things. You'll have to be more specific."

"You know what I mean!"

"Nope. I don't." He flashed her another grin and ran his hand under the water to feel the temperature. "Now get over here."

Lucinda dragged her heels with a smile and before stepping under the water, she stole a kiss from him. Raif stepped in behind her and helped with working the water through her hair.

"For the record," he began to say. "No I don't think we have sex too much. Considering I was on a dry spell before you got here, I'd say I'm making up for lost time."

Lucinda turned to face him and they rotated so he could get under the showerhead while she began lathering her hair with shampoo.

"How long was that dry spell exactly?" she asked.

"About eight, loooong months."

"Oh..." Lucinda frowned. "Was she a girlfriend?"

Raif rubbed the back of his neck hesitantly and then switched spots so Lucinda could rinse her hair.

"No," he replied.

"A one night stand?"

"A tourist," he answered.

"Oh..." She paused to push the water out of her eyes and she gave herself a moment to think. They switched spots again and Raif squeezed conditioner onto his palm and began working it into her hair. As he massaged her scalp, she looked up to meet his eyes. "Is that normal for you to do that? Hook up with tourists?"

"I know how it sounds, like I'm that guy who seduces his customers, but it's not like that."

"Ok, then explain so I can understand?"

"I met that woman at the Riptide, we hit it off, went on a few dates and once her vacation was over she went home. I wanted to stay in touch but she's never returned my calls. So I think it's safe to say that I'm more like that guy women try to hookup with while on vacation so they have a cool story to tell their girlfriends."

"So, how often do you sleep with tourists?"

Raif shrugged. "I don't exactly keep count, Lucinda. Two... maybe three times during peak season?"

"Oh..."

"Oh?" Raif repeated as he lifted his arms so Lucinda could run the soap around his torso. "Does what I just said bother you?"

"No."

"Come on, Lucinda. Don't lie to me."

She avoided his gaze as he took the bar of soap from her and began rubbing it over her arms. "I'm just surprised, that's all."

"Why?"

"I just didn't take you as a casual sex kind of guy, that's all."

Raif paused, the water clearing away lines of soap from his skin as he considered what to say. Lucinda shivered, so he shifted, allowing her to move under the showerhead and rinse off.

"Please understand," he began to explain. "I'm a thirty two year old man who spends the majority of his day running a business. I don't exactly get to go out and date or form relationships. I have needs. Some of these women are really great and ideally I would like to pursue something with them, but then they're gone after a few days. Even when we exchange numbers, nothing comes about after they've gone home. Besides, isn't what we're doing, casual sex? You seem ok with it."

Lucinda shot her gaze up to meet his. She glared at him, both shocked and hurt. Not bothering to finish rinsing, she drew the curtain back and stepped out of the shower. As she snatched a towel from the shelf to dry herself, she could hear Raif turning off the water, so she quickly escaped to the bedroom. By the time he made it out there, she was pulling her jeans over her damp legs in a hurry.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm leaving."

"Wait a second!" He grabbed the shirt out of her hands. "Was it something I said?"

She looked at him as if he had just grown two pea sized brains and then took a breath... or three, as she began pacing. "No you're right, what we're doing is completely meaningless!"

"That's not what I meant by casual," he tried to object.

She stopped pacing to fight the tears that were coming on. "I have to go. I'll see you at work."

Leaving her shirt behind, she shoved past Raif and made her way to the living room where she left her jacket.

"Lucinda, wait!" Raif called after her.

"Please don't follow me. I'm fine. See you at work."

She slipped through the front door before slamming it behind her and immediately zipped up her jacket. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she made her way home and she wiped them away angrily, not letting them drip from her chin. Of course Raif was too good to be true! And now she felt like a fool. As soon as Lucinda walked into her apartment she instantly missed Merrill and wanted to run to the phone, call him and tell him all about the fight with Raif. But instead of bombarding him so early in the morning with her troubles, she walked back to bed and wrapped herself in the blankets. For some reason she kept thinking about her ex fiancé. Perhaps because he was the last person to make her feel worthless.

As she looked back at it now, the signs were all there. Her ex always had excuses for why she couldn't meet his parents and they never went out to restaurants, only to bars. They usually would have dinner in her home or at a studio he rented in the city, which was strangely sparse with furniture. Later she learned it was the type of studio that could be rented on a month-to-month basis without a contract and cash payments were accepted. Which meant that a paper trail could never be discovered by his wife. It all made sense in the end...

Did she trade one womanizer for another?

Her stomach did a somersault with that thought. Raif wasn't like her ex at all, yet it hurt so much that he called what was going on between them, casual sex. Eventually Lucinda got out of bed, got dressed and went off to the Barrel Wave to be there by ten.

When she got there the cafe was already busy with early lunch goers, so she went about the day normally, serving drinks and making sandwiches. She tried to remain civil with Raif by keeping their conversation light and sticking to neutral topics that pertained to work. Every time he tried to address the elephant in the room, she would change the subject. She figured they could finish hashing out their fight after work.

Little did Lucinda know of small town gossip.

Over the last few weeks, Raif had begun noticing whispers from patrons in the Barrel Wave. They often gave suspicious glances on the nights he and Lucinda would grab drinks at the Riptide too. He knew the whispers all too well. It was small town banter with people coming to their own conclusions about his relationship. It wasn't their business and whether they approved or not, he didn't care, but the last thing he wanted was for it to affect Lucinda. She had no clue what she was in for. Especially after a fight. It was as if his regular customers could feel the tension between them and knew they had been quarreling.

To make matters worse, right as he had been thinking about how much he hated rumors, Raif saw a woman speaking to Lucinda and it happened to be the last woman he ever wanted speaking to her. The look on her face did not look pleased at all.

"He'll cheat on you too."

"I'm sorry, what?" Lucinda asked as she restocked the coffee bean display.

"I've been watching the two of you. I have a friend who lives a few blocks from Raif. I've seen you going in and out of his house at all hours." She tisked.

Lucinda gripped the bag of coffee beans in her hand to the point her knuckles were turning white. "Ma'am, with all respect, what I do in my personal time should not matter to you, nor is it any of your business."

"Well, you should be careful. He's a playboy. He was going to marry my daughter but he partied a little too hard in college. If you know what I mean." She cocked a brow. "He cheated on my daughter and shamelessly flaunted his floosey around town. You'd be better off staying single!"

The woman gave Lucinda a once over before storming out of the cafe and it left Lucinda with swarming thoughts that buzzed like the flap of hummingbird wings. Disturbed by the woman's words, she spent the rest of the workday quiet and kept her distance from Raif.

Two hours later Chuck and his wife Isabel came into the coffee shop to get out of the rainy weather. Upon seeing them, Raif felt a sense of relief. They were always so good to talk to whenever he needed an ear. He pointed to an empty spot at the counter and began wiping it down for them. They ordered sandwiches and hot soup as they got comfortable.

"So what's the latest gossip?" Isabel leaned forward with a coffee cup between her hands.

"We've been hearing all sorts of stories ever since you and Lucinda left the party together." Chuck rubbed his temples as if it was all so exhausting. "The rumor mill has been going bonkers."

Changing the subject, Raif said, "Hey, shouldn't one of you be over at the Riptide holding down the fort?"

"Well, technically I should be, but Chuck convinced me to have lunch with him," Isabel explained.

"It's raining, customer traffic is slow at the bar. Besides, the drunks can wait an hour for the bar to open back up. It'll be good for them!" Chuck joked.

"So..." Isabel leaned in again as if she was going to share a secret. "Are you going to tell us what happened after you guys left the party? I promise not to tell a soul." Isabel winked.

Raif ran his hand through his hair and smiled. "Nothing."

"Good for you! A real man doesn't kiss and tell." Chuck teased.

"Oh you guys are no fun!" Isabel said while slapping Chuck on the arm. "I think Lucinda's sweet and you know me, I want everyone to be in love and happy. Plus, you two look good together and I can already picture how adorable your kids would be!"

"Kids?" Chuck's eyes widened at his wife. "You're already making Raif a daddy?"

"Oh quiet! Besides he's been single for way too long."

"Yeah well I think Eaddie Harlow may have scared Lucinda off." Raif sighed. "I saw her talking to her earlier today and she's been quiet ever since."

"Is that woman still sore about her daughter?" Chuck said with an annoyed tone. "She needs to get over it."

"Hah!" Isabel tossed her head back. "Are you kidding? That woman holds a grudge tighter than Cameron Diaz's ass!"

"And what a lovely behind that woman has..." Chuck rubbed his chin in thought.

"Eaddie or Cameron?" Raif laughed as he handed them bowls of soup.

"Both." Chuck shrugged with a grin and immediately received another whack on the arm from Isabel.

"You're pushing it today old man!" She wagged her finger at him. "First you shamelessly flirted with little Jenny at the grocery store."

"Well, she's not so little anymore."

Ignoring him, she continued. "And don't think I didn't see you checking out Natalie at the gas station as she was bending over."

"Oh boy, sounds like you're in the doghouse Chuck!" Raif laughed.

"Can you really blame me, Raif? All women seem to wear these days are tight yoga pants! How can I NOT look?"

"Uh... I think I better just hand over your sandwiches and walk away." Raif grinned.

Leaving Isabel and Chuck to themselves, he carried on with his other customers. In the back of his mind, however, all he could think about was what Eaddie might have said to Lucinda? That woman was venomous and he just hoped that he could get to the bottom of it, because he hated that along with their fight, it was causing Lucinda to be distant.

🌊🌊🌊

Later that evening, Lucinda cleaned up the customer area while Raif took inventory of what needed to be restocked. As she swept the floor, her mind wandered a bit. Merrill would be arriving in the next day and she couldn't wait to show him around town and introduce him to some of the locals. Mostly she really wanted to sit out in the garden with him and listen to his soothing voice as he recounted stories from when his wife was alive. Maybe one day she could have a love story like his? One that was pure and true.

She paused from sweeping to sneak a glance toward Raif. Before her conversation with that woman, Lucinda thought perhaps they could kiss and make up, so to speak. She honestly thought that maybe he could be that someone for her. Now she wasn't so sure. Honestly, she was still getting to know him, so the claims of him being a cheater that would break her heart was very much a possibility. What if no matter how hard she tried, she would always gravitate toward men that were completely wrong for her? Men that would lie, cheat and betray her love?

After working in silence all afternoon Raif began walking toward her, so she focussed her attention back to the broom in her hands and busied herself with sweeping the floor again. If she appeared occupied, maybe he would leave her alone? But that was a silly thought, because there was no way he would ignore the strange tension that placed itself between them the moment Eaddie filled Lucinda's ears.

"Lucinda, is everything ok? You've been very quiet today and I really think we should talk abou--"

"I'm fine Raif," she said with her back turned as she tried to keep busy with sweeping the floor.

"You don't seem fine."

"Well, I am."

"Then can you look at me?" When Lucinda refused to turn around, Raif stepped in front of her and seized the broom. "You're done sweeping. We need to talk about this morning, but especially what Eaddie Harlow said to you."

Not one to do well with confrontations, her hands balled into fists at her sides as she practically growled her words at him in response. "She said you're a cheater!"

"Wait, that I've cheated on you?" Raif asked, feeling puzzled.

"No! She said you're nothing but a playboy and that you cheated on your fiancé which happens to be her daughter. She said I should be careful because you'll do the same with me." Lucinda looked away feeling furious and stupid all at once.

"Lucinda, look at me." Raif gently turned her chin back in his direction, but she defiantly kept her eyes down. "Listen to me, please. That woman is wrong. I never cheated on her daughter. Never."

"Then WHY does she think that?"

"We should sit down." Raif pulled out a chair for her and insisted she sit, but Lucinda wasn't budging. "Please? Please just hear me out?"

"Fine," she said as she folded her arms and settled into the chair.

"It's a bit of a long story, so--"

"Just get on with it!" Lucinda snapped and then slouched in the chair with a frown.

"Ok... just, take it easy." Raif leaned forward with a sigh and began to explain. "Her daughter Rachel and I dated all through high school. We were sweethearts. I was on the Water Polo team and she was a cheerleader. Everyone thought we were destined to be together forever, 'Raif and Rachel.' It seemed so perfect back then but it actually sounds obnoxious now," Raif said while rolling his eyes and shaking his head. "We both got into separate colleges. I wanted to stay local and go to school here but Rachel always wanted to go somewhere new. We tried to do the whole long distance thing but it was hard getting our schedules to sync up. When she finally came to visit during the summer, we both knew that things had fizzled between us. So we agreed to see other people so that we could both enjoy college like normal kids."

When Raif saw that Lucinda's shoulders were starting to relax, he continued.

"After the fall semester began, Rachel ended up getting into a serious relationship with a guy she met and I began dating around. One day I brought a girl home for the weekend. We had been seeing each other for a few months so I wanted to introduce her to my patents. We were shopping at the farmers market and next thing I know Eaddie Harlow is cussing me out in front of my new girlfriend. She accused me of cheating on Rachel. I was mortified, so I called Rachel and told her about what happened. Apparently she didn't tell her parents the entire truth of our breakup so they thought we were still together and... well... apparently Eaddie still holds a grudge to this day."

There was a long silence as Lucinda sat with her arms still folded and stared at the table. There were so many thoughts going through her mind. Whether to believe Raif? Whether she could trust him? Was he really a faithful person? Had she invested her heart, her body, too soon? Of course, she would never find out if she backed out now. Sometimes risk was necessary to grow.

"Lucinda, please say something," Raif said breaking the the silence.

Blowing out a long breath, Lucinda unfolded her arms and rubbed her palms over her knees. "I'm sorry for getting upset about that woman, but I'm not sorry about this morning. What you said... you were a jerk!"

"Ok, I think that's fair." He took her hands. "But Lucinda... you didn't let me explain when I made the comment about us having casual sex."

"What's to explain? It was pretty clear."

"I worded it wrong, ok? My feelings for you go deeper than casual, this isn't some fling for me, Lucinda. I know I was an idiot for saying it, and I wish I could take it back. We haven't put a label on what we are to each other yet, but I like being with you and this thing between us..." he said as he laced his fingers with hers. "I like where it's headed and the last thing I would do is hurt you. Can you trust that?"

"I can try," Lucinda replied quietly.

"Thank God!" he sighed with relief as he pulled her into an embrace. "I'm sorry that I hurt you. I won't do that again."

It had been a long day and Raif was ready to take Lucinda home. They locked the door to the cafe and walked together. Her apartment wasn't far, so they strolled quietly, except Lucinda couldn't help but feel increasing guilt on her part. Raif had been so honest with her about his past, but she had yet to tell the truth about what really brought her to Breeze Bay or how she came to know Merrill.

With a heavy heart, she decided it was time to spill the beans.