Ocean Breeze Read online

  Copyright © J. Demetres 2021

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be altered, reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form, by any means, including, but not limited to, scanning, duplicating, uploading, hosting, distributing, or reselling, without the express prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of reasonable quotations in features such as reviews, interviews, and certain other non-commercial uses currently permitted by copyright law.

  Disclaimer:

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, locations, and businesses are purely products of the author’s imagination and are entirely fictitious. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, places, or events is completely coincidental.

  Table of Contents

  ONE

  TWO

  THREE

  FOUR

  Five

  SIX

  SEVEN

  EIGHT

  NINE

  TEN

  ELEVEN

  TWELVE

  THIRTEEN

  FOURTEEN

  FIFTEEN

  SIXTEEN

  SEVENTEEN

  EIGHTEEN

  NINETEEN

  TWENTY

  TWENTY-ONE

  TWENTY-TWO

  TWENTY-THREE

  TWENTY-FOUR

  TWENTY-Five

  TWENTY-SIX

  TWENTY-SEVEN

  TWENTY-EIGHT

  TWENTY-NINE

  THIRTY

  THIRTY-ONE

  THIRTY-TWO

  THIRTY-THREE

  THIRTY-FOUR

  THIRTY-Five

  THIRTY-SIX

  THIRTY-SEVEN

  THIRTY-EIGHT

  THIRTY-NINE

  FORTY

  FORTY-ONE

  For David,

  the love of my life

  For Peter and Allison,

  the meaning of my life

  ONE

  Two Weeks Behind

  "

  Jay had his choice of parking spaces when he pulled into the upper level of the student parking lot. It was early - only seven-thirty. His sociology class started at eight. He was hoping to catch his instructor, Professor Seward, before class.

  He reluctantly climbed out of his car, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and began walking toward the Humanities building. It was still rather dark outside but was becoming lighter and lighter with every step he took as the sun began to rise high in the morning sky. It promised to be a bright, sunny day. He could see his breath while he walked. He shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his denim jacket.

  What are you doing, Jay? he thought to himself. You might as well just turn around, walk back to your car and leave.

  Jay kept walking, despite the discouraging voice in his head and the large knot in the pit of his stomach. The spring semester at Brevard Community College in Cocoa Beach, Florida was already two weeks underway, but this was Jay’s first day. He had missed two weeks of classes. He was carrying twelve credits this semester. He tried to look on the bright side. It could be worse. He could be carrying a lot more than twelve credits.

  He reached the Humanities building and was overcome by a feeling of dread. Who was he trying to kid? He was a good student, but this was damn near impossible! How could he possibly make up all the work he had missed and catch up to his classmates? If he turned back now, he thought, he could be on the beach and surfing in thirty minutes - forty tops. Ignoring the voice, he stepped inside the building and began looking for his sociology classroom.

  Jay was a surfer and looked the part. He stood five feet, eight inches tall and had a lean, muscular build. His skin was tanned a perfect bronze. His sandy-colored hair touched his shoulders. He usually wore it parted on the side and tucked behind his ears. Long eyelashes accented his deep hazel eyes. He was named after his grandfather, Jaycen Savage, who was quite a legendary surfer. His mother nicknamed him Jay when he was a baby and the name stuck.

  Jay found the room he was looking for, took a deep breath, and walked inside. A tall, thin man who looked to be in his early sixties was standing behind the instructor’s desk, shuffling some papers around. He had salt and pepper hair with a mustache and goatee.

  “Professor Seward?”

  “Yes?” the man asked, looking up.

  “Hi, I’m Jaycen Savage. I’m in your eight o’clock class,” Jay said, extending his hand.

  “Oh, Jaycen,” Professor Seward said, shaking his hand, “I’m glad you could make it. I was about to withdraw you from the course.”

  “I’m sorry I missed so much, sir. I’d like to try to make it up.” Jay felt the knot in his stomach tighten.

  “These things happen, Jaycen. Life tends to throw us a few curves along the way,” Professor Seward said, smiling kindly. “Now then, let me give you the course syllabus and all the handouts I’ve distributed so far.”

  As Professor Seward rifled through his briefcase and pulled papers from it, he went on to tell Jay that fifty percent of his final grade would be based upon a project. The project was, in a nutshell, to identify, describe and explain a culture of his choice. The project was to be done in pairs.

  “I’ll check the class roster and see if anyone in here doesn’t have a partner yet,” Professor Seward said, handing Jay the course syllabus and a stack of handouts. “I’ll let you know at the end of class.” Students were slowly filtering into the classroom.

  Jay thanked him, grabbed the pile of papers, and took a seat in the middle of the second row. He looked at the syllabus. He had missed the first four chapters. He was two weeks behind on a project that was worth half his grade. He might as well just give up now, he thought.

  Jay ran a frustrated hand through his hair and looked up from the overwhelming syllabus. In that instant, he saw the most beautiful girl he had ever laid eyes on. She was walking up the aisle on the right side of the classroom. She was slender, about five feet five inches tall, with curves in all the right places. She had gorgeous long, straight hair that looked like rays of sunlight cascading over her shoulders and down her back. Wispy bangs helped to frame her heart-shaped face. Her eyes were the most beautiful shade of blue he had ever seen. They reminded him of the ocean. She wore a fleece jacket and had a backpack slung over her right shoulder. A lavender sweater peeked out from beneath her jacket. Her jeans were faded, with a few small rips in the legs. They weren’t the type of jeans people bought ripped. He could tell they were old and worn and had ripped because the fabric had thinned in some places. She wore them well. He looked at her face again and noticed she had a certain sadness about her. She noticed him staring and smiled as she walked past. Embarrassed, he smiled back, then looked down again at the mound of work lying on his desk.

  Professor Seward began the lecture, so Jay quickly grabbed a notebook and pen from his backpack and spent the next hour taking the most detailed notes possible.

  When the class was over and the students were gathering their belongings and leaving the room, Professor Seward said, “Jaycen Savage and Jamie Hart, I’d like to speak to you before you leave.”

  Jay grabbed his belongings and walked to Professor Seward’s desk at the front of the room, which was almost empty at this point. The last few students were walking out the door. He saw the beautiful girl walking toward the door, but instead of leaving like the rest of the class, she walked to Professor Seward’s desk and stopped in front of it, right next to him.

  He stole a glance at her. She was even more beautiful up close. She was a natural beauty, but the best part was she didn’t seem to know it. She didn’t have that air about her that many good-looking people had. Instead, she seemed quite humble.


  “Jamie Hart, meet Jaycen Savage. Jaycen Savage, Jamie Hart,” Professor Seward introduced them.

  Jamie smiled and extended her hand toward him.

  He took it and said, “Jay,” with a smile.

  Professor Seward looked at Jamie. “Jaycen is new to our class. You are the only student who doesn’t have a partner for the final project, so I thought you two could work together.” He quickly added, “Well, I’m off. I have a lecture across campus in five minutes.” And with that, he grabbed his briefcase and hurried out the door.

  Jamie smiled. “You prefer to be called Jay?” she asked.

  He nodded. “Look, I’m sorry about this. I don’t want to slow you down and put you behind on your project. I think I’m just going to drop the class. I’ll talk to Professor Seward and explain to him you’d be better off without me as a partner.”

  “Are you switching in from another sociology class, or was this your first day of sociology?” Jamie wanted to know.

  “This was my very first day of sociology. I missed the first two weeks of the semester,” Jay explained with a lump in his throat.

  Jamie studied him intently. “Don’t worry about the project. I haven’t even started it yet. I don’t think anyone has. You know how most of the instructors are. They think theirs is the only class anyone is taking,” she reassured him with a smile.

  She was right about that. He couldn’t help but smile back. The knot in the pit of his stomach began to fade. “I don’t know how I’m ever going to make up all this work. I’m so far behind,” he confided glumly.

  “Are you supposed to graduate in May?” she guessed.

  “Yeah.”

  “I’ll help you. I have a two hour break now. I usually go over to the library and study. If you have the time, why don’t you come with me and I’ll help get you caught up?” she suggested.

  “Yeah?” he asked hopefully.

  “Yeah,” she said, placing a reassuring hand lightly on his arm. “Come on.”

  While they walked to the library together, Jay wondered what kind of student Jamie was. She hadn’t started the project yet. That was potentially a bad sign. He didn’t have any time to waste, so if she wasn’t a serious student he was going to have to come up with an excuse not to work with her. There was something else bothering him - what if her intentions weren’t noble? He was willing to take a chance. She offered to help him and he needed all the help he could get.

  When they reached the library, Jamie led him straight to the back. They wove in and out between the stacks until they finally came upon a long table with four chairs hidden deep among the expansive bookshelves way in the back of the library. There wasn’t another person in sight and it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop back there.

  “This is where I usually work. It’s much quieter back here. Now that the weather is cold, a lot of people hang out in here. It can get pretty noisy and distracting in the main part of the library sometimes,” she explained.

  Jay nodded. That made sense. He hadn’t even known there was a table back there.

  Jamie placed her backpack on the table, took off her coat, placed it on the back of a chair and began pulling her sociology notebook, folder, and textbook out of her backpack. She got right to work, immediately taking charge.

  “I think it will probably work best if we work backward. That way, you’ll be able to stay current with the future lectures and catch up with the missed material at your own pace. There’s a copy machine down the hall. I’ll just copy my notes for you that I think we’ll have time to go over today. I’ll copy the rest of them for you some other time. I don’t want to overwhelm you with all of them at once.”

  “It sounds like you’ve got it all figured out,” he said with a grin. “I’ll help you copy those notes,” he added, grabbing for his wallet and following her down the hall.

  When they returned to the table, they sat next to each other, huddled over Jamie’s neat lecture notes. “I have to warn you,” she teased, “this is very boring.”

  Jay smiled.

  Jamie began by quickly reviewing today’s lecture with him, making sure he understood it completely. She then proceeded to review today’s reading assignment, which she had already completed and taken notes on. She gave a copy of those notes to him also. She then grabbed a highlighter from her backpack and highlighted notes from the reading that seemed especially pertinent in today’s lecture.

  Next, they worked backward and reviewed Friday’s lecture notes and reading assignment. Jamie reviewed these notes much more slowly, taking the time to read and explain every line. She had a kind, nurturing way about her. Jay realized the knot in the pit of his stomach had disappeared. It turned out Jamie was a very serious student. She was a natural teacher and took great notes as well.

  Jay enjoyed looking at her beautiful face while they worked. Every now and then, he caught a whiff of her sweet-smelling hair. He liked the way she sometimes placed her hand on his arm. Who knew sociology could be so enjoyable? Their two hours together flew by.

  “I’m sorry. I have to get going,” she apologized as she packed her things into her backpack. “I’ll be here at the same time again on Wednesday if you want to continue going over the notes you missed. I think we made great progress today. I hope I didn’t overwhelm you too much,” she added with a grin.

  “Don’t be sorry. I have to get going too. I have another class. Thanks for all your help. I really appreciate it.”

  As they exited the library together Jay asked where Jamie was headed.

  She pointed down the narrow path they were walking toward.

  “That’s on my way. I’ll walk with you.”

  “What class do you have next?” Jamie asked.

  “Economics.”

  “Who’s your instructor?” Jamie asked with a slight edge to her voice.

  “Dr. White.”

  “Oh.”

  “That bad, huh?” Jay asked nervously.

  “You’ll be fine,” Jamie assured him. “Well, this is my stop.”

  Jay looked up and saw they were standing in front of a small, brightly painted building whose cheerful sign read Kinder College. Confused, he asked, “You have a class in there?”

  Jamie smiled. “I work there. I’m in the work-study program. I have a scholarship, but it doesn’t pay for everything. Work-study helps make up the difference. Good luck in economics. I’ll see you in class on Wednesday.”

  Jay lingered outside the small building, watching as Jamie walked inside and was instantly bombarded by lots of little children hugging her legs. He smiled and headed for his economics class.

  It was one-thirty on Wednesday morning and Jay was beginning to see double. That’s enough for tonight, he thought as he pushed his books aside, turned out the light and slid down onto his pillow. Why was he torturing himself like this? When he left Jamie on Monday morning, he felt encouraged and thought he might actually be able to salvage the semester. But since then he had become so inundated with missed work he now felt it was damn near impossible to catch up.

  An image of Jamie drifted into his head. He thought about her a lot since he first met her on Monday. She was a huge help to him and made him feel much better about his situation. He smiled to himself. He wasn’t quite sure how she did it, but her calm, kind demeanor had instantly put him at ease. He could sure use some of that now, he thought ruefully. Maybe he would just scrap the semester and try again in the fall. That was definitely an option, but it would really mess up his plan. Another downside would be he would no longer see Jamie. He had to admit he was looking forward to seeing her tomorrow. He thought about her some more as he drifted off to sleep.

  TWO

  Help

  "

  Jay arrived in sociology early on Wednesday. Hoping to sit closer to Jamie, he sat more toward the back of the classroom this morning, watching the door intently as students began to arrive. Jamie finally appeared. She had that sad lo
ok about her again. Today she almost looked as though she was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. He caught her eye and smiled. She smiled back as she walked toward him and sat at the empty desk to his right.

  “Hi,” she greeted him, hanging her coat on the back of her chair and grabbing her notebook and pen out of her backpack. “I was worried you might not be here today. I thought I might have scared you off,” she said with a grin.

  “Nah, you couldn’t scare me off,” he smiled. “Some of the instructors sure could though. I think I’m just going to have to scrap the whole semester.”

  “Oh, no,” she said, placing her hand lightly on his arm, her beautiful face filled with concern.

  Professor Seward began the lecture, so she wasn’t able to ask what led him to this decision.

  An hour later, when the class had ended, Jamie invited him to work with her in the library again as they were packing up their books. Jay happily accepted her invitation.

  While they walked to the library, Jamie asked if it would be the end of the world if he dropped out this semester and tried again in the fall.

  “It wouldn’t be the end of the world, but it wouldn’t be the ideal scenario either,” he explained. “I already have a job lined up for when I graduate with my four-year degree. Everything hinges on my graduating on time though. This May I’m supposed to graduate with my associate’s degree. Exactly two years later, I’m supposed to graduate with my bachelor’s. If I can’t get through this semester, it’s going to throw everything off. Taking summer classes is not an option. I am way too busy at work to go to school during the summer.”

  Jamie was quiet for a few moments. “How many classes are you taking?” she asked.

  “Four.”

  “I think you should go for it,” was her instant reply. “Give it your best shot to try to pass these classes and graduate. If you don’t pass, you can always try again in the fall, but you’ll do it with the knowledge you tried your best. Besides, you spent a lot of money on tuition. You’re not going to get it back if you drop out now.” She paused. “You’re a smart guy, Jay. I think you can handle it. I’ll help you,” she said with a smile.