All Chapters of Seaside Pictures: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

DaniThe elevator jolted to a stop. With sweaty fingers, I pounded the button to the penthouse floor.A groaning noise filtered in from somewhere outside the elevator. I gripped the side railing, then slowly sunk down until I was on my haunches, breathing in and out and telling myself it wasn't a big deal. Elevators stall all the time, right? In a few seconds, everything would be fine, and I'd be telling the story to my sister Pris and her movie star husband.They'd laugh.I'd pretend to laugh.And we'd forget about it.Or they'd forget about it, and I'd have nightmares later that night about being stuck in an elevator while it plummeted twelve stories.Two minutes went by, maybe three, and the elevator still wasn't moving. I'd never gone to Disneyland, never ridden on any of their rides, but I imagined that the Tower of Terror felt exactly like this moment... pure horror and then suddenly weightlessness.Please let there be no weightlessness.Logically, I knew I was fine. K

DaniLincoln offered tO drive me back to the hotel once we finished packing. I'd agreed only because the only thing more terrifying than getting into his truck, was riding in a car with a stranger, whose only goal in life was to get me from point A to point B in as little as time as possible.The drive back wasn't as awkward as the drive there.Mainly because I was getting used to him, sort of. You know, if it was possible to get used to good-looking men who smiled - a lot.He was a smiler.I hadn't expected that.Most of the pictures I'd seen of him were shirtless-brooding-angsty - total opposites of the guy sitting next to me. The guy who packed a pig with him everywhere he went.A pig.It had been on the tip of my tongue to tell him about the pig my parents had gotten me when I was little. I'd told them it was stupid to count sheep; ergo, Patsy the Pig had arrived and helped me dream only good dreams.I still had her.It was more common ground, something I felt like we n

DaniIt wasn't every morning that I talked to my dad; I hadn't actually spoken to his voicemail in a few weeks. This morning I'd expected my voice to be gravelly, like one of those Truth commercials with the smokers, warning kids against the perils of tobacco, instead it was just as I remembered it. Light, airy. I choked back the sobs building in my throat as memories surfaced."Who's my favorite little girl?" My dad twirled me in his arms. I tried to fight him, but I was dwarfed by his size. He'd always been such a big man, while I was barely above five four."Dad!" I laughed as he continued twirling me until I was dizzy. "I'm sixteen! Stop!""Aw..." He stopped, placing me on my feet. "You'll always be my little girl, Dani. You know that, right?"I rolled my eyes. "Dad, I know.""You're beautiful." He sighed. "And remember, I'm the only one that can say that to you. If some young boy invites you into his car using pretty words, he's only after one thing.""My flower," I said

DaniDani: Do you do laundry ever?Lincoln flashed me a grin as he continued putting away our groceries. "Nope, I've never had to."Dani: You need to learn.I rolled my eyes and continued sorting his clothes, most of them workout clothes, which made me curious as to what he did. Was he a runner? I stole a peek at his jean-clad legs. I wouldn't be able to tell anyway. His arms were huge, bulging beneath his gray long-sleeve shirt."Oh, hey." He peeled the shirt from his body and tossed it in my direction. "If you're doing a load of darks, wash this one too. Someone spilled coffee on it this morning. Not that it wasn't deserved."Had I not already been a mute, the sight of his bare chest and abs would have done it. His abs were chunky; he didn't just have a six-pack, he had freaking rivets that dipped into delicious golden skin, trailing all the way down into his jeans. Holy crap! He was built, and he was still putting stuff away - not flexing, simply breathing - and someho

LincolnDani: Remind me again why I took this job.Linc: You didn't have a choice. Almost here?Dani: Yeah, I'm at Starbucks, will be over in a few.The text ended with a few stunned looking smiley faces, a yawn, and then the picture of the ridiculously long Starbucks line.Linc: Just let yourself in.My flip flops made a slapping noise against the hardwood floor as I paced back and forth, back and forth in my living room. Nervous energy swirled around me as I cracked first my knuckles and then my neck.The sound relaxed me more than the feeling.I cracked my left hand again then my right.Blowing air out of my cheeks, I sat on my couch and started my deep breathing. In for eight seconds, out for eight seconds, eight times.I'd tried to stop with my first-day ritual, but the one and only time I hadn't done the whole cracking, breathing, relaxing thing, one of the lights had fallen on me during filming.During a sex scene.I'd been naked.So had she.Let's just say