Huh? He lifted his head and blinked, squinting. Aura Beach. What the—? He moved cautiously into a seated position. Man, he was stiff. What had— Gus let out a groan. Last night, Pete’s Tavern. That girl had come on to him. She was sorta hot, not really, something kind of off, but he’d been doing shots and wasn’t in a picky mood. They came down here, smoked a few joints—killer stuff—had some laughs, and then things had just started happening... Aw, man. He buried his head in his hands and crumpled sideways back onto the sand. Chicks should not turn out to be dudes, that was all he had to say about that. “Did you have a heart attack?” The child’s voice surprised him. “My grandfather had one. Mom said he keeled over. Is that what you just did?” He lifted his head. Little girl. Blue eyes, blond curls, five or six years old. Totally cute. “Nah. I’m okay.”
