Like the Back of My Halo

by Hutchinson, Heidi

Her eyebrows dipped in a deep frown. Brady realized just exactly what he'd admitted to and decided he didn't want to have her so close to his face at the moment. He tossed the keys onto the coffee table, gripped her around the waist, took three big strides out the back door, and threw her into the pool.

  Lo came up sputtering, but before she could start yelling at him again, Brady pointed a finger at her.

  “You cool off. We'll talk about heading south when you've washed off your crazy.”

  He didn't wait for a response. Instead, he went back inside and snagged the keys. He wasn't stupid. Not entirely. He knew the moment he turned his back, she'd be right after the keys again.

  Throwing open the door to his room, he went straight to his suitcase. Untying the leather cord on the handle he used to keep his name tag secure, he lashed it through the key ring and then tied it around his neck.

  See her try to take the keys now.

  As he started the water in the shower he chuckled, releasing the tension in his chest. She was nuts. And unbelievable.

  What did it say about him that he was insanely turned on by her actions?

  He had been a jerk. Who turns off someone's alarm clock? Jerks, that's who.

  But she wasn't a whiny little cry baby about it. She was mad as hell and more than willing to stick up for herself. And he liked it.

  So much.

  ***

  Lo

  Lo stayed in the pool, hoping the cool water would do something about the heat in her cheeks.

  Never in her life had she behaved that way. It was like she couldn't control herself. She'd felt betrayed by Brady and for some reason, it had escalated so swiftly in her head she could hardly track it back to its origin.

  Everything had been going so well... for the most part.

  Sinking below the surface, she let the water cover her, so she could think.

  She wished she could have a do-over.

  Another one.

  Brady's intoxicating nature had given fuel to her inner fears of inadequacy. For some reason, she had thought she could trust him. But the truth of it was, he was still a person. And people were generally out for themselves. Not in a tyrannical, want the world to burn sort of way. It was more simple and mostly ignorant. They made decisions intended to advance themselves, protect themselves, elevate themselves. She did it too. No one was immune to being human.

  But she had learned long ago to not let her guard down. To anticipate the unintended subversiveness. Her heart normally predicted the exact moment a person would choose themselves. It didn't make her angry and it no longer surprised her.

  Until today.

  She'd foolishly grown comfortable with Brady's easy presence. She'd been safe with Tessa and Spencer for so long, she'd begun to believe people weren't as flawed as she assumed them to be.

  Ultimately this entire thing was her fault.

  She'd overreacted. Hugely.

  Taking his actions personally showed too much, exposed too much of all she feared. It wasn't possible he missed it. And now she was laid bare by her own actions, stripped of her defenses in a moment of adrenaline induced panic.

  Normal people could laugh this off.

  How she envied normal people.

  Through the clear pool water she saw the back door open and Brady stepped out. She contemplated staying under water for longer but knew he would freak out. She rose from the water and sucked in a clean breath.

  He was showered and completely clothed. Unlike when she'd wrapped herself around his half-naked torso and clung to him like a wild animal.

  Fresh shame colored her cheeks and she looked away.

  “Sorry,” she muttered.

  “What was that?” Brady asked.

  Lo rolled her eyes. “I'm apologizing. Don't be a jerk about it.”

  Brady arched an eyebrow but didn't say anything. Lo swam over to the ladder and heaved her and her wet clothes out of the pool. He handed her a nearby towel and she wrapped it around herself before sitting down in one of the plastic deck chairs, her shoulders slumped.

  Brady took the chair beside her. “Don't look so glum, I'm almost ready to feel sorry for you.”

  Lo looked at him sideways. Where in the world could she possibly go with this? You're really good looking and nice and fun and I got super insecure about your prank this morning and overreacted. Yeah, no. She couldn't say that.

  “South, huh?” Brady asked, not really meeting her eyes.

  “Yeah.” She swallowed, wondering if he was really going to let her save face. Because if he was, that made him cooler than she thought previously. Which only meant she was probably going to do something even more stupid in the future. Shit. She licked her suddenly dry lips. “Playa Hermosa is south of San Juan Del Sur. I packed some blankets. I thought we could....” she trailed off as she realized what she had thought.

  “Sleep on the beach?” Brady finished. He shook his head. “The high tide would drown us. I've heard about it. Not sure if it'll live up to the hype though.” He crossed his arms over his chest and eyed the Rover. “We could probably sleep in the car. We'd just have to park off the road. It might be dangerous.”

  “I'm not scared,” Lo whispered, getting Brady's eyes again.

  “Oh, I think I've gathered that already.” He sighed and looked to his feet. “And for some crazy reason, I really... really like it.”

  Her breath caught.

  His gaze snared hers and she couldn't look away. Anger wasn't lurking in his baby blues. Amusement? And something else... admiration? No, that couldn't be it.

  “I won't let you walk all over me,” she declared. “It's not in my nature. I have to fight back.”

  “Good.”

  His response startled her but she withheld her reaction.

  “I was petty and honestly, I was just being a shit.” He shook his head and his neck turned red. He glanced down and then back up. “I like it. That you stand up for yourself. I like it a whole lot. I'm sorry I was a shit.”

  She pressed her lips together and smiled, her anger melting and replaced by her own amusement. “Are you gonna do it again?”

  He frowned seriously. “Probably not exactly the same. But chances are, yes, I'll be a shit again in the future.”

  She nodded slowly. “I see.”

  “I have an idea,” he said, his voice rough. “I wanna be a team. When we work together, we're a good one. We'll compete on the blog and in the water, but I don't want you to think I don't have your back. And I want you to have mine. Agreed?”

  Lo nodded before he was done speaking. “Agreed.”

  Brady shook his head and chuckled almost begrudgingly. “Or you'll be the first to tackle me.”

  “Without hesitation.”

  9

  Brady

  By the time they had driven to Playa Hermosa, the late afternoon sun was casting long shadows along the beach.

  “Wow,” Lo whispered. She rested both of her arms on the open window of the Rover and gazed out along the white sandy beach. “Is that Costa Rica?” She nodded into the distance.

  Brady squinted that direction while trying to picture the map of the world. “Yeah.”

  The fee for entering the beach had been small. Especially considering the top-notch beauty he was currently witnessing.

  The beach was mostly bare, only three or four people enjoying the pristine and otherworldly peaks rolling towards the shore. A large restaurant sat back away from the shore along with the Surf Camp the guy who took his entrance fee told him about.

  “So what did your bro tell you about this place?” Lo asked.

  “My bro?”

  “Yeah, the guy at the gate. You guys were totally flirting.”

  Brady shook his head, his lips curling up on one side. “Just because I can speak Spanish and you can't, doesn't mean we were flirting.”

  “It sounded flirtatious,” she mumbled.

  “He said camping on the beach was discouraged because of petty theft, and recommended staying in
the Surf Camp.” Brady braced for Lo's declaration of being “not afraid” but it didn't come. He took a breath and continued. “He also said if we drove further south to the next cove, it would be more challenging.”

  “Let's do that then,” she said with a nod.

  He wanted to. He did. And he knew she had skills, but it still made him nervous.

  Instead of saying any of this, he kept driving south, maneuvering in and out of the surrounding jungle and back onto the beach. They reached Playa Yankee. Brady put the Rover in park and killed the engine. The two of them stared at the breaking waves in awed silence.

  “Are you seeing this?” Lo whispered, her hand slowly fumbling with her seat belt.

  Brady took a deep breath. The beach was empty, the winds off shore, the waves immaculate and all left handers.

  Why this kept happening to him when he was with her, he had no idea. It was as if they continually stepped outside of the real world and ended up in paradise. Civilization seemed a distant memory compared to his present. Was it the woman or the location?

  They got out and stood together on the beach, taking in the air and the sun and the salt.

  Two bold souls, on the edge of the world, alone, aligned, on fire.

  The wind blew Lo's hair into a dark tangle around her face as she turned to him, the joy and excitement in her smile contagious.

  “Ready?”

  Brady had to pause for a beat before answering. Because for a half a second he thought she was asking him a completely different question.

  Either way, his answer was yes.

  ***

  Lo

  The wave swelled like a dream, the offshore wind carving it into the perfect left hander and Lo watched Brady take to it with ease. His large body moved effortlessly, elegantly. Like a puma crouching into position.

  Lo had watched Brady drop into a wave before. But she hadn't ever seen this side of him.

  Her heart raced, her breathing quickened, and her belly dipped and flipped with his raw power. His muscled bunched and flexed under his tanned skin, both of them having forgone the wet suits in order to conserve daylight and get out there.

  Their tip hadn't been kidding, this cove was far more challenging than they had experienced this week.

  The sun cast golden shadows along the water and Lo's belly dipped again.

  13... 14... 15...

  The tug of the ocean let her know it was her turn now.

  ***

  Brady

  For hours they stayed in the water. Until the sun slipped beneath the horizon and they both lay spent on the hood of the Rover, towels beneath them. Brady's sensibilities had taken a silent backseat and not once did he question Lo's ability.

  But he'd enjoyed watching her.

  There was something about the cove they had found; their own little hideaway from the world. A dream sequence with taste, touch, and color. A pocket of the universe where it was only about the waves and the sun and the girl.

  He rotated his head and took her in—the dark-haired angel he knew would be the life and death of him.

  “I'll give you the choice,” he said low, unwilling to disturb the peaceful pocket they'd found. “We can stay in the Rover, but it'll be tight. Or we can go back to the Surf Camp, get some food, a shower, and decent sleep before coming back out here tomorrow.”

  Lo's green eyes glowed in the dark as they skated over his body. “You're too big to sleep in the Rover,” she remarked more to herself than to him. She settled on his face. “Ecolodge it is.”

  They packed up their gear and drove back down the beach in silence, the roar of the ocean their soundtrack. He breathed an internal sigh of relief when she'd tugged a knee length skirt and drapey white tee back on, covering her exquisite body. The wet suit he could handle, the bikini was getting reviewed next time he talked to Shane.

  It was the bikini he was thinking about when they checked into the Ecolodge. It was the girl in the bikini he was thinking about when they received their room keys. It was the way she smiled and laughed with the front desk clerk and the subsequent way the front desk clerk openly smiled back. They climbed the stairs to their floor, her ahead of him, the movement of her legs causing her paisley print skirt to swish and swirl. And all he could think of was The Police song, “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic.” And pulling her into his arms for a celebratory dance.

  In other words, he was a lovesick teenager with his head in the clouds.

  Which was why it took him a full minute to process their sleeping arrangements from the doorway of the room.

  He pressed his lips together as they both surveyed the accommodations.

  “This is my fault,” Brady finally said. “I should have asked for separate beds.”

  Lo snorted and he glanced her direction. She tried to stop her smile but he caught it. “Well,” she tried to keep her face straight. “There are technically two beds.”

  It was true.

  The frame was king-sized, carved from polished wood that looked like it was part of the same tree the hotel had been made from. Two single mattresses sat on it, pushed together to make it one. But they were both individually wrapped in sheets and blankets. So... two.

  “I can pull one onto the floor...” he began to offer, trying to figure out exactly where it would fit. The room was basically the same size as the bed.

  “And hey!” she said excitedly, pointing up. “We have a fan!”

  Brady felt his mouth twitch.

  “We can make this work,” she declared with a head nod. “We were going to sleep with each other eventually anyway.”

  “We were?” he asked with a frown, heat rushing to his face.

  Her eyes got round and she took a deep breath.

  “Not like that!” she exclaimed, her hands waving in front of her as if to ward off a pushy street vendor. “I just meant—with the travel and the budget—we'd have to make cuts somewhere and camping seems like a logical step!”

  Her rapid explanation grew in pitch and volume, making it even more comical. Brady struggled to keep the affronted and shocked look on his face when he just wanted to burst out laughing.

  “I didn't mean we'd sleep together. As in bodies and naked things and all the ew,” she went on desperately.

  “All the ew?” Brady questioned, sounding as offended as he possibly could. “You think I'm ew?”

  “No!” Her hands flailed in desperation and she tried to swallow but kept talking. “You're great! Super hot! Beautiful even! Not ew at all! I just meant, with me, and the sex, and the, oh my God why can't I shut up?!”

  That did it. Brady threw his head back and laughed from deep inside. Starting in his belly and taking over his entire body. He opened his eyes to see her staring at him, a dazed look on her face. “You're funny.”

  She smiled sheepishly. “This is going to come back to haunt me, isn't it?”

  He grinned at her. “Most definitely.”

  “Great,” she muttered, looking away and to the floor.

  He fought with his desire to pull her into his arms and comfort her. But somehow he knew if he did that, he was going to want to follow that with a kiss, and the memory of her last kiss was still too strong for him to keep his head.

  Like her lips had been made for him.

  “What?”

  Her question yanked him back to the present and he realized he was staring at her mouth. He shook his head once and tightened his jaw. “Nothing. Do you mind if I shower first?” he asked. He didn't wait for her answer before closing himself and his bag in the small, safe bathroom.

  ***

  Lo

  Lo exited the bathroom after her own long and luxurious shower. She crept softly through the dark room to her side of the bed and carefully laid down on top of the sheets. It was too warm for covers, or even pajamas for that matter, but after her earlier blunder with words, there was no way in hell she was going to not wear pajamas. She was thankful she'd brought a pair of terry shorts and an over-sized t-shirt
with her considering she'd left a lot back at the beach house.

  The fan above them created the perfect breeze to stir the warmth of the room and her exposed skin began to relax in the gentle touch of it. Brady's deep, rhythmic breathing and the sound of the nearby ocean began to lull her to sleep.

  For how the day had started, it hadn't turned out so bad. She turned her head to watch Brady sleep.

  She'd never met a man of his caliber. He was off-putting in his quiet constructs of how the world should work. He truly believed it was his responsibility to keep the people with him safe. It wasn't a show or facade. It was deep and needful. The more he cared for someone, the more demanding his care became.

  Her heart pounded on the inside, trying to get her attention.

  She chose to forgive him for his impulsive alarm tampering, he chose to forgive her for her overreaction. Everything about this partnership made her question what she thought she already knew about people. About men.

  Her muscles sank into the mattress, the fatigue from that day's adventures catching up with her. Taking a deep breath and then releasing it slowly, she slipped into peaceful unconsciousness.

  So deep and sudden was her sleep, she didn't feel Brady roll toward her and drape a heavy arm over her stomach and pull her close. She didn't feel him press his face into her neck, take a deep breath of her and hum contentedly.

  ***

  Brady

  Brady woke first.

  Which was damn lucky for him because he'd wrapped himself around Lo sometime in the night. The smell of her hair in his face, the feel of her warm body tucked mostly underneath him—at first he thought he was having a fantastically realistic dream.

  Nope.

  It was Lo in living color.

  He carefully extracted himself without waking her, and went straight for the bathroom where he looked very sternly at himself in the mirror.

  Next time he would sleep in the car.