The Boyfriend Project

by Rachel Hawthorne

  “Works for me,” Avery said.

  We waited until the sun had set and the beach was completely vacated. I walked Pooh Bear while Avery led Duchess. The guys had stayed behind with the excuse of cleaning up after supper. Not that there was anything really to clean up. I figured they just knew that Avery and I wanted some time together.

  Wearing flip-flops, we walked along the water’s edge. The dogs trotted along beside us, stopping every now and then to sniff at something.

  “Guess you figured out that I invited you because you have way more patience with dogs than I do,” Avery said.

  “Hey, whatever gets me to the beach.”

  “Sorry about the two beds,” Avery said.

  “Not a problem. I’m pretty sure nothing was going to happen, anyway.” Especially since Jeremy didn’t seem to hesitate to take the twin beds.

  “Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah, I just—” Pooh Bear pulled on the leash. I let her lead us over to the dunes. We stood there while the dogs explored.

  “You just?” Avery prodded.

  “I want something a little different from what I have.” There. I’d spilled it, had actually said it out loud and it kind of scared me that the words were now being carried on the breeze. I looked back to make sure that Jeremy wasn’t behind me, that he hadn’t heard me.

  “Are you thinking of breaking up with Jeremy?” Avery asked. “You seem so perfect together.”

  “No, not thinking of breaking up. I adore him. But he’s so cautious. We’re so cautious. You and Fletcher can’t seem to keep your hands off each other. Jeremy and I never embrace the passion. It’s like we’re afraid, worried about consequences.”

  “That’s good, though. You don’t want to make rash decisions.”

  How could I explain what was missing? “I want more romance. Running instead of walking into each other’s arms. Doing something spur-of-the-moment before I’ve had time to analyze it, to put it on a schedule.”

  She touched my arm. “I hurt your feelings about the schedule.”

  “No. Maybe a little. But that has nothing to do with Jeremy and me. I’m more upset that he was totally okay with two beds. I thought this weekend would be a chance for us to go a little further than we have.”

  “We’ll take the two beds.”

  “No, it’s not even that anymore. It’s just what it signified. He’s too nice.”

  She gave me an indulgent smile. “Kendall, that’s not really something to complain about.”

  “I know. It’s totally messed up. I’m hoping that being part of the gun show will cause him to break out of this shell of politeness, will unleash this tough competitiveness that will make him strut his stuff more.”

  “His stuff?”

  “There’s a new guy at the shelter. Chase. Jade was all over him. And she said that Jeremy wasn’t hot. It bothers me that she doesn’t realize what a catch Jeremy is.”

  “I don’t think you should worry about what Jade thinks.”

  “I know, but it’s more than that. It’s like at the B. S. when he and Fletcher were standing in line to place our order—girls talked to Fletcher. They don’t talk to Jeremy.”

  She groaned. “Fletcher knows so many girls. He’s hung out with so many girls.”

  “Jeremy just hung out with us,” I said, even though I didn’t think it mattered how many girls either of them hung out with. Hands down, Fletcher was a chick magnet.

  “Which is good, right? It’s nice that he isn’t a player.”

  “It is, but I guess I wouldn’t mind if people thought he was a player.”

  “You want people to be jealous of what you have?” she asked.

  “Sorta. Is that wrong of me? I just think we could be a little more exciting.”

  “I think you need to be careful what you wish for.”

  “That sounds like something my mom would say.”

  “Probably because it’s true.”

  Chapter 12

  JEREMY

  Standing on the balcony, resting my forearms on the railing, I watched as Kendall walked along the shoreline with Avery. She’d pulled her red hair back so it wouldn’t get tangled in the breeze. The thing was that I loved it loose, loved the way it flowed around her. I’d even be willing to comb out the tangles.

  “They’re not going to get here any faster if you watch them,” Fletcher said.

  I glanced back at him. He was sitting on a chair, sipping a root beer. The guy seemed to be addicted to the beverage. Not a bad addiction to have, I guess.

  “Maybe we should go down and meet them,” I suggested.

  “Sure.” He set the bottle aside and stood. “Let’s go.”

  We stomped down the wooden stairs. It was so peaceful here. Just the roar of the ocean. The breeze keeping the mosquitoes away. The scent of salt and brine.

  “You didn’t have any trouble getting time off from the auto shop?” I asked.

  “Nah. I didn’t really have any time off accumulated so I’ll put in extra hours the next couple of weeks. You?”

  “I had to quit my job.”

  He stopped walking and stared at me. “For a day off?”

  “Partly. There were other factors. Mostly my dad being a jerk.” I shoved my hands into my shorts pockets. “But don’t say anything to Kendall. She’s been looking forward to this weekend so much that I didn’t want to ruin it for her.” Although I may have done that, anyway, when I suggested we take the room with the two beds. She had a lousy poker face.

  “Had to be hard working for your old man,” Fletcher said.

  “His expectations weren’t mine. I got tired of it.” I wasn’t going to tell him that my dad wouldn’t even call my girlfriend by her name. “Don’t suppose they’re hiring at Smiley’s.” It was the auto shop in town where Fletcher worked.

  “You know anything about cars?”

  It made me feel unmanly to admit it, but I couldn’t lie. “I know where the gas goes.”

  Fletcher laughed.

  “I’m serious. My dad is not one to get his hands greasy. We’ve never had bonding moments of looking under the hood of a car. Tire goes flat, we call Triple-A.”

  “That’ll make it a little tough to convince Smiley to take you on.”

  “Appreciate the honest assessment. I just want to find something fast so my dad can’t hold it over me that I’m not working.”

  “Can you hammer a nail? I heard Tommy Simms’s dad is hiring.”

  “Oh, yeah? I know Tommy. Maybe I’ll talk to him.”

  “Couldn’t hurt,” Fletcher said, and he started walking again.

  I was liking the idea. Working construction could be a good thing on a couple of levels. Hauling lumber around would help beef me up.

  I fell into step beside Fletcher. “So what do you really think about this gun show thing?”

  “As long as Avery doesn’t mind, I’m okay showing off some muscle. And it’s for a great cause. Although, since I like you, I’ll go ahead and tell you that there is no way you’re going to win,” Fletcher said.

  I knew the guy was doing his usual overconfident, swaggering, I-am-totally-cool thing, but still it stung that he didn’t see me as any competition at all. With Kendall’s comments lately, now I was wondering if there was more to this contest than raising money for the shelter. Was she dissatisfied with me?

  I shook off the thought. I wasn’t going to start reading things into this contest. But my pride had me saying, “You might be surprised.”

  “Smiley’s is going to sponsor me.”

  “Sponsor you?”

  “Yeah. Smiley overheard me telling one of the other mechanics—Eric—about it. Eric’s a buff guy. I thought he might be interested. Smiley said he’ll sponsor us. Two hundred and fifty bucks each, so that’s what I’m starting with.”

  “Maybe I’ll get a sponsor, too.” Although I wasn’t sure who I’d ask. My dad wasn’t going to support something that had his son flexing muscles. My mom, maybe. She was always maki
ng donations to charities. I didn’t have to give her the details.

  “I really think that’s the only way they’re going to make this work,” Fletcher said. “Otherwise, it’s just egotistical guys showing off.”

  I wasn’t sure how much I was going to be showing off. Fletcher had height, muscle, and age on his side. The guy looked tough, like he’d be the last one standing on one of those survivor reality shows. Me, I’d find a cave somewhere and figure out how to access the internet so I could order pizza.

  We caught up with Kendall and Avery as they were walking up the path.

  “We were just heading back,” Avery said.

  “It’s getting dark,” Fletcher said, moving in and slipping his arm around her.

  “It’s not there yet,” she said. “Besides I brought a flashlight.”

  I took Kendall’s hand. “I bet you did, too.”

  “Of course.”

  I leaned low. “Why don’t you give Fletcher the leash to your dog? We’ll go for a walk.”

  “Okay.” She turned to Fletcher and extended the leash. “Do you mind? Jeremy and I are going to take a stroll.”

  Without hesitating, he took Duchess.

  “We’ll keep the lights on,” Avery said.

  “We probably won’t be long,” Kendall said.

  We trudged along the path until we reached the open beach. A half-moon was coming up.

  “It’s so peaceful out here,” she said.

  “I like it.”

  “Why the walk?” she asked.

  “I wanted to be alone with you.”

  “You’ll be alone with me all night.”

  “Yeah, but I’ll be asleep.”

  “This will be the first time that we sleep together,” she said, slipping beneath my arm, placing her hand on my chest.

  “I know you’re disappointed about the two beds, but it didn’t seem right for us to take the queen when we wouldn’t even be here if Avery hadn’t invited us.”

  “I know. You made the right call. Totally.”

  I put my arm around her, drew her in, always amazed that even when we were this close together we could walk without tripping over each other’s feet.

  “I have to admit I’m a little nervous,” she said.

  “Why? We already decided that nothing was going to happen other than sleep.”

  “I know.” She bounced her head against my shoulder. “But you might see me with my mouth open or drooling or maybe I snore.”

  I grinned. “I bet even your drool is cute.”

  “Yuck! No.” Easing away from me, she walked to the water’s edge. “I sleep with a mouth guard but I didn’t bring it because it is so not sexy.”

  “So do I.”

  She spun around. “Really?”

  “Yeah, I clench my teeth when I sleep. I think most people do.”

  “Did you bring it?” she asked.

  “No. That whole not-sexy thing.”

  She laughed lightly. “We’ve been dating for months and I didn’t know about the mouth guard. What else don’t I know?”

  I looked out over the ocean. Even as the darkness was moving in, I could see the whitecaps rolling into shore. “I snore when I’m on my back so if I snore, just nudge me onto my side.”

  She stepped up to me, put her hands on my waist, and tipped her head back. “We sound like a couple of old people discussing our mouth guards and snoring.”

  Stepping back, she reached down and grabbed the hem of her shirt and dragged it over her head. My heart kicked against my ribs. We’d definitely left boring behind. “What are you doing?” I asked.

  She shimmied out of her shorts. “Going for a dip in the ocean.”

  “Skinny-dipping?”

  Her grin flashed in the moonlight. “More like underwear-dipping. Who knows who can see us out here? Come on!”

  Then she was running through the waves, splashing as she went. I pulled my T-shirt over my head, shucked my shorts, and kicked off my flip-flops.

  And went after her.

  Chapter 13

  KENDALL

  Jeremy and I had gotten so boring. I wanted some excitement. I wanted us to grow, experiment, live life. We’d gotten predictable. And no one would predict this.

  Swimming in the ocean at night in my underwear had never been on my bucket list, because it wasn’t something I’d ever even considered doing. Which was why I’d decided to do it. It was daring, bold, so not me. It was also a little scary. But it was thrilling to step out of my comfort zone and so far survive.

  I hadn’t been sure if Jeremy would follow me in, but there he was lifting me into his arms. I wound my legs around his waist as the waves buffeted against us.

  “You’re crazy,” he said. “There could be sharks out here.”

  “What are the odds?” Before he could recite them—because he probably knew, geek that he was—I wound my arms more tightly around his neck and plastered my mouth to his.

  We’d gone swimming in a pool together. I knew what his chest felt like when it was slick with water, but this was somehow different, seemed a little more forbidden. We were in a public area. That no people were around at that moment was beside the point. We hadn’t come out here to go swimming, and yet here we were waist deep in the water swirling around us.

  Breaking off the kiss, I laughed and reached my arms toward the sky. “Why does this seem so much more fun than swimming during the day?”

  “Maybe because you’re not in a bathing suit,” he said, and pressed a kiss to my chest.

  “Almost. If my underwear had polka dots, no one would know.”

  “You’d never wear anything with polka dots.”

  “True.” I looked out over the ocean. A short distance away, there were no waves. Moonlight glinted off the still water.

  “Want to go farther out?” he asked.

  I shook my head, suddenly not all that comfortable with what we were doing and where we were. If we got caught in an undercurrent, who would rescue us? This wasn’t one of the activities I’d planned for the weekend. I’d had enough change and boldness for now. “It seems kind of ominous. Does it make me a chicken not to want to stay out here any longer?”

  His hands drifted away and I clutched him tighter. “Carry me out. I think I stepped on a crab earlier.”

  He put his arms around me. “There was a crab? Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “He’s probably gone.”

  “Probably.” He started walking, hopped to the side. “I think he was there.”

  “Then don’t drop me.”

  “This was your idea. You should be carrying me.” He lengthened his stride.

  I kissed his neck, his ear, his temple. “My hero.”

  When the water was swirling around his ankles, I told him he could put me down. I sat in the wet sand and let the water wash over my legs. He dropped down beside me.

  “I’m a little disappointed,” I told him. “I got scared too quick.”

  “You got smart. You can’t see what’s in the water. But you can say you swam in the surf at night. It’ll be our secret that you only did it for two minutes.”

  “I didn’t hear you try to convince me to stay.”

  “Where you go, I go.”

  I saw a shadow slicing through the water. “Is that a fin?”

  “Probably a dolphin.”

  “What if it’s a shark?”

  “We’re safe on land.” He stood up, reached down, and offered me his hand. I slipped mine into it, welcomed the strength as he pulled me to my feet.

  I pressed my hands to his chest. “You know, you really are in good shape. The shirts you wear, they hide it. You should buy your T-shirts a size smaller.”

  He traced his finger along my bra strap. “I can do that.”

  I shivered, but not from his touch. Even though it was warm out, the breeze was starting to feel cool.

  “Here.” Jeremy got up, snatched up his T-shirt, and shook it out. Then he handed it to me. “It’ll be warmer than yo
ur top.”

  He was right. I slipped it on. Then I dragged on my shorts and slipped into my flip-flops. He’d put on his shorts.

  Holding hands, we began walking toward the beach house; I wished that I hadn’t chickened out so quickly. So much for being wild and passionate. We climbed up the stairs and went inside.

  Avery and Fletcher were sitting on the couch, watching a movie about a giant python.

  “Is your hair wet?” Avery asked.

  “Yeah, we went swimming. I’m going to grab a quick shower.”

  I went to our bedroom and dug around in my bag until I found panties, jersey shorts, and a tank. Then I headed into the bathroom.

  Fifteen minutes later, I was sitting on the loveseat waiting for Jeremy to finish his shower. When he joined me, he smelled so good. I snuggled against him; his arm came around me. Only one lamp was on, and even with a ginormous snake devouring people, with the roar of the ocean echoing around us, it was really romantic. I wished we had the entire place to ourselves.

  On the other hand, we did have a bedroom to ourselves.

  I gave an exaggerated yawn. “Can’t believe how tired I am. Just something about being on the beach wears me out.”

  Avery gave me a look that said, Really? Then she said, “What about Monopoly?”

  She would bring that up, even though she’d shown no interest earlier. “I’m too wiped out for that.”

  “Okay, then. Just make yourself at home and go to bed whenever.”

  “Think I will.” I stood up. Jeremy stayed where he was. I glared at him.

  “Oh,” he said in surprise. “Yeah, I’m really tuckered out after that swim.” He got up.

  I took his hand. “Night, guys,” I said to Avery and Fletcher. “See you in the morning.”

  “Sleep as late you want,” Avery said. “We’ve got nothing to do all day.”

  I gave her a pointed look. “Take out the dogs, feed them.”

  “Oh, right, yeah. Guess this isn’t a complete vacation.”

  While I knew it was her responsibility, I wouldn’t be here if she hadn’t invited us. “I’ll take care of it. What time do they usually go out? Do you know?”