“Dude,” Coop sighs. “Should we even be here? Shouldn’t we be in some fallout shelter or something? Heavy locked metal doors, eating canned goods for the next year?”
“This isn’t a zombie apocalypse,” I remind him. “And there’s no way in hell I was going to let Eva drive herself home. We need to find those letters, and then we need to burn them and pretend they never existed.”
“Where do you think they are?” Coop asks.
“No fucking idea,” I grumble. “My house? Guess I need to start looking?”
“Your dad,” Beck chimes in. “He’s really after that money?”
“That’s what he told Eva. Oh, and that Owen Edwards is dead.”
They both freeze and then jog to catch up to me.
“Move faster, bitches!” Coop exclaims, running past me. “I’m not letting your dad catch us out here! By the way,” he calls out behind him. “Eva was looking smoking hot tonight.”
“Seriously, Coop?” I shake my head at him.
He turns to me as he walks backwards. “I know she’s yours, bro. But damn, Bodhi. Is she even real? She’s like a mythical goddess. I can only imagine what goes on when you two—”
“Are you wanting me to kick your ass tonight?” I interrupt him.
Coop smirks. “I’m sure you two break sound barriers—”
“Jesus Christ!” I throw my hands up at him.
“There’s no denying she’s the hottest girl in Flagler,” he continues. “Maybe the world. How do you not rip her clothes—”
“Coop!” I exclaim. “Dude, enough.”
He smirks again. “Beck, you gotta agree with me on this one.”
“Actually, I’m enjoying watching you make an ass out of yourself,” he responds.
Coop stops walking and raises his eyebrow at Beck.
Beck sighs, “She’s pretty fucking hot, Bodhi.”
I punch his arm.
“In this … I would never look at her in any type of way besides being one of my best friends’ girlfriends,” he quickly adds.
“Nice save,” I reply.
“Seriously though, bro,” Coop laughs. “Please tell me you don’t just sit there like a preteen virgin when she’s looking so goddamn hot—”
“Coop!” Beck and I both shout, shoving him to the ground.
Calvin is waiting up for us when we finally knock on the patio door a few minutes later. He told me he would be. He greets us and hands me a key on a flamingo keychain.
“This way I don’t have to stay up if this happens again.”
“Thanks.”
“Didn’t know the whole crew was coming,” he nods to Coop and Beck.
“Is that okay?”
“Of course,” he grins, patting me hard on the back. “I gotta ask before I go to bed, everything okay?”
“Yep. Just didn’t want Eva driving home in the dark from my house. With everything going on and all … we didn’t think it through, I guess.”
I can’t tell if he believes me or not. “Alright then. Night boys,” he says, and walks out of the kitchen.
The guys crash in my room with me. They roll out their sleeping bags on the hard floor, and don’t think twice about how weird this is that at seventeen, they’re sleeping in sleeping bags at the foot of my bed in my grandpa’s house who a week ago, I didn’t even know existed. I throw them some extra pillows as I’m suddenly overcome with emotions for my two best friends, no matter how often they piss me off.
“You guys?” I say, turning the light off on the nightstand.
“Yeah?” they both question.
“The last three years … the last year … the last couple weeks. Thank you. For everything.”
chapter thirty-four
Bodhi
M y phone alarm wakes us up at six. Coop and I have surf lessons at eight, but first we have to drop Beck off at Dolly’s, and go back to my house for our boards. I text Eva that I’d be stopping by in a few minutes, then the guys and I head out through the patio door. We thought we were quiet enough that we wouldn’t wake Calvin, but he’s already sitting there, drinking coffee with a plate of blueberry muffins and three filled disposable coffee cups in front of him. The fact he woke up early and made us muffins, sends numerous different feelings throughout my exhausted body.
“Morning,” he greets us. “Grab one before you head out.”
“Don’t mind if I do,” Coop announces. “Thanks for letting us crash here.”
“Not a problem at all,” Calvin says. “Can I talk to you for a minute, Bodhi?”
I shoot the guys a look and they both grab their coffees. “We’ll be in the car,” Beck says.
Calvin waits until they disappear down the dock before asking, “She saw him last night, didn’t she? Eva? She saw Luke?”
“Yeah,” I answer. “She did.”
He sighs. “Is she okay? Did he do anything to her?”
I search his worried face. His brow is wrinkled and he looks distraught. “She’s okay.”
“Why’d you feel like you couldn’t tell me what happened?”
I stare into his worried eyes. “Because I don’t want him using you, the way he hopes to use Eva.”
Calvin’s mouth forms a small frown. “Phoebe Rialson,” he says slowly. “Does that name mean anything to you?”
I nod my head. “Maybe? It means something to you, doesn’t it?”
“It does, Bodhi,” he answers. “I’m trying to figure this all out, I really am. I think I might be in shock, but I’m going to figure it out. Rialson,” he repeats. “Don’t forget, I lived here for a very long time. I was here, in Flagler, for a very long time. I was here in the early seventies. I knew Kenneth Rialson, Bodhi, I knew him very well. I also knew Annie Edwards. These names mean something to you too?”
“They do,” I confirm.
Calvin looks down at his coffee. “There’s a lot about that story, that no one knows.”
“But you do?”
“It’s not my story to tell, Bodhi.”
“Even if they were my grandparents?” I question him.
“Especially if they were your grandparents.”
It doesn’t surprise me that Calvin knew them. Maybe a little. Just a little.
“I’m going to call the police today,” he continues. “About Luke.”
“For what?” I ask. “He hasn’t done anything illegal. Or hasn’t been caught doing anything illegal I should say.”
“Yet,” Calvin stresses.
“If you get the police involved, it might make this worse.”
He sighs. “Can you do me a favor? Can you stay here until this blows over? I know there’s not much parental supervision in your life right now. I don’t care if your friends stay every night. I like them. Hell, I don’t care if Eva does too. I won’t question anything. Just stay here until this gets sorted out, okay?”
“I can do that.”
Calvin looks relieved and then points to the coffee and muffins. “Better get going.”
I grab a coffee and turn away from him, but quickly spin back around. “Hey, Calvin?”
“Yes, son?”
I need him to hear this from me. I need him to know how much I appreciate him, even if I’ve only known him this short amount of time.
“My dad, he doesn’t deserve to have you as his father, but I’m thankful you’re his father. I’m thankful there was a reason for us to meet. I’m thankful you’re in my life.”
Calvin’s face turns pink, and I see his eyes gloss over. I can’t stand here and watch him cry. I spin back around quickly without giving him the chance to respond.
I walk slowly along the dock to Eva’s backyard, trying to calm my emotions down. She’ll know there’s something bothering me, and I don’t want her to worry. I stand on her patio for a few moments, staring up at her balcony. How the hell does she climb this goddamn thing? I see the one and only option, place my coffee on the table, and go for it. It’s a lot harder than it looks, but eventually I’m standing on
her balcony and pushing the doors open.
Eva’s in her bed, sleeping, her covers pulled up over her entire body, but her hair is fanning out behind her like a glorious blanket. I walk over and lie down next to her, placing my arm under the blankets and then over her stomach. She jumps a little, rolls over, and snuggles her face right up against my chest.
“Morning,” I whisper in her ear.
“Morning,” she drowsily whispers back, her eyes still closed as she dozes in and out of sleep.
I notice right away she doesn’t have any pajama bottoms on. Just a short silk nightgown that bunches up on her chest. I can literally see right down the front of it and it’s killing me. She wiggles herself closer to my body and my hand goes to rest on her thigh. I know I need to get out of here before I make the guys and I late, but she’s so warm and beautiful, it’s hard for me to even think about moving. Her eyes flutter open and she lies there, staring at me. I lean in and kiss her lips.
“You going to meet us at the beach with your brothers? Around noon?”
She nods her head. “I did something,” she says, smiling.
“Oh, yeah?”
“I asked Luna to join us.”
I raise my eyebrow at her. “Did she say yes?”
“Yes. Going to pick her up before we meet you.”
“Coop is going to die,” I chuckle.
“I know.” She slips her hand under my shirt and starts tracing my stomach with her fingernails. I groan a little and close my eyes.
“I’m going to stay at Calvin’s, until my dad leaves Flagler,” I tell her.
“You are?” Her fingers are all the way down my stomach now. Teasing me as she slips them in and out of the top of my shorts. “I like that. A lot.”
I lean in and kiss her warm lips. She pulls at my shoulders and slips underneath of me so that I’m hovering over her now. Damn surf lessons. Damn Coop and Beck. Her hands are back on my shorts. I can sense her smile when she realizes what this is doing to my body.
“Eva,” I sigh through her kisses. My hand is now dangerously wandering up her thigh as she brings both her legs up to my sides. “Your family is down the hall sleeping,” I remind her, although I know I don’t sound as concerned as I’m trying to come across.
“Don’t worry about them. I already locked my bedroom door.”
I gaze down at her with amusement. “You were planning on seducing me this morning?”
“Maybe,” she smirks, her eyes growing wild. I’ve seen this look on her face before. She reaches down underneath of me and pulls off her own panties, throwing them from the bed. “You’re wasting time.”
Jesus Christ. “Did you seriously just do that?” I mutter under my breath.
“I did,” she replies. She tugs on my shorts. I find the only thing I can do is watch her in disbelief as she looks up at my stunned face. “Are you just going to stare at me?” she questions, clearly annoyed with the fact I can’t move. “Or are you actually going to do something?”
I lower my lips to hers, pushing her nightgown up to her stomach. “Eva,” I whisper into her ear. “Your appetite for sex is fascinating, but absolutely frightening at the same time if I’m being honest.”
She moans, pushing my shorts down as I bring my lips to her neck. “No need to be scared,” she murmurs. “It’s just me.”
“Has it always been like this?” I ask her, kicking my shorts off. “Sex? Have you always—”
“No,” she breathes into my mouth. “Never. Not until you.”
Hearing this might be the sexiest fucking thing I’ve ever heard in my entire life. “I brought this side out in you?”
She brings her eyes to mine. “Yes. You woke it up, and I want you all the time, Bodhi.”
“All the time?” I grin, bringing my kisses to her chest. “I love hearing that, babe.”
“Yes. All the time,” she repeats. “Now no more talking," she demands. “Or I’ll have to take matters into my own—”
“You will not!” I exclaim, crashing my lips back onto hers.
We have to be quick, which is hard because I want to savor every single moment having sex with Eva. We have to be quiet too, which is also hard because sex with Eva feels like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. But the hardest thing about a super-fast love making session with Eva, is that I can’t stay there after we’re done, holding her in my arms, which is exactly what I want to do. I know the dings coming from my phone are texts from the guys wondering where the hell I am, and if I don’t get out of here right now, they’ll come find me. As I throw my shorts back on and look down at Eva lying there watching me, her face filled with color that wasn’t there ten minutes ago, I can’t help but shake my head and grin.
I bend down and kiss the spot right between her eyebrows as she smiles. “That was incredible,” I whisper to her. “You are incredible. I don’t think there are any other words I can say at the moment.”
She laughs. “See you at noon?”
“Yes. Definitely yes,” I say. I walk over to her balcony doors and pull them back open.
“Oh, Bodhi?” she calls out.
“Yeah?”
“Porter texted me last night.”
My stomach drops. I don’t know why, but it does. I try to stay calm. “Oh yeah? What did he want?”
She looks nervous. “Something happened last night once he got home. He wouldn’t tell me what, just that he chose his side.”
“And?” I ask.
“And it’s ours. He’s on our side.”
chapter thirty-five
Eva
I ’ve never been to Luna’s house before. I’ve only ever hung out with her at Hidden Treasure. I secretly hope this is the start of the type of girlfriend relationship where our future children grow up as cousins and we take family vacations together. I need a best friend. One who’s not also my boyfriend. I need a girlfriend, desperately.
As I pull up to her house in my Volvo, my brothers sitting in their car seats in the back, I realize she lives only a couple streets away from Bodhi. Her house isn’t massive, and it’s not directly across from the ocean, but it also isn’t the small beach shack I envisioned it would be. There are a lot of kid bikes in the front yard and there’s a rainbow flag hanging from the garage, but other than that, I would never guess my hippy friend Luna and her pot smoking parents and five younger siblings live here.
She comes barreling out of her house before I even put my Volvo in park. She opens the passenger door and throws herself into it. “Move it, Eva. Unless you want my parents and five annoying siblings to come outside and spend two or three hours showing you naked baby photos of me.”
I laugh and reverse us down her driveway. “Luna, this is Miles and Rowan. Miles is in the blue, Rowan is in the red. They’re four, almost five.”
She looks behind her. “Man, you guys are identical. I have a sister your age, her name is Poppy. I’ll bring her next time, okay?”
The boys nod their heads.
“You look like Moana,” Miles says to her.
She snorts. “I’ve heard that before. Don’t ask me to sing though.”
We park over by Funky Pelican because Bodhi insists the waves are always better by the pier. I see him and Coop lying in the sand with two surfboards and two smaller ones next to them.
“Bodhi!” Rowan yells over the railing. I have to hold him back from jumping over it.
This gets Bodhi’s attention, and he looks up to see us heading his way. He stands and starts walking towards us with Coop following behind him like a lost puppy. Bodhi pulls my waist into his as soon as I’m close enough.
“Babe,” he whispers into my ear. “I can’t stop thinking about this morning … and Coop is extremely nervous.”
I give his side a little squeeze and laugh. “Luna, you remember Coop?”
“I do,” she responds. “Nice to see you again. You too, Bodhi.” She then strips out of her shorts and yanks her tank top off, revealing a black bikini underneath and a heart tattoo o
n her hip.
Coop makes some gurgling noises in the back of his throat, and Bodhi nudges him in the ribs.
“Ready to surf?” Bodhi asks my brothers. They both start jumping up and down.
“Let’s get these life vests buckled first,” I say to them.
“Eva,” Miles groans. “We aren’t babies.”
I secure the straps and double check they’re both on correctly before responding. “Mom said to make you wear them.” I then turn to Bodhi and Coop. “They both can swim better than me, they’ve had private lessons since they were two, but my mom doesn’t trust the ocean. Don’t let them drown.”
“No drowning on my watch,” Bodhi declares. He gives me a quick kiss and grabs his board. “Grab a board guys! Let’s go, Coop.”
I watch as they head down to the water and disappear into the waves. I then lay my beach towel down next to Luna, throwing my dress in the sand as I pull it off.
“Coop?” she questions me, her face looking a bit confused. “Is he a little weird?”
I laugh. “Uh, no. He has a massive crush on you and loses the ability to speak whenever you’re around. Trust me, what you are seeing, is not the normal Coop.”
She throws her head back and laughs. “That is adorable. Do you think he’d take me out?”
“Like on a date?” I exclaim, shocked that she’d even consider it. I thought I’d have to work some magic to get her to agree to go out with Coop.
“Sure. Why not?”
“He might drop dead if you ask him that, but he’s not going to be able to ask you. He doesn’t even remember his own name when you’re around.”
She smirks and says, “We’ll see. Alright, girl. How’s things with Bodhi?”
“Amazing.”
“And the sex?” she boldly asks. “You can’t tell me you two haven’t had sex yet. He undresses you with his eyes every chance he gets.”
“Oh, we for sure have, and it’s amazing too. A whole different experience.”
She grins. “You want it like all the time, don’t you?”
“Maybe? Maybe he snuck in through my balcony this morning and I couldn’t stop myself even though my family was sleeping right down the hall?”
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