Crazy For You

by Alexander, S. B.

  Georgia’s gaze darted to the ocean, then back to me as if she was trying to save me from a downward spiral. My BFF knew me so freaking well. It was time to let the cold water from the Atlantic jar me out of my Colton haze and kick-start my heart.

  I stood slowly, just in case the trembling in my legs got worse and made me collapse. Hell, I would probably fall just from the warm breeze blowing.

  Grady was saying something in Mia’s ear again, and given how she leaned back into him with the shyest of looks, I suspected it was both mushy and rated R.

  Yeah, I was not ready to watch the show Mia and Grady were about to put on. Once on my feet, I adjusted my bikini bottom so my ass cheeks weren’t hanging out.

  I was waiting for a jab or snark from Grady, but nothing came. Maybe he was changing.

  Georgia hopped up. “I’ll come with.”

  As we headed down to the shore, Georgia glanced behind her. “Colton is watching you or checking you out.”

  A slight shiver blanketed me, and I was afraid to look. “Is he still in soldier form?”

  “He’s sitting on the sand.”

  “I hope he’s okay,” I said as the waves broke over our feet. The cold water was a welcome relief to both my skin and my torn emotions.

  Georgia walked into the water until she was waist deep. “He will be. Grady talked to him in depth, according to Mia.”

  I followed her through the surf. “I hate to say this, but maybe Grady is good for Colton.”

  She dragged her fingers through the water and giggled. “I agree.” Then she dove under.

  Again, I followed suit. I needed a distraction. I needed to put out the inferno blazing through me. I swam out just as Georgia surfaced.

  “God, I needed that,” she said. “The tension was too much back there.”

  I needed more than an ocean of cold water, but I had to agree on both counts. We swam around before floating, letting our bodies go with the current and the ebb and flow of the waves. For the briefest of moments, I cleared my mind, staring up at the wispy clouds. After a minute, I sighed, feeling like my world wasn’t in a state of unrest, as if my heart wasn’t racing because of the guy who was a blend of confusion and chaos.

  Georgia tapped on my leg. “Colton is watching.”

  And just like that, I was back to the present. “So?”

  “Maybe you should rescue him. He needs to be rescued.”

  I giggled as I flipped over, ducked under, and resurfaced, combing my fingers through my hair. “He isn’t a stray dog.”

  She splashed water at me. “You know what I mean.”

  Grady and Mia were making out. “Ugh. How can he stomach those two?”

  “He’s got willpower. For sure.”

  “No shit. He told me that very thing last night.”

  She grinned. “Ooo. Tell me more. I’ve been dying to hear the play-by-play.”

  I treaded water. “Best damn moment ever. I’m not going to last one second around him, not after he held me in his arms.” I quivered at the memory, almost feeling like I was back in his arms.

  “He so likes you.”

  “He has a funny way of showing it.”

  Treading water with me, she said, “Look, Skye. Mia is right, in a way. Make the first move, but don’t throw yourself at him. Go sit next to him. Let the silence direct you. Let the space between you and him speak louder than words ever could. He needs a friend. He said you were the one that talked him down last night. Whatever you said, say it again.”

  I watched Colton pick at the sand. It was clear he wanted to be anywhere but where he was. “I told him he was a good person. That’s all. And he doesn’t want a friend. His words, not mine.”

  She playfully pushed me. “One, when do you listen? Two, since when do you give up? That’s not who you are. And three, he does need someone other than Grady. While Grady might be good for him, he’s probably telling him to find a random chick and get laid.”

  I mumbled a swear word at her last sentence, but she was right. I didn’t give up easily. I was a fighter. I had to be careful, though, of where the line ended as a fighter and began as a whiner or beggar. If Colton didn’t want anything to do with me, I had to come to terms with that.

  “The minute I go up to him, he’ll run,” I said. “He did that at the cemetery yesterday.”

  “Maybe. Maybe not. Just try again. I want to see you and Colton together. You deserve to be happy.”

  I flung myself at her, or at least tried to. The ocean had other plans for us, and a wave threw us in.

  We both laughed.

  “I appreciate the advice, Ms. Love Therapist. And I love you.”

  “I know,” Georgia said. “Let’s go. The tide is coming in.”

  The wind was picking up and the water was getting a bit choppy.

  Georgia swam ahead of me. I wasn’t in a rush. I needed as much time as possible to find the courage I’d had last night, the thing that had made me run out of my house in the middle of the night.

  Georgia was just getting out of the water as I dove under to gain some ground, and when I surfaced, I broke into the breaststroke. My parents had sent me to swim classes when I was a toddler, and Dad had taught me as well. Living around the ocean, he thought it was imperative to know how to swim, to know the good, bad, and ugly of what could happen in the ocean. He’d always said, “Swimmers are at the mercy of water that can be powerful and commanding. In a blink of an eye, anything can happen.”

  I thought about Colton’s brother as I swam, wondering about the details behind his drowning.

  I was getting closer to shore when the sea sucked me out, erasing the distance I’d made. I let myself go with it. No matter how strong you are, the ocean is so much stronger.

  I looked back, unprepared for the wave careening toward me. I would never make it to shore before it crested. So I dove under, giving in to mother ocean, a move I’d done many times. Before long, the force of the water would push me in. I swam as long as I could underwater then surfaced. When I did, I’d gotten nowhere. The current was too strong.

  Don’t panic. Then a wave took me under and tossed me around like a rag doll. I tried to resurface, breathing in, and I gulped down a mouthful of saltwater.

  I gagged and fumbled for air while the ocean kept pushing me around. I tried again to cough out the water, but the wave just pulled me under once again.

  Panic gripped me.

  Then a strong arm wrapped around my waist, and suddenly I was on the surface, gagging for air in Colton’s arms.

  He swam toward shore until he was able to stand. Then he set me on two feet. “Are you okay?” He flattened his big palms on my face, his voice in freak-out mode, which matched his expression.

  I coughed a few times, nodding. “I’m good.”

  He hugged me tightly, his body trembling. I swore I could feel his heart punching his ribs, or maybe that was mine.

  Either way, I said, “I’m okay, Colton.”

  He lightly dug his chin on my head as we stood in the surf, the water spreading out like tentacles, claiming the dry sand as the tide roared in. “I’m not.”

  “Well, we better get out before another wave decides to fling me around.” I giggled nervously, when all I wanted to do was stay in his arms.

  Softly, he tipped up my chin until I met his gaze. “Don’t do that again.” His tone cracked on the last word.

  I might if you rescue me, I wanted to say, but I didn’t. I knew the ocean had a way of screwing with his emotions. I knew he would never be the same around the sea. Then something hit me like a hard wind on a stormy day. He didn’t like the beach. He didn’t like the ocean. The way he’d been staring at it earlier suddenly made sense to me. I’d been stupid to think it was all about me, when in fact, he was probably thinking of his brother. He probably had PTSD.

  I grabbed his hand. “Let’s go.” He seemed to be the one who needed saving.

  He pressed his hand to the small of my back and molded his body to mine. “No
t yet.”

  I gripped his taut triceps as I sought out Georgia. She, Grady, and Mia were standing on the shore, watching us. I was sure Georgia was freaking out as much as Colton was.

  “You could’ve drowned,” he said with so much pain.

  I felt like a royal ass. “I know. I’m sorry.” The last thing I wanted to do was scare the crap out of him.

  He shivered as we stood in knee-deep water, and the longer he held me, the more an impressive bulge was growing and poking me in my stomach.

  He leaned down, his lips on my ear. “Feel what you do to me?” His fingers danced up my back until they were in my hair, then he searched my face. “You’re so fucking beautiful.”

  I didn’t have words, and if I did, they floated away when he lifted me, hooking one arm under my knees, and the other around my back.

  “I can walk.” My protest was weak at best.

  “Maybe, but I need to do something to get rid of my boner,” he said with a grin and a little pain.

  “Really, carrying me will take it away?” That didn’t make sense.

  Not much did with Colton, except how hard and fast I was falling. Or maybe I’d fallen on the first day of school. It didn’t matter. I was in his arms. He thought I was beautiful. And for that, life just got a hundred times better.

  20

  When we reached our friends, he set me down. I had to hold onto him for a minute to steady myself, and not because a wave had thrown me around like a volleyball in a tense match. My jitters were due to the brown-eyed guy who was looking at me as though I had saved him.

  “About fucking time, man,” Grady said to Colton. “I thought you wouldn’t go through with it.”

  Mia, Georgia, and I exchanged a perplexed look. Did Grady mean save me or something else? I didn’t want to ask, but Colton’s don’t-you-dare expression made me go with something else. Maybe he liked me but had been afraid to make the first move, although saving me wasn’t what I’d had in mind.

  Georgia and Mia snapped into action, asking me if I was okay.

  “I’m fine,” I told my friends.

  Mia narrowed her eyes. “Don’t scare us like that again.”

  I didn’t plan to. It was a freak accident, and if I hadn’t gulped down the saltwater, I might’ve been able to swim in.

  Georgia hugged me briefly. “Let’s not go swimming for a while. Now that you’re good, I have to run. Mom is taking me to dinner for our monthly mom-and-daughter time.”

  Normally, depression set in any time Georgia and her mom did the whole bonding thing. I often thought of my mom. If she’d been alive, we would have many similar nights. But with Colton near me, I couldn’t think straight, let alone drop into a deep depression.

  “What?” Mia squealed. “I thought we would grab a bite. You know, all five of us.”

  I couldn’t eat. My stomach was in a knot the size of Earth, a love knot or a lust knot or both. But if going out to eat meant sitting next to Colton, I was all for it. I wasn’t sure about hanging with Grady. He brought out the feisty side of me, and I didn’t want to ruin the high I was on.

  Grady cocooned Mia in his arms from behind, nuzzling her neck. “You’re my dinner, baby.”

  I refrained from rolling my eyes as Mia giggled.

  “We have the house all to ourselves. My dad is gone until tomorrow,” Grady said, looking at Colton as though he dared him to agree to dinner.

  Colton waved him off. “It’s time I head home and face the music.”

  I let out a quiet sigh. I didn’t want to watch Grady and Mia suck face all night. On the other hand, anxiety settled in my bones, hoping Colton didn’t take another beating from his dad. Maybe he didn’t have to go home just yet.

  “Want to have dinner at my house?” I asked Colton. “Afterwards, you can change the oil in my car like you promised.”

  He gave me the sweetest look. “Sounds like a plan.”

  A swarm of butterflies went wild in my stomach. I wanted to say really or seriously or something shockingly idiotic, but I kept my lips glued together, feeling like I’d just won the boyfriend lottery.

  Georgia’s eyes got bigger the longer she stood there. “Well, my work is done. Now I can enjoy my night with my mom.”

  Colton actually laughed, a sound that sent yummy shivers tiptoeing down my spine.

  Mia, Georgia, and I collected our things while Colton and Grady chatted about something I couldn’t hear. Grady was probably thanking him for getting the quiet message about not agreeing to dinner.

  I slipped on my shorts, checked to make sure I had my phone, and swung my bag onto my shoulder.

  I was ready to slip my sandals on when Colton grabbed my hand. “Wait for a minute.”

  Georgia and Mia waggled their brows as they said their goodbyes.

  Grady said to Colton, “Good luck, man. If you need anything, call.”

  Colton nodded at his friend. “I’ll be in to get my stuff in a few.” Then he flicked his thumb toward the ocean. “Want to take a walk?”

  I stuffed my sandals in my bag. “Sure.” I will go anywhere with you.

  We headed down the beach, silence following us except for the sound of the waves crashing along the shore and the seagulls cawing above. Yet the farther we walked, the more the silence ate at me. I stole a look at him, and he was chewing on the inside of his cheek as if trying to find something to say.

  Maybe he wanted to take back what he’d said about me being beautiful. Maybe he wanted to let me down easy.

  Shut up, Skyler. Stop psychoanalyzing everything.

  A giggle escaped my lips.

  Colton whipped his dreamy gaze at me. “What’s so funny?”

  To tell the truth or not? I went with the truth. “Did you mean what you said about me being beautiful?”

  His lips curved upward slightly on the edges. “You are the prettiest girl I’ve ever met.”

  I reared back. “Not Amanda Gelling?” For real, she was beautiful.

  “Not Amanda Gelling,” he parroted. “Skyler, beauty is the whole package, not just looks. Besides, I find short hair sexy as hell. My friends at the academy always ribbed me when I dated a girl with hair shorter than mine.”

  Warmth radiated throughout my body as desire pooled between my thighs. Colton did like me. He found me sexy. Best day ever.

  “I’m sorry you had to witness the fight with my old man last night.”

  It seemed so long ago. “No need for an apology. Families fight.” Although I’d never seen a parent flat out punch his kid like Mr. Caldwell had.

  Before my brain caught up with my actions, I grabbed Colton’s hand, praying he didn’t pull away or run like he had at the cemetery.

  One or five minutes passed, I didn’t know for sure, but when we reached a barrier of rocks, indicating the end of the line, Colton’s hand was still tethered to mine.

  He guided us up along the rocks toward the last house standing. It appeared empty with a “for rent” sign tacked to the deck.

  Before my thoughts could take a trip down memory lane, Colton stopped and gave me the most loving look.

  I swallowed one gasp, and then another when he grabbed my chin gently and tenderly, eyeing my mouth as though it was the most interesting thing he’d ever seen.

  Whoa! If he kissed me, I was sure to self-combust.

  The more he studied me, the more the air around us seemed to flare as though we were in our own little bubble. That blank mask he’d always worn was nonexistent. In its place were emotions galore, but one that stood out like a shining beacon on a dark night was lust.

  His big brown orbs darted back and forth, and the longer we stood alone at the end of where the sand met rock, where my heart was blasting off into outer space, and where my legs were becoming weaker by the second, the more this guy was stealing a part of my soul.

  I flattened my hands on his chest to stabilize myself in the event my knees gave out.

  When I did, he briefly closed his eyes and shivered. “I can’t do this a
nymore, Skyler.” His words were a whisper on the wind.

  I licked my dry lips. “Do what?”

  It was crystal clear we were attracted to each other, that he was straining against his resolve not to take me right there.

  He leaned down, snaked his arm around my waist, holding me like I was his lifeline, and pressed his forehead to mine. “I’m a fucking mess.”

  “We all are.” Because as humans, we were. Not all the time, but we each had struggles and problems and regrets.

  “Not like me,” he said.

  My chest rose as high as the swell of a large wave. Words were on the tip of my tongue, but I was afraid to say something stupid.

  He traced circles on my bare lower back. I’d left my tank top off like I usually did when leaving the beach. “I want to kiss you. I want to do things to you and with you that I’ve been dreaming about ever since I saw you at the Latte House.”

  A heady feeling coursed through me, giving me the courage to say, “Then what are you waiting for? Kiss me like you mean it. Lose that control you said you had.”

  He moved away, shoving both hands through his wet hair.

  My stomach clenched, my eyes wide, and my ego black and blue. Nausea was on the precipice of crawling up my throat. If these were the feelings I had to endure to like a guy, I wasn’t ready to take the plunge.

  He paced in short, violent strides, his bare feet pounding into the sand.

  I took one faltering step toward him, then another until my trembling hand latched onto his steely forearm.

  He flinched as though he’d made a mistake in telling me how he felt. As much as his actions were gutting me and injuring my heart and ego, he needed a friend.

  Then I remembered what Georgia had said: He said you were the one that talked him down last night. Whatever you said, say it again.