Now that she’d picked up on some weird vibes from him, she’d kept an eye on him. She’d caught him looking at her more often than not. At first she thought it was because she had something wrong or a wardrobe malfunction.
But his looks weren’t malicious. They were, dare she say it, bordering on sweet? As the night progressed and people got drunker, stumbling over their words and feet, she paced herself, wanting instead to see what happened. She had gotten drunk the night before, so she wasn’t exactly feeling up to another night of sloppiness and questionable decisions.
Scott seemed to be of the same mind as her, nursing a beer for several hours. Eventually, she gave up on watching him from the corner of her eye and started to outright stare at him. Most everyone was on the back deck as the sun went down, painting the sky beautiful shades of red, orange, and pink.
There was dim light coming from inside and from the low lighting along the floorboards, but it wasn’t much to go on. So much of the deck was bathed in shadow, making it hard to distinguish people from one another until they spoke.
But she could pick Scott out with little issue. Not only was he wearing a white shirt, but she seemed to be tuned into him. He was leaning against the railing like earlier, commenting every so often on whatever conversation was going on around him.
She saw several of the women approach him, twirling their hair around their fingers and she was sure batting their eyelashes. But Scott didn’t react to any of them. He either remained silent or briefly responded, never quite giving in to their advances.
Each time a woman walked away without getting something from him, Bethany felt a small triumph. It was crazy how much her initial opinion of Scott had changed from yesterday’s introduction debacle.
He was definitely an ass, as evidenced by his no-holds barred approach to people in general. But there was something else about him that she’d been able to glimpse that morning and afternoon.
Her mind flashed back to when she asked him whether he had a girlfriend. Her heart had been pounding wildly, and she’d held her breath as she waited to see if he would answer or just walk off. To her surprise, he had answered. And then drained his beer. His short answer and that action told her more than anything else he could have said.
It would seem that like her, he might have been unlucky in love. However, unlike her, he seemed to have no shortage of women throwing themselves at him while she was the wallflower, never quite working up the nerve to go after someone she liked. And she was finally admitting that while that first impression hadn’t been great, she definitely liked Scott.
She didn’t yet know if it was in a jump-his-bones kind of way or if it was a lasting-relationship type of way. Either one was fine with her so long as Scott was a part of it.
She finished the last of her wine cooler and realized she needed to go to the bathroom. She carefully walked across the deck, pausing just inside for her eyes to adjust. She scanned the wall and found the switch for the lights outside and flipped it on, illuminating the deck a little more.
She then walked to the kitchen, tossed her bottle into recycling, and went into her bedroom. She quickly went into the bathroom and did her business. Once finished, she walked to the bay window overlooking the beach in it, looking at the darkened water.
The moon was already bright, bright enough for her to make out the shape of a few people down on the beach walking together. She could just make out the sound of the waves crashing on the sand and longed to be on the beach again. But she knew that wasn’t the best idea when she was alone and had consumed a few drinks. She wasn’t drunk by any means, but she didn’t want to risk anything.
She sighed and turned, drawing up short when she caught sight of Scott in the doorway, leaning against the jamb with his arms crossed.
She blinked rapidly, making sure she wasn’t imagining him standing there. She slowly licked her lips as she tried to think of what to say, but her mouth was dry and she couldn’t form the words.
Goosebumps rose along her skin as Scott’s eyes slowly worked down her body and back up. She cleared her throat. “Hey.”
Her voice came out husky and she didn’t know who she was when she heard it. She’d never sounded like that before.
“Hey,” he said, straightening.
She held her breath as he stepped into the room and shut the door behind him. The sound of the lock clicking reverberated throughout the room. He walked closer to her, stopping when their chests were almost touching.
Her breathing sped up as she waited to see what would happen. Silence stretched between them. She slowly reached out and touched his cheek, making him shudder before turning it more fully into her hand.
That touch seemed to be all the urging he needed to spring into action. He brought his hands up and threaded them through her hair, tilting her face up so that their eyes met. She loosely wrapped her hands around his forearms, watching and waiting.
He lowered his head and her eyes drooped closed in anticipation of the kiss to come. Except he didn’t kiss her. He pressed his forehead against hers and breathed deeply before saying, “You are so beautiful.”
Bethany sucked in a shaky breath. The longing in his voice was obvious, but so was the emotion behind it. He closed that last bit of distance between them and pressed his lips against hers. They both sighed, and she relaxed against him, moving her arms so she could wrap them around his waist.
Desire coursed through her body as he pressed his tongue against her lips before slipping it inside to duel with her own. The moment was a surreal, and she felt like she was having an out-of-body experience as they continued to kiss. She could feel the evidence of his arousal on her hip and she realized she needed to ask him a very important question before they went past the point of no return.
Regretfully, she ripped her lips away from his, panting as she tried to catch her breath. Her lips were sore from the force behind the kiss and she was sorry to pull away. But she couldn’t go forward without some kind of reassurance of what he was wanting here.
“What are you doing? What are we doing?”
Scott swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing, before answering. “I don’t know. I’m just…so attracted to you. I couldn’t go another minute without knowing what it was like to kiss you. To taste you. To feel you.”
Her heart skipped a beat at his words. She’d never had someone tell her something like that before. Whatever bit of resistance she had about what was about to happen between them disappeared. Even if it was just for tonight, she wanted to know what it felt to just let go for a night.
She tilted her head up and their lips fused together again. Where the first kiss was a little slower, yet still passionate, this one was no holds barred. He moved his hands roughly from her hair and to her sides, brushing her breasts on their way down.
She pushed herself closer to him, standing on her tiptoes to move closer while running her fingers into his hair, tugging slightly. He groaned into her mouth and thrust his hips against her.
She was reaching the impatient point when a knock sounded on the door; the sound seemed to echo throughout the room. She and Scott froze. She ripped her mouth from his and looked wide-eyed at the door.
The handle jiggled and whoever was on the other side tried to turn it. She was thankful Scott had the foresight to lock it.
“Bethany?” Jessica’s muffled voice came through the door.
She relaxed a little, but not much. She wanted no one to know Scott was in her room because that would most likely cause issues with the other women. She cleared her throat before answering. “Yeah?”
“Why’s your door locked?”
She met Scott’s wide eyes before looking back at the door. “I got something on my clothes earlier, so I came in to change. I locked the door so no one would wander in by accident.”
She heard Jessica sigh. “Hurry up and finish changing. I can’t deal with these bitches by myself for much longer.”
She and Scott remained frozen as they list
ened to Jessica’s footsteps fade as she walked away. They stepped apart from each other. She turned to her suitcase and dug for a pair of jean capris and a cute top. Since she told Jessica she was changing, she better change.
“Once I rejoin everyone, I’d wait a little while before coming back.”
“Yeah. I’ll go back to the room I was in earlier and wait. If anyone asks, I’ll just say dinner didn’t agree with me.”
Bethany nodded and shot him a look over her shoulder. “Good idea.”
She grabbed her clothing and walked into the bathroom. She shut the door and quickly changed before rejoining Scott in the bedroom. She smoothed her hands over her shirt and adjusted her sleeves.
“Okay. I’m heading back out.”
Scott nodded. “Before you go,” he said, pausing her mid-step. “What we started earlier? It isn’t done.”
A shiver ran down her spine at his words and she could only nod in response. As she walked back to the deck, she turned over what almost was and what was sure to come.
And she couldn’t wait.
Eight
Bethany
If Bethany thought Scott would make good on his promise from Thursday night on Friday, she was mistaken. She spent all day with the girls getting their nails done, legs waxed, and eyebrows plucked to prepare for the big day.
When they finished, it was back to the house to change for the rehearsal and the dinner. She didn’t have a moment to herself the entire day.
After the dinner, Jessica insisted they have a sleep over like they used to as a last hoorah for her last night of single hood, leaving her with no chance to meet Scott. While it was nice to spend that time with Jessica, she couldn’t help but wonder if and when Scott would find her and make good on his promise. She didn’t know where he lived, something she needed to remedy for sure. She didn’t want to lose her chance because of distance.
The day of the wedding passed quickly. It was filled with laughter and happy tears as they got to see Jessica in her dress for the first time before walking down to the beach for the ceremony.
It was a perfect day in July for a wedding. The sky was classic Carolina blue with few clouds. A gentle breeze blew, helping to ease the heat of the day. Everyone sat in white folding chairs, watching the ladies make their way down the small aisle runner that led to the altar area.
She caught Scott’s eye as she walked up the aisle, dipping her head and blushing as she remembered his promise and thought about how he looked in that tux. It looked like it was made for him. She got into place and watched as her best friend glided down the aisle, escorted by her father.
She stole a glance at Jason and couldn’t help but smile. The way he was looking at Jessica was how she wanted someone to look at her one day: with so much love and devotion that it wasn’t possible to imagine being with anyone else.
Her eyes slid past Jason and over to Scott, who was looking at her and not the bride. She blushed at the heated stare he was giving her. His eyes flicked downward before meeting her gaze again. He smirked at her and turned to face Jessica, who was now halfway down the aisle.
After that, things happened in a blur. The ceremony went off without a hitch, and the pictures were a breeze. Being around Scott, though, was proving more and more difficult as she now yearned to just pull him away from everyone else so they could finally be alone together.
But she couldn’t. After pictures they went to the reception, where they all walked in, she gave a speech, and she had to help Jessica hold up her dress to pee.
It was toward the end of the night and she was longing for the room she’d booked at the hotel where the reception was so she could just go to sleep. She was so tired. She and Jessica stayed up late talking the night before and she was feeling the missing sleep.
She sighed as she watched Jason and Jessica slow dancing on the floor. That thought from three days before popped into her head: always the bridesmaid, never the bride. She was ready to be the bride. She just had no one that she could be the bride for.
Her eyes snagged on Scott across the dance floor talking to a group of men and she tilted her head to the side as she thought about him. She briefly let herself think about what it might be like to date him, sleep with him, marry him. It looked beautiful. Of course it was also her imagination, so that was partly to blame for sure.
She sighed and looked back to the happy couple. They were wrapped up in each other, foreheads touching as they talked to each other. It was a perfect picture.
“Today went well, don’t you think.”
She jumped when Scott appeared next to her. Last she knew, he was across the room with some guys, not standing beside her. She cleared her throat and looked at him, ignoring the wonderful way the tux was draped on his body.
“It did.”
Scott nodded his head and rocked back and forth on his feet. He seemed like he wanted to say something, so she waited him out. A few moments later, he said, “You staying here tonight?”
She nodded. A smile slowly spread across his face. “Are you open to continuing what we started the other night?”
Her mind flashed back to the night in question and remembered how hot it was and how frustrated she ended up being later that night at being interrupted. It was bad enough that she’d considered searching him out to continue it then and there, but didn’t for fear of rejection.
She blinked and came back to the here and now, realizing that Scott was still awaiting her response. All she could do was nod, her nerves now out of control.
“Yours or mine?”
She struggled to swallow and brought the drink she remembered she was holding up to her lips, draining it in one go. “Whichever is fine.”
“Yours then.”
She nodded in agreement.
“See you after they do their send-off?”
She still couldn’t bring herself to respond verbally, so nodded again. She felt like a bobble-head the way she was going, but she was honestly speechless. She didn’t know what was wrong with her.
“Room number?”
She cleared her throat and squeaked out, “Four eleven.”
He nodded. “See ya soon.”
And then he was gone, and she was left gaping after him. She was pulled from her thoughts by Jessica coming over to her.
“You and Scott looked deep in conversation,” she said, sipping from her mason jar wine glass.
“Uh…yeah, I guess so.”
Jessica arched a brow. “What were you two discussing?”
“Nothing really.”
Jessica pursed her lips. “Girl, please. I’ve known you since you were five. You can’t pull one over me. So tell me, what were you discussing?”
Bethany glanced around to make sure no one was close enough to hear what she was about to say before she leaned over and said, “We’re having sex later tonight.”
Jessica choked on the sip of wine she had just taken and sputtered for a few moments until she had her breathing back under control. “I’m sorry, I thought you said the two of you are having sex later.”
“We are.”
Jessica looked at her with surprise on her face. Bethany wasn’t sure if she should be offended by the surprise on her face or not. Jessica grabbed her hand and pulled her behind her as she wound through the half-empty tables to the doors that led to a stone patio overlooking the golf course.
After checking to make sure they were alone, Jessica looked at her and said, “I think you need to explain everything because I don’t know what to think.”
Bethany shifted from foot to foot for a few moments as she gathered her thoughts before telling her about waking up to Scott in the room and ending with her interrupting them in her bedroom. Jessica said nothing at first, instead looking at her thoughtfully before saying. “I’m kinda surprised.”
“By what?”
Jessica sighed and dropped her gaze before saying, “Jason talked to me about Scott. They’ve been best friends since childhood, apparently. Anyway,
two years ago, Scott’s fiancé left him.”
Bethany’s heart stuttered in her chest before picking up at a faster beat. “He was engaged?”
Jessica nodded. “Yeah. Apparently they were college sweethearts. Been together for years.”
“Do you know why she left him?”
Jessica looked uncomfortable. “Yeah, but I’m not sure I should tell you. I think he should be the one to tell you that. All I want to say is that Jason said Scott changed after that. He only went for one-night stands and friends with benefits. He’s not dated seriously since.”
Two years wasn’t that long ago, but in the realm of dating, it was too long ago. What Jessica told him helped put some of his behaviors into perspective. If you were left by your sweetheart, that would definitely make someone change their approach to the opposite sex.
Hearing that he hadn’t dated gave her pause because she wasn’t sure she could do a no-strings attached type of deal, but she thought she was willing to try, which she told Jessica.
Jessica shook her head. “If you think you can do it, then go for it. One night of fun is worth some good dick. But…be careful.”
Bethany nodded and pulled Jessica into a hug. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Make sure you take notes for when I get back. I’ll need to know what happens.”
Bethany laughed and pulled back. “I think I can do that.”
Nine
Bethany
An hour later found Bethany in her room, pacing as she waited for Scott to join her. This was it, the moment of truth. Was the other night a one off from pent-up emotion? Or would they be able to pick up where they left off?
A light knock sounded on the door and time stopped momentarily. It sounded again, and she sprang into action, double-checking that her already tidy room hadn’t magically gotten dirty before walking over to the door and opening it up to reveal Scott without his jacket or bow tie.
Romancing the Beach Page 4