I briskly covered the distance. I couldn’t help but to picture one of those guys groping her, his hand inching its way down her back, stopping just before reaching that sweet round ass. I stopped. My chest noticeably heaved. I glanced back in the direction I’d come from.
It took everything in me not to retrace my steps dug deep into the white grains. Shaking, I forced myself to continue the trek to Finn’s house. I raked my hands over my face, desperately trying to clear the unwanted images. Why had I even walked down there? Stupid. I honestly hadn’t thought I would run into her.
But a small part of me had hoped I would. I had to admit that to myself.
When I reached Finn’s porch, I took three steps at a time. The kitchen light was on. Shit. That wasn’t on when I left, was it?
I grasped the knob but didn’t turn it. Instead, I peered through the glass door, searching for any movement on the other side. It didn’t take long. Finn appeared wearing nothing but a pair of boxers and went to the counter. His face was covered in something white.
I hung my head, dreading going back inside. There was nothing I could say that he wouldn’t see through.
I pulled in a lungful of air and exhaled through my nose before twisting. It didn’t turn. That asshole had locked me out! My keys were still in there. Surely, he would have the sense enough to see them on the coffee table. With my fist, I pounded against one of the square panes of glass.
He jerked, spun on his heels with a butter knife in hand, and stared at the door. He crossed the room, not bothering to leave his weapon behind, and focused on my face. His brows rose together as his head tilted to the side.
“What the hell are you doing out there?” he asked as he unlocked the door and pulled it open.
I pushed past.
“I thought you left. I woke up, and you were gone.”
I spun around, throwing my hands into the air. “My keys were on the table in front of you. How did you not see that?”
He shrugged.
“Dude. Are you wearing a face masque?”
His hand darted to his cheek, touching the creamy substance smeared across his skin. “I— um, yeah.” His back straightened. “You can’t have a face that looks like mine and not take care of it.” He walked back in the direction of where he’d been standing at the counter. Two pieces of bread lay on top of a napkin with a pack of turkey. “And where did you go?”
I ignored him, hoping he would drop the subject if I didn’t answer. For a moment, I thought luck was on my side. That was, until he finished making his sandwich and turned around.
“You going to answer me? Or do I need to guess?”
I crossed my arms over my chest, matching his stare. “I just went out for a walk.” It was the truth. He didn’t need to know the reasoning behind the walk.
Finn squinted but didn’t say anything.
“What?” I finally asked, sighing.
“If you wanted to go to the party, I would’ve gone with you. There could have been some hot girls there.”
I laughed, thinking back to the drunk guys hanging over the railing. “All I saw was a sausage party, completely drunk. But they were the only ones on the porch when I walked Leigh up there.”
Finn’s eyes flashed. “Leigh, huh?” He let out a low whistle. “This just got interesting. Tell me more. Did she ask about me?” He grinned shamelessly and shoved the sandwich in his mouth, bulging his cheek.
I rolled my eyes, not knowing what to even say to that.
“She did, didn’t she? That’s why you don’t want to say anything. It’s okay. I mean, it was bound to happen.”
I shook my head. “You’re unbelievable sometimes. You know that? No. She didn’t ask about you. The only time your name was brought up was when she said that Bri had invited you to the party.”
His brows shot up. “Ah-ha!” His arm flung out, sending a loose piece of turkey flying toward the wall. “See? She was probably disappointed when I didn’t show.” He looked back toward the counter and picked up a Coke. “These girls. They just can’t get enough of me. It’s hard sometimes.”
“Sure. That’s totally what it was.”
He took a big swig of his drink and put it back down. “You know I’m just busting your balls, right? That girl only has eyes for one of us in this room, and it ain’t me. Which makes me question her sanity, but still. If it isn’t me, then it’s only right that it be you.”
“No one has eyes for anyone.” I turned my back toward him and walked through the archway into the living room. I searched the table for my keys within the glow of the TV, which was showing porn. “Dude. Is this what you do at night? Give yourself a facial and watch smut?” I asked, snatching the keys. I looked back behind me.
He nodded, acting as if it were a completely normal thing.
“I’m out of here.” I took a few steps in the direction of the front door. “We still on for the island tomorrow?” Please say no. Please say no, I silently pleaded with him.
He dropped to the couch, his eyes focusing on the two girls kissing on the screen. “Hell, yeah. What time you going to pick me up?”
“I guess around eleven,” I said through gritted teeth. I should have never agreed to go. Tomorrow was going to be a long day. I went out the front door, descended the steps, and made my way over to where my truck was parked. I climbed in and started the engine but didn’t put the truck into gear. My head dropped back, resting against the headrest. Leigh’s face popped into my thoughts. I was thinking about this girl too much. That was for damn sure.
I abruptly leaned up, wrapping both my hands around the wheel. It needed to stop. I jerked against the shifter, throwing it into drive. Gravel flung out the back as the tires spun against the asphalt. She wasn’t a girl that I could mess with. No matter how many times I repeated that to myself on the drive to my house, I kept trying to come up with reasons why it wasn’t true. She was here for a good time. I could show her a good time without her getting too attached. But the better question was, could I do it without me getting too attached? I tossed that question back and forth until I stopped in front of my house.
I came to the conclusion that I could do it. No girl had ever managed to get me attached. She wouldn’t be any different. She was a nice girl who was obviously dealing with something major. It was clear that she was wound up so tight she was miserable. I could help. So, if I just happened to run into her again, I might ask her to do something. Might. In the morning, I could see things in a different light. It was late. The thought of her was still fresh on my mind. A few hours to sleep and really think this through was what I needed to do.
I climbed from the truck and headed toward the front door. Once inside, I went to the bathroom and hopped in the shower. I closed my eyes, letting the water run over me.
I’m not going to think about her. I’m not going to think about her.
Too late. The image that popped into mind was one I didn’t need to have. Skin. Her sexy-as-sin skin across the top of her thighs when the wind blew that dress up just enough for me to catch a glimpse of hot pink panties. Blood rushed to my dick, which stood on command a second later.
“Fuck!” My voice bounced off the walls of the shower, practically laughing at me. I yanked the handle of the cold and turned it all the way on. Freezing cold water would help. Why should the sight of pink panties work me up? It wasn’t like I had never seen a girl’s underwear. Shit. I was getting worked up like I had when I hit puberty.
Think about anything else. Flowers. Leigh naked in a big batch of those flowers. Shit! Sunsets. Her ass glowing against its golden rays. I growled. Finn and his masque. I breathed a sigh of relief. Finally. I got out and stared at my reflection in the mirror.
“Stay the hell away from that girl.”
* * *
The next morning I still agreed with what I had said last night. She was getting in my head too much, and I didn’t even know her that well. What if it got worse the more I got to know her? I couldn’t have that. So sta
ying away from her was the best thing for the both of us. It wouldn’t end up well if I didn’t.
I stopped in front of Finn’s house. He came out with a towel draped over his shoulder and an oversized cooler in tow.
“You think you got a big enough cooler? We’re only going out for the day.”
“I don’t want to run out of beer. If that happens, the whole day will turn to shit. The people that are usually only funny when I drink will start getting on my nerves, and more than likely I’ll end up in a fight with one of them. No one wants that. Not me, 'cause my hand will hurt. Not them, because, well, they’ll have the shit beat out of them.” He lifted the orange container and put it on the back of the truck before climbing in.
“Maybe you shouldn’t hang out with those people if you only like them when you’re drunk.”
“Nah. They’re funny as hell—”
“When you’re drunk,” I interrupted, still trying to get my point across.
He laughed. “Exactly.”
Turning on the main road, I pressed the volume-up button on the radio. Traffic was heavy for a Sunday morning. Darting through it, I cleared a pack of slow cars and increased my speed as I drove in the direction of the marina where my boat was docked.
“Whoa!” Finned screamed.
Panic raced up my back, and I slammed on the brakes, assuming Finn had seen some life-threatening hazard I’d missed. This earned a long honk from the car behind us as they dodged their Kia into the other lane and whipped around us.
“What?” My chest heaved.
“I need to stop by Surf Style.”
For a moment, I wasn’t sure if I’d understood him correctly. Surely, I was hearing things. “Huh?”
His gaze swung in my direction, his expression innocent. “Surf Style. I need to stop by there.”
I shook my head, angrily flicking the blinker up, and barely made the turn into the parking lot. “You do realize you almost killed us, acting like stopping at this damn shop was life or death.”
He chewed his lip and gave me a solid nod. “It was.” After jerking the door handle, he jumped out before I even had the truck settled in a parking spot.
I joined him at the front of the store. He tried to seem as if he were browsing some floats lined across the wall, but it was blatantly obvious his line of sight was focused on two giggling girls in bikinis walking along the sidewalk.
“Why are we here?” I asked through clenched teeth.
His attention snapped to me and winked. “Why do you think?” There was no need to ask. His oversized grin said it all. A girl was the involved. It was bad enough he was dragging me to this thing; now I had to deal with him trying to bone some chick on the boat with me. Finn apparently had charm. To girls, at least. To me, he sounded like an idiot, and it was nearly impossible not to laugh at him.
A cool blast of air hit me as I walked in a few feet behind him. He cut through the women’s section, leaving me behind. I glanced around, not really sure where to go. This was the first time I had ever been in one of these stores. They were usually filled with tourists. They loved them — all of the beach essentials and airbrushing needs located in one place.
I picked up a figurine that read Destin across the bottom. Why would someone want this? I shook my head and put it down. Walking farther down the aisle, I stopped, looking at bags of seashells. Through the gaps in the glass, a flash of goldish-colored hair caught my eye. I stood, frozen, watching her body move as she shifted from foot to foot near the changing rooms. She turned in my direction.
I ducked out of view. What were the chances of running into her here?
I peered through a gap in the shelf. Leigh picked up a string bikini and held it close to her body. Her cheeks turned an adorable shade of pink as she replaced it on the rack. I swallowed hard at the thought of her in it. Fucking hot was what it would be. Her attention snapped at the direction of the entrance of the dressing room. Bri’s head came into view as I moved down some. She said something I couldn’t hear. Leigh nodded. Turning, she slowly began walking toward my hiding spot. Run. Run now before she gets too close.
But my feet wouldn’t budge.
8
Leigh
I tossed surfboard-shaped keychain back into a display. For the last hour, I’d rummaged through every souvenir this store had while Bri tried on at least thirty swimsuits.
“What do you think about this one?” she asked, coming out of the dressing room area in a hot-pink string bikini. Two teenage boys stopped in their tracks and stared as she looked down at herself and gave a little bounce. “It makes my jugs look good.”
Totally embarrassed, I shoved past a rack loaded with beach towels, knocking some to the floor. Swiftly, I twirled her around and gave her a light shove. “You don’t come out here in them. Stay back there. You’re going to drive these boys to go whack it in the restroom.”
“Gross. You think they would do that?”
With a final push, she was securely back in her stall.
“Um, yeah I do. They were eyeing you like spank bank material.”
She focused on her reflection in the mirror, turning to the right to eye her butt. It tensed and then released. Her arm rose, and she waved to herself.
Curiosity finally got the better of me. “What are you doing?”
With a pout, her eyes shifted to me. “I’m reliving what it was like when everything was tight. We’re getting old. Stuff is sagging, and I have the batwing my mom always complained about!”
I shook my head, squinting. “Really? We’re only twenty-seven. That’s not old. Your body still looks practically the same. Now can you just pick one so we can go? I’ve still yet to figure out why you dragged me here when you have a dozen bathing suits at your house already.”
“Those are old ones. I have to get new ones every year.” She licked her lips and tapped her fingers against the hip her hand rested on. “So, which one did you like the best?”
Why was she even asking me? She knew I hated picking out clothes because I was no good at it. Even bathing suits. The pile on the floor she had been through looked like a tangled mess. Among the pastels, fluorescents, and floral, a mint-green stood out. When Bri tried it on, I had to admit I was jealous. Jealous, because I’d never be able to pull something like it off.
Swallowing, I pointed at it. “The green one. It’s super cute.”
She shuffled the pieces around until it managed to get freed and held it up. “This one?”
I nodded.
“Okay. But I think I’m going to get this one, too. I just can’t get over how it makes my boobs look.”
I rolled my eyes, backing out into the hallway. “Just hurry up.” The door lock snapped into place as I walked back out into the store. Trying to kill time, I studied the sunglasses’ rack. A big cheetah-print pair caught my attention. I unhooked them and placed them on my face then tilted my head to the side and puckered my lips in the tiny mirror. And this is why she didn’t need to take all day. Boredom could make anyone digress to doing stupid stuff to make the time go by.
“Those are so you,” a deep voice said. A familiar thrill danced along my spine. Slowly, I lifted my gaze and met Luca’s amused stare.
My jaw dropped, and a small yelp emerged. At first, I was too shaken to move. Then I realized the hideous glasses were still on my face. I grabbed the right arm and snatched them off, scratching my face in the process. Flinching in pain, I fumbled with putting them back up so I wouldn’t have to face him.
“Are you following me?” I asked, trying my best to act cool. Maybe if I pulled it off, he would forget the mental image of me in those things. I cringed. And forget about me puckering at the mirror. The floor needed to open up and swallow me whole.
He moved closer, acting as if a pair interested him. “Maybe I am.”
I froze, my shoulders tensed. Did he really just say that? No way he was serious.
“Kidding.” He grinned.
I couldn’t help but feel disappointed.
Of course the idea of him following me sounded completely creepy, and I was a moron for wanting him to do it.
“So, what are you doing here then?”
His head motioned to the front of the store. “Me and Finn are going out to the island today. He wanted to stop in here to see if this girl he’s trying to hook up with would blow off work to go with us.”
“The island?”
“Sorry. I forgot you aren’t from here. The island is a few miles away. Just a small place where some of the locals go to hang out. Would you maybe… want to go?”
I stood in silence, waiting on him to say “kidding” again. But he didn’t.
“Where is it that you want her to go?” Bri asked, appearing behind him.
He twirled around, focusing on her and eyeing the stack of bathing suits in hand. “You scared the shit out of me.”
“I’m good at sneaking up on people. You just remember that.”
He frowned and looked at me. “Why would I need to remember that?”
My mouth opened, but before I could answer Bri interrupted by holding up a hand to silence me. “You don’t need to worry about it right now. But keep it in the back of your mind, Romeo. Now answer the question.”
“I was asking her if she wanted to go to the island. I mean, you can go too if you want. There’ll be a lot of people there today since it’s Sunday.”
She met eyes with me. “Sure.”
I could’ve killed her. I wanted to be around him, but this was too sudden, like last night. I wasn’t ready for it. There was no way I could prepare myself for being on the beach with him and a ton of his friends. Nervous tremors devoured my midsection.
“Y’all about to head out in a few?”
He looked around the store. “Yeah. As soon as Finn comes back, we’re heading down to the marina. Do you want to just meet us down there? I know I kinda just sprung this on you last minute.”
Fearlessly Yours: Emerald Coast Series Page 6