Sunsets at Seaside

by Addison Cole

  Jessica caught him looking at her and pressed her lips together in a sweet, embarrassed smile that brought out her adorably sexy dimples. What was it about her that had his interest so piqued?

  “I really enjoyed hearing Vera play. She’s very talented. Does she play every night?” Jessica lifted a wineglass to her lips.

  Jamie was too busy watching her lick her lips to respond.

  “Weekly,” Amy said. “And sometimes she plays out on the deck here, which I personally love.”

  Tony squeezed Amy’s shoulder. “Is there anything you don’t love about Seaside?”

  Jessica ran her finger around the rim of her glass and glanced at Jamie. If he didn’t distract himself from her, he’d be the joke of the night. Bella would call him googly-eyed and other ridiculous names.

  He shifted his eyes to Blue, who was sitting in the other seat he’d like to be in at the moment. “Good to see you, Blue. What’s new and exciting?”

  “Not much. I just wrapped up another renovation for the Kennedys in Hyannis, and I’m toying with the idea of finding a property to flip to give me something to focus on this winter.” Blue ran his hand through his hair and nodded at Sky. “Unless I can convince Sky to renovate her father’s place.”

  “You’re dreaming.” Sky tossed her dark hair over her shoulder. “Maybe I’ll get a place of my own soon and you can knock down walls or whatever it is that you love to do so much.” Sky and Blue had become close over the last year while he was working on Pete’s property. Sky was as beautiful as Blue was handsome, and Jamie was surprised that they’d never taken their friendship to the next level, but Blue seemed more like an older brother to Sky than a potential love interest.

  “Oh, Sky, you should let him,” Jenna said. “I love my studio, and Blue’s going to put in even more cabinets so that I can organize it.” She spread her fingers, palms out, and her eyes widened. “I’ll organize my paints, brushes, tarps…I can’t wait.”

  Pete pulled her closer and kissed her cheek. “She’s already organized everything in our house and my father’s house. I’m ready to set her loose with Blue at the Kennedys.”

  Blue laughed. “Their staff wouldn’t know what to do with her. They have their own way of doing things, and I’ve seen the inside of their cabinets. They’re neat and organized, but not Jenna organized.”

  Jamie and Jessica’s eyes connected again. He shifted in his seat. Jamie lived in Boston, and although he had a hectic work schedule and cared for his grandmother, he still found time to date. He had a handful of women he enjoyed spending time with. Women he was sure weren’t after his money, of which he had more than he could spend in three lifetimes. He lived like an average Joe, because if there’s one thing Jamie learned from a very young age, it was that life was short and what really mattered wasn’t what he had, but how he chose to spend his time. Hobnobbing with the wealthy would never bring him happiness, but hanging with the friends who knew and loved him always did. And he hadn’t realized until just now that what was missing was a woman whom he could actually share his life with—and his friends.

  “Hey, we have fresh strawberries. Anyone want strawberry margaritas?” Jenna jumped to her feet and reached for Bella’s hand. “Come on.”

  “I have a beer.” Bella held up her bottle.

  “So what! This is Jessica’s first bonfire with us. We need to initiate her.” Jenna reached for Sky’s hand next. Joey lifted her head, then used Jenna’s escape to stand between Pete’s legs and beg for more attention.

  “I’m in!” Amy jumped up, too, as if they’d both swallowed Mexican jumping beans. “Come on, Jessica.” She pulled Jessica to her feet.

  “Sounds good to me, but I’m a lightweight. I never really drink,” Jessica admitted.

  Jamie and Tony exchanged grins. Not that either of them would take advantage of a woman when she was drunk. They never competed for women, either. Of course, neither had ever dated the women who rented here. Even so, Jamie sensed a hint of friendly competition…Game on.

  He watched Jessica walk inside trapped between Jenna and Amy and knew that before the summer’s end, she’d be considered one of them. The question was, would he be on the outside looking in, or the one sitting beside her by the fire?

  JENNA’S ONE-BEDROOM cottage was nowhere near big enough for the five of them. The kitchen was about five feet long and wide enough only to open the refrigerator. The counter barely had enough room for the five shot glasses Jenna was filling with tequila. When Bella reached above Jenna and pulled down the blender from a high cabinet, she squished Jenna against the counter.

  “Hey,” Jenna protested.

  “Oh, hush. You wanted margaritas.” Bella set the blender on the coffee table in the living room, where there was a little more room as long as Sky, Amy, and Jessica remained sitting on the couch.

  “Come on, girlies.” Jenna waved them over and they huddled next to the kitchen while Jessica stood a few feet away, watching them. Jenna handed a shot glass to each of them, then poured salt onto a cutting board while Amy squeezed past her and sliced lemons. Each of them sucked on the webbing between their finger and thumb; then they put salt on their wet skin and grabbed a lemon from Amy.

  Having never done shots before, Jessica’s stomach was all kinds of nervous. Sky took her hand and pulled her over to the counter.

  “Just do what we do.” Sky licked the webbing of her own hand, eyes wide, and nodded at Jessica, encouraging her to do the same.

  “Um…” Jessica’s pulse quickened.

  “I think we have a virgin with us.” Bella draped an arm over Jessica’s shoulder.

  “I’m not…” Oh my gosh. You’re talking about my virginity?

  Bella smiled down at her. “Good to know, but I meant the tequila.”

  Jessica let out a relieved sigh. Oh, thank goodness.

  “To Jessica. The first victim of Thong Thursday.” Jenna sucked back the drink and drew in air between clenched teeth. “Woo! Go on, girls.”

  Jessica watched as each tossed back her head and sucked down the tequila like they did this every night. Maybe they did, but Jessica never had. Not once. She rarely even drank wine. With her orchestra friends, drinking was never a part of their evenings out, and when she was by herself, she never had the desire to drink. Watching the girls, she realized again that she had been moving in a very small and sheltered circle. She stuck her fingertip in the tequila and sucked the alcohol off of it. It had a strange taste, not at all pleasant. She wondered what the excitement was all about.

  Amy touched her shoulder. “Jessica, don’t worry. I’m a lightweight, too. We’ll take care of you.”

  “Like Tony takes care of you?” Jenna raised her brows in quick succession.

  “So, you and Tony are a couple?” Jessica had seen the way Amy looked at him, and she imagined it was the same way she couldn’t stop looking at Jamie. He looked so casual and sexy, and every time their eyes met, her body got hot and flustered.

  “Don’t I wish.” Amy rolled her eyes. “We’re just friends.”

  “Okay. Okay.” Jenna bounced on her toes. “Come on, come on. We gotta do this before Petey comes in here and…”

  Bella set a hand on her hip. “And what? Wants to get down and dirty? Trust me. He’ll love it even more when you’re three sheets to the wind.”

  Jessica had spent the last few years with people who were reserved, focused on excelling in a highly competitive, highly skilled field that was also cutthroat and unforgiving. This fun banter, this girl talk, was all new and exciting to her—and she didn’t want it to end.

  “Okay, here goes, but please don’t let me embarrass myself. And if I throw up, don’t let Jamie see. And if—”

  “Ha! Five bucks.” Jenna slapped a hand out toward Bella and wiggled her butt from side to side in a celebratory dance. “Pay up.”

  Jessica’s heart crashed to her feet. Am I a joke to them? Like Thong Thursday? Her face must have reflected her horror because Amy took hold of her shoulde
rs and looked compassionately into her eyes.

  “Honey. Jessica, honey. We do this to each other all the time. Don’t take it personally.” Amy put her arm around her. “You guys, she’s as sensitive as me.”

  “Have a shot, Jessica. It’ll take the edge off of our backward humor.” Bella pushed her shot glass up toward Jessica’s mouth.

  “So, you aren’t making fun of me? Because I’m kind of slow on the uptake, I think. I’m not used to this sort of joking around.” Why was her throat thickening? Darn it. Why couldn’t she be stronger, like her mother? At times like this it might help.

  Sky pulled herself up and sat on the counter, while filling everyone’s glasses again. “They do this to everyone. They just noticed that Jamie had his eye on you, and…” She motioned for Jessica to drink.

  Jessica clenched her eyes closed and licked the awful salt from her hand, then tossed back the tequila—Gross!—and sucked the lemon. She drew in air between gritted teeth just like each of them had.

  “Well?” Jenna brushed Jessica’s hair from her shoulders. “You still with us?”

  Jessica nodded, reeling from the taste. “It tasted like burning water. Is that what it tastes like to you?”

  Bella licked her hand and began dabbing salt on it. “It tastes like I’m about to get drunk to me.”

  Jessica pressed her lips together, suppressing a smile. The four of them were so different from one another, but they got along like sisters. Thong Thursdays and tequila shots? What else had she missed out on while she was spending hour after hour with music instructors and, later, playing with the orchestra? Heck, what else had she missed out on since she first picked up the cello at six?

  Two shots later, Jessica felt a little numb as they went back outside. The guys were standing by the fire, beers in hand. Jamie looked over and his mouth lifted in a crooked smile. Jessica returned the smile, or at least she thought she did. Her entire body felt relaxed, and all the proper rigidity in her back, shoulders, and even her neck had somehow disappeared.

  And she liked it. She liked it a lot.

  Jessica swayed a little and reached for the bench as the men came toward them. Jamie’s jeans hung low on his hips, and there was no mistaking his flirtatious smile or the heat in his eyes as he raked them down her body. She held tightly to the bench for support.

  “So the strawberries were a ruse?” Pete laughed and wrapped an arm around Jenna. Joey lay down beside his feet and rested her head on her paws with a loud huff of breath. Pete whispered something that made Jenna blush.

  “Crap. We left the margaritas inside.” Bella glanced at Jenna, then waved a hand in the air. “Oh heck. We’re good.” Bella plastered herself to Caden’s side, and he looked up at Tony and shook his head.

  Blue and Tony exchanged a laugh.

  “It’s a good thing I drove tonight.” Blue pulled Sky down to a seat.

  “Hey, don’t even think about making a move on my sister,” Pete warned.

  “Pfft. Just getting her home safely. We’re friends,” Blue said.

  “So were we,” Pete and Jenna said in unison, then shared a kiss.

  “Come here, sweet one.” Tony guided Amy to a chair and sat beside her, leaving Jamie and Jessica to look at each other like two kids at a middle school dance.

  She couldn’t look away, even though she was sure his gaze was burning a hole right through her and at any minute someone was going to yell, Fire! and douse her with cold water.

  Jamie leaned in close and touched her hip. “I guess they initiated you?”

  His hand was flaming hot.

  “Care to share a bench with me?” Jamie asked.

  His voice sent a shiver down her back. Her body was doing all sorts of things it had never done before, including walking with an extra little sway of her hips and getting warm all over. She liked that, too. A lot. She settled into the bench and pulled her feet up next to her. Jamie sank down beside her and draped an arm over the back of the bench. Somehow, even in her tipsy state she was aware enough to stifle the urge to see just how soft his shirt was and cuddle up beside him, because she knew she’d also want to see just how hard his body was.

  She felt like she was drifting on a cloud, listening as everyone talked and laughed. Sometime over the course of the hour Jessica began sharing Jamie’s beer, and sometime after that his arm warmed her shoulders. Pete and Jenna and Bella and Caden turned in for the night with promises of coffee in the morning. Or at least that’s what Jessica thought they’d said. Her mind was still a little fuzzy.

  “We’d better take off, too. I’ve got to be on a job site early tomorrow.” Blue rose to his feet and pulled Sky along with him. “And you have that tattoo shop gig in P-town tomorrow, right?”

  “Yup. Tattoo shop. I’m spending the day tatting up hot guys and girls.” Sky leaned down and hugged Jessica. “See you soon, I hope.”

  “Me too. It was fun hanging out with you.” After she hugged Sky, Jessica’s hand fell on Jamie’s leg, and she let it stay there.

  “I’d better get our little lightweight to bed.” Tony lifted Amy easily into his arms, and she settled in against his chest with a sigh. Her hand reached for his neck, then fell to her belly. “I have a way with women, don’t I? Good night, kids.”

  “G’night, Tony. It was nice to meet you.” Jessica watched him disappear into the darkness, and she wondered how Amy would feel in the morning. Or if they were friends with benefits, although it sure didn’t seem that way when Amy was talking about him inside the cottage.

  “Guess it’s just you and me.”

  Jamie’s rich voice slid over her, bringing goose bumps to her arms and heating her up even more. How the heck did he manage to pull off laid-back and sensual at the same time? And why was it such a turn-on? She looked down at her hand, still on his thigh, and felt his muscles flex. The fire was nearly out, just a few embers glowing in the darkness. She should probably go home. It was already far later than she was used to staying up, and she had a big day tomorrow. Didn’t she? Didn’t she always? She had to practice and…No. That wasn’t right. She wasn’t practicing. She was vacationing. She had all the time in the world.

  She realized that she hadn’t responded to Jamie’s remark. Instead of answering him, she tilted her head and looked at him. Really looked at him. He was too beautiful, and she was pretty sure it wasn’t just the tequila that made her think so. His hazel eyes were seductively dark and narrow. His tanned skin blended handsomely with the sexy scruff on his jaw, and his full lips were barely parted. She wanted to run her finger along his lips and feel their softness.

  “What?” he asked quietly.

  “I’m just…” Thinking about touching your scruff. And maybe your lips. And that crease by your mouth when you smile. There it is. Oh, I love that crease. Oh, and your hands. I’m dying to know what your hands feel like. “Thinking…” It was the only word she could manage without making a fool of herself.

  “Thinking about throwing your phone at me again?”

  She’d almost forgotten she’d done that. She trapped her lower lip between her teeth and shook her head, then reached up and stroked his cheek. Holy cow, what were her eyes doing? They were closing, and she was sinking into the feel of him. Oh my, his skin was soft, the stubble rough and prickly. She let her fingers trail down his jaw and dance lightly over his lips. They parted at her touch. His breath was hot against them, and it drew a sigh from somewhere deep inside her. A long, dreamy sigh, which she only realized she’d let out too late and brought her back to reality. She opened her eyes, her hand frozen on his lips.

  His eyes darkened even more. Jessica held his gaze and lowered her hand to his chest. Why not? She’d already played her hand. He knew she was out of her mind. Why not take it further? She might never have another chance. Oh my, his chest was hard, so hard. She pressed her palm flat over his heart and felt it beating fast, which made hers beat even faster. She slid her hand over his pecs; all the while he was looking at her like he was there solely
for her pleasure. His heart told her what she really wanted to know. He liked her touch as much as she liked touching him.

  In the quiet of the night there was only the two of them and the sound of their quick, heady breaths. Her fingers traveled beneath his open collar, through his light spray of chest hair to the hot skin beneath. She’d never done this, taken her time touching a man like this, while he watched her every move. She’d never even made the first move. She wasn’t a virgin. There had been one guy. In high school, when she was rebelling against being her mother’s perfect cello-playing daughter. She’d dated a few men since then, but had never opened herself up to sleeping with them. She’d never wanted to do this to anyone. And just touching clearly wasn’t enough, because she was already aroused. Whoa, it had been forever since that happened spontaneously. She withdrew her hand from his shirt, and he covered it with his, trapping it against his chest.

  “Don’t stop,” he said quietly. “That felt nice.”

  You have no idea how nice. He held her gaze, and she wanted to sink into the sensual well of emotion in his eyes and bathe in it.

  “I’m sorry. I’m not usually like this.” Why was she whispering? They were alone in the dark. The other cottages were dark. Surely no one could hear them. But she wanted quiet with Jamie. She wanted quiet and dark and—

  He shifted his weight and brought his right arm around her back, then gathered her hair and drew it over one shoulder.

  “Don’t be sorry. I’m not usually like this either. I can’t stop looking at you, and it’s taking all of my strength not to do what I really want to do.”

  “You don’t even know me.” Shut. Up. Shut. Up.

  He shook his head. “But I’d like to.”

  Her pulse quickened. Her hand was still pressed to his chest, and she had no plans on moving it anytime soon.

  “Wh-what do you really want to do?” She pressed her lips together, unable to believe she’d asked and so thankful that she had. Bella must be wearing off on her.