The Wrong Girl

by M. Piper

  “His dad’s on the local board of trustees. He knows he’s hot shit.”

  “Yeah, well he isn’t.” I roll my eyes as we head back to the table.

  “No he isn’t.” Her phone rings in her clutch and she squeals. “I’m sorry.” She laughs. “It’s my boyfriend. I have to take this! I’ll meet you at the table.”

  I laugh and watch her skip out of the building, then round the corner, bracing myself to stand up to the pig. He’s going to have to get used to working with someone who doesn’t back down from him.

  “Squirt?” I hear my childhood nickname blurted from behind me and my skin immediately prickles. No one here knows that nickname.

  But I know that voice.

  A voice that I’ve daydreamed about for years. A voice that belongs to a man that I’ve wanted for as long as I can remember.

  Levi Walsh.

  CHAPTER 2

  Levi

  I saw her walk in over an hour ago. I watched her from across the room like a fucking creep. Just like I watched her throughout high school. Back then it was out of sheer fear that she’d turn me down and I’d lose the best friend I had in her sister. Now, however, it’s because I was enjoying studying her. Watching her reaction to the people at her table. She likes the girl she was sitting by. The black haired one. Honestly, she seems to adore pretty much everyone at that table.

  Except the blonde at the other end. Every time Finley looked over at him she practically breathed fire his way. It was amusing watching it, really. I haven’t seen a look like that on her in a long time and the only time in the past I’d seen it was in seventh grade when her sister knocked over her snow globe shelf, breaking some of them. I’ve missed that look. The look that screams ‘I’ll show you’ in her cute as hell Finley way. She’s a hurricane of beauty and brains and it’s insanely intimidating.

  I’ve never let a little intimidation get in my way of what I want.

  And I want her.

  Hell. Seeing the way she’s looking at me right now makes the last five years seem like a huge mistake. I didn’t call. I didn’t text. I should have, because that night still ranks on the top of my list even after all these years. Finley Reeves could very well be categorized as the one who got away.

  I didn’t ignore her because I didn’t want her.

  I stayed away because I did want her.

  Bad.

  But now she’s right in front of me…looking at me with a pink tinge to her cheeks.

  “What the hell?” she whispers right before a switch is flipped and she smiles, heading straight for me faster than I think she realizes. I chuckle, bracing myself for impact and wrapping my arms around her body when she slams into my chest. Damn she feels good. Better than I remember.

  “Woah, there,” I laugh, my hands memorizing her back and begging to snake lower.

  “Sorry, it’s just…” She lets out a giggle and smiles up at me. I can smell the alcohol on her breath. She smells sweet and all I want to do is dip my lips and taste her. Shit, I’m fucked. “I haven’t seen a familiar face in forever!” Her eyes tell me she’s already drank enough for the night but the table full of people behind her will be egging her on to finish the round of drinks they ordered for the table when she was in the bathroom.

  Fuck.

  “Yeah. It’s…wow. It’s amazing to see you here, too, Squirt.” I didn’t believe my eyes when I saw her walk up to the bar. The legs on this girl don’t seem to end and the damn near perfect hair, even in this Florida heat, is waved perfectly down her back. The small tattoo peeking out of the bottom of her tank top makes my fingers twitch to get at it. To see what she found so perfect that she decided to put it on her body forever.

  “That’s a horrible nickname, by the way,” she whispers the words she would always snap at me when I would call for her when we were younger. She hated it then because she didn’t like being categorized by her size. She was the tiny little sister and once the nickname rolled off my tongue it was hard to take it back.

  I bet I know the reason she hates it now. It’s making the color on her cheeks pop.

  I lift my lip in a cocked smirk.

  “Fitting, though, don’t you think?”

  “Fin!” A voice from her table calls and her eyes snap to them before meeting mine again. I just want to stand here and study her face. She’s exactly the same and yet somehow totally different. She’s grown up these last five years… I’ve missed her.

  “Sorry. My frien…” she stops suddenly and cocks her head. “Hey, play along,” she whispers, grabbing my hand and spinning me, yanking me back to her table. “Guys, I want you to meet Levi.” She pulls me to her side. “My boyfriend from back home.”

  My eyes bug out of my head but the death glare she’s sending blondie across the table and the look of determination on her face makes me play her game.

  “Nice to meet you guys.” I pull my hand from hers and wrap my arm around her waist, bringing her against me. I can play the hell out of this part. “Thanks for keeping my girl safe.” It’s real fucking hard to play along when I don’t really know what she’s doing here or who these people are…but I assume they’re close friends. She looks too comfortable with them to be anything less.

  “Classic.” Blondie mumbles. “How much she pay you?”

  “I’m sorry, what now?” I’m on edge already because all I can think about is Finley’s legs wrapped around me. This douche canoe needs a black eye tonight.

  “She doesn’t have a boyfriend. Who in their right mind would date someone like her? Uptight and boring. My money’s on the fact that she’s a carpet muncher and she’s paying you to act like she likes D for the night.” I watch him wave his arm at us and I’m around the group at the table in four seconds flat, pulling blondie out of his chair by the collar of his shirt.

  “Who the fuck do you think you are?” I growl, ready to pound his pretty boy face in.

  “Levi!” Finley screeches but dude’s smirking at me before he rolls his eyes.

  “I was kidding.” He huffs. “Fuck, man, let it go.” He shoves out of my grip and I realize the entire bar’s watching this.

  Cursing, I step back and take Finley’s trembling hand in mine.

  “Let’s go, Squirt.” I don’t give her a chance to retaliate as I drag her out of the bar.

  She doesn’t need to be there.

  And neither do I.

  “What…” she huffs when we make it to the beach. “The. Hell!” She pulls her sandals off then stomps her foot in the sand and I can’t ignore how amazing she looks barefoot on the beach.

  “You’re welcome. You owe me a date.” I turn and continue walking. Our beach house isn’t too far away. I came here with guys from work so I rode with them but I can walk back.

  “Levi!” Finley screams. I turn back to see her following me so I slow my pace and turn around, walking backwards and completely unable to tear my eyes off her.

  “Yes?” I trail my eyes down her body. Down those legs.

  Damn, those legs.

  “Could you explain that please?” She’s stomping towards me and all I see is the jiggle of her tits in that damn tank top.

  “Oh that?” I glance back at the beach side bar that the guys were so excited to try out tonight. “That was me not pummeling blondie’s pretty boy face in. Great self-control on my part, don’t you think?”

  I shove my hands into my pockets when she makes it to me and turn around with her at my side, still heading for the house. She’s still following, too, even though she has no clue where we’re going. I don’t know what I’m going to do with her once we’re there. I know what I’d like to do with her…but I don’t think that’s a good idea tonight.

  “He’s like…my boss or something,” she mutters, almost falling over in the sand.

  “He’s like…an asshole.” I mimic her tone. “You need to sleep this off.” I chuckle when she sways.

  “I don’t need your help,” she says, falling in step next to me. “And you didn�
��t need to be like that with him.”

  “Maybe not.” I shrug. “But I was there and I wasn’t about to let that guy talk to you like that. He’d done it enough tonight.”

  She stops and glares at me in confusion.

  I mimic the look on her face. “What?” I shake my head. “I watched you two all night. Guy’s an asshole. He needs to be put in his place.” With a fist in his eye socket, but I don’t add that part in.

  “Why were you watching me? And what are you even doing here?” Her nose scrunches.

  “I haven’t seen you in a while, Finley. I had to make sure it was really you before I got arrested for harassment by calling out your nickname to the wrong person.” I chuckle and she rolls her eyes.

  “Right…or you could just not call anyone by that terrible name.” She laughs. “I wonder why Kat didn’t tell me about you being here?”

  Probably because I’m not even sure if she knows.

  “Your sister and I will always be friends, but she’s so busy with that job of hers nothing else gets through to her.” I turn and look out to the water. “I told her last time I talked to her. But that was over a month ago and she was in the middle of a case, so how much she retained I don’t know. Nowadays we go a couple of months without seeing each other.”

  It sucks, really, but adulthood hit hard the minute Kat graduated from college and went right into the workforce. I didn’t do the college thing. It wasn’t my scene and I was able to get right in to my dad’s roofing business no problem. Why sit in school and be miserable to make less than the money I make now when I could go straight into work and not rack up that debt?

  “I feel like she should have mentioned it,” Finley mumbles before she sways towards the water like her world is spinning. The moonlight glowing off the ocean reflects a blueish light on her skin. I’ve never seen the moon this bright at night before.

  “Well she didn’t.” I laugh. “Not surprising. Your sister only seems to have time for that job lately.” I don’t mention the awkward tension that was thrown between Kat and I the last couple times we hung out. It was like something changed. Like she didn’t want to be the ‘sister’ type anymore…it was weird.

  So I may have failed to reiterate the fact that I was leaving for a few months back when I left for the season. I may have mentioned it in passing during a conversation I knew she wasn’t fully invested in.

  It felt that day like I lost my best friend. It finally happened. I knew it was inevitable, and I know Kat and I will always be close, but things are different now. Our lives went in two totally different directions. She’s a workaholic and I work just to get by, enjoying my free time as much as I can.

  I stand next to Finley, watching the waves crash into the shore. I want to reach out and take her hand in mine. I want to pull her to me and press my lips to her skin. I want everything I’ve wanted since the first time I laid eyes on her…but not tonight.

  “So you’re not here, like, stalking me or anything are you?” She looks over at me with a smirk on her face and I laugh loud.

  “Anything but. I promise. I’m doing work on houses that were damaged by the hurricane last month. It’s slow season back home so every year we move camp down to Florida as soon as the storms start rolling through. Steady work. Good money. And awesome scenery.” I stare straight at her, thankful that the scenery tonight took the turn that it did. “Plus I get to help out all these families in need. It’s pretty rewarding work.”

  “You sound pretty passionate about it.” Her eyes sparkle at me and her smile softens.

  “Yeah. But I’m only in this area for the next couple of months until we head back home for the spring rush.”

  And then it dawns on me.

  I’m not here for good.

  Shit.

  “So you do this every year?” Her eyebrows scrunch in confusion. “I didn’t know.”

  “Yeah, well I didn’t know you were vacationing down here either.” I chuckle. “Well, I assume vacation. Unless you moved?”

  She laughs and shakes her head.

  “I moved,” she says, smiling and tucking her hair behind her ear. “I got a job working with the Everglades Parks department doing the boat tours.”

  “No fucking way!” I laugh. She actually did it. I knew all her life she wanted to work down here but I never assumed she’d actually make that leap. This is a long ass way from home. “Me and some buddies were just talking about getting a group together to do one of those tours before we head home.”

  “Well, I’m your girl.’ She shrugs and I bite my lip.

  She sure is…

  “It’s on.” I nudge her and start walking again. “As is that date you owe me.”

  “I don’t owe you anything,” she says, following me to catch up with me.

  “I think I just played your game very nicely. And I have to say, I’ve never been that awesome of a fake boyfriend before. So yes, you do.” I wrap my arm around her shoulder, needing to touch her in any way possible.

  “Yeah, I guess I probably do, huh?” She pulls out of my grasp and spins, walking in front of me, backwards, while her eyes pin mine.

  “Why didn’t you call,” she blurts and my eyebrows shoot up. “Five years ago, why did you drop off the face of the earth?”

  “I…” I don’t have a good enough answer for her. “I’m an idiot?”

  I give her my best ‘I’m an asshole’ smile in hopes that she can forgive me.

  She rolls her eyes and shakes her head.

  “Why would I do that to myself again?” She almost trips and growls, righting herself and falling back to my side, keeping up with my pace.

  “Because I’m fucking awesome?”

  She laughs and shakes her head, falling silent as we continue to walk. I can see the beach house in the distance and I’m starting to wonder if she’s going to come in with me or not.

  I want her to. I want to spend all my free time with this girl. Have since I was old enough to know what feelings are. I acted on it once and at the time I thought it was huge mistake. I knew it’d ruin Kat, only because the one thing she always told me about girls was that her little sister was off limits and I stupidly promised not to touch the girl.

  But here we are. Across the country, on a beach in the beautiful moonlight…and my best friend’s little sister’s looking like she wants me as badly as I want her.

  “You know you want a date with me.” I nudge her.

  “Fine,” she finally says, resigning to the fact that I’m not going to give up without a fight. “One date.”

  “Yes!” I wrap an arm around her, laughing, before letting her go when she slows to a stop. “You’ll see. I’m the best date you’ll ever have.”

  She bites her lip and nods.

  “Sure.” She laughs. “This is me,” she says, glancing to an apartment building three houses away from mine.

  My eyebrows raise and I smirk.

  “Nice. That’s me.” I nod down the row to the small yellow house with a massive back porch and white shutters my dad bought a year ago when we decided this would be the plan for the company. The first couple of years it was touch and go whether or not we’d come down here, but once we realized this is where the money’s at during the winter we couldn’t pass it up.

  “Wow,” she says, laughing. “Small world.” She bites her lip and steps closer.

  “Yeah, super small.” I need to step away. I need to let her go inside with the promise of a future date…but she’s looking at me like I’m the air she needs.

  And I can’t help myself.

  I close the distance between us, sliding my hand through her hair and cupping the back of her head. Her eyes flick to my lips and her hands rest on my chest. A move so comfortable you would’ve thought we’d been doing it all along for the past five years.

  But we haven’t.

  “Hey Levi?” She whispers and my eyes latch onto hers. A sea of blue swirls in a mix of light green with flecks of gold, all begging to be loved by t
he man standing in front of her. Feelings I thought I had tucked away nicely come slamming free and before I can answer her, she slams her lips to mine and I finally get a taste of what I’ve been craving all these years.

  Mixed…with alcohol.

  Goddamn my dick is going to hate me.

  I pull back and groan, cupping her face in my hands, her glossy, brilliant eyes filled with lust.

  “Fuck, Finley,” I pant. “I really, really wanted that. And I really fucking want this.” I sigh, resting my forehead to hers. “But not like this.” I push my lips to hers again briefly, wanting nothing more than to slide my tongue along hers, to have her body pushed up against mine. But I don’t. I pull back slightly and curse myself for having some type of control tonight.

  “Oh…” Her eyes fall and I chuckle.

  “When’s the next night you’re free?” I pull her face up to look at me and she looks almost embarrassed. Shit.

  “Uh… Tomorrow?”

  “I’ll be here at five.” I nudge her nose with mine because if I were to push my lips against hers again I may not be able to stop myself. She sighs and wraps her arms around me.

  “Cool. It’s a date,” she whispers then pulls away and steps back towards her building. “See you at five.” She smirks while biting her lip and turns, heading back into her building. She stops and spins, her eyes wide. “Levi? Don’t…tell Kat. Okay?”

  I nod sharply and watch her disappear into the building.

  Shit. Yes.

  I’ve finally got a date with Finley Reeves.

  ***

  Last night I watched the girl I’ve pined over for years walk back into her apartment building on a beach that is quite possibly the most romantic beach in the country…and I didn’t follow her.

  I could have. She wanted me to. But I didn’t.

  Finley’s more than a drunk fuck. I want her to remember everything about the next time we’re together. I don’t want to be a regret again for her.

  “You dropped off the face of the planet last night, Walsh.” Anders, one of my roommates says when I walk in through the front door from my morning run.