He takes off, and I exhale for the first time in an hour. “He didn’t kill me so the day’s off to a great start already.”
Serena gives my arm a hard tug. “He’s not going to kill you. I made Lex swear on our dead father’s grave that she won’t tell him.” Her plump lips pull down at the corners as if she might cry. “Are you really sorry about last night?”
“Yes,” I don’t hesitate with the answer. “I mean no. I’m not sorry.” Our eyes lock a moment, and a fire ignites deep in my stomach. Serena is so beautiful it’s intimidating to witness at close proximity. But she doesn’t intimidate me. No, not in the least. I’m up for the challenge she evokes each time she’s around. Some girls give everything away, but Serena makes you work for every little thing. Even a smile is hard-won. And I like that. I have always appreciated a challenge, and that’s exactly what Serena Maxfield is proving to be. I reach over and take up her hand. “I’m not sorry about you and me. I am for damn sure not sorry that we were up for having some fun.”
I swallow hard just taking in her delicate features, that hair that has a life of its own. Serena has always had a natural beauty about her, but time has sharpened those stunning features, knife sharp and dangerous. Dangerous because I risk getting my dick plucked off by any member of her over-reactive family.
Teagan comes to mind. What in the hell would I do if I found her chained up in some dude’s bedroom, naked, mask on her face, legs practically pinned to her ears?
A righteous anger enlivens in me, and suddenly I want to punch the lights out of every person in here who has a pendulum swinging between their legs.
“You’re sorry we got caught.” She lets out an enormous breath, and I can’t help but note she looks relieved.
A part of me feels terrible. I’ve opened one serious can of worms. Did I think I was simply going to jump into bed with Serena and everything would be fine? No. I wasn’t thinking. And now here we are.
“You didn’t tell me you’re a virgin.”
Her eyes flash with fire. “You never asked.”
My mouth opens, and yet for the life of me I can’t find the words.
“I should have asked,” I whisper, my voice strained as if the words never wanted to come out in the first place. “Serena, you are one of my oldest friends.” My body heats as if I just spewed a lie. A part of me wants something other than friendship with her. She looks at me from under those long lashes, her lips quivering as if she were anticipating what comes next. “What are you doing with me? You should find some nice kid your own age. Someone you move very, very slowly with. You should fall in love—deeply, deeply in love.”
Her left cheek flickers. Her eyes dance over mine. “We’re not friends, Shep. I’m not sure we ever were. And if you’re honest, I think you’ll agree with me. But I have great news. I am deeply, deeply inlustwith you. I think that we’re off to a fantastic start. I don’t care what my sister, my brother, your brother, the school, or the chief homicide detective has to say about what I can and can’t do with you. I know those kisses weren’t some banal routine you happened to pull out of a hat. Those were dangerous kisses—dangerous because you were all in and so was I.” Those evergreen eyes steady over mine, hard as flint. “Now, are you going to wiggle your way out of what we got like some pussy, or are you going to say to hell with it and do whatever you want with whomever you want—namelyme.”
I take her in like this, brave and beautiful, sharp and demanding. More than just her beauty, I appreciate the hell out of her pushback.
“To hell with it.” I toast her lemonade with mine. “Who are you going to the beach with?”
She bites down over her smile, pearl white teeth over a plump ruby lip. “No one in particular. I was going to run down and put my toes in the sand just to say I did it. If I blink one more time, summer will be over.”
“Good. Because you’re coming with me.”
Serena and I share a pizza before she follows me over to my place. I do a quick change and drive us down to Sugar Dunes. It’s off the beaten path, far from the crowded North Carolina shorelines. I park high up on the ridge and hold Serena’s hand as we walk the narrow, dusty trail to the bottom. The air is thick with summer heat and humidity. The sky hangs heavy and blue. The scent of rosemary lights up our senses as we hit the beach, and Serena lets out a hearty groan at the sight. Sugar Dunes Beach is comprised solely of white powdered sand set on an intimate bay. The sandbar off in the distance traps a warm pool of aqua water, a sharp contrast to the deep navy beyond its borders. And lucky for us, there’s not another soul who’s made his way here this afternoon. At least not yet.
“Did we slip through some magical portal, and this is the beach version of Wonderland?” she marvels as she takes it all in. “I’ve accused you of being a know-it-all so many times, it turns out I was right. This place is amazing. I guess you really do know it all.” She gives a cheeky wink before whipping off her T-shirt. That hot pink bathing suit top she’s wearing claws for my attention, but I don’t dare linger. I came this close to tasting those sweet treats for myself, and right about now, I feel like an ass for even putting in the effort. She shimmies out of her microscopic shorts, only to reveal a barely-there G-string.
“Holy shit,” I mumble to myself, but judging by that prideful grin on her face, she heard it clear as day.
“Your turn.” She ticks her head toward my shirt as the breeze blows her hair back by a mile. Serena’s red locks glow against the cerulean blue sea, and she reminds me every bit of a mermaid—a naughty mermaid. A delicious looking mermaid I wouldn’t mind taking a bite out of.
I peel my shirt off nice and slow, letting her take in the show as she howls out the catcalls.
Serena runs a finger over my chest in the shape of an S. “If I lick your abs, do I get extra credit? Or do I have to bend over while you have your way with me to score that A?”
I wince at the scholastic dig. “No, but I’m pretty sure you’ll own me if you lick me. I read the handbook on immaturity, and it was right there, page one.”
She belts out a laugh. “I bet you own a copy.”
“Only because you left it at my house. Last one in the water gets punished.” I take off like a bullet.
“Punished how?” she screams while laughing.
“You’ll see!” I run into the water and dive under an incoming wave. The ocean is warm as a bath, and I swim out a few yards and take in the sensation as the water carbonates over my skin.
I pop up to find Serena already beside me.
“You’re a cheat!” She hops onto my shoulders in a meager attempt to drown me, and my skin drinks down the feel of her satin soft flesh over mine. “You need to do a countdown or saygobefore you do something like that. Didn’t your mother ever teach you anything?”
