“What are you guys doing here?”
She shifts her weight. “It’s summer break, and this beach is beautiful. I was, um—” She looks off and meets the eyes of a tall guy with black hair, brown eyes, and a smile on his face. “Hanging with a friend at the frat house, and they were all coming down, so I thought I would join.”
I nod in all the right places, smiling even though it’s not real. She’s standing here in the smallest bikini known to man, and while I’m an advocate for showing off what you got, I hate that it makes me feel so inferior.
Her eyes flit for a few nanoseconds andfinally focus on Liam.
“I can’t believe he’s here,” she whispers, and Liam looks over at us, his eyes meeting mine. His expression drops when she raises a hand, waving at him, and I look away from that.
Yeah, today’s shaping out to be agreatday.
She giggles while a pit in my stomach forms. I excuse myself as she goes to where all the guys are, her eyes trained on Liam, causing my head to hang a bit. Jamie looks up at me, confused, and I blow out a breath in disbelief.
“Do I wanna know?” she asks when I make my way back to her.
With a sigh, I say, “Those guys are in the fraternity Liam’s in. And that girl—she’s the one who hooked up with Liam a couple years ago.” Her eyes widen and she mouths the words“well, goodness,” and I nod self-deprecatingly. “Yeah, so on top of Olivia’s little looks toward Liam, I have to deal with Vanessa’s.” She gives me a saddened expression, and sits up, hugging my arm. I lean my head on hers, the beach day not shaping up as the best. Someone sits next to us, and I look, hoping it’s Liam, but am surprised to find Chase.
“Is this seat taken?” I shake my head and smile. Chase was the one guy who was sweet to me during orientation. Jamie stiffens and his eyes drift toward her. “I’m Chase Collins.” He gives her that suave smile and an outstretched hand that Liam has told me he gives to a bunch of girls. His platinum nose ring that I swore he didn’t have before shines under the bright sun.
Jamie rolls her eyes, giving him her hand regardless. “Jamie Beckett.” He repeats it, savoring each and every letter, and she takes her hand away. I glare at him.
He raises his hands in surrender. “Nice to meet you, Jamie.” She nods before someone calls him over, and I turn to see that they moved their net closer, as they probably invited themselves to hang with us. He looks over and smirks. “We need another person, you up for it, Harrison?”
I shake my head before I elbow Jamie lightly. I point at her. “She was captain of the volleyball team for a bit in middle school.” She slaps my arm and I rub it, pouting.
He laughs and stands, offering a hand. “Well then,Cap, you’ve gotta show us what you got.” She sighs as she grabs his hand. Upon standing, she snatches it back and he walks them toward the game. Behind his back, she runs a finger horizontally along her throat toward me, and I giggle. Glancing around, I find Olivia and Vanessa talking together, sighing at that potentially becoming a thing. My eyes then lock on Josh saying something to Mom, causing her to roll her eyes at him.
Hm, that’s new.
A shade casts over me as Liam sits. He crosses his arms and I fidget with my fingers.
“Didn’t know they were gonna be here,” he mutters.
I nod. “Coincidence. I’m glad Chase came.”
Liam’s head snaps toward me, his gaze heating at the simple sentence. “Why?” he asks, and I look at him, confused.
“He’s nice ... and my friend. One of the first ones I made at Mella Colta.” He hums, but looks as if he didn’t even listen to what I said. He doesn’t say anything for a bit and I sigh. “If you’re here to give me the silent treatment, you can do it somewhere else.” He looks at me in disbelief—no, that doesn’t make any sense,disbelief about what?
“I thought it’s what you wanted. You haven’t exactly reached out the last couple days either since the driving lesson.” I don’t bother defending myself because that statement is utterly true.
Resigned, I hang my head. “Why’s this so hard?”
He shrugs, sighing. “I don’t know.”
I glance up. “I’m sorry for that day. Maybe if I didn’t say anything ...”
He stops me. “Hey, don’t blame yourself. You went through a lot that day, and my comment didn’t help either.” He pauses. “Sorry, I’ve been acting kinda like an idiot.”
I raise an eyebrow, shaking my head. “We both have.” We chuckle at that, and he smiles at me while scanning me from head to toe.
“You know, I don’t think I’ve seen a swimsuit like yours today.”
I nod. “Yeah, it’s not the most flattering on me either.” Jamie swears that this thing is the best swimsuit I own, accentuating myfeatures and using other fashion-related terms that I don’t know the meaning of. I fuss with material and he stops me.
“That’s a damn lie.” I raise an eyebrow and he looks at me like he can’t believe I think otherwise. “Bianca, you look gorgeous. You’ve outshone everyone on this beach,sun included. You’re beautiful. When aren’t you?” His voice stays reverent, but I stay stunned.
I’m wearing a simple dark green tankini. On this part of the beach alone, I’m practically fully clothed compared to the other girls here. He rubs a thumb over my cheekbone before someone calls his name, and the little bubble we’re in pops. I look around to see everyone’s eyes on us, most of them with smiles, except Josh.
