“Fuck, Davis. I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s okay. I’m okay. I like that I have this reminder.” I keep swaying with him, smiling, my wrists resting on his shoulders.
His eyes, golden in the dim lights, lower to my lips. His lashes are long, dark and curl perfectly.
Why are lashes like his always wasted on guys? He’s so pretty. A total thirst trap. Because I’m thirsty. A giggle bubbles in my throat at my train of thought. I lick my lips, craving another beer, liking the buzz in my head.
With the slightest pressure, he pulls my hips toward him.
I close my eyes and lean in just as the song ends. I open them and he’s watching me, our noses almost touching. Realizing what almost happened, I step back and blink, breaking the . . . whatever that was. I’m getting dangerously drunk, but this level of numb feels so good. “I want another beer,” I announce and step out of his arms.
“Anything for you, babe.” He steps back too but takes my hand and turns toward the kitchen.
Lilly and Noah are still at the pong table. She’s standing in front of him, his arms around her. Noah cheers loudly and kisses her on the cheek. It makes me smile, but my cheeks feel rubbery.
“Looks like they’re winning,” I say over my shoulder as Seth fills another solo cup for me.
“Yeah, it’s what they do.” He holds his cup in salute to Noah.
Noah puts his hand to his forehead like a military salute in response.
Lilly and I make eye contact, and she tosses her head to me like “You good?”
I toss mine back in confirmation. Even in my beer haze, I love that we can communicate without words. She’s the best friend I’ve everhad. The only friend. I shake off the sad turn my thoughts take. No sappy bullshit tonight. Just beer and fun and forgetting.
“C’mon, let’s go check out the firepit.” Seth snags a bottle of clear liquid off the bar, takes my free hand and leads me through a slider into the backyard.
***
“How’d you end up with a house like this? On the beach?” It’s just us in the backyard now, sitting in two of the plastic Adirondacks around the fire pit. I stamp down the image it conjures of the Brew fire pit. Brew’s chairs are wooden, heavy. The view is a lake. But the parallels are undeniable. I sip more beer to blur it. The beer is almost too warm to drink now. I reach for the bottle Seth brought out and read the label. Casamigos Blanco Tequila.House of Friends. Appropriate.It makes me smile. I zero back in on Seth’s voice.
“It’s a VRBO my parents own, but they rent it to me for college. I charge these feral fuckers”—he waves his hand toward the house—“and easily make my rent.”
“That’s a sweet arrangement.” I twirl the bottle in my hand, watching the liquid swirl.
“Can’t complain. It’s a clean setup. Close to school. Close to surfing.” He nods his head thoughtfully. “Yeah, a damn good flex.”
Reaching for the bottle, Seth’s fingers brush mine as he takes it from my hands. He twists the top off with a plonk and takes a healthy swig. Swallowing with a grimace, he hands the open bottle to me.
Bringing it to my lips, I inhale through my nose first. It smells surprisingly light and clean. Tequila usually smells more like nail polishremover. I take a tentative sip.Smooth.I take another bigger sip. It warms my throat and my belly when it lands. Swallowing a few more times to relieve the slight burn, I pass it back to Seth, who’s watching me with those golden tiger eyes.
Pressing the cork back on the bottle, he drops it to the grass and holds out his hand. “Let’s go to the beach.” He stands as he says it.
I take his hand and allow him to pull me out of the chair and lead me down to the shore. The path is dark, but the moon is almost full and lighting our way. Once we’re standing on the sand, I slip off my Dunks, then my socks and stuff one into each shoe. Seth kicks off his flip-flops, leaving them where they land, so I set my Nikes next to them. Even the dry sand is cool between my toes, causing a shiver to roll up my body.
Seth peels off his hoodie, plops it over my head and pulls it down to my hips.
I push my arms through the sleeves and reach up to pull my hair out of the neck at the same time he does. He lets his hands fall to my shoulders and pins me with a hungry stare. That hunger brings Julian’s face to mind.
I close my eyes to block it out—an accidental invitation. When I do, Seth’s lips touch mine. They’re cool, soft. Different. Not Julian’s. I don’t pull away. Like a weird test or comparison, I let him kiss me. Once. Twice. He tastes like tequila. Not like Julian. I’ve only ever kissedhim, so this feels wrong and reckless, dangerous even. I’m glad it’s different. I don’t want to think about Julian.Or Jayce.Or Taya. Or liars. I lean into him and tip my head slightly, invite him to deepen the kiss. He does. His mouth opens, and I feel his breath on my lips.
His tongue brushes my lower lip before it slips past it to caress mine. Soft like his lips. With his fingers in my belt loops, he pulls me to him and wraps his arms around me.
My hands reach up to tangle in his hair. It’s wrong too—long, parted in the middle and dipping just below his ears. I pull on it lightly, fusing our mouths tighter together.
It elicits a low moan from his throat. The sound is off. It’s not the voice that makes my tummy flip, but it flips all the same.
Sliding his hands down, he cups them under my ass and lifts me. My legs instinctively wrap around him. It’s nothis waist.We don’t fit the same. He’s strong but slender.This is wrong.My hazy brain is screaming at me through a vortex. It dimly registers but not enough.
