I stared at her. “Because we are.”
“But why?” I sighed and Maddie laughed. “You don’t have a valid answer.”
I walked back into the bedroom, tying my hair in a bun as I went. “I don’t know, Mads. We’re just friends.”
Maddie thought about that a second as I took off my earrings and placed them on the dresser. When I turned to face her, she was smiling again. “I don’t know, Steph,” Maddie said quietly. “Ty told me that Avery Westwood could have gone to a bunch of different teams. It was totally his call. The Saints weren’t even the highest offer. So if it wasn’t money that made him come here…maybe it was you.”
As I pulled back my blankets and slid into bed, I couldn’t help laughing at that last point. “Avery would never make a business decision based on anything other than business.”
Maddie barely bothered to consider my words before she turned back into Cupid’s little helper. “I still say it seems like you are something special to him,” she said. “So is he special to you?”
I panicked and blurted out too quickly and with too much gusto, “As afriend.”
Maddie stood up, the expression on her face screaming, “Bullshit!”
I punched my pillow and got comfortable. “My brother would honestly kill him if he ever slept with me, and I amsonot what his father would consider brand-friendly.”
“Don’t want to mess with the ‘brand.’” She did air quotes and didn’t sound convinced. She doesn’t look convinced now.
To avoid her and Alex, and to keep my eyes from lingering on Avery’s ass in his swim shorts as he stands at the camping table squeezing ketchup onto his hamburger bun, I get up and walk to the edge of the water. Nikolai and Beau are playing Frisbee there, and I run in between them and grab the Frisbee as Nik tries to chuck it to Beau. I smile triumphantly and hurl it to him myself.
“Nice arm!” Beau praises. “Are you good with a stick too? You can replace Westie.”
I roll my eyes. God, that kid is nothing but venom all the time. His girlfriend, Kyra, gives me an apologetic smile from where she sits nearby. I continue to the water until my toes are immersed. It’s a little cold but feels good with the sun being so hot. It’s above ninety degrees today.
I stare out at the beautiful rolling ocean. Today is one of those days where I am glad I made the decision to leave Seattle. There are a lot of days like this, thankfully, but today—with the sun and surf and friends and laughter—I feel particularly positive about the decision.
Maddie walks over and hands me a fresh mojito. I don’t want to drink it. Well, actually, I do, but I’ll make bad decisions. So I walk over and hand it to Kyra. “Here. You have to try these, they’re amazing.”
She smiles and takes the drink. “Thanks!”
Out of the corner of my eye I see Avery, Ty and Alex walking toward us. Ty and Avery have taken off their shirts and they’re just in their swim shorts. It’s really hard to force my eyes to Avery’s face. I want to stare at his huge wall of muscles he calls a chest and the ripples of muscle he calls a stomach, but when I finally manage to pull my eyes higher I see a goofy, almost lopsided smile on his face. He’s up to something. I walk back over to Maddie, who is ankle deep in the ocean, staring lustfully at her shirtless boyfriend, and doesn’t seem to see an issue.
Maybe I’m overreacting to that look on his face. Alex smiles. It’s definitely undeniably devious. Now I’m really wondering what’s going on.
“Hey, Deveau,” Avery says to me. “Can I borrow your phone?”
“Sure. I left it up by the chairs,” I explain, and his grin grows, as does my uneasiness.
“Good.”
“Wha…AHHH!” My question turns into a wail as Avery charges me. I see Ty do the same thing to Maddie and she screams too. The next thing I know I’m falling backward and being engulfed by a giant wave. I come up sputtering. Avery pops up right in front of me. “You asshole! It’s freezing!”
“I saw the way you were staring at me, and I thought you needed to cool off,” Avery explains, grinning his stupid, goofy, sexy grin.
I splash him. “Egomaniac!”
He grabs me around the waist. I feel suddenly warm despite the cold water.
“Admit it. You were checking me out,” he whispers roughly. His hands tighten on my hips and he lifts me easily and once again hurls me backward. A wave rushes over me and pushes me forward and I hit his chest with my own. He grabs my waist again, this time to hold me steady. I put my hands on his biceps.
“I was checking you out,” I admit, pushing my damp hair back off my face. “I’d check out any half-naked guy. By the way, Ty has better arms.”
He laughs and glances a few feet away, where Ty and Maddie are making out in the ocean. “I’m bigger in other areas,” Avery retorts cockily.
“You did not just go there.”
“I can prove it.” He wiggles his eyebrows. “Want me to prove it?”
