Page 72 of True Abandon

“My face on a man’s body would be just about the sexiest things ever. Would you do it?” She twists around to face Jason who has a frightened expression on his face.

We all laugh at his predicament.

Benji rises and rolls his shirt up to show off a muscular bicep, “I’ll get you tattooed on me, Lani. A real man isn’t afraid to put a beautiful woman on his body.”

Lani scrunches her face and gives a shake. “No, thanks. I don’t want to know what you do with that arm, let alone be one it.”

Benji kicks up sand as her response gets another good laugh from the group.

Kelli crosses her ankles and just out her chest. “I would totally tattoo a guy on my body. Some people get birds on their skin—I’d rather have a man on my flesh.”

My jaw drops jokingly at the insult. “Hey! I happen to like my tattoo!”

“I don’t like a tattoo on a lady,” Isaiah admits. His low voice comes out like a melody. “A goddess doesn’t need artwork.”

We all give a little whistle and woo at his comment making the sweet man blush.

“I think it’s beautiful,” Jax’s drawl steals our attention. “Especially on a woman’s back. And when it means something, like a phoenix rising from the shadows, it’s even sexier.”

My lip quivers at his words. The vibrations shoot right through me and settle in my core. He leans in, his forearm brushing mine, and I swear there’s a spark of electricity from the contact.

“Where are you from?” Kelli asks, once again, pulling us from our moment.

Jax clears his throat. “Originally from Virginia. Was in L.A. for a few years. Now, I’m kinda in between places.”

“Trish is from Virginia.” Kelli lowers her head as if to study Jax.

Jax looks away and then back to me. The corners of his brows are lowered. I give him a slight nod to let him know she knows about our past.

“What’s your last name?” Her chin is raised.

Jax matches her response. “Davis.”

Her face falls in recognition as her eyes shoot straight to me. I close mine to avoid the shell-shock stare she gives me.

“Trish, I thought you were from New York?” Isaiah asks.

I pull my knees into my chest. “Originally Virginia, then Connecticut, New York, and now, here.”

Kal chimes in, “You and Kelli left New York City—the bright lights, happening places. Why?”

“The men suck,” Kelli states. Her attention focused on one person and he’s sitting right beside me.

“Yeah,” I add as I take another swig of my beer draining it to the end.

Kelli snarls. “She’s all talk. She had a great guy there. Kevin. He wanted to marry her and everything.”

I shake my head. “No, he didn’t.”

“Did too,” she insists. “He asked her to move in. She couldn’t do it, though. Some asshole in high school broke her. Destroyed every good relationship she’s had since.”

“Kelli—” I warn.

“Right before we left to come here, the fucker gets hurt and his sister emails Trish asking her to go to his side. The nerve, right? And you know what she does? She runs to him. He must have really struck a nerve because the next day she said she was ready to move with me to Hawaii. Let’s all pray he doesn’t try to follow her here. That would be really fucked up.” There’s nastiness in her tone. Our laid-back friends are staring at her, unsure of where her hostility came from.

“Jax is musician,” I burst out in a desperate attempt to change the topic. I can feel his stare burning into my side, but I ignore him.

“What do you play?” Jason asks, taking a hint.