“No, something’s happened with the girls.”
Jack glances over at Bree and her friends sitting on the grass. “Let me guess,” he mutters.
“Probably.” I shrug. Jack says something to Cameron, and the four of us walk down the lawn to the beach. Jack and Cam say something to Leah and Aubrey, and they all leave, walking toward the house. Tyler sits down next to June, but she scoots closer to Hannah. “What’s going on, June Bug?” he asks, wrapping his arm around her.
Oh dang! That’s not good. I grab Hannah’s hand, hoping she’ll come with me so T. and talk to June. She turns to June. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, just don’t leave,” June whispers to her.
“I won’t. I promise.” Hannah squeezes her arm and then stands up.
I entwine my hand through hers and lead her over to the dock. I jump into Tyler’s boat and grab Hannah around the waist, helping her in. “Let’s sit at the front of the boat.”
I pull her into the crook of my arm. “What happened?”
“June thought she was being nice and befriending the new girl, but Chanel showed her true colors by being mean, making fun of her.”
“I’m sorry. I should have been paying more attention.”
“Ford, you and the guys were having fun. It was nice to see. You, Ty, Jack, and the rest of the guys deal with a lot of pressure with school and football. We were fine until Bree showed up. I’m the one who should have gotten up and left the conversation, but I was trying to prove to myself that Bree doesn’t intimidate me anymore.”
“And does she?”
“No. I almost feel sorry for her.”
“Has an alien taken over your body?”
Hannah slaps my chest. “I said almost.”
“That’s a relief. I’m not sure how I feel about having an alien for a girlfriend.”
“You’d love it.”
“You’re probably right.”
We glance over at June and Tyler. He has her tucked into the crook of his arm, and she’s smiling. Hannah looks up at me. “He called her June Bug.”
“He’s got it bad. I know exactly how he feels,” I say, leaning in and kissing her cheek.
“You’ve got it bad for June, too?” she asks, trying to keep her forehead wrinkled and the smile off her face.
I squeeze her side, and she breaks character, laughing. I trail kisses along her cheek, up to her ear. “I want to take you to our spot.”
Hannah’s breath hitches, and her cheeks flood with color. “I want to. It’s just….” She lets her head drop against my shoulder. “It’s out in the open. What if someone followed us? What if they got pictures? And I promised June I’d stay.”
I close my eyes, clenching my jaw. That website makes me furious. It’s my fault for liking the attention girls gave me. “You’re right. I wasn’t thinking.”
“That’s not true. You were thinking, just maybe, with the manly part of your anatomy.” Hannah giggles.
I love that sound. I could listen to it on repeat for hours. I kiss Hannah’s jaw, then slide lower, kissing the hollow of her neck, and she lets out a little whimper. That was just the sound I was hoping for. “I know from experience that you like that manly part.”
Hannah tips her head back, looking up at me. “I love all your parts, Crawford Cross.”
I swear my heart just flip-flopped in my chest. I kiss her temple, groaning. “Keep talking like that, and I’ll resort to dragging you into Tyler’s bedroom.”
Hannah grabs my face in both her hands. She squeezes my face, making my lips pucker, and kisses me. “You need to move and expend some energy. Is Tyler going to take his boat out?”
“That was the plan?” My phone buzzes with a text.
