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Chapter 14
Cruz
It’s been a few weeks since Ellery and I fucked around at the boardwalk and things have changed for the better. She’s still hanging around with those Elmhurst clowns, but I’m starting to get the feeling she’s doing it not to get a rise out of me, but for another reason altogether.
I can’t help but notice the way she eyes the group when they’re not looking. Like she’s studying them, as if they’re some kind of science experiment. But as soon as they turn their sights back to her, she’s all charm and smiles.
It may fool them, but it doesn’t fool me. Despite that bright, sunny smile, she’s guarded. I can tell by the way she never looks completely at ease when she’s around them. Not like she is when she’s with Jenica, with her elbows on the railing at the boardwalk, listening to music or people watching.
That’s when I love to watch her—when the humidity lifts and the lights and energy of the night surrounds her. It’s then she seems happiest, like the boardwalk is her world, and I can’t help but fall deeper under both her spell and this place.
Jake too, has grown fond of Cherry Cove. Between the rides and concerts on the beach, he’s about as relaxed as I’ve ever seen him. He’d stopped complaining about the heat and how sweaty his balls were and seems to enjoy hanging out with Ellery’s friend when she and I sneak off into the shadows to steal a few minutes alone.
Ever since the photo booth, we both seem to be needing to let what we’re feeling run its course more and more, and I’m not complaining. Kissing her and making her come has become my favorite thing to do this summer.
Cal and Marcus, however, I haven’t seen much lately. Cal seems to be on a fucking spree, tossing out the count of how many girls he’s slept with, whenever he strolls through the door in the morning. While Marcus is spending more and more time with Allison.
It’s all good, though. That’s why we came here. For each of us to relax and unwind before heading back for the most important year of our lives. And shit, if getting laid helps keep Cal’s mood in check, then I’m all for it.
When Fourth of July rolls around and the four of us celebrate the end of our first month with an epic pool party, I’m not even mad when Ellery doesn’t make it. She told me she’d be heading to the Beach Club for the lobster bake they do every year and the guys and I wind up throwing a great pool party.
Later, however, after everyone heads to the boardwalk to watch the fireworks, Ellery does come over and it makes my night.
I’m sitting in the backyard, sprawled out on a lounge chair with my hands behind my head, when she comes sauntering up the walk.
I take a moment to admire her as she approaches—hair down, sandals in hand—and I can’t help but marvel at the woman she’s becoming.
Sure, the girl she used to be sent my pulse racing, but the woman she was becoming makes my stomach—the one made of steel that never falters, even when down on a count—flip every time I see her.
Tonight, she’s particularly stunning in her blue halter top and tiny white shorts, and I can’t help but notice how she possesses the kind of natural beauty so many girls strive for and fall spectacularly short.
“Well hello, Butler.” I grin as she drops her sandals on the ground next to my chair, and kicks one leg over me, and settlesonto my lap. “Can I help you with something?”
She runs her hands up my bare chest as her eyes dance. Having long since discarded my Hawaiian shirt, I’m one swim trunk away from being naked.
“Oh yeah,” she says playfully, then hiccups. “You can help me.”
I bring a finger to her cheek, smiling. “Did someone have one too many fruity drinks tonight?”
“No,” she hiccups, and laughs again. “That would be margaritas.”
“Now Ellery, didn’t I tell you…”
“El tequila no sirve,” she says in sexy, languid Spanish. “Siempre alguien termina desnudo.”
“That’s right.” I run my thumb across her lower lip. “So unless you’re prepared to get naked…”
“What if I am?” she shrugs.
I lean in and whisper hotly in her ear. “Then you better be ready baby, because the moment you do, I’m taking what I want.”
Goosebumps prick her arms as her lips part, and without thinking, I grip the back of her neck and kiss her. She tastes like strawberries and lime, and sweet Jesus, I could drown in her.
She kisses me back, massaging my tongue with her own, moaning a little in my mouth.
“Ellery,” I whisper. “You’re going to get us into trouble.”
“I don’t care.” She drapes her arms around my neck. “Courtney and Dex have always been touchy feely, and they’re actually related. So what if we are kissing siblings.”
