“That was the best entertainment I’ve had since Ava and Mark used to go at each other’s throats. You can literally feel the tension dripping off you two. It’s awesome. Is that what you guys felt when Trystan and I were circling each other?”
“Pretty much. Except Trystan had to tamp it down a bit more since Mark didn’t know. We caused a lot of distraction where we could because he was failing miserably. I don’t know how Mark didn’t see it earlier. He was probably avoiding the thought at all costs. Denial and all that, right?” I pop a colby jack cheese cube.Mmm, my favorite.
“Yeah, well, Jaxon isn’t being subtle. He’s not just circling like a curious shark–he’s straight up hunting you.” She does theJaws ‘dud um’,and I laugh hard. She’s right.
The urge to claim your lips right here and now to reacquaint myself with how sweet you taste is driving me wild.
I gulp at the memory of his words earlier this week. I can still feel him a hairsbreadth away, his body’s heat threatening to light me on fire in the middle of that damn aisle.
Caramelby Sleep Token is playing on Bryn’s speaker, and that wetsuit is definitely taking the hint and sticking to him just as deliciously as some fucking caramel. I could totally go for a bit drizzled over some ice cream right about now. My mind wanders to our run-in last night, while I was on a last-minute date.
“So, do you prefer alfredo or lasagna?” Grant asks as he opens my car door parked outside of Marcketti’s.
“Alfredo girl, all the way, but no hate on lasagna. If it’s pasta, I’ll probably eat it. Just don’t put mushrooms in it.” Grant laughs and pushes up his glasses along the bridge of his nose. He looks like the kind of guy who loves sausage and mushroom pizza. Ick.
“Why the hate for mushrooms?”
“Let me guess, you’re a sausage and mushroom pizza guy?”
“Definitely,” he mumbles, stopping near the door but not opening it for me. Hmmm. He opens car doors but doesn’t think to grab the restaurant door. I turn to grab the door, butI’m beaten to it by another masculine hand. I look up to find arresting green eyes, definitely not attached to my date.
“After you.”
My mouth drops open for a second.
“Just going to add that I agree on the no mushrooms tidbit. Sorry for overhearing,” Jaxon announces, winking at me with his last word.
“Thanks, man.” Grant steps in front of me and claps Jaxon on the shoulder as he enters the building. Well then. Jaxon shakes his head, then looks at me, expression bored.
“Wow. Dating app?”
I blush deeply.
“Well, I hope your dinner is nicer than your company seems. Make him open doors for you, Holly. You deserve it.”
“Have a good night.”
“Sure.” Jaxon presses his lips together and starts to walk off to the front desk for a pick-up but turns back on his heel. “You look really pretty,” he adds. A soft smile pulls on his lips that tells me he’s not thrilled seeing me out with another guy, but he’s going to be a gentleman anyway. It hits me in the gut.
A seagull caws nearby, pulling me from the memory. Yeah, Grant didn’t make the cut by the end of the date either. When he’d asked if I wanted to split the check after talking about himself for an hour, I was ready to just put in my part and go home.
???
Jaxon
The cool water laps around my thighs as I sit astride my board near Trystan, just waiting for our next wave to come.
“She was checking out my ass,” I note proudly. Funny how something like that can turn me back into a hormonal teenager again.
“Oh yeah?” Trystan says with an equally goofy grin.
“I’m gonna wear her down.”
“Yeah? Well, you’ll definitely be an improvement. Brynleigh said the last few guys were pretty full of themselves. She deserves someone good. I can see you beinggoodfor her. I’m under the impression you’re one that isn’t going to be full of shit or waste her time.”
“I appreciate your vote of confidence. I got to see that firsthand when I ran into her on a date at Marcketti’s last night. I had a to-go order. Real winner. Didn’t even open the door for her, so I did.” Trystan tosses his head back with a big laugh that has his shoulders shaking. “So, you have any dirt on the one who gave her the bricks she used to build up her defenses?”
“Damn, I would’ve loved to have seen her face, but no, not really. When she first came to visit, she’d just broken things off with some Michael guy. If I heard correctly, I think they’d been engaged. I never asked. She seemed like she was happier to bury the past in the sand. Brynleigh only ever mentions that ‘we don’t talk about Michael.’”
