When he makes no move to join me, I reach behind my head to unhook the clasp and accidentally end up tugging the string on my bikini as well.Whoopsie.The yellow tie tumbles down my chest, but the wet material remains stuck to my skin.
“I’ve been thinking about last night,” I say.“About how fun it would be to finish what we started.”
Instead of the smile I was aiming for, Ethan winces and turns away, looking like he’s in pain.“I told you… this can’t happen.”
He probably should’ve thought of that before he rocked my world last night with nothing but his mouth.“Then why did you kiss me?”
“I was drunk.”
Something flinches in my chest.“Oh, really?”
“Yes.”He sighs.“Last night was a mistake.”
Whatever words he’s saying, Iknowthat’s a load of bull.It wasn’t a mistake.It was phenomenal.Mind-blowing.Earth-shattering.
But hey, if he wants to stand here and deny it, then who am I to stop him?
Why would I want to pursue someone who doesn’t want to pursue me back?
“If you’re going home, you’ll need this,” I say.When I slip his cold key off my chain and press it into his hand, it takes him a second to close his fingers around it.As I turn and step into the shower, I don’t lock the door, just in case he comes to his senses and decides to join me.
Disappointment sits like a rock on my chest when the door stays closed.
Last night was a mistake.
Maybe I’m wrong and he really did mean it.
What’s worse, maybe he actually believes it.
As I peel out of my wetsuit and the neoprene drops to the wet planks under my feet, I make a silent promise to stop trying to coax Ethan into choosing me over whatever else he’s got going on.
It’s starting to make me feel kinda foolish, if I’m being honest.
Plus, he’ll be gone soon anyway.It’s not like he’s my grand gift from the ferry gods.So what’s the point?
CHAPTERNINETEEN
ETHAN
I knewthat kissing Chloe would be a mistake.
For both of us.
Not because it was bad—because it was anything but.It dumped a tank of gasoline on a fire I’d tried to pretend wasn’t there.
Now, I think I’ve hurt her feelings, which is exactly what I was trying to avoid.
She’ll bounce back, obviously.Likely already has.
She’s Chloe—the woman whose smile is painted on, even when everything is going to shit.The one who knows how to make me do things I shouldn’t.And not just because she’s gotta be the sexiest woman I’ve ever met.
The way she held my gaze when she peeled down her wetsuit and untied her bikini… My dick got so hard so fast I had to get the hell out of there before the last thread of will I’d been clinging to snapped.
I don’t even know why I’m holding onto it anymore.
Just fuck the woman, Ethan.Fuck her into next Tuesday, and then get back to work.
The problem is, the more time I spend with Chloe, the more I like her.As much as I sucked at surfing, I still had the best time with her in that freezing water.
