Page 11 of Keeping it Local

Megan raised her eyebrows at me. “It doesn’t need to be serious. You’ve got to let loose a little, especially if you plan on settling down, which you might want to think about, anyway. You don’t want to look back and think about what could have been.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s just not that easy. I’ve always stayed in my lane, you know?” I paused, looking out at the waves crashing up onto the shore. “I’m so used to doing what everyone expects, I don’t even think about doing what I want.”

“Well, maybe it’s time,” she said.

“Maybe it is.”

Just then, she sat up and looked back over at the pavilion. “Someone’s ears must have been ringing.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, following her stare.

When I finally figured out what she was looking at, all I could focus on was the giant back tattoo of dark ink that crawled over a man’s shoulder and down his left arm. He stood there, head back, laughing with his buddy, wearing some low-slung board shorts and his backward hat. I knew exactly who’s back that was, and I was in trouble.

Chapter 6

Johnny

Lane and I grabbed the cooler and were heading over to some of the guys by the picnic table when I saw Beth and Megan checking us out, which didn’t bother me one bit. It looked like Megan had gotten Beth to take a break from all the school stuff and working at the shop. I had tried to reach out to her a few times, and it seemed she always had an excuse about why she couldn’t meet up. She was blowing me off, and I didn’t like it.

It was clear she was letting her hair down today though. They weren’t close to us, but there was no doubt it was the two of them. Megan had her giant umbrella and set-up she took to the beach. Beth perched next to her, and I had to school my face when looking at her to keep the goofy smile at bay. The one-piece suit Beth wore was showcasing everything in the right places, creating a sexy silhouette of her curves.

“Hey guys, let’s sit over this way,” I said, walking toward the girls.

I threw our stuff in an empty spot of sand and plopped down next to Beth. “So, you going to tell me why you’ve been avoiding me?”

“Not avoiding you,” Beth said, looking down. “It’s a busy summer between classes and working.”

“Uh-huh,” I said, chuckling to myself. “Sure.”

“Hey! We’re going to start a game of volleyball. You guys up for it?” Lane yelled over to us. Max and Sean were already over there, tossing the ball and stretching like they were getting ready for the Olympics. The three of them had grown up together, and, luckily, they had pulled me into the group when I moved to town.

Megan rolled her eyes but headed over as well.

Beth shrugged. “I guess we’re playing volleyball.”

“Is it us three against Johnny and the girls?” Lane asked, yelling over to us. “Can’t wait to take you guys down!” He cocked his head to the side.

“Absolutely not!” Megan yelled. “Max, you’re over here.” Megan waltzed across the line, making her way to the other side of the net, and I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at the way Lane glared at her.

“I think we can take them!” I looked over at Max and Beth, waggling my eyebrows at them.

“For sure. Let’s go!” Max yelled, hyping himself up by jumping up and down in the sand.

Beth looked nervous, but she stayed, which surprised me given the recent cold shoulder she’d given me.

“I can tell you’re killer at beach volleyball,” I said to her, a smile on my face as I made the first serve.

She stood tall in her one-piece, looking confident, and I couldn’t help but lick my lips as I watched her ass jiggle through my sunglasses. I needed to look away, but I didn’t want to. I could watch her all day. She caught me staring a few times but didn’t change what she was doing at all. I couldn’t help but like the confidence.

“Oh, you read the room too well.” She laughed before running up and punching the ball back over the net. She was better than I thought she’d be, frankly.

“Not bad. Not bad. You play some ball in your free time?”

“Yeah, we have a net set up in between all of the farm fields up where I’m from.” She squealed as she took a dive for a pass and dusted off the sand that Max had kicked up onto us.

Sean and Lane worked us harder than I wanted, but we held our own, and Megan, of course, trash talked Lane the whole time.

“Get your head in the game, guys!” Max shouted at Beth and I, one of the times that I was caught looking at her ass in that bathing suit.