Page 22 of Coastal Runaway

Yes, I was brutally aware.

Keegan leaned over to whisper in Maggie's ear. Maggie covered her mouth with her hand, stifling a laugh, and then she nodded. Turning back to the table, Keegan raised a finger and tapped her lip, “let’s make a little wager, shall we?”

“What do you have in mind, baby sister?” Nolan smirked, trying to get a rise out of her because he knew that Keegan hated when he called her that.

Keegan looked bored. She removed an invisible piece of lint from her clothing, seemingly unfazed by Nolan's negging, before she locked eyes with him and said “If we win, then you two are on dish duty for two weeks.”

Nolan contemplated that for a moment. He looked downright devious when he answered, “Fine, and if we win, you girls have to clean our rooms for two weeks.”

Maggie gave him a look of disgust, gagging for dramatic effect, before she agreed, “Fine. Take your shot.”

Nolan was up first.

“You got this, bro,” I said before he aimed the ball and sent it flying.

It sank in the remaining cup.

“Let’s go!” I slapped both hands on Nolan’s shoulders and gave them a tight squeeze, shaking him slightly until his signature booming laugh rang loudly over the crowd. When I turned back to the table, I locked eyes with Keegan before aiming my shot. Just as I was about to shoot, her hand shifted slightly, sending her drink to the ground.

“Oops,” she giggled before turning around and bending over, painfully slowly, leaving her ass in the air. Completely distracted, I tossed the ball, and it completely overshot the table. She sprang back up, and Maggie tackled her in a hug with a cheer.

“That’s cheating!” Nolan yelled, pointing at the girls who couldn’t stop laughing. Nolan turned to me shoving my chest playfully, “dude, come on! How could you let them play you like that! It’s not even a hot girl,” he scrunched his face looking over his shoulder, “it’s Keegan.” He gagged.

I shrugged, “I’m only human… She’s not my sister.”

Maggie shot first for their team and sank the ball; the girl was on fire tonight. Keegan stepped up to the table. If she made this shot they would win; if she missed we would go into overtime.

Keegan held her hand up to aim the ball, “you’ll look good in some rubber gloves.” Then without breaking eye contact with me, she sent the ball flying and it landed with so much force that water came up over the edges of the cup.

The crowd that had congregated around our very intense game of beer pong burst into cheers. The girls jumped up and down screaming as random onlookers offered high-fives and congratulations. Something I couldn’t help but notice was that no one bothered to watch the beer pong games before Keegan showed up.

Maggie and Keegan walked up to us with the confidence of champions before offering us their hands.

“Good game.” Maggie said, looking directly at Nolan. Keegan stood in front of me and gestured down to her extended hand. I shook it without looking away from her face; the moment our hands connected, I felt warm all over.

Maggie and Nolan were distracted, talking to some friends who had approached after the game ended. I leaned down into Keegan’s space and whispered in her ear, “you played dirty Tig,” she sucked in a breath, “don’t tell me you forget what happens to girls who are bad.”

I chuckled, riling up Keegan was my favorite pastime.

I swore that I heard a very subtle moan leave her mouth before she snatched her hand away and scurried in the opposite direction towards the house.

Always the runner.

ten

Keegan

I needed to get as far away from the pong table as possible. I realized too late in the game that I was openly flirting with Luke Cavan in front of the entire athletic department, and that I was enjoying it. I walked towards the back door and into the kitchen in search of something strong to drink.

The house was shoulder to shoulder with drunk college kids having a fun Friday night. I muscled my way through the crowd until I got to the kitchen island; it was covered in every variety of liquor and mixer that I could think of. I poured myself a hefty cup of vodka with a splash of lemonade before I chugged it down and poured myself a second.

Each time Luke and I were in the same room, it was as if I lost all freewill and became the same dorky girl who fell for him in high school. The moment that he flashed his signature smirk, I completely forgot why I hated him.

Momentarily… of course.

While sparring with Luke came naturally, I couldn’t let myself forget the way that he used me and ruined our friendship for a quick fuck. Those eyes had made me stupid for my entire life but I had to remember what I promised myself when I moved out to the west coast.

Finally feeling loose, I headed out to search for Maeve. She came as the sober driver for the night and I found her dancing in the living room with a guy that I recognized from the baseball team. She spotted me and waved me over.