Page 28 of Coastal Runaway

This was awkward. We’re not friends, but I found myself not feeling that fire of hatred that once fueled me. I didn’t know how to just sit and have a conversation with this man anymore.

“So, how are classes?” I asked, trying to break the uncomfortable tension.

“Yup, they’re good. It’s definitely a different culture here, but I’m adjusting.”

I nodded my head, glancing up at him, and we were silent again. The silence was familiar but uncomfortable. Once there was a time where I reveled in how nice it felt to exist in each other's orbit without having to fill the time with mindless conversation. But that was too comfortable now.

He looked up and caught me staring at him, I looked away and he chuckled. Glad he’s amused.

“Are you excited for your birthday?” He asked, taking a sip of his drink.

“Yeah, it should be fun.”

“Fun?” He nudged my shoulder. “What happened to the girl who was so obsessed with her birthday that she made an itemized itinerary for the entire day?”

I laughed, “that girl is long gone.” We kept eye contact for a moment, as if my words hit somewhere deeper, and I was no longer just talking about my birthday. Maybe I wasn’t.

Luke glanced down at my lips and I held my breath.

What would I do if he kissed me?

The thoughts quickly dissipated when Nolan spoke up, “We’re going inside,” he shouted over the fire.

I jumped up, needing to separate myself from the situation, “yeah, me too.”

I quickly grabbed my shoes and shuffled towards the house as the boys put out the fire with wet sand. This whole interaction with Luke felt too normal, too easy. I couldn’t deny the fact that my body reacted to him. If he leaned in for a kiss, would I have let him?

Probably.

But I couldn’t let myself go there again. I couldn’t forget the past, even if it’s for a very hot hookup. Luke and I had chemistry, history, and if I was not careful I would find myself giving in to what my body wanted, but what my mind knew was a bad idea.

I locked my bedroom door behind me and walked out onto the patio breathing in to calm myself. He got me worked up like no one else, but that was dangerous for my heart. I took a beat to remind myself of what I declared all those years ago.

Luke Cavan was dead to me.

And it needed to stay that way.

thirteen

Luke

My mind was still reeling from the other night at the beach. I wasn’t quite sure how Keegan would react when Nolan and I got home while she was lounging out on the couch in her own little world.

It was Nolan’s bright idea to invite the girls that we met on the beach back to the house. He kept pushing for me to get out and meet women, but ever since I moved here there’s only been one girl who could keep my attention.

And she wanted nothing to do with me.

Since our truce Keegan was cordial but distant. She hadn’t bit my head off, yet, but she wasn’t jumping at the chance to hangout either. It was torturous knowing that only a wall separated us, but she still felt so far away.

Spending time around her, in her orbit, made me more confused than ever. Even my social media pages were plastered with her face now that she unblocked me.

My body wanted her near but my heart knew that she left without any regard to my feelings. I couldn’t trust her with all of me, but maybe I’d get lucky and she’d let me trust her with … certain body parts.

I was sitting at the kitchen counter doing my stats homework when my phone pinged with a message.

Nolan

Alright boys, girls are going out tonight. What’s the plan?