Page 65 of Coastal Runaway

“I know, man. But life is about risks and mistakes. She has to learn those lessons for herself. You can’t protect her from everything. One day she’ll meet someone special and if you guys keep pushing her, then she’ll choose them over you and you'll lose her.” I was talking to Aiden but I caught Keegan’s eyes over his shoulder.

“You’re right. Guess I should go give Nolan the same speech now, huh?”

I nodded and we headed inside to calm down the hot headed idiot.

The rest of the day went by without any drama. Maeve made a point to touch Nick as much as possible and stayed glued at his side. Nolan kept staring at Maggie and Ryan but shrugged it off stating, “she’s like a sister to me and I’m protective.”

I spent the day wishing that I could openly touch Keegan the way that I so desperately wanted to. Keeping this secret was slowly starting to eat me alive and I didn’t know how much longer I would last.

twenty-eight

Keegan

I debated what I was going to wear for Halloween for weeks. I wanted to do something fun, but also something that everyone would understand. The idea came to me the day that Luke barged into the media room and put on She’s All That. It was perfect. I got some tight denim overall shorts that rose up so high that I practically had a permanent wedgie.

Maeve, Maggie, and I spent an afternoon splattering paint and distressing them while sipping fruity drinks and blasting music. I paired the overalls with a white bralette and left one of the overall shoulders unbuttoned and hanging. A pair of black combat boots added a little edge, and I rounded off the outfit with a low messy bun and a pair of big, square framed glasses.

“Do you think he’ll like it?” I fiddled with the strap of my overalls.

“He’s literally going to cream his pants,” Maggie said from my bed.

Maggie decided to go as a football player tonight just to fuck with Nolan. She bought one of his jerseys from the campus bookstore and cut it so that it was short enough to catch a glimpse of the silver bikini top she wore underneath it. She had on a sinfully tight pair of leather shorts and Golden Goose sneakers. I added two black stripes to her face and Maeve was currently Dutch-braiding her hair.

Maeve decided to lean into her love of pink and was dressed as cowgirl Barbie. That girl knew fashion and could probably style a trash bag to look chic.

Maeve giggled at Maggie’s statement. “If he does that, please let me know so I can use it as blackmail.”

“If he does that we’re leaving the party early to make it happen again,” I burst into laughter as Maeve gagged a little.

Once Maggie’s hair was done, we went out onto the patio to take some group pictures. We were mid-pose when I heard Luke’s sliding door open and he stepped out looking like a wet dream.

He decided to go as Danny Zuko, wearing jeans, a crisp white t-shirt that showed off his beautiful arms, a leather jacket, and black Chuck Taylor sneakers. His eyes raked up and down my body and a devilish smirk spread across his face.

“Well, we’re gonna go save the boys from Nolan,” Maggie said, grabbing Maeve’s arm and dragging her towards my door.

“Don’t worry, there’s no dead bodies yet,” Luke reassured them, not breaking eye contact with me.

“Be good you two.” Maeve winked over her shoulder as Maggie dragged her away.

The door clicked behind them and I expected Luke to pounce on me, but he remained across the patio.

“Nice costume.” I twisted my fingers in front of me, suddenly nervous.

He crooked his finger at me and grinned, “get over here.”

I beamed at him as I skipped forward and jumped into his arms, wrapping my legs around his waist. He crashed his mouth into mine and devoured me.

“You are so fucking hot, Tig.” He said as he peppered kisses down my throat, “I’m not sure I can keep my hands off of you down there.”

I giggled and pulled away, my hands rested on his shoulders and he kept his hands under my ass to hold me up. “Just think about how much fun it’ll be when you can finally have your way with me later,” I teased.

He growled, “why wait?”

“No, no, no, put me down,” I laughed and shimmied down his body, “I worked way too hard on this outfit for you to ruin it with sex.”

He groaned and threw his head back, “fine, but when you’re ready, I’m going to throw you over my shoulder and drag you upstairs.”

“Promises, promises.” I tossed over my shoulder as I left him standing on the patio and headed down to the party.