Page 36 of Chasing Forever

“It was worth it.”

His palms were warm on her bare waist, and his leg hair tickled her thighs. She eyed him warily. “Are you flirting with me now?”

“Would that be so horrible?”

“Answering a question with a question. Isn’t that what lawyers do?”

He chuckled. “When will you stop seeing me as a lawyer and start looking at me as a man?”

I already do. “Why does it matter?”

“This conversation could last all day.”

“Would that be so horrible?”

“Touché,” he said, laughing.

Just then another wave slammed her into him again. Even if she’d been trying to keep her distance, Mother Nature had other intentions.

His arms tightened around her. “Good thing I was still holding on.”

“I’m not so sure.”

“You could let go if you really wanted to.”

She couldn’t argue with that. “Why are you here, Chase?” This was the closest they’d been physically, and now she hoped he’d open up emotionally.

He sighed, his breath tickling her neck and making her shiver.

“Are you cold? Do you want to get out?”

“You’re avoiding my question.”

“You’ve avoided mine too.”

She shook her head. “I told you about my grandma, my ex, and my job. What more do you want to know?”

He stared at her for a few beats but didn’t respond. He was closing down on her, and she was dying to know why.

“Why do you do that? You share something, and then you go silent. You seem to want to know me, but you don’t want me to know you.”

“We’re only here for a short time, Callie. Why do we have to know everything?”

At some point while they’d been talking, she’d slid her hands from his shoulders down to his biceps, which were hard and unyielding. He seemed to be acting the same, and she let go, feeling the loss immediately.

“I want to get out now,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

He nodded and dropped his hands from her waist.

She turned and waded away, aware that he was right behind her. As soon as she returned to their spot, she picked up her extra towel and wrapped it around her while Chase simply sat down on his.

She took her time drying off before sitting down beside him. His arms were wrapped around his knees, and he was staring out to sea, seemingly lost in thought. She wished she hadn’t pried, but she’d gone into writer mode, trying to wring every emotion out of him even though he wasn’t ready to share them.

“I’m sorry,” she said softly.

His head whipped around. “For what?”

“For trying to analyze you instead of just hanging out.”