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“London. Found you. Man, this is awesome!” Beau was smiling as he jogged through the trail.
I hid my phone in the bag.
“Gimghoul Castle at sunset? Great idea. Did you know this was on my bucket list?” He seemed ecstatic.
“Maybe.” Of course, I had started studying the list more intently. “I’m glad you like it.” Now that Beau was here, I wasn’t as nervous about the ghost stories. The castle did look like it was glowing from the dropping golden rays of the sun. It was beautiful.
He knelt at the edge of the blanket. “Now do I get my prize?” He started crawling toward me like a tiger on the hunt. It gave me chills thinking what he would do when he caught me. Although, that was the whole point: kiss at Gimghoul Castle at sunset.
I sat up on my knees, anxious for him to make his way to the edge of the blanket. His body collided with mine, and in one swift motion, he pulled me directly under him.
“Gotcha.”
My giggles quickly turned to something else. Beau was staring directly in my eyes, and it was impossible to hide how much I wanted him. My mouth parted as his lips descended on mine. I tried to steady my breathing, but the way he touched me only made me want more. I already loved kissing him. It felt hot, sexy, and just a little dangerous every time he made me moan. And he could make me moan.
“Hey! Hey!” I heard someone yelling at us. This was not happening.
“You kids shouldn’t be out here. Go on!” A guard from the castle walked on the other side of the wall and motioned to us to leave, throwing his hands in the air.
Mortified, I scrambled out from under my frustrated partner. My romantic gothic date was a complete catastrophe.
Beau reached for my hand and pulled me up. He shrugged his shoulders. We started stuffing my scavenger hunt items back into my bag. Back to the drawing board.
9
It didn’t seem to matter what date Beau and I devised. We could never find a way to be truly alone. His roommates were never gone. Those boys played video games like it was oxygen straight to their lungs. Nina and Candace were more unpredictable every day with their habits. I couldn’t count on them to stay out of the house. Beau knew so many people on campus, and with my small stage fame, it meant that in public we had to act as if we were strictly group partners on an experimental date. Our blog had also collected quite the following. Each week we had more and more comments from students sounding off on our Love Match theories. People were watching and waiting for our weekly updates, including Professor Garcia.
The colorfully clad professor began our class lecture. “All right. I know you are just itching to get your spring break started, just don’t forget that while you are in Panama City or Myrtle Beach that your reality shows are still on air.” The girl in the row below us groaned at the reminder. “I would like to point out a few of the projects I’ve noticed that are coming along nicely.”
I held my breath and avoided Beau’s face. I couldn’t look at him. It made me feel too guilty. Although, what had we really done since the Valentine’s pact? He had other classes he studied for, I was back in rehearsals, and we could never find a way to be together alone. That was until tonight. Spring break was the start of a full week of alone time. Beau. Me. An empty beach house.
“Maggie and Blair have just done an exceptional job so far this semester with their Lion’s Den project. Ladies, I wanted to let you know at the halfway point, your grasp of the class concept is phenomenal. Helping launch a new business in town is so original.” Professor Garcia clapped her hands in the air, just a few rows in front of the pair. “The other group I think everyone has noticed this semester is the dynamic d
uo of Beau and London. You two have really examined the theories of reality production and have challenged the notion of relationship theory—truly good work, you two.”
I didn’t mean to slide lower in my seat, but the praise from our professor brought sudden awareness to my partner and me. Beau seemed to take it in stride. His hat was on backward and he was cool as usual.
“Ok. That’s it for today and for the week. Be careful out there on the beaches. Sunscreen people! Don’t come back looking like tomatoes.” Professor Garcia laughed at her joke.
I looped my arms through my backpack straps, being careful not to stand too close to Beau as the class filtered out of the swinging doors. I caught a wink from him before I turned the corner to leave Manning Hall. In an hour’s time, I would be on the road, headed to Beau’s family beach house.
North Carolina beaches weren’t particularly warm in mid-March, but Beau told me the house had a hot tub on the deck so it was a good idea to pack a bathing suit. I had been giddy for two weeks over the invitation to go with him to Holden Beach. I assumed since it was our senior year that he probably had some crazy Cancun adventure planned with his roommates. It seemed that would make the top of his bucket list. He never told me what was on his calendar originally. I accepted the invitation with limited questions. He assured me his family would not be at the house. His mom was too busy working on a big insurance case and his father taught at the local high school. His spring break wouldn’t be until April. We had the whole house to ourselves.
Storm clouds hovered on the horizon. I saw a flash of lightning when I hit the peak of the bridge that careened onto the island named Holden Beach.
I pulled into the driveway, admiring the breathtaking house sprawling in front of me. Beau mentioned his mother was an attorney, but he never said anything about his family’s financial status. The house was unreal. His motorcycle was parked in the garage. I stepped out of the car and looked up at the towering three stories rising above me. The wind had picked up and my hair whipped in the breeze.
“Hey! You made it. Let me help you. I’ll be right down.” Beau leaned over the lowest balcony railing before jogging down the stairs.
I moved to the trunk and pulled out my backpack. My laptop was snugly crammed inside. With an entire week at the beach, I’m sure there was going to be plenty of time to work on the project. I thought I heard thunder cracking overhead.
Beau met me at the bottom of the stairs. I wasn’t sure if we should hug or kiss. Seeing him away from school was surreal. It was as if we were untethered from the world that had brought us together.
“I’ll take that.” He slipped the bag off my shoulder and reached for the suitcase in my hand. “Come on. I want to show you the house. Good thing you got here before the rain.” He surveyed the storm clouds on the horizon.
Eagerly, I followed him up the stairs, taking note of the cute ass leading me upward, one step at a time. He ushered me past a row of rocking chairs and into the house through a sliding glass door.
“This is the kitchen. Snacks in here. Drinks in the fridge. Help yourself to anything.” He breezed past a stainless steel refrigerator and the double doors that opened to the walk-in pantry. “TV over there.” He pointed to the couch and a sleek flat panel splayed across the longer wall in the open room.
