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He turned and bit into it, growling like a wolf, and I laughed, the sound ringing out over the whoosh of the cascading waves. We polished it off together, sharing bites back and forth.
“Come on. Bring her back, asshole,” Elijah called. “Not all of us like to shrink our dicks in ice-cold water.”
“Some of us can’t afford to,” Finn whispered to me, jerking his head back toward the guys on shore, and I giggled again. I could already feel the two shots of tequila in my system, warming me from the inside out, making me feel happy and invincible.
Finn turned and carried me back to shore, setting me gently on my feet. The other three had already passed the bottle again, so we both took a quick sip to catch up.
Then, feeling reckless and bold, I stood on tiptoes and licked up the side of Finn’s neck to his jaw, collecting the bit of frosting I’d smeared there. I tasted the sweetness of sugar and vanilla, but also something that was all Finn, and I felt his body tense as I dragged my tongue over his skin one more time.
When I pulled away, a blush crept up my cheeks at what I’d just done. But he grinned, his amber eyes shining in the darkness.
“I like you when you’re wild, Legs.”
“Yeah?”
“Fuck yes.”
“Speaking of wild.” Mason sat down, taking a long drag from the joint Cole had rolled and holding it for a few seconds before releasing his breath. “It’s your birthday. What do you want to do to celebrate?”
I plopped down onto the sand next to him, gazing out at the water. “This. Just this. It’s perfect.”
There was a chill in the wind, but since it was mid-May, warmth still lingered in the air. We sat on the beach, passing the bottle of tequila, talking, and laughing. I took off my shoes and dug my toes into the sand, burrowing my feet deep in the dark, wet grains.
When I mentioned my conversation with Jacqueline earlier in the day, and the fact that she’d forbidden me from pursuing dancing seriously, Cole scoffed.
“Fuck her.”
I shrugged, blowing out a breath. “I mean, she probably means well. I know shit was weird with my mom before she left, and—”
“No, seriously, Legs.” Finn shook his head. “Fuck her.”
A grin tilted my lips, and before I could even think about what I was doing, I was on my feet, racing impulsively toward the ocean. I sloshed in until the waves met my knees, sucking in a breath as ice raced through my veins.
“You hear that, Jacqueline?” I called across the deep, inky expanse of water. “Fuck youuuuu!”
I heard the guys laughing and cheering behind me, and it made my heart race. I spread my arms wide, as if daring the entire universe to take me on.
“Fuck the Hildebrands! Fuck all your stupid bullshit!”
Whoops sounded as the Princes waded into the water with me. I saw a glint in Mason’s hand out of the corner of my eye and realized he must’ve carried the bottle in with him.
“Yeah, Legs!” Finn howled. “You tell her!”
“It’s your birthday,” Mason called, flashing me a grin. “Get it all off your chest, Princess. You can say whatever you want. Do whatever you want.”
In that moment, it felt like his words were the truest things ever spoken, and I turned back toward the beautiful, vast emptiness in front of me, letting every emotion I’d pent up over the past several months pour out of me.
I screamed at my grandmother for abandoning my mother and then me, at my grandfather for losing himself in a glass of whiskey and forgetting us, at them both for caring more about my reputation than my dreams. I screamed at Adena for being a crazy fucking bitch, for making my life miserable because she was so unsatisfied with hers.
I was breathless and panting when I was done, and the guys had grown quiet around me.
They were waiting, I realized.
Waiting to hear it.
Waiting for me to curse their names too.
“Go on, Legs.” Mason’s voice was quiet. “What else? There has to be more. It’s your birthday, you can do and say whatever you want.”
