AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Surfing Lessons
Greer
“Are you sure you’re okay to get something to eat? I’m sorry, but we don’t have time for breakfast.” Brady throws a regretful look at the cereal boxes on the small table in one corner of his small living room.
“Don’t worry about me.” I smile, following him to the front door of his cottage. “I’ll find something to eat. If anything, I’m pretty sure Drew won’t let me starve if I go to the kitchen, and you know there’s always cake and fruit and snacks on offer at the bar by the pool if all else fails. Actually, I could take a slice of cake and hide out in the library. I’m seriously not in the mood to even look at my mom right now. Not yet.”
I shudder at the memory of what I saw last night, thankful to Brady for helping me take my mind off of it with the surfing lesson first and then in the shower.
We stop on the doorstep. “You go first,” Brady says, squeezing my hand in his before letting go. “I’ll wait a couple of minutes before I come out. See you later, Greer.”
He touches his lips to mine, and I rush outside, speeding up my pace on the sand and looking around to make sure that no one sees me leaving Brady’s cottage.
I’m just a few yards away when I stop for a second, hugging the worn, soft cotton of the T-shirt Brady let me borrow, since my bikini is drying on the rack in his bathroom. The baby blue shirt with a local surf shop logo is faded, and it smells like him, sunscreen and a vague hint of salt from the ocean.
I’ll buy Brady a new shirt, but I’m keeping this one to sleep in. I walk a few more steps on the soft sand, my mind completely wrapped up in what happened in the shower and how much I hope that last night isn’t going to be the only night Brady and I share a bed. But having his mouth on me isn’t the only thing on my mind. I stop thinking about how kissing Brady is different from kissing Matt and how both felt good. Then my memory goes to a pair of intense gray eyes and to the feeling of Drew’s lips on my hand, to the way he almost kissed me when I got that splinter stuck in my palm. I mean, I can’t keep kissing more than one guy, right? I wish this was one of those reverse harem stories I love to read where the guys wouldn’t want me to choose between them.
I shake my head, thinking that I’ve been reading too much Mary Martel and Melissa Adams and that reality doesn’t work out like it does in their books. There are no magic covens and hot witches stealing my panties—the only creep who would do that is Tristan, eww—and no hot stepbrothers fighting for my attention.
I’m so lost in my thoughts that I’ve been standing here, a few yards away from Brady’s cottage, when I should be hauling ass before he comes out or anyone sees me. I’m about to get going when a rustling noise coming from the tall shrubs at the edge of the beach almost makes me crawl out of my own skin.
“Shit!” I squeal. I fucking hope that whatever animal is lurking in those bushes has something better to do than scaring the shit out of me. I seriously need to go, wondering if raccoons live on the beach or if it could be something more dangerous like a coyote or something equally aggressive.
The noise continues, so I pick up my pace, watching the high horse tail and salt grass shrubs move as if something was moving in there, following me.
I panic, debating if I should run back to Brady’s cottage and wondering what would happen if I decided to run. Some predators are actually more likely to chase if the prey runs.
Without even thinking, I pick up a smooth pebble near my feet and throw it into the bushes, immediately beating myself up at my stupidity because whatever is lurking in there might jump out and attack me.
“Ouch!” The low grunt stops me from running. Coyotes don’t cry out ouch, right? But then again, maybe a coyote would be less dangerous and definitely less annoying than the creep who wades his way out of the bushes, rubbing a spot on his lean hip that has nowhere near as much muscle as Brady’s.
“Tristan! What the fuck are you doing here?” I scowl. “You scared the shit out of me!”
He reaches me in one short stride, and I take an instinctive step back.
“I just went for a morning run,” he offers as his eyes skim down my body.
This dude is such a sleaze bag. I’ve never been so grateful that I’m short and Brady’s shirt hits me just one inch above the knee. “Do you run in the bushes? Like a weirdo?” I counter, crossing my arms over my chest and wishing I’d taken Brady’s hoodie as well to put one extra layer between Tristan’s gaze and my body.
His smile widens. “Nah, I was running up there by the dunes, it’s a better workout, and then I saw you and I thought I’d come say hi.”
There’s something in his tone that causes my hackles to rise, and I retreat another step. “Okay, hi. Sorry, but I’ve got to go. I don’t want to miss water aerobics by the pool.” I wonder if he saw me leaving Brady’s cottage, and I wait for his response with bated breath.
“Right. Water aerobics sounds fun. You don’t want to put on weight. God knows after you hit twenty, if you want to party and stay fit, you need to hit the gym as often as you can. But what were you doing here?”
I stifle an eye roll. What is it with the constant comments about my weight? I’m seriously not fat in any way, shape, or form. Mom must have said something to him, since it’s obvious they are… close. Eww. “You’re right that we need exercise to stay fit. I just went for a morning walk to warm up before water aerobics.”
His eyes rise from my chest to my face, and he looks at me appraisingly for one long moment. I know my hair is wet from the shower. Fuck, I should have said that I went for a swim.
“Maybe tomorrow we can run together?” he proposes with a calculating smirk, and I immediately start looking for an excuse as to why I can’t, but he continues. “You know, Greer, if you want to run by yourself, I’d go to the gym or keep to the section of the beach by the main resort. I’d stay away from the staff quarters. You’ve seen how much those people drink. I wouldn’t want to run into someone who’s still drunk this early in the morning. Those lowlife locals aren’t people I’d want around a girl like you.”
Normally I’d tell him to fuck off, especially since the only person who’s repeatedly put his hands and mouth on me when I clearly said no isn’t a local, and he has such a pedigree that he managed to get into my mother’s pants, but I’m too relieved that it doesn’t sound like he saw me come out of Brady’s cottage. “Sure, you’re right. Now, like I was saying, I’ve got to go, Tris.”
Of course the dipshit decides to be chivalrous, or he sees straight through my attempt to ditch him. “Allow me to escort you to the pool, my lady.”
He extends his arm, trying to wrap it around my shoulders, and I jump out of his reach. “Eww!” I shiver before I can think better of it. “We’re both sweaty, Tristan. Let’s just walk side by side.”
His jaw ticks for a second as he grinds his teeth the same way he was last night when he was plowing into Mom from behind. I don’t miss the annoyance in his eyes, but it’s gone just as quickly as it appeared. “Sweat can be sexy, Greer,” he points out with a creepy smile. “Your mother is right, you have a lot of growing up to do. Plus you look more wet than sweaty to me.”
