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“No. With Darby.” I see her shoulders fall.
“You’ve got your phone on you?”
“Yes, Mom. I’ve got my phone, and we won’t go far. I’ll be back before curfew.”
She shrugs her shoulders. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
Her laughter follows me down the steps where Darby is already waiting for me. He’s thrown on a red sweatshirt. He looks good, but I am incredibly aware that he is not Brady.
The fact that I immediately compare the two should be the first sign that this is not the guy I want to be sitting with on the beach. But there is nothing wrong with seeing where this goes.
Darby guides me down to the tall, white lifeguard tower with red lettering across the back. He gives me a boost as I climb up. Placing the towel down, I try to get comfy. I love the air after a storm. It’s as if the slate has been wiped clean, everything looks and smells fresh. You can taste the salt in the air, and the waves are lapping loudly at the beach, crashing like an angry song.
Darby climbs up and, places his arms across the back of the stand, and begins to play with my hair. As he settles himself, I tuck myself in and pull my legs up. “So, are you excited to be starting a new school next week?”
“I guess I am. I was a little nervous before I moved, but Chloe and the guys have been great and made me feel like I’m home. It’s nice to know I’ll have a few friends when I walk into school on Tuesday. How about you?”
“I am excited. I’m ready for the school year to start so that the season can start.”
“The football season?”
“Yeah. A week from today, it’s our last first game of the season on that field. It’s crazy to think of it that way when I’ve been going to this school my entire life. I’m going to miss it next year. Gotta see what scouts show up at the beginning of the season. I haven’t signed a letter of intent yet. Has Cooper signed a letter? Does he know where he wants to go?”
“Nope. Coop isn’t sure what he wants to do yet. I’ve heard him talking to my dad about Annapolis. But he hasn’t signed anything.”
“Huh. I would have figured he’d have his football career all planned out already. The pressure to perform well has to be hard coming from your family.”
I don’t like where this conversation is going. “Yeah. I guess.”
When I don’t elaborate, Darby changes topics. “How long are you down here for?”
“We’re leaving early Sunday morning so that we can make it back for my Dad’s first home game. He’s driving me nuts lately, but I want to be there to support him and show him how proud we all are.”
“That’s so cool. You can’t grow up in our town and not be a Philly Kings fan. It’s pretty cool to know that I’m sitting here with the coach’s daughter.”
I hate being referred to as the coach’s daughter. Leaning away from him slightly, I cringe. That’s strike one. “I’ll have to take your word for that. Anyway, we leave Sunday.”
Not picking up on my annoyance, he continues, “Let me take you to dinner tomorrow night? Before the bonfire? We’ll be back for the party?” Darby moves his arm to my shoulder and pulls me closer.
“I don’t know. I came down with Chloe. I don’t want to blow her off.”
“Two hours tops. You know you want to.” Angling himself, he moves so we are closer than I want, and I move my legs to put some space between us.
I know I don’t like being told what to do or what I want. “Let me check with Chloe. I came down with her and really don’t want to ditch her.”
Pulling his sweatshirt off, Darby places it over my head. Did I give him the impression I was cold? I push my arms through as he is pulling my hair out of the hood. That was odd. Grabbing me by the front of the hoodie, he pulls me to him and slams his mouth to mine.
Immediately, his tongue is seeking entrance, but I refuse to open my mouth. I shove him back, then his hands go to my cheeks. More gently this time, he licks at my lips.
I can smell the beer on his breath.
His hands move from my face to under my shirt, and I grab his wrists, holding them in place, but not breaking the kiss.
It’s not the worst kiss I’ve had, but red flags are going up.
His hands start to push up further until he is grazing the underside of my bra.
I pull back, cutting off our kiss. “No, Darby. Don’t.”
