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“Watcha doing down here by yourself?” I ask, not caring that water is soaking my boots.
Instead of answering, she returns her gaze to the water and shrugs her shoulders. I look out at the rolling waves, wondering what’s got her so forlorn. She hasn’t even said anything, but I can feel it. Years of gauging and learning her moods, her smiles, her tears, has me pretty much an Abby expert. Other women? Fuck no. But this woman? I’d like to think I know her as well as she knows me.
“Everything okay?” I ask, taking a step closer to her without moving my eyes from the Bay.
“Yeah,” she responds, a little too chipper. “Meghan came tonight, and it was so great to see her smiling real smiles again.”
“It’s gonna take some time,” I tell her. No, I don’t have a clue firsthand what I’m talking about, but I’ve seen enough death in my line of work to know that it takes time until you’re feeling a bit more human again.
“I know. She’s doing well, though, I think.”
“She is. She’s strong and she has the support of you guys,” I remind her. Abby’s answer is a small smile.
Finally, after three long minutes, she glances over at me. Her green eyes are so bright, even in the dark. The moonlight is reflecting off them so vividly, it’s like the moon casts shadows in her eyes every night. The breeze catches her hair and flings long, dark strands into her face. Without even thinking, I react. Grabbing hold of a cluster, I gently move it away from her eyes. In doing so, my pinky finger grazes across the apple of her cheek.
I hear her gasp upon impact. My finger tingles where it touched her smooth, pale skin, a sensation that is new to me. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve touched Abby a lot in the fifteen years we’ve been friends, but never in a sexual way. Never. She’s my friend.
But that slightest touch? Like a few others over recent months, it causes my heart to actually palpitate and crazy lightning bolts of lust to shoot through my body, making it hyperaware of her proximity. The scent of something fruity (probably that lotion she likes from the bath store uptown) wraps around me, choking me with a mixture of familiarity and newness. Her hair, blowing in the breeze, tickles my arm, making me want to wrap it around her body and pull her into my embrace and push her and these unwanted feelings away, all at the same time.
Friends.
Clearing my throat, I take a step sideways, out of the line of fire for her hair and her scent. “Are you gonna come listen to us play? Your sisters are all up there,” I ask, glancing down at my watch and noticing our fifteen-minute break is almost up.
She hesitates, and it doesn’t go unnoticed. Something’s going on with her, and I hate that she won’t talk to me about it. “Listen, Abs, you know you can talk to me about anything, right? I can tell something’s going on. Whatever it is, I’m here for you.” My heart practically jumps out of my chest, my hands twitch to touch her hair again, so I shove them in my pants pockets instead and roll back on the heels of my boots.
Glancing at me, her emerald eyes speak of confliction and hope. What the hell is going on with her?
“Yeah,” she finally whispers. “I know.”
“Good.” Taking one hand out of a pocket, I extend it towards her. “Come on. I’ve gotta get back on stage, and your favorite song is in this set.”
Her smile is warm and genuine, and I can’t help my own that spreads across my face in that moment. Abby reaches for my hand, hers feeling warm and acquainted as I wrap my fingers around hers, and we step out of the surf. The water is gone as we reach drier land and continue to head towards the beach party, but I don’t let go.
And neither does she.
“You catchin’ a ride from someone tonight?” I ask.
“Ryan or Dean will give us all rides home. I rode with Jaime so my car wouldn’t be stuck here all night,” she says, her warm voice matching the warmth of her hand.
“You could stay ‘til the end and ride home with me,” I offer casually, though my heart is beating anything but a casual pace.
“Oh, thanks for the offer. I’m not sure I’m going to stay.” I glance over at my friend and see storm clouds still in her eyes. I can’t let go of the feeling that something is bothering her, but she won’t tell me. Fuck knows I can’t force her to talk to me if she doesn’t want to. I can only assume she’ll come to me when she’s ready. All I can do is be ready to listen.
Several couples litter the beach the closer we get, upbeat rock music pumping through the massive speakers we use. I can see her sisters and their significant others on the outskirts of the party, but my legs suddenly feel heavier, leaded. I’m so preoccupied at trying to figure out a way to stall our arrival to her little group that I don’t even see the flash of yellow or the half-dressed woman before she’s squealing my name and throwing herself into my chest.
The impact of her sends me back a few steps, my hand dislodging from Abby’s. “I’ve been looking for you,” she coos loudly.
Crystal wraps her long legs around my waist and plants her lips squarely on mine. The shock of the moment leaves me completely motionless. I stand there like an idiot, unsure how in the hell I went from walking with Abby along the beach to having Crystal plastered against my chest and kissing me.
“Get a room,” someone yells, pulling my attention away from being kissed by someone I’m not really interested in making out with.
I pull back, Crystal’s smile wide and mischievous. That’s when I glance around and see Abby standing there, wide, stunned eyes trained directly on me. Her sisters are standing right behind her, their own faces showing displeasure and disgust. Shit! How did this happen?
Wiggling my body, I try to dislodge the woman attached to my chest like some sort of spider monkey, but when I do, she takes the move as more sexual, and purrs. Yeah, she actually fucking purrs like a cat and wiggles her barely-covered ass in my hands. Apparently I grabbed onto her when she launched herself at me.
Dropping my hands and grabbing her waist, I help remove Crystal from my body. She doesn’t go far, though, and practically plasters herself to my side. A lump rises in my throat and lodges firmly in my esophagus, blocking my airway. Guilt creeps up my back and smacks me upside the head. I shouldn’t feel guilty, but I do. I’m not dating anyone, and if I wanted to bang Crystal fourteen ways to Sunday, that’s my business. But the fact that I don’t want to, and this little scene is happening in front of Abby and her family makes me feel guilty.
I open my mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. Great, I have a half-dressed woman plastered to my side, my best friend is across from me looking like I ran over her puppy, and I’m suddenly mute. Just fucking great.
