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Shay laughed in his arms, a bubbly sound of ecstatic relief.
Then she pulled up her bikini bottoms, whipped the towel down, and handed it to him. “Clean me off, lover.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Minutes later, they strolled from the complex, Shay appearing completely unbothered by the whole walk of shame thing as she carried her heels in one hand, with her dress slung over her shoulder and a small purse strapped across her bikini-clad torso. A pair of sunglasses shielded much of her face, and she’d donned an old Chargers cap he’d given her from his stash.
They cruised down the strip, passing shops and eateries painted in shades of cream, coral, and turquoise that only grew more vibrant with the rising sun. Breathing in the salty-clean air, they were both perfectly relaxed.
It was only when they drew near the beach-entry steps that things grew a bit awkward. Turning to him, Shay studied him in a way that had him sure she was racking her brain for his name.
“Well, uhm…Bo?”
He laughed. “Sorry, lover. Wrong Duke.”
“Damn, had a fifty-fifty shot,” she said with a snort. “Well,Luke, it’s been fun.”
“Yeah. We’ll have to do it again sometime. Maybe next time you get a break fromDisturbia.”
Luke was quite proud of himself for remembering this little detail from their chatter last night at the club. Especially considering the noise level in the joint. Shay had told him she had a gig on some show on one of the streaming networks.
“It’sDystopia,”she corrected with a wry smile. “You don’t watch much TV, do you?”
“Nah.” If he had to sit in front of a screen, he’d rather be gaming. He liked to have some measure of control over the fiction he subjected himself to.
Although, having seen Shay in all her stripped-down glory, he could be persuaded to do a little binge-watching. “Your show hot?”
She laughed. “Damn, you’re cute. Makes me a little sad I have to fly back to New York tomorrow. Call me if you’re ever in the city. Maybe we do dinner.”
Oh, hell no. Skyscrapers and smog? Not a single palm tree in sight? He wanted no part of that apple. “Yeah. Maybe.”
She snorted.
He glanced around, wondering how she was getting back to the club since they’d taken his motorcycle to the condo. “You need a ride back to your car?”
“Nope. I’m good. I took Lyft last night from my hotel. I’ll call them again in a bit. For now, I was just going to chill on the beach. Mind if I ogle you while you surf?”
“Nope. Ogle away.”
“Cool. Thanks again for the memento.” She tapped the brim of his hat before a sigh escaped her. “And thanks for a great night. I really needed this escape after all the craziness with the show. The paps have been hounding the whole cast nonstop since season two dropped. Doesn’t seem near as bad here on the West Coast.”
“Yeah, San Diego’s pretty chill. And this is a great beach to escape to. We’ll treat you right. You need anything — water, sunscreen, whatever — just raid Kyle’s bag. He won’t mind.”
“Thanks. I’ll do that.”
“Great. Well, I’m going to hit the head real quick. Maybe I’ll catch you later?”
“Yeah. Maybe,” she said, parroting his earlier words with just as much enthusiasm.
They both laughed. Then Shay sauntered down the steps, hips swaying in a sexy goodbye that had Luke biting his lip.
Damn, maybe he could suffer the Big Apple for a night or two.
As soon as the thought entered his head, Luke dismissed it. He wasn’t looking for more than casual. And flying across the country to hook up with a chickagainscreamed more than casual. Even if Shay Martinez did seem like the kind of woman who wouldn’t catch feels.
Nope. Luke was good right here in SoCal. Perfectly content with his boys, his beach, and his clichéd bachelor lifestyle.
Leaning his board against the bathroom near the steps, he went in, did his business, and popped back out. After retying his shorts and retrieving his board, he hustled down the steps and nearly moaned at the first sink of his feet into warm sand.
