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To be fair, Dylan and Hunt had cruised over on occasion as well — the latter mostly to give Luke shit about poaching on his turf with the surf lessons thing — but it was Kyle who’d paddled over most often. Kyle who’d been right there with Luke encouraging Andy after every wipeout to keep on trying. And it was Kyle who’d — only just yesterday — shot Luke a look that seemed to say, “This woman’s pretty fucking amazing, isn’t she?”
Which was a spot-on, nonverbal assessment if ever there was one.
Andywasamazing. In just a matter of weeks, she’d gone from tiptoeing across the beach like it was a minefield to charging over it — board in hand, confidence in her stride, total determination glowing from those ocean eyes of hers.
She was going to catch a wave. That was inevitable too. And Luke was going to be there when it happened. No doubt Kyle would be as well.
But the dude wasn’t here now.
And this moment with Andy was all Luke’s.
So he was going to stop sweating the stupid deal he’d made with her and savor whatever it was that was happening between them right now.
Hanging a left down a quiet street several blocks from Andy’s apartment, Luke gunned it just to feel the butterfly tingle of her laugh again.
There it was. That slight tremble of her chest against his back that told him she was enjoying the ride just as much as he was. Unfortunately, his exhibition of speed meant it ended far too quickly, and not even a minute later, they pulled up to Sunset Vista, Unit 9.
Killing the engine, Luke set the kickstand and helped Andy dismount. She took off her helmet, the laughter spilling from her the best kind of music. “Liked that, did ya?” he asked, removing his own helmet.
“Yeah! That was awesome! I totally needed that!”
“I’m sure you did.” He leaned towards her to whisper conspiratorially, “Between you and me, Reg can be a moody bastard.”
“Oh, just Reg, huh? Not a certain surf instructor of mine as well?”
He made a ‘Who, me?’ gesture and blinked innocently.
This won him another chorus of laughter, and before Luke knew what the fuck he was about, his hand was out and cupping a pretty pink cheek.
Andy stilled, giggles dying down to nervous titters though her eyes weren’t the least bit afraid.
“I’m sorry again about Colette,” Luke said, truly meaning it.
Dylan’s mom crashing the store didn’t happen too often anymore because by now she knew either he or Mary would call the cops on her ass before she got anywhere near their boy.
But still, sometimes she managed to get to him. And each poisonous encounter left Dylan more messed up than the last.
Luke sighed, hand falling back to his bike. “Colette’s a total nightmare.” He cast a dark look in front of him as he gripped the handlebars tightly. “She’s just…”
“The worst kind of asshole.”
Glancing back, he caught Andy’s sad smile and nodded. “Yeah. That.”
“Then I’ll kick that chip-stealing bitch out next time, I promise.”
The fierceness of her response had Luke cracking a grin. “Just push the fucking button, Bird.”
This time when he said it they both chuckled.
Sobering, they lapsed into silence. Only to break it at the same time.
“I should probably go—”
“Do you like video games—”
He cocked his head at her question.
Andy blushed, gaze flickering to her apartment. “Oh, of course, I know you probably want to get to the club and—”
