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I need to do a better job of hiding my feelings for Sierra. And I need to do it fast.
Luckily for my ass, Holden pulls Jake’s attention away, asking him if he is ready to fire up the boat.
“I’m ready. You driving?” Jake asks.
“You cool to drive for a bit?” Holden asks, lifting the cooler from the beach.
Jake stands from his chair, pulling his T-shirt over his head, “Fuck, yeah. Who’s coming?”
We all pile into Holden’s uncle’s ski boat and Tucker unties the rope, pushing us off the dock before hopping in. Once we’re far enough away from shore, Holden is first up at wake surfing.
“How much you wanna bet he goes down in under a minute?” Tuck says, watching Holden lying in the water with his feet flexed on the board, rope in his grasp, ready to go.
“You really think you can last longer?” I ask him, taking a bottle of water from the cooler.
“I’ll be up twice as long as all of you,” Tucker shoots back with a wry grin.
“Wanna bet?”
Tuck snorts at that. “Only if you want to lose.”
I shrug. “I like easy money. You’re on.”
An hour later, I’ve easily won the bet. I surfed Jake’s wake so long I finally had to quit, but not before landing a perfect tail grab followed by a flashy dive into the cool, lake water.
It’s Sierra’s turn next, and although she’s only tried wake surfing once, she’s game to go. Jake drives the boat while I talk her through the steps, getting her stance just right on the board so it flips up under her feet.
Then Jake kicks the boat in gear and accelerates so that the tow rope Sierra is holding tightens. I holler at her to draw her knees to her chest and dig in her heels, and she does as I say until she’s standing, riding the wake.
“You did it!” I holler at her over the noise of the engine. “You’re killing it. Now toss the rope to me.”
She takes a few seconds to gather her confidence, then tosses the rope in my direction. Leading with her left foot forward, she looks happy and sexy as hell as she surfs the waves. Her toned legs shimmer under the sun’s rays, the sliver of abs just visible below her lifejacket making my cock take notice.
I can’t take my eyes off her, I’m so damn proud of her. I continue to cheer her on until she loses her balance and falls into the water.
I look over my shoulder at Jake to make sure he knows she’s off the board and when I do my smile immediately disappears. Jake’s jaw is clenched tightly, an angry expression on his face. He looks away from me without a word, turning the boat around to go back and get Sierra.
I keep my distance from Sierra for the rest of the ride, but I can feel her presence from where she sits on the bow of the boat like an electrical current flowing through my veins. I watch her when Jake isn’t looking, the way her blonde hair whips around in the breeze, her profile serene as she looks out to the horizon. She’s so beautiful it fucking hurts.
Jake is quiet on the boat ride back to the cabin and I give him space, reading his cues. When we get back to the dock, everyone piles out of the boat to get ready for dinner, but I stay back to clean out the boat with Holden. When he gets a call, I wave him off, assuring him I can finish up on my own.
I’m just about finished when I hear my name. “Ford.” I look up to find Jake standing on the dock.
“Fuck, man. I didn’t hear you coming,” I say, startled. “What’s up?”
I lift the cooler and pass it over the side of the boat to Jake, who looks annoyed. His lips are pressed together in a straight line, and I swear I see a pulse point in his neck beating. I swallow, trying to stay calm. He’s probably planning my eulogy.
“Is there something I need to know?” he asks me point blank.
Shit. There’sa lothe needs to know, but getting into it with him here at the cabin in front of everyone is not the way I want to die. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, man.”
“I’m talking about Sierra,” he says, his eyes drilling into me. “I’ve seen the way she’s been looking at you this weekend. I think she has a thing for you.”
“Okay, and—”
“And…” he says. “You know how I feel about this. I don’t want my sister dating any of you guys. She’s too good for you. She doesn’t really know you, the way you avoid anything resembling a relationship. So, don’t lead her on. Just leave her alone.”
His words are like a blow to the gut. I want to tell him that he’s wrong about me. I want to tell him that sheisinto me and that I’m into her too and that this thing between us is real. It’s the best thing that has ever happened to me. I want him to know she means everything to me.
