Just a Little Crush(76)
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Saturday morning Mason and I packed the car and drove three hours to the beach. By the time we got there, he’d pulled the truth from me. I’d told him everything about Ryder, the legal actions, and I’d admitted my feelings. He’d stayed pretty quiet throughout. Too quiet, but he didn’t say anything negative either.
We pulled into the driveway of a beach house. Mason lugged my suitcase out of his trunk then lifted his own.
“We’re up there.” He pointed at the wooden home, which sat on stilts. It had two entrances. One that sat directly in front of us, the other at the top of a stairwell. “It’s two separate rental properties but we’ve rented the whole house. My friend Nate and his girlfriend are staying in one room upstairs. We’ve got the other. Leena and Mel are down here, along with Mel’s brother and one of his friends.”
From what he’d told me on the way here, he’d spent quite a bit of time with Leena since the night at the club. I suspected this trip had a lot to do with her being here and it was only a matter of time until he’d make his way downstairs. Poor Mel. Maybe she could room with me if Leena and Mason got a little too comfortable.
Mason tossed my suitcase onto the queen-size bed, and I plopped down next to it.
Nate leaned into our room, his hands pressed against the frame. “Just in time. Get your suits on. It’s time to party. Beer and barbeque out back.”
“Hope you didn’t plan on getting any rest while we’re here.” Mason laughed.
“My only goal for this trip involves a tan.” I pulled out my new bikini and tore off the tags. “Let me put this on real quick.” I slipped into the bathroom.
“I’m changing out here,” Mason called from the other side of the door. “We need to find some food. I’m starving.”
“Me too,” I shouted back as I undressed and slipped on my swimsuit. “You dressed?” I asked through the door.
“Yeah, you can come out.”
With my folded clothes in hand, I opened the door. Mason’s back faced me as I walked to my suitcase.
He turned. “Is that bikini new?”
“Yeah.” I pulled my hair into a ponytail.
His gaze lowered over my body. “Looks good.”
“Um, thanks.” I turned away. “Ready to go?”
He cleared his throat. “Yeah.”
I grabbed one of his baseball hats on the way out and pulled it on. “I’m borrowing this.”
He paused in front of me and adjusted the cap. A small smile appeared. He shook his head and sighed. “You’re pretty fucking adorable, you know that?”
“I don’t want to be adorable.”
“Trust me”—his gaze lowered, then he said—“it’s not a bad thing.”
We went downstairs and around to the back. The beach was a few hundred feet from a large cement deck with a table, barbeque pit and several chairs. Nate stood at the grill, with lighter fluid.
“Grab a beer,” he yelled. “And stand back.” He threw a match into the pit and flames shot up.
I glanced at Mason, who laughed. Boys and fire.
Mason reached into a cooler, grabbed two beers and handed me one. I glanced toward the beach. A group of people stood in a few feet of water and I could just make out Leena, thanks to her slim figure and significant height, walking toward us.
“Hi, Mason.” She gave him a quick hug. “I need to talk with Brinley. Be right back.” She grabbed my arm, slid open a glass patio door and dragged me inside the lower level of the beach house.
“What’s up?” I surveyed the living room, which was a slightly smaller version of ours, including the hideous plaid furniture.
“I swear I didn’t know.” She shook her head and shut the door. “I didn’t know until I got here.”
“Didn’t know what?” I tapped my can of beer with my fingernail, popped it open and took a sip.
“Ryder’s here.”
I spit beer all over her and coughed.
She wiped her arm.
“I’m sorry,” I choked. “You mean at the beach?”
“No, I mean here.” She pointed down. “Well, actually, there.” She pointed to the water. “He came with Mel’s brother. We didn’t put it together. Chris just kept saying he was bringing Briggs.”
“That’s Ryder’s last name.”
“God, I’m so sorry. I know you, like, hate him and stuff. Maybe you two can just avoid each other.”
“It’s okay,” I said, as my stomach bubbled with nervousness tinged with a hint of excitement. I didn’t hate him anymore but, of course, he didn’t know that. “Has anyone told him I’m here?”