Selfie(2)

“We both know you ain’t letting that girl get any rest,” I quipped.

Rimmel laughed and nudged me with her sandy feet. “How about it, B? Want to hunt for shells with me in the morning?”

“I love ya, but hells no. I ain’t getting up that early. I’m working on a hangover.” I held up my beer.

“Beer’s gross.” She pulled a face.

“Better than Smurf Balls,” I countered.

Romeo held out his fist and we pounded it out.

“I’ll go seashell hunting with you tomorrow, baby,” Romeo said.

Behind my sunglasses, I rolled my eyes. Rome was totally whipped. I’d never seen him like this before with anyone. Rimmel totally changed him, and if I were honest, she sort of changed me, too. Not that I was whipped, but I wasn’t totally appalled by the fact Rome was, and that was something. If anything, sometimes I felt a pang of jealousy for the easy way the pair seemed to connect. I’d never had that kind of relationship with a woman before.

Not that I wanted one.

Trent came jogging up and snatched his towel off a nearby chair. After he’d rubbed it over his wet hair, it stuck out everywhere. Reaching into the cooler, he grabbed a beer.

“How’s surfing going?” Rimmel asked.

“Those women would have a better chance at getting eaten by a shark than actually standing up on that board in this century,” he muttered, but then he grinned. “It’s pretty damn entertaining.”

“How’s it going with Missy?” Rimmel asked slyly.

The fact that Romeo invited Trent to take off some of the pressure of Missy and me ending up in the same room alone all the time was sort of a relief. I liked Missy a lot, but there was no future there. There never would be.

“She’s a cool girl.” Trent shrugged.

I knew what that meant. There probably wasn’t a future with him and Missy either.

Rim didn’t seem to understand what I did, because she said, “Do you like her?”

Romeo and I laughed. Trent joined in.

“What?” she said innocently.

Romeo rubbed her back. “You can’t just ask a guy if he likes a woman.”

“Well, why not?” she demanded.

“Because guys don’t sit around and talk about their feelings like a bunch of girls,” I told her.

Rimmel rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”

Grinning, Trent took a pull on his beer. He gazed down at the waves where Missy and Ivy were still playing around with the surfboard.

“What’s Ivy’s deal?” he asked.

I shifted my gaze to him.

“Ivy?” Rimmel asked. I heard the interest in her tone.

“Yeah. She seeing anyone?” Trent replied.

I drank some beer; it was getting warm and tasted like piss.

“No, she’s not. She hasn’t been dating very much,” Rim answered, but from the sound of her voice, I knew there was more to it.

I grunted. “She probably can’t find a guy wanting to deal with all that maintenance.”

Rimmel kicked me gently.

“Ah, one of those chicks, huh?” Trent murmured.

“I don’t know,” Romeo jumped in. “She’s been pretty chill lately. Different than she used to be.”

Trent glanced back down to the water. I followed his gaze.

The girls were towing the surfboard out of the water and laughing at whatever they were talking about. Both Missy and Ivy were wearing bikinis, and both of them were sporting nice golden tans from all the time we’d been spending out here.

I averted my eyes and stood. “The beer needs more ice. I’m gonna go grab some.” I picked up the cooler. “You guys want anything?”

“Water,” Rim said.

I nodded. “Water for my sis.”

The girls approached and dropped the board in the sand. “That thing weighs about a hundred pounds!” Ivy remarked and grabbed a towel to start toweling off her body.

I couldn’t help but notice the way the water drops glistened on her sun-kissed skin and the way her red bikini hugged all the right curves.

I turned away and started for the house.

I definitely needed another beer.





Chapter Two




Ivy

Spring break at the beach sure beat spending it at home with my brothers, my parents, and the rest of my family who all dropped in constantly and liked to ask a million questions about everything.

I loved my big family, but sometimes it was nice to avoid all the questions.

Especially when I spent half of my sophomore year at Alpha U making choices I wished I hadn’t. The last thing I felt like doing was answering questions I had no intention of answering honestly.

But that didn’t matter.

Those things were over.

My eyes were open, a big part in thanks to Rimmel.