Stripped(52)

“That may be the best question anyone’s ever asked me.” Chris pulled Abby to him and was about to kiss her when the door opened and they both looked over to see Ty, Kelana and Jen coming in.

“When are we going to dinner?” Ty asked. “I’m starving.”

“You guys go ahead. We’re going later,” Chris said. Abby pressed her cheek to his chest as he held her, liking the feel of his warm skin against hers.

“I thought you guys weren’t together,” Kelana said, looking confused.

“We’re not,” Chris said. “Hey, we’re heading out to the beach.”

“Actually, it’s a little cold,” Abby said in his ear. “The bikini was just part of the assist.”

“Go get dressed,” Chris said, smiling down at her. “We’ll walk on the beach.”



Seeing Abby with his friends felt good, Chris thought as they all finished dinner at a small beachside bar. She and Charlotte had hit it off, which didn’t often happen with women he dated. He usually did things with Reed and Charlotte alone, and he never felt like a third wheel.

But tonight it was great to be part of a foursome. To hear Abby’s carefree laugh, and wonder what she was thinking when their eyes met. When he’d rested his palm on her thigh, she’d leaned in against his shoulder, and Chris had thought, for the first time ever, that maybe it was possible for his feelings for someone to grow deeper with time.

He had dated women for a few months at a time, but he’d never felt increasingly into them like he did with Abby. It had always just worked for those months, and then when it didn’t anymore, he was fine with it.

It had been so easy to leave behind his reservations about their relationship for this trip. He and Abby were together, with no jobs, no schedules and no commitments. For the few days they were here, there would be nothing to focus on but each other.

But wouldn’t that just make it harder when they returned to reality Monday morning? Was this a taste of what they could never have? He thought it probably was, but he pushed his doubts aside. Tonight, he just wanted to think about tonight.





The beach house was empty when they returned from dinner, and Abby looked longingly at the couch. It had been a long day, and she wanted to lay there, preferably with Chris, and relax.

“Everyone else must be in the hot tub,” Chris said. “You want to?”

“Sure.” A hot tub sounded pretty relaxing too, Abby thought. By the time she changed back into her swim suit and made her way to the patio, everyone else was already out there.

The hot tub, which was built into the ground, was large and round. Abby wanted to sit by Chris, but Jen was on one side of him and Reed was on the other, so she slid in next to Charlotte instead.

“So much for our blow outs,” Charlotte said.

“But this feels so good,” Abby said, sinking into the warm, bubbling water. She had piled her hair on top of her head, but the humidity would still get to it.

Jen rose to get beer from an ice bucket on the patio, and Abby noticed that her bikini top was a size too small for her large breasts. It left little to the imagination. Jen handed Chris a beer and sat down a little closer to him than she had been before.

Abby knew her flare of jealousy was irrational. Though Jen was attractive, with blue eyes, long dark hair and a nice body, Chris had shown no interest in her. He had asked Abby to come to the beach house with him. But she still didn’t like seeing another woman flirt with him.

“So you’re still single, Chris,” Jen purred. “Still enjoying the fun of being unattached?”

“Something like that,” he said.

“Me too. I can do whatever I want, whenever I want, with whoever I want.” She gave him a quick look and Abby sighed. Charlotte rolled her eyes in Abby’s direction.

“What’s up tomorrow?” Ty asked.

“Whatever,” Reed said. “I just want to relax.”

Abby’s eyes met Chris’, and she enjoyed the look of intensity that passed between them. She wondered what he was thinking. His eyes widened suddenly and she became even more curious.

“You ready for bed, Ab?” he asked.

“Sure.”

“You haven’t even been out here five minutes!” Kelana protested. Chris said nothing, and Abby gave him a puzzled look as she dried off with the towel she’d brought. She passed it to him when she was done, and he dried off quickly. He raised his brows as he reached into the ice bucket for another beer, but Abby shook her head.

“’Night, guys,” he said, steering Abby to the door with a hand on her back.

“Is everything okay?” she asked when they got inside.