“Can’t as in shouldn’t?” I swallow, forcing my gaze not to drop from his when I want to cower away. “Or can’t as in you don’t want to?”
Chase exhales harshly, a tragic smile pulling at the edge of his lips. “Both, Ari.”
I scoot over, putting more space between us, and he reaches for me, but I tug back.
“I’m sorry.” His shoulders fall in defeat.
I inhale, returning my eyes to his.
I want to be angry. To yell and scream, but I won’t allow my disappointment to cloud the truth, because I know better.
Chase isn’t saying this to be cruel. He isn’t malicious or manipulative.
He’s just… my brother’s best friend.
We stare at each other a moment, and then his lips twitch.
“What?”
“I’m just a little surprised you had it in you.” He grins.
An embarrassed chuckle slips from my lips, and I bury my face in my palms, but he reaches out, pulling them away.
I laugh again, but Chase, he doesn’t, and slowly, the humor on his face begins to fade.
I swallow. “Chase—”
“Heads up!”
Before I can react, I’m hit in the head by something, the impact of the foreign object knocking me over slightly.
“Shit!” Chase’s arms lift, freezing midair. “Ari! Are you okay?”
I rub at my head, spotting a football lying near my feet.
“Yeah, I’m fine. It didn’t hurt, it—” My words lodge in my throat as my skin prickles, the weight of a warm hand falling onto my bare back just below my bikini strap.
I peek over my shoulder, and my breath hitches as I lock eyes with a stranger.
A blue-eyed stranger.
A blue so deep, like a tropical stormy ocean’s night.
No, that’s not right.
They’re more like midnight. Like when the moon is at its brightest in the sky, casting a shadow over the dark sea.
Or is it metallic blue, like a rainbow fish?
I can’t say for sure.
I look to his hair, a deep, dark shade of brown; it’s as if he just stepped out of the water, and maybe he did. I don’t know. It does have that slightly styled, messy thing going on. I wonder if it’s soft.
It looks soft.
And those lips. I—
Wait.
What the hell am I doing?
I don’t even know the guy.
But seriously, though, who has such perfectly shaped lips like this? And the way they move when he speaks is like the perfect sync of a symphony—
Hold up. His lips are moving.
He’s talking to me. And now he’s… grinning?
It’s a really good grin, too, kind of crooked and cute.
Oh, my god, he’s totally laughing at me. My eyes fly up, finding humor and inquisition swimming in his gaze.
“I—” I swallow. “What?”
Heat spreads along my chest, and I know there’s nothing I can do to hide the flush taking over.
Mystery man lets out a low chuckle that causes something to burn in the pit of my stomach.
And it’s official. I’m officially losing my mind.
A throat clears behind us.
It’s Chase.
Oh my god, Chase!
I quickly jump to my feet, giving myself some distance, leaving Chase sitting on the ground with mystery man bent at the knees beside him.
“You okay?” mystery man asks, hiding his grin.
Did I say hiding? I meant attempting to hide his grin and failing. Miserably.
“Yo, nineteen!” a familiar voice calls from somewhere in the distance.
The man turns his head, refusing to take his eyes off mine until the very last second, when he glances over his shoulder.
I follow his line of sight to find Brady walking up.
Brady nods his chin, the universal I’m about to bullet this ball and you better be there to catch it motion all guys seem to understand, and then he does just that.
The guy catches it effortlessly. Seriously. No effort. He pretty much pushed to his feet, lifted his hand and boom. Ball meet open palm.
There’s that laugh again.
Brady jogs over, Mason and Cameron on his tail.
Mystery man looks back at me and smiles, briefly flicking his gaze over my body, but not in a pervy way, maybe not even on purpose. More like, ‘you’re a woman in a tiny bikini and I’m a man with eyes.’
Chase must notice, too, because he snaps out of whatever fog he was in, hops to his feet, and positions himself directly behind me. I’m talking flesh to flesh. So close my head jerks around in shock, spotting the scowl building across his face
Brady reaches us, instantly taking note of mine and Chase’s nearness. He frowns, quirking a blond brow in question. Just like that, Chase shuffles away from me.
My chest heats for an entirely different reason now.
“Wud up, man?” Brady smiles, going in for the infamous bromance handshake, slap thing. “Didn’t know you’d be back in town.”
“Wait.” I look between the stranger and Brady. “You two know each other?”
Mystery guy looks at me with a sly grin. “Ah… she speaks.”
Brady’s gaze narrows expectantly.
So I explain, “I was a casualty of a rogue football.”