Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 107673 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107673 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea...”
Oh no. We were hanging out, for sure.
“Remember, I’m in the same place as you. We’ll be friends. I want us to be friends. Nothing overt. I promise.” Beau’s fingers tightened around my hand then shook me off.
“You need to know, I’m not ready to…you know.”
Of course, he wasn’t ready. Look at the space he’d put between us at the very suggestion. “We’ll take it slow. Come to the resort tomorrow. I’ll get off work about two. You’ll blend in there where I stick out over here. We can go to the docks, and I’ll introduce you to the manager. We’ll get to know one another.”
“Okay. Maybe we could go to the beach. Everybody seems to have forgotten it exists anymore.” He hooked a thumb over his shoulder. “I should goin' before I’m caught.”
I wasn’t sure I believed him, but I also didn’t want to push past his comfort place.
“Yeah, me too. I’ll go wherever you want to go. I have no plans.”
He took a step backward, still staring at me. “Be careful goin’ home.”
“You know this matters,” I said seriously. “It’s not a fling. It’s gonna be hard shaking me off.”
I got the grin I liked so much before Beau took off running across the field. Much like earlier, I watched him until he jumped, parkour style, onto the roof. He lifted a hand then climbed through his window.
Becoming a stalker might be an issue for me because I was absolutely in love. Hardcore love.
Something about the way the seagulls squawked in the distance and the sounds of the waves pushing back and forth against the shore lulled me into a good, relaxed mood. The warm sun, and just being outside had to be factored in too. Today was everything for me.
I ran over the sand, soaking wet from the waves, until I dropped down on a large bath towel from the resort. I absently dragged a smaller one over my face then my hair. My gaze locked on Dash, still in the ocean, swimming the freestyle stroke back to the shore.
As hard as it was to admit, Dash the Perfect did have a flaw. He wasn’t much of a swimmer to be a lifeguard. I might have drowned waiting for him to get to me.
The credit for my good mood had nothing to do with the sounds of the beautiful day. It rested solely on the guy in the water coming toward me. He was dazzling, stunning to spend time with. Today’s obsession? His mouth. His jaw encased a set of perfectly formed, fleshy lips.
I started the day awkward and unsure, worried about someone seeing us and coming to correct assumptions, but his genuine good nature soothed any uncertainty. He showed me we could pull off the appearance of friends while getting to know each other on a different level.
He did manage to get me a job at the fishing charter service. My position was grunt worker number two. Meaning, they’d assign various duties for my shift when I arrived. Perfect for me.
Dash trudged through the shallow water at the shore, his swim trunks hanging low on his hips. He had a badass tan with not a freckle anywhere. Not me. I hadn’t been in the sun this way for years. I had a farmer’s tan and a splattering of freckles across the bridge of my nose and along each shoulder. Something that Dash teased me about mercilessly.
“Jeez, you can swim.” He huffed, trying to catch his breath while dropping down on his towel, exhausted. He lounged back on his elbows. When that proved too much effort, he laid down fully, draping his arms over his face, covering his eyes. His chest pumped up and down with each breath. My lips quirked at such a dramatic display.
I reached for the other smaller towel and tossed it over him, chuckling. “I win.”
“Remind me to never suggest a race with you again. You’re a warrior competitor. How did you swim so fast?” He lifted his arm enough for me to see the anguish on his brow as he still struggled to breathe.
“My buddy back in Alabama, Scott Lee, lived next door to me for all of my life. Everything we did was a competition. We played every sport together, challengin’ each other. I hate to lose, but Scott hates it more which made me try harder. I got to where I won most of the time. It bugged the crap out of him.” I spoke the absolute truth except for admitting the true joy I had from watching Scott throw his baby fit when I beat him. Life didn’t get much better than that, as potentially demented as that might sound.
“You could give me a break. At least pretend I was close. You left me in the dust. I think you were back on shore before I took my first stroke.” His arm dropped back over his eyes.