Chapter 31
Summer
I wake up on my back with a weight on me.
What the? Rubbing my eyes, I blink, finding Nick’s arm holding me close with his face buried in my neck.
Not wanting to wake him, I lie quietly, breathing in the salty air.
It looks like a sunny day today, and there’s still a dusting of pink in the sky.
I hear Alex step out onto the balcony, talking to someone.
“I will be back tomorrow, Reesa,” I hear him say. “No, I do not have my Finn schedule yet, but Summer will handle that, and I have already given her the society schedules for the season and the fundraisers.”
There’s a pause, and then, “Enough! I will be in court tomorrow morning. We can have lunch with your parents and Alicia afterwards. Okay, goodbye,” followed by an enormous sigh.
Alex sounds miserable, but it’s his own doing. I still feel bad for him, though. Nick squeezes me tighter and rubs his nose in my neck before settling back down. “Shortie,” he grunts.
“Hey,” I reply. “Sleep good?”
He nods into my neck before squeezing my waist, then rolling onto his back.
“I think I’m ready for my tattoo,” I tell him, looking over.
He meets my eyes for a minute, then nods. “When?”
“In the next few weeks, maybe? I don’t know what my schedule will be like at the plantation, but I’ll know early this week.”
He nods. “Okay,” before getting out of bed and leaving.
I roll over to check my phone. It’s still early, so I text Zander and Sue.
Sue replies right away, so I call her and fill her in on the hearing tomorrow morning.
She seems confident I’ll win the case no matter what happens.
Although I care little about the money aspect, I’ve come to realize it has its advantages.
I can pay for college now that I want to go, and I can help my friends out if they need it.
It also allows me to have a top-notch lawyer.
After saying goodbye to Sue, I hear a light tapping on my door. Seb peeks his head inside and smiles at me. He comes in, closes the door, and hops over me to land on my bed. “Morning, Sunshine,” he smiles, full of energy.
“Morning. You’re up early today,” I reply with a smile.
“Last chance to get my Sunshine fix for a while,” he says, leaning in to kiss me.
Since he doesn’t seem concerned about morning breath, I relax into the bed and happily kiss him back as we tangle our arms and legs together. “Is everyone else up?” I ask as we break off.
“No, I haven’t seen Bay yet, but I saw Nick leaving your room,” he says, wiggling his eyebrows.
I slap his chest. “You know it’s not like that, Hurry.”
“Not yet, Sunshine, but someday. I can see it all in my mind. We’ll live happily ever after,” he says wistfully. “So, I plan on talking to Nick and Bay starting this week to feel them out.”
“Are you sure this is a good idea?”
“Do you not want this, Sunshine? It’s okay to change your mind.”
“I still like the four of you, but I’m scared. Hurry. This can’t screw up our friendships.”
“I’ll be subtle. I won’t risk our relationships, I promise. You mean just as much to us as we do to you.”
I nod, then lean in for more kisses. My belly swirls, but there’s a knock at the door. We pull away as E sticks his head in. “Sorry, but the french toast is ready, and it’s terrible cold,” he says.
“Thanks, E,” I smile as he closes the door.
“Cockblocked by my own boyfriend,” Seb sighs.
I giggle and get out of bed to find some clothes. Heading downstairs after I’m ready, E has a plate of French toast and tea waiting for me. I thank him and dig in. “E, these are amazing! What did you use? Wait, it’s apple pie spice and something else,” I say.
“It’s actually pumpkin pie spice with maple-caramelized apples and powdered sugar.”
“You are amazing,” I tell him before taking another bite. Looking around the room, I see Alex on his phone and Nick and Bay watching tv. “So what’s the plan for today?” I ask.
“I would like to be home for dinner this evening,” Alex says. The rest don’t seem to have any plans, so I tell them I’d like to go for another run on the beach and a swim. Everyone agrees, so I offer to clean up breakfast while the guys lounge around.
Once our bellies have settled, I change into a sports bathing suit and pull a tank top on over it after I rub in sunscreen.
I help the guys with their sunscreen, and then we head out.
All the guys are joining me today for a run, which is nice.
The beach is busy, but not as bad as yesterday.
Nick and I jog towards the right as usual, and the guys follow.
I catch several appreciative glances towards the guys as we run by, not that I can blame them.
By the time we reach the end of the beach, everybody is down to their shorts and breathing hard, except Nick and me.
“Damn. I don’t know if I’m out of shape already or you two are just too fast,” Seb says, leaning over and sucking in some air.
“Considering I wasn’t running hard, I’d say you’re out of shape,” I chuckle.
“Mean Sunshine,” Seb says, picking me up and flinging me over his shoulder. “I’m not too out of shape to toss you into the water.”
“No!” Alex and Nick shout.
Seb sets me down and turns to the guys. “What?”
“Riptides, Seb,” Alex explains.
Seb turns back to the water, looking around. “Well damn. Sorry Sunshine.”
I pat his chest, then walk up higher on the beach and plop down by Bay. The guys talk around me as I stare at the clouds floating by. I’m gonna miss this place until we can return.
When everyone is rested, we jog back and jump into the water in front of the house for a while. No one bugs us today, and it’s wonderful.