Chapter 6 #2
A seagull caws nearby, pulling me from the memory. Yeah, Grant didn’t make the cut by the end of the date either. When he’d asked if I wanted to split the check after talking about himself for an hour, I was ready to just put in my part and go home.
???
Jaxon
The cool water laps around my thighs as I sit astride my board near Trystan, just waiting for our next wave to come.
“She was checking out my ass,” I note proudly. Funny how something like that can turn me back into a hormonal teenager again.
“Oh yeah?” Trystan says with an equally goofy grin.
“I’m gonna wear her down.”
“Yeah? Well, you’ll definitely be an improvement. Brynleigh said the last few guys were pretty full of themselves. She deserves someone good. I can see you being good for her. I’m under the impression you’re one that isn’t going to be full of shit or waste her time.”
“I appreciate your vote of confidence. I got to see that firsthand when I ran into her on a date at Marcketti’s last night.
I had a to-go order. Real winner. Didn’t even open the door for her, so I did.
” Trystan tosses his head back with a big laugh that has his shoulders shaking.
“So, you have any dirt on the one who gave her the bricks she used to build up her defenses?”
“Damn, I would’ve loved to have seen her face, but no, not really.
When she first came to visit, she’d just broken things off with some Michael guy.
If I heard correctly, I think they’d been engaged.
I never asked. She seemed like she was happier to bury the past in the sand.
Brynleigh only ever mentions that ‘we don’t talk about Michael. ’”
“What idiot messes up a future with her?”
“She is pretty awesome.”
“I’ve gathered that.”
“So don’t fuck with her.” Trystan eyes me hard.
“Protective big brother vibes received.”
“Four very protective big brothers, that will kick ass. One that most definitely has the skillset to kill with bare hands.”
“Noted,” I say seriously as I take in his lethal ‘you don’t want to try me’ smile. A few quiet seconds pass. “You’ve totally been waiting to tell someone that your whole life, haven’t you?”
Trystan grins wider.
“Yup.”
“Good practice, I guess, for when you have a daughter.”
“Yup.”
We both chuckle before noticing a group of seals about thirty feet away.
“I’m thinking we should ride this next one in. I don’t feel like waiting to see if any whites show up to eat those seals,” Trystan notes warily.
“Not a fan of swimming with the man in a grey suit?” I ask teasingly, while so not wanting to swim with one myself.
“I got instant heebie jeebies. Let’s go.”
The next wave pulls our butts in. We carry our boards up to the girls, and I watch with amusement how they watch our muscles bunch and flex beneath the wetsuits. Golden brown doe eyes find mine, and I flash my dimples, enjoying how that rattles her.
“Why didn’t you guys find a good wave that time?” Holly chokes out, attempting to cover her gawking. It’s not working.
I reach behind me and pull on the zipper of my suit. Her eyes widen when she hears the initial pull of its teeth, and she looks away quickly. She makes it a whole five seconds before she’s peeking back my way. I’m going to milk this for everything it’s worth, and her eyes on me are worth a lot.
I take my time lowering the zipper, turning toward the water, and pointing out at the group of seals, jumping and splashing not far from where we’d been waiting for waves.
“Seals?” she asks, confused. It’s then I remember she didn’t grow up around here.
When I turn back to her, it’s just as I suspected–her eyes are on me instead of the water.
They flick up to mine, and she blushes slightly.
I start to pull my suit over my shoulders, eating up the way her eyes dance across my inked skin with each inch revealed. It makes me want to do indecent things.
“Yes, seals. Sharks, especially whites, are known to follow and hunt the seal colonies around here. Neither of us really felt like playing the odds with them thirtyish feet away,” I explain.
She hears me but isn’t really listening, and I like it.
A lot. By the time my suit makes it to my waist, she’s practically drooling.
I drop to my knees and crawl toward her on the blanket, enjoying how her eyes glare at me with open curiosity.
I grab the jar of pickles from her hand and plop on my butt beside her feet.
She lets out a breath she’s been holding, and I tally up another point for me.
I lean in close enough only she can hear.
“That’s at least the third time I’ve caught you checking me out today. I’m rather enjoying your eyes on me. In fact, it’s got me entertaining indecent ideas. Like how badly I want to act on that urge I got the other day in the wine aisle. You look beautiful today.”
She squeaks. It’s the cutest fucking thing I’ve heard, next to that frustrated growl she graced my ears with earlier. I crunch a pickle and watch out of the corner of my eye as she takes in the way I eat before her eyes bounce down my chest and abs.
“My eyes are up here, Sweetheart.”
She flushes. I grab her unlocked phone from her hand and pull up the camera, snapping a picture before she can say anything. She’s just open-mouth gaping at my audacity as I hand it back with a cocky smirk.
“There,” I whisper. “That’s for later when I’m not around to ogle.”
“Jaxon!” she whisper-shouts in embarrassment.
“I like my name on your lips.” I do. I like it way more than I should.
“You’re so full of yourself.”
“You know, you’ve never called me by my first name before.”
“I haven’t?”
“Nope, it’s always been Dr. Reyes or Dr. Sexy.”
She blushes hard again, and I reach up to touch a cheek with my forefinger.
“I like making that happen too.”
“I normally have good comebacks.”
“Just not around me?”
“I can’t think around you.”
Her admission is like a pat on the back.
“Do you still have a crush on me?” I tease.
She bites her lip and turns toward Bryn. A low and throaty laugh escapes my lips. This is the most fun I’ve had in years. I’m wearing her down.
For the next hour, we all shoot the shit, and I tease her mercilessly with my exposed skin. By the time we make it up to the parking lot, she’s visibly flustered. My truck just so happens to be parked on the passenger side of Brynleigh’s SUV, so I get a second alone with her. Thanks Brynleigh.
“I had a great time with you today.”
“Don’t get used to it.”
I love when she plays hard to get. She opens her door, fighting a smirk as I help her shut it once she’s tucked inside. I climb into my truck, push my sunglasses in place, and lean my head out the window before I chicken out.
“For the record, I still have a crush on you.”
Big, brown eyes look up at me.
“Talk to you soon, Sweetheart.” I wink at her before pulling out with a big smile on my face that stays the whole ride home.