Chapter 28
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
ariana
I drop onto the chair next to his, just to make him sweat.
He doesn’t even look at me. His eyes stay glued to the game that is being played on the beach. Give me something, Boston Black. I’m in a cute bikini and my lips are all glossy so that you have something pretty to look at every time you shoot me down.
“Hi, Wedding Date.”
“Plus one,” he corrects in a grumble, bringing his beer to his lips. His hair is pulled back, and I wonder if he knows that I have a soft spot for that look on him.
“Do you like my bathing suit?” I ask innocently.
“Ari,” he warns. That was quicker than usual.
“I knew I should have gone with black.” I sigh, leaning back in the chair. He doesn’t even glance at me. He’s completely indifferent. “I figured you weren’t a pink guy.”
“The pink is just fine,” he mutters.
Oh?
A smile tugs at my mouth. “So you do like it?”
He takes another swig of his beer, but says nothing more. Fine. If he wants to play stoic and silent, I’ll play chatty and charming.
“Are you going to save me a dance at the wedding?”
“No.”
I scoff. “Come on. That’s your duty as my date.”
“Not your date,” he reminds me. “Your plus one.”
“We need to look up the definition of those terms because I’m fairly certain they’re interchangeable.”
He just shakes his head, like it doesn’t matter, and lets the silence stretch between us.
I’m going crazy. Have you ever tried to flirt with a wall? That’s what this is like. I’d probably get more from the damn wall at this point.
“Why won’t you look at me?” I ask, angling my head.
His jaw ticks, and I don’t know if it's the drinks or the heat, but I can tell he's particularly affected by me today. I’m getting on his nerves, making him uneasy. Great. I love watching him unravel. I can work with this.
“Stop playing with fire, alright? Your brother is four feet away from you.”
“He can’t hear me,” I say quietly, leaning back on my elbows. “And I think you’re allowed to look at me, Boston.”
“I’m not.”
“Well then, this week is going to be nearly impossible. We’ll need to blindfold you.” His lip twitches upward, but that’s all he gives me. “Shame, too. I have so many more pretty bikinis, and I hand-picked my dress for the wedding with you in mind.”
I didn’t, but he doesn’t have to know that.
Even from behind his sunglasses, I know his eyes flash with that look that they usually do when I surprise him. The one I’m putty for.
“Will you ever cave?” I ask after a few more seconds of silence.
“Nope.”
I sigh, tilting my head back with disappointment. That’s a shame. When I glance up, he’s looking right at me, the sun is now hitting his face. I catch a glimpse of his eyes from behind his glasses as they glide from my throat to my chest.
The way that look sends a shiver down my spine is not good.
His eyes snap up to mine, knowing he’s been caught. He doesn’t smile, doesn’t balk—nothing.
I cock a brow and he just looks away. I’m losing my damn mind here.
“Give me something, Boston. Flirt back just a little.”
“Nope,” he says again, taking a sip of his beer.
“It’s really starting to crush my ego that you look at me like I’m as interesting as a piece of furniture.”
He lets out a long breath, shaking his head. “That isn’t true.”
“No?”
“Furniture doesn’t talk this much.”
I throw my head back and laugh. His dry humour is a particular drug that I need injected into my bloodstream. It hits just right, every time he offers it to me.
A few more minutes of silence stretch between us before he speaks again.
“The pink bikini is infuriating,” he says as he stands and wipes the dirt off his legs. He doesn’t even look my way when he drops his empty beer into the trash can. “And you’re the most interesting person in every room.”
He leaves me there, wide-eyed and stunned. He does not glance back or give me time to respond. He just joins the game of spike ball that everyone else is playing and leaves me to melt on this beach chair.
I may or may not need to dive into that water to cool off after that. He…flirted with me…I think? His tone was as gruff and dismissive as always, but his words…
I stand up and storm right into the water.