Hopping up, I brushed off a few grains of sand that had stuck to my skin. “Maybe you don’t know me as well as you think.”

  “Oh, I know you! I know you better than you know yourself,” she teased.

  “I’m going to get a slushie from Bert’s. Do you want one?”

  “What a stupid question. I always want a slushie from Bert’s. Strawberry, please.”

  I grabbed my tote bag, slid into my sandals, and headed up the shore to Bert’s Market. I hated to admit Paige was right, but she was. I was a romantic all the way down to my core. It wasn’t my fault. When I was ten years old, I asked my mom how she met my dad. What followed was an epic love story of two childhood best friends who had loved each other from the very beginning. My parents went through struggles, but the one thing that never wavered was their love for each other.

  Whenever Dad passed by Mom in the house, he touched her shoulder, a gentle reminder to both of them of how connected they were. I’d witnessed them communicate across the table during supper without saying a word, understanding completely what the other was thinking. The way they looked at each other, the laughter they shared, how could I not want that for myself?

  I was still deep in thought when Bert’s Market appeared in front of me. I grabbed a couple of granola bars along with two strawberry slushies and headed back to Paige. When I hit the bottom of the pier, I saw my umbrella but not Paige. She was surrounded by Ryan, Drake, and Brandon. All shirtless, tanned, and muscled up.

  I smiled watching Ryan get his surfboard ready. After baseball, surfing was his number one sport. His passion for it mimicked the one I had for writing and reporting, which is why I’d been on the school paper for the last two years. It felt like I was making a difference reporting about issues that affected the student body. I loved when Mrs. Hall assigned me the Get to Know Me column, showcasing students of diversity. Breaking down assumptions and prejudices about students from the LGBTQ community, people of color, and those with disabilities was an important part of acceptance, and I didn’t take the assignments lightly.

  My gaze shifted and the flutter in my stomach spread to other parts of my body at the sight of spiky dirty-blond hair blowing in the wind. Brandon wasn’t a surfer but he supported Ryan and Drake whenever they were in competitions. He was helping Drake wax his surfboard and the sight of the sun bouncing off his golden tanned skin sent shivers down my spine. The natural sun-kissed highlights in his hair made me want to run my fingers through it. I shook the image free of my brain. I shouldn’t have those kinds of thoughts about him. But surely a girl could admire the male form without there being any underlying feelings, right?

  Ever since finding out Brandon wasn’t going to be going off to college, I’d wondered if Alexa had anything to do with that decision. I wasn’t exactly sure of her future plans, but word on the street was she was staying in town to attend Charleston Southern. I asked Paige what the deal was between her brother and Alexa, but in usual Paige style, she had no idea. She kept telling me that she and Brandon did not have the type of relationship in which they spilled their guts to each other.

  “Hey, Princess! Get your cute little self over here,” Ryan yelled, pulling me from my thoughts. Tightening my grip around the slushies, I smiled. Princess wasn’t the worst nickname in the world, but it wasn’t my favorite either. Each time he used it I cringed inside. A princess was a spoiled brat who couldn’t do anything for herself. I wasn’t spoiled and I could definitely take care of myself.

  “Hey! I didn’t know y’all were coming out today,” I said, walking over to Ryan and giving him a quick peck on the cheek.

  “Babe, whenever the waves are perfect, I’m gonna be out here.”

  We were at an area on Folly Beach called the “washout”. It got its name in the late eighties when a huge hurricane hit the Charleston area. That section of Folly Beach had homes that got destroyed during the storm and were never rebuilt. Without houses in the way, the wind in this area was free to flow, which made for some of the best surfing conditions around.

  “Sorry, I don’t check the daily surf watch.”

  “I gotta get in as much as I can before I leave. Nowhere at Chambers to surf,” Ryan said, picking up his board and walking toward the ocean.

  I took my spot back under the umbrella. “Paige, your slushie has arrived.”

  “Um…keep it safe for me. Drake is going to show me how to surf.”

  Brandon doubled over with laughter while Drake and Paige stared at him, stone faced.

  “Oh, shit, you’re serious,” Brandon chuckled. “Drake, my man, have you lost your mind?”

  Drake smiled at Paige. “I think she’s a quick learner and will do awesome.”

  “Yeah, Brandon, just because you sucked at it the first time Dad tried to teach you doesn’t mean I’m not good at it,” Paige snarled.

  “I didn’t suck at it, I decided it wasn’t challenging enough for me.” Brandon glanced at Drake. “Dude, no offense.”

  “None taken.”

  I just slurped my slushie while shaking my head at their typical sibling argument. The Johnson kids may have fought like cats and dogs most of the time, but I knew better. At their core, they had each other’s back above all else.

  As Drake escorted Paige toward the water, Brandon joined me under the umbrella. It was the first time we’d been alone since the pool party and nerves had my skin tingling. Brandon, on the other hand, seemed as relaxed as ever. I wasn’t exactly sure what to talk about so I went with whatever fell out of my mouth.

  “Where’s Alexa?”

  From the corner of my eye, I looked for a reaction. His expression remained blank, and I couldn’t see his eyes behind his dark sunglasses. What I did see was a chiseled jaw covered in stubble that my fingertips itched to touch.

  “Why’d you ask about her?” His deep voice was steady, not irritated or surprised.

  “It just seems like y’all have been spending a lot of time together and I wondered if she was coming out here today.”

  Brandon focused on our friends tackling the waves. “Maybe. It’s a public beach.”

  “Why do you always answer that way?” There was a bit of a bite in my tone.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Like an asshole.”

  The edges of his lips slowly crept up to form a grin. “I didn’t realize I was such an asshole in your eyes.”

  “I didn’t say you were an asshole. I said you answer questions like an asshole.”

  “What’s the difference?”

  “Tone. You may be a swell fella, but your tone screams asshole.”

  He turned to face me. “You think I’m a swell fella, Hootie?”

  There went that flutter in the pit of my stomach again. I hated when anyone else except Brandon called me by that name.

  “I think you’re a swell fella with strong asshole tendencies.”

  Brandon turned to face the water. “Well, your dad certainly thinks I’m one so you’re not too far off the mark in your analysis.”

  My chest tightened at his words. My dad was a wonderful person and the best father ever. He had a blind spot when it came to Mr. Johnson, which was fine, I knew they’d had bad blood between them in high school that continued to this day. The problem was, Dad transferred his extreme dislike for Mr. Johnson to Brandon. I mean, it wasn’t Brandon’s fault that his dad was a jerk in high school. I’d hoped over the years that my father’s disdain had been a secret between him, Mom, and me. Apparently, somewhere along the way Brandon felt it too. My heart broke for him.

  “My dad doesn’t dislike you, Brandon.”

  “I know that. He hates me.”

  “That’s not true.” At least I didn’t want it to be true. The subject needed changing fast. “Ryan said you weren’t going to Chambers.”

  “Yep.”

  “He was really bummed about you guys not being roommates.”

  “Ryan and Drake are a better match in the roommate department.”

  I fiddled with the straw in my cup. “So, why did you change your mind?”

  “You’re a regular Lois Lane with all your probing questions.”

  “Sorry, it’s just that for as long as I can remember, you, me, and Paige dreamed of going there. Up until a month or so ago you were making it happen, and now you’re throwing it all away for something. Or someone.”

  That last part wasn’t supposed to be audible. But, as usual, my mind and mouth ran at different speeds, causing me to blurt things out that should have gone unspoken.

  “I don’t think changing to the College of Charleston would qualify as throwing my future away.”

  “I just meant that the three of us… None of us ever considered another college. Plus, you not only got academic scholarships, but you got one for baseball too.”

  “I got both of those at C of C.”

  “Then the reason for your change in plans must be because of someone.”

  “You’re right about that,” he mumbled so low I could hardly hear him.

  I was about to probe him with more questions when Paige, Drake, and Ryan came running toward us.

  11

  THE FEMALE MIND

  BRANDON

  “Did you see me?” Paige said, soaking wet and breathing hard. “I was doing it. I actually stood up and caught a wave.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh at how excited my sister was at her accomplishment. Not that I would ever let her know this, but Paige was smart and clever with a sharp sense of humor. She could do anything she set her mind to.

  “You did awesome,” Drake said, grinning from ear to ear.

  Ryan reached for Halle’s hands, pulling her up to his wet chest and causing her to yelp. “How about you, Princess?”

  Princess?

  How unoriginal can you get? Besides, Halle didn’t strike me as a princess. Princesses were pretentious and spoiled. I didn’t mean to stare, but I couldn’t help it. She squirmed and seemed uncomfortable. I wondered if she felt that way because of me. I secretly hoped that was the reason she was trying to disengage from lover boy. Inconspicuously, I pinched the side of my thigh to bring me back to reality and stop thinking, hoping, wishing Halle was mine. It wasn’t like I purposely thought those thoughts. They just popped in my head whenever she was near.

  Tilting her head back, Halle looked at Ryan with her face squished up in the cutest way. “Not feeling the princess.”

  I knew she wouldn’t like that stupid nickname.

  “Oka-a-ay. Noted,” Ryan said.

  “How about me what?”

  “How about I give you a surf lesson?” Ryan’s hands slid down her ribcage, wrapping around her waist.

  Thankfully, I had my sunglasses securely in place so no one had a clue where or what I was focused on. I don’t know what had gotten into Ryan lately. I never considered him a handsy kind of a guy, but it seemed every time I looked, his hands were on my girl. This girl, because she wasn’t mine. Not that I could blame him. But fuck me. At some point, the constant PDA had to stop. Even Halle seemed to have had enough of it. She stepped back, causing Ryan’s hands to drop.

  Good.

  “I’m more of a beachcomber than a surfer,” she said.

  Ryan reached for her. “I bet I could change your mind.”

  Waving his hands away, she sat back down under the umbrella next to me. When I glanced up at Ryan, he didn’t look very happy. His gaze shifted between me and Halle before landing on me. What the fuck was his problem? He had her. It wasn’t my fault she preferred my company. You couldn’t blame the girl for having impeccable taste.

  “Brandon, do you think Mom and Dad would buy me a board?” Paige’s voice sliced through my thoughts like a switchblade.

  “Are you insane?” I told her. “No.”

  “Why not?”

  I stood, needing distance from the lovebirds and my pesky sister. My eyes narrowed at the sight of Ryan taking my spot and cozying up to Halle. “Because you never stick with anything,” I said, grabbing my T-shirt and pulling it over my head.

  The second her hands met her hips I knew the whining wasn’t far behind. “That’s so-o-o not true.”

  “Do I need to recite the list?”

  She glanced at Drake, giving him a shy, quick smile as her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “There’s no list.”

  “Karate,” I started.

  “I was just a kid and who knew I had a barefoot phobia.”

  “Soccer.”

  “The field was buggy.”

  “Dance.”

  “I experienced intense anxiety whenever I saw sequins after swallowing a bead.”

  “I have an extra board you can use, Paige,” Drake piped up.

  Looking away, my gaze slammed into Halle and Ryan. When he placed a lingering kiss on Halle’s creamy shoulder, I felt the sandwich I ate for lunch start to creep its way back up. I needed to get off love island.

  I made my way down the beach while no one, I’m sure, noticed my absence. I walked down the shore without a clue as to where I was headed. All I knew was that I needed to get away from Halle and Ryan. It didn’t make any sense for me to be mad or jealous. I couldn’t have her. I kept telling myself I’d be fine if she were with another guy. The problem was it needed to be a guy I didn’t know or have to be around. As the old saying goes, out of sight, out of mind.

  I had tried everything to get her out of my head and my dreams. Even changing my plans for college. I could get the same education and opportunities staying home and going to a local college as I would going off to Chambers. Plus, I’d be living on campus instead of at home. Except for the location, everything was still the same with the added bonus that I wouldn’t witness the love story of Ryan and Halle. The more I thought about them being together I knew there was no way in hell I could be his roommate. She’d be coming up on the weekends to visit him. They’d want to do stuff, and those dorm rooms were pretty tiny. I couldn’t handle seeing her and hearing them. Avoiding Halle was becoming more and more difficult. She was my sister’s best friend and my best friend’s girl. Unless I became a hermit and an orphan there was no way I could completely avoid her.

  Resisting the urge to turn back and watch them get cozier under the umbrella, I continued down the beach, images popping in my head of Ryan nuzzling Halle’s neck, touching her skin, and kissing her soft lips. Shutting my eyes tight, I tried to squeeze those fucking pictures out of my head just as I heard my name being called. Opening them, I found Alexa standing in front of me.

  “Hey, big guy,” she teased, playfully punching my arm. “I didn’t know you were coming out here today.”

  “It was a last-minute thing.”

  Alexa’s family had a huge beach-front home named Big Blue because it was, well, big and blue. Just before graduation she started inviting me to come out to the house, even stay over if I wanted. Her mom and dad were nice people, from what I could tell, but they didn’t engage in a lot of parental supervision. For as long as I had known Alexa, they’d allowed her to come and go as she pleased.

  “So, I’m staying at Big Blue for the week,” she said, running her toes across the loose sand.

  “Yeah, I think you mentioned something about that.”

  “Um, you wanna come over? Jessica and Andrea are there, but that doesn’t matter. We could stay in my room.”

  I liked Alexa as a friend and that was as far as I could get with my feelings. Not that I knew the first thing about relationships, but lately it seemed as if she were getting interested in more than a friends-with-benefits situation. I didn’t want to lead her on, but I also needed a substantial distraction from my life at the moment. At least, until Ryan went off to college.

  “Sure.”

  Her face lit up with a little too much excitement and my stomach twisted. This girl was definitely wanting our relationship to intensify. I didn’t want to hurt Alexa. I should have made up an excuse, headed to my car, and drove home. But damn, she looked good spilling out of her skimpy bathing suit. Maybe I was reading her wrong. I mean, what the fuck did I know about females except that I liked the way their bodies looked and felt. Beyond that, I didn’t know how their minds worked. The looks Alexa was giving me right now definitely said ‘I want to hook up,’ but there was something else in her eyes I couldn’t put my finger on. And that mystery look scared me.

  Before I knew what was happening, she grabbed my hand and pulled me in the direction of Big Blue. We didn’t even break stride climbing the mile-long stairway, or running across the family room and down the hall to her bedroom. If Jessica and Andrea were here, I sure didn’t see them as we whizzed by in a blur.

  Alexa pushed me into her bedroom and locked the door behind her. Her long blonde curls fell around her shoulders with a wildness that matched her eyes. As she sauntered toward me, her tits bounced slightly, causing my dick to jerk to life. She really was hot. A blonde with brown eyes, she was nice enough and kind of funny. She had a weird habit of giggling after every sentence she spoke. I never figured out why she did that, so I stopped trying. Sometimes she acted like she was better than everyone else, but she wasn’t too bad. I could overlook a lot of annoying character traits in exchange for hotness.

  Placing her hands flat on my chest, she looked at me with those doe eyes and said, “Brandon, I like you.”

  “I figured as much, since we occasionally fuck.”

  “I mean, I like you more than just a fuck buddy.” She giggled.

  Holy shit! I knew more about the inner workings of the female brain than I thought. Her hands snaked their way around the back of my neck as she pressed her chest against mine. “Look, Alexa, we had an understanding,” I said, slowly taking a step back.

  Reaching out, she grabbed a fistful of my T-shirt and pulled me forward. “I know, but things change. Don’t you like me?” She slid her hand over my crotch. “It feels like you do.” She giggled. Again.

  The biggest cockblocker on earth was a girl giggling as she touched your penis. Clasping Alexa by the wrist, I gently removed her hand from the land of good and evil. One lesson Dad taught me during the sex talk was to never piss off a woman when she’s in close proximity to your junk. “Um…where is this all coming from?”

 

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