An hour after hitting the beach, we walked over to where Kim claimed the action was. No sooner had we spread our towels on a patch of sand than her radar began scoping. She wasn’t kidding when she’d said she was ready to move on.
If he was about our age and hot, Kim checked him out.
If he stared back, Kim smiled.
And if he came over, Kim flirted… heavily.
Before I knew it, we had a circle of four guys around us, and I really wasn’t comfortable with it. Two of them seemed to have gotten the message that one of us, meaning me, had no interest in this meet and greet. It didn’t take long for them to leave two behind.
I introduced myself as Olivia, clueing my bestie in that I didn’t want to reveal my real name, just in case. They then introduced themselves to us, but I couldn’t even remember either of their names. The guy into Kim was something beginning with a ch, because I noted the irony of it sounding like Chase.
Thank God, Kim kept her end of the conversation vague, even though we now knew all about Chip? Chance? Damn… he was a yapper.
“You girls want to take a swim?” Chandler asked. Maybe Charlie?
Kim eagerly met my eye, but something she saw in my raised brows had her saying, “We need to get ready for dinner. Parent requirement while we’re here.”
“That’s cool. My folks are the same way. Do you have your phone?” Kim nodded, pulling it from her beach bag. He waited for her to unlock her screen and took it from her hand, tapping something out before handing it back to her. “There… now I have your number too.”
Taking his friend’s lead, the blond who sat beside me began to ask, “Can I have—”
“No,” I instantly cut him off. “I have a boyfriend,” I added with a not-so-apologetic smile. “Sorry.”
The narrowing of his blue eyes coordinated well with his toothless smirk. “Gotcha. Well, have a nice dinner.” He got up and, without another word, walked away, leaving Chester where he still sat. Seriously? Did the dude think he had a shot with me after I ignored him the entire time?
Seeming a bit embarrassed by his friend’s attitude, Kim’s target stood and focused on her. “Well, hopefully I’ll catch you later. We’re all heading to Starfish tonight,” he admitted while I silently prayed that she wouldn’t commit to that plan.
Thank God, Kim gave him a noncommittal, “We’ll see,” and he waved before trotting over to where his friends were.
“What are you doing?”
“What?” she asked defensively. “I didn’t say I’d meet him.”
“Not that. Now he has your number.”
“So? He’s adorable and will be a sophomore at UMass. Who knows where this could lead? Besides, I wouldn’t doubt Chase is out there right now staring at anything in a skirt.”
“He’s not like that, Kim.” She was acting crazy. Plus, I had no desire to be a third wheel all week. “Whatever it is that has you believing it’s over before it’s over is messing you up.”
“I’ll tell you what is messing me up. We’ve barely spoken the last few days. As soon as he got that damn trip, it was ‘Kim who?’ And now that he graduated, he’s in UCLA mode, Liv. I’d rather be the one to end it on my terms.”
“Still… you may have decided to move on, but Chase doesn’t know that. Deep down I thought you were kidding about moving on this week, but now I’m not so sure. You just gave a stranger your real number. What do you think Chazz—”
“Chad.”
“That’s it! Chad,” I said, snapping my fingers, to which she rolled her eyes. “What do you think Chad wants to happen? He met a hot girl who he assumes is single while on vacation. You just made his week.” I nodded toward where the group was laughing while tossing a football around. When she glanced over as well, Chad waved with a huge smile. “That dude is a bit too eager.”
“Yeah, he definitely wants in my pants.”
“Ya think?”
She released a heavy sigh when the reality of the situation hit her. “Okay, you’re right. If he calls, I’ll tell him I have a boyfriend. God, I’m such a bitch.”
My arm went around her shoulders in a flash. “No, you’re not.”
“Yes, I am.” Before I had a chance to argue further, she added, “Can I tell you something?”
“Of course.”
“The only reason I didn’t break up with Chase after prom was because I didn’t want to ruin our summer.”
“Oh, Kim.” Squeezing her against me, guilt simultaneously squeezed inside my chest. “You can’t worry about that.”
“But I do… and you have to admit that’s exactly what would happen.” While pulling away, she sighed. “We wanted this summer to be amazing. Chase and I breaking up would create a very awkward situation.” When I shook my head, her own head bobbed up and down in a frustrated nod. And when I opened my mouth to speak, she raised a hand. “Yes, it would, Liv. The easy thing would just be to ride out the summer and part ways next month.”
“Doing what you think is the easy thing is not necessarily the right thing.” Taking her hand in mine, I squeezed until I had her attention. “It doesn’t have to be awkward either. There’s no reason there needs to be animosity between you, or bitterness. You can still hang out as friends.”
“Until I see him chasing someone else…” And in that simple statement, along with the hurt in her eyes, I knew Kim loved Chase more than she was letting on. It all became crystal clear. She was trying to protect her own heart, and that made mine hurt for her. “Please don’t tell Shane.”
I hated when she made that request, but like always, I nodded and said, “I won’t.”
Chapter Eleven
Shane
I’d been to LA quite a few times, but never with my buddies. And although we were excited to be there, Chase had taken that excitement to a whole new level.
Shit, I knew that Southern California was a single guy’s wet dream. We weren’t single guys, though, and Chase seemed to have forgotten that the moment we stepped off the plane. There was a recklessness that I’d never seen in him before.
Further proof of his need to let loose came when he asked our driver to take the scenic beach route toward our hotel. “Did you see that beauty?” Chase asked no one in particular. Half his body hung out the SUV’s window as he gawked at a blonde in a skimpy bikini, walking her dog.
“Stop acting like an ass.”
He twisted to stare at me. “How am I acting like an ass?”
My eyes widened of their own accord. “Seriously? Let’s start with the drool dripping down your chin… and let’s end with your girlfriend, who you seemed to have forgotten about.”
“Let him be,” Joey said with a laugh while pointing his cell at Chase. “This will go viral.”
“You’re recording me?” Chase asked.
“Hell, yeah.”
The idiot considered that fact and then shrugged before shoving two fingers into his mouth to release a shrill whistle. “Hey, baby… what’s your name?”