“For what?”
“My number.”
A slow smile crosses her face as she reaches into her bag and pulls out her phone. I rattle off my number and watch as she enters it into her phone before dropping her phone back into her bag.
“Well, boys, it’s been real,” Karina says, linking her arm with Peyton’s.
“Boys?” Sam scoffs with no heat.
Karina grins. “Well, you’ve yet to prove otherwise.” She waves, and together they turn and head toward their hotel.
I stand there and watch them leave. I don’t take my eyes off them until they disappear into the hotel. The silence from my friends tells me they’re doing the same thing.
“Damn,” Daniel says. “Anyone calling dibs?” he asks.
“Peyton,” I say automatically.
“Yeah, we thought so.” Oliver chuckles. “The friend?”
Daniel raises his hand, and I toss my head back in laughter. “I mean, I’m just looking for some fun, and she seems all kinds of fun.”
Oliver grumbles something under his breath, but I’m too caught up in Peyton’s gaze to try to decipher what it was.
“Food. I need food before my stomach starts to eat itself,” Sam declares.
“You’re always hungry. Where do you put it?” I ask him.
“Hey, it takes calories for all of this,” he says, rubbing his hands over his six-pack.
“Well, I don’t know about you all, but I’m thinking we eat in the restaurant.” Daniel points at the hotel the girls just disappeared into.
I slap him on the shoulder. “You, my man, are a genius.” I know he’s into Karina, and I’ve already made it clear I’m into Peyton. Sam doesn’t care. He just wants to eat, and Oliver, well, I’m not exactly sure what’s up with him, but he’s in. Without another word, the four of us make our way to the lobby of Casa Playa and to their in-house restaurant.
Our food has long since been demolished, yet we’re still sitting here at this table right next to the restaurant entrance, shooting the shit, hoping to either hear from or see the girls. Daniel flirted with the hostess to score us this seat. I made sure to give him a high five as soon as she walked away. However, there hasn’t been a single sighting or message from either of them.
“Is your phone not dead yet? You’ve only checked it a million times since we sat down,” Oliver goads me.
“Fuck off.” I laugh. I know my best friend wants to say more, but he doesn’t. I’m surprised because he’s usually calling me out on my shit.
“Guys, we’ve been here for two hours. I think it’s safe to say we’re not going to run into them here. We should probably go and let the server have this table,” Sam comments. “My sister is a server, and she hates it when people just hang around. Most of the time, they leave a shit tip.”
“Well, this place adds the tip to the bill, but we can leave some extra cash,” I assure him. The four of us reach for our wallets. Our bills were already paid. Each of us drops some additional cash on the table before we leave the restaurant.
“Now what?” Oliver asks.
“You know, I’m pretty sure stalking is illegal,” a female voice says from behind us where we’re standing in the lobby trying to decide where to go next.
All four of us turn to face the voice, and I can’t help but smile when I see Peyton and Karina standing there smiling. Peyton’s hair is pulled up in a ponytail, and she’s changed into a white sundress that makes her tits look incredible. Who am I kidding? They looked incredible earlier too.
My feet propel me forward, and I take her hand in mine before leaning in to kiss her cheek. “I missed you,” I tell her. I stand back to my full height and smile down at her. I don’t know what’s gotten into me. I’m not an asshole to girls, but I’ve never told one that I missed her. Especially not after only knowing them a handful of hours.
Her cheeks turn the lightest shade of pink, and my dick twitches. “How was dinner?” I ask, forcing myself to take a step back.
“Good. My sister and her boyfriend joined us, so it was a family affair,” Peyton replies.
“All right, ladies, what are we getting into tonight?” Sam claps his hands and rubs them together with a mischievous glint in his eye.
I want to tell him that Peyton and I are going to walk on the beach and they could do their own thing, but that’s a bit much even for me. It’s not even that I want to fuck her. I mean, I do, I really really do, but that’s not it. She’s just genuine and down to earth, and after a campus full of cleat chasers hoping to latch onto one of us who are destined to make it to the majors, she’s a breath of fresh air.
“You’re the locals.” Karina laughs. “You tell us.”
“Some friends of ours are building a fire down on the beach. We could go hang out there,” Daniel suggests.
“Wait, aren’t fires illegal on the beach?” Peyton asks.
“Technically, yes, but as long as it’s small, and we clean up, they never say anything to us. The officers who patrol are pretty relaxed on that law, really,” I explain.
“Besides, it’s at the corner end of the beach. As long as we don’t cause havoc, we’re good,” Sam adds.
Peyton looks up at me. “Are you sure we’re not going to get arrested?”
“I’m sure.” I nod.
She glances over at Karina. “What do you think?”
“Will there be alcohol?” Karina asks.
“Oh no, you don’t,” Peyton warns her. “I took care of you the last time, and I’m not dragging drunk you into your shared suite with your parents, and you know Parker won’t be thrilled about me dragging you into ours either.”
“I’ll take it slow, and Parker loves me.” Karina sticks her tongue out at Peyton.
“She does love you, and so do I, but that doesn’t mean I want to drag your drunk ass back to the hotel.”
“Who is Parker? Where is Parker, and if Parker is a she, is she hot?” Sam asks.
Peyton grins. “Parker is my sister. She’s beautiful, and she’s taken.”
“Are you sure? I mean, she’s passing up all of this,” Sam says, lifting his shirt.
Karina and Peyton share a look, one I can’t decipher before they both turn to Sam. “We’re sure,” they say at the same time.
“Wow, that’s some freaky shit. How long did you say the two of you have been friends?” Oliver asks.
“Kindergarten,” they both answer.
“I promise to get you both back to the hotel safely,” I speak up.
“No offense, I appreciate the offer, but we don’t really know you. Trusting you when we’re inebriated isn’t the wisest move,” Peyton answers.
“My boy here is a standup dude,” Sam offers.
“I’m sure he is.” Peyton smiles. “However, I stand behind the fact that we don’t know any of you, so while I appreciate the offer, we won’t need you.”
“Damn,” Oliver mutters. “I like this one.”
“Come on, ladies.” Daniel links one arm through Peyton’s and the other through Karina’s. “The bonfire awaits.” He leads them away from our little group with a smirk on his lips.