The inlet was a sheet of glass, the huge autumn moon spilling light over the surface to illuminate the empty patch of sand. Dylan dropped the towels and popped open one beer, keeping the other hostage.
“Strip,” he said when she went to reach for it.
Her jaw tightened but her eyes flashed hungrily, betraying her.
So complicated, Dani.
He rolled his hand impatiently, and Dani fixed her face into a seductive, open-mouthed expression that made him swallow hard. She unzipped the sweatshirt she was wearing, keeping her eyes on his the whole way, and let it fall onto the sand. When her tongue peeked out and skated across her bottom lip, he almost tossed the beer on the ground and took over undressing her.
Luckily, he maintained his patience because the image of her tugging her t-shirt slowly over her head, her blonde ponytail swinging, was something he was going to store for future use—whenever she got bored of him and moved on.
Dani flicked open the button on her shorts, revealing some black lace boy shorts that should have been the death of him, but his train of thought had snagged.
That was what was going to happen, wasn’t it? One day he’d show up and find an expired notice on his all-access pass to Dani.
When she finds her match.
The thought unexpectedly punched at his sternum. He chugged another sip of his beer, while she kicked the shorts off her legs. He was starting to realize that he hadn’t fully thought this deal through. He’d been so quick to accept any offer that got him back into Dani’s bed, but in typical Dylan fashion, he hadn’t planned his end game. After what had happened with Cassidy, and the rest of that night, that suddenly seemed like a major miscalculation. What would it be like for this to just end? To have to see Dani with whoever she chose when they hung out with their mutual friends?
“Can I have my beer now?” she asked. “I’m freezing.”
“Right. Yeah.” He handed both beers to her, then ripped off his t-shirt and shorts as quickly as he could.
Dani dragged her eyes down his body, and he felt something push against his ribs. It was warm and soft and unfamiliar and… needy. His shoulders straightened under her appraisal.
She gave a pointed gaze to his crotch. “I told you it was cold.”
His breath whooshed out in a laugh. “You’re a she-devil.”
She laughed for the first time in hours, and that pushing nearly shoved him off his feet.
“This better be as warm as you say.” Dani stuck the bottom of her bottle in the sand and took a few cautious steps into the water. Goosebumps spread down the back of her thighs, and he took a slow sip of his beer as he studied her long tan legs and little waist. Those narrow hips that fit just right in his hands. Even in those lace panties, she looked small and cute like she had the morning after Josh’s wedding. The side of her that was usually dolled and painted and fluffed was naked again, and it was doing strange things to him.
Her hips disappeared under the water, and he ditched his bottle and jogged to her, wrapping his arms around her middle. She laughed as he picked her up, her legs hooking easily around his waist as he walked them further in. The water warmed them like he promised it would.
A few stray clouds crossed over the silver dollar moon, and the weakened light made the beach feel more secluded. Now he could just make out Dani’s features; her blue eyes glowing, her pink lips still turned downward. The ends of her ponytail started to curl as they splashed.
“Do you think Cat and Josh are fighting?” she asked.
The question surprised him since he thought they were there because she and Cat were fighting. “No. I don’t.”
“They’re not stuck together at the moment, and earlier, on the beach, he seemed irritated at her.”
Dylan huffed out a laugh, knowing the level at which Josh’s irritation maxed out. It was a three at best on a scale of Dylan’s typical eleven. Maybe even a one-point-five when it was directed at Cat. “I think if he was, he’ll be over it by the time he stumbles into their tent for the night.”
Dani pulled a lip between her teeth and chewed. “I’m pissed at her, but I’d hate it if they were fighting.” Her face crumpled again, and it sent an ache through his chest.
“Tell me why you’re taking this so hard, Dani.”
“I don’t know.”
He let go of one ass cheek and tipped her chin toward him, what little light there was catching in the moisture in her eyes. “You do.”
A rush of air left her lungs, like she’d been waiting for someone to come along and uncork it. “I just don’t understand how she could keep this from me. It just…it feels like a judgment.”
“What do you mean? Why would it be a judgment?”
“It’s like she got married and now we don’t have anything in common anymore. Like silly Dani wouldn’t care about babies. Maybe I was less than into the wedding details, that’s Emma’s thing, but this is her child. My best friend is spawning a little replica of herself and she didn’t think I would be excited about that?”
Dylan chuckled and shifted her weight. “Look, I don’t know why she chose to keep it to herself, but I don’t think she feels that way. You’re a good friend, Dani. That’s like your thing. You’re everyone’s cheerleader even if it’s a long shot. Like with the Jansens. I wasn’t sure I was going to pull that one off, but you were. You were so damn confident in me, like you were personally invested in some building you’d never even heard of. Cat has to know you’d be the same about this.”
Dani took a minute, still chewing her lip, then she tightened her arms around his neck, bringing them closer. She laid her head on his shoulder, and a sigh escaped from deep in his chest. He liked it way too much, holding her like this.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“For what?”
“You’re the only one who hasn’t made me feel crazy for feeling like this.”
He couldn’t see her pretty eyes anymore, but her voice sounded genuinely relieved. He squeezed her tighter. “Look, I get it. I’m kind of disappointed Josh didn’t tell me.”
“You are?”
“Sure. He and I have been through a lot. But since I know it was Cat’s decision, I’m gonna let it slide.”
“Do you ever feel like things are different between you two since him and Cat?”
“Nah. Josh has always been a few steps ahead in life. He’s got like a sixth sense, feels the weather changing, so to speak, and makes the adjustments before I even feel the rain.”
“The weather changing?”
“Yeah, like junior year in college he started partying less, nose to the grindstone. It was time to grow up and so he did. And then I did. After that, when he’d been working at the firm he was at for a while, he knew it was time to go out on his own. Convinced me to come along. He bought a house and then kicked me out, so I bought a house. Josh is like a human barometer. He senses the little pressure changes, knows when it’s time to head for higher ground. But it’s never been a problem—him there, me here.”