Page 79 of Rebel Summer

He wasn’t the loudest or the fastest, or even someone who really looked like he knew what he was doing, but Dax Miller had the body of an athlete. Watching him try to hide how his face would light up after scoring a point or saving a ball was the icing on the cake for me.

We faced off at the net, where he hit it over and into a blind spot where my team, aka me, didn’t get to it. Apparently, when one sits at a desk most of the day, one’s vertical does not continue to gain height.

Dax raised his hands out like he scored points all the time. Newsflash: he didn’t. “Weren’t you on the volleyball team, Books?”

“That was a mercy point,” I insisted, adjusting my sunglasses.

He laughed and waited for the next serve. It took a couple rounds, but I finally got my chance for revenge. Willing my legs to jump like they did ten years ago, I approached the ball Cat had set perfectly in my direction. Dax squared up opposite me, ready to block. My arms swung back, forward, and then connected with the ball at that perfect angle that felt amazing leaving my hand. The ball torpedoed down, humming past the hands Dax threw up in his attempt to block before burying itself in the sand behind him.

A beautiful kill.

I locked eyes with Dax and gave a little bow. Amusement lined his features, while he shook his head. On and on, we played like that. Even while the game and chatter played out around us, he was all I saw. I held a complete conversation with Holland, laughed at jokes I didn’t actually hear, and gave the impression of a twenty-something-year-old woman hanging out with friends, but my mind was otherwise engaged. I knew when he felt out of place, because he’d cross his arms in front of his chest. I could tell when he forgot about feeling out of place, because he’d be laughing and high-fiving Beau and Phoenix. I knew, at any given moment, exactly where he was and who he was talking to.

I had no regrets on the hours spent to get us here.

Though he was careful to keep it hidden, I felt his eyes on me as well.

My team won, winning me back the hours I gave up to bring Dax here.

So, all in all, it was a wash.

Eventually, we ended up down by the water, standing in a cluster, some wading in to their ankles or knees. Beau and his older brother, Tristan, and a few of the other guys began regaling us with stories from the old days. Naturally, Dax’s name came up in ways that got us all, including Dax, laughing. I wasn’t sure why watching him joke and interact with our friends brought a burning sense of accomplishment to my chest, but it did.

There was something different about us that I couldn’t put my finger on while we were there. But now, as we said goodnight and climbed into his golf cart, I realized what it was. There was an awareness between us that hadn’t been there before. We went together. We left together. And all the time in between had been filled with covert glances, knowing smiles, and inside jokes. When it was time to go, Dax looked at me to see if I was ready. It felt intimate in the most casual of ways.

And something very much like…friends.

For the record, I wasn’t lying in bed waiting for the goodnight knock. Since arriving home, I had given myself a pep talk, promising myself that I was going to stop getting distracted by Dax. I had a job to do, and I intended to do it. There was only pain in my future if I allowed myself to get attached to him. I didn’t live here, and I didn’t ever plan to.

I just happened to still be awake when he knocked. The end. When my phone lit up with a message a moment later, I only answered because there were definitely three distinct taps in that song, and he might be getting murdered. It was my neighborly duty.

DAX

Any guesses?

ME

Summer Girls by LFO?

DAX

I had to look that up. You’re so embarrassing.

ME

Baby Got Back?

DAX

Nope. I think we’re done for the night.

ME

White and Nerdy? By Weird Al?

DAX

You’re definitely getting closer.

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