Page 56 of Rebel Summer

You wish it was Larry? I’ll be sure to pass that on.

ME

Maybe we can double with you and your old lady friend next door.

A smile tugged at my lips as I pressed send before Lucas cleared his throat, and I immediately remembered myself. I put the phone back in my purse and forced a smile at him.

“All done. Thanks.”

I was in the middle of telling him how the island was founded when Lucas held up a hand and stopped me.

“Listen, we’re both here because of our dads, right? You don’t have to tell me all this. I get the same tour everywhere I go. I think we can just hang out and go to dinner without all the fuss.”

I looked at him in a form of shock. Maybe I had misjudged him.

I sunk into my seat, lifted my legs so they lounged on the dashboard in front of me, and sighed. “I’d love that.”

With a lingering scan of my legs, which I immediately set back on the floor, he smiled and said, “Great. Now where’s this bar at?”

“You don’t have to walk me up,” I said, sliding out of the golf cart when we arrived at the duplex.

“I’m a gentleman, though. That’s what we do.”

I seethed out a silent breath of protest as he slid from the cart—alarmed when he slipped the keys into his pocket. He wasn’t coming in. I would murder him well before he entered my apartment. Earlier, once we’d arrived at the bar, he had relaxed too completely, revealing an arrogant, spoiled man, telling me all about the places he’d been wined and dined by hungry politicians—and their daughters. I only saw him have one drink, but it had been enough to loosen his tongue. The ride home was enough to loosen his hands.

I didn’t slow my walk to wait for him and practically ran up the steps. When I arrived at my door, the keys fell from my jittery hands, hitting the ground with a clank. Swearing under my breath, I reached down and grabbed them, shoving the key into my door handle before I felt his body behind me and his hands on my shoulders, turning me around.

“What’s the rush?”

“I think we’re done here.”

“It’s early. I figured we could watch a movie or something.” His fingers lingered at my shoulders before trailing down my arms.

Instinctively, I moved backward, but the door blocked my escape. I reached for the doorknob behind me when he stepped forward, trapping me against the door. He laughed and crowded me further.

“Get the hell away from me,” I spat, panic boiling as I pushed against him. He hardly moved. I raised my leg to knee him in the groin, but he inched closer, blocking the movement of my legs.

His laugh was dry, with a teasing lilt at the end, as though we were wrestling for fun. “If you’re going to kick at me, I think I’ll stay right here.”

It was his strength against mine that startled me the most. I tried again to push him away, but my legs and hands were pinned.

“Easy, girl. I’m not going to hurt you. I just want a little kiss. You were cool at dinner. I thought you’d be more fun than this.”

If I had been coming off as a fun person on this date, he had completely misread all the get me out of here signals I had been throwing him all night.

He adjusted his footing, which, for a moment, caught him slightly off balance. I threw my weight into him, feeling gratified as I watched him flail backward. Before I could take a step, though, he was back, pressing into me.

“Get off me!” Alarm spread like wildfire through my veins as he leaned close, his breath hot and wet against my ear.

“If my dad and I have a nice time on this island”—he stopped, taking a second to pin himself against me even tighter—“then my dad is going to give your dad a lot of money.” He nipped my ear, sending chills rolling down my spine. “I don’t know about you, but I haven’t really had that nice of a time yet.”

All of a sudden, two hands attached to a pair of arms, one of which sported a car tattoo I’d grown quite fond of, grabbed the back of Lucas’s shoulders and yanked him away from me. I sucked in a breath as I watched in relief as Dax chucked Lucas down the three stairs leading up to our shared house. Lucas’s body slammed against the wood handrail before he landed in a clumsy heap at the bottom of the stairs. With dark eyes pulsing with anger, Dax strode back over, bending down to look at me.

“You okay?”

I nodded, glancing past his shoulder at Lucas attempting to stand, yelling expletives as he did so. He narrowed in on Dax as he charged up the stairs. Dax turned around, blocking me and the unruly punch thrown his way. He attempted to push and redirect Lucas back down the stairs, when Lucas jerked out from under Dax’s grip, attempting another wild punch. I saw the moment Dax’s patience was spent, and he sent a blow to Lucas’s face that had him clutching his nose and stumbling off the porch.

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” Lucas shouted, turning to yell at Dax now that there was space between them.

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