Page 29 of Hard To Stay

His throat worked a deep swallow. “Ready?” He asked taking me in with his eyes.

“I’m ready when you are.” I said, trying to seem unaffected by his presence. The way his gaze lingered on my breasts had me suddenly feeling shy and I wished I hadn’t left my damn cover-up in the shopping bag.

“Right,” he sighed, dragging his hand through his hair. “The beach, yeah. I remember now.” He uttered, seeming to scramble for words. “We should probably get going.” He held out his hand for me to lead the way. As I made my way downstairs, I felt his heated gaze on my backside, making my legs feel like Jell-O.

When we made it to the beach, I was relieved to see that Brad and Sawyer had already scouted out a great spot, complete with chairs, umbrellas and towels. A cooler filled with beers and water sat in the shade under one of the umbrellas. Our trip to the store had taken a little longer than I had planned. Beach time was going to be limited, but it was still the perfect way to unwind after a long week.

My body was sprawled out on a lounge chair in full view of the sun, letting the rays start to tan my pale body. I smiled hearing Brad and Sawyer complain about the poor draft picks that the NY Giants head coach made in the off season.

“Seriously!” Faith weighed in from where we sat.

“Yeah,” I chimed in. “It won’t matter anyways because my Packers are going to the super bowl this year.”

Brad looked amused. “You only like the Packers because you think Aaron Rogers is cute. No offense, sweetheart but they don’t stand a chance this season. Your pretty boy is getting too old for the game.”

“Would you like to put your money where your mouth is, city-boy?” I challenged, pretending to know what the hell I was talking about. I didn’t know much of the NFL, but I knew the Packers were a very popular team. That had to count for something, right?

Brad grinned. He was clearly onto me. “That depends. What are we betting?”

I thought it over for a beat and then smiled to myself. “How about your Lexus?”

Brad’s jaw dropped open at the same time laughter rumbled out of Sawyer’s chest. “You want my car, huh?” He was looking at me like I was crazy. Given how knowledgeable I was about football his reaction was justified, but it only caused me to double down.

I shrugged, hoping to sound more confident than I felt. “I am getting sick of the subway. It would be nice to not have to fight for my seat.”

His rich brown eyes challenged me. “And what do I get if I win?”

I chewed on the inside of my cheek and thought it over. “I’ll buy you season tickets to the Meadowlands. I’ll even throw in a few away games and cover the cost of travel.” His eyes lit up with interest, telling me that he was taking the bait.

Sawyer rubbed his hands together and whistled, “Shit’s getting real, Bro.”

Brad worked his tongue in his mouth then stared at me like he was thinking it over. He was so damned adorable and completely irresistible. He folded his arms across his chest with his lips tugging into a grin. “That’s a sweet deal, but my car is worth more than the ticket prices.”

My eyebrows lifted in a challenge. “Afraid you’re going to lose?”

His beautiful brown eyes were sparkling in the sun. He glanced over to Faith who had her sunglasses pulled down waiting for his response. He then turned to Sawyer who was leaning up in his lounge chair with a shit-eating grin on his face.

“You’re on country-girl.”

“Let’s shake on it, then.” I extended my hand outward. Brad leaned in and before I knew it, I was airborne over his shoulder, squealing as he rushed towards the water. He hopped through the hot sand, making his way through the beach-goers acting like a running back on a touchdown run. What was even more impressive was he acted like I weighed no more than an actual football.

“Brad Morgan, you put me down right now.” I screamed hitting his rock-hard back with the palms of my hands. My pleas fell on deaf ears making my high-pitched shout useless.

“Oh, you’re going down alright.” He laughed, as he pitched us both forward, our bodies crashing into the surf. When we returned to the surface, I laughed at all the amused stares from the people around us, especially Sawyer and Faith.

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