Page 81 of Mr. Red

I want Danielle and I to at least be cordial around each other. It’s important for me and the people Matt loves and I to get along.

I watch the flames consume the marshmallow I’m roasting. “I know how you feel,” I say to the burning object.

I’ve never cared if someone liked me before, but I know how much Matt’s family means to him. I know how much Matt means to me. Waiting on time to tell me what’ll happen between us is driving me crazy, but I don’t want to risk losing him. I just have to wait.

Chapter 43

Matt

I grit my teeth while my hands clench the steering wheel. I have to go along with whatever the hell Scarlett has planned for the day. I hate surprises. She knows I like to plan things. She didn’t even tell me she was planning something. I’ve had to wait five days to find out more and I still don’t have any information.

I’m driving because I have a stick shift and Scarlett is scared she’ll break it, whatever that means. Sure, we could have taken her car, but I threatened to not go if I couldn’t drive. I was playing dirty so I could have control oversomething. Driving. Driving is good.

I try to focus on the genuine gesture from Scarlett. She planned a surprise for me even though she’s in the middle of a bunch of things for her business. I’d prefer to know what’s going on, but her actions are showing me how much she likes me. I do the same thing. I’ve never been on a level like this with anyone other than my family.

If I knewwherewere going, I’d be able to appreciate it more. Instead, she’s giving me directions from the passenger seat. I try to peek at the map so I can get some sort of clue as to what we’re about to do. No luck. She’s a sneaky little vixen.

I have some clues—she brought beach towels,sunscreen, and a cooler of food and drinks. We’re dressed in swimwear, so maybe we’re going to the beach.

We end up at a marina. She gets out of the car, jittering with excitement and the biggest smile I’ve seen yet. She’s enjoying how I don’t have control over the situation way too much.

She walks over to an employee with a bounce in her step. I wait at the car, unloading everything. Then he checks her out when her head is turned. I’m about to lose my shit.

I stalk over to her and put my arm around her lower waist, staring down the man with a scowl. He hands over some keys with a smile, making me want to punch his face. I flex and hold Scarlett to me tighter. I’m usually not jealous, mostly because I’m me. I’ve also never been in a relationship, so I’ve never had to feel insecure about losing someone. I could lose a lot with Scarlett.

She tells him thank you and then grabs my hand, pulling me along. “You ready?”

“For what?”

We stop at a wakeboard boat. She holds out her arms towards it and completes the gesture with a “ta-da.”. This woman knows just how to get to my heart. Having fun on the water sounds perfect. My lips turn up as I search for wakeboards.

“We can hang out for an hour together and then we’re going to pick up the girls and your sister. I’m sorry there aren’t more of your friends coming, but I didn’t think you had any here,” she tells me as she hops inside.

“I don’t give a fuck who else is here. I’m happy to be with you.”

She tries to hide a small blush creeping up on her face and changes the subject. “Do you wakeboard?There’s also a tube thing we can do. It’s going to be hilarious watching the girls fall off it.”

“Yeah, I can handle myself.” I smirk.

She doesn’t know what she got herself into.

Chapter 44

Scarlett

For some reason, I was expecting Matt to not know anything about wakeboarding. He told me he was into sailing; I assumed wakeboard boats were something new. Wrong.

I’m watching him do freaking backflips as I try to focus on driving the boat. He’s been going without falling for twenty minutes. I should’ve known—the man is good at almosteverything.

I roll my eyes with a sigh. This is getting annoying.

We met the girls at the dock after having some time alone. Matt has been hanging onto the rope so long, I think the girls are about to cut it and leave him to fend for himself.

I love these moments on the water. My dad and I were always doing something fun on the weekends like camping, hiking, sports, or going to the lake. It’s one of the reasons I like the outdoors so much. Then our families started getting together and has done boating on the lake every year since we were seven. We had so much fun, we’ve upheld the tradition into adulthood. It’s like our “goodbye summer” ceremony.

It’s nice to be with someone who loves doing adventurous things. I never realized I needed that in a relationship.

Finally, Matt falls. I scoop around to pick him up while Lana holds up the flag. I’ve missed my friends. It’s beenawhile since I’ve had time with them. Spending time with Matt and working on improvements for the gym has taken priority.

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