Page 51 of A Shore Fling
I let out a low whistle and nudge her shoulder. “Look at that. We might even score this decade.”
She nudges me back. “I have a great teacher.”
I shrug. “I didn’t want to state the obvious.”
Drew walks over, arms crossed. “Are you two having a moment, or are we playing a game?”
“I’m sorry,” I say. “Did we interrupt your one-man performance?”
Ginger’s reclined in her chair, sunglasses on, holding a bag of chips like she’s at the movies. I think she drank too many margaritas. “This is way more fun than I thought it’d be.”
Reed throws another solid shot. Jordan follows it by knocking his ball halfway to the water’s edge.
By the time we wrap up, we’re all a little sunburned, a lot sandy, and nobody knows who won. Nina brushes the sand off her hands and walks over to help collect the balls.
“Not bad for a first-timer from the city,” I tell her.
“Not bad for a grump,” she says, walking toward Drew. I watch her for half a second too long before I snap out of it. Each day I find something new to like about her. As good-natured as she is, she doesn’t let anything slide. She called me out when I overstepped, and made me realize how wrong I was. I respect that. Probably more than I should.
She drops the balls near Drew and then laughs at something he says. The wind stirs up a lock of her hair, dragging it across her face, and she brushes it away.
I catch myself watching again, but not like a guy checking out a girl. Okay, it might be a little like that. But more than anything, I’m trying to figure out when the dynamic between us changed. Because it’s obvious it did. Somewhere between the sarcastic jabs and the allergic reaction and her throwing that first disastrous shot into the ocean, it shifted. She’s not justgetting under my skin anymore. She’s under it, staying there, and I have no idea what to do with that.
I drag my hand through my hair and turn back toward the cooler, pretending I haven’t just had this epiphany. I pretend Nina is just some girl, and today was just an ordinary day.
But the truth is, nothing about her feels ordinary. And I’m starting to think this summer isn’t going to be either.
The fire crackles lazily in the pit while my brothers and I sit around it watching the flames with our feet up and drinks in hand. We do this every few weeks, if not more often during the warm weather months. It’s a way for us to check in with each other and let off steam.
Reed tosses a bottle cap into the fire and watches it sizzle. “Jordan, are you gonna tell us how things went with the beach blonde or just keep looking smug all night?”
Jordan leans back, grinning like the answer’s already obvious. “Gentlemen don’t kiss and tell.”
“Good thing you’re not one of those,” Drew says, raising his beer.
“Right,” Reed adds. “I think you meant to say ‘screw and tell.’”
The two of them erupt into laughter. Jordan flips them both off without looking fazed. “You’re just mad I get attention that doesn’t involve people asking if I’m lost or offering me sunscreen.”
“Hey, I tan fine,” Reed says defensively.
“Yeah, after the second-degree burn fades,” Drew mutters.
I sit back, letting their bickering wash over me like background noise, until the fire pops and someone shifts the target to me.
“Sooo,” Drew says, dragging the word out. “What’s going on with you and Nina?”
I lift my beer, take a drink, and say nothing.
Reed leans in. “Oh no. That pause was too long. That’s a guilty man pause.”
Jordan smirks. “He's got it bad. He’s been weird all day.”
My eyebrows pinch with a scowl. “I haven’t been weird.”
“You watched her walk away like she was the last lemon bar in the pan,” Drew says, bursting into laughter along with the other two knuckleheads.
I shake my head. “You’re all idiots. And who the fuck told you?” I hold up my hand before anyone can answer. “Let me guess… Willow.”
