Page 60 of Nights at Seaside
“So this all wraps back to Sawyer and his fighting?” Bella asked.
“No, I don’t think so. I think this has to do withmeand my selfishness—and that stupid basket. Sawyer is doing this huge title fight to win money to take care of his dad’s medical bills, and it doesn’t get more chivalrous than that, right? He sank his savings into buying a beach house that had been in his family for generations but his parents had to sell a long time ago. I mean, it’s obvious that Sawyer has the biggest heart on the planet. He’s got the fight of his life coming up, and all I can think about is how hard it would be to watch him and how I don’t want to go. And that kind of makes me a witch, right?” Before they could answer she added, “I met his friend Brock’s sisters, and one of them fights, too. A girl! Fighting! She canfightand I can’t even watch? What is that about?” She still couldn’t picture Jana’s cute little figure in a boxing ring.
“Well, first of all, lots of girls fight,” Bella said. “You really have lived a sheltered life. How do you not know about sports? You grew up in a house full of guys.”
“Because she was always outside in her art studio,” Jenna said. “I totally get it. Was she all muscles or feminine?”
“Cute as a button. I loved her, and her sister, and their brothers. I loved them all, and Jana and Harper, Brock’s sisters, and I exchanged numbers. Jana offered to help me learn self-defense, but I don’t know.”
“I wanna go,” Bella said. “That would be awesome, learning to defend ourselves.”
Amy dropped her eyes to Bella’s belly. “You cannot fight with baby handcuffs inside you.”
“Baby handcuffs?” Jenna laughed.
“Well, Cadenisa police officer,” Amy explained.
“I don’t want to fight now,” Bella said. “But I think there’s definitely something cool about being able to defend yourself.”
Amy waved a dismissive hand. “Our men will defend us.”
“See?” Sky said. “That’s another thing that I’m confused about. I really love being taken care of by Sawyer.”
“Every woman loves to be taken care of,” Jenna agreed.
“I don’t think so. It annoys the heck out of me lately when my brothers do it.”
“Of course it does.” Amy rubbed her belly and smiled. “They’re your brothers, not your lovers. They’re keeping men at bay from their baby sister. Sawyer’s protecting his woman.”
“It all goes back to the Neanderthal days,” Bella said.
“No way. I’m not some weak woman who wants to be dragged around by my hair by a grunting animal killer. Gosh, you guys. This isanotherthing. With Sawyer, I’m…” She lowered her voice, and they all leaned in toward the center of the table. “I’m so sexual. Like I can’t get enough of him.”
“Primal.” Bella nodded adamantly. She tucked her hair behind her ear and said, “You can say you don’t want all that, but that’s bull. Every woman likes to betaken, consensually, of course, by their man. Not by any man, but by the one special man who makes your body turn to liquid heat and your mind go all mushy.”
Sky rested her head back on the chair and closed her eyes. “You’re telling me it’snormal? Because it feels foreign.”
“Good foreign or bad foreign?” Amy asked.
Sky’s chin tipped forward, and she leveled a serious stare on Amy. “The sinfully good type. The kind that makes me want to try out Bella’s fluffy pink handcuffs and practically had me begging Sawyer toplaywith Jenna’s scarf last night.”
“Ha! Yes! You go, girl!” Jenna gave her a high five.
“That’s the most delicious kind of carnal desire,” Bella said. “And he’s poetic? Sky. I think you might have found your ideal man.”
“Except if that’s true, then why can’t I convince myself to watch him fight? I feel like I’m not being supportive, and I see it in his eyes, his worry over my thoughts about his fighting,” Sky explained.
“Well, you’re not a witch, that’s for sure, but I do think you should try to watch him fight,” Jenna said. “It’s not like he’s out on the street beating up strangers. It’s his career, and one he’s apparently really good at, from what Petey says. We could go with you.”
“Or you could go see Jana fight first. Is that her name?” Amy asked. “Maybe if you see a girl doing it you’ll feel different?”
“Maybe,” Sky relented.
She eyed the basket. “And that stupid basket? I don’t know if he wrote all that stuff or not, but I have to find out. It’s like an itch that won’t go away.”
Tony and Sawyer came into view, jogging around the bend down by the pool. Sawyer’s broad shoulders and shredded abs glistened with sweat. His powerful thighs bulged with every step. How was she supposed to think clearly now? His eyes lifted and immediately found hers, and a smile spread across his handsome face.
The universe had served up a creative, smart, caring, and emotional man who made her head spin, and the more time she spent with him, the harder she fell. But how could she expect him to feel for her what she felt for him if she didn’t give him the same unconditional support he gave her?
