Page 70 of Nights at Seaside
“Do you want Theresa running out here?” Bella squinted into the darkness. “What is th—”
Suddenly a string of holiday lights lit up around the pool, illuminating a plethora of vibrating sex toys, handcuffs, and other sex paraphernalia hanging on the fence. Vibrant yellow, bright pink, and shimmering blue vibrators shivered and shook. Some flashed, and others remained like steady beacons in the night.
“Oh my gosh!” Jenna yelled, then cackled loudly, hanging on to Bella so tight she nearly pulled her under the water.
Amy and Sky burst out laughing, while Bella’s face was a mask of shock—eyes wide, mouth agape.
“Look!” Jenna pointed to the gate, where Theresa stood with her arms crossed and a smirk on her lips.
“Oh, I will get her back for this,” Bella promised as laughter finally burst from her lips. “I will get her back so good!”
Jenna crossed her arms over her boobs and sank under the water up to her chin. “Get down!”
They all sank under the water up to their chins, laughing and holding on to one another.
“The cookie dough!” Amy yelled, which only made them laugh harder.
“Can we keep the toys?” Jenna hollered between laughs.
Sky roared with laughter and lost her balance, falling beneath the water. When she broke through the surface, her finger shot toward the sky, and she yelled, “I call the blue one!”
“Hear that, Sawyer?” Tony’s deep voice cut through their laughter. Pete and Caden rose to their feet from beach chairs they’d set out on the lawn and clapped and whistled. Sawyer stood off to the side with a hand over his mouth, and Sky knew he was stuck between wanting to laugh and not knowing if he should.
“Ohmygosh,” Amy said. “Did our menhelpher?”
“They are so dead,” Jenna said, stomping toward the stairs.
All three girls dove after her, holding her in the pool.
“You’re naked!” Bella yelled.
“Pete is dead meat,” Jenna said with a scowl. “Naked or not, he’s a traitor and he’s gonna pay.” She squinted in the direction of a pair of fuzzy green handcuffs hanging on the fence. “I just need those handcuffs!”
WHEN TONY CAME by Sky’s cottage and woke Sawyer up, telling him,Time for your initiation, he had no idea what to expect—and he was shocked to find that he was alone in Sky’s bed. He heard the girls giggling as soon as he and the others snuck down by the pool, but still they hadn’t filled him in on what was going on. Now, as the girls hollered for the men to turn around and Theresa walked toward her house snickering, he could barely contain his laughter. But as he stood with his back to the pool, giving Sky and the girls privacy to cover themselves up, it was what he’d heard while sitting in the dark that was replaying in his head like a rerun—Sky’s voice, filled with happiness:Ilovelove! And I think I love Sawyer, too!
He’d spent his entire adult life training for fights, but nothing could have prepared him for the way his heart nearly exploded inside his chest at hearing Sky say those words, even if only to her friends.
“Hey,” Sky said as she came to his side, shivering in a towel. Her hair was wet and her cheeks pink, and she had an adorable smile on her lips.
He wrapped her in his arms and pulled her in close, while a few feet away Bella and Jenna gave Caden and Pete a hard time for helping Theresa.
“What happens now?” he asked.
She shrugged with a soft laugh. “According to Bella, Theresa just upped the ante. I guess next summer will bring a whole new level of pranking.”
Amy and Tony talked quietly as they walked past Sawyer and Sky.
Tony lifted his chin to Sawyer. His smile reached his eyes, and as Amy gazed up at her man, her smile was just as broad. “Welcome to Seaside.”
Sawyer looked down at Sky and said, “I can’t think of anyplace I’d rather be.”
Chapter Nineteen
SAWYER TRAINED HARDER than he ever had for the next week. He decreased his running, increased sparring times, and Roach brought in incrementally harder sparring partners, all leading up to next week’s heavyweight sparring match, which Sky’s friends were coming to watch.
Sawyer had been spending nights at Sky’s cottage since the evening of the sex-toy prank, which her friends were still laughing over—and Bella was still stewing over. The more time he spent with Sky and her friends, the more he felt like part of their group. He and the guys had gone for several morning runs together, and he’d gotten to know Tony, Pete, and Caden well. They were all so in love with their wives that they talked about them even while they ran. That had made Sawyer feel even more at ease, as Sky was always on his mind, and it would have been hard trying to cover that up.
He’d come back to his house this afternoon to oversee the final painting of the interior and to pack for their overnight on Pete’s boat. The ramp to the skycap had finally been installed. He assessed the wheelchair ramp that ran up the center of the house. The ramp led up to a landing on the second floor, where there was enough room to turn a wheelchair around safely, and then continued up to the skycap. The painters had left an hour ago, and once the paint dried, the house would be presentable before his father’s return after Sawyer’s title fight—to celebrate Sawyer’s win. He had no doubt that he’d win his title fight. He was ready.
