Page 19 of Love At The Shore
Jenna pushed through the screen door of the beach house and headed out onto the patio, ice-cold glass of lemonade in hand. She paused and looked down at the picnic table, once again perfectly arranged for a productive afternoon writing session. Laptop? Check. Thesaurus? Check. Her grandpa’s old typewriter for added inspiration? Check.
She sat down and started typing, eager to get at least a chapter written before it was time to pick up Nick and Ally from camp. Her deadline was beginning to weigh on her. They’d been at the beach for almost a week now, and she still hadn’t made any real progress. Her manuscript was due the day before they were scheduled to drive back to Savannah. If she kept letting time slip away, she’d never make her deadline.
As much as Jenna would have liked to continue to blame Lucas, she couldn’t. Since the fence had gone up, he hadn’t given her any real problems. Part of her was tempted to believe she’d overreacted. But the other part of her—the sensible part that couldn’t be swayed by his cute doggy-dad vibe—knew she’d been right.
Then why is your word count still so pathetic?
Jenna banged out another sentence. Her word count wasn’tthatbad. She could still finish on time.Ifshe started thinking more about her plot and less about Lucas and Tank.
Which she would.
Starting right now.
She typed a third sentence and smiled to herself.There.She was feeling better already.
Her self-satisfaction was short-lived, though. Before she could get going on her second paragraph, a loud guitar riff interrupted the soothing beach sounds of gulls crying and waves tumbling on the shore. And this time, it wasn’t coming from Lucas’s side of the duplex. It seemed closer, if that was even possible.
“What the heck?” She rose from her cozy picnic bench and walked to the end of the patio to investigate.
Just beyond the dune, a beach volleyball game was in full swing. Players in swimsuits high-fived each other and batted a ball back and forth over a net anchored in the sand. Someone had propped stereo speakers nearby, making the whole scene into a perfect beach party.
And Lucas McKinnon was right there in the center of it. Because of course he was.
Jenna sighed. “Come on, man. I’m trying to work.”
She waved her arms, hoping to catch his attention. Was there a universal gesture forturn the music down?There had to be, right?
Whether there was or wasn’t didn’t matter because Lucas didn’t bat an eye in her direction. Nor did his friends. They were too caught up in the game to worry about Jenna and her teen fiction novel that was due in four short weeks.
She crossed her arms. She was going to have to go down there, wasn’t she?
“I got it! I got it!” One of the players dove into the sand and managed to get to the ball just time.
As soon as it crossed the net, Lucas spiked it back. Jenna might have been impressed…if she hadn’t had thousands of unwritten words to worry about. She stomped from the deck to the dune in record time, feet sinking into the sand as she made her way toward the noisy spectacle.
“My man!” A guy in a white tank top gave Lucas an appreciative slap on the back.
He didn’t seem to notice because he was too busy staring at Jenna with a wary look on his face. “Uh oh. Here we go.”
She forced a smile, since she apparently had a reputation as a complete and total killjoy. “Am I the only one who works around here?”
He laughed.
“Just kidding.” They were, after all, at the beach, where people usually went for vacation. “But seriously, am I?”
She glanced toward the shore, dotted with sandcastles and beach umbrellas. Children darted in and out of the surf chasing foamy waves while a group of nearby beachcombers collected shells in a big wicker basket. Jenna let out a wistful sigh. The summer was passing by so quickly. She should be slathered in sunscreen right now with bare feet and beach hair, not chastising her neighbor for having a little fun.
“In case you haven’t noticed, volleyballishard work.” Lucas’s dimples flashed and he raked a hand through his dark hair.
“Especially when you’re winning,” Tank top guy chimed in.
Another player on their team shook her head. “Don’t get ahead of yourself. We just started.”
So Jenna was in for more of this noise all afternoon. Marvelous. “Great. Well, I just started working, and it’s not going so well. So, if you could just turn the music…”
“Down a bit?” Lucas mimed turning down a volume knob.
The universalkeep it downgesture! She knew one existed. He was totally speaking her language. For once.
