Page 87 of Dirty Martini
Everest
“Ev, wake up.”
I groan, batting the hands trying to interrupt my sleep. “Fuck off.”
“Come on,” Rhys whispers loudly as he shakes my shoulder. “Get up.”
I refuse to open my eyes. If I open my eyes, that means I’ve lost and I’m officially awake. I was having such a nice dream, and I’ll be damned if I don’t finish it. “Pizza cupcakes…”
“What?”
“What time is it?” I mumble as I roll over onto my stomach. I love the guy, but I hate him right now.
“Three in the morning, but that’s not the point,” he says, growing impatient as he yanks the covers off me. “We got to go.”
I struggle to wrestle my comforter away from him, initiating caterpillar mode, and curling around them. “Where?”
“It’s a surprise.”
“Ugh, no. Come to bed.” I finally open my eyes and find him fully dressed and ready to go. Bastard even looks good at the ass crack of dawn, all sexy with his glasses and his baseball cap.
He swats away my hands that are reaching for him. “Baby, if you’re not out of this bed in the next five seconds, I’m dragging your ass out.”
I narrow my eyes in challenge. He wouldn’t… “I’m bigger than you.”
“I’m more determined. Downstairs in two minutes.” He finally manages to get the covers fully off me and slaps my ass, causing me to yelp. With a chuckle, he walks to the door, opening it quietly. Just before he exits, he looks over his shoulder and smirks. “Oh, happy birthday, baby.”
“My parents’house?”
Rhys parks the car, smiling over at me as he waves his hand in front of us. “Yes.”
“What are we doing here?” Cocking my head, I wonder what on earth possessed him to bring me here. “I know I haven’t talked to them in a bit, but I don’t think this is the smartest idea?—”
“Everest,” he states, taking my hand in his, looking at me with nothing but patience. “Do you trust me?”
“Of course,” I say. I’m offended he’d even need to ask. I look back at the house in front of me. “Okay. Let’s do whatever it is you’ve planned.”
He smiles brightly, and I consider that reward enough for agreeing to go along with him. Once he kills the engine, we hop out of the car. Immediately, I turn to go to the front entrance, but his hand on my elbow stops me. “Yeah?” I raise an eyebrow.
“Wrong way,” he says with a secretive little grin. He drops his hand and laces his fingers with mine. “This way.”
I follow cautiously, noting that we’re rounding the back of the property. Sure, there’s stuff back here, but I don’t think Rhys really wants to swim, grill, or play tennis. Evidently, he doesn’t, because we pass all of that, and end up at the dock. When he leads us to my parents’ boat, I stop him. “What is this?”
He shrugs with a diabolical grin. “I thought we’d take a drive.”
“How?” I ask, still confused as he hops in. “Rhys, we can’t take my parents’ boat out. You don’t even have the keys.”
To this, he winks and dangles said keys in the air. “Snagged Elton’s set.”
I’m still shocked for just another second, but that quickly morphs into amusement and excitement. “We’re really doing this?”
He nods, holding out his hand to me, urging me to take it and board alongside him. “Yeah.”
Biting my bottom lip, I let out a very embarrassing giggle. I join him on the boat and kiss him, wrapping my arms around his neck, dragging him into me. He sways easily, his lips forming a smile against mine, something so purely joyful coming from him. “Good birthday surprise?” he asks.
“The best.” I peck him one more time before pulling back. “Okay, let’s see if you still know how to drive this thing.”
He quirks an eyebrow, slapping my ass before heading toward the helm. “Challenge accepted.”
