Page 53 of Those Summer Nights (Sweet Cravings 2)

I looked over at J.J. He was giving some super tan girl with long blonde hair a hug. It felt like his hands lingered a beat too long. And the way he smiled at her when he pulled back from the hug was the exact same way he smiled at me. My stomach rolled over. I thought I had made him jealous, but maybe I was wrong. Maybe he was just trying to distract me during the game. "I'm not dating J.J.," I said. Just because I wanted to be, it didn’t make it true.

Reggie smiled. "In that case, I think I promised you my number."

I watched J.J. talking to the girl. It was like he had eyes only for her. Maybe I hadn't successfully made him jealous, but he had sure made me jealous. "Right. For directions to the party?"

"Yeah. Do you have a pen?"

"Um. In my bag." I pointed to my towel in the distance and we both started walking toward it. "I'm really sorry about blowing the game. I’ve really only ever tossed the ball around in my backyard before.” He didn’t need to know that it was years ago. Or that my dad had probably gone easy on me.

Reggie laughed. "It wasn't your fault. Like I said, we'll get them next time."

I tried to brush some of the sand off myself as we approached my towel. When I got to my bag, I looked back at my lifeguard. He was still talking to the same girl. The rest of his team had started to disperse, but J.J. and that girl were practically glued together. I grabbed the pen out of my bag and handed it to Reggie.

"Do you have any paper?"

"I'm sure I do somewhere." I leaned over to rummage through my bag again, but he grabbed my hand.

"Here," he said. He held my hand as wrote his number on the back of it. He rubbed his thumb against the ink and it smeared slightly. I wasn't sure if it was because I was sweaty or because I was wearing sunscreen. Just the thought of sunscreen was a lie. It was definitely the sweat. I was a mess.

Reggie brought my hand up to his mouth and blew on it. I swallowed hard and looked up at him. He was handsome. He had sandy blonde hair and his skin wasn't nearly as tan as the other lifeguards. There was something about him that just seemed normal and somehow familiar and comforting. He was more like a person than a model. But he was still ripped and his smile was bright. I quickly looked away when he dropped my hand.

"Thanks. I'll text you later."

"Okay, great. I’ll see you next week if I don’t see you sooner. It's going to be lots of fun."

"Sounds good."

"It was nice meeting you, Mila." He went to hug me at the same time I put my hand out for him to shake, so I ended up rubbing my palm against his chest.

"Oh, sorry," I laughed.

"Geez, you're already trying to feel me up? I'm going to have to keep my eye on you. See you later." He smiled at me and walked away.

I sighed and went down to the water. The breeze coming off the ocean felt refreshing. I didn't want Reggie to like me. I wanted J.J. to like me. I folded my arms across my chest. Liking J.J. was like being on a rollercoaster ride. I just wanted us to both be on a carousel or something instead. I was done with the ups and downs.

"Hey," J.J. said. He had run over to me. "It's Grottos night. You in?"

I looked behind me. The girl with blonde hair was staring at us. "I'm all sandy. I think I just want to go take a shower. I'll come next time." I smiled at him.

"You sure? You can just rinse off on the boardwalk. It's not a big deal. I'm sandy too."

"That's because you kept cheating and tackling me."

"Tackle football is more fun. Come on, let's go."

"I just feel all gross. I'll catch you later. Besides, tons of other people are going with you. You don't need me." What am I doing? Am I just giving up? I'm such a coward. I looked out at the water. I didn't want to compete for his attention. This was exhausting. I wanted to curl up in my bed and go to sleep. Where had my boldness from earlier gone?

"Are you okay?"

"I just feel really tired. All I want to do is shower and sleep."

"Okay. Do you want me to walk you home?" He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand.

It was pretty clear that he didn’t want to. All his friends were already leaving. "No." I laughed. "I'm not sick. Just tired. Go. Have fun."

"Okay, Jellyfish Girl. I'll see you tomorrow." He put his hand on my shoulder for a second and then walked away.

I watched him go up to the girl he had been talking to. She bumped her shoulder against his and they started laughing as they walked toward the boardwalk together.

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