Page 26 of Battered Moves

“Nice, I always wanted to figure out if I would fit in this sardine box,” he says, eyeing the car, and I point a finger at him.

“Hey! No shaming the car. Jaxon fits, so you will too,” I say.

“I am bigger than Jaxon,” he says, making a face as if I insulted him.

“Really?” I ask, frowning at him.

“I’m at least four inches taller than him. And wider,” he says, standing up straighter. I bring my hand to my chin, acting like I have to think about it.

“Hmm, I don’t know,” I tease.

“Next time we’re together, we should stand back-to-back so you can see,” he suggests confidently.

“Let’s go, Mr. Big Man. We can put half of you out of the window when you feel cramped,” I reply.

He scoffs at my comment and makes his way to the passenger side, but not before admiring the Mini once more.

“It’s a cool car, I’ll give you that,” he says with a grin.

We both climb in, and I smile at Gunner as I start the engine.

“See, you fit, you big baby,” I tease. He grimaces at me before I ask, “Where are we heading?”

“Red Reef?” he asks, to which I nod in agreement, and we drive off.

* * *

When we get to the beach, we search for a spot that’s a bit secluded from all the families so we can spread out our towels. When we sit down, I position myself to face him, while he lies on his side, his head propped up on his elbow.

“How are you?” I ask him, and he smiles up at me.

“I’ve never been better,” he says, making me smile back. “How are you doing? How was the shopping trip?” he asks me, and I change my position to match his.

“It was fun. Miami is pretty cool,” I say.

“Yeah, it’s okay,” he says, nodding, and I laugh.

“What, not big enough of a city for you?” I ask.

“I’m not really a big city person,” he says with a smirk.

“What kind of person are you then?” I ask as I lie back on the towel, looking up at the sky.

“More of the beach lounging type,” he answers.

“Any specific beach?” I ask.

“My favorite is Fort Zachary in Florida Key West,” he says. “I’ll take you there for a weekend soon.”

It only occurs to me now that I live near Florida Key, and it fills me with excitement.Mind blown.

Gunner interprets my silence as agreement.

“We can drive, since it’ll only take about four hours or so, and rent a nice hotel or beach house,” he suggests.

“Wow, that sounds perfect,” I say, a smile spreading across my face.

After a while, we sit back up and watch as two guys jog past us.

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