Oh no, notthe shower…
“It’s only fair, you pulled on mine!”
I notice then, Nuri and Jack watching the scene, sitting next to each other, holding their own laughs. And shit, am I smiling too?
“It was a—a spur of the moment thing! I didn’t think, I’m sorry. Please, leave my hair out of this,” Ikram pleads, but Evie just shrugs.
“I guess I’ll just callSamanthaand ask her—”
“Fine!Just one strand, and not harder than what I did, which was barely a pull at all!”
I remember them mentioning that same Samantha when I first learned about Ikram’s crush for Jack. They both seemed appalled at the idea that she might be the one to replace him… They didn’t say why, though.
Evie’s smile widens, showing all her perfectly aligned and white teeth. She steps closer and slowly—agonizingly so—she lifts her arm to pinch a curly strand between her fingers. Ikram’s eyes are tightly shut and a tense wince pulls at his features. I’m not sure why, we’re all watching the scene with bated breaths, because it takes her just a second to pull and let go, leaving a frowning Ikram searching his bag for the sunscreen.
I’m strangely confused by how hooked I was.
Ikram proceeds to baby all of us with the sunscreen and I finally take off my dress and shoes, my bare feet burying themselves in the hot sand.
“Your hands, Prue,” he asks, standing in front of me and I lift them palms up in front of me. “There,” he says, squeezing a large—waytoo large—amount in them. “If there’s too much, put it on someone’s back, they’ll do the same to you.”
And then, he’s gone, straight behind my brother to rub the sunscreen softly on his pale skin.
I wince and start applying on my face, arms, chest, stomach, and legs, but I’m left with still a considerable amount on my hands. I look around forNuri or Evie and find them both, Nuri applying to her own arms while Evie is taking care of her nape. Nuri went for a one piece.Smart.
I feel someone at my back before I can hear him clear his throat, and the hair on the back of my neck rises.
“Do you mind? He squeezed about half of the bottle in my hands…”
I close my eyes, making sure the long exhale leaving my lips is silent, and nod without turning. The last thing my hormones need right now is to see him shirtless, because I can assure you, my memories arevivid.
His hands land delicately on my shoulders and even though my brain is sending me alert signals, my body is nothing but butter again under his touch. I can’t help but take a look towards Jack, a knot of anxiety forming in my stomach as Nate’s hands are sliding over my shoulder blades then lower along my spine. But Jack’s sole focus is on Ikram’s back as he puts sunscreen on him and they talk in low voices, smiling, their faces close to each other.
I force my anxiety down. There’s no reason for him to look at us. And no reason for him to freak out as we’re all pretty much putting sunscreen on each other, at Ikram’s request.
Nothing’s wrong here
The goosebumps erupting on my skin are clearly due to the small wind. Not Nate’s hands. Definitely not—
Oh.Oh.
They slide slowly from my waist to my hips, and I canfeelNate’s body heat with how close his chest is from my back.Nakedchest. Said naked chest that I’ll probably see when he asks me if I can putmyleftover sunscreen onhisback. Chest that Imightfeel the need to draw later.
Chest that I definitely need to stop thinking about when his hands are roaming my back and—
“Did you think to apply some on the back of your thighs?” He asks, pulling me out of my thoughts.
I clear my throat. “Um—No. But I’ll stay on my back, I brought my tablet to draw.”
“Hmhm, even if you stay on your back, the sun moves and you might too.”
Before I can even think of saying anything, I feel him shift behind and the next thing I know, his hands are sliding from just below my ass to the backof my knees. Slowly.Too slowly. And I try—Ireallytry—not to think about the fact that he’s probably kneeling behind me, face level with my butt.
And silently I curse Los Angeles and their obsession with tiny-teeny bikinis. Because the one I’m wearing? Even though it was the most covering one I found, it’s quite high waisted, and shows a good part of my ass.
Which is currently right in front of his face.
I want the sand to swallow me whole.
