Page 136 of Shade
We’re walking on the beach a few minutes later when Shade gets me to sit next to him as we watch the waves roll in. He seems in no hurry to get back to the house. His mind is elsewhere, the conversation falling away when I say, “Man, I can’t imagine what spring break is like here.” I think I’m nervous because I tend to switch conversations quickly. Like now.
“Wild. Parties, naked girls, asshole frat boys.” He sighs, almost sounding annoyed. “I don’t really care for Santa Monica. Everybody gets stupid.”
“Kind of like Vegas?”
“Exactly like Vegas,” he agrees, his head tipping forward slightly.
“One of the guests at the hotel was telling me that he was here on spring break, and he kept seeing college kids having sex on the beach.” I giggle, the thought making me shiver. I’m all for being adventurous, but sex on the beach isn’t something I’d be willing to try. Especially not seeing how I have a cactus spine stuck in my ass cheek. Imagine what sand would do.
Lying back, Shade stretches out his legs in the sand and stares up at the blue sky. “Why won’t you have sex in the sand? Isn’t that every girl’s dream?”
“Maybe some,” I say, my back meeting the sand. Oh God, my ass hurts. I’m really going to have to get it looked at. “But I’m not every girl. Oh, and did you know Willa’s in labor?”
He nods. “Yeah, Ricky told me.”
“Are they like, together or something?”
He nods again. “Neither have said for sure, but I know that kid is his, even if they won’t say anything.” Then he motions to the Ferris wheel. “Seattle has one of those. Ever been on it?”
“Yeah, a couple times. You?”
Leaning in, he bumps our shoulders together. “I’ll let you in on a little secret.”
That you’re secretly in love with me?I swallow back my own laughter at my lame jokes. “What?”
“I’m actually afraid of heights.”
I laugh. “Then how can you jump your bike off jumps and fly through the air?”
“Easy. Anything worth fearing is worth doing.”
It’s like he was made in a factory and created for me personally.
I want to kiss him. He must want to kiss me, too, because he tries, and I have to put my hand on his lips. “Shade, you’re my boss. We shouldn’t do that.”
He sighs. “I’m not your boss.”
“Yes, you are.”
His jaw clenches. “I’d rather be your boss in bed.”
I think about it, you know I do, but then I remember him opening up to me just moments ago. “I think you need a friend.”
This earns me a chuckle, and he stands, brushing off the sand from his shorts. “I don’t need a fucking friend.”
“MAKE IT STOP,” Shade says, bringing the bike to a halt on a side road about two miles from his house.
“Make what stop?” I ask when he nods for me to get off the bike.
He shakes his head, adamantly, like I should know. “Scarlet,” he warns, motioning me forward as he twists to straddle the bike backward.
Oh, okay so this is a horrible idea. He wants me to get on the bike with him, again. But he wants me on his lap.
Do I stop?
No. I don’t. I get on the bike, and the moment I’m straddling him, my skin is on fire. I pretend like I have no idea what he’s talking about and ask, “Stop what?”
“Stop doing this to me,” he repeats, curtly. “Make it stop.”
