Rick stared at me for a moment, and his mouth opened a little before slowly forming into a smile. He wore a white buttondown short-sleeved shirt over a pair of tan cargo shorts. His tanned skin looked as smooth and touchable as ever.
“Hi,” I finally said.
“Hey,” he said, snapping out of his gaze. “You ready?” He looked over my shoulder. “Oh, hey Rachel, I thought Peter would have been picking you up. Do you want to come with us?”
I turned my head to look at Rachel on the bed. “She’s got heat exhaustion and won’t let me stay with her.” I stepped back to let him in.
Rick took a step in and looked at Rachel. Her skin still had some red patches, and beads of sweat were on her forehead. He feigned a shocked expression. “Whoa, Rach, you don’t look too hot.”
“I can assure you I am,” she joked. “There’s seriously nothing you guys can do for me.” Rachel insisted. “I’m okay. Enjoy the fireworks. If I’m feeling better, I’ll call Peter to come get me.”
Rick and I exchanged glances.
“Please let me know if you need anything, and I’ll come right back.” Remembering Rick was my ride, I looked over at him, and he gave me a reassuring nod.
“I like you, Amy, but I’ll probably just call Peter to come over later.”
Rick parked along the boardwalk parking lot that was nearly filled. The sun was setting as we walked up a short ramp and onto the boardwalk. There were a few restaurants lined up along the strip to the right off the ramp entrance. Dan’s Crab House was the first and biggest establishment on the corner. There was also a surfboard and souvenir shop, a candy store, an ice-cream parlor, and a sports bar. The sports bar was the last on the strip before the next entrance ramp. After that it was mostly empty except for a few white benches. Farther down the strip was the Admiral Restaurant, a magnificent venue at night, surrounded by tree lights and hanging lanterns. Most of the yachts and boats were anchored along that end of the beach. I wondered what kind of events they usually had there.
“You should see it inside. It’s stunning,” Rick proclaimed, reading my thoughts. I must have been gawking in that direction.
“Come on. I think we can catch the rest of this sunset before the fireworks start.”
A gathering of familiar people from the camp and the club were spreading across the beach. A large blanket was spread in the middle, where Jeff and two other guys were lining up some fireworks. Two large coolers were placed on either end of the blanket, one filled with sodas and water bottles, the other with beer. A portable Mp3 player was stationed on one of four lounge chairs spread evenly around the blanket and coolers. From the way the party was set up, I gathered they didn’t plan on a huge turnout.
The thought made me look around for Peter.
“Hey guys, beer?” Jeff yelled over to us, holding up two bottles.
I shook my head. Rick turned from me to Jeff.
“Thanks, maybe later,” Rick shouted back.
“I might grab a bottle of water to cool off my hands.” I turned my palms up. “I don’t know why, but I feel like they’re still burning.”
“I have a better idea.” Rick took my hand and ran us over to the shore.
Realizing he was pulling us into the water, I kicked off my thongs.
“Run your hands through the water.” He called over the sound of crashing waves. “It might sting for a second, but the salt water is the best thing for it.”
I did what he suggested and immediately felt a rising sting and then a slow relief. A few seconds later, there was a sharper, instant sting, that flared with no warning at all. I jumped back and shrieked waving my hands in the air, violently. “You didn’t tell me there was an aftershock.”
Before I knew it, the sun had set, and Rick and I turned back to join the rest of the crowd. I noticed Haley had joined the crowd as well, and I pulled my hair behind my ears self-consciously—probably because she was looking extremely hot with a very revealing bikini top and supershort denim shorts. I couldn’t have been overdressed. Trish and Lindsey were wearing sundresses and so was the bartender’s date. Jeff handed me and Rick each a plate with a burger. I grabbed a beer off the cooler, and Rick and I sat on the edge of the blanket. I glanced over at Haley, who was flirting with Jeff now.
“You know you don’t have to hang out with me all night.” I told Rick after taking a swig of my beer and a bite of my overcooked burger.
Rick raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Oh, no,” he objected, shaking his head. “We’re talking about Amy Kragen. There’s never a dull moment with you around. Something’s about to happen, I just know it. I’ve been lucky enough to have witnessed—and been victim of—many events, but I’ll be damned if I miss even one.”
I laughed and playfully punched his arm. But I had a deeper temptation to slide my hand under the sleeve of his shirt to feel the skin behind it. I quickly turned away before acting on it.
“That is not true. I have many a dull moment,” I insisted.
“Name one since you got here.” He took another bite out of his burger and waited.
I searched my brain for anything that didn’t have something behind it. “Sarah’s weekly trainings.”
“You mean the one where you picked a fight with Jeff? Good stuff. What else you got?”
