“If you’d participated, maybe you would have proven me wrong, but since you didn’t…” I lift my hands in a “what are you gonna do” motion and put on a cheesy grin, hoping he’ll change his mind on the next round, but of course, he doesn’t.
“My loss.” He shrugs, repeating my words back to me.
And it really is his loss. “I’m gonna go again. I want to beat my time.”
I walk past Reed but he catches me around the waist, spinning me until I’m facing the opposite direction. “Nope,” he says, moving to my side. “You’re coming with me. It’s beach time.”
“Beach time?” My eyes flash to his as he nods toward the makeshift beach. “You’re willing to go in?”
“I am. Would you believe, I’m not originally from San Francisco. I’ve felt cold like you couldn’t comprehend. This is nothing.” Of course it’s nothing—we’re in California—but I let that one slide.
“Let’s—”
“Holy shit,” the cute guy calls out, cutting me off. “The movie star knows Reed Coombs.”
Damn.I should have seen that coming. “I think we just got busted.” I cringe but Reed laughs.
“Do you care?”
“Honestly? Nope. It’s beach time.”
“Then let’s go. What are you waiting for?” He playfully rolls his eyes and I slap his chest, pushing him backward so I can run ahead, beating him to the sand. “Last one under the water buys the first round.”
“Is everything a competition to you?” Reed calls out, stripping his sweatshirt over his head, drawing attention from all directions.
“Only if I know I’m going to win.”
I dive in before he’s even made it to the shoreline and when I surface again, he’s there beside me.
“Jesus Christ.” He shivers, making me laugh. “I thought it was going to be heated.”
“It’s a beach.” I shake my head, the smile never leaving my face as he complains.
“It’s fake.”
“Stop complaining; it’s fine.”
It’s not fine. At all. I’m freezing my tits off but I refuse to admit it. I dragged Reed here, and told him it would be fun, so that’s what I’m doing—having fun. Waiting for Reed to give in. Which I’m praying isn’t much longer since we’ve already been jumping the fake waves for thirty minutes.
“Have you ever broken a bone?” Reed asks, eyeing me curiously. We’re playing get to know you games, and while I assumed it would be fun, it’s actually been quite informative.
“Two. I broke my arm falling off a horse when I was in primary school.”
“In what?”
“Elementary school.” I roll my eyes exaggeratedly. “I’m going to get you an Aussie dictionary.”
“Please do.” Reed’s lips pull into a lopsided grin. “I need it. What else did you break?”
“My big toe. I dropped a ceramic pot on it when I was around twenty.”
Reed’s face contorts and I burst out laughing. “You reacted more to that than my arm, and trust me, the broken arm hurt more.”
“Yes, but I visualized the pot incident and it felt all too real.”
“It was real. I still can’t move it properly.”
“Ouch.”
