Page 17 of Little Do You Know

“Are you, uh…okay?”

He chuckles lowly. “What do you think? What part of this is supposed to make me relax?”

I roll my eyes. It’s not like I planned this. “Obviously I didn’t mean for this to happen. Can’t you make it go away faster?”

“Believe me, I’m trying.”

My neck is aching, but there’s nowhere for me to rest my head that isn’t against some part of Sebastian. Eventually, I have no choice but to rest my head in the crook of his neck to look outside the window.

“I’m sorry. If this is uncomfortable for me, then I’m sure it’s even more uncomfortable for you,” he acknowledges softly, and I let out a sigh. I really don’t want Vera to hear any of this. She’ll never let either of us live it down.

“Trust me; I’m sure it’s more uncomfortable for you,” I mumble because the current position sure doesn’t let me forget it. I put my headphones in, signaling the end of the conversation.

~

The guys are throwing a football around together, and Stacey is reading a book. Blake and Vera went to get ice cream, and were getting along just like I imagined they would.

There’s no way in hell I sat on Sebastian Walker’s boner most of the way here not to get in the actual water. The sand between my toes and the water lapping at my stomach feels so eerily similar to the trips Penelope and I would take.

She’d die of laughter if she knew what happened in the car. When I called her last night after tossing and turning for a few hours, she laughed while telling me how stupid I was. It felt refreshing to speak French with someone who could understand me and talk back. I never knew that was something I’d miss.

~

“Just climb Sebastian like a tree already and get it over with. After that, you guys can be friends, enemies, or whatever you’re trying to be with him,” she says, and my face burns at the thought.

“We’re not friends or enemies. We’re not anything. Bash is my brother’s best friend, whom I happen to dislike. I’m not trying to be anything with him,” I retort quickly.

“But you want to fuck him,” Penelope says bluntly, and I can imagine her smiling. I miss her so much I could cry.

I shake my head and laugh. “Pen, it sounds like you want to.”

With her short dark hair and piercing blue eyes, she’s always had men drawn toward her. “Sure. Send him my way after you have yours with him. I want a better picture to fantasize about, though. See if you can work on that.”

“You wouldn’t have wanted a picture of him tonight. He was exhausted and stressed and hurting…”

Owen said that Sebastian has a lot going on. He’s always been private, so it doesn’t surprise me that he has his secrets.

“And you massaged him to help him relax. How different is that from having sex with the man? You already had your hands all over him. Twice, if I remember correctly. So why not put both of you out of your misery?”

I wish she were here so I could hug her tightly. “I’m not in misery. All he does is yell at me and tell me what a child I am. Then I tell him he’s an asshole.”

“What a modern-day fairy tale. Just fuck him already. You’ll feel better.”

~

I trail my fingers lazily through the water. This is precisely what I needed. It’s a Thursday, and the school year’s just started, so we’re the only ones here. I press my toes farther into the sand, feeling like I could stay here forever. I could be washed out with the tide, and I don’t think I’d care. I could fulfill my childhood dream of becoming a mermaid. I giggle at the thought of just spending my days floating with the fish. I think little Lia had it right. Being a mermaid is much better than being an adult. Ariel doesn’t know how good she has it.

The water is all you can see as far into the horizon, but on the other side of the ocean and a little to the northeast and then inland, I’d find Paris. If I look long enough, I can start to imagine it.

“What are you looking at?” Landon asks, jolting me out of my thoughts.

“Paris.”

He gives me an odd look, probably doubting my sanity. “Lia, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that’s the ocean.”

I hit his arm lightly. “I know. But on the other side of the ocean, there’s Paris. If I were a mermaid, I think I could get there in, what? Two? Three days?”

“I think you’ve been drinking too much salt water. You’re delusional.” He laughs, and I join with him because he’s right. Then Landon does a very Landon thing, and he picks me up by my waist, hoisting me over his shoulders until I’m left staring at his dark skin instead of the horizon. “You need to sit in the shade with Stacey and cool off.”

---