Page 11 of F*ck You

A minute later, the sand shifted beside me as he sat down and pressed something solid against my finger. Then, I heard the familiar clicking of my phone. I opened my eyes to find him pressing buttons and scrolling.

“Did you really just unlock my phone without my permission?”

“Yup. I’m here to help, pretty girl.”

My stomach flipped at the endearment, but I pushed it from my mind. The day he met me I was covered in my own vomit and trying to drag a suitcase through the sand. I would bet my new condo he called everyone that.

“Thanks, handsome boy, but I think I got it from here,” I responded, as I swiped my phone from him.

A light lit up his face as he beamed down at me. “You think I’m handsome?”

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t get your hopes up, Prince Charming. I only inverted the nickname you gave.”

A small smile tilted the corner of his lips, and he coughed into his fist to give himself a distraction. He was handsome, but I wouldn’t admit that to anyone other than myself. I did just recently get out of a serious relationship, after all, and the last thing I needed was for my broken heart to turn into ash. It might not be the right time to jump into bed with someone else, no matter how much my thighs burned.

Shifting my legs to bring one knee up, I locked my phone and set it down in the sand beside me.

“You don’t look too happy,” he observed.

“No shit, Sherlock.”

“How about we change that? Do you know how to swim?”

I snorted, the only response I could muster at the moment while my head swirled with anxiety from all the messages still coming through. The phone buzzed incessantly as everyone and their aunt realized I was active online, demanding every bit of my attention. People even wanted to know if the wedding was still going to happen.

Shutting my eyes, I tilted the bottle of whiskey and took a large gulp. The liquid flowed down my throat at a rather uncomfortable angle due to my prone position in the sand.

“I’ll take that as a yes then. Have you been in the ocean yet?”

“Not in many years,” I answered. I hadn’t been to a beach since I was a kid. I’d loved it so much, and it was a huge reason why I’d always wanted to live on the ocean. Now that I finally was, all I could seem to do was drink and be miserable while crying my feelings into the sand and onto the strangers who kept popping up every damn time I turned around.

Without warning, warm hands wrapped around each of mine and pulled me to my feet. “Come on, we’re going to swim.”

“The fuck we are.” I tugged my hands from his. “I’m not even in a swimsuit.”

“But you do have a suitcase of clothes and you live literally several feet away,” he noted, and I couldn’t disagree with that. “I think you’ll be alright.”

His shoulder went into my stomach as he hoisted me up, and it took every ounce of coordination I had to not let my whiskey spill out.

“If you spill my booze, I will stick a knife in your gut. And that’s a promise,” I threatened, but he only laughed at my antics. All he did was fucking laugh.

At this angle, I took a very awkward sip of my drink, doing my best to not spill any of it in the process, which I failed at when several drops pelted the sand as he took the first step.

Waves appeared and then receded before reappearing again as he walked us into the water. Dickhead was really trying to ruin my day with some fun. “Your new name is Dickhead. You’re welcome.”

“I can live with that.” Water splashed against my feet and elbows as it crashed into his legs, but I wasn’t going to admit to him how good the cold water felt against my heated skin. It made me want to actually get in.

“Alright, alright, put me down.” I slapped my hand against his ass, and it bounced right off. Was it normal for all the guys here to have bite worthy asses? I could sink my teeth in and see if there was any soft flesh to be found, maybe give it a little nibble first. I shook the thought from my head and took another drink as my position changed.

Wet sand squished between my toes as I was set in the water, and I braced a hand against his chest of steel to steady myself. I didn’t mind standing in the ocean, but I doubted I would be too happy if I were to straight up fall over into it. The water swirling around my calves did wonders to cool me down.

“See, now is it really that horrible?”

“No, I guess it could be worse. You could’ve set me down inside a shark’s mouth rather than a nice little spot in the shallow end.”

“Don’t put you inside a shark’s mouth, noted. But now I’ll need to figure something else out for your tour.”

I nearly spat out my drink but managed to swallow it last minute. “You’re joking, right? Right, Chase? And what’s this tour you speak of, how long is it?”

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