Page 6 of F*ck You

“Want me to stop by later and check on her?”

I nodded. “Yeah, if you could.” I knew I was going to regret this. It was better to walk away now before getting attached and crying at another funeral for someone who was sprinting down the same path of self-destruction. Even if she didn’t know it yet herself, she had more of a rocky path ahead of her than she was aware of.

Giana waved at us and immediately let the sleeve of her oversized cover fall down to expose her bare shoulder and the hot pink strap.

“Don’t look now,” I warned Larsen, “but Giana is looking.”

He groaned at my words, and I snickered.

“Man, she’s been after me for ages.”

“I’m aware. She’s tried with me a few times too. Things were fun long ago, but I’ve moved on.”

“As have I, man. I don’t know how else to tell her. I’ve tried being nice and being blunt. Obviously neither have worked.” His voice lowered when she sauntered over to us with a big smile on her face, taking up what little space was left that wasn’t being covered by the massive sunglasses.

“Hey, G,” I greeted her with an annoyed, friendly tone. She nodded at me with a small smile, but her eyes were focused on Larsen. They always were, and I was grateful yet again I wasn’t him.

“Looking good, Lars.” She eyed him up and down as though she hadn’t just seen him the day before looking exactly the same as he did now. Her long, manicured nails put indents in his skin as her fingers wrapped around his forearm, clearly trying to claim him. I did my best to hold back a chuckle. I really did feel sorry for the guy, but I also didn’t want to call any extra attention to myself than I’d already gotten. If her dad didn’t practically own this beach, it would be easier to ignore her. Unfortunately, neither of us wanted to leave the place we loved so much and the jobs we lived for.

“What do you want, Giana?” His jaw ticked as he stared straight ahead, ignoring her as much as he possibly could. She wasn’t going to let him get away that easily though.

“Thought you might want to hang out later. Take a boat out and see where the night takes us.” She walked her fingers up his chest, then her hand fell away when he started moving again. She had to do a hop-skip to keep up.

“I’m afraid I’m busy all day and night.”

Her mouth turned down in a pout before she turned to look at me, and I rushed to shut her down.

“Me too, I have things all day, I won’t be able to make it,” I blurted, trying to help take some of the attention off of him.

She tossed her hair over her shoulder and kept up with us. “It wouldn’t have anything to do with the new girl, would it? I saw you talking to her. What a train wreck.”

I ground my teeth together to keep from saying something I would most certainly regret. “We have to go. If you could just not follow us, that would be great.”

Her mouth shut at my stern words, but it was enough to get her to release Larsen’s arm as we turned into my condo. I needed to get away and gather my thoughts together before heading back out on the waves.

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