Page 3 of Semi-Rejected Life

“I mean… a little bit.” He lifted an eyebrow. “Do you not remember?”

“I remember seeing you and then… being on shore.” I tried to force myself to remember anything else, but there was nothing. “I guess I didn’t really put that together until just now. I thought you hit me and I just inhaled a little water by accident. Everything is still so fuzzy…”

“It’s all good.” The stranger climbed up in the van and took a seat opposite me on a small bench. “Do you want a drink or a snack or something? Maybe it’ll help ground you back in your senses a bit.”

I nodded. “Sure. Whatever is fine with me.”

“Here,” he replied, pulling a bottle out of a small cooler. “Have some juice.”

“Thanks.”

I cracked the top and took a drink. Mango. Nice.

“So, what brings you to Shifter Grove?” I asked, trying to fill the silence between us. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you around here.”

“You a local?”

“Yeah.” He paused and I took the chance to interject. “But if you’re being here is personal or traumatic, you don’t have to tell me. I get it. Nobody ends up in this town because they want to be here.”

He nodded. “I came here because I wanted to be here.”

My jaw fell open.

“For a month,” he added with a smile. “I heard the surfing is pretty good here. I’m staying in town for a while before I head home.”

“Oh. That’s uh… not the story I usually hear.”

“I’m not a rogue, if that’s what you’re worried about. Not that there’s anything wrong with rogues, that’s just not my case.”

“Gotcha.” I sat there nodding slowly and staring at him for a moment. I was so fucking bad at small talk. “So you’re… staying in the hotel.”

“I heard it’s a werewolf hotel, so why not stay where I’m welcome, right?”

“And it’s the only hotel in town.”

“That was a factor, believe it or not.”

I furrowed my brows, cracking a smile. “You’re funny.”

“And you’re pretty cute,” he replied without missing a beat. “I guess we both have our perks.”

He might not have missed a beat, but my heart did. Fuck, he was smooth. What the hell was all that about? Damn. I went from being dizzy to flustered in about two seconds.

“You hit me with your board and now you’re calling me cute? Is this how you flirt?”

“The first hit is free,” he said. “After that, I start charging.”

“Ah. You’re doing the drug dealer method. Nice.”

“It’s always worked before.”

I could feel the heat flushing in my cheeks as I bit my lower lip. That chub in my pants was quickly becoming a full hard on and my swim trunks didn’t hide much. I crossed my legs, trying not to make it obvious. Which, of course, only made him glance downward. That smirk on his face told me everything I needed to know. The dude knew exactly what he was doing.

“So what’s your name?” I asked, trying to change the subject. “Just in case I want to press charges later.”

“River,” he smiled, holding out his hand.

“River?” I furrowed my brows. “That’s the best fake name you could come up with?”

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