Page 50 of Catch a Wave

Bodhi’s finger swipes out and snags a bit of the fluffy strand before I get all of it into my mouth. He sticks his finger into his mouth and licks it clean and then lets out a hum of appreciation. Oh. My.

My tongue darts out to lick my fingertips and lips and Bodhi fixates on the movement. His eyes are on my mouth and his gaze heats. He’s not hiding anything from me—not even trying to make it appear like he wasn’t just studying me and thinking about my lips and his.

“Not the best first date food,” I murmur through my bite.

“Oh. Is this our first date?” His eyebrows lift suggestively.

“Um. Not. No. You know. I’m just saying if you ever want to take a girl on a first date, this would not be the choice of what to give her.”

“I dunno.” He shrugs. “I beg to differ. Watching you eat s’mores might be my new favorite thing.”

I feel myself blush, and I’m not usually prone to blushing.

“And this isn’t our first date,” he clarifies. “This is definitely our pre-first date. I plan to take you somewhere without so many of our friends around when we go out.”

“On a date?” I ask like a dork.

“I’m assuming. Yeah. Would you go out with me? Maybe we could tick off some Bali bucket-list items together.”

“I’d like that. A lot.”

My eyes rove the area around the firepit for Kai. Who cares? He’s not my boss. I’m allowed to say yes if a guy I’m interested in asks me out.

As if he could read my mind, Bodhi asks. “Looking for your brother? Or your friend?”

“Kai. He’s always getting in the middle of things when someone wants to ask me out.”

“I get that. He wants to take care of you.”

“So his overprotectiveness doesn’t bother you? Or scare you away?”

“Nah. He’s not the boss of me. He’s a good friend. But I’m not out to hurt you. I just want to get to know you better, and for us to enjoy one another like we are right now. I admire Kai’s desire to protect you. You’re his sister. But you’re also free to make your own choices.”

He’s not the boss of me. That’s exactly what I think all the time.

“So, you’ll go out with me?” Bodhi clarifies.

“I’d really like that.”

“Good. I’ve been wanting to spend more time with you ever since the last time I saw you.”

“You have?”

“Yeah.” He nods and smiles this slow, sexy grin. “I’ve even been stalking your heats whenever they’re televised. I wanted to see if you made it to Mavs yet.”

He’s been tracking my career? Wow.

I’ve been tracking his too. The idea of him keeping tabs on my progress means more to me than I’ll tell him for now.

“Do you always say everything so plainly?”

“Why not? I’m not into games. I figure it’s better to just say what you think.”

“I like that.”

“I’m glad. Because I like you.”

16

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