Page 33 of Her Pretty Words

“What’s Manhunt?” Grayson asks.

“You’ve never played Manhunt as a kid?” Elliot asks.

Grayson shakes his head.

“You can be on the winning team then.” He smirks. “With Sarah and I.”

“Hey!” I complain.

“Macy has to hide outside while we count to one hundred. It’s basically hide and seek. The three of us will split up and find her. Once someone does, they have to hide with her and try not to be found. So as soon as you find someone, you join their team. The last person to find everyone loses.”

Once we finish cleaning up, everyone gathers inside while I find a hiding spot. I already have the perfect one in mind. I sprint a few yards to the lifeguard stand, sand getting kicked up and hitting the back of my legs. There is a smile on my face when I duck beneath the stand and bring my knees to my chest to make myself as small and hidden as possible.

The sky catches fire and ignites the water beneath it, at least that’s how it looks. Magical things happen at sunset. My skin tingles and a jolt of excitement shoots through me like it did when I hid as a kid.

The artwork hanging in the sky keeps changing and by the time I hear faint footsteps, the sun has just hidden beneath the horizon. Everything has a purple hue, and it won’t be long until it’s completely dark. I squeeze my eyes shut, hoping whoever it is doesn’t spot me right away. I peek behind me to see if they left. My hand flies to my chest.

Grayson’s breath trickles against my lips. “Caught you.” His voice comes out low. I swallow and his gaze flickers to my throat. “Scoot over, Mace.”

“Why?” I whisper.

He chuckles and the frequency of it touches every inch of my skin. “Aren’t those the rules? Once I find you, I get to hide with you?”

“Oh, right. Yes.”

He’s paradoxically too close, yet too far. His face gets impossibly closer, the tip of his nose skims mine. I suck in a breath when he climbs over and sits beside me, so he’s hidden.

Painted in shadows, he looks nightmarish, except for the dimple peeking out of his cheek. It truly doesn’t belong on such a sharp face, yet it makes my heart stammer.

He reaches out and brushes his thumb across the corner of my lip. “Sand,” he supplies.

“How would there be sand on my?—”

He interrupts me, pressing his pointer finger against my lips. “Keep quiet. You wouldn’t want us to get caught, would you?”

I shouldn’t breathe so heavily.

He takes his finger away from my lips and drags his knuckles along my jaw. He tucks a stray hair behind my ear.

Suddenly, I see a light getting closer. A flashlight. I hear Sarah’s giggling and I stiffen.

Grayson reaches forward and grabs a bleached piece of coral from the sand. I don’t have the chance to ask him what he’sdoing. It thuds off something in the distance, then Sarah’s footsteps go toward the sound. Away from us.

I face him then. My eyes have adjusted to the darkness enough to see him, but everything surrounding us has turned black without the sun. I can see the stubble on his face and the veins pulsing on his temple this close.

He wears a serious expression. Gone are those heartwarming dimples. My stomach is flipping the way it does moments before the jump scare in a horror film. My heartbeat slams against my ears so rapidly. The second my eyes drop to his lips, his tongue swipes across them, leaving them glistening. His right dimple appears. Then the left. “You’re staring at my lips, Mace.”

“No, I’m not.”

“You want to kiss me,” he rasps.

“I would never want that.”

“No, you don’twantto want it.” He’s closer. “But you do.” I gasp as his lips angle down to mine, making soft contact but not pressing. “I’m not going to kiss you, Macy,” he whispers.

Warmth erupts in my stomach.

“I won’t do anything to you unless it’s your decision.” His eyes flit to mine. “All you have to do is apply a little pressure and you can have me. Any way you want.” He sounds desperately pleading when he says, “Just kiss me.”

---