Page 40 of Off Script

“Look, if people are going to believe you’remygirl, you’re going to have to reveal some skin.”

Blocking out her protests, Tristan began pulling his preferences. Inwardly, he had to admit his objections had nothing to do with Jada’s taste, but were about his interests. She was beautiful and should show it off . . . particularly to him. He was her “boyfriend” after all.

Teasingly, Tristan held up a midnight-black suit that was basically a thong and some strategically placed triangles.

“I’m not wearing that!” Jada said, snatching the bikini out of his arms.

“You know what they say: less is more.”

Jada ignored him as she scanned the racks. She picked out a purple bikini with a tasteful skirt instead.

“Compromise,” Jada insisted. They managed to pick a few things they both agreed on. After much haggling, Jada went into one of the dressing rooms to try the clothes on. At first, the wait didn’t seem terribly long, but as the minutes dragged by, Tristan had a sneaking suspicion Jada wasn’t trying on the suits at all.

“Did you chicken out?” he drawled through the door.

“No. This first one has a lot of strings. I don’t know why I let you pick it.”

“Do you need help? Those tricky little things might be crying out for an agile hand.”

“Don’t you dare come in here!” Jada’s high-pitched warning erupted from behind the stall door. Tristan held back a chuckle as he pressed her further.

“You have two more minutes to come out or I’m leaving you altogether.” Despite her grumbles of “Fine with me” and blah, blah, blah, Jada emerged from the dressing room.

“What about this one?” Jada held up her hands with lackluster enthusiasm.

Regardless of her mood, this one was a winner. With a cherry-red and white print top and flattering bottoms, it held a balance of suggestion and fun-in-the-sun playfulness. In fact, it might have piqued Tristan’s interest a little too much.

“Perfect,” Tristan said around a surprising scratch in his throat.

“Good. I agree,” Jada said, dropping her eyes to the floor.

Once they had that decided, they ended up in another bickering spree. Jada remained adamant about Tristan not paying for her clothes. He managed to trick her into picking out beach towels long enough to slip the saleswoman his credit card. This left Jada fuming as they stopped at Pink’s. Undoubtedly, her mood would have changed if they’d actually run into some of her Hollywood faves wolfing down hot dogs, however, Tristan and Jada ended up taking pictures with several fans wanting to chat with the happy couple.

Once their cheeks hurt from smiling and their bellies were full, they headed to the Santa Monica Pier and the surrounding beach. As they made their way to the boardwalk, Jada’s eyes lit up in delight. Ahead of them, warm sand led to the shimmering blue ocean. All along the beach, other couples and cheerful families reveled in the good weather. Plenty of children played in the low tide while more adventurous surfers traveled farther out.

Tristan made an exaggerated motion of sucking in some fresh sea-scented air.

“Ahhh, feel that, J? The bright sun, the gentle wind, this is exactly what we need.” He threw his arm over her shoulders. Surprisingly, she didn’t shrug him off and let him guide her to a perfect viewing spot.

“It is nice out today,” she admitted as she laid out their striped towels.

Tristan watched—probably too avidly—as Jada lay back on her towel. Sunglasses on, she rested her head on the blanket and basked in the sun, her rich brown skin luminescent under its golden rays.

“Would you like some sunscreen, dear?” Tristan teased.

“I’m good,” Jada said.

“Come on, you want to ward off skin cancer, don’t you?” He retained his mild innocence as he shook the SPF bottle at her.

“Fine.”

“I can take care of it for you,” Tristan said, slightly suggestive.

“Don’t worry. I’m a big girl. I can put it on all by myself.” Jada returned his tone.

Giving in (for now), Tristan squirted a generous amount into her hand. He applied some protection of his own but didn’t take his eyes off of her as she worked the creamy solution into her slim stomach. When she finished, Jada lay back out, taking in the scene, leaving Tristan restless.

“Don’t you want to get in the water?”

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