Page 37 of From Now On

I can’t tell if he’s being genuine or simply indulging me, but I start the first episode anyway.

And when he asks me to start the second one an hour later, I find myself wishing the roads today weren’t so wide open.

CHAPTER TEN

HUNTER

The rental Phillips found is right on the beach. Not thewhite sands, turquoise watersort of beach, but a craggy stretch of coastline that’s currently being battered by churning gray water. Still, it’s a nice view. Peaceful with an edge, like the calm before a building storm.

“Well, we made it.” I state the obvious as I shut the car off.

The speakers cut out, which I’m a little disappointed by. I’m going to have to look up the podcast Eve was playing so I can find out how they wind up catching the killer. Three episodes in is a total cliffhanger.

“Yeah, we did,” Eve agrees.

I glance over. She’s studying the house’s exterior. A smile quirks up the corners of her mouth the longer she looks. It widens when her eyes wander this way and she catches me staring at her.

I should saysomething. A comment that’s meaningful or memorable, or anything that contains actual words, while we’re still alone.

Eve speaks first. “Thanks, Hunter.”

Every syllable is steeped in sincerity.

The genuine gratefulness in her expression makes me feel about twenty feet tall. But I really wish she’d stop thanking me. Stop acting like I did her some favor or she’s some inconvenience.

That’s what I should say—tell Eve I enjoyed this road trip a hell of a lot more with her than I would have alone. That I’ll enjoy spring break a hell of a lot more with her here than I would have fifth-wheeling with my best friends and their girlfriends.

Before I can say a word, the front door of the rental opens. A bright flash of red flutters in the wind as Harlow jogs toward my car, waving enthusiastically.

Too late—again.

Eve pops her door open and climbs out. I do the same, more slowly.

The air is chilly and tastes like salt. Phillips was right about the weather. I can’t imagine swimming in the Pacific—not without a wetsuit, at least—but the hot tub Aidan’s been waxing poetic about does look enticing. I can see the steam rising from where it’s tucked off one side of the patio that juts from the left side of the house.

“I’m so glad you guys finally made it!” Harlow says, flinging her arms around her best friend.

Eve’s response gets lost in the wind and the wild halo of Harlow’s loose hair, but her smile is bigger when Harlow steps back.

She also looks more relaxed than she has since I picked her up yesterday. The breeze has pulled some of her hair free, and the straight set of her shoulders has softened a little.

Once Harlow releases Eve, she gives me a quick squeeze too. She and Hart have only been officially dating since January, but it’s hard to remember a time when she wasn’t an extension of our trio. I don’t know Rylan as well—not only is she a junior, but this was also her first semester on campus—since Phillips wasthe only guy on the team cocky enough to think that socializing with Coach’s daughter was a great idea.

Speaking of Aidan, he announces his arrival outside with a loud “What the hell, Morgan? Did you decide to take the scenic route through Nevada, or something? Hit Vegas?”

I grunt when Aidan punctuates his final question with a hard slap on the back. “The only thing we ‘hit’ was bad traffic.”

Phillips makes a face. “Lame. Hey, Eve.”

Eve glances over from the whispered conversation she was having with Harlow. Based on the smirk on Harlow’s face, I have a feeling Eve mentioned the wholewalking in on me nakedincident to her best friend.

Most of the awkwardness dissipated during the second leg of the drive, but I still wish it’d never happened. I’ve thought about being naked in front of Eve before. Never in the context of my body having just been sprayed by cold water and her being fully clothed, however.

I noticed she’d added a third pillow to the pillow wall when I went back to bed last night. I’m not sure what that meant. I’ve been in enough locker rooms to know that my dick is on the larger end of the scale, and every girl I’ve hooked up with has appreciated it. But maybe I traumatized Eve?Wasn’t badwasn’t much of an ego boost.

“Hi, Aidan,” Eve greets. “Thanks for including me. I heard you were the mastermind behind this trip.”

Phillips beams proudly about receiving credit. To be fair, he did arrange most of the trip. When it relates to something hewantsto do, Aidan’s unstoppable. “No problem. We weren’t going to leave you high and dry, unlike that asshole ex of yours.”

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