Page 32 of Play It Off

“I’ve never told anyone because why should I make this about me? Coop is the star of the family. I don’t mind standing in the shadows.”

I don’t believe her. I can hear it in her voice. She wants to shine like her brother, and she deserves to.

“If you didn’t have to live in your brother’s shadow, what would you do, Sienna? Have any secret dreams about your life? Your future?” Has anyone ever asked her those questions before? I’m guessing no.

“I don’t know,” she starts, but I reach for her, pressing my finger against her plump lips, silencing her.

“That’s a lie and you know it.” I keep my voice low and my finger on her mouth, sending her a meaningful look. “Be real with me.” I drop my hand from her face and wait for her to speak.

She licks her lips, and I stifle the groan that wants to escape at seeing her pink tongue. “I’ve always wanted to start my own business.”

“Doing what?” I ask.

A soft sigh leaves her, and she keeps her gaze fixed on the ceiling. Like she can’t face me when she says it. “I want to run my own ice cream stand.”

Seriously? I almost say the word out loud, but I don’t want to offend her. That just feels like a ... small goal in the scheme of life, but what do I know? If this is what she wants, then she should go for it. And why should I shit on her secret dreams, anyway? I feel like this is a big deal, that she’d admit this to me.

“It’s dumb, right?” she asks after I remain silent.

“No, it’s not dumb if that’s what you want to do,” I say, choosing my words carefully. “What inspired you to want an ice cream stand?”

“It’s a little silly, but I saw this teenage boy out on the beach last year, and he had his own ice cream stand. Like one of those freezers on wheels you can push around? He had a nice little setup with a cute fringed umbrella keeping him in the shade and a colorful sign on the front of the freezer listing all of the ice cream he carried. I kept tabs on him, and he had this endless line the entire time I was out there, and I couldn’t stop watching him. He always had a smile on his face, and so did everyone who was buying his ice cream. He was bringing joy to those people, and I realized that’s exactly what I want to do. Bring joy to people. And what better way to do that but hang out on the beach all day and sell ice cream? Everyone loves ice cream,” she explains.

“Not anyone who’s lactose intolerant,” I can’t help but point out.

She sends me a vaguely irritated look. “You know what I mean. And there are plenty of nondairy options out there.”

“Well, if you want to do that, you should.”

“How? There will be expenses, and I don’t have a lot of money. I looked into an ice cream cart like the guy had on the beach, and that’s around two thousand dollars. I don’t have that kind of money right now. I’m still trying to find a part-time job to get me through college.”

I’d offer to loan her the money, but I know she’d turn me down, so I stay quiet.

“I’ll need to invest in the freezer and all the ice cream. That can’t be cheap. And it’s a pretty limited job, don’t you think? I’d only be able to do it during the summer. Besides, I’ll be graduating soon, and I should probably focus on getting a job where I can use my degree.”

She sounds defeated, but she shouldn’t be.

“Not if you do it here in Santa Mira. The weather is pretty good year round. Maybe you could do an ice cream truck. That might be an easier option.” There are food trucks all over the coast, but I don’t know if I’ve seen one around here that sells just ice cream, beyond the vans that cruise through the neighborhoods during the summer when the little kids are out in force. There is one food truck that creates specialty shakes that I see around on the weekends, but that’s different than what Sienna wants to do.

“That sounds even more expensive. My parents can’t help out. They don’t have a lot of money either,” she mumbles. “And it’s a silly idea. No one wants a career selling ice cream. I guess I had dreams of hanging out on the beach all day, though I’d probably get sunburned and turn into a walking freckle.”

“Sienna.” She turns her head to look at me. “It’s not silly. Nothing you ever do or think is silly. Though the idea of you turning into a walking freckle ... that’s kind of silly.”

I’m teasing her with the last line. I meant every word I said.

Her smile is faint and she reaches for me, her hand landing on my neck, warm and comforting. “You know just what to say to make me believe in myself, even when my ideas are bonkers. Thank you, Gavin.”

We stare into each other’s eyes for far too long, and she scoots closer, her hand never straying from my neck. I shift closer to her too.Until our bodies are next to each other and her body heat is seeping into me. We don’t have much clothing on, and when her legs tangle with mine, I give in.

Grabbing hold of her slender waist, I haul her into me and kiss her.

She doesn’t fight me. No, she gives in beautifully, her lips parting automatically for my tongue, her hands winding around my neck, her fingers sliding into my hair. I wrap my arms around her even tighter, jerking her forward, wanting her as close as I can get her, and she moans into my mouth.

The soft, sexy sound does something to me. Kicks my urges into overdrive, and I roll her over so she’s lying beneath me and I’ve got her pinned to the mattress. I search her mouth with my tongue, run my hand up and down the side of her body, and when I finally break the kiss, I lift away from her, staring at her beautiful face.

Her breaths come fast, and there’s so much fear in her eyes. Like she’s afraid I’m going to push her away right now, which is what I usually do.

I’m such an asshole.

---