Page 51 of Promise Not To Fall

“Kind of like Vegas?”

“Exactly like Vegas,” he agrees, his head twisting toward mine.

“One of my clients was telling me that he was here on spring break, and he kept seeing college kids having sex on the beach.” I giggle, the thought making me shiver.

Lying back, he stretches out his legs in the sand and stares up at the sky. “Why won’t you have sex in the sand? Isn’t that every girl’s dream?”

“Maybe some.” I relax back in the sand like he did and immediately regret it. My back’s sunburnt. “But I’m noteverygirl.”

“No, you’re not.” He speaks softly, a smile to his tone.

“What do your friends think of you taking the city girl out every night?”

He turns away, breaking our gaze. “Who fucking cares what they think?” His voice is rougher now. “You get one life, Kendall. One. That’s it. Who cares what anyone thinks about what you’re doin’? If you’re happy, that’s all that should ever matter.”

Jake’s words always seem way older than he is. Like he’s lived a thousand lives before this one and brought all that knowledge with him. Sometimes I’m not even sure we’re in the same conversation. But then when you think about what he’s saying, let the information absorb, everything makes perfect sense.

With our toes in the sand, Jake gestures up the beach a few feet. I follow to where he’s pointing to see a turtle digging a hole large enough for her to lie in. “What’s she doing?”

“Laying her eggs.”

When she’s finished, she scoops sand over the top of the eggs in an effort to conceal them. After hiding them, she returns to the sea, moving in a slow waddle.

I look over at Jake, amazed by what I’ve just witnessed. “That’s really cool. How many eggs do you think she put in there?”

“Like, a hundred.” He shrugs again. “Zain and I dug them up once when we were kids.”

My mouth hangs open in shock. “Jake!”

“They all died too. It was fucking awful.” He laughs, holding up his palms. “Hey, we didn’t know. I had no idea they were baby turtles. I was, like, five and I felt horrible about it. I think I even cried.”

I try really hard not to laugh at his look of horrification that one, he admitted to crying, and two, that I’m laughing at him. “How will she know where she left them?”

“She doesn’t need to find them. But they can detect magnetic pull. Something with their navigational ability allows them to sense it.” Leaning over, he brushes the hair from my face to see my eyes. “She’ll always know exactly where they are.”

Don’t fall in love with this guy, Kendall.Don’t!Clearing my throat, I ask, “Does she come back for them?”

“No. Once she lays her eggs, she never returns. They’re left to find the ocean themselves.”

“How do they find the ocean?”

“They’re guided by light,” he whispers, his lips barely moving as he kisses my exposed shoulder. “They’re guided by the brightest light—the moonlight as it reflects off the ocean.”

“How has a girl not snatched you up yet?” I watch his eyes scan over my face.

Another shrug, barely acknowledging my question, and instead leaning in to kiss me.

Jake’s kisses never fail to gain a reaction out of me. Full of emotion and sensuality, he pours himself into his kisses, making up for the words his lips hold captive.

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