Page 23 of Beyond The Break

“Yes, I do. You’re not a complete asshole.” I repeat his words from earlier back to him and he returns his piercing gray eyes back to mine.

I avoid his intense gaze and turn away to look out the passenger side window instead, spotting the ocean in the distance. I watch as the night waves ebb and flow, the sight hypnotizing.

“I wasn’t going to drink from his bottle, just so you know,” I mumble. “I’m not stupid.”

“I don’t think you’re stupid,” he sighs. “I wasn’t going to step in at first but when I saw him grab you, I just…”

“You just what?” I ask, turning back to look at him as he clenches his jaw and holds the steering wheel in a death grip.

“I just couldn’t stand back and watch,” he returns his eyes to the road. “Maybe I overstepped. I’m sorry.”

“You didn’t overstep.” I whisper, returning my eyes out the window.

He doesn’t say anything else for the rest of the drive, until he pulls off the road into the parking lot of a small diner called Burger Shack with a blinkingOpensign on the door.

“Stay in the car, I’ll grab you something to eat,” he says under his breath before jumping out of the car and leaving me behind.

The locks click into place, locking me in. I hear them clickinto place three more times as I watch him furiously press the button from inside the diner. He runs a hand through his hair as if he’s stressed leaving me out here on my own.

“Paranoid much?” I whisper, though a warmth spreads in my chest at his obvious protective nature.

Wait what?

No. There is no warmth in my chest. Him standing up for me at the bar does nothing to me. Neither does the fact that he called mehiswhen the creep asked him if we were together. I refuse to fall for the mind games he’s playing. This must be the second part of his plan to get me out of here.

But, despite thinking it was all for show, I still feel grateful for him showing up when he did. I can only imagine how wrong that encounter at the bar could have gone if Griffin hadn’t been there to step in. That guy wasn’t taking no for an answer.

While I wait, I decide to snoop around his car to get a better idea of what makes himGriffin. He has a mini cobalt blue surfboard shaped car freshener hanging from his rear-view mirror. The wordsOcean Breezeare written on it, and I can confirm it does in fact smell of fresh saltwater. Aside from a chunky yellow blanket in the back seat, his car is empty.

I pull down the passenger side visor to look at myself in the mirror, but a photo booth strip falls onto my lap instead. It’s of him and a pretty, tanned girl with straight black hair. In the first photo they’re smiling at the camera, in the second they’re laughing, slightly blurry from moving, in the third he’s staring at her with an expression full of adoration and love, and in the last photo they’re kissing.

The car locks jump up, and I quickly slap the picture back into the visor, smacking it back into place, as he climbs into the car. He glances at me and then at the visor curiously. Trying to divert his attention, I quickly grab the takeout bags from himand watch as he places both drinks into the cup holders, tossing the tray into the back seat.

“So, do you have a ‘no eating in the car’ rule?” I ask as he starts up the engine, clipping his seat belt in place.

“You can eat in the car, but I want to show you something first.” He returns his attention to the road as he backs out of the parking lot.

He drives us to the top of a nearby hill, parking in a beautiful lookout spot overlooking all of Saltwater Springs, the mountains, and the ocean. We’re also the only car here, parked beside a large willow tree.

“I’m guessing not many people know about this place?” I question as I look around.

“Not many people care to find a place like this when faced with a beautiful day at the beach or a hike through our mountains. I think I can probably count the number of people that know about this place on one hand.”

Why did he bring me here? He easily could have bought the food and driven us back to the house to eat there, but instead he’s choosing to spend time alone looking at the beauty of Saltwater Springs together.

Maybe he’s planning to push you off the edge of this cliff.

I push the thought out of my head as he reaches over and opens the takeout bag on my lap, his fingers brushing along my thigh through the bag, as he pulls out a wrapped burger which he hands to me before taking his own.

I peel back the foil wrapping and am greeted with a cheeseburger that smells so good it makes my mouth begin to water and my stomach growl loudly.

“I wasn’t sure what you’d like so I tried to keep it simple.”

I take a bite of the burger and let out an embarrassingly enthusiastic moan as my eyes roll back and I tilt my head against the headrest.

“This is the best burger I’ve ever had,” I say as I slowly chew.

When he doesn’t respond I lift my head and look at him. He’s holding his burger in midair as he watches me with his mouth ajar and a flush creeping onto his cheeks.

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