Nope…not going there today. Today is all about peace and ocean and my girlfriends and fine men who arenotGriffin Owling.
I don’t get many days off and I’m not going to waste today on pointless thoughts. Instead, I focus on the new mini pies I’m experimenting with for the fall menu. So far, the cherry-pecan one is my favorite but that’s no surprise—between those and figs, I could die a happy woman. But I want something new, something original. A blend of herbs and fruits that I haven’t tried yet.
I’m so lost in my own thoughts, my eyes half closed, I only feel the contact with another body when it’s too late.
On so many levels…
Oh no.
I don’t have to open my eyes to know exactly who I’ve run into. Whose scent has filled my nose. Whose chest my hands are plastered against.
Crap!
Quickly, as if I’m whipped, I tear away from Griffin, putting a few feet of space between us and only then do I make eye contact. With the hard planes of his bare chest. The perfectly cut abdominal muscles with a small strip of hair and that V-line leading down…down…sweet daisies…
I swallow hard, hoping no one saw that little mishap. But there is no controlling it, not when he’s standing in front of me, naked from the waist up and the bottom half that’s covered is doing very little to hide him.
Why is Griffin wearing a surfing suit?
No, universe!No! I’m a nice person! I’m a kind person! Can’t you go pick someone else to torture?
I feel the burn in my cheeks and the heaviness to my breasts before I can even attempt to hide my reaction.
There is something I’m supposed to do right now. Something I’m supposed to say, but he’s too close. He’s standing too close to me and his scent is effectively turning my brain into mush.
Three months ago, I vowed to put all these feelings I harbored into the memory box. I vowed to move on and forget—only the more I tried, the harder my body reacted whenever Griffin Owling was in sight.
They are. They are in a box, so I force my gaze up, meeting his brown one. But it’s not cold or distant as I’d thought it would be.
It’s liquid, almost like whatever is going on inside his brain is burning too hot and the heat is spilling everywhere, melting everything.
Griffin just stands there, his heavy stubbled jaw locked tight as he watches me with penetrating intensity. I almost feel naked, standing in front of him. But not in an uncomfortable way.
Oh no, that would be too easy of torture for me. No, it feels like he can see my every line and curve. Every tingly feeling inside and the ache that spreads like wildfire anytime he’s nearby.
As covertly as possible, I inhale a lungful of the salty air around us. “Um, hi. Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.” I finally respond with a feeble smile on my face. I’d give it a solid three…with a minus.
Griffin clears his throat. “Hey, it’s okay, I didn’t see you coming either.” He tries to smile back but it dies a quick death when his eyes drop back down to my body.
“So you’re surfing today?”
“What?” Griff looks up again and there’s almost a sheepish expression on his face. Like he got caught red-handed. “Oh, um,yeah. Luke badgered me until I couldn’t say no.” Griffin sighs but I know he’s happy to have at least one of his best friends back home again.
“I remember you guys doing it all the time back in the day.”
“That was all Luke as well,” he delivers dryly, almost pouting, and I can’t help the small giggle bubbling out of me.
Griffin lifts his eyebrows at my little slip, amusement dancing in his eyes. “My misery is funny, isn’t it?”
I roll my lips to stop another giggle. “Nope. Not at all. And there’s no misery, don’t pretend you’re not good at it.”
The corners of his lips twitch as if trying to smile but falter before it could take flight. “I haven’t done it in a while,” he admits, that note of vulnerability coloring his tone and I’m caught off guard.
I sigh, knowing I shouldn’t care but will never stop either. “If I was you, I’d get into that water whether you’re ready or not because Izzy is searching for you.”
Griffin’s eyes grow wide, and then he’s pulling on the sleeves of his wetsuit in a mad rush.
I laugh, shaking my head. You’d think I just threatened him with jail time or something.