Page 4 of Beach B!tch
The guy vacillated between pissed, embarrassed, and in pain. That's when he looked up and saw me watching the altercation. I folded my arms across my chest and glared at him. His face told me he knew this wouldn't end well if he tried to fight both her and me. My girl followed his gaze, locking her eyes on mine. She recognized me from last night, that much I could tell. She didn't exactly look happy to see me.
Once she got over the shock, she shoved the guy away from her and let him go. He stood up and almost tripped over his own feet getting out of there. He ran off into the parking lot, probably hoping we wouldn't follow.
I turned back to my girl, closing the distance between us until I was right beside her. No way in hell was I going to let this opportunity pass me by. We would talk. I was getting her name, at least.
She dropped my gaze, looking almost embarrassed about kicking that guy's ass. Or maybe she was just trying to get me to leave by not making eye contact, which didn't sit well. I was intent on getting to know her and figuring out why she was under my skin.
The other girl grabbed her into a hug, thanking her for getting rid of him.
"...never has a right to touch you...don't put up with that shit, okay?" I only caught a bit of what she said to her friend.
I reached the group as her friend nodded and walked away, back on to the court.
"What happened?" I asked my girl. At my question, she turned to face me, now just inches from me for the first time. I wasn't prepared for the physical reaction I had seeing her up-close. I should have guessed, based off the reaction I had last night from afar.
I stared into her eyes, memorizing their exact shade of green. Then I looked down and saw her lips. And fuck me, but they about brought me to my knees like that asshole, just without the arm twist. Her lips were set in a grim line, but even so I could see how full they were. I decided right there, getting her name wouldn't be enough. Now I had to taste those lips. Suck that bottom one into my mouth and nibble on it.
"He thought he could not only say lewd things to my friend, but he could also touch her ass. I made sure he knew that wasn't the case," those lips blurted out. Her voice was higher than I expected. Given her athletic build and her stand-offish demeanor, I didn't expect a dainty, feminine voice, but that's exactly what she sounded like.
I brought my eyes back up to hers, seeing she was still mad, most likely hopped up on adrenaline from the tussle. I wanted to hear more of that voice and I sure as hell wanted to find out what other secrets she had waiting for me to discover.
"Nicely done. What's your name?" I asked innocently enough. Hell, I'd fake like I had to fill out an official report if I had to to get her name.
"It's Brinley," she muttered. She looked back over to the court, her eyes following the play by her friends.
"Well Brinley, you did a good thing by watching out for your friend. Where'd you learn to move like that?" I was scrambling to get more information before she dismissed me entirely. I was getting the impression that the obsession was one-sided. She didn't seem able to take her eyes off the damn volleyball long enough to talk to me.
"From dealing with lots of bullheaded men that don't know when to back off," she answered, then swung her hard gaze back to lock on mine. She did that one eyebrow up, one eyebrow down thing.
Ouch. Point taken. The voice was sweet, but the words were spicy. This chick was hard-core.
Thing is, I liked hard-core.
"If you ever need help with a bullheaded male, I'm happy to help. I'm Dean, by the way." I paused, deciding to go for broke. "Not that you'd need a lot of help. Maybe just talk to me next time you're lonely, huh?"
And with that parting shot, I turned and walked back to my truck, willing myself not to look back at her for one last glimpse. I was gambling with the lonely guess, but I figured I had nothing to lose by that point. I hoped it would be enough to get her attention.
Brinley
Lonely? Who the hell did he think he was?
I was so pissed I couldn't even deliver any sort of comeback to that egotistical, gorgeous asshat. Seriously? First, I'd demonstrated I didn't need his help. I had that guy handled just fine, thank you very much. And second, who the hell was he to assume I was lonely. What the fuck?
I watched him walk away, one part of my brain recognizing that even his backside was unbelievably hot, while the other part of my brain sat and fumed. I didn't know what made me angrier: the fact that he made my heart rate triple just looking at me, or the fact that he saw past my carefully crafted tough-girl exterior and guessed I was lonely.
My life didn't have time for that kind of drama. Whether it was a man inappropriately touching my teammate or a man trying to get in my head with his big muscles and bullshit comments...it was the same damn thing. Distraction I didn't need.
Dean, huh? It was unfortunate he wore that white lifeguard polo better than any guy I'd ever seen. Just the right blend of loose and tight. Not so tight to look like some hat-backwards-dude-bro, but enough to show the guy had muscles growing on top of muscles.
As I watched the back of his truck disappear down the beach, I was interrupted from my thoughts by a wayward volleyball hitting me. If that wasn't a clear sign to get focused on the important stuff, I didn't know what was. I ran back out onto the court and pushed all thoughts of the tall, dark, and handsome lifeguard out of my brain.
Dean
The rest of the day went by ridiculously slow. I couldn't get Brinley, and those eyes and lips, out of my head. I could still recall how she smelled: a mix of sunscreen, a mysterious flowery scent, and sweat. Doesn't sound enticing, until you actually caught a whiff of it and had visions of hot, sweaty sex. Let me tell you, just thinking about it made parts of my body all too happy. Which doesn't work out well when you have to wear board shorts for your uniform. Down boy.
I managed not to drop my focus or embarrass myself in front of wholesome beach-goers by the end of my shift. Nor had I seen Brinley again when I drove by the pier throughout the day. I felt deflated but realized she wouldn't have been happy to see me anyway. Might as well give her time to cool off before I approached her again. And approach her I would. I wasn't bullheaded like she insinuated, just determined. There was a difference, and she needed to see that.
I pulled my truck into Headquarters, cleaned it out, checked in with my replacement for the evening shift, and then headed to my own truck. I swung by my favorite taco shop to grab an early dinner to-go before heading to my mom's little place in Costa Mesa. It was my night to hang out with my brother while she went to her ladies’ bridge night. She deserved time off when she could relax and have fun. I was happy to help out. Besides, I wanted some brotherly bonding time.
