Page 88 of When We Were Reckless
He smiled, so much tenderness in his expression that it had me averting my face so he couldn’t read it.
Because it was a big deal, and he knew it.
At the beginning of the summer, I never would have felt comfortable enough to bare my scars. Especially not to him. But he’d made me feel beautiful, and no matter what happened with us at the end of the summer, I’d never forget that.
I let out a yelp two seconds later when he lifted me off my yoga mat and tossed me over his shoulder. “What are you doing?” I pounded his back with my fists, but he just laughed.
I hit the cool water, and he dove in after me. “So much for my Zen. You can’t just…” I threw up my hands. “Throw me around like a ragdoll.”
He advanced on me, and I backed up until my back hit the wall, and I was caged in his arms. “Can’t I?”
“No.”
There was a gleam of amusement in his summer sky eyes and a sexy smirk on his face. God, he was so beautiful. I wanted to lick him all over. Lick off the beads of water trailing down his chest. But I forced myself to stand my ground as if this was a matter of huge importance. Which it wasn’t. I loved it when he played with me. “I’m not your little plaything.”
He grinned. “You….” He dipped his head and rubbed the side of his nose against mine, all playful and adorable. “Are my favorite little plaything.” The next thing I knew, his hands were on my waist, he spun me around, and I was airborne.
When I came up for air and swiped my hand over my face, a movement from the corner of my eye had me turning my head. Declan was standing on the patio, an espresso in his hand and a scowl on his face. He just shook his head and gave me a look that said, “You’re playing with fire,” before he went back inside.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Jesse
At this point,showing up for work wasn’t necessary. I had other shit to do with my time, and Mason didn’t expect me to be here. But after another poolside yoga session this morning, I worked on my jumps all afternoon, and then I had the evening free. So here I was.
What I didn’t want to admit, even to myself, was that I liked being around Quinn, and working at the brewery was just another excuse to hang out with her.
We’d spent the past week talking, laughing,fucking.
It was starting to feel like a lot more than just sex, but there was no point in turning it into something it wasn’t. When we got to California, we’d both be pursuing our dreams. Vastly different dreams, I reminded myself.
So when the time came to go our separate ways, I would let her go. It was the right thing to do. But for now, I was going to enjoy the ride.
I watched her from behind the bar as she chatted with her customers, a big smile on her face. Declan was always bitching about what a shitty waitress his sister was, but it didn’t seem to matter to the customers. They loved her.
I cleared some empties and wiped down the bar for a middle-aged couple who had just come in.
They ordered two beers on tap, and I filled the pint glasses, set them on the cardboard coasters in front of them, and turned to go.
“Are you from around here?” the woman asked.
I turned back around to face her. “Yes, ma’am. Born and raised.”
“We’re not from around here,” the man said, taking a pull of his beer. “But we sure do like what we’ve seen so far.”
The woman nodded. “It’s beautiful country. We like it so much we’re even thinking about moving here.”
“It’s a beautiful place to call home.”
We talked about what they’d seen so far, and I gave them recommendations on other spots they might enjoy. It was easy to extoll the virtues of Texas Hill Country. I loved California, but whenever I was away from home, I missed it.
Mason had disappeared with Carly, not sure what was going on there, so I moved down the bar to two guys who had just come in. The guy in a Troy Lee trucker pointed to one of the beers on tap. “Give us two IPAs.”
“What are you doing behind a bar?” he asked when I served their beers.
“Everyone’s gotta make a living somehow.” I’m not sure why I’d answered that way, but something about the way he’d asked rubbed me the wrong way. Like he knew who I was, and he was digging for information. His next words confirmed my suspicion.
“Guess so. Looks like you had a rough year,” he mused. “Couldn’t have been easy to settle for an eighth-place finish. But to just up and walk away like that.” He shook his head and let out a low whistle. “Kind of dramatic, wasn’t it?”
