Page 20 of Fighting the Tide
“Are you okay, baby?”Surprise filters through me from the pet name as she nearly falls into me, her hand grabbing the front of my sweater as she tries to steady herself.“Don’t you want to like… drink and smoke some pot with me?”
I can’t judge her for the things she wants to do at a party, very normal things, even though it’s so far from what I want to do.Maybe it has something to do with Avery sitting there and watching me become the very thing she accused me of.“No, I just… I’m tired and want to go for a walk.”
“Okay.Let’s go.You wanna walk… we’re gonna go for a walk.”She walks to the fire and I’m surprised with how steady she is on the sand.She bends over and swipes a bottle of whiskey, then comes back to me.“Let’s go to the lighthouse.”
“Are you serious?”I draw my head back with surprise.“I don’t think I can handle a repeat of the last time, Brooke.”
Her body slips against mine and all I can feel is the static of eyes on us as she leans in and presses her mouth to my ear.“I have no reason to end it all, Nolan.Not anymore.You’ve shown me what it’s like to have someone truly care.”She pulls back, her hazel eyes shining with unshed tears.“I just feel a connection to you and that place.”
I know what she means about the connection between us, but my experience there was completely different from hers.I pull the bottle out of her hand and drop it to the sand, knowing she’s had enough and I don’t want a single drop.Instead of walking in the opposite direction, I nod and begin to lead us away from the crowd and the prying eyes of my best friend.Brooke’s hand wraps around mine once more as I take in the new faces around us.Tourists.
Our beaches are no longer just ours and for the next two and a half months, we’ll be forced to share everything from our town to our waters.I let out a frustrated sigh and hope I can turn my attitude around to at least enjoy myself tonight.
“Are you leaving, Brookie?”a guy with near-white blond hair calls out as he raises a large joint into the air.
“Who is that?”I ask her as she waves him off, her chuckle making my stomach turn.
“Thatis Sean Clark.”When I give her a confused look, she tips her head back and laughs.“His mother is Emilia Winters, the actress, and his father is Adam Clark.”
“The director?”I clarify as I look over my shoulder.
“Yep.”She squeezes my hand and I look down at her with a sigh.
“I’m not used to hanging out with high-profile tourists.”
“You and Avery are still not talking,” Brooke surmises as we walk toward the structure in the distance.“You didn’t tell me why.”
“I don’t really want to talk about it.”I shrug and kick at some sand.The last person I want to tell about mine and Avery’s disagreement is Brooke.She’s vulnerable, and not to mention, we’re heading straight for the perfect place where she can nosedive away from her problems.Literally.
“Was it because of me?”She sounds so small, so sad, and it pulls at my heart in my chest.We continue walking, both of our gazes on the sand beneath our feet.
“No.It’s about Avery and the things she says without bothering to think first.”It’s not a complete lie and it’s about as far as I’ll go to speak about what’s happening between Avery and me.
“Cassie and I fight all the time,” Brooke reveals, as if it’s the most normal thing in the world.“She’s always trying to take what’s mine.Like you.”The air is ripped from my lungs at the possessiveness of her words.I don’t know how to feel about Brooke staking her claim on me with her friends.It’s outside of the bubble we’ve created and I’m not sure what it all means.We still haven’t discussed what we are and I don’t think I’m ready to put a label on anything.
“I’m not interested in Cassie,” I tell her as I step over a piece of driftwood.“I have things I’m concentrating on right now.”It sounds vague and I hope it’s not about to set her off.
“Like Columbia.”She nods and I exhale the breath I’m holding in my chest.
“Yeah, like Columbia.”I release her hand to pull open the wooden gate in front of the lighthouse just as drops of rain begin to fall on us.“Shit, that beach party is going to shut down real quick.”I usher Brooke inside as she laughs, her jog a little clumsy.
“Have you never partied on the beach during a storm?”She pushes the door to the lighthouse open as I run inside.“Things become so intense andwet.”I shut the door, and turn to look at her, knowing I heard the innuendo.
Her body slams into mine and my back hits the metal door, thethudechoing off the walls.“Brooke—”
I’m cut off when her mouth claims mine in a kiss so brutal, I’m too shocked to reciprocate.Her tongue slips between my lips and I wrap my arms around her waist.Maybe it’s wrong to do these things with her when I haven’t made my intentions clear.How can I when I don’t know what I want?She begins to rub herself against the reaction she’s getting, and the sound coming from her chest can only be described as a purr.The low rumble skates down my spine in a flurry of electric static and hits me between the legs, making me lose all thought.I just want to forget what’s waiting for me at home, I want to stop stressing about college, and I just want to forget who I am for one night.
So instead of putting a stop to what we’re doing, I begin to pull her shirt up over her head, breaking the kiss to haul it off and throw it to the floor.Her breasts heave over the top of her pink lace bra, the hardened nipples begging for my touch.
“I’m matching,” she pants as she pulls on the button of her pants and lowers the zipper.My eyes skim over the toned plane of her stomach and then she’s shimmying out of her jeans to reveal a matching set of panties.I groan into my fist, my teeth biting into the knuckle to stave off the release my balls are begging for.Her sandals are kicked off, her pants thrown aside, and then she’s standing in front of me, all pink and begging to be touched.
“Fuck,” I hiss as her hands pull on my sweater, forcing me to help her pull it off, and when it’s thrown into our pile of clothing, her soft palms run over my chest and abs.
“You’re so muscular, Nolan.Kasen would be so jealous.”Her words are mumbled, but I hear every syllable.Instead of his name putting me into a rage, I swell with the compliment.I may not have money and I sure as shit am a nobody in this town, but I have the hottest girl in Chatham telling me I’d make the star quarterback jealous.
We’re a war of tongue and teeth, a battle of hands and bra clasps, but somehow we end up on top of our pile of clothing without a barrier between her skin and mine.Both of us are slick with perspiration, and as the rain pelts off the tin roof, my fingers sink into her warmth for the first time.My mouth seals around her nipple as her nails dig into my back, her whispered pleas sounding tortured.I grind into her, knowing I won’t be able to hold back and stop this from going too far, I’m already past the point of no return.
I leave her warmth and reach into my jeans pocket to pull out my wallet, the leather worn and thin.Inside its folds, I have a foil packet that’s been waiting patiently for the last few weeks.I knew Brooke and I were going to get to this point and I didn’t want a repeat of my parents’ life.I plan on breaking the cycle.I put the wrapper between my teeth and rip it open as Brooke moans for me to hurry.
