Page 118 of If All Else Sails
“You...know? You’veknown?”
He rolls his eyes. “Dude. You’ve looked at her like a lovesick puppy for years. Hard to miss when I know you as well as I do. The question is—what are you going to do about it?”
That’s the question indeed.
“I do know one thing,” I tell him. “It’s time to implement The Plan.”
Jacob beams. “Really? The Plan? I didn’t think you were ever going to agree.”
“What’s ‘The Plan’?” Van asks, using finger quotes.
Before either Jacob or I can answer, Josie returns from the bathroom, effectively ending the conversation.
“Wow. This looks like an intense conversation,” Josie says, dropping back in her seat. “What’d I miss?”
Chapter28
Purely Scientific
Josie
I had no idea going to the beach could be so...challenging.
Not discovering sand in unmentionable places or dealing with hair tangled from salt water and humidity or even getting sunburned.
It’s thethighs.
“That’s mine!” Van shouts, leaping across Eli to snag the Frisbee out of the air. When he lands in a crouch, grinning, his quads flex in a way that’s hard not to stare at. Especially when his shorts end about six inches above his knees, just like the other guys on the beach.
Including my brother, whose pasty-white legs I could have done without seeing.
“I’m not interested in Van,” I tell Jib, who’s watching the guys play with similar interest. “Or his thighs. I’m not even into thighs. Or I wasn’t? It’s just...”
I don’t bother finishing the thought. Not because I’m talkingto a dog but because there’s no need to explain. Anyone seeing Van, Eli, and Wyatt running around in their apparently stylish short shorts would understand.
All of them are clearly athletes, though all have different builds. Van is shorter than Eli or Wyatt with a stockier build and a massive dragon tattooed on his chest. Wyatt and Eli both are a little lankier, though with no shortage of impressive muscle groups from their shoulders to their abs. But it’s the athletes’ quads that set them apart from normal humans.
Massive. Bulky. Flexing with even the smallest movements.
I’m not even sure what game they’re playing with the Frisbee. Nor do I care.
“I’m not ogling,” I say, and I swear Jib snorts. “I’m observing. Like a scientist.”
Okay, there’s nothing scientific about the way I stare when Wyatt wrestles with Eli over the next throw. I had no idea legs even had so many muscle groups.
“Enjoying the game?”
Jacob startles me, likely on purpose, as he appears next to me, hands on hips and a little out of breath.
“Or,” he adds with a smirk, “just enjoying the view?”
I smack him on the calf, and he grunts. “Shut up.”
“Do you see the appeal of athletes now?” he asks, clearly not even close to being done giving me a hard time. “I would have arranged something like this years ago had I known you were so...into it.”
“Will you stop? Please?”
“Probably not.” But he does dash off, snatching a Frisbee from Wyatt’s hands.
