Page 100 of Entangled

My eyes drop to the deep cuts of Jace’s Adonis belt before he turns to walk away and I sigh sadly at the loss of the view.

I’m going to lick my way clear across that fuckingVcut tonight.

“That’s nice.” Tommy’s amused voice sounds and my eyes pop open as I jerk my head to him.

“Oops.”

“Come on.” He laughs. “Let’s find Jace’s blanket and sit.”

I take a sip from the water bottle and follow Tommy around the bonfire. Only almost stumbling once, if I do say so myself. I make sure to give Sam a bratty smirk when I pass her and stick my tongue out over my shoulder, earning a look of shock that I’m still enjoying as Tommy stops at a blue blanket. I plop down onto the blanket happily as he takes a seat next to me.

“So Jace told me you spent the past year in Europe, right?” Tommy asks, and I nod while taking another sip of water. “I did the whole backpacking thing after college too. Where did you go?”

“Hmm,” I muse, looking up and trying to remember the route we took. “My friends and I started in Berlin, then went down to Czech Republic because that’s where my mom was from, then Austria, Italy, France, and Spain before hopping over to do the UK. Then went up to Norway and Sweden before hitting up the Netherlands.” I cock my head in thought, trying to make my brain fire through the haze of tequila and decide to summarize the rest briefly for both our sakes. “After that, we worked our way through the Eastern European countries and ended in Greece.” I bring my eyes back to Tommy’s. “It was a bit of a convoluted path, but it worked.”

He laughs and nods his head in agreement. “Damn, so you really did do it all.”

“It was a year well spent.” And much needed.

“Agreed. I loved Greece when I went. That’s a great place to end.”

“Oh yeah.” I nod. “I ate it up, there’s something about being around all that ancient history that makes your life seem… I don’t know, more manageable, bearable. It was a great place to end.” Dropping back onto the blanket, I look up at the stars just starting to come to life in the dusky sky and sigh. “But I actually started in Costa Rica, technically, I guess.”

“Really?” He dips his head to look down at me, brows dropping. “Where?”

I pause for a second in memory before mumbling. “Cahuita.”

Tommy’s silence drags for a long minute and I flick my eyes to him, finding his gaze on my chest.

Well, hello there, sir.

Propping up on my elbows, I cock a brow at him. “Tommy?”

“Uh.” He looks up at me and clears his throat. “Sorry, what town did you say?”

“Ca-hui-ta.” I sound out tipsily with another giggle and look to the fire, seeing Jace coming back down from farther up the beach. “It’s this little village on the Caribbean Sea.”

“Right,” he says softly, falling silent again and I look back to find his eyes on my chest again.

“Are you checking me out, Tommy?”

He jerks his eyes back to mine in surprise. “What?”

“Because while I do find you adorable…” I smirk and nod my head to Jace. “I’m pretty sure Jace has already called dibs… and the feeling is mutual.”

“Um. No.” He laughs awkwardly, eyes drifting down for a second before lifting. “No. Sorry.” He turns his head to see where Jace is coming up on the other side of the bonfire. “I, uh, have to use the bathroom.”

I watch Tommy get up and walk quickly around the bonfire, cutting Jace off on the other side and grabbing his arm. They’re close enough that I can see their mouths moving but too far for me to hear what’s being said. Tommy looks tense, mouth moving fast and is casting his eyes nervously my way. A few seconds later, Jace throws his head back with a laugh and I can clearly see him mouth the words “No way.” as he brings his head back down. I watch as Tommy gives him one last look before pressing his lips together, shaking his head and walking away.

Huh. Maybe Tommy is into voyeurism or something. And while Jace and I might be a little more on the exhibitionist side… Yeah, I don’t see him going for that. Or me, for that matter. Well, probably.

Jace narrows his eyes and watches Tommy walk away for a moment before shaking his head and turning back to the bonfire. His eyes find me and he stares for a moment as if lost in thought, like he’s looking at me but not really seeing me. I cock my head at him in question but he just shakes his head again, giving me a small grin and bringing a hand up to make a gesture like Tommy’s losing his mind. Giving him a nod, I watch as he comes up to the bonfire and am surprised when he sits down on the other side of it from me. He pops open his guitar case, pulling it out and picking at a few strings while getting situated in the sand.

Those dimples flash as he lifts his head, playful eyes locking with mine. “Hey, Blondie,” he calls out, pulling his bottom lip through his teeth. “You think you’re sober enough to pay attention? Because I’ve been practicing this one and it’d be a shame if you missed it.”

Oh.Oh. He’s performing for me.

My lips twitch up into a smirk and I sit up, giving him my full attention. “I’m with you, Dawson.” I cock a brow playfully, using our words.

---