Page 4 of Ghost on the Shore

I look away from Damien. “I’m not like that.”

“I’m just saying that I’m flattered.”

He’s teasing me and I don’t like it. “I have a brother. I know it’s not easy for a guy to walk up to a girl and ask if she wants a drink or if she wants to dance. I’m never rude when I say no.”

“I never said you were rude.” When I don’t answer he leans in. “Hey, I didn’t mean anything by it, I swear.”

“Some guy called me a bitch tonight. He asked if I wanted a drink, and when I thanked him but told him no, that I was here with my friends, he didn’t take no for an answer. I’m always nice about it but guys do that a lot. Am I supposed to say yes, encourage the guy waste ten bucks on a drink that I don’t want? What if I’m not interested?”

“I guess I never looked at it from a woman’s perspective. Walking up to a girl and getting shot down does suck, but you raise a good point.” He looks to the empty beer bottle I put on the bar a moment before. “And just for the record, I never asked if you wanted a drink.”

“That’s right, you didn’t. Guess I can’t shoot you down then.”

“Oh, you can,” he says as he signals the bartender for another round, “because I’m dying to kiss you right now.”

I cough and laugh at the same time. “Excuse me? You don’t even know me.”

“I like everything you’ve showed me so far.” He hands me a bottle. “No pressure, though.”

I take a long pull off my beer to quell my nerves because I’m about to do somethingwayout of character. “Come here, Damien.”

He takes one step closer, then another. There’s less than an inch of space between us when I angle up towards him and touch my lips to his. One strong arm slips around my waist and slowly draws me in closer. He makes a satisfied humming noise when I’m pressed up against him, and then he takes over, using his other hand to cradle my head and hold me close as he nips and licks his way into my mouth.

I choose to ignore the voice in my head screaming:Get a hold of yourself, Grace!because my Lord, Damien is a good kisser. Not too soft, not too forceful, not too sloppy, but just the perfect amount of wet. I’m up on my toes again and his hands have slid down to cup my ass. And then he makes contact, presses the front seam of his jeans up against mine. I can feel my eyes flutter, open then close again, the sensation so good that I feel damn near faint.

From behind Damien I can hear a few people clapping, then a girl’s voice calling out, “Can you say slut?”

He breaks the kiss and turns on them. “What did you—”

“Damien?” She looks surprised before covering her mouth to hide her smile. “I didn’t realize it was you.” Still amused, she looks me over. “Maybe you two should get a room or something?”

One of the morons who started that lame slow clap is now practically doubled over laughing. The other guy slaps Damien’s back. I’m sure my cheeks are burning a crimson shade of red while all this good-natured bro ribbing is going on, and as the seconds tick by, I’m more than regretting my decision to lock lips with this stranger.

Damien clears his throat. “Guys, this is Grace. Grace, these are my buddies, Andrew and Eli.” Looking to the girl who threw down the slut comment and still hasn’t apologized, he says, “This is Eli’s sister,” before turning his back on her.

The sister, who looks like a dead ringer for Penelope Cruz—so picture brown hair and brown eyes like me, yetnothinglike me—puts a hand on his shoulder and wedges her way back into the group. “Rude, Damien. Aren’t you going to properly introduce me to your new friend?”

“Grace, this is Gianna.”

“Hi, Grace. Nice to meet you.”

I don’t need intuition or a sixth sense to tell me that Gianna is not a genuine sort of person. She still has her hand on Damien’s shoulder, she’s sticking her chest out, has her head cocked to the side like she’s challenging me, and her smile is doing a poor job of masking the snarky, condescending vibe she’s giving off. She’s a character right out of that movie,Mean Girls, so ridiculous that it’s comical.

“Is it?”

“What?”

Now she’s looking at me as if I’m slightly deranged. And maybe I am. On any other given day, a girl like Gianna would intimidate me. I steer clear of people like her. But tonight I’m different. I’m the kind of girl who can talk and flirt with a guy without second guessing every single thing I say. I’m the kind of girl who will make out with a handsome stranger in the back of a bar. Tonight I don’t take any crap.

“Is it nice to meet me?”

Damien clears his throat and steps closer to me. “I’m thinking Grace might be offended by that comment you made. I know I was.” The hand he had resting on my hip now begins to caress that spot, and I decide that I like him even more now than I did a minute ago.

She looks to him. “Are you being serious right now?”

His eyes soften and something passes between them that makes me feel excluded. “It just wasn’t called for, G.”

He has a nickname for her. He knows her well.

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