Page 5 of Sins of a Rebel

I’m not blind. I’ve noticed how her eyes linger on me, especially when she knows Madden isn’t paying attention. He may not have noticed, but I know for a fact Brix has.

He’s given me shit about it for months.

“You thinkin’ about picking up surfing?”

“Nah.” I chuckle. “You’d never catch me on one of those things. I have a better idea. You up for it?” I ask, nodding toward my pickup.

She pulls her sunglasses off, and this time, she doesn’t hide her excitement.

“Where are we going?”

I haven’t thought this through until she climbs into the front seat next to me.

I take all the same familiar roads leading to my house near the water. It’s probably not a good idea, considering the guys always drop by my place.

It’s where we leave our equipment and practice. I moved in with my grandmother when I was fifteen, needing to get away from my mom. When my grandmother passed away a year later, she left me her house and an inheritance to help care for me until I turned eighteen.

It made the most sense for us to practice at my place since I had the space and no one around to be bothered by our loud music.

“I guess I hadn’t thought that far ahead.”

“We could always go down to the boardwalk, maybe find somewhere on the beach away from the crowd to hang out.”

“You’re already trying to get me alone?” I jest.

“Yes.” She grins.

I’m not sure what I expected her to say or how she’d act now that the two of us are alone again. When she reaches for the hem of her tank top and pulls it over her head, I’m grateful I have half a mind to check I’m still driving on the road before my gaze darts back to her.

She reaches over, turning the volume up on the radio before resting her body against the door. She leans her head and arm out the window, soaking in the sunshine and letting the warm breeze wash over her.

Something about her carefree side shined like a beacon of light on all the dark corners of my world.

I couldn’t let myself think about how wrong I was for her, but dammit if I didn’t wish it were different.

I had the chance to be with Kyla, to have her alone and all to myself. I was going to take it and hold on to it with every ounce of strength in me.

When we pull down by the beach, rows of cars are parked along the pier. Surfboards line the strip. People relax on their beach towels with children laughing in the background as the waves crash into them, washing up onto the shoreline.

“This isn’t what I had in mind when you said alone.” I chuckle, glancing out the window as teenagers climb out of a packed car with their beach bags and towels in hand, taking off toward the water.

“Me either.” She giggles, tilting her head back against the headrest. “We could always walk farther down toward the pier. It’s a little less crowded that way.”

“Let’s do it,” I say.

I’m thankful I decided to swap out my jeans for a pair of shorts and a tank top. Otherwise, I would’ve stuck out like a sore thumb.

I pull my hat down on my head and slip on my sunglasses, hoping not to draw any unwanted attention.

We slip off our shoes, letting our feet sink into the warm sand. The sun starts to disappear behind the clouds, leaving the sky overcast. Word on the radio this morning talked about a storm rolling in.

The farther we get away from the water, the more distant the sound of laughter is, replaced with the water lapping against the coastline. We stand next to each other, lost in thought as we stare off into the distance at the colliding waves.

The approaching storm is turning the sky a mixture of dark blue and purple.

“Looks like the storm will be here before too long. I should’ve picked a better day, huh?”

She shrugs, lifting her hand to her eyes to shield her from the sun peeking through the clouds. “I think it’s perfect.”

---