Page 38 of Our Scorching Summer

“Hmm,princesa?”

A smile appears on my face, and I don’t bother scolding him for using the nickname. On the beach, with my bag ofcoxinhasand one of the hottest guys I know beside me, I feel a little regal. And, truthfully, I’m feeling much better after airing out my grievances with Nico. “Can we take a picture for Ave before you head back out into the water? She asked for one this morning.”

Nico nods. I set down my lunch, and pull my cell phone out of my bag’s side pocket. His large hand thuds on the armrest of my chair. My body jerks when Nico drags the chair across the sand, bringing me right beside him. Our knees knock together, the plastic armrests almost touching.

“Um…” I blink at him. An inferno spreads through my bloodstream at the gesture. The brief streak of resentment from him eating my lunch is nowhere to be found. Our gazes share time for a beat, then another, and another.

Nico dips into the silence between us. “How about that photo?”

Huh, right, my phone.

I scroll through my apps, all of them a blur of colors.

He only pulled my chair beside his. Nothing else. Why the fuck is my heart about to soar out of my vagina?

Focus.

Locate the camera.

Finally, I find what I’m looking for and stretch my hand out in front of me, centering us in the frame.

Nico adjusts the ringlets of chestnut curls on his head, and I watch him on the screen. Would his hair get as unruly if he were thrusting on top of me? The muscles along his jaw tense, and I almost lose it.

Off-limits.

OFF. LIMITS.

There’s no fucking way I can fantasize about any part of Nico doing any thrusting, tensing, licking, tasting, biting…

No.

Friends don’t think about their friends doing any of those things.

My platonic friend Nico.

I shake it off. Everything’s fine.

All I have to do is wait a few more hours before I can slip into Diego’s bed. Or maybe his roofless Jeep or in the palm trees by the fire. Then I can stop acting like a nymphomaniac.

“Ready?” I gulp.

Nico presses his shoulder against mine. “Smile big.”

After the brief photo shoot, Nico pulls the device from my hand. “Let me get one of you.”

My nose scrunches. “Right now?”

“Why not now?”

“I’m all sweaty after being hangry for the past hour. Also, I think your class is waiting for you.” I point to the students behind him, but Nico ignores me.

His eyes narrow. “Both of those are terrible forms of evidence.”

“Detective,” I plead, enjoying this game between us all too much. A little harmless interrogation never hurt anyone. “Your unit is waiting for you on the scene.”

“I can’t leave the scene without a picture of my prime suspect.”

“Fine, but this picture will never hold up in a court of law.”

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