“Better hurry up, Banks, or Ryan’s going to move in on your woman. And, seeing how those cans have grown, I have a feeling he won’t be the only one.” Chris wiggled his eyebrows at me.
Jenna scoffed and gave him a playful shove.
“What?! I’m just saying. Sierra definitely grew up over the summer,” he said, holding his hands out in front of his chest.
I scowled at him. “We get it, Chris.”
“Oh, you get it?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. “Then you better hurry up and go get it before someone beats you to the punch.”
Just as I was about to rise from my spot on the towel, Sierra escaped Ryan’s hold and headed our way. Everything around me slowed down, and all sounds disappeared. All I saw was her.
Holy freaking shit.
“Holy shit!”
I’d just spotted Jeremy with a few of his friends when Ryan Harper intercepted me. He wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me in way too close for comfort. I glared at Jenna, and she gave me a sympathetic look. She wasn’t feeling too bad for me, though, because after giving him a quick hello, she scampered off, leaving me behind with the biggest horndog in our entire class. No, possibly the entire school.
“Damn, girl!” he said, bringing my attention back to him.
I struggled to not roll my eyes.
“Where’ve you been hiding all summer?”
I faked a smile, hoping that giving him a little bit of face time would get me out of there sooner. “Oh, I was in Ohio, visiting my grandma. We just got back last night.”
He whistled as his gaze roamed my body. I shifted uncomfortably, unused to that sort of examination. In this new bikini, I’d never felt more exposed.
“Well, I’d say the summer was good to you, Sierra. You’re smokin’ hot.”
A blush rose to my cheeks. “Umm, thanks, Ryan. Hope you had a good summer. I haven’t seen Jeremy since I got back and I want to go say hi.”
“Oh, Banks? I’m sure he’ll be fine. Heather’s probably here somewhere, and I’ve heard they got hot and heavy, if you know what I mean.” His innuendo was clear, and my heart sank. Then he leaned in close. “And, between us, there’s someone else who’s been waiting for you to get back.”
I frowned, hoping like hell he didn’t mean himself. “Who?”
“Moyer. Word on the street is that he’s got his eye on you.”
I was intrigued, but I wish I could’ve said I was more interested. Sure, Danny Moyer was hot as hell and, from what I’d heard on the cheerleading squad, an amazing kisser. But, after that bash party, I’d felt nothing. Other than drunk, that is. And I hadn’t spent my summer thinking about him. Actually, I hadn’t thought of him at all.
Maybe that was my problem. Maybe I was so stuck on Jeremy because I hadn’t let myself like anyone else. Maybe it was time to finally let go a little bit. Spread my wings, so to speak.
But first things first.
I gave Ryan a smile and waved off in the distance, not actually at anyone but pretending so I could get away. “I guess we’ll see what happens. But I gotta go. See you around!”
Before he could respond, I walked past him and made my way towards Jeremy’s group. The whole time, I scoured the beach for Heather. Thankfully, she was nowhere to be found.
As I approached, Jeremy shifted and squirmed. He looked away from me as my shadow covered his towel. All of a sudden, nerves attacked my senses. Since when was I nervous around Jeremy, let alone from just saying hi? And why wasn’t he looking at me?
“Gee, what a warm welcome,” I told him, teasing.
His face reddened, and Chris’s laughter broke the awkward silence that had descended on the group.
“Yeah, Banks. Get up and greet her. It’s been two months. You two haven’t been apart for more than two days before. We’re all eager for this reunion.”
He didn’t move. Hell, he didn’t even so much as glance in my direction. Apparently, Chris was wrong. We weren’t all eager.
Hot tears filled my eyes, but I was not going to let him see me cry. If things had changed that much over the summer that he couldn’t even say hi, then I wasn’t going to stay there to be humiliated in front of all of our friends. Just as I was about to move away, Jeremy grimaced and moved his hands to his swim trunks. My eyes flicked down and widened when I saw the bulge in his shorts.
Oh my God.
He was hard.
No wonder he wouldn’t look at me. Had Heather just been here? Was she coming back?
The questions kept rolling in my brain, and I knew I had to get out of there. I started to back away.
“Sierra, wait,” he called, his voice hoarse and tight, sounding almost pained.
Waves of relief poured over me when he pushed up from his beach towel. His large hand reached for mine, sparking an unexpected jolt of electricity as our fingers curled around each other’s. He pulled me away from the group, taking us far down the beach, and didn’t stop until we were hidden behind a sand dune, away from all eyes. So much for them witnessing our reunion. Not that I minded the privacy.
“Miss me?” I asked, breathless as he wrapped his arms around me. I nearly gasped when his erection pressed against my bare stomach. But I didn’t move away. I just laid my head against his muscular chest and inhaled his familiar scent, wondering how in the hell I had gone two months without this.
His hand came to my lower back, where he stroked my skin. Goose bumps rose underneath his touch, and even in the ninety-plus-degree weather, I couldn’t stop the shiver of pleasure from running down my spine. His head fell to the curve of my neck. Then he turned his head, his hot breath heating my skin.
“God, yes. You have no idea how much. Never go away again.”
My heart fluttered. I wanted to promise right then and there that I’d never leave him. To tell him that, for as long as he wanted me, I’d be his.
But I didn’t.
“I won’t,” was all I could muster.
I have no idea how long we stood there in the sand, holding each other close, nothing but the sounds of the surf and distant beachgoers filling the air around us. It was as if we were soaking each other up like all of those sunbathers were soaking up the sun. I was Jeremy Banks deficient and only being held by him could remedy that situation.
Finally, he pulled away, much to my disappointment. His eyes were hooded as his they roamed over my body. Unlike Ryan’s lecherous stare, Jeremy’s was appreciative. I didn’t feel uncomfortable. I felt beautiful.
He ran a hand through his messy hair then cleared his throat. “We should probably get back. I didn’t mean to steal you away from everyone the second you showed up. I just…I just missed my best friend. That’s all.”
I nodded and allowed him to lead me back to the blanket where everyone else was hanging out.
That’s all?
That was everything and nothing at the same time.
And it was finally time that I had to let Jeremy Banks go.
Because he was right. He’d missed his best friend. That was all.
That was all it’d ever be.
AS EXCITED AS I’D been for Sierra’s return, I had been completely unprepared for what had greeted me that day on the beach. She was still Sierra, of course—but holy hell, she blew me away. I didn’t want to be a shallow asshole, and I’d gotten hard for her many times since that day in my bedroom. This was different, however. She had curves in all the right places, and any angst she’d had the last time we had seen each other about her…small boobs…could definitely be eliminated. To say she had blossomed over the summer would be an understatement.