Some Kind of Normal

Okay, the little lime green bikini was one thing, but when a guy is presented with a beautiful half-naked girl, sometimes it’s hard for him to keep his thoughts on the straight and narrow, if you get my drift.

I took a step back, wincing and swearing at the shooting pain in my knee. I’m not sure if it was the swearing or maybe she was just suddenly aware that she was no longer alone, but Everly glanced over her shoulder, hands across her chest, and for a second, our eyes connected in such a way that I felt it like a physical touch.

Keep your eyes above her shoulders.

I repeated those words more than a few times, because we were both kind of frozen. She was surprised, and I was unsure how to proceed without coming across as a pervert.

With one hand she slowly took out her earbuds, the other still holding her top in place.

“Hey,” I managed to say.

Wow. Lame approach.

“You look hot,” Everly replied, eyes sliding away when the grin I couldn’t help opened up nice and wide.

“Thanks.”

“I meant that…”

“I know.” I glanced down at my bare chest, slick with sweat.

“How did you know I was here?”

“I remembered you mentioning this place a few weeks back when we were at Baker’s Landing.”

Her eyes were on me again, and damn if my heart didn’t kick it up a notch. Man, if this kept up, I’d pass out, and it wouldn’t be from heatstroke. What was it about this girl that touched me? The unanswered questions? Was that it? Was she a challenge? Or was it the way her eyes reflected deeper and darker things? Things that maybe I recognized.

My gaze dropped to her bare back. Or was it all that smooth, naked skin? The lime green bikini? Because, first off, I was dying to touch her, and second, I was, after all, a seventeen-year-old guy who hadn’t been with a girl in months. Not since Bailey.

Maybe that’s what all this was. Maybe I just needed to get laid.

As soon as that thought hit me, I gave myself a mental shake. What the hell? This was Everly. Who was I kidding? This here, whatever it was that I had with her, was so much more than hooking up with some girl. If all I wanted was a quick lay, I could have gotten that Friday night. Jess had made it clear that she was totally into the idea of the two of us getting physical.

Everly moved a bit and nodded at the space beside her. She didn’t say anything, and I walked over.

“Could you?” she asked, her voice so quiet and low it took a few moments to sink in.

I swallowed, eyes glued to all that smooth bare skin. Man up, Lewis, I told myself.

Gingerly, I reached for her and grasped the two thin pieces of her bikini top together. And totally reverted to ninth grade when Melissa Byers let me touch her boobs. I was all thumbs, trying to tie the stupid thing together. Seriously, my youngest cousin could tie his shoes faster than what I was doing.

My knuckles grazed her skin—accidentally, I swear—the Sanskrit symbol taunting me as I looked down.

Strength.

Yeah. I was going to need a lot of it.

She shifted and her hip pushed into me.

Man. And then some.

Chapter Sixteen

Everly

I think a part of me expected Trevor to eventually show up, because as much as I was startled to see him standing behind me, it wasn’t because I was surprised. It was because he was half-naked. Half-naked with skin that shone from heat and sweat.

I dragged my eyes away, but not so fast that I didn’t notice a few things.