I hide on the beach for the next hour while they finish setting up the backyard.
I have no idea what I'm doing. I thought I was helping him by letting him see me. I wanted to remind him that I'm not his to kiss in front of everyone. To be claimed. I thought I made that clear. But this ... sucks. Because I like kissing him. And talking to him. Fuck! I like him. What the hell am I supposed to do with that?
Because I'm also afraid of him. Or more accurately, of being destroyed by him.
When a few more people arrive, they all come down to the beach and Stefan recruits me to play sand volleyball, claiming they're short a player--although Ashton is sitting on a chair, watching. And she's tall and plays volleyball for Blackwood. I've seen pictures.
"I'm officiating," she tells me with a shrug, like it can't be helped.
Of every sport there is, this is the one I truly and completely suck at more than any other. It's not a small person's sport--I can't spike or block; I get pummeled by my teammates because they don't see me under them when we both go for the ball, and I can't serve to save my life. I can dig. It's the only thing I'm decent at because I'm already that much closer to the ground.
Predictably, Grant is on my team. And just to torture me, he's shirtless.
I stand in front of the net, staring down my nemesis. "You're going to spend the game eating the ball from all the spikes someone else is going to shove down your throat."
"You're adorable," Brendan says with a wink, totally killing my shit-talk. "Can you even reach the top of the net?"
I flip him off and hear someone laugh. No, correction. I know exactly who's laughing.
Grant.
It's four on four, or three and a half, because I really am only half a player.
"Do you know how to set up the ball for a spike?" Grant asks me when we're positioned next to each other in front of the net. I have my hands resting on my knees, like I know what I'm doing. But really, I'm just imitating everyone else.
"No," I tell him.
He takes the ball and demonstrates, tapping it straight up in the air with his fingertips. Then he tosses it over the net for Squirrel to serve.
"If you do that, as high as I did, this far in front of me," he indicates with his hand, "I'll take care of the rest."
"Okay," I reply, trying to sound like I understood. I didn't really.
My team basically plays around me, hitting the ball before it's even remotely low enough for me to reach it, spiking it and throwing themselves on the sand like they're desperate to return a grenade before it hits the ground and explodes. I just try to stay out of their way.
"Nicely done, Lana!" Ashton claps when I fall on my butt, barely avoiding getting trampled on by Lance.
"Sorry," he says, offering his hand to help me up. "Didn't see you there."
Our potential victory has come down to this game point. Grant and I are on the line again. "This is it. Lana. You're going to set me up." He doesn't look over at me, anticipating where the serve will go, but he offers that crooked grin that I'm fall--nope, not that ...that I like, a lot.
The ball goes back and forth over the net. I tilt my head and watch it. As if Grant beckoned it, the ball starts floating down to me. I have a second to realize no one is coming to knock me out of the way. This is all mine. So ... I tip it back into the air with my fingertips. It doesn't rebound quite as high as Grant's did, but it's still high enough for him to jump up and slam it down, making a deep indent in the sand on the other side.
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Our team hollers in triumph. Grant turns to ... I think he's about to hug me, but I slap his hand. Yup. I just gave him a high-five.
"Good job!" I say, like he's a six-year-old. Grant's brows furrow. Stefan pats him on the back. Lance rushes in from behind to pick me up and spin me around.
"Lana, I'm so proud of you. That was so good, my little pixie!"
I laugh and almost topple over when he sets me back down.
The group has gotten bigger by now, but it's still maybe only about twenty people.
I sit on a chair next to Ashton, and Grant settles on the sand in front of us.
"How did you do on the chemistry test?" he asks.