Reba
Devon had lefther on read again. Reba wasn’t about to let that slide. He had opened the lines of communication, and if he thought she was just going back to being ignored, he definitely had another thing coming. Especially since they were about to come face-to-face at some point this weekend, whether he knew that or not.
She and her girls, Trina and Ayo, had arrived at the beach house at the crack of dawn on Saturday morning. Reba had put her bathing suit on from home, so once she removed her shorts, she was ready to hit some waves. She’d let Cherisse know she was here and would come check in on them in a few.
Reba hadn’t planned to be in the beach house next to the Kings and Cherisse, but as fate would have it, that’s exactly what went down not long after she had told Devon where she would be this weekend. Keiran had gotten this last-minute surprise in his head, and Reba, being the ever-helpful assistant to his girlfriend, had offered to hook him up. And voilà, here they were.
She hadn’t told Devon anything because she wanted a grand reveal, especially since he had read her message last night and not responded. How rude!
Well, she’d be dealing with his fine ass soon enough.
She strutted down the steps and dug her toes into the sand before throwing her hands up and inhaling a lungful of the sea scent. Ah, bliss. Just what she needed this weekend. Cherisse and Keiran would be leaving soon, so she was making it her goal to ensure Ms. King kept having fun for the duration of their time. She had appointed herself the Fun Ambassador for this weekend, and she took her role seriously.
Tossing her towel onto the railing of the stairs, she made her way over to the shoreline and let the water rush over her feet. By the time Trina and Ayo joined her with some beach mats and breakfast, she had already gotten some good salt and sea in.
She turned to survey the beach house next door, wondering if anyone was up yet when she spied a man on the balcony squinting down at her. The scowl was familiar, even from this distance. Well, well, now was the time for her perfect entrance. She towelled off, still facing him before turning to her friends.
“Be right back. I see movement over there. The Kings have risen.”
She strutted up the stairs enjoying the way Devon’s eyes narrowed with each step that brought her closer.
“Well, good morning, neighbour.”
He blinked at her, his casual lean against the railing turning tense, his grip tightening on his mug. “What are you doing here?”
She pointed at the house next door. “I told you my plans, didn’t I? Surprise!” She cocked her hip, giving him the exact same pose she had in the photo she’d sent him yesterday.
His eyes dipped right to the curve before swiftly swinging up to meet her gaze. “That can’t be right.”
“Imagine my utter delight when I told Keiran I would hook him and his moms up this weekend, and Trina’s mom had a house right next door to us. She rents out beach houses up this side, and here we are.”
“You’re the reason I’m forced to change my weekend plans?”
“You act as if spending time with your mother on her birthday is a chore.” She spread her arms wide. “Besides, aren’t you glad you get to see the bathing suit in person? Perfect choice, no?”
He didn’t answer, just kept scowling at her. Even in his casual beach shorts and t-shirt, Devon didn’t look the slightest bit relaxed. How someone could be this tense with a gorgeous blue sky and waves crashing right there was beyond her. Someone needed to help him loosen up, and Reba was rethinking her earlier stance on volunteering to do just that. Devon would never go for something like that, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t try.
“I guess Mission: Scandalise The Beachgoers has been unlocked if nothing else,” he finally muttered.
Reba laughed. She hadn’t actually done that yet, considering there weren’t many people out and about at this hour, but she’d get to it. Her ass was a work of art that needed to be shown off. If Devon wasn’t going to appreciate it, someone else would. With schools closed for the holiday period, the beach tended to get crowded on the weekends, especially after lunch. She would have multiple eyes on her eventually.
“Hmm. On that note, it’s pretty rude to read someone’s message and not reply, no?”
“I didn’t read your message, what are you talking about?” His brow furrowed even more. The man would prematurely give himself wrinkles with all this unnecessary workout his forehead was getting.
“It said you did.” She had seen the little checkmarks last night as she had been tossing too many bathing suit options into her cute bag.
They were only here for the weekend, but Reba needed choices. Her mood could call for a sexy colourful bikini or an equally hot monokini, cut high on the leg with no back to speak of at all—like what she was currently wearing. She needed to be prepared.
“Must have accidentally done that,” he mumbled.
“Wow, so you had no intention of replying to my very serious message? Shame on you. That was a quality meme right there.”
Devon took another sip from his mug, closing his eyes for a second as if to savour the taste—or gather his strength to continue engaging in conversation. Reba assumed the latter. He didn’t seem to enjoy conversing just for fun. Or good ass memes, either.
“I was trying to reply to a work message this morning. Must have clicked you by mistake.”
“You really don’t know the meaning of rest and relaxation, do you?” Reba shook her head, her pink plait swishing around her shoulders. She was quite fond of the pastel colour. It reminded her of cotton candy, which was apt, really. She could definitely melt in some mouths once pressure was applied just right.