The Perfect Indulgence

“Yeah?” She could hear the pleasure in his voice. “So does that mean we can do it? Right now? On the beach? Without protection? I hear girls don’t get pregnant the first time if they—”

Summer let out a howl of pretend horror. A pretty convincing one.

“I’m kidding.” He was laughing. “Jeez, Summer, you think I’m that clueless?”

“Yes.” She folded her arms over her chest and glared at him, trying not to laugh. “You’re a guy.”

“You should have seen your face.”

“Not fun-ny.”

“I thought you were going to have a total—”

One push was all it took when he was off balance like that. Then he was getting sandy everywhere and Summer was standing triumphantly over him. “Ha! And I knew you were kidding, temper boy.”

“Yeah?” He lay there, grinning up at her. “I’m glad to hear that, uptight girl.”

“You’re going to have to rinse off that sand.”

“So are you.”

Summer frowned. “I’m not sandy.”

He hooked his leg behind hers and brought her down to sprawl over his hard chest, locking her there in his strong arms. “Now you are.”

“You are so going to pay for that.” She struggled up on her arms and tried to glare at him some more, but he looked so pleased with himself that she couldn’t help laughing.

Then he pulled her back down onto his wet, warm torso and kissed her. His kisses were salty and sandy and sweet, the most wonderful kisses she’d ever had.

Her instinct should have been to pull away. She knew what happened when guys kissed you and there was nothing between you but bathing suits. Sooner or later, the sweetness would evaporate from the kiss, the tongue would come out and the groping would start.

But she really, really liked kissing Luke.

He smiled at her, lifting his hand to brush sand from her cheek. “You okay?”

“Yes.” She wasn’t sure. She felt fragile and shimmering, not very much like her solid, serious self.

Luke helped her to her feet, still loose limbed and relaxed. “I didn’t plan to do that. It just sorta happened. You looked so pretty, and I don’t know, I just wanted to.”

“Okay.” She didn’t know what else to say. She should tell him it wasn’t going to happen again until they’d figured out a lot more about each other, but with the warmth of his mouth so recently against her lips...

“So, hey, guess what, Summer Kreuger?” He raised his eyebrows, apparently not remotely as affected by kissing her as she’d been by kissing him. A good thing to keep in mind if she ever got weak-kneed around him again.

“What, Luke Arnette?” She imitated his careless tone.

“I got a job today.”

“What? Oh, wow!” Summer clapped her hands together. “Luke, that’s fantastic. Why did you wait so long to tell me?”

He tipped his head, eyeing her sheepishly. “I don’t know. It’s not that impressive.”

“It’s great. Where are you working?”

“Bagel shop in San Luis Obispo.”

“It’s fine for now. Are you going back to school?”

“Oh...maybe. Hey, you’re shivering. Let’s go back and get you warmed up.” He picked up the towel, shook it free of sand and draped it back over her shoulders.

Summer’s balloon of optimism popped. Maybe wasn’t exactly an enthusiastic response. In fact, she’d bet it was a euphemism for probably not. She shouldn’t be disappointed. They were just friends, right? Or...friends who kissed sometimes...she still wasn’t sure what that had been about. Maybe it was as simple as he’d said—him kissing a girl because he thought she looked pretty and he wanted to. A reflex, like petting a dog or cooing over a baby.

In any case, Luke’s plans for his life shouldn’t matter so much to her.

She’d just have to try to forget that they already did.

* * *

THIS VALENTINE’S THING was going to kill her. Chris hung up the phone in the Slow Pour office, her eyes practically crossing from fatigue. Everything was in place, the food on order, the entertainment, the prizes, the red carpet for kneeling all taken care of, but after the phone call from Eva on Monday night, she had about as much enthusiasm for a day devoted to love as a woman whose hopes for romance had recently swirled down the potty of circumstances.