Scandalized

“What it means, as in we agree it’s only this? Just these two weeks?”

“What else can it be?”

At this, he mumbles, “Right,” and bends, resting his lips on mine. My first instinct is to gently urge him away, to remind him where we are. But my stronger instinct is to lean forward, softening against him. He sends one arm around my waist, pulling me close. Even when he ends the kiss—we are in public, after all, and the beach is slowly filling—he holds me against his body, lifting my feet onto his in a chest-to-chest hug.

I drape my arms around his shoulders. “I thought we weren’t going to kiss outside today.”

“We’re hidden.”

“We aren’t at all hidden, you goober.”

He growls as he bends and pretends like he’ll take an enormous bite out of my neck. It turns into a tiny kiss, and then he whispers, “Maybe I could stay at your place tonight.”

“Really?” I pull back and grin at him.

“Really.”

Eight

With that sorted, I feel a certain amount of tension evaporate from the air around us. We leave our things and wander over to the rock shelf only a handful of yards away, watching the tide ebb, exposing the famous local tide pools. For the next hour, we clamber around the rocks, sharing every discovery: fluttery anemones, tiny rocklike barnacles, silvery fish, and coral. When the sun is high, we head back to our spot, spreading our towels out beneath the umbrella and staring at the unending cycle of waves.

He reaches over, pulling my hand into his lap, spinning the one ring I wear around my ring finger on my right hand. It’s a simple band of sapphires.

“Who’s this from?”

“My parents.”

“Pretty.” He touches my fingers, then turns my hand over, running the pad of his thumb over my wrist. “Birthstone?”

I nod. “September sixth. You?”

“April eighteenth.”

I do a double take. “It was your birthday the day we flew to LA?”

He nods, laughing. “I don’t usually make a big deal out of it. Sunny always goes overboard no matter what.”

“Well, then it’s a good thing you have a sister to make you celebrate yourself.”

He kisses my wrist before releasing my hand. “Do you ever wish you had siblings?”

I nod. “I used to a lot. Now I have Eden, and she’s like an irritating younger sister, even though she’s a couple years older than I am.”

“Will I get to meet her tonight?”

Squinting out at the water, I calculate whether she’ll be home later. Today is Wednesday; she usually works, and unless we’re back by four, we’ll miss her. “I don’t think so.”

“I’ll leave her a note.”

I lean over, bumping his shoulder with mine. “She’ll die. I’m serious.”

He grins down at my hand.

“What’s your favorite project you’ve ever done?”

Alec quirks an eyebrow over at me. “I thought you googled?”

“It was only a panic-google. I skimmed just enough to feel sufficiently mortified for asking whether you still skateboard.”