Tear (Seaside 1)

I stretched and quickly put on my gloves so my fingers wouldn’t freeze.

“Didn’t take you for the type that exercised,” a voice said to my right.

I turned and came face to face with Alec. He was wearing workout gear and a baseball cap. He almost looked… normal. Well, as normal as a gorgeous guy could look.

I shook my head. “Yeah well, I didn’t take you for the type to do anything but sit and brood, so I guess we’re even, huh?”

Laughing, he removed his hat and rubbed his hair down before putting it back on again. “Want some company?”

Out of all the things he could have said, that was the last I expected. “You want to run with me?”

“I think I can keep up.”

“I run fast.”

“Okay,” he seemed unaffected.

“I listen to music.”

He held up his iPhone. The same one I had shamelessly stalked not a few days ago.

Gulping, I nodded my head. “Sounds great.” But it wasn’t great. For some reason Alec made me more uncomfortable than Demetri. At least with Demetri I knew what to expect. He’d flirt, kiss you senseless, shower you with compliments, and you’d hold your breath praying he wouldn’t cheat on you.

Alec was… well, he was Alec. There was something mysterious about him. At least running would make it so we didn’t talk too much. I was still curious about why they were here in the first place, but if I couldn’t get it out of Demetri the night before, than I sure wasn’t going to get his brother to budge in that area.

“Ready?” I watched as he turned on his music and put his headphones in. With a quick nod in my direction he was off.

We ran a mile in silence.

I never looked in his direction. But it was hard to keep my eyes focused on the road when I was running with some mysterious yet famous bad boy.

Once we reached the second mile I was ready to yell. He was staring at me. I could feel his gaze. I was practically burning up from head to toe with mortification. Finally I stopped in my tracks and found the ear buds that had been tucked in my pocket. I needed to listen to music if I was going to have to put up with his brooding stare.

I slid ear buds into my ears but didn’t turn on the music. “What!”

Alec bit his lip and reached up to pull out his ear buds. “I’m just surprised.”

“Do I even want to know?” I stretched my arms.

He moved behind me and gently tugged them into a tighter stretch then whispered in my ear, “You tripped over your own feet twice yesterday. I wasn’t sure you could even walk in a straight line until now.”

“I’m in track.”

His warm chuckle gave me shivers as he moved my arms behind my back and crossed them so that my shoulders and chest were getting a better stretch.

“That explains the body.”

“What?” I jerked away from him and turned around.

“Your body.” He looked me up from head to toe then met my gaze. “You have long legs.”

The way he said it, almost in reverence. Confused, I squinted at him. Normally, guys said things like you’re hot, or nice bod. Instead, he just complimented the length of my legs like I was some sort of giant. I wasn’t sure why I felt a blush coming on. Maybe it was because his compliment didn’t make me feel objectified, but more special. I seriously needed to get out more.

“What?” Alec grinned. I hated it when he smiled at me like that. As if I was his sun, moon, and stars. When clearly, that was not the case.

“You can’t just walk around saying things like that to girls.”

“Just did.” He shrugged. “But I guess in a way you’re right. I shouldn’t say things like that to my brother’s girl. There’s rules for that and all.”

Irritated, I glared at him and grabbed my phone to change songs. “I’m not his girl.”

Alec whistled. “Don’t tell him that. Plus, I saw the two of you last night.”

“Studying?” Why was I so hopeful that he didn’t see us later that night?

“At the beach,” Alec confirmed, his eyes narrowing before he broke out into another earth-shattering grin. “But it’s cool. Demetri likes you. Look.” Alec sat on the edge of the fence near the boardwalk. “I want to be your friend. I’m not going to lie and say I’m not angry that my brother got to you first. But I’ll overlook your obvious lack of good judgment if you promise you’ll come to me if you need anything. Okay?”

I nodded slowly, my heart thumping way too loud for us to be in the friend zone or any zone near it.

“Cool.” He grabbed my Blackberry. “Justin Bieber, Nat? Really?”

I felt myself flush. “It’s good running music!”

“I’m a little hurt. Are we even on here?” My worst nightmares were coming true as he scrolled through the playlist.

“Give me that!” I lunged for him. Unlike his brother, he wasn’t okay with allowing a girl to win. He held me off with one arm. I kicked. He only laughed harder.

“No way! You love me!” He jumped up and down and waved his hands in the air. This was not the Alec I knew. The Alec I knew brooded. What the heck?

“Give that back.” Teeth clenched I held out my hand.

“Are you blushing?” he teased.

“No, I’m just, winded.” Lame answer, Nat. Lame answer!

“I like this playlist best too.”