“Where?” Willow still looks confused—probably because she knows the rest of the guys live in London.
“Back home,” May replies as our group starts heading down the beach to where a bunch of jet skis are parked in the shallow water.
“In Tennessee?” Hanna clarifies.
“Yeah.”
“Well, that’s awesome. Do you live in Tennessee?” Willow asks me, and I lift my chin.
“I just moved back a little over a month ago.”
“Cool, we all live there too.” Willow’s nose scrunches. “Or I should say, that’s where we all grew up. Nalia now lives in Colorado, and Hanna lives in Paris.”
“For now,” Hanna cuts in. “I think I might be moving to Scotland soon.”
“Hanna is a flight attendant,” Nalia explains as we reach the guys manning the jet skis.
“All right, how are we doing this?” Willow asks the group, and Lincoln tosses his arm around her shoulders.
“You and I are riding together.”
“That’s only happening if I drive,” she tells him, and he lifts one heavy shoulder.
“That’s fine with me.”
“Nalia can ride with me.” Carlo winks at her.
“Sure,” she agrees.
“May can be with me,” Troy says, and I feel every muscle in my body bunch.
“I think I’m just going to go it alone,” she tells him softly, and I relax, then look down at my side when I feel a hand on my arm.
“Do you want to ride with me?” Hanna asks.
“I think I’m gonna go it alone too,” I tell her, feeling like an ass when I see embarrassment color her cheeks.
“Come on. You can hang with me.” Troy scoops Hanna up in his arms bridal-style and walks off toward the jet skis with her laughing.
A few minutes later, everyone has on their life jackets and are taking off into the water on their machines, while I stay put watching May, who is listening to a guy with long blond hair instruct her on how to use the gas and the brakes. Seeing her overwhelmed expression and the way the dude is flirting with her, I say fuck it and hop off my jet ski, wading through the water to where she is.
“I’ve got her,” I tell the guy, and he gives me a dirty look but backs away while she sits up straight and frowns at me over her shoulder.
“I don’t need you to have me. I can do it by myself.”
Ignoring her, I get on behind her and hold her stare, watching as she lets out a long sigh before turning away from me. I keep my hands to myself, which is not easy to do, as I wait for her to lean forward and grab hold of the handles. When she squeezes the throttle, we shoot forward through the water, and she lets out a cute little squeak, lifting her hands in the air.
Laughing as we halt, I lean into her so my chest is pressed against her back and grab both her hands, putting them back in place. “Gentle,” I murmur and feel her shiver as I show her how much pressure to use, then let her take over and glide us out into deeper water.
I sit back while she gets comfortable slowing down and speeding up, and I smile to myself. Just watching her, it’s obvious she is not the kind of person to take risks. She never goes too fast or tries any of the crazy maneuvers the others around us are doing. And it makes me wonder is she is cautious in all aspects of her life.
“I stopped by your house,” I cut through the silence that’s settled between us, and she jumps in surprise before her body in front of mine goes rigid.
“I was here.” She slows down. “My cousins and I have had this trip planned for weeks,” she adds, almost sounding defensive.
“I didn’t think otherwise,” I tell her quietly, and her shoulders relax ever so slightly.
“I noticed that you didn’t tell your girls what happened with the kid.”