Стейси Кестуик - Wet

“Theo, you don’t have to do that!” I protested.

“No biggie. Just leave it to me.”

I stopped walking and wrapped my arms around him, giving him a big hug. Maybe there were still some good guys left in the world. “Thank you,” I whispered, giving him a quick peck on the cheek.

Whistles and catcalls interrupted our embrace and had me pulling back in embarrassment. A group of guys were strolling up the boardwalk toward us. “Benedict!” one of them called out.

Theo grinned as the group approached. “Guys. What are y’all up to tonight?” Theo did one of those complicated guy handshakes, ending with a back slap, with a guy who had a blond faux hawk and pierced lip.

“Heading to the Wreck to hang out, shoot some pool,” the same guy said. “Who’s the chick?”

Theo’s arm snaked around my waist, pulling me to his side. “Trevor, this is Sadie. Sadie, these are the guys. Trevor, Dylan, Wyatt, and you’ve already met his brother, West.” Theo pointed to each in turn, but my attention was snagged when he said the last name.

West . My eyes locked on his. He was wearing a baseball hat pulled low over his eyes, and it made him seem softer, less potent somehow. His jawline was scruffy, like he hadn’t shaved in a day or two, and I couldn’t help but wonder how it would feel against my face. He stared at me, his expression a mix of confusion and surprise, and then his eyes dropped to my hip, where Theo’s hand rested. The muscle in his jaw clenched, his hands curling into loose fists at his side.

Wyatt whistled and gave Theo a high five. “Good job, man.” Wyatt looked like a more boyish version of West, but with longer, darker hair instead of West’s close-cropped style.

The other guys greeted me, but I didn’t really hear them. “Sadie,” West acknowledged with a dip of his chin, my name rumbling over his lips. It felt like a caress, like he had reached out and stroked me. I smiled back, the tip of my tongue sneaking out to wet my dry lips, and he seemed riveted by the small action. His eyes darkened, and then he swallowed and looked away.

“We’re headed to get some ice cream,” Theo said. “You guys want to join us?”

West glanced back at me, down to the hand on my hip, then back up. “No,” he said, sounding almost bored. “Besides, Grady’s meeting us soon. We’ll catch you later, Benedict.” He started to walk away, not waiting for the other guys. My face burned, and I felt guilty, like I had done something wrong, which was ridiculous, of course. I refused to turn and watch him leave, even though I swear my body could tell the difference as he moved farther away, my awareness of him lessening.

The others trailed after West, and Theo and I started walking again, his arm falling back to his side. “Benedict?” I questioned.

“My last name. I played pee-wee football with most of those guys. Well, not West and Grady, because they were older, but we went by our last names there. It kind of stuck for me.”

I hummed an acknowledgement, then returned to our previous conversation, refusing to let myself think about West. “So, Theo, if bartending isn’t the goal, what are you working toward?”

He shrugged. “I’m still trying to figure that out. I couldn’t afford college like those guys, so I’ve just been working and saving. I want to be my own boss someday, not have to answer to anyone but myself.”

I nodded. I could understand that. It was part of the appeal of photography. Setting your own schedule, working as hard as you wanted, knowing your success or failure depended only on you. I could definitely relate.

We walked farther, laughing at each other’s stupid jokes. We bought waffle cones and stood licking the melting gelato, watching the sunset over the water turn the sky a delicious shade of coral. I wished I had my camera. I snapped a quick photo with my phone, but it wasn’t the same.

Back at my house, we climbed the steps to my front door when my stomach twisted with anxiety. Would he try to kiss me? I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. We stopped on the porch, and I dug my key out of my purse, letting it dangle from my hand. “Theo, I had a great time tonight,” I said.

He smiled and stepped a little closer, taking each of my hands in his. “Me too.” Staring into my eyes, he took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “Okay, moment of truth.”

He leaned in and pressed his lips against me, moving them gently over mine. It was nice, but there was no spark. Bummer. We broke apart and stood there facing each other, holding hands, foreheads touching.

Theo whispered, “Wow. That really didn’t do anything for me. How ’bout you?”

I laughed in relief that we were on the same page. “You do have nice lips,” I offered as a consolation.

“And you have a nice ass, so why can’t this just work? Hold on a sec.”

He grabbed my butt and pulled our pelvises together and ground against me for a moment. I looked at him in confusion. He sighed and shook his head. “Nope. I mean, don’t get me wrong, you’re hot, and I’d lay you in a heartbeat if I didn’t have to see you at work and —”

I cut him off. “Friends?”

Theo nodded. “Definitely. See you at the gym Monday morning?”

I smiled at him and squeezed his hand. “I’ll buy the doughnuts this time.”

He groaned. “No more doughnuts. I’ll take you to this little café I know. They have good omelets.”

“But I like doughnuts.”

“How ’bout this? I train you for free four times a week, and you buy breakfast. We’ll eat healthy three days a week and splurge for doughnuts on Wednesdays.”

I narrowed my eyes. “We’ll only train three times a week, and we’ll get doughnuts on Mondays and Wednesdays.”

Theo sighed then nodded in defeat.

“Ahhh.” I grinned. “A man after my own heart. We are going to get along just fine, Benedict.”

I blew my whistle at the rowdy preteen boys running around the pool having a water gun fight. “Walk! No running!” I hollered for the nineteenth time in the last hour. Their moms were either absent or oblivious after too many of Theo’s daiquiris, I wasn’t sure which. It’d been a Friday from hell. Fridays always sucked during the summer because all the weekenders were just arriving, and the kids were extra rambunctious from being cooped up in the car.

Around eleven, two guys thought it would be funny to pick me up and pretend to throw me in the pool, which had resulted in Theo vaulting over the bar and coming to my rescue, much to the delight of the teenage girls. And since lunch, this creepy older man had been pretending to read a book while ogling the same three teenage girls who had swooned over Theo, as they lounged on their chaises wearing only the skimpiest of bikinis. The man even offered to rub more sunscreen on them. Twice. Luckily, they were smart enough to decline, and the second time he offered, one complained to her mom, who reported him to management. Now, the creepy old guy had wandered down the beach path, probably searching for some other prepubescent body to fantasize over. Gross. Kendra was a saint and had spent the last twenty minutes patiently explaining to a woman that the pool used a salt system, and her baby would be perfectly safe from carcinogenic toxins if she got wet.

I eyed the tiki-hut wistfully, pulling my hat off long enough to swipe at the sweat beading on my forehead. A daiquiri sounded pretty good right about now.

Theo waved to catch my attention and pointed to his phone. I walked over to my beach bag for my cell and saw a text from him.

Theo: A bunch of us are going to the Wreck tonight. Wanna come?

Me: What’s the Wreck?