Into the Tide (Cottonwood Cove #1)(23)

“Really? You want to know?” Her tongue peeked out, and my dick jumped to attention. The fucker hadn’t done anything when Brenna Wilson gripped him under the table tonight, and I had to pry her hand away as she hiccupped a good forty times in a row and then broke out into a fit of giggles. That shit was not happening. She kept leaning in to talk to me, and her breath smelled like pickles and pina coladas, and if I never smelled either again, I’d be a happy fucking camper.

I cleared my throat and shifted enough to make sure she wouldn’t notice my raging boner beneath my zipper. “I do.”

“Bear. You can’t be talking about this with Travis. This is for me. It’s none of his business.”

“Hey, didn’t you just say we’re roommates and friends? You can tell me anything. Obviously, if someone is bothering you or if you’re in danger, I wouldn’t keep that from Trav. But he doesn’t need to know what’s on your list.” So why the fuck did I want to know what was on it so badly?

“Okay. You promise?” She held her pinky out to me, and I remembered her teaching me all about pinky promises when we were young. I’d tried doing it with my brothers who had a slightly different strategy when it came to making you keep your promises when we were young, which was basically that if you broke your word, you were going to get your head stuck in a toilet while Finn flushed rapidly and Cage held you still. They both gaped at me and laughed their asses off when I’d held up my finger. I’d given it one final shot with my sister, Brinkley, who told me she didn’t trust a pinky promise and that I’d need to put it in writing, swearing I wouldn’t tell our parents that she broke the front window if she agreed to give me her ice cream for a week. Apparently, Georgia had broken a few pinky promises with Brink when she was in her tattling stage, so the Reynolds kids all required a bit more than just a pinky promise when they were making a deal.

But not Lila James.

She’d always been different.

I rolled my eyes and tucked my hair behind my ear before offering her my pinky. She held it there, and I didn’t miss the way her chest rose and fell rapidly as I moved closer.

“What am I promising, Lila?” I asked. My voice was all tease, but it came out huskier than I’d expected.

“Repeat after me. I, Hugh ‘Bear’ Reynolds, do so solemnly pinky swear that I won’t tell a soul what’s on your Snow Day list. I also swear that I won’t breathe a word of this to Travis, that overbearing, brut of a brother of yours.”

I barked out a laugh and repeated the ridiculous words while our fingers stayed joined for much longer than necessary. My gaze zeroed in on her plump lips, and her dark eyes locked with mine. Something caused me to look down, and I noticed her nipples were poking against her thin, white tank top, and I nearly came undone right there. I quickly pulled my hand away when my dick twitched and reminded me that I was sitting on a bed with my best friend’s little sister who was hot as hell and talking about her untouched pussy.

I’m human, after all, and that was all I heard every time she talked about this fucking list.

I leaned back against the headboard. “All right. Let’s hear it.”

“Number one is to get my dad into a program. I’ve got an appointment to go look at the place next weekend.”

“That’s a solid start,” I said, and she smiled. She dropped from sitting on her heels to sitting on her ass and crossing her legs in front of her. Jesus. If she wasn’t wearing panties, I would have a straight shot of her—

Stop thinking with your dick, asshole.

I stared at her face, making a conscious decision not to let my gaze move below her neck.

“Number two is the biggy. Lose this pesky V-card so it can stop being a topic. You know, Mrs. Runither straight up asked me if I was still a virgin in the middle of her restaurant, as if there was some sort of neon sign on my forehead that said no man wanted to sleep with me. It’s humiliating that the whole town seems to know my business.”

I pushed to my feet and flipped the switch to turn on the ceiling fan because I was suddenly sweating like a rabid animal.

“Fuck Mrs. Runither. That woman is insane. Did I ever tell you about her coming to the restaurant a few months ago with a hotel key?” I said, dropping back down to sit on the bed. We needed more furniture in here. There should be a chair for visitors. And maybe a second ceiling fan.

“No,” she said over a fit of laughter, her eyes were wide as they danced with excitement. “What did she do with the key?”

“She slipped it into my hand and told me that Mr. Runither was going on a hunting trip, and she had a room at that little hotel downtown, if I’d like to join her.” I shook my head. The woman was old enough to be my mother.

Lila fell back on the bed in a fit of laughter, and there was something about the sound of her laugh that had always felt like home to me. It was genuine and real, just like her.

She sat back up. “Stooooop. You’re serious?”

“I’m fucking serious.”

“What did you do?” she asked, and she watched me like this was the most sinister thing she’d ever heard.

“Well, I went to the hotel, of course. Rocked her fucking world.” I kept my voice even because it was just too easy to mess with her.

“You didn’t?” she said on a gasp.