Sunset Beach(13)

“Can’t,” Ben said. “I only have one helmet.”

“Don’t be such a rule-follower,” Drue exclaimed. “It’s only a couple blocks.” She tugged at Ben’s arm. “Come on.”

“Not a good plan,” Jonah advised. “This is the boss’s daughter. Remember? What if she falls off and sustains a head injury? Who ya gonna call?”

“Campbell, Coxe and Kramner,” Drue sang, mimicking the firm’s catchy jingle, which was sung to the tune of “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer.” “Had a fall? Give Brice a call!”

“Enough said,” Ben agreed. “You want me to walk her home with you? I mean, she says it’s only a couple blocks.”

“Not necessary,” Jonah said. “I’ll walk her, make sure she gets home okay and then I’ll call for a Lyft from there. I’ll text you if there’s a problem, otherwise, I’ll see you tomorrow.”





5


“You really don’t have to do this,” Drue said, as they trudged along the beach. “I’m perfectly capable of walking home all by myself.”

“Sure you are,” Jonah said, rolling his eyes. “Which motel did you say you’re staying at?”

“Behind the ‘at,’” Drue said, giggling at her own joke. “Don’t they teach you guys grammar up there in Gainesville?”

“Which motel?” he repeated.

“Mmm, it’s one of those, right up there,” she said, pointing at a cluster of small motels just beyond the dunes. They were fifties throwback tourist courts, each painted in a different Easter egg pastel—coral, turquoise and yellow.

“Okay. Can you be any more specific?”

“It’s the Sea … something, I think.”

“The Sea Breeze?” he asked, pointing at a C-shaped complex built around a glowing turquoise swimming pool.

“That’s the one!” She playfully punched his arm. “I take it back. You’re not such a dummy after all.”

As they started toward the dune line, Drue stumbled and toppled backward onto the soft sand.

“Whoops!”

Jonah grabbed her arm to help her up, but instead, she pulled him down beside her.

“Hey!” He started to protest, but on an impulse, she shut him up with a kiss. Which he returned, in a chaste, closed-mouth sort of way.

He pulled away after a moment. “What’s this about?”

She wasn’t sure. But he was a good kisser, that she did know. And in the dark, she decided to just let the tequila do the talking. She wrapped her arms around his neck, leaned in and kissed him again.

His response was definitely more enthusiastic the second time. He parted her lips with his tongue and ran his hands up her bare back. She shivered at the touch of his warm hands, and pressed herself closer to him.

“Oh man,” he said, sitting up after a few moments. “This is a terrible idea.” He put his head in his hands.

“What?”

“This,” he said, indicating her prone position on the sand. “You’re the boss’s daughter.”

Drue grabbed the collar of his stupid preppy polo shirt and pulled him down beside her. “Shut up,” she murmured in his ear.

She slid her hands up the back of his shirt and he slowly eased a knee between her legs. He nuzzled her ear, ran his tongue down her jawline, and her neck, and her shoulder, and at the same time, his hands were working their way from her back and under the front of her halter top.

Drue couldn’t remember the last time she’d had sex. She and Trey hadn’t been getting along all that well in the months leading up to her mother’s illness. And after her mother’s diagnosis, she’d spent every free moment she had with Sherri, ignoring Trey’s pointed comments about his needs.

After the kiteboarding accident, sex had been the last thing on her mind. Not anymore, though.

And apparently, Jonah was rapidly overcoming his initial apprehension. He was fumbling for the zipper on her jeans.

“Let’s take this somewhere with less sand,” Drue said, kissing him again, and momentarily forgetting herself.

“You sure?”

“Positive,” she said.

“You’re the boss.” He stood and helped her to her feet.

“Damn straight,” Drue told him, taking his hand and leading him toward the motel.



* * *



“You sure this is the right room?” he asked, as they stood in front of a door looking out at the pool.

She whipped the key card from the back pocket of her jeans, slid it into the slot and tried the door handle, which didn’t move.

Drue frowned and took a step backward. “I could swear this was my room. I know it faces the pool.”

“May I?” He took the plastic card, wiped it on the front of his shirt and inserted it into the slot, easily pushing the door open.

“Hey. How’d you do that?”

He smiled. “I’ve got the magic touch.”

She pulled him into the room and turned the deadbolt lock. “We’ll see about that.”

Moonlight shone in through the room’s sheer drapes. Drue dropped her shoes on the floor, unzipped and discarded her jeans, and pulled her top over her head, letting it drop onto the floor. She collapsed naked onto the bed, leaning back against the headboard.