Make Me Bad(54)

Everything happened so fast once he parked his cruiser and shouted at us to get out of the water and cover ourselves. Ben reverted into lawyer mode, telling me I didn’t have to answer when the officer asked if I’d been drinking. Apparently, he thought I was drunk because I was stumbling around for my clothes. I might have been a little tipsy, but I was only stumbling because I was in such a rush to cover myself. Hello! It’s one thing to work up the courage to go topless around Ben, quite another to have one of my father’s police officers see me in that state!

Once we gave our names, the officer’s tone changed. He reared back in shock.

I should have lied and said the first thing that came to mind. Oh, my name? Sand. Sandy Palmtree. We could have laughed. Yes, ha ha. My parents are big hippies.

Instead, he looked at me with new, fresh concern.

“Hart?” he asked. “As in the chief’s daughter?”

I nodded as I tugged Ben’s jacket tighter around my front.

Then he nodded and stepped away, his hand hitting the radio on his shoulder.

My stomach dropped.

“Wait! Do you have to, y’know, call this in?” I asked with an air of hope. “Can’t we just keep this between us?”

Ben’s hand hit my arm—a warning to stay quiet—but I couldn’t just let this happen. In any other city, a cop would find the humor in the situation, tell us to get our clothes on, and move along.

In Clifton Cove, apparently every police officer is given strict orders to contact my father if I ever have a run-in with the law. It’s his way of protecting me, I suppose. As I watched his cruiser pull up to the beach, it didn’t exactly feel that way.

This whole thing is ridiculous.

I’m not going to accept the charges, and I tell that to Ben.

He has the audacity to smirk and rub his jaw. “Yeah, that’s not really how it works.”

I turn back to watch my dad walking toward us. I can feel his angry energy from a mile away. Every sea creature in the ocean behind us is probably swimming for its life in the exact opposite direction.

When he gets within earshot, I step forward.

“Dad, hi,” I say, trying for a genial tone just to see how far it will get me.

His eyes slice me in two. Okay. Right. He’s going for bad cop.

“James, thank you for the help. I can handle it from here.”

The other officer nods and heads for his car, leaving me alone with my dad and Ben. I guess his work here is done. Fine. Go! Get. Good riddance. I want to kick his tires.

“Dad…I think this has all been a misunderstanding.”

He ignores me and impales Ben with a searing glare. When he speaks, his finger is pointed at Ben like it’s a loaded gun.

“I told you to stay away from my daughter. In fact, I recall shouting those exact words at you a few months ago when you were on my front lawn.”

Ben stands quiet. Stoic. Pissed. In his black t-shirt and jeans, he has a few inches on my dad. His eyes are fierce. His chin is lifted.

When it’s clear he’s not going to reply, my dad shakes his head with disdain. “I should throw your ass in jail.”

Ben’s eyes narrow imperceptibly and I take the opportunity to jump between them. My hands hit my dad’s chest and I try in vain to push him back a few inches.

“Truly, this isn’t so bad.”

His eyes slide to me. “You reek of whiskey.”

“First of all, thank you. Second of all, you have to stop. This is not what it looks like.”

His eyes widen. “Not what it looks like? Madison, I just got a call in the middle of the night from an officer telling me my daughter was stumbling drunk on the beach, completely nude. You tell me how that sounds.”

I cringe. “Okay, yes, that’s…not ideal, but—”

He shakes his head and reaches out for my arm, yanking me toward him. “C’mon, we’re going home.”

I try and fail to pull myself out of his grasp. He can’t do this. He can’t turn the best night of my life into the absolute worst.

“Dad, let go,” I hiss, trying to keep the hysteria out of my voice.

Ben steps forward then. “You heard her.”

No. No. Shit.

My dad’s nostrils flare and I know we’re seconds away from going down a road there’s no coming back from. If Ben touches my dad, my dad will press charges. Ben will be in jail and maybe one misdemeanor didn’t matter, but I’m pretty sure assaulting a police officer—even one who’s off duty—won’t be brushed aside so easily.

Even still, I can’t blame Ben for thinking I need his protection. My dad is trying to physically drag me off the beach, and I’m resisting. It doesn’t look good, but my dad isn’t a bad guy, and neither is Ben. Everything just looks…bad.

“Shit!” I shout suddenly, finally finding enough strength to break free. My arms flail as I speak. “Both of you stand down. Jesus. I don’t need either of you getting into a fight over me. This is ridiculous.” I turn to my dad, my finger poking his chest with every word I speak. “Ben isn’t a bad guy. You think he’s an entitled rich asshole, but he might be the kindest man I’ve ever met outside of my own family. Pull your head out of your ass and stop with all this ‘stay away from him’ bullshit! And you,” I say, whirling around to face Ben. “Just…”