Pieces of Summer (A stand-alone novel)(40)

“I’m guessing she told him what she stumbled onto that time she came back,” I grumble.

As the flasher walks by, she sticks something in Blake’s hand, and he watches her ass all the way out.

“I love summer girls.”

As if I needed my summer girl to be in my head any more than she already is.

“So, you and Mika? How’s that going? I can only assume that’s where you’ve been hanging out since you never answer your phone anymore, and Bertie mentioned you two sat in Little Bit Of Italian Heaven for hours the other day.”

Small towns equals big mouths.

“Yeah. I’m… I have no f*cking clue what I’m doing to be honest. I suddenly feel like a teenager again, because I’m not acting like myself at all around her.”

I’d have already f*cked her and had her begging me to stay with her by now if I was acting like me instead of an insecure f*cking kid. It’s annoying. But that’s what she does to me. She drives me crazy and makes me forget who I am.

He starts to say more, but I glance at the clock, realizing that ink took longer than planned. I only have five minutes to get to Mika’s. I could use a shower and stuff, but I promised her six, and she’s a stickler for punctuality.

Blake is still talking as I grab my keys and jog to the truck.

“The hell, man?” he yells.

“Can’t f*ck up on night one,” I tell him, laughing when he gives me an incredulous look.

I roll into her driveway at exactly six, and she opens the door with relief in her eyes when she sees me. When I smile at her, she shakily leans against the door. It almost looks like she’s been worried I wasn’t going to show.

She looks incredible. Her hair is down and curled in waves, showing how long it’s gotten. She’s wearing a low cut shirt that has me wanting to trace her skin with my tongue.

Immediately my jeans feel too tight.

Her cut off shorts have strings dangling and playing with the tan flesh of her legs. Legs that I remember too well when they were wrapped around me.

“Care if I take a shower in your house? I was running late but didn’t want to keep you waiting.” Cold shower it is, thanks to the unrelenting hard-on.

She turns a little pale, but she nods. What the hell?

When I reach her, she lets me cup her chin, tilting her head up so that our eyes meet.

“You okay?”

She nods against my hand and slowly melts against me. Her tongue darts out to wet her lips, and I watch it, fighting the urge to take it and suck it into my mouth. There are a lot of places I want to put my mouth, but I’ve got to take things slow.

She’s staying, though. Just knowing that… Fuck. I can’t help myself.

I may not can give her what she wants in life, but I can’t ignore the fact she’s never really moved on. Especially if she’s finding a thousand ways to kill me.

My lips twitch, but she doesn’t notice. She’s still leaning into my hand, letting me keep her close.

“Don’t ever give me an exact time again, please,” she says quietly.

My brow furrows. “Why?”

“Just don’t, okay?” she asks, looking up at me. “Please.”

“Sure. I’ll…um… I’ll go get that shower right quick, toss my clothes back on, and we’ll go.”

She nods again, and I walk by her, careful not to make her uncomfortable since she already looks nervous. Life would be f*cking epic if she’d take a shower with me. That’s probably pushing things a little too fast though.

“Oh,” I say turning back around just as she does. “You look like you’re trying to drive me crazy.”

She fights not to smile, but I wink at her and resume my trip up the stairs. It feels like summer for the first time since I was a kid.





Chapter 26


MIKA



“Guess you won’t mind if I park in your front row reserved space, huh?” he jokes.

I’m nervous as we pull up into my parking space, but then I suddenly feel like an ass which takes precedent over my own nerves.

“We can’t go in there,” I groan.

“Why?” Chase asks, looking over at me. “Don’t you own it?”

His half-cocked, teasing grin is definitely better than his scowl.

“Whit is in there, and I didn’t call her to ask if this was okay.”

His smile only grows. “Thought we were just friends.”

Ignoring the fact that makes me feel like an idiot, I put my seatbelt back on. “We are just friends. But you two just broke up. It’s insensitive for her to see you out with a girl, even if we’re just friends. Especially given our history.”

He reaches over and unclips my seatbelt. “First of all, she slept with your brother as a means of breaking up with me. I shouldn’t be overly concerned with how she feels about me being friends with you. Secondly, I called her and told her we’d be stopping by and asked if she’d have an issue.”

“You did?” I ask, shifting in the seat. “And?”

“And she has an issue with me being around you, but it’s not because she’s jealous or anything. She seems to think you’re fragile or something, so she wants me to stay away. Aidan got in her head. She doesn’t know you like I do.”