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She shrugs "Just being honest"

"What happened to the shy girl under the sheets yesterdayasn’t sure she could tellthe day?"

Her eyes meet h and pat her bandage "There, all done"

She laughs "Thanks for the help"

I bow and say, "My pleasure"

A look I can’t quite decipher crosses her face, but she doesn’t say anything And I don’t ask but instead hand her the green bikini "I’ to see you in this one way or another, and since I’una today, I want you to wear this under your clothes," I growl in her ear

She playfully pushes o home with you"

I feel a corner of my mouth turn up "I have food, lots of food, at my place"

"I can be ready in ten minutes"

• • •

What you can learn about a person in a short period of time when you pay attention astounds me I’ve learned so much about S’belle Wilde over the past couple of ether I’ve learned she loves to eat but never keeps food in her apartment--I’m pretty sure she doesn’t like to eat alone I’ve learned she’s really ss--but likes to co more aloof or maybe even scatterbrained Which she’s neither I’ve learned she likes sex dirty and she likes it clean And I’ve learned she kno to turn ers as they tap the screen of her phone "Did you check in with your mother?"

"She’s textedthe day at the beach and Xander and River too I don’t want thehs back "That too"

I reach out to caress her bare leg She’s wearing a pair of denis off her shoulder, exposing the golden threads of her bikini top My heart beats a little faster at the thought of finally seeing her stand in front ofelse I quickly chase the thought away

"I need to give Josie a heads-up too," she says, tapping her fingers on her phone again "She’ll be worried when I don’t show up for work toht?"

She looks up at lasses "Yes So you do pay attention"

"You think I don’t?"

She looks back down "No I just wonder how much people hear when I talk because sometimes I feel like I never shut up"

I smirk at her--she’s definitely quirky and it’s a breath of fresh air fro of work, I wanted to ask you so her phone in the cup holder and twisting in ht Wyatt saw ant SOB"

"Roo for broke "He told e from me Why would you show him that?"

She frowns and reaches up to brush solance over and lift her sunglasses so I can see into her eyes; the green is even deeper than usual with the sunlight streah the"What was it like, then?"

"Why do you hate hihten back around the wheel "For a shit ton of reasons Because he was captain of the football team and I was a surfer, because he lived on the bluff and I lived on the beach, because he was a jock and I waswell, I was uess, but ht he’s still a prick"

A laugh bursts from her "I think that has to be one of the iven rab her hand

"It’s true"

I raise an eyebrow "You haven’t answered my question"

"I’m not interested in him"

"I didn’t say you were"

"No, but I can tell what you’re thinking You’re not going to like this, but I was late for work and when I got there Josie pulledstory short, Tate and Ro forroo from my office You texted me and he saw the text"

"See, he’s a prick," I mutter under my breath