Page 64 of Toy Boy
“Throw me a bone here, Megan, come on!”
I can’t wipe the huge grin off my face as I start to remember what it felt like, just a few hours ago, being pinned up against the wall of the surf shop’s back room as Xander pounded into me. It was the kind of sex I don’t think I’ve ever had before. Impulsive, raw, dirty sex, and the memory sends a wild shiver tearing up my spine.
“Exactly how far have you taken it with this guy, Sis?”
“Far enough.”
She looks at me, smiles, and high-fives me across the table. “Good girl! My little sister’s bagged herself a toy boy!”
I’m not sure I like hearing Xander described as that, either, but in reality that’s exactly what he is. And I don’t know whether that excites me, or worries me. A bit of both, actually, if I’m honest.
“What was it like then? Spill the beans.”
She sits back, crosses her legs, and clasps her hands together around her knees. I just stare at her.
“Seriously? We’re not at High School now, Laney.”
“Spoilsport! Come on, give me a hint, just a tiny one.”
I smile and bite down on my lip, and I know I’m blushing, I can feel my cheeks burning and it’s got nothing to do with the late evening sun. Jesus Christ, I’m actually blushing!
“Alright. He must’ve been good, then, to get you that flustered.”
“I’m not flustered.”
I am. And I want this conversation to end, right now.
“Okay, I’ll stop with the questions,” Laney sighs, reaching for her purse and pushing her chair back. “Another beer?”
“Please.”
“I won’t be long.” She hesitates for a moment, before heading inside. Is that because she doesn’t trust me not to go over to Scott? Does she honestly think that the second she leaves me alone, I’ll be over there? But in the end she doesn’t say anything. Probably wise.
As soon as she’s gone I do, however, cast a furtive glance in the direction of Scott’s table, and he’s still there, but he has his back to me. He’s looking down over the beach, at where Hanna and her friends are sitting eating chips from cardboard boxes. She’s laughing and leaning into the boy sitting next to her as he relays some story to their small group, but her eyes keep flicking back up, towards the pub’s terrace. Is she looking for Xander, maybe? For me? For both of us…?
I hear Laney’s voice as she greets a couple of old friends she’s spotted on her way back over to me, and I quickly divert my attention away from Scott, and Hanna, and back to the beer mat I’ve been fiddling with. It’s all ragged on one corner now, so I twist it around to give me a fresh one to pull apart.
“Here you go.” Laney slides back down into her seat and takes a small sip of wine. “You alright?”
“You’ve been gone less than five minutes, why wouldn’t I be alright?”
“Bit defensive there, Meg.”
“Sorry,” I sigh, sitting back and reaching for my beer. I should probably pace myself, it’s still relatively early, and Xander isn’t even here yet. “I guess I’m just nervous that you’re going to move into lawyer mode once Xander gets here and start interrogating the poor guy.”
“As if!” Laney huffs, and then throws me a wink that does nothing but unsettle me even more.
And then I see him, making his way up the steps from the beach, weaving his way through the tables, he’s so fucking handsome I think I might actually have gasped out loud there, judging by the way Laney’s staring at me. But she just arches an eyebrow and settles back in her seat, a look of innocence on her face that I’m not buying for a single second.
As he gets nearer, I feel my heart start to beat faster, hammering away inside of me, harder and harder as he passes Scott’s table, their eyes briefly locking, and that’s when it feels like it stops for the second it takes Xander to break the stare.
I stand up as he approaches our table; reach out to rest a hand on his arm as he leans into me, our mouths touching in the briefest of kisses, but I’m sure it was long enough to kick-start the gossip machine.
“Hey, beautiful,” he murmurs into my hair, so only I can hear the words, and it’s something that makes my stomach dip and dive in the most incredible way. And then he pulls back and smiles at me and my stomach repeats the dipping and diving.
“Hey.” I manage a small smile back because I’m nervous, not of him, of what we’ve just done. We’ve just made this whole – you know, I don’t even knowwhatit is, so I’m not going to label it. But whatever it is, we’ve just gone public. And I don’t care. I don’t. He makes me happy. He makes me feel young and alive and I like it. I likehim. Can I see a future with a man like him, though? I’m not sure. But I don’t think I need to be, I just need to live in the moment, and after everything I’ve been through that’s something I should grasp with both hands. It should be my mantra.
His hand lingers on my hip for a moment longer, before he finally pulls it away and sits down, directing his smile at Laney.