Page 77 of Under the Waves
“Wellsy, this is a beach, you know.”
“And?What’s your point?”
He opened his mouth to speak before closing it and chuckling to himself. I wanted to be mad at him, but the goofy grin on his lips and the sound of his laughter had me fighting my own smile.
Stop making me like you, Jasper Ridge.
Stop making it so hard to hate you.
His smile slowly fell, lips spread into a thin line.
“You came,” he almost rasped. “I didn’t know if you would.”
“Of course I came—this is important to you, and besides, don’t girlfriends turn up to their boyfriends’ sport events?”
He seemed to have liked my answer because he was grinning so wide at me right now his jaw had to hurt. Mine did just seeing his.
“What?” I breathed, feeling the warmth spread across both my cheeks.
“You didn’t sayfakegirlfriend that time.”
I gaped at him.Shit. I didn’t. “Sorry, I meant fake girlfriend but—”
“Don’t apologize,” he said sternly. “I’m beyond flattered thatyou think of me like that, Wellsy. But I gotta tell ya, it’s never going to happen so keep dreaming.”
I didn’t fight an eye roll, making my gagging sound audible as I swatted him playfully on the arm. He’d taken that opportunity to grasp my wrists and pull me on top of him. A surprised yelp left my lips. His eyes locked onto mine and didn’t once let go of my gaze—they were so rich and dark you could plant a seed and grow roots in them. Small honey-gold flecks were swimming within their depths, and once they caught the sunlight, they lit up likestars.
“You can’t look at me like that here, Poppy,” he rasped, gripping my hips tightly.
“Why not?”
For some reason, I wanted to see how far he would go.
I wanted to see…what exactly, Poppy?
I wanted to see if he thought we could be real.
“Because I’m trying to be gentlemen here, and you looking at me likethatis not fucking helping.”
“Then make me,” I whispered, before repeating it more confidently. “Make me stop looking at you like that if it’s too hard for you.”
His eyes darkened with lust and challenge, and it made me feel confident in myself. It made me feel sexy and powerful and nothing at all like who I was.
It reminded me of the confident little girl who used to make other girls cry because she was justthatgood at surfing—the girl who was so confident in herself and her skills that she never second-guessed a wave, a person, or a decision.
A girl who wasn’t ridden with PTSD and crawling with anxiety.
Nothing like who I was now but…someone I think I could learn to be again.
Just as my lips curved up into a small smirk, someone whistled from behind us.
Oh shit.
I was suddenly aware of how this looked—I was straddlingJasper Fucking Ridgein the middle of a surfing heat on a public beach.
What the fuck.
I immediately went to climb off him when his hands graspedmy shoulders, holding me down in place. My eyes darted all over his face, the pounding of my heart thrumming through my ears. I needed to go. This was a mistake.I—