Page 10 of Fragile Hearts (Hibiscus Hearts #3)

I’m on the back deck with Miles and Kai, getting the beer stashed in the coolers when Nate, Sage, Alana and Flynn arrive, followed closely by Matt and Malo.

“How’s it going?” Flynn shouts, coming over to clap my hand as Alana and Sage disappear inside to find Daisy and Sloane. Mochi yelps excitedly at Alana, who stops to pat him, but he doesn’t follow her inside, apparently preferring to hang out on the back deck with the rest of the boys.

Kai laughs, pointing to the dog as he says, “You pussy.”

“Pretty sure he’s a dog, actually,” I say, even though I’m sure that comment was directed at me.

Kai just laughs, shaking his head as he says, “So, how’s it going?”

“Good,” I say, shrugging. I know what he’s really asking, but considering the insane amounts of shit I’m always getting from these guys, I figure I’ll make him work for it.

He scoffs now, rolling his eyes at me as he glances at the others before turning back to me. “Yeah okay, dickhead, you know what I mean. How’s it going with Sloane? You two hook up yet?”

“Everything’s good,” I reply, and beside me, Flynn laughs.

Kai rests an elbow on his brother’s shoulder as he grins at me, Miles turning to give him a look before he shrugs the arm off. “Yeah, okay, dude,” Kai starts, that same goofy grin on his face, just like always. “Cut the shit, you guys getting naked together or what?”

“You really expect me to answer that?” I ask, grabbing a beer.

“Yep,” he says.

“Not gonna,” I say, as I take a long swig of the cold liquid.

“Seriously?” Kai asks, a confused expression on his face.

“Seriously,” I tell him, as Flynn laughs again. I turn to him and say, “You tell these bozos about your sex life?”

“Doesn’t need to. We can all hear it,” Nate mutters, which only makes Flynn laugh even harder.

“Like you’re one to talk, Petersen,” he says, a huge grin on his face. “The number of times I’ve come back from surfing only to find the shower occupied and a lot of weird noises coming from it is insane.”

Miles and Kai both laugh as Miles says, “Ditto.”

“Seriously, you hook up in the outside shower?” Malo asks, a look on his face that is half confused, half grossed out.

“Oh my god, it is my shower,” Nate replies, throwing his hands up. “I can do whatever the fuck I want in there.”

We all laugh now, and I’m glad the attention has shifted from what Sloane and I might or might not be doing to what everyone else gets up to.

“Man, I don’t think I can ever use that shower again,” Malo grumbles.

Nate laughs, punching Malo on the shoulder. “Not like you’re getting laid anytime soon, anyway.”

“Fuck you,” he replies as everyone laughs again.

“Speaking of getting laid,” Kai says, turning his attention back to me. “Owen, you still haven’t answered the question of what goes on behind closed doors now that you and your girl are living together.”

“And that’s because it’s none of your business,” I say with a grin.

“Ohhhh, I see, it’s like that, is it?” Kai responds.

“Yep,” I confirm with a nod as I take another sip of my beer.

“Come on,” Malo now says, slapping me on the back.

“Nope,” I say, shaking my head. “Not gonna happen. You’ll know what you need to know when you need to know it.”

“Dude, what the fuck? I didn’t understand any of that,” Kai says, narrowing his brow.

With a grin, I step toward him, my hand on his shoulder as I say, “It means mind your business.”

He opens his mouth to say something but shuts it when the girls all come back outside. I glance over at Sloane, who is laughing and smiling and looking more and more at home here with every day that passes.

Nothing might have happened between us yet, but that doesn’t mean I’m about to share the details about what happens here when it’s just me and her. It might not be anything serious yet, but it’s ours, and I like it that way.

“You give them the grand tour?” I ask, smiling at her.

Daisy scoffs out a laugh as she says, “Oh yeah, we got allllll the details.”

Alana and Sage also laugh as Sloane slaps a hand over her face and mutters, “Oh my god.”

“See, she gives details,” Kai shouts, waving a hand in the girls’ direction.

Shaking my head, I turn to him and say, “Not happening, dude.”

We spend the rest of the afternoon hanging out on the back deck, eating and drinking and just chilling. It’s a beautiful day, and as the sun slowly starts to set, I realize that all of us are a little buzzed.

“Let’s play a drinking game!” Daisy shouts, throwing her arms up.

Miles groans beside me, and Kai snickers at his younger brother before he says, “I’m in. Truth or dare? Spin the bottle? Never have I ever?”

“Yes!” Daisy says.

“Yes, what?” Kai asks, laughing.

“Never have I ever,” she says, giggling a little.

“Oh jesus,” Miles mutters, and I can’t even begin to imagine what he’s thinking. He and Daze have so much history between them, both good and bad, that it’s probably not going to be good for them to be playing drinking games together. Fuck knows what’s going to get brought up.

On the other hand, it will give me a little more insight into Sloane, and with how buzzed everyone is, that can only be a good thing.

“I’m in,” I say, getting up to grab everyone another drink.

“Yes!” Daisy shouts.

I hand around fresh beers for everyone before sitting down. “I’ll start,” I say, grinning. I can feel the eyes of all my friends on me as I say, “Never have I ever had sex in the outdoor shower at The Pipe Dream.”

“Fuck me,” Nate mutters, immediately taking a sip. Beside him, Sage covers her face, laughing a little as she does the same.

None of us drink, but before we can move on, Alana and Flynn look at each other, huge grins on their faces before they both lift their beers to their mouths and also drink.

“What the fuck?” Nate shouts.

Flynn laughs, dropping his arm around Alana’s shoulders as he says, “What’s the big deal?”

“Oh my god, only that it’s my shower,” Nate says, but he’s grinning, partly because he’s drunk and partly because I suspect he doesn’t really care.

“Dude, we all use it,” Flynn now says, pulling Alana close as he presses a kiss to her temple. “We just like to double up to save water.”

“Fuck me,” Nate laughs, throwing a bottle top at Flynn.

“Nah, thanks, man, I’d rather fuck my girl if you don’t mind,” he says, ducking to avoid the cap as it flies toward him.

A loud groan sounds from everyone before Nate chuckles and says, “Who’s next?”

I turn to Sage, who sits beside me, and smile. “You’re up.”

Sage sits up a little straighter, a sly smile on her face that has me wondering what the hell she’s gonna ask. “Never have I ever...had sex on the Luna Mae.”

There’s a collective groan from Kai and Miles, while Nate bursts out laughing. Beside him, Alana and Flynn both grin at each other again before once more taking another drink. Miles, Kai, and Daisy all following suit.

“Oh my god, it was you two,” Sage shouts, pointing a finger at Alana and Flynn.

“Babe, what are you talking about?” Nate asks, confused.

I burst out laughing, remembering the day Tanner came into the shop and accused someone of using his boat for a dirty hook-up.

We’d all assumed it was Nate and Sage, maybe Kai with one of his randoms or Miles and Daisy sneaking in a quickie even though they barely spoke to each other, but they’d all denied it.

Thinking back on it now, I remember Alana being curiously quiet.

“Holy shit, this was before you guys were like...public or whatever, wasn’t it?” Sage now asks, practically giddy with excitement. “I knew something was going on!”

Alana laughs, rolling her eyes as she says, “No, you didn’t. No one did.”

“Jesus, I am so telling Dad,” Miles mumbles. “Do you know how much shit I got for that?”

I don’t miss the sharp look Daisy gives him, which Miles studiously ignores. Laughing, I tip my beer toward Nate and say, “Your turn.”

We continue around the circle, calling out increasingly stupid or outlandish things, mainly thanks to the increasing number of beers we are all drinking.

Finally, the turns get to Sloane, who’s sitting on the other side of me, and I turn and face her, a huge grin on my face as we all wait for her to speak.

She clears her throat, a tiny blush on her face as she looks first at Daisy and then down at her beer. “Never have I ever...had a dirty dream about someone at this table.”

“WHOA!” comes the cry as Sloane lifts her beer and takes a long sip, Daisy almost falling off her chair she is laughing so hard. Flynn and Alana also drink, as does Miles, and then Daisy.

Eventually, Sloane lifts her gaze, a half-smile tugging at her lips as her eyes move around the circle before finally meeting mine. When they do, I don’t break our gaze as I slowly lift my beer bottle and take a long sip, knowing I’ve had countless dirty dreams about this girl.

It’s late by the time everyone heads home, leaving Sloane, Mochi and me.

“We should clean this up,” Sloane says, surveying the kitchen as she lets out a hiccup.

Chuckling, I grab a glass, filling it with water and handing it to her. “Drink this,” I tell her, before grabbing another and filling one for me.

We stand at the sink, both of us chugging several glasses of water each, before Sloane turns and leans against the counter, her arms crossed over her chest as she surveys the mess. “You wanna grab everything from outside?”

“Nope,” I say, grabbing her hand as I tug her toward the living room.

“Owen, wait, what are you doing?” she says, laughing as she stumbles after me, both of us falling onto the couch in a twisted mess of limbs.

“We are resting first,” I say, stretching my legs out as I lean back, pulling Sloane into my side.

“If we rest, we’ll never get this done,” she says, flinging an arm in the direction of the kitchen.

“Fuck it, it’ll still be there in the morning,” I say as Mochi trots over.

We both watch as he attempts to jump up on the couch, not quite making it because his legs are too little. “I know I shouldn’t laugh, but fuck, he looks funny trying to get up,” Sloane says, letting out an adorable giggle.

“I know, right? You should see him try to get up on my bed. It’s like those hilarious reels you see on Insta or whatever.”

Sloane lifts her head from my shoulder, her eyes wide and her hand resting on my chest. “Oh my god, we should create an Instagram page for him!” she says, excitement in her voice. “He could like go viral and make us a shitload of money.”

I laugh, pulling my phone from my pocket as I turn on the camera and capture a video of him trying and failing to get on the couch. “Okay, let’s do it,” I tell her, not giving a shit about money or fame or anything other than doing something with Sloane. “What are we calling it?”

“Um, Mochi?” she says, reaching down to grab him.

Mochi lets out an excited yelp as she puts him on the couch. He jumps all over both of us, doing a bunch of circles before he eventually finds a place between me and the side of the couch and curls up into a fluffy ball.

“I think we can do better than Mochi,” I tell her, navigating to Instagram, where I have an account I barely use.

I add a profile for Mochi, snapping a quick picture of the sleeping dog to use as a profile picture before I turn to Sloane and say, “It’s gotta be like, catchy and gangsta.

Something that grabs people’s attention. ”

“Gangsta?” she repeats, her brow narrowed in confusion.

Laughing, I reach over and smooth out the crease between her brows as I say, “Yeah, like, Little Mo or Sir Mochi or Mad Dog Mochi.”

“But Mochi is always happy,” Sloane now says, and I can’t help but laugh again.

“He is, yeah, but we gotta make him cool, Sloane.”

“He’s already cool,” she protests, and I can’t resist leaning in and dropping a kiss on the top of her head. Sloane doesn’t pull away. If anything, she seems to move a little closer, her body now pressed against mine as she lies her head back on my shoulder.

“He is cool,” I confirm with a nod as I get an idea and start typing. “Okay, what about this?” I ask, turning the phone to Sloane.

She squints up at the screen, a smile on her face as she says, “Cool Hand Mochi, yes, I love it!”

Chuckling, I finish setting up his profile before I upload the video I just shot, adding in some caption about always striving for bigger things, no matter how small you are.

“Oh my god, so cheesy,” Sloane says, pinching my side. “I thought he was supposed to be cool?”

“That is cool,” I say, lifting my arm and dropping it around her shoulders as I pull her closer.

I don’t know what’s happening right now with me and Sloane, why she suddenly feels so comfortable lying on the couch with me like this, but I’m not about to turn it down.

I know we’re both pretty buzzed, and it’s not like I am going to do anything, but I am loving that she feels this comfortable with me right now.

“Is it though?” she asks, a teasing smirk on her face.

Grinning, I hold my hand out and snap a selfie of the three of us. “Yeah, he can be all cool and motivational and shit,” I say, smiling at the photo before I lower my phone.

Then, with one arm around Sloane and the other resting on Mochi, I close my eyes and go to sleep.