Page 14

His mouth is warm against mine as his tongue traces a path along my bottom lip, making me moan as I lean into him further. Our bodies are flush, and as right as this feels, we both know it’s wrong. It could ruin everything, not just for me, but Flynn and Jade too, and fuck, I don’t even know who else.

“Flynn,” I whisper, our lips brushing. His name seems to be the only thing I can make come out of my mouth, but I need to say more. I need to stop this before it goes too far. It may have already.

We’re the only ones who know about our hook ups, but I have no idea if that’s really true. Someone could have seen us together. Someone could see us together now.

It’s not so much about us being seen together and more about what we’re doing right now, our bodies pressed too close, our mouths exploring.

It’s all very messy.

Incredibly hot, but messy.

“We can’t,” I say, trying to put some distance between us, but failing. His forehead falls to mine, our eyes closed, our breathing labored.

“I know,” Flynn replies sullenly, stepping away from me, and returning to the driver’s side of the car. The second he moves away, my body cries out with the loss of him.

I pause, closing my eyes before getting in the car. Letting out a sigh that is full of resignation and disappointment, but it shouldn’t be. I need to remind myself that I’m not walking away from him for no reason. It’s my career at risk, his career, our lives and all the great things that could come from staying away from each other.

But it doesn’t help.

I climb into the car, not saying anything because if I do, it’s not going to be what either of us needs to hear. Every thought in my head is dirty, so fucking dirty.

I swallow hard, letting my head fall back against the headrest as I put the window down. With the hopes that the fresh air will rid my brain of thoughts of Flynn, I let the wind drag over my face. The view from the window isn’t anything new, but I try my best to enjoy it.

The crystal blue water crashes against the rocks, splashing and glittering in the sunlight. Palm trees blow in the breeze as colorful flowers dot the mountainside, all green and lush.

As gorgeous as it is, it’s not working.

And I send up a silent thank you when we pull up outside of The Pipe Dream. I have to get away from Flynn Roberts and his gorgeous face, those luminous blue eyes that match the ocean and can draw me in with one simple look.

Parking the car around back, we both step out, silence passing over us, and when we begin to unload the boards from the back, I hear Sage’s sweet voice.

“Hey! You two want to stay for dinner?” she asks, standing just outside the back door to The Pipe Dream. “Malo brought us some mahi-mahi he caught, and Nate’s making fish tacos.”

“Oh, I’m sure…” I start to say, and Sage walks over, pretty much glaring at me, and I try not to laugh. She’s so unassuming and sweet, but here she is ready to punch me if I say no.

“We have tons, and I really don’t want to eat it for the next week. Please,” she begs with a sugary edge. She looks at Flynn, adding, “We’d love to have you for dinner and chat surfing. Nate’s a huge fan.”

“I’m in,” he replies without a second of hesitation.

“Yay! Head on up, or get cleaned up first, whatever you want,” she says, motioning to the stairs that lead to Mitch’s old apartment, the one she and Nate now share. “Alana?” Her question comes out with a pressing quality, and I’m starting to think she’s trying to set me up with Flynn.

Flynn follows the stairs, heading up to meet Nate, and it’s just Sage and I left standing out back. And here I am, wanting to admit everything, like it’s eating at me to keep it inside.

“Alana,” Sage squeals, grabbing my wrist. She shakes it with vigor, a huge smile on her face. “He’s so hot, and you should totally?—”

I cut her off with a disgruntled huff, and she eyes me suspiciously.

“I hear you, Sage, I do, but you have to understand that it can’t happen.”

“What? Why?” Her question is sharp and confused, and in an alternate reality, Flynn and I would be a scorching couple. In this one, we’re a forbidden fruit, something I’m having a hell of a time avoiding. Rightfully so because he’s a fucking dream come true in bed.

“He’s here for Maui Pipe,” I say, dragging a hand through my damp hair, the ends tangling when I reach them.

“Yeah, so.”

“He’s here as a coach for one of the girls. We can’t,” I say, cutting it off there, not needing to expand on it.

“Are there rules?” she asks, once again, confused and curious. “It’s not like you’re surfing against him.”

“Yeah, I know, but he’s Jade Whitlock’s coach, and it’s just…” I stop, letting things trail off. “It’s just not a good idea.” I don’t want to go into the specifics of it with her because as an outsider looking in, it seems harmless. It probably is harmless if we keep it hidden because it’s not like we could end up as anything more than a fling.

He’s from Australia, traveling the world with Jade, and the idea of us being something more just isn’t there. What’s he going to do? Leave his career behind? Dump Jade who pays him a ridiculous amount of money to be with me? I have nothing to offer him other than a person to surf with who happens to love a roll in the sack.

“Fine, fine. I get it. It’s like a whole conflict of interest or whatever, right?” Sage questions, but still probably doesn’t understand the seriousness. “That doesn’t mean you can’t have dinner with your friends and have some good conversation. He’s staying here.” She flits a hand over to the cute little blue cottage that sits behind The Pipe Dream. “It would be rude not to invite him”

She is right. It would be rude, and holy shit, she’s so convincing. Not that I would turn down a free meal, and fish tacos anyway.

“I’ll come,” I say, smiling, but it feels brittle, like it might fall apart any second. I hate this tension between Flynn and me, hating that I can’t just tell Sage what happened. “I’m going to take a quick shower and then I’ll be in,” I add, looking over at the outdoor shower that we all use after surfing.

“I could send Flynn down,” she teases, winking at me. “That shower is a great place to?—”

“Oh my god, Sage! No! Don’t say it! I don’t need to think about what you and Nate do in that shower!” I screech, laughing as she skips off toward the stairs.

“See you in a bit!” she calls out, tossing a hand up in a wave.

I stand under the stream of warm water, letting it wash over my skin, hoping to clear my head, but of course, now I’m just picturing Flynn in here with me.

Damn it, Sage.

Closing my eyes, I can feel his hands on my body, all exposed skin, my hands running over his taut chest, dipping lower to that perfect V of his stomach, all lean, pure muscle.

Fuck my life…again.

I dip my hand between my legs, the ache now taking over, and I know I can knock one out in just a few seconds in here alone, thinking about Flynn.

But as soon as I slide my fingers against my clit, I hear Nate’s booming voice, startling me like I was just caught watching porn. Not that he can see me, but still.

“Alana, what the fuck are you doing? We’re waiting for you!” he yells, pounding a hand along the wooden wall of the shower.

“I’m getting off!” I scream back, and he lets out a hard laugh.

“You better not be doing that in my shower,” he replies, disgust lacing his words, and I can almost picture his face all scrunched up and bothered.

“I’m not,” I lie, rolling my eyes, the ache between my thighs hating me for giving up so easily. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

A few minutes later, I’m dressed and heading up to Nate and Sage’s apartment. The smell of the tacos is wafting out the open door, the breeze from the ocean blowing through the house. And as much as I worry about being in the same space with Flynn, my stomach growls, reminding me that I do need to eat. Even if it’s going to be hard hiding my feelings for him, I’ll persevere for tacos.

“Finally,” Nate mutters, grumpily, but smiles when I walk over and plant a kiss on his cheek.

“Thanks for the invite. I’m starving. Tons of training today. A run this morning and some surfing and then surf school,” I say, feeling like I’m talking nervously out of my ass.

Flynn is watching me. I can feel the deep penetration of his soulful eyes, and I just hope that Nate and Sage can’t see the tension between us because it feels like it’s bouncing off the walls and echoing in my ears.

“How’s the training going?” Nate asks me, and I’m ridiculously grateful, so that I can shut up and stop this uncomfortable diarrhea of the mouth.

“I’m only a couple of days back in, but it’s good. Plan is to run every morning and build up to ten miles before Pipe,” I tell him, and when I turn back to where Flynn is sitting at the island, his gaze coasts down my body.

A shudder runs through me, the way he looks at me sets me on fire, lust spiking at the heat of his stare. I watch as his eyes fall to my chest, my nipples straining against the fabric of my fitted T-shirt, and I have no idea if I look completely obscene, not wearing a bra or my bikini top underneath.

I wish I would have said no. I should have gone home, knowing this would prove difficult, and it’s harder than I even thought. It’s the secret-keeping and the trying to act like I don’t care about Flynn that’s killing me.

“Where you been running?” Nate now asks. Sage and Flynn listen as Sage leans over, resting her elbows on the island.

“I love the run to Waimoku Falls and I think I’ll do that. It’s so peaceful and quiet early in the morning, and it’s a great place to cool off once I get there.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I watch Flynn shift in his chair. It’s subtle, and I’m sure I’m the only one who notices, his hand moving to his shorts, adjusting himself, and I cover my mouth. Letting out a cough to cover the smile and giggle that tries to escape.

“Nice,” Nate replies, nodding. “Ready to eat?”

Nate steps back, the counter all set up with the toppings for the tacos, and he motions with his hand for Flynn and me to start.

“We’re going to eat outside. It’s supposed to be a beautiful night,” Sage says, handing me a plate, and then one to Flynn.

I get everything ready and head outside, pulling out a chair, I sit down. Letting out a hard exhale the second I’m alone, feeling like I’m being completely obvious in my attempts to not obsess over Flynn.

And before I know it, he’s outside with me, leaning down, his mouth next to my ear. I feel his warm breath dance along my sensitive skin, overstimulated and on edge. Goosebumps line my body, popping up everywhere, and he hasn’t even whispered a word yet.

“Alana, you’re fucking killing me,” he murmurs, his words sharp and seductive. “Your tits are on display and all I can think about is sucking your nipple into my mouth, making you moan.”

His words are quick, but they shoot straight to my core. And he walks away like he didn’t just wreck me. Sitting down, he smirks, perfect and gorgeous, and there’s not a chance this is going to work. We can’t be around each other; it’s too much temptation.

“Then stop looking,” I hit back, wetting my lips as I lean forward. My tits are pushed up, front and center, and we are playing with fire here.

Nate and Sage could walk out here any minute and find us, the sexual tension exploding, making it obvious that there’s something happening between us.

I have to leave before Flynn does tonight, or I’m never going to get home.