Page 36 of Reckless Storm (San Francisco End Game #3)

Reed

W e make it all the way to Hayley’s apartment without stopping, prompting me to assume she gave up on the dancing idea when our driver drops us off.

But I should have learned by now— never assume.

“I’m going down.” Hayley motions to the basement as we walk to the elevator, before skipping ahead and pressing both the up and down button.

“I’ll wait by your truck while you grab your keys.

Here…” She hands me the key to her apartment and smiles while I stare at her, confused.

“I don’t want to wear out my dancing feet. ” She giggles.

“Are you sure you don’t want to sleep?” I ask, though I know it’s a lost cause.

“Not yet? Do you?”

A little bit, yep. I have practice at eight a.m. tomorrow and I could use some rest. But that’s not what I tell her. Because tonight is her night, and I promised to be there for anything she needed. “Nah, I’m good,” I lie.

“Good. Be quick.” She pushes me inside the elevator as she walks to the second one, making me laugh out loud. If there’s one thing I can rely on when it comes to Hayley, it’s that she always keeps me on my toes.

It doesn’t take long for me to grab my keys and join her in the parking lot, and when we get in my truck, she sends me in the direction of downtown San Francisco.

We drive in silence as she searches her phone for somewhere to go, and I take in the familiar sights until…

“Stop the car,” she yells suddenly, and I slam on the brakes in a panic, my eyes flashing to the rearview mirror. “What happened?”

“I found a place.”

“You what?”

“I found a place to go dancing.”

“Jesus, Hayls.” I run a hand through my hair as my pulse slowly returns to normal. “I thought we hit something.”

“Wouldn’t you feel that?”

“ Almost hit something then. Either way.” I shrug.

“Oooh. Nope.” She shakes her head, completely oblivious to the inner turmoil she’s caused, and I sigh to myself before noticing we’re in the middle of nowhere.

“Are we dancing in your mind?” I ask, grimacing.

“Always.” Hayley snorts with a smile. “But for now, I remembered a secluded beach close to here. It’s the perfect spot.”

“Oh-kay. Is there a club on this beach?”

“Nope. I’ve got a better idea. Turn around. It’s just down the road.”

I follow her directions, pulling up in front of what appears to be an overgrown forest, my face scrunching in concern. “Are you sure about this?”

“Of course. I found it when I was out running. It’s a short walk through the trees.” She hits me with an excited smile and my hesitation instantly washes away. This is Hayley. Her spontaneity is something I admire about her.

“Okay. Let’s do it.”

“Yay.” She reaches over the dash to hug me before glancing into the back seat. “Do you have any spare clothes in your truck?”

I follow her gaze and spot my spare gym bag. “I probably have a tee and some shorts in that bag.”

“Are they clean?”

“Yes, Hayls. They’re clean.”

“Grab them.”

“Okay.” After my many adventures with Hayley, I’ve learned not to ask too many questions once she’s on a roll.

And tonight is no different. Without another word, I follow her out of the truck, grabbing the bag of clothes before letting Hayley drag me along the narrow path, through the trees, dodging branches as we move through the darkness.

She doesn’t stop until we reach the edge of the sand and I take in the moonlight striking the beach in front of us.

The fresh night air hits my face, and I quickly shrug out of my jacket, wrapping it around Hayley’s shoulders as we both stare out at the ocean.

Hayley’s thankful gaze flashes to mine as the waves crash, and I can’t help but smile.

I’ve always liked the beach. Especially private ones.

And I don’t think you could get much more private than this.

Or perfect.

“I had no idea this place even existed,” I muse, unable to take my eyes off the water.

“Sometimes I think about how much is out there that no one knows exists,” Hayley whispers thoughtfully.

“The tiny wonders of the planet that go unnoticed, undiscovered. I’d like to believe I’m the only one that knows about this place, and now you, but I doubt that it’s true. God, wouldn’t it be amazing?”

She stares out at the shoreline while my attention stays on her, in awe of her spark.

She brings a brilliant light to the world, and I’m not sure she even realizes it.

In fact, I’d bet my life savings on the fact that she doesn’t.

I was worried that spark had dwindled for a while, but it seems to be back after the premiere and I, for one, am grateful for that.

I’m slow to tell her how perfect this is and she quickly moves on, reminding me why we’re here. “This is where we dance.”

I grimace.

“Here?” I laugh to myself as I take off my shoes and socks.

“Yep.” She nods, throwing my jacket back to me before slipping off her stilettos and hooking the straps over her wrist, her smile wide. “It’s perfect. Come on.” She runs forward and I follow, curling my toes into the sand as we move closer to the water, the glow of the moon lighting our path.

“How about you dance and I watch?” I question. “I wouldn’t want to break tradition.” I offer her my coat one more time and when she shakes her head no, I spread it out onto the sand, making myself comfortable. “See. This is perfect.”

Giggling, she drops her heels beside me and gathers her dress into her hands, draping the delicate material over one arm.

And then she dances.

Like the free spirit she is, she sways her hips to an imaginary beat, waving her hand in the air, her eyes closed as she loses herself to the moment.

Grabbing my phone, I scroll through my music and bring up “Shape of You,” by Ed Sheeran, remembering she once mentioned that she loved him.

Her eyes widen before she giggles again, changing her moves to match the new tempo.

She’s carefree and happy…until she’s not. “This isn’t working,” she huffs, letting her dress fall as she sulks over to me.

“What’s not? You looked pretty content to me.”

“I was. I am. But this dress.” Her gaze falls to my bag and her eyes light up.

“I was saving the clothes in case we got wet but…why not.” She squats down, rummaging around in my bag, locating the tee I’d mentioned earlier.

And before I can speak, she’s unzipping her dress, letting the material cascade down her body as she turns to face the water.

My gaze drops to the curve of her thong-covered ass and I slam my eyes shut, working hard to erase the image until Hayley’s giggle permeates the air.

“I’m decent. I promise. You can look.”

Not sure I can trust her, I open my eyes slowly and internally groan. She’s covered. She’s not lying about that. But she’s anything but decent.

Hayley’s not a short woman, but since I’m still much taller, my T-shirt hits the top of her thighs, barely covering her panties.

I force a smile when she laughs, then change the song to distract myself, selecting a random playlist, too fucking flustered to concentrate.

We joke all the time about being attracted to each other, but I’ve never felt the pull I do now. I’ve never wanted to throw caution to the wind and risk our friendship like I do at this moment. And I can’t for the life of me figure out why.

Everything about her is sucking me in—her joy, her laughter, her body.

Fuck, her legs are begging to be wrapped around my waist while I slam into her, and God-fucking-dammit.

Seemingly unaware of my internal flip-out, Hayley resumes dancing, swaying her hips to whatever song I put on. I can’t even tell if I’ve heard it before.

When her eyes flutter shut, I take the opportunity to really watch her, to drink her in without getting caught, but when the tempo changes, she raises her hands above her head and I do everything I can to shift my focus, praying I have the willpower to avert my gaze.

Staring up at the stars, I count backward from a thousand, willing my thoughts into safer waters, and I’ve just reached nine hundred and thirty-five when Hayley drops down beside me, nudging her shoulder into mine.

“It’s beautiful out here.” She squeezes my hand. “I barely saw the stars where I lived in Sydney. Sure, they were there, but it was nothing like this.”

“It can get like that here too. But near the ocean, it’s a different story.”

“Do you watch the stars often?”

“Me? All the time,” I lie unconvincingly. “I’m especially fond of the Running Back and the Wildcat constellation.”

Throwing her head back, Hayley laughs out loud, biting her lip before she spins to face me. “That just so happens to be my favorite too. What a coincidence.”

“Nothing’s a coincidence,” I blurt out, having heard that many times in my life without really thinking about it.

“I may have heard that once or twice.” She smiles. “Does that mean our relationship is meant to be?”

“I think it might.”

Hayley’s laughter softens as the song changes, drawing our attention.

“Okay, break’s over.” She shakes off her hands. “It’s time for you to join me.”

I chuckle, glancing her way until her expression turns serious. “Oh, no.” I shake my head wildly. “No, thanks. I’m good right here.”

“It wasn’t a question, Baby.” She winks as she stands, grabbing my hands to pull me to my feet. Or at least to try and pull me to my feet. And when I don’t budge, she pouts. “Please,” she begs, frowning as if I could ever truly say no to her.

“Ugh. Fine. But I’m choosing the music. What is this crap?”

Hayley shakes her head with an incredulous smile, stepping back as I roll up the cuffs of my pants and stand.

“This crap is the number one song in the US right now.”

“Not on my playlist.”

“Okay, DJ, take it away. I can’t wait to see what you’ve got.” She hits me with a devilish grin, biting her finger as her gaze locks with mine. And despite being cold outside, my body temperature rises.

This could be dangerous, but fuck if I can stop it right now.