CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN Santa Cruz

Rebel—

“Fuck,” Brayden hisses softly beside me but doesn’t move.

“Um, I think you’ve got company,” I whisper.

His arm comes out from under my head, and he sits up, yanking a pair of sweats low on his hips. He moves to the window and peers out the curtain. “Rafe and Kyle. Let me get rid of ‘em.”

“Hey, Brayden,” one of them calls. “Come on out. Let’s go riding.”

Once Brayden leaves the room, I peek out the window and see two men in Evil Dead cuts. They look almost identical. I think I remember seeing them at the funeral, but I was never introduced to them.

They’re both about Brayden’s age, and probably went up through the club with him.

One climbs the steps with heavy thudding boots. “Move over. I have to take a piss.” He shoves past Brayden and into the house.

“Well, just come on in then, Rafe,” Brayden calls sarcastically after him.

The other man follows behind.

“What, Kyle? You have to take a piss, too?”

“No.” He chuckles. “But if Rafe is using your bathroom, I better come in and have a cup of coffee. It could be a while.”

“Rafe!” Brayden yells. “You better just be taking a piss.”

“Do you have someone here?” Kyle asks, amusement in his voice.

Shit. I better get dressed fast.

“Why do you ask?” Brayden responds.

I quickly find my abandoned yoga pants and panties and slip them on.

“You buy yourself flowers, do you?” I hear the crinkling of plastic, which I can only assume is Kyle lifting the roses from the table where we left them.

I throw the covers from the bed, trying to find where my bra and shirt went.

“And you planning to go on vacation? Or did you pick someone up?”

“Where do you think you’re going?” I hear Brayden call as footsteps approach.

“To find out the answers to my questions,” Kyle replies.

I find my bra, hook it, and twist it on. The door opens just as I slide the last strap up, but I still haven’t found my shirt.

“Well, look what I found.” Kyle grins against the doorframe.

Brayden shoves past him, trying to block me from view with his own body. “All right, you found her. Now get the hell out of here so she can get a damn shirt on.”

“Nice to see you, Rebel.” Kyle grins a white-toothed smile.

“Hi,” I mumble, my cheeks flaring red at my predicament.

“Well, I’m going to go find some coffee. Oh, and I’ll roll your luggage over, so you can put something on you can ride in.”

“I didn’t say we were going riding with you morons,” Brayden calls after him.

“Oh, but you are,” Kyle calls back, laughing. “Especially if you want me to keep your secret.”

“Fuck,” Brayden mumbles under his breath. He turns to me, his face scrunched in apology. “Want to go for a ride?”

I can’t help the belly laugh that pours from me. “Sure, why the hell not? I haven’t really met any of your friends, anyway, and hell, he’s already seen me in my bra. I might as well learn something about the man.”

“Ugh.” Brayden scrapes his hand down his face.

There’s a thump against the door.

“Bag’s right here. Oh, and you’re out of coffee.”

“Thanks, asshole.” Brayden opens the door and slides the bag inside.

“Bag? Brayden going somewhere?” I hear Rafe through the closing door.

“No, someone arrived,” Kyle replies.

Brayden flips the bag on the bed. “You better put something on quick before Rafe busts in here, too.”

I slide a tank top, jeans, and my riding boots from inside the bag and flounce off to his ensuite. “Well, they’re not getting any more shows.”

Ten minutes later, I move into the living room, trying to act like Kyle’s earlier peep show didn’t happen.

“Hello, boys.”

Rafe looks up, and his head immediately jerks to Brayden. “Man, you have a death wish. Shades is gonna kill you.”

“Yeah.” Brayden smiles. “But I’m finding it harder and harder to give a damn.”

“All right, enough small talk. Let’s ride. You ready, Victoria Secret?” Kyle smirks, clearly joking about our earlier meeting.

I’ve dealt with men all my life, so his teasing doesn’t faze me. “Just because you saw me in my bra doesn’t mean you get to call me anything other than my name. And my name is Rebel.”

“Wait, what happened?” Rafe looks around. “How did I miss seeing Rebel in her bra?”

“Because you were too busy pissing, remember?” Kyle winks at me. “You missed Rebel in all her glory.”

“Okay, stop talking about seeing my woman, or I’ll have to knock you out,” Brayden grumbles, causing both Rafe and Kyle to burst into laughter.

“All right, all right.” Kyle lifts his hands in defense. “I’ll stop. Now let’s go. Thought we could ride down to the coast. Maybe grab lunch or a beer at that seaside bar in Santa Cruz.”

“We can’t go yet.” I give Kyle a stern look.

“Why not?” He looks taken aback.

“Because you drank all the goddamn coffee. So, we’ll have to stop somewhere so I can get my life juice.”

“Oh, damn. I did do that.” He takes his last gulp. “All right, coffee, then beach.”

“Deal.” I rise to my feet, and we head out.

Brayden fires up his bike, and I climb on behind, wrapping my arms around him. Suddenly I’m back where I belong.

After a fifteen-minute stop at a little coffee shop on the corner and a beautiful ride over the mountains, I can see the coast.

Brayden rolls to a stop at the entrance to what looks like a long pier that stretches over the water. He takes a parking ticket from the machine and the gate arm raises. Then we roll up on the pier.

“You can park out here?” I yell over the rumble of his engine.

He nods, grinning at my joy. “This is the Santa Cruz Wharf, baby.”

We continue down the Wharf until we’re at the end that stretches far over the ocean.

Brayden backs into a spot, Kyle and Rafe slide in next to him, and we all dismount.

“Wow, it’s beautiful.” I gaze at the rolling waves and back at the view of Santa Cruz.

“You said you’d been to the beach before.” Brayden tilts his head, confused.

“Yes, but Gulf Shores, Alabama doesn’t have a pier you can drive on with shops and restaurants. I usually go to Fort Morgan where there’s pristine white sand so fine it’s like sugar, and only a scattering of people.

Brayden gazes out. “That sounds nice. And peaceful.”

I turn to him, and a giant old wooden roller coaster at the shoreline catches my eye. My mouth drops open. “There’s an amusement park here?”

Brayden follows my gaze. “Yeah, with a Ferris Wheel and some other rides. They usually have live music, too.”

“Oh, I want to go there.” I’m practically jumping up and down.

“We will, Grasshopper.” Rafe hangs his helmet from his handlebars. “But first beer.”

“And food.” My stomach rumbles just thinking about it.

“And food,” he agrees. “We came to the Wharf because they have the best fish and chips and fish tacos around.”

“Well, then lead the way.” I hold my arm out, gesturing for him to start walking.

The restaurant is painted in bright blues, greens, and yellows. We sit on a patio at a wooden table overlooking the water.

A few moments later, a waitress walks up.

“What can I get you started?” She looks at me.

“I’ll have the fried shrimp and a strawberry daiquiri,” I say.

“Great. Fries with that, okay, doll?”

“Perfect.” I close the plastic-coated menu.

“Same.” Rafe winks at her.

“A daiquiri? Really?” Kyle shakes his head. “I’ll have a beer and fish tacos.”

“Don’t knock the daiquiri ‘til you try it,” I defend.

Brayden orders his own beer with fish and chips.

I look out over the water and see several surfers gliding along waves.

“That’s so cool. Have you ever tried it?” I turn to Brayden.

“Surfing? Nope, my thrill is on the road.”

The unmistakable sound of seals carries to me, and my eyes widen. Brayden laughs and nods to the rail. I scoot out and peer over to the water below, then spin to face him. “There are seals down there!”

“There always are, babe.”

I watch them until my daiquiri arrives, and Brayden whistles for me to come back to the table. “They are so adorable! I could watch them all afternoon.”

The men laugh at me.

Picking up my drink, I offer a toast. “Here’s to good times with good friends.”

“I’ll drink to that,” Rafe says and clinks his daiquiri glass to mine.

Kyle and Brayden join in the toast.

“Do you guys come here often?” I ask, sipping my yummy drink.

Brayden shrugs. “Not that often.”

“I got lucky, then. I’m glad you brought me.”

He looks toward the shore and points out a building. “See that hotel?”

“Yes.”

“I just booked us a room.”

I smile big, because I know he’s doing all this to make me happy, and I am. So happy. “That sounds awesome.” I look over at Rafe and Kyle. “What about you guys?”

“We booked rooms, too. Got lucky they had some available. Now we can party and not worry about riding home drunk.”

“Do you do that often?”

“Nope. My father doesn’t like anyone riding if they’ve had too much,” Brayden replies. “Green got into an accident that almost killed him. Ever since that happened, Dad’s laid down the law.”

“I’m glad that’s a rule.” I put my hand on Brayden’s knee. “I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you. And I’m really excited we get to stay the night here with no rush to get back.”

He bumps my shoulder. “You can ride all the rides you want.”

“I haven’t been to an amusement park since I was a little girl. It’ll be so much fun.”

The waitress carries our plates over, passes them out, and we dig in.

I moan around a mouthful. “This is so good.”

“It’s the fresh air. It makes everything taste better,” Brayden says.

We finish our food and meander down the Wharf, stopping in little shops.

I browse through a souvenir shop and find a cute tank top that says Santa Cruz with a drawing of the Wharf on the front. Brayden buys it for me, and I start to worry about all the money he’s shelling out. “I have my own money, hon,” I tell him.

“Nope. As long as you’re with me, I pay. That’s the rule.”

My brow lifts. “Oh, there are rules, huh?”

He grins. “Some may be negotiable.”

Rafe comes out of a candy shop with a bag of caramel corn.

“We literally just ate.” Kyle rolls his eyes.

“And?” Rafe pops one in his mouth.

We make it to the boardwalk and the live music draws us in. We sit at a picnic table, listening to the music and drinking from a bucket of beer.

There’s a woman sitting at another table who looks like a surfer girl with her sandy blonde beach curls. Kyle tilts his beer in greeting. She smiles, but Rafe thinks she smiled in his direction, and waggles his fingers at her.

“Oh no, I think they may be after the same girl,” I whisper to Brayden. “They’re going to end up fighting over her.”

Brayden looks over, casually. “No, they won’t. Kyle will back down. He always does.”

I furrow my brow in confusion. “Why?”

He shrugs. “I think he feels guilty.”

Before I get a chance to ask what the man has to feel guilty about, the beautiful woman has made her way to our table. Her skin has a sun kissed glow, and her smile is bright.

“Well, aren’t you two a couple of attractive men? Are you identical twins?”

“Twins, yes. Identical, no. But we get that all the time.” Kyle and the girl stare into each other’s eyes.

“But I’ll tell you the secret to telling us apart.” Rafe breaks their trance. “I’m the attractive one.”

“And the one who got hit in the head,” Kyle adds.

The girl laughs, a tinkling sound that seems to draw Kyle’s attention like a moth to a flame.

“So, what’s your name, beautiful?” Rafe asks, sliding the chair next to him out, encouraging her to sit.

She looks to Kyle, but he’s watching Rafe and then turns his attention to his beer, so she slides into the empty seat.

“I’m Sutton.” Her gaze drops to their cuts, then she looks to me. “Are they cool?”

“Well, I only just met these two a few hours ago, but my man seems to like them, so they can’t be all bad.”

“Thanks for that glowing endorsement.” Kyle quirks a brow.

“Let’s just say it’s payback for Victoria.”

“Touché.” He tilts his beer toward me.

“Well, Sutton, do you have plans for today? Because we’re going to go on some rides, and I’d much rather have a beautiful lady sitting next to me than my brother,” Rafe says.

“That sounds like fun. I’d love to join you.”

We go on several rides, and Brayden even wins me a giant teddy bear from one of the carnival games.

I’m having so much fun, but I can’t help but feel a bit bad for Kyle. He’s like a third wheel. He tried sitting out on the first ride, but Sutton pulled him along and into the Ferris wheel car. I know he could have easily picked up another girl for himself so this wouldn’t be so awkward, but he makes no moves on any other woman.

As the night grows later, we eventually make our way to our hotel with Sutton still in tow. She’s been a ton of fun.

“We’ll see you in the morning,” Brayden calls as we climb from the elevator at our floor.

Both Kyle and Rafe are on the next floor up.

“I hope their rooms aren’t next to each other,” I whisper, turning to watch the doors slide closed.

Brayden frowns. “Why?”

“Because that would be cruel and unusual punishment to make Kyle listen to Rafe and Sutton in the next room when clearly he’s into her.”

Brayden slides the keycard into our door. “Really? I didn’t notice.”

“How are men so oblivious?” I roll my eyes, following him through the doorway.

“Well, it’s those tight jeans you’ve got on. Your ass is so distracting; I don’t have room in my brain to notice anything else.”

I brush past him and sashay my ass as I move to the bed. Then I slide my jeans down, slowly revealing the black satin thong I changed into before we left on our beach adventure.

“Fuck, babe. I’m already at attention.”

I glance over my shoulder, giving him my best sexy smile. “Then come put it to good work, handsome.”

“Yes, ma’am.”