7. The Guy, Beau

"My old man caught a twenty-inch speckled trout at Tabbs Bay yesterday. We need to go check it out," Hunter Jenkins said, knocking me in the arm. Hunter was a year older than me, and along with Josh, we spent a lot of time fishing together over the years.

I nodded, trying my best to listen to Hunter as my body's nerve endings took flight. I fought the inner call insisting I turn to where the girls sat. If I did, I'd draw unwelcome attention.

I anchored my hands on my hips for balance and gave a shake of my head to clear the low-level buzzing in my ears.

"I'll go with y'all to Tabbs Bay. I haven't been there in a while," Josh piped in and whacked me hard on the back, causing me to step forward or fall down. Irritated, I glanced up ready to tell the guy to kiss my ass, only to see Josh winking at Hunter. "Our guy here's gonna think about joinin' the team."

Oh hell, here we go again. The annoyance building inside me amped up about fifty percent. My brows snapped together as I stood to my full height, ready to fight Josh to the death. Probably mine, but I didn't care.

"He's gonna take my MVP spot," Josh added good-naturedly.

"Yeah. I'm guessin' that wouldn't be too hard to do," I shot back without thinking of the implications of my burn. "My national ranking's about your age. You wouldn't be able to catch me if I gave you a twenty-yard head start."

I got a round of whoops and hollers, mostly laughing as I threw the gauntlet. Josh didn't care, he joined in with the others, impressed with the way I came back at him.

"It's all good. You can have it because we'll be goin' to state for sure," Josh added loudly and lifted a hand for a round of high fives from the other guys.

The hum in my ears grew louder, drowning out all the other sounds around me. The pull I'd experienced overrode everything else, giving me no choice but to turn toward the girls. When the object of my subconscious attention came into my vision, it was as if I'd been struck from out of nowhere by a heat-seeking missile. I was stunned I stayed on my feet.

My heart drummed frantically against my rib cage. My body tingled all over. For the first time in my life, the self-disgust I lived with vanished. Replaced with a radiant, beautiful, stunning guy.

A heavy weight lifted off my shoulders, but the feelings didn't last. The urge to hide was too much a part of my psyche. My heart became a battlefield, fighting against my core.

Luckily, the choice in the decision was taken from me with a hard knock against my aching shoulder. When I turned, at least four sets of eyes stared at me. I forcibly resisted the connection until I understood better what was going on.

"Which one are you interested in? Remember, Ginny's my sister." Josh swelled his chest in an effort to look intimidating. I gave a half-hearted smile. No, Ginny held no appeal to me.

"Who else's over there?" I asked.

"Chae, Jessica, and Ginny. Mandy and Tracy are over there too. You gotta remember them. I guess. Maybe they've changed," Josh said. "I don't know."

"Who's the guy? I don't remember him." I prayed my voice sounded casually interested.

"You wouldn't know him. He's here with his sister I guess, who's here with Donny. Their dad owns the resort everybody hates. That's why nobody's talkin' to him. We all had to promise not to give 'em shit. Donny's got a thing for whatever her name is." Josh gestured toward a couple swaying as close as they could get to one another. I didn't remember Donny.

"Go for Mandy. She's easy," Hunter said.

"Hey, that's my girlfriend," J.J., another guy in the circle, said, using both hands to shove Hunter backward several feet. All the attention was taken off me, landing on Hunter. J.J. leaped forward, tackling Hunter to the ground.

It was like a wild wrestling match that somehow felt expected with the way their friends circled the guys to get a better view. Sides were instantly taken. The cheers rang, urging on the fight.

"J.J." Mandy screeched at the top of her lungs. The high pitch pierced an octave above the boisterous crowd. I was impressed as she bolted into the fight, Jessica on her heels. " Stop !"

My heart raced like a Kentucky Derby winner as I took several steps backward. I needed a way out of the situation and all the bad decisions this guy was likely to stoke within me.

I made a beeline along the outskirts of the party. Hopefully, once I hit the road, I could hitch a ride back to my grandparents' house. If not, the walk wasn't more than four or five miles. My escape turned into reality as I neared the closest cluster of trees, allowing me to slip away.

"Beau, where you goin'," Chae called. My shoulders tensed. I could pretend not to hear her but she might follow. But maybe she wouldn't…

"I'll be back. I gotta go…" My words trailed off, letting the implication handle itself.

"Hang on," she said closer to me. "There's someone I want you to meet."

No matter who she was with, I wasn't in the right frame of mind for small talk. I took another step toward the trees, but my damn ingrained manners got the best of me, reluctantly forcing me around.

My injured knee buckled into a funky stumble as I saw the blond guy walking stride for stride beside Chae. Jesus. He was as pretty up close as he was at a distance. Actually, prettier. Honestly, too beautiful to be real.

I put my fists on my hips, but I wasn't sure why, so I lifted a hand and nudged my ball cap from my forehead, scratching the hairline that wasn't in the least bit itchy. "Hey."

"Hey," he chimed back, mimicking me. Something confident and knowing crossed his face. What did that mean? "I'm Dasham."

I nodded. Dash-am. More like Dash-ing. Dash.

Maybe I pulled off casual as I pushed at my hair to place the cap back on. It was probably in my best interest not to look directly into his eyes, making my stare land on his chin. "I'm Beau. Or I guess you know that because she used my name..."

My normally steady tone cracked like it had when I entered puberty. Jesus, I wasn't fit for company. Best to stick to my plan and hightail it out of there ASAP. "Sorry. The airs got me…allergies…" As I fumbled over my lie, I clamped my mouth shut and cocked a brow at my own stupidity. I fisted my hands again and put them on my hips.

"You go by Dash?" I asked. What the hell was happening to me? I never put my hands on my hips, causing me to drop them to my sides.

"I do now." He grinned a genuine smile, making my heart ache. Chae laughed at me—not with me—like she'd been doing for most of my life. They weren't wrong. I wasn't fit for company. I pivoted around to continue with my escape plan. Screw my worry about being rude.

"Dasham!" The voice drew all of our attention, thankfully off me. His sister. The resemblance was uncanny. Maybe even his twin. "Donny and I are taking off. Drive my car home?" Donny strolled up behind her with all the swagger in the world, effortlessly giving off that cool guy edge.

"What? Joy. No," he countered, outraged, instantly squaring off with Joy. His pretty exterior didn't change, but the hard edge to his voice and the way one eyebrow arched, changed the casual guy into a force. "Of course, I can't. I don't have a driver's license."

"You can handle it. You drive better than me. Besides, you're the most responsible person in our family," she reasoned while Donny came up behind her, wrapping his arms under hers, tugging her backward into an embrace. The smile on both their faces spoke of lots of things, none that could be done there.

"You got it, man?" Donny asked. "I'll make sure to get Joy home—"

"No, I don't got it," he said, interrupting Donny. "I'm not driving by myself. End of story." He dismissed the idea. His answer was given. "And you have a curfew. And you barely know him. Why would you go off alone? You're absurd."

Joy tossed his words away without a care. "I've never been home when I say I will be. My parents go to bed at like nine o'clock every night. Yours do too."

"So?" he snapped back. "What about your word? And what about your promise to me? Nobody here likes me. I only came for you. If you're gone, there's no reason for me to stick around?"

"Oh, you're ridiculous, Dasham," Joy singsonged, rejecting his argument. "Go home now then."

"Drive me home," he shot back. "Then you can go wherever you want. We'll see if I tell your parents."

The exchange happened relatively quickly, but it allowed me the time to calm my body and regroup my thoughts. I did my best to rein in my over-the-top physical response while managing all this emotion I'd never experienced before.

"Maybe if you drive home, you can give Beau a lift," Chae added reasonably, which sounded like the worst idea I'd ever heard. "I should've told you that Josh never gets home on time. I don't have a curfew. I was gonna drive you home myself. I bet your mom's the kind of mom who waits up. None of our parents do."

The rush of uncertainty was back in full force. My gaze collided with Dash's. My insides trembled.

His absolute refusal to go against the rules showed cracks. He appeared to consider the idea. "I get my license in a few weeks," he said to me. "It's late so probably no one will see me."

"Our little celebrity," Joy chimed with humor. I didn't understand.

Joy and Dash had both won the genetic lottery. They had those pretty sun-kissed features and unique crystal blue eyes. They were both tall, thin, and wore preppy clothes, different from anyone else at the party.

"So we're gonna go," Donny said, his arms tightening around Joy, cuddling her against his chest as he took a step backward.

Dash appeared less than impressed and reached for his cell phone in his back pocket. It was a far fancier model than mine with a small keyboard attached.

"Tell me this guy's information," he said, briefly lifting his stare to Joy, his thumbs working the phone.

"Stop," Joy said with a put-upon groan, then she turned to wrap her arms around Donny's neck. He lifted her and started walking toward one of the trucks. We watched them go.

"She's always been so irresponsible," he mumbled, tucking his phone back inside his pocket. Chae burst out with laughter as the guys' fight began to encroach on us. Josh was trying to stop the brawl by lifting Hunter off J.J. and carelessly tossing him to the side. He landed with a thump, rolling close to us. Hunter was up and on his feet within seconds, doing a free dive back into the center of the guys. His resolve to fight to the death, earned an even louder cheer.

"I'll let y'all handle this. I'm gonna go get a beer and see what's goin' down," Chae said. "I don't imagine either of you drinks too much. Especially not him," she added and patted a palm on Dash's chest before walking away backward. "If you need a ride, Beau, tell me quick. Otherwise, I refuse to be the DD again tonight."

Here I was, staring at Dash the dashing, who stared right back at me.

Instinctually, I knew this moment was pivotal to my life. My senses warned that he was into guys, and he knew I was too. Since I'd never told another living person about this chaos inside me, I didn't understand.

The corners of his lips quirked up, the smile taking my heart.

I guessed I was riding home with him.

"I saw you on the road today."

Surprisingly, with Chae gone, I became less defensive, lifting my arm to see the sloppily applied bandage. "Not my finest moment. It wasn't too bad though. I survived the antiseptic."

"Good," he said, grinning broadly. "Did we stop you from using nature's bathroom?" Dash swept a hand out to the patch of trees in a quick, graceful move. My gaze followed the sweep, taking in the muscular bicep and defined forearm. His hand didn't appear to have calluses. When understanding replaced concentration, I chuckled.

"Honest answer?"

"Absolutely," he chimed back.

"No. I was in a turn-and-burn escape." My hand went to my head again, dislodging my ball cap. I was still nervous. "This isn't really my thing. I'm more of an introvert. There's too much happenin' here. I usually stick to myself."

"I'm the same. Joy forced me here. Our family was having dinner together…" Dash stopped, shaking his head. Frustration laced his next words. "I didn't want to come, but it was decided for me. It seems a lot is decided for me these days."

Of course, I didn't understand but I didn't need to.

Our gazes locked. Not awkwardly. I never wanted to look away. Slowly, his smile tilted up. "I take it all back. I'm glad I followed along. It's nice to meet you."