Chapter 17

My lungs burned as the spray of the water came up around me. Aiden kicked at me again, and my arms flew up to protect my face. I'd already had one unintentional shower today, and I didn't need another. Not that this was really getting clean... the other one hadn't been, either.

Joe jumped on my back, his arms wrapping around my shoulders as I struggled to maintain my balance. He ended up winning as I fell to my hands and knees, sucking in a mouthful of salt water. I hadn't played in the ocean like this since me and Aiden were kids.

When Aiden had taken off and Joe followed, I didn't want my friend messing with my brother. Instead, this had turned into a battle, which was the most fun I'd had in forever, and I loved it. My gaze traveled to the shore, where Chase sat with Andrew and Brandon. Brandon leaned into Andrew's side while Chase played with his phone. He didn't look bored, but I couldn't leave him by himself with my friends for long. If only I could get him out here to join us.

Once I was able to get my legs under me again, I stood and put my fingers in my mouth to issue a loud whistle. Chase's eyes snapped to me. I waved him down, to which he shook his head. Like an idiot, I kept waving. My goal was to have fun and no one would ruin it today.

Chase dropped his phone in the sand, kicking off his shoes before pulling off his tank. That smooth, sun-kissed skin came into view and my mouth ran dry. Before I could truly appreciate it, Aiden tackled me back into the surf.

When I breached the surface of the water, I was greeted by the dirty blond god himself. The seawater rolled off his chest, and I latched onto his shoulders before pushing him into an oncoming wave. Chase hollered as we all continued to splash and play.

When we were finally out of breath and exhausted, we dragged our soggy asses back to shore and dropped next to Andrew and Brandon on the sand. Chase leaned in close, his head on my shoulder. "Is something going on there?" he whispered in my ear. A smile stretched across my face as I shook my head.

"Nah, they've been best friends since they were kids."

"The hell are you guys whispering about?" A handful of sand landed on my lap and I glared at Joe before flipping him off.

"None of your damn business."

Everyone fell back into a relaxed state, talking and laughing amongst themselves. We sat in a row on the beach. It was like the group of us all belonged together. Like this was meant to be. Chase fit in perfectly with my friends.

Aiden leaned in close and was whispering something to Chase. I knew the two had talked back when we were teens, but I'd never thought of them as close. It helped that they knew each other already. I craved to know what they were talking about because that smile that had vanished when we first got to the beach was back on Chase's face and I wanted to be the one to put it there.

When the wind picked up and the tide rolled in, we made our way back to my uncle's house, stopping at the IGA to pick up a few packs of beer. Aiden hung out outside so that no one thought we were trying to buy it for him. It probably all still looked suspicious.

Uncle Drew had the firepit going when we made it back. I was shocked that he managed to clean the other two properties in the time we'd been gone. Of course they might not have been in as bad of a condition as the first place.

There was a cooler set out with some ice and we loaded it with the beers before piling around the firepit. Uncle Drew had stashed away his lawn chairs and my neck heated as I remembered the reason why. He didn't trust that we wouldn't ruin any more of them.

I had just settled onto the ground with a lukewarm beer in my hand when Chase plopped next to me.

"Well, this turned into an interesting day."

I chuckled before bringing the bottle to my lips and taking a long sip. "You're not wrong."

He stole my beer and took a drink before handing it back. My mouth hung open before I laughed and chugged the rest of it back. "Are you going to get me another one?"

He shrugged before producing another bottle from behind his back. "Got a problem with sharing with me in front of your friends?"

I bit the inside of my bottom lip, wondering just how comfortable he was. We weren't supposed to be more than a summer hookup, but this felt like a dare. Did he want to look like more to them?

Without thinking too much more about it, I wrapped my hand around the back of his neck and pulled him into a kiss. The taste of the beer clung to his lips, and he melted into me.

"Oh, shit..." Joe's expletive wasn't surprising. I'd told my friends about Chase, and had even told them about being bi, but they'd only ever seen me with girls.

Chase flushed, then blinked and grinned at me as I pulled away. The bottle of beer came up between us as he took another long drink before we turned back to conversation with my friends.

This was feeling less and less like hookup territory.

Sunlight streamed in through the blinds as I stretched in bed. I froze when I met the warmth of the body pressed against me from behind as the flood of memories from last night hit me.

We'd all stayed up late drinking and joking around by the fire. No one was sober enough to go anywhere when we finally noticed the time.

Rolling over to see Chase in my bed was unreal. Even before, this hadn't happened. We'd been too afraid that someone would realize that we were more than friends. He'd always respected my reluctance to come out. It was my hope that it made a difference now that he knew I wasnt afraid to be open about myself.

Those gray eyes blinked open, and a slow smile spread across his face.

"Morning," he mumbled.

I wanted to roll over, pin him to my mattress, and have my wicked way with him. He was temptation while lying here with me. There was no stopping me—.

"Boys!"

Except for that. Uncle Drew called from the kitchen. Maybe my friends and brother were already up and eating breakfast. They were heading back to Seattle today, but it had been fun to see them the day before. I hadn't intended to spend all this time isolated from them, but at least I had Chase as a good distraction.

"We should get up."

Chase rolled onto his back and stretched. "Do we really have to? Your bed is so comfortable."

The sheet slid down, exposing his chest. God, why was life unfair sometimes? I wanted to jump him right there. All that skin was damn delicious looking.

"If you don't get up, I'm coming in."

That was enough to get us moving. Chase shot from the bed, and I groaned when I noticed that he'd slept in nothing but those gray boxer briefs. They clung to his ass, and I wanted to rip them off of him. Instead, I dug around for a pair of basketball shorts in my bag and threw another pair at him.

Chase stared at the loose material in his hands for a moment before looking up at me. I shrugged as we both pulled on the shorts and made our way to the kitchen. The whole time, I couldn't get over the fact that Chase was wearing my clothes.