That Summer: A Small Town Friends-to-Lovers Romance (That Boy Book 6) Read online

  “Ah, I got it. Same old story, new terminology. Is Hunter friends with Chase and your brother?”

  “No. Chase isn’t a fan. Which means my brother isn’t either, if I cared to ask for his opinion.”

  “Well, he certainly seems, um, different from Matt.”

  “Matt was an idiot,” I say, taking another sip of beer. And in that moment, on a hot day, sitting on a dock, I realize it actually tastes really good.

  “Why did you date him for so long then?”

  “Because I didn’t know he was an idiot until—” I stop talking, realizing I almost spilled the beans.

  “Until what?”

  “Until, you know, I realized it. Fully. For myself,” I word-vomit.

  She nods in understanding, and I think she thinks she knows what happened, but I’m not going to get into that. Not here. And probably not ever. We’re over. I’m over thinking about him.

  “Well, I was going to say, the reason your brother and Chase are at the resort is because, apparently, there are cute girls there.”

  “Yes, I heard.”

  “And I was just thinking …”

  “That there might be some cute boys, too?”

  “Exactly, although I guess you can enjoy the view but not talk to them?”

  “I can speak to them. I can be nice. I can probably even flirt a little. I just can’t text them or give them my number.”

  “Ah,” she says, just as one of the cutest boys I’ve ever met steps onto the dock, shirtless.

  Jennifer cocks an eyebrow at me and nods in Chase’s direction. “I swear, he grew while he was gone. Hard to believe he’s only fifteen.”

  She lets out a sigh, and I’m pretty sure she might have a little crush on him. She is the one who first told Jadyn that Chase belonged on an Abercrombie bag, and it was through her contacts that he got an agent and started modeling. He’s already been in a national preppy brand’s ad. A photo of him sporting patriotic shorts, a white polo, and a navy sweater wrapped around his neck hangs in department stores around the country. Mixed in between his football camps the last three weeks, he also did a couple more photo shoots.

  Chase seems completely unaffected by it. Even when girls at school were bringing in pictures of him from a magazine ad and asking him to sign it. He just shrugs about modeling, says he’s only doing it because he wants to be able to handle himself in front of a camera, whether that’s doing interviews with the press or the endorsement deals he hopes to someday get. My brother, who used to talk about modeling, has deemed it too boring for him.

  “Any luck?” I ask Chase, trying not to let the sarcasm I feel show in my voice. But from the way Jennifer looks at me, her eyes narrowed, and then looks at Chase before smiling like she knows something I don’t, I realize I didn’t succeed.

  “Heck yeah,” my brother replies.

  He strips off his tank top, tosses it on the dock, grabs the beer from my hand, and chugs it. Then, he runs off the end, screaming, and cannonballs into the water, splashing Dad and Phillip.

  Jennifer gets up and joins the group in the water, but instead of jumping, she goes down the ladder and swims over to them. Chase sits down next to me.

  “Your brother is a horndog,” he says with a laugh.

  “Lots of girls over there?”

  “A few but no one interesting.”

  “I don’t think Damon is looking for interesting.”

  “That is true. He’d prefer she let her lips do the talking.”

  I slap his leg. “Chase!”

  “What? He would.”

  “And what about you?”

  He doesn’t answer my question. Instead, he says, “How’s good old Hunter doing today?”

  “Bored without me,” I say even though I know nothing of the sort.

  “Well, Grandpa Mac asked if I would take the boat over to the marina and fuel it up. I heard they have ice cream.”

  “Let’s go, but I get to drive.”

  Chase, Haley, and I get gas and ice cream. We cruise the lake for a bit, and then we’re back in time for horseshoes and appetizers. Even though Haley and I could have stayed out on the boat forever, Chase kept checking the time because his grandmother’s homemade potato chips and French onion dip were on the menu.

  We snack and play games, and I try my dad’s old-fashioned—of which I am not a fan of. We have a scrumptious dinner up on the screened porch.

  We sit at the table and talk until the sun is ready to go down.

  I can’t remember the last time I sat at a dinner for nearly three hours.

  Or if I ever have.

  Even the babies were happy.

  The sunset is as pretty as the sunrise was, and even though we had dessert not long ago, everyone is ready for s’mores around the fire. My dad fires up the pit, and I can smell the burned sugar already.

  “You want to do anything tonight?” Chase asks me.

  I stifle a yawn. “I’m actually tired. You got me up early this morning. I’ll probably go lie down and maybe read for a bit.”

  “You want company?”

  “Nah. I won’t last long. But you can come tuck me in.”

  He comes up to my room, waiting until I brush my teeth and am in my robe before tucking my covers in and kissing me on the head.

  “Sweet dreams,” he says as he heads toward the door.

  “What are you going to do?” I ask, noticing he doesn’t look all that tired.

  He shrugs. “I might make a quick call on the house phone.”

  “Who to?”

  He stops short of rolling his eyes at me. “Kelsey. She asked me to.”

  “Cool,” I say even though I’m feeling anything but.

  He softly closes the door behind him.

  I get up and throw on a pair of my slinkiest pajamas—a pink silk set consisting of a cropped cami and teeny matching shorts.

  I wait a few minutes, and then I sneak out of my room, go down to the hall outside the kitchen, and eavesdrop on his conversation.

  And something about it sounds familiar even though I can’t really hear the words he’s saying.

  Suddenly, it hits me.

  Chase’s deep voice is soft, smooth as the silk I’m wearing.

  He’s using the same voice with Kelsey that he uses with me.

  I feel betrayed.

  Insanely jealous.

  And also, I realize, worried about Chase’s well-being.

  I mean, what’s a senior girl doing, talking to a sophomore boy, like she’s some predatory cougar? What if she takes advantage of him?

  I move a little closer, trying to hear anything.

  “Well,” Chase says, “I suppose, when I get back, we could do something like that. If that’s what you want.”

  And I realize that she’s talking dirty to him.

  What the hell?

  I cough on my own spit, and knowing I can’t hide my presence anymore, I make an entrance, pretending not to know that he’s on the phone and that I’m just coming to the kitchen for …

  Shit, why am I here?

  Oh, yes. Cake. I want some chocolate cake.

  Chase chokes when he sees me.

  I mean, I am wearing lingerie.

  Take that, Kelsey.

  “Hey, I gotta go,” he says to her. “Yeah, sounds good.”

  When he hangs up, I say, “Sorry. I totally forgot you were on the phone.”

  “You going to call Hunter?” he says, reminding me that I’m supposed to have a guy in my life. And that if I can talk to Hunter exclusively, then he can talk to whoever he wants.

  But I also notice that his eyes are glued to the silk and how it barely covers my body. I sashay to the cake stand on the island and take off the domed lid.

  I don’t answer his question, knowing it was a rhetorical one. “You want a piece?” I ask instead.

  Chase swallows hard, his eyes growing large and connecting with mine.

  And I realize how that sounded.

  Like I was offering him a piece of me.

  “Cake,” I say with a forced smile, pretending to be offended even though I’m not.

  Because the way Chase Mackenzie just looked at me felt very grown-up.

  “Can we eat it together in your bed?”

  I expect to find a boyish smirk on his face, but when I glance at him, I find something else.

  Desire.

  He’s flirting with me.

  No, actually, he’s kinda, maybe, sorta hitting on me.

  Holy shit.

  Is that what I want?

  Is that why I came down here, all lingeried up?

  When I don’t respond, he stands up, all six feet two and three-quarter inches of him, and struts toward me. For a moment, I envision him picking me up, setting me on the kitchen island, and having his way with me.

  And I like the vision.

  I’m breathing deeply when he places his hand on mine, removing the knife from my hand and cutting one large slice.

  For both of us.

  And I realize he’s serious.

  Which shouldn’t be that big of a deal. We eat in his bed together all the time but not mine.

  Not mine.

  He puts the cake on a plate, pours us a glass of milk, and nods his head toward the stairs.

  Um … when did it get so hot in here?

  I run my hand through my hair, trying to think.

  “Your hair has always reminded me of sunshine,” he tells me, making his way to the stairs while I stay rooted in my spot.

  Finally, he stops and looks back at me. And I get it. I am talking to Hunter. He’s talking to Kelsey. But he still wants things to be normal between us.

  My feet start moving. They follow him up the steps and into my room. I close the door behind us, sneakily locking it,
just in case.

  Just in case of what, Dani?

  In case someone opens the door and gets the wrong impression.

  Nothing to see here, people. Nothing to see.

  I consider telling him we should take the cake out to the balcony. But then he sits on my bed, forks a piece of cake, and holds it out to me. I immediately join him on the bed, pulling my legs into a pretzel shape and sitting across from him, and open my mouth.

  Him sliding the cake across my lips feels almost sensual. And I have no idea why.

  Actually, that is wrong. It didn’t feel as sensual as what he does next.

  He leans toward me, his eyes locked on my lips, and uses the pad of his thumb to gently wipe some frosting away. Then, he puts his thumb up to his mouth and licks it off with his tongue.

  And I might have just passed out.

  Who is this boy? And what has he done with my best friend?

  I let out an involuntary moan.

  “Grandma makes really good cake, doesn’t she?” he says, feeding me another bite.

  A piece of the cake drops onto the bed, and Chase looks down, ready to pick it up, but then he stops, freezes.

  “Uh,” he says, quickly pulling his hand back, diverting his eyes, and waving a finger in my direction. “I uh, your, uh, short things, uh, they don’t exactly—they don’t cover much.”

  Oh shit!

  I look down and am surprised to see everything is fully covered. “You can’t see anything,” I tell him, starting to almost breathe normally again even though my heart is racing.

  “I know, but it was just a little too close for comfort.”

  I pick up the cake then grab a pillow and set it on top of my lap. “I’m sorry.”

  He gives me that little-boy smirk. He totally stole all the cookies with one look. “Yeah, you don’t need to be.”

  “Chase!”

  “What? It’s not my fault. Why are you even wearing something like that around the house? You could have given Papa a heart attack.”

  “Because it’s sexy?”

  “Because it’s very sexy,” he admits, sliding his hand across the fabric covering my stomach. “And soft.” He tilts his head at me. “Two questions for you, Dani.” I’m wondering if one of them is going to have something to do with taking the silk off when he says, “One, were you trying to distract me from my call with Kelsey with lingerie? And two, did you hear any of what was said?”

  I let out a huff. God, I hate when he does that. When he knows exactly what I am doing, even when I’m trying to be tricky about it.

  “Well, that answers the first question,” he teases. “What about the second?”

  “Yes, Chase, I heard a little.”

  “And what do you think we were talking about?”

  “She was talking dirty to you! I know she was. And you had that deep, dreamy tone to your voice that you usually only use when you’re talking to me,” I blurt out.

  Chase smiles. “What did you hear exactly?”

  “You were all sly and were like, ‘Well, I suppose, when I get back, we could do something like that. If that’s what you want.’ ”

  “And you think she was referring to sex?”

  “Well, wasn’t she?”

  “Actually, she wasn’t, Dani. She wants me to help her wash her car.” He sets the cake on the pillow, gets off the bed, and says, “But I appreciate the show. Good night again.”

  He walks out.

  And I let out a silent scream.

  Thursday, July 16th

  I guess she found the one.

  I wake up to find the sun shining through a little strip of the blackout curtains that didn’t quite get closed. A glance at the clock by the bed tells me I slept in. It’s almost ten!

  Needless to say, after Chase left my room last night, I was feeling a little irritated. So, I ate all the cake, drank all the milk, and then sat there and fumed.

  I get up, pull the curtains open, and see what everyone is doing.

  One of the boats is gone, and no one is in the backyard or by the pool. The house is quiet. I glance at the boathouse, wondering what Mr. Know-It-All Chase and my brother are up to.

  I put my hair up in a messy bun and throw on a bikini, jean shorts, and a tee. Then, I make my way downstairs.

  Literally, no one is around. Even the dogs are nowhere to be found, and I’m feeling slightly abandoned.

  I find homemade chocolate chip muffins on the counter that weren’t here last night.

  At least they were here this morning.

  I grab one along with a glass of OJ and decide to enjoy the quiet time. I can’t imagine there will be much of it during this trip.

  I consider sitting on the deck but decide to go down to the boathouse, a cute swinging chair calling my name.

  I’m almost down there when one of the chairs spins toward me, scaring the crap out of me and almost causing me to spill my juice.

  Chase is in one of the egg-shaped chairs, his long legs in criss-cross applesauce—much like mine were last night during the cake episode—a book in his hands.

  “You didn’t wake me up this morning.” I pout.

  A smile lights up his face as he raises an eyebrow in my direction. “You didn’t tell me to.”

  “I didn’t tell you to yesterday either, but you did. Where is everyone anyway?”

  “Remember that board I showed you?”

  “Yes, but I didn’t look at it.”

  “Well, if you had, you’d know that most everyone is golfing. My dad is out in the boat, pulling my brothers around. They were wakeboarding earlier and are now tubing. The pups are with them. They go by every so often. Mom and Jennifer and the babies are at baby swim lessons up at the resort.”

  “And how come you’re not with everyone?”

  “I had a video interview at eight this morning, went for a run, lifted, and then came back. I made myself a protein shake and had some fruit. Thought I’d enjoy the quiet.”

  I take a seat in one of the swings next to him.

  “What do you think we should do today?” I ask him.

  “What time is it?”

  “Like, ten.”

  “I’m hungry, so I’ll probably go up and make an omelet first, but I was thinking today should be the day you learn to slalom ski.”

  “I already know how,” I counter.

  “Sorry, the day you learn how to get up on one ski as opposed to kicking one off.”

  “Thank you.”

  “But, by the time I cook breakfast and then eat it, you’ll have your call with Hunter,” he says, the corners of his mouth turning down.

  “Shit, I almost forgot,” I mutter.

  “Already? Nice.”

  “I didn’t forget. I just—I just got up, okay? I’m still not really awake.”

  “Well, obviously, you weren’t dreaming about Hunter, or he’d be fresh on your mind.” He’s full-on grinning now.

  I grab the book in his lap. “What are you reading anyway? Thoughts of a Champion?”

  “Yeah, it’s actually pretty interesting.”

  I read the synopsis on the back. “So, this will help you become an elite athlete?”

  “No, it won’t do that, but it can help teach me to have the mind-set of one.”

  “Hmm, and the video call this morning, what’s up with that? I thought we aren’t allowed technology.”

  “We aren’t. I had to go to the business office at the hotel, and since it was for a modeling job, my mom said it was okay.”

  “So, I could go up there and video-chat with Hunter if I wanted to,” I say, grinning back at him. I can’t let him think that just because I got a little jealous last night, I like him in that way.

  “Yep. I. Suppose. You. Can.” And just like that, a flip switches, and Chase’s easygoing demeanor is gone. “I got the job, thanks for asking,” he says curtly and then adds, “I’m gonna go make my eggs. See ya later.”

  I sit on the swing, eat my muffin, drink my juice, stare at the water, and contemplate my life.

  Unfortunately, the water doesn’t seem to have any answers, so I think about what I want.

  Hunter.

  Which answers my question.

  I take one of the golf carts from out front, go to the resort’s business office, log in to a social media site, and send him a direct message.

  Hey, Hunter, good news! The hotel has a business office with computers, so we can video-chat today. Hope your workout was good. I’m here, so call me as soon as you’re done.