Page 29

Jace glared at me and then reached for his jeans. He unbuttoned them and slipped them off before tossing them at my head. "I'm already stripping. You better hurry and leave," he teased.

I threw his jeans down and kicked them. Then I watched in surprise as he stripped his shirt off and tossed it next to his jeans. "Put those back on," I muttered. My eyes set on his firm chest as he threw his hands behind his head and leaned into the soft couch. His body was like a piece of art. It was beautiful. I hated him for that. "Put them on or I'll make you."

Jace raised an eyebrow and kicked his feet up on the table in front of him. "Nah... I'm good. I like it better this way," he breathed. "I feel so... free."

I took a deep breath, walked over, and grabbed his jeans. I attempted to pick them up, but tripped when they caught under my feet. I fell over on my side and landed with my face in his shirt. "Shit!" I screamed. It smelled of fresh body wash.

I heard laughter before Jace walked over and stood above me. "Stop messing around. I think that your rides here. What would she say if she knew that you were on the floor sniffing my worn shirt?"

"What!" I screeched. "I'm not sniffing your…" I jumped to my feet and punched him in the arm. He was having way too much fun teasing me. “Shut up.”

He dangled his arm in front of him as if it was broken. "Shit, Avery," he groaned. His face looked pained.

"I'm sorry. I didn't-"

He grabbed me up in is arms, tickling my sides, as he laughed. I started squirming around and screaming as I attempted to pull away. "That's so cute," he grinned. "You have such a cute scream. Go ahead. Scream again."

I kicked my foot out and tripped Jace. His leg gave out on him and we both ended up on the floor with Jace on top of me. He smiled down at me and shook his hair from out of his face. "I like this position," he said breathless. Both of his arms were on the ground around my waist. His face was just inches above mine, his breath, warm sweet, as he breathed heavily. “It’s my favorite.”

I swallowed hard and turned my face away from his. Being that close only reminded me of that kiss. The one that was never meant to happen and that we hadn't talked about since. It made me nervous. I felt as if I could faint.

"Umm…"

We both looked over to see Stacy standing in the doorway. She smiled down at us and shook her head. "Am I interrupting something?" she giggled.

I pushed Jace over and jumped to my feet. Then I lightly kicked Jace in the leg as he laughed, clearly still amused. "Nope, not at all. I was just-"

"Sure," she cut in. "Let’s hurry. I made reservations for 'Island Magic'." She grinned from ear to ear. "I haven't been there in ages." She paused and looked at Jace as he stood back up. "Where's your… oh never mind," she said blushing. “We have to hurry.”

I gave Jace a dirty look before following Stacy out the door. I shut the door behind us and followed her to her purple jeep. It suited her personality well. "So, what is 'Island Magic'?" I questioned as we both jumped in.

She puckered her pink lips and started the jeep. Her leg was bouncing in excitement as she took off. "It's a fancy restaurant. You will love it," she said with a playful smile.

I looked down at Stacy's little black dress and suddenly felt a little underdressed in my silver sweater, black leggings and black boots. I really wasn't prepared for a night of fancy dining. Actually, I wasn't prepared for the night to happen at all. What I really wanted was to go home and relax in my warm bed. "I'm sure I will." I forced a smile and then looked out the window.

Twenty minutes later, we arrived at a glass building. The whole thing was made of glass and as we walked up, I could already see the palm trees, sand, beach chairs and girls walking around in bikinis. It was a crazy sight. I had never even known a place like that existed.

Stacy looked down at my boots as we started toward the door. "I hope those boots are easy to get off. You're going to want to put your toes in the sand. It feels amazing," she breathed. "It's the closest thing to heaven. That and the boys, of course."

I stopped and looked down at my boots. They had a few straps on the side, but were easy to slip off and on. Suddenly, I felt overdressed. Everyone was wearing beach stuff. It was the craziest thing I had ever seen. It wasn’t even warm enough to dress that way.

We entered the restaurant and was greeted by the hostess. She wore a lime green bikini with black flip-flops. Her golden hair was pulled back in a braid and she wore a smile that could light up the whole room. "Welcome ladies. You guys look quite lovely tonight." She reached for a couple of menus and winked at me. "Follow me."

Stacy grabbed my arm and pointed at the girls butt as we followed her. "That lucky, bitch," she whispered. The girls butt was flawless. I didn't even know that butts that perfect existed outside of movies. Her skin was perfectly tanned and she had a tattoo of a butterfly on her lower back. She was sweet and beautiful. Picture perfect.

We followed her to a table that was right next to the bar. Four white beach chairs sat around the bamboo table, and a beach ball stuck to the middle. The whole floor was made of glass, but right around every table, it was full of sand.

The hostess placed the menus on the table and smiled at us both. "You ladies have a wonderful date. William will be your waiter." She walked away glancing back at us, with a flirty smile, before she was out of our sight.

I sat down in a chair and pulled my boots and socks off. Stacy did the same. "That was weird," I said.

Stacy grinned and leaned back in her chair. "She's always hitting on the ladies when I come here. I think that she likes us," she said blushing, clearly happy with the attention. "So…?"

I looked at her confused. "So… what?" I questioned while reaching for the menu. Why is she looking at me like that?

She didn't take her eyes off me as she opened her menu and grinned. "What's going on with you and Jace? That was a pretty hot scene that I-"

"Oh no," I cut her off. I didn't want her getting the wrong idea. There was nothing between Jace and I. I didn't want anything from anyone. "There is nothing going on. I was just kicking his ass. You know how he can get," I said. I leaned back in my chair and took a deep breath when I noticed that I was gripping onto the table.