Just a Little Kiss Page 6

  “How’s it looking?” Mason stepped up behind me.

  I turned around and instantly regretted it because I’d boxed myself in. The washer pushed into my back as I tried to distance myself. In reality, Mason wasn’t standing that close to me, but God, it’s as though his nearness was a vacuum, sucking away all the space between us and drawing me in next.

  I cleared my throat. “It still has a few minutes.”

  “I’m going to go next door and grab a soda. Can I get you anything?”

  “I’m good.”

  “Be right back.”

  I watched as he walked away, appreciating every step he took and slowly finding the oxygen to breathe again. When the door swung shut, my body sank against the washer.

  The elderly lady who had been quietly folding clothes in the back smiled at me. “Tu eres fuerte. Si el me mira de esa manera, yo lo besaría.”

  Unfortunately I didn’t speak Spanish, but I’d picked up enough from Isla and her grandma to explain that. “Lo siento, no hablo español.”

  “Ay, sí.” She paused, as if trying to gather the right words, then said, “If he looked at me like that, I’d kiss him.” With a little laugh, she placed her folded clothes into a basket. “You’re young, mijita. Stop worrying about this”—she tapped her temple then moved her hand to her chest—“and listen to this.”

  Clearly, she thought we were a lot more serious than we were, but I didn’t want to be rude, so I smiled back then stared out the window as Mason walked past. And like always, when I saw him, my heartbeat sped a little and my stomach fluttered.

  Maybe the lady had been right about one thing. If I wanted to enjoy this, I needed to turn off my brain…but was that something I was even capable of doing?

  Chapter 6

  Mason

  Thanks to a fishing tournament, we actually had a weekend off. And there was no way I wouldn’t put it to good use. After we came in from our half-day charter, I headed over to Colby’s to hang out with him and his brother Landon.

  While it was nice to relax, I couldn’t get Felicity off my mind. Apparently, I’d misread all the flirtation between us. I’d thought she was interested, and even though I knew better than to get involved, I couldn’t help but get caught up in the moment. But then I go in for the kiss and get completely shut down. Which sucked. Big-time. A huge blow to my ego. It was for the best and all that—or so I kept telling myself—but something about that girl just drew me in. I wanted her and not just physically. Okay, it was mostly physical, but there was also something about her that was challenging. Like she held back but occasionally something would slip through and hook me, reeling me in to the mystery that was Felicity. And, shit, was I really using fishing metaphors?

  Landon, who was sitting on the back patio with me, nudged my shoe with his. “What’s up, man? You look way too tense for a weekend off. Need another beer?”

  I raised my half-full bottle. “Nah, I’m good.” I slouched back in my chair. “How well you know Felicity?”

  “Well enough.” He grinned. “Why?”

  “We’ve hung out a bit, being neighbors and all,” I quickly added. “A part of me wants to get to know her better—though I’m not sure the feeling is mutual—and the other part of me doesn’t want to stir up shit with Colby.”

  “Felicity…yeah, that’s a complicated story.” He sort of half smiled then added, “But I wouldn’t worry too much about Colby. He wants to do right by the world, but sometimes I think he gets a little too involved. And between you and me, I don’t think Felicity appreciates it.”

  “Really? Huh, that’s interesting.” But what was this complicated story all about? Owen had a big mouth. Maybe I could get it from him.

  “If you are genuinely interested in Felicity, and I don’t just mean in the bedroom…” He gave me a pointed stare, and I received his message loud and clear. These guys really watched out for these girls. “Then talk with Colby again. If he knows your intentions are good, he’ll back off.”

  The door opened just then and Colby stepped out with Owen.

  “Hey, Mase.” Owen bumped his fist with mine in greeting. “Hear you have the weekend off.”

  “Yeah. Now we just need to find a way to spend it.”

  “Maybe you should give that blonde a call,” Colby teased.

  But I’d already long forgotten about that girl. The bet had been the only reason I’d tried for her number. And now I needed to make that clear to Colby. If he thought I was hooking up with every girl in a ten-mile radius, he’d never give me the okay with Felicity.

  Of course, I still wasn’t sure she was interested in me, but there was a part of me that felt like we connected—when she allowed her guard down—and it was worth taking another shot. This time though, I’d go slow. Friends first. See where it went from there.

  “What blonde?” Owen asked, dragging me from my thoughts.

  Colby plopped in the chair next to me. “The daughter of one of our regular clients. Superhot and had the whole crew acting like a bunch of dumbasses, trying to score her number. But Mason here finessed his way right into her heart.”

  He was teasing, but for some reason it irritated me. Probably because I was annoyed with myself. I should have stayed out of that stupid bet because now, for ten measly bucks, I’d just confirmed my asshole status as far as Colby was concerned.

  Owen punched my shoulder. “Nice. So you going to call her?”

  “I trashed her number that night. It was a bet. I had no plans of actually calling her.”

  “Why not?” Owen asked.

  Landon stared at me, and I knew he wanted me to say something about Felicity, but I’d rather have that conversation with Colby when we didn’t have an audience.

  “She wasn’t my type.” I stood and moved past Owen to go inside. “I’ve got to take a piss.”

  Owen stepped aside, but I noticed him shoot a glance at Colby. They read through my excuse and probably sensed something was up, but I didn’t care to have a heart-to-heart.

  When I came out of the bathroom, Colby was in the kitchen.

  “Hey, man, everything cool?” he asked. “I was just giving you a hard time about that girl’s number.”

  “Yeah, I know.” I leaned against the counter. “Look, so I know Felicity is your friend—”

  “Landon already told me.”

  What? I was in the bathroom less than five minutes. These brothers were too fucking close sometimes. I should know by now what I told one would travel to the others in no time.

  Colby must have read my expression because he clarified. “He just mentioned I should lay off the whole Felicity thing and let you two figure things out on your own. And I know he’s right.” He lifted his baseball cap then readjusted it on his head. “It’s just, I feel like I need to watch out for her, and sometimes I guess I overstep.”

  “Do you like her?” I put my hands out to reassure him. “It’s cool if you do. I can respect that.”

  “Felicity? No. Of course not.” He shook his head as if horrified by the idea, which only furthered my confusion. “Not that there’s anything wrong with her,” he quickly added. “She’s a pretty girl, and supersweet and all that, but no…she’s off-limits. Totally off-limits.”

  “Why’s that?”

  He seemed to consider it for a second then shrugged. “It’s in the past. But look, I guess what I’m trying to say is don’t fuck her over, okay? Especially not right in front of me. You’re my cousin, and I don’t want shit between us, but I won’t be cool with you hurting her.”

  “I don’t plan on it. I just want to get to know her. Hell, to be honest, I’m not sure she’s even interested in me.”

  “Well, let’s find out. We can invite her over tonight.”

  “You’re cool with that?”

  “We have the night off. We can see if she and Isla want to come over.”

  “Isla’s coming over?” Landon walked around the corner just then with Owen following behind him. They must have been in hi
s room, which means they probably heard our whole conversation. Not that it mattered. I’m sure Colby would give them a rundown later, anyway.

  Colby turned to grab a beer from the fridge. “Yeah, we were thinking of inviting the girls over. You working tonight?” He glanced over his shoulder at Landon.

  “Shit. Yeah. I have to work. The bar always gets slammed during the tournament.”

  “What are you up to tonight?” Colby asked Owen.

  “I have plans with friends. Actually about to head out right now. I just stopped by to drop off some crap Mom sent over for Landon.

  I was glad to know I’d get to hang out with Felicity without too many other people around…that is, if she agreed to hang out with us.

  “Bummer. But y’all will both be around for the fish fry tomorrow, right?” Colby asked.

  Owen nodded. “Yeah, I’ll swing by.”

  “I have the day off.” Landon crossed his arms and leaned against the kitchen table. “Is Isla coming over tomorrow?”

  Colby glanced at Landon then shifted away again. And call me crazy, but there was something off about it. Landon had asked about her twice in the last few minutes, so it was safe to assume he was interested, but why did Colby get all shifty when Landon mentioned her?

  Holy fuck. Did they both have a thing for her? And if so, did Landon even have a clue? A girl coming between them would cause some serious strife. These two were way too close for something like that. Wow. And I thought the Felicity situation was a mess.

  “Yeah, everyone should be here tomorrow.” Colby turned to me. “So you want to run over to Eddie’s and see if the girls want to hang out?”

  “Yeah. Sure.” I wondered why he didn’t just suggest texting them, but a part of me suspected he may want out of this conversation. “I can drive.”

  “Cool.” He set down his beer. “Need anything while we’re out?”

  Landon settled on the couch and flipped on the TV. “Nah. I’m good.”

  Once in my car and on our way to Eddie’s, I turned down the radio. “So is Landon into Isla?” I glanced at Colby from the corner of my eye and noticed his posture stiffen.

  “Not really sure. Never asked him.”

  “Because you don’t think he is, or because you don’t want to know?”

  Colby stared at me, a little incredulous, maybe even a little put off, but then his expression sank and he turned away. “Probably don’t really want to know.”

  “That’d be hard. Both of you having a thing for her.”

  Colby spun to me again. “I never said I had a thing for Isla.”

  “So you don’t?”

  “I…I don’t know.” He shook his head. “I mean, no. Look, I’m pretty sure Landon likes her. And you’re right, I don’t ask because I don’t want to know. But I can’t have a thing for the same girl my brother likes. That’d be…wrong. So no, I don’t like Isla like that.”

  “Do you think she likes Landon?”

  He shook his head.

  “Do you think she likes you?”

  He shrugged. “There are some rumors, but…Forget I said that. And this conversation never took place.”

  “Okay, man. I’m not here to judge. But if you want to get my opinion or talk or whatever…”

  “Thanks, but everything about this conversation makes me feel like an asshole, so you mind if we just drop it?”

  “No problem.” I pulled into the parking lot of Eddie’s. “So do me a favor in there. You do the talking because I’m not totally sure if Felicity hates me right now.”

  “What?” He spun to me. “I think you failed to mention something.”

  I grinned. “We kind of hung out and may have had a near kiss that resulted in a teeny bit of awkwardness between us.”

  He groaned. “Now you tell me.”

  “Hey, I figured you shared something with me, I can share something with you.”

  “Yeah, but couldn’t you have shared that before we drove all the way here to invite them over? She’s not going to throw a drink in my face or anything, is she?”

  I laughed. “Nah, it’d be mine.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Dude, if you already screwed this up then why in the hell—”

  “Because now I have your blessing, and I really need to figure out if I still have a shot.”

  “Well, one way to find out.” He opened his door. “Let’s go see what happens.”

  When we walked in, Felicity had her back facing us as she rolled silverware into napkins. Her work uniform consisted of khaki shorts and a white tank top bearing the Eddie’s logo. Even though I could make out every curve of her body and she looked damn good in it, I preferred her in the dresses and skirts she wore during her off time. That look fit her more than this one. Not to mention the many fantasies I’d had about grabbing a fistful of one of those skirts and yanking it up to her hips while I slid myself between her thighs.

  She turned around, prepared to greet whoever walked in, but paused when she noticed me. Her gaze roamed down a bit—which didn’t help the fantasies running through my mind—then swung abruptly to Colby.

  “Hey.” She walked over. “You guys need a table?”

  “Nah, we’re just popping in to say hey.” Colby sat on the bench, pulled off his baseball cap and ran his hand over his hair. “Is Isla around?”

  “I think she’s in the kitchen. Want me to find her?”

  Colby slipped his hat back on. “No, that’s okay. We have the rest of the weekend off. Which never happens. We thought we’d see if you girls wanted to hang out tonight.”

  “We could probably do that.” She glanced my way as I leaned against the wall, trying to keep my distance but completely unable to take my eyes off her.

  After our near kiss, we’d spent the rest of the time mostly in silence. She’d ended up pulling out a book while I messed with my phone, and the only conversation we had from that point on involved how to work a dryer. I wasn’t sure if we were still stuck in that awkward phase, but I figured if she accepted Colby’s offer to come over, we could smooth things out from there.

  She looked back at Colby. “Where did you want to hang out?”

  Colby chuckled. “Since Isla won’t step foot on a boat, we could do my place.”

  “Sounds good. I’ll let Isla know and we can head over when we get off. I’ll text you if anything changes.”

  Colby’s gaze slid to me, probably sensing my relief, then went back to Felicity. “Cool. See you then.”

  She nodded, and her gaze returned to me.

  And I finally decided it was safe to speak, “See you later, Felicity.”

  Her lips parted, maybe surprised I’d broken the silence, then she mumbled, “ ’Bye.”

  And I smiled because even if it wasn’t much, I had a tiny bit of hope that maybe I’d have a chance with this girl after all.

  Chapter 7

  Felicity

  To say Isla had been happy about tonight’s plans was putting it lightly. She’d been ecstatic.

  “Does my hair look okay?” she asked as I parked in front of Colby’s house.

  “When doesn’t it?” I countered. Compared to my mess of waves, I’d give anything to have her sleek dark hair.

  “How about my outfit?”

  I opened my door. “You look gorgeous.” I stepped out of the car. “Now quit worrying.”

  She adjusted the thin straps of her cami-style top. “Let’s hope someone else thinks so.”

  A slight wave of panic ran through me. Mason had never met Isla. What if…Wait. It didn’t matter. He was a Summer Boy; if he preferred my friend over me, no big deal. It’s not like she would be interested back. Would she? No, just Colby. God, what was wrong with me?

  We walked to the door and rang the bell. It swung open.

  “Hey,” Colby said with a grin. “C’mon in.” He motioned for us to follow him through the small two-bedroom house and out the back door.

  Mason sat out there with Landon. When we stepped out they stopped laug
hing and turned to us.

  “Hey.” Landon smiled then glanced at his watch. “Shit, I’m going to be late for work. This tournament will have the bar packed tonight. Wish I could hang out but I gotta get going.”

  “I don’t envy you. The restaurant was totally slammed today.” Isla gave him a sympathetic smile then a quick hug. “But we’ll see you tomorrow, right?”

  “Yeah, I’ll be around. See you later.” He gave me a hug then excused himself into the house.

  “Can I get y’all a drink?” Colby asked. “We have beer or soda.”

  “Beer’s good.” I took a seat by Mason, intentionally leaving the one closer to Colby open for Isla.

  “I’ll have one too.” Isla sat in the chair across from me.

  Colby reached into a small cooler in the corner of the deck and pulled out two beers then turned to Mason. “Ready for another?”

  Mason held up his bottle, swished the contents then said, “Sure.”

  “I don’t think you’ve met Isla, have you?” I asked Mason.

  He shook his head. “Not yet.”

  I introduced her as my best friend and while they exchanged greetings, I watched him. His gaze didn’t seem to linger too long, which made me hopeful he hadn’t fallen in love at first sight.

  “How are you liking Port Lucia?” Isla asked as she twisted the cap off the bottle Colby had handed her.

  “It’s hot. Work’s hard. But all in all”—he glanced at me—“it’s been a nice change.”

  “How long are you here for?” She sipped her drink.

  “About five more weeks.” He finished his first beer, set the bottle down then unscrewed the new one. “I have to get back to school and settle in to my new place before classes start up.”

  “Where do you go to school?” she asked.

  “Sutton.”

  “That’s cool. Do you live in a dorm or an apartment?” She was good at making it all seem like small talk but if I knew Isla, which I did, she was fishing for details. I’d shared my concerns about his dating status, and she’d be damned if she didn’t get the answers tonight.