Shaw sets Buddy up in Maddie’s room with water and food while I grab towels, a frisbee, and a tennis ball from my Jeep. We meet up and head to the beach to find the girls. The dry sand is burning hot on the soles of my feet when we pause to scan the area for Maddie and Clover. I shift from one foot to the other.
“I see them,” Shaw announces, taking off. Following, I don’t pay much attention to anyone else. The slight sea breeze ruffles my hair, giving me a brief respite from the god awful heat. I can’t wait to dive under the water.
Shaw stops next to Maddie, spreading his towel out on the sand beside her sleeping form. He drags his index finger down her spine, and she awakens with a jolt, rolling over.
“Shaw,” she growls, looking displeased for about two seconds before she jumps to her feet with a squeal of happiness. He sweeps her into his arms, burying his face in her neck. I can see his lips moving, but I can’t hear the words they’re exchanging.
If I had to guess, it’s some sappy shit like, “I couldn’t be away from you for another minute,”—or—“I missed you so much, love bug.”
Okay, in his defense, I’ve never heard him call her love bug. I may not know what he’s saying to Maddie, but one thing is for sure: Shaw loves my sister. It took me some time to adjust to the idea of them being together, but now that I see how much he cares, it’s all good.
Movement next to Maddie catches my attention. Glancing over, I get hooked like a fish on a line by the goddess in a scrap of a green bikini. Holy shit. Clover looks even better than the last time I saw her—which was only last week. But last week, she had clothes on—well, more clothes on. My day has quickly improved.
“Hey, Lucky.” I drop my towel next to her and take off running, kicking up sand behind me.
“Marshall, you’re an asshole,” she yells. I pump my fist to let her know I heard and barrel straight into the water, running until it’s deep enough for me to dive under. Rising to my feet, I shake my hair back and begin to swim farther away from the shore.
The ocean feels balmy today, but that probably means it’s somewhere in the sixties. There’s no such thing as warm water along the coast of Massachusetts.
Most people ease their way into the water inch by paralyzing inch. But that’s like a slow torture. I find it’s best to commit and get it over with. Once you dunk under, you get used to the cold and it’s not nearly as bad.
After a while, Shaw joins me. We throw the tennis ball back and forth, sometimes throwing in a side arm motion where it stays low and skims along the water. Maintaining balance against the waves crashing against us and diving for the ball is a great workout. I could do this all day.
Or at least until the girls get up and walk toward the edge of the water. Clover captures my attention, and, lucky for me, Shaw is so focused on Maddie, he doesn’t notice.
“Okay, Romeo. Go see your girl. We can take a break for now,” I say.
Shaw grins and throws the ball to me before high stepping through the sea toward my sister. Shaking my head, I grin. I never thought I’d see the day those two would end up together. Hell, I never expected Shaw to settle down at all.
My eyes drift back to Clover, studying her as she wades into the surf. Her long, blonde hair is twisted into a floppy loop on top of her head, which should look silly, but on her it’s somehow sexy as fuck. I want to caress my hands down her shoulders and arms, lace our fingers, and disappear together someplace private, so I can ravish every inch of her body.
And if she wasn’t my little sister’s best friend, I would’ve put the moves on her way before now. But I don’t want to make things awkward for Maddie.
There was one brief, drunken moment years ago when alcohol had my defenses down, but luckily I stopped myself before any real damage was done. I still remember everything about that night. How the surprise on her face quickly shifted to thinly veiled interest as she looked me over. She smelled so good, soft like powder but also spicy like cinnamon. When I pressed my lips to her neck, it was all I could do to control the urge to see if she tasted as good as I imagined.
I’ve always had a thing for Clover. Maybe I always will. She’s the one girl who’s completely off-limits to me, which makes me want her one hundred times more. While I don’t necessarily break rules, I like to push the limits. I guess you could say I’ve always been a bit of a rule bender, so staying away from Clover hasn’t been easy for me. With Shaw and Maddie being a couple, we’re now thrust together all the time. I can’t ignore her, no matter how much I want to.
Pretending she doesn’t exist, like I used to do in high school, is no longer feasible. I have to acknowledge and even converse with her. Being a responsible adult sure can suck.
I turn away, diving under the next wave. Breaking the surface, I throw the ball forward and swim to retrieve it.
“Marshall, I’ll play with you,” Clover calls out.
Her innocent words rocket my thoughts to the gutter. Spinning around to face her, I compose my expression and thank God my lower body is under water. “That’s what she said.” I smirk, and she snorts.
I move to the side until we’re facing one another, parallel to the shoreline. Drawing my arm back, I propel the ball through the air in a solid arc. Clover’s eyes are focused on the neon ball until it lands in her grasp.
“Lucky catch,” I shout to her. She immediately launches the tennis ball in my direction. I’m pretty sure she’s trying to hit my face, but catching it with my right hand, I sail it back to her. We keep up the pace, watching one another. Every time one of us misses, we laugh at the other. I like how Clover isn’t afraid to play and get messy, even though our relationship has been somewhat difficult—mostly because of me.
The loop on top of her head is now askew from diving after the ball, but she couldn’t care less. She’s always confident and comfortable in her own skin, which is admirable and frustrating at the same time. Like the boy on the playground crushing on the girl, I want to pull her pigtails, so to speak. Getting under her skin would be my favorite pastime, if only Clover would fall for the bullshit I throw her way.
“I think I’m gonna head to the house and grab a sandwich,” Clover tells me before she throws the ball my way one final time.
I start toward the shore. “Okay. I’ll go with you. I’m pretty hungry myself.” She nods, her lips rolled inward, most likely fighting off a grimace or a sneer. I don’t think she’s ever forgiven me for the night I got too close. But I could be way off base. I have a hard time believing she doesn’t remember, and she would never bring it up, or admit it happened. Plus, I haven’t exactly gone out of my way to be nice to her.
In fact, at times I’ve been a downright asshole because it’s easier to piss her off and keep our relationship adversarial than to allow myself to fall for her.
After asking Shaw and Maddie what they want, we head toward the house, side by side. When we reach the top of the small dunes, a blond guy calls Clover's name, hurrying over from the house next door.
“Hey, Kent.” She smiles at him.
“Are we still on for tonight?” he asks.
“We are. I’m about to make lunch, but I’ll see you later.”
What? I cross my arms over my chest, sizing up this dude. He’s not a bad looking guy, I begrudgingly admit to myself.