Meet Me in Myrtle Beach (Hunt Family Book 1) (10 page)

Chapter 13

Cody and I talked the whole time we ate. Part of me wished he would have said something ignorant or offensive to turn me off, but he never did. The more I talked to him, the more I cared for him. He was kind, funny, charming, and witty, and to top it all off, he was an amazing dad.

I should have been scared by the fact that he had a daughter—should have gone running for the hills, but I didn't. I wasn't scared at all. Seeing the way he was with Ryan only made me fall harder. After a while, his mom took Ryan in for her bath and bedtime routine. Most of the grandkids stayed out on the deck enjoying night air. We were out there for a few hours, telling jokes and stories and having good, clean fun talking to and teasing each other.

Cody and I did our best to speak with other people. We tried to share conversation with the rest of the family, but I think it might've been a little obvious that we kept gravitating toward each other—at least it was to me. I would have never imagined I would be in the same house with Logan Ritchie, and that I would be crushing on his cousin… a stonemason from my own hometown.

It was pretty late when Cody and I decided to play that game where you swing the ring onto the hook, and it was during that game that we made significant physical contact for the first time.

Cody was great at the game. He could hook it about once for every four or five times he threw. I, on the other hand, had tossed it what must have been fifty times, and still had no success.

"What's wrong with me?" I asked letting my shoulders slump hopelessly. I glanced around and was relieved to find that no one else was paying attention to us. I was normally pretty coordinated, and it was freaking me out and I couldn't, for the life of me, get the ring on the hook. "Seriously, what's the problem?"

"There's a trick to it," he said.

He moved behind me, standing so close that I could feel the warmth of his body against mine. My stomach began turning flips, and I could barely breathe. The ring we were trying to toss was about two inches in diameter and was suspended from the trellis. The idea was that it was supposed to swing toward the house, and get stuck on a little hook that was mounted to the wall. Cody stood behind me and put his hand over mine, lifting it up to aim.

"The trick is to approach the hook from the side. Try to make it swing like an inch or so to the side, and it will fall back on the hook." He held my hand in place for a second, lining up a shot before peeling my finger back to tell me to let it go.
I have no idea what he even said. I think he started his sentence with 'the trick is'… but I was so distracted by his touch that he might as well have said, 'Blaggle maggle flaggle raggle plaggle'.

He must've done something right, though, because the ring clanked onto the hook, nearly staying put like it was supposed to. It was the closest I had come, and I looked at him with a huge smile.

"I almost did it!" I said.

"Yep," he said smiling back at me. "Wanna try it on your own?"

I thought about that for a few seconds. "I might need a little more help," I said, unable to stop staring at him.

His smile changed when I said that. It was verging on predatory, and I swallowed hard. I was already short of breath, and we hadn't even got into position yet.

He retrieved the ring and came to stand behind me with it in his hand. He put his arm around my waist for a split second to help me get into the right spot. I could feel his firm chest behind me. I wanted to melt into his arms.

"Remember the trick?" he asked, holding my hand in the right position to let go of the ring.

"Not really," I said breathlessly.

He let out a laugh. I could feel his chest shaking. "What do you mean, not really?"

"I mean I wasn't necessarily listening the first time you said it," I said.

"I thought you said you were gonna kick my butt at this game," he said, with a teasing grin. "You were acting all big and bad earlier."

"I am. I will. I just got distracted the first time you told me the instructions. I forgot to listen to what you were saying."

The whole time we were talking, his hand was on mine. His hands were, beyond a shadow of a doubt, workingman's hands. I could just imagine him carrying huge stones with them, and yet, there he was, holding mine so gently. I felt like there was an electrical current going through me at the places we were touching.

"Okay, so the trick is to—"

"Yeah, I'm pretty much not listening to you now, either," I said.

He chuckled. "Why not?"

"Because I can't for some reason. I'm just really distracted. I think I might be tired."

He glanced at his watch. "It's pretty late," he said.

"I'm tired too," Charlotte said, overhearing our conversation.

I didn't think anyone was paying attention to us. I was glad I blamed my delirium on being tired instead of coming right out and saying I was devastatingly attracted to him.

Cody took a step away from me, and my surroundings felt empty without him there.

"I could go to bed," Mia said. She looked at Charlotte. "You wanna head upstairs?"

"I should go in as well," Andy added. "I told Willow I'd be right in about two hours ago."

"Uh-oh, you're gonna be in trouble," Logan said.

Andy smiled and shook his head. "Naa, she's probably sleeping." He got up to go inside, telling us all goodnight on his way.

"I'm up all night," Evan said holding out his hands as if waiting for a challenge.

Cody smiled. "Good luck with that."

"You sleeping out here with me tonight?" Evan asked him.

"I'll sleep out here with y'all," Logan said before Cody could answer.

Cody nodded his agreement, but glanced at me once Charlotte and Mia were heading inside. "You'll have the upstairs to yourself," Cody said.

I nodded. "Me and my trusty ear buds."

"You good up there alone?"

"Of course!" I whispered, smiling as if he was being silly.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yep."

Our eyes remained locked.
There was no way I was the only one feeling this. He had to be feeling it also.

"Okay, so goodnight," I said.

"Goodnight."

"Night guys," I said, waving at everyone else.

We all waved and yelled our goodbyes, and I followed Charlotte and Mia into the house. Some of their parents were still downstairs talking, and we told them all goodnight before heading upstairs.

Mia and Charlotte went to the second floor, and I kept going to the third. I had only been upstairs a few minutes when I heard footsteps coming up. I just knew it was Cody, up until the second Logan came in.

The room was dimly lit, and he squinted at me. "Sorry," he whispered. "I'll be out of your way in a second. We all needed blankets."

"Don't worry about me," I said. "I sleep like a rock."

Logan started digging in the closet, and left carrying an armload of quilts and comforters. He was gone as quickly as he came, and I was left with a feeling of disappointment that Cody had sent his cousin instead of coming himself.

I finished deleting some junk emails, and put down my phone before going to the bathroom to take a shower and wash my face. I took one last look at myself in the mirror before washing off the makeup from earlier at the spa. She really had done a good job of it; I thought it was a shame to wash it off.

Ten minutes later, I cuddled up on the couch with my Kindle and began to read the first chapter of The Indian in the Cupboard. I smiled at my book selection, but I knew in my heart it was the right choice. No romance whatsoever. My earbuds were firmly in place with my white noise mix dialed in just the way I liked it.

My head was resting on the pillow, and I was holding my Kindle in front of my face when Cody appeared out of nowhere. I let out a little yelp and sat straight up, nearly throwing my Kindle at him in the process.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered, laughing quietly at my reaction. "I tried to get your attention so I wouldn’t scare you."

"What are you doing?" I asked, glancing into the mostly dark room.

"I was just coming to check on you," he said, kneeling on the floor in front of me. "And to let you know you can sleep on the downstairs couch if you don't want to be alone up here."

"I'm fine."

"We usually only sleep outside for a night or two," he said. "It's a tradition."

"I'm good," I repeated.

His mouth lifted in a slight smile. "Okay," he said. "I was just making sure."

"Thanks for checking on me," I said.

The two of us fell into a deep stare for several seconds—the kind where it was obvious what we were thinking. I knew he wanted to kiss me. I could see it in his eyes. He looked directly at my lips.

"I guess I should go," he said, reluctance evident in his tone.

Because of he way he was positioned on his knees in front of the couch, there was a fair amount of space between us—at least a few feet. It seemed like a gigantic, uncrossable, chasm, especially now that he said he should go.

I couldn't let him go, so I did the unthinkable. I made the first move. I closed the distance between us, leaning over where my face was significantly closer to his.

"There," I whispered. "I could barely see you from way back there."

A wry smile fell onto his lips. "You could see me just fine."

"Nu-uh, it's dark in here."

He gave me an almost imperceptible flick of the chin along with an irresistible, confident smile. "You just want to kiss me."

"No I don't," I said.

"Fine," he said, beginning to stand.

I put my hand on his arm to stop him.

He looked at my hand, and then at my face again. "I thought we were done here," he said.

I knew he was teasing me—calling my bluff. "We are," I said, taking my hand off of his arm. There was no way I was letting him win. I was
way
more stubborn than he was.

I sat back on the couch. "Thanks for checking on me," I said, in a tone that meant
see ya later
.

"All right, I guess I'll see you in the morning."

"Yep," I said.

My whole body was in a state of chaos. I felt as if I was being electrocuted with nerves and excitement. The anticipation was unbearable.

"Okay, so, I’m leaving now," he said, getting to his feet. He smiled down at me as if he was perfectly content to wait as long as it took.

"Uhhhh!" I groaned, looking down and shielding my eyes with my hand.

"What?"

"You know what."

"I thought you might let me kiss you if I came up here, but you said you didn't want me to," he said.

"I never said that," I said squinting up at him.

He let out a laugh. "Yes you did!"

"Well, I didn't mean it."

"So you want me to kiss you?" he asked, with emphasis on the word want. He braced his arms on the back of the couch and leaned over me. I just sat there and stared at him as he placed his face only inches from mine.

"I might," I said.

"You have to say it."

"Say what?"

"That you want me to."

"That's embarrassing," I said.

"What's so embarrassing about it?"

"That you're making me ask for it," I said. "What if I ask and you say 'too bad' or leave me hanging or something?"

He moved closer to me. Our lips were only an inch apart. I could feel him breathing. I wasn't breathing at all.

"I promise I will
not
leave you hanging, Paige."

"Ryan said you don't break promises," I said.

"I don't." He hesitated for several long seconds, his warm breath tickling my lips. "So say it," he urged.

"I want it," I whispered.

"You want what?"

"I want you to kiss me. Please, Cody, would you kiss me?"

He took one of his hands off the back of the couch and used it to tilt my chin up. I knew it was about to happen; I could feel it by the way he was looking at me. He hesitated.

"Why aren’t you doing it?" I asked, feeling altogether desperate to feel his lips on mine. He smiled patiently at me. I was so crazy for him, I felt like I could crack into a thousand pieces. "You promised," I begged.

As soon as the words left my mouth, his lips fell onto mine. They were soft and sweet, and he left them there for a few seconds before breaking the contact. Then, he was kissing me again, this time he placed kiss after gentle kiss on my lips. He must have kissed me ten times before I parted my lips slightly. It was all the invitation he needed. He let the tip of his tongue enter my mouth. It was warm and silky, and I let it touch mine before pulling back slightly.

Cody took his hand off my face and used his fingers to massage his eyebrows. "I better get out of here," he said.