Tempted (A Player Brother Romance Book) (A Standalone Novel) (Player Brothers Book 1) (19 page)

The sight of the water lapping against the white sands
took my breath away, as we stepped out of the car.

"This place is amazing!" I said.

The path led straight to the edge of the sand. In
either direction I could see masses of people, but they remained distant enough
as to not be a hindrance. I could see that once we stepped onto the beach that
the curve of the shoreline would give us the illusion of solitude.

We walked along the path from the parking lot. Aiden
had the cooler full of food and beverages tucked under his arm. At the end of
the path I slipped off my sandals and stepped out onto the hot sand. The
sensation of the sun scorched surface scalded the soles of my feet and made me
cry out. Instead of recoiling though, I fixed my eyes on the waves a few yards
away and took off towards them with the goal of relieving the heat on the soles
of my feet, as Aiden laughed behind me.

I made it to the edge of the water, sighing as the
coolness embraced my skin. I turned around and looked towards him with my back
to the ocean.

"Come on!" he called to me waving me to join
him back on the shore.

He laid out the blanket and set down the cooler. Very
gingerly I stepped out of the water, which tickled my ankles as if beckoning me
back into the cool embrace, and slowly my feet acclimated to the heat of the
sand beneath us.

"How did you find this place?" I asked as he
handed me a large hoagie from cooler. "It's beautiful here."

I lowered myself next to him realizing that I felt hungrier
than I had realized. I reached across and grabbed a bottle of water from the
cooler, along with an apple.

"A friend of mine recommended it,” he said.
"But keep in mind that I've lived here quite a bit longer than you. I know
the secrets."

"I suppose you do. I wonder what other secrets
you might know,” I said, surprising even myself at my flirtatious tone.

"I meant what I said, you know,” he said as if
changing the subject.

"Which part?" I asked.

"That I wouldn't try anything today." My
smile faded slightly as I saw the sincerity on his face. "I want us to go
back to being friends, in the good way that is. I've missed hanging out with
you the way we used to."

I thought about his words as he spoke, wondering
briefly why I felt a pang in my heart. After all, it had been me who had pushed
him away every time he had tried to make a move.

But what did I expect after we already had sex?

His words encompassed exactly what I had said that I
wanted. He finally respected my boundaries and I found myself saddened at the
thought. Regardless of that, we had been through some awkwardness as of late,
but our friendship had been too deep and long running for us to ignore that
aspect of our relationship.

"You’re right, Aiden,” I said. "We were good
friends once, weren't we?"

"We still are,” he said raising his water bottle
as if to toast.

"Of course we are,” I said with a smile.

The discussion ended, having washed away the hurt from
the previous outing. I smiled and listened to him talk, telling me stories
about his brothers as I ate my sandwich. I felt as if I didn’t have as much to
share, since my visits home had consisted of hanging out with my mother for the
most part. It was nice to hear about his family, though. I had spent a lot of
time over at his house when we were kids. We reminisced over our summers at
Lake Okoboji, settling on the final trip before we had gone off to college.

"Was that the last time we saw each other?"
I asked. "Before now, I mean?"

He considered, drawing his forehead together in deep
thought. "I think so,” he said. "It seems like no time at all."

"That's funny," I said. "It feels like
forever to me."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," I said. "But being here, at the
beach, with you, makes me feel like we are picking up where we left off. It's
like we've traveled back in time somehow and we are back at Lake Okoboji."

I leaned back on my elbows enjoying the warm sun on my
face. We had both eaten, and I wanted to wait before approaching the water.

"You want to head on down and get out gear?"
he suggested.

"Sure," I said.

He stood and extended his hand to pull me up. We
quickly packed up the cooler and he took it back to the car. I waited for him
down by the water. The tides had shifted and the waves crept slightly closer to
the shore each time they pulled in. The feel of the shifting sand made me feel
even more like old times. For all the weeks I had lived in California, today
was the first time spending any significant time at the beach. I regretted not
having done so sooner.

Aiden walked up behind me but stayed back from the
approaching water. He had kicked off his shoes as well, wearing cargoes so he didn’t
have to worry if his ankles got wet. I stepped back towards him and we fell
into pace walking along the edge of the water.

"The fishing rental place is about a mile down
the beach if that's not too far,” he said.

"No, that's great,” I said. "But you have to
be careful. I've heard there are some serious risks to going into the water
around here."

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

I stepped over to the edge of the waves close enough
that the waves washed around my knees. When the water washed towards me, I
reached down and scooped up some water in my cupped hands.

"Oh look!" I cried, peering down at the
little pool in my hands. "You can see them! Right there!" I glanced
towards him and he took a curious step towards me. "Come here quick!
Before they dissolve!"

"What are you...
"
He
edged over to me trying to see inside the hollow of my hand.

"Right there," I said, extending my arms out
to him.

Just as he leaned in trying to see anything besides
the clear water, I lifted my hands and splashed him with it directly in his
face.

"Oh! You’re going to regret that!" He
laughed and lunged towards me.

I shrieked and took off down the beach. Trying to
dodge him clutching after me. I figured there was only one way to escape, and I
pulled the sundress over my head. Dropping it on the sand past the tide line I
promptly ran full on towards the incoming waves, laughing as they crashed over
me taking my breath away. I dipped my hair under during the calm break between
swells.

"Come on, then!" I called out to him a few
feet away still back on the beach, staring at me with a bewildered expression.
"Or are you afraid of a little bit of water!"

At last he nodded, pulling his linen shirt over his
head and tossing it aside.

"You asked for it," he said as he rushed
towards the waves much like I had.

He dove into the waves and caught me around my waist
pulling me under just as a large breaker crashed over us. I laughed when I
broke the surface, struggling to catch my breath. He emerged from the water
moments later brushing his hair back.

I grinned, and bit my lip trying not to notice his
bare torso glistening in the sun. He turned, focusing his eyes on me and
splashing the water in my direction. I quickly scrambled back towards the
shore, adjusting my bikini top as I stepped onto the sand. I turned expecting
him to be back in the water. Instead I found him diving through the waves,
using the surf to get to me faster. I squealed as he approached and ran along
the edge of the water dodging and weaving to avoid capture. He tackled me a
moment later and we both landed on the sand as the water receded around us.

"More than you can handle?" he said, leaning
over me with a grin.

"You wish," I said. "I can handle
anything you got."

"I'll bet,” he said playfully.

Then the moment shifted as he hovered over me, with
both hands leaning on the sand on either side of me. If he had loosened his
elbows he could have easily leaned down and kissed me. Our eyes remained locked
as the moment passed between us, and I wondered if he had the same thought. I
bit my lip and leaned my chin towards him, hoping he would take the hint.

Regardless of what I had said before, I knew that I hadn’t
been able to get the thought of him out of my mind. For a moment he leaned
forward, his head blocking my view of the sky, crowned by the aura of the sun
behind him. But then he pushed up and stood, holding his hand out to help me
up.

"Let's go catch some fish,” he said.

He really wasn’t going to make a move.

This was surprising.

I smiled and nodded, but the tension had been there if
only for a second. Neither of us needed to mention it, but we had both felt it.

He grabbed our clothes while I stepped back into the
water to rinse the sand off my backside and we headed down the beach towards
the rental cabin. We found the rental place a few minutes later, and we signed
out a couple of fishing poles.

"I haven't done this in a while,” I said as we
walked back to the edge of the pier. “Since high school actually.”

This part of the beach had a few more people than the
grove where we had had lunch, but still not too many as to be too crowded.

"Don't worry," he said. "Some of my
friends from school come down on the weekends sometimes. I've been out here a
time or two. I'll show you."

I saw some other people fishing alongside of the
water, so I didn’t feel quite so self-conscious. I watched him, but he put down
his rod and walked over to me.

"Okay," I said. "What do I do again?"

"First you have to cast your line,” he said.
"Make sure the sinker is attached. This is what will get the hook to the
right depths to catch fish. Do you have your bait?"

I felt like a noob.

"You do it," I said. He rolled his eyes and
connected the lure onto the end of my line.

"Here you go."

He placed his hands over mine on the line causing his
arms to wrap around me. I became painfully aware of the way his breathing
grazed against the curve of my neck, not to mention the touch of his skin, as
his fingers wrapped around my own guiding me into position.

God, it felt good to be close to him again.

Concentrate, I told myself.

"To throw the line, just pull back and let go of
the reel as you cast it back towards the water."

He moved my arms in slow motion as he explained. As
soon as he let go, the breeze off the water raised goose bumps on my damp skin.

At least that’s what I told myself was the cause of
them.

"Ready?"

I pulled back the rod and tossed it forward just as he
had said, lifting my finger at the exact moment. I couldn’t help but let out a
triumphant cry as the line sailed out over the water landing the perfect
distance out.

It was just like old times.

"Excellent!" he said.

"Beginner's luck,” I said.

Actually just wiping off the dust but I still felt
like a beginner again.

"Whatever works," he said, positioning next
to me with his own equipment and casting out his line. "You have better
form than I do."

We spent the next two hours on the pier. Aiden showed
me how to place the fishing pole onto the stands attached to the pier. This
gave me a chance to look down the length of the pier and see the other people
fishing, a family with two young kids, laughing and squealing every time they
threw the line, an older couple with cotton hats and matching sunglasses
relaxing in their canvas chairs while the fishing pole rested against the rail.

Now this was enjoyable.

"Stay here and watch the lines," he said.
"I'll go and get us some drinks."

"It seems like cheating," I said when he
returned, handing me a cold soda. "We are just standing here watching the
line. We aren't actually doing much of anything."

"So you think,” he said. "Wait until
something bites."

Just as he said so, the line on my fishing pole began
to twitch.

"Here we go, see?" He showed me how to hold
onto the pole. "This is a big one,” he said.

After it started to bend towards the water, I handed
the pole to Aiden.

"You do it!" I said with a laugh.

The idea of the floppy fish on the other end of the
line gave me the willies, but I didn’t want him to know that necessarily. He
took the line and pulled, sometimes letting the line go slack before reeling it
back in. His lower lip tucked under his teeth as he concentrated on battling
whatever lay under the water, struggling on the other end of the line. I stood
on the edge of the pier with my hands resting on the rail peering out over the
water to see if I could catch a glimpse. I couldn’t tell how long he had been
pulling on the line when something finally broke the surface, a flash of silver
and a splash.

"What is it!" he said, every muscle taut as
he kept the tension on the line.