Free Love, Lucas by Chantele Sedgwick

away.
    “Hey, guys!”
    It’s Dillon. I smile as he adjusts his arm, but he doesn’t let go of me. “Hey,” I say. It smells like coconut again, just like in the surf shop. So it was him! Are guys supposed to smell like that? I think of my coconut lotion at home and picture him slathering it on his arms and legs. He doesn’t seem the type.
    Carson glances at us for a second and looks back at the ocean. “Close up shop?”
    Dillon laughs and punches him in the arm. “Of course. No worries, bro.”
    “Thanks. Get a lot of people in today?”
    “Earlier. Not much tonight. A few people picking up their boards, but not much else. It’s a Friday night. You know how Friday nights go. It’ll be slammed tomorrow.”
    Carson nods. “Who works tomorrow?”
    “Me and Keilani bright and early. You and your dad have the afternoon shift.”
    He groans. “Great.”
    I’m surprised by his reaction. I’m not the only one with parental problems?
    “You can at least hit the waves in the morning,” Dillan says. “I wish I could.”
    Carson just shrugs. “You and Keilani can go later. I’m sure she’d love to kick your butt.”
    Dillon frowns. “Dude. You don’t have to rub it in.”
    Carson laughs. “Yes. I do.”
    I wonder who Keilani is. I glance at Carson, very aware that Dillon’s arm is still around my shoulder. My skin is on fire. I’ll have to remember to put aloe on when I get home. “So, you work at that surf shop too, Carson?”
    Dillon chuckles. “He doesn’t just work there. He owns it.”
    My mouth drops open. “Really?” I should have remembered Carson’s last name was Nye, but obviously I didn’t.
    “It’s my dad’s shop but he lets me run it.” He shrugs. “It’s not a big deal.”
    “Whatever,” Dillon says. “It’s the best surf shop around. With affordable and professional surfing lessons provided by Carson and yours truly. Tourists come from miles around to learn from us. Ask anyone.”
    I swear Carson blushes, but he doesn’t disagree. He meets my eyes. “Are you ready to go or do you want to stay for a while?”
    “I should probably be getting home. I haven’t really seen my mom all day.” I think about riding the bike again and try not to look worried. Riding a bike during the day is one thing. Riding one in the dark . . .
    “Oh, come on, you two, I just got here. Let’s hang out for a while,” Dillon says.
    “She’s right, Dill. I don’t want Jo to beat me up if I don’t get her back at a decent hour.” He smiles. “Because honestly? She could totally take me.”
    Dillon snorts. “Fine. I’m sticking around here, though.” He squeezes my shoulder and even though he didn’t do it hard, my sunburn stings and I wince. “See you two later.”
    “Sunburn?” Carson asks as we walk back down the pier.
    I glance over at him, surprised. “How did you know?”
    “You looked like you were in pain when he squeezed your shoulder. And your face is kind of red.”
    I stop and touch my face. “How red?”
    He smiles and reaches out, brushing his knuckles lightly across my cheek. “Don’t worry. Red looks good on you.” He pulls his hand back, his eyes on mine.
    The skin on my cheek tingles where he touched and I let out the breath I didn’t know I was holding. Say something. Say something. “So . . . uh . . . should we keep walking? It’s getting kind of late.” I’m tongue-tied. I don’t even know what I’m saying.
    And it’s not even that late.
    He searches my face one more time before clearing his throat. “Yeah.”
    I try to ignore my thumping heart as we continue our walk back to the bikes, but as I glance over, one tiny smile from him makes it speed up again.
    No one’s ever looked at me like that before.
    The ride back to the surf shop is uneventful. Except for almost running over a dog, I do pretty well.
    Carson locks the bikes back in the store and we make our way to his Jeep and head home. We’re both silent, each lost in our own thoughts. I try to