Free Break Away by Ellie Grace

the world of you. It’s easy to see how much she loves you and admires you.” I shifted slightly, lessening the space between us. “I’m probably not the greatest influence, either, but I promise to be on my best behavior around her… and you definitely don’t have to worry about me whoring it up!”
    Dex turned to face me, his expression serious as his eyes dropped to mine. “She would be lucky to end up like you, Olivia.”
    His arm was brushing against me, warming my skin where we touched and sending flutters into my stomach. “How do you know that?” I asked quietly, keeping my eyes locked on his. “You don’t even know me.”
    “I think I’m a pretty good judge of character,” he said. “But you’re right, I don’t know you. I’d like to, though, and since we’re friends now, you’re required to tell me a little bit about yourself.”
    “What do you want to know?”
    “For starters, how did you end up in Charleston?” he asked.
    “I needed a fresh start,” I said, without going into detail. “I came here with my friend a couple of times and always thought it would be a great place to live. So, here I am.” I knew it wasn’t much of an answer, but I wasn’t quite ready to spill all the details. “What about you? Have you always lived here?”
    “Born and raised,” he answered. “Now, that wasn’t so hard, was it? I feel like we’re better friends already.” He nudged me playfully, closing the remaining space between us. “From now on, whenever we see each other, we both reveal something new about ourselves. Deal?”
    “Deal,” I smiled.
     

     
    We didn’t leave the beach until early evening, staying long after most of the crowd had scattered. The day had turned out much better than I expected, and I’d be lying if I said that Olivia had nothing to do with it.
    There was something about her that both captivated me and made me feel comfortable. There were no expectations or judgments with her, and it put me at ease. There had been a couple times during the day when I caught myself nearly revealing too much and letting my guard down. That never happened. Most of the time, I was trying to keep people from getting to know me, but for some reason with Olivia, I found myself wanting her to know me.
    I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.
    What I did know was that I wasn’t ready for the day to end.
    “Anyone want to go grab some dinner?” I asked. “Maybe a drink?”
    “Yeah, sounds good,” Nate said.
    “I’d love to but I have to get Sadie home,” Amy replied. “Rain check!”
    I looked at anxiously at Olivia, waiting for her answer even though she was probably going to say no. She didn’t seem like the type who would want to go hang out at the bar with two guys.
    “Sounds like fun,” she said. “Count me in.”
    “Really?” I asked, taken by surprise.
    “Sure,” she said. “But I don’t have my car with me, so one of you guys is going to have to give me a lift home.”
    “That can certainly be arranged,” I told her, unable to contain my smile. This girl continued to astound me. It seemed like she always did the exact opposite of what I thought she would do, and it kept me on my toes. I was used to women being predictable, and Olivia was anything but.
    I didn’t think that Olivia would want to go to the Seaside on her day off, so we went to another place nearby instead. We sat down at the bar, and by the time our food arrived, we were already a couple drinks in and feeling pretty damn good.
    After making a quick trip to the bathroom, I returned to find some random guy perched in my seat, talking to Olivia. He was leaning in way too close, flirting with her while she was trying to distance herself from him as much as possible. She looked uncomfortable, and based on the way he was swaying on the bar stool, he was already wasted. Nate was sitting on the other side, engrossed in a conversation with the guy next to him and completely oblivious to what was going