Free Something Wet: Beach House Nights Book 2 by Lyric James

Something Wet
     
    “Has anyone seen, Dayna?” Violet Tanner asked
as she stuck a marshmallow on the end of an old iron hanger she
took from the house.
    “The last time I saw her she was walking down
the beach with Jared,” her friend, Stella, told her when she sat
next to her on the beach towel she’d spread out on the sand.
    Violet lifted her brow. “Jared? Jared
Stephens? Seriously?”
    “Yep.” She thumbed toward the other end of
the house where the beach turned into a jetty after a couple of
acres. “They went that way.”
    Violet glanced over her shoulder toward the
ocean and watched the waves whisper over the sand. A gust of wind
shifted the almost white dust around the half-washed away castle
some of them had made earlier. “I wonder what the heck he’s doing
here. I thought she wasn’t going to invite any of Anthony’s
friends.”
    Shrugging her shoulders, Stella leaned
forward to place the end of her stick near the blazing heat of the
bonfire. Her marshmallow began to crackle and blacken. “I did too.
I don’t know what happened.”
    Violet pulled her hanger back and blew on her
sweet, gooey treat as smoke sifted up. “Wow. I hope she’s all
right. The last thing she needs are any memories of that awful
night.”
    “No kidding,” her friend agreed. “But if you
ask me, I think he’s here for something else.”
    It was dusk, and even though heat billowed
from the blazing fire, the ocean waves carried a nice breeze over
the beach. The sea salt air almost masked the acrid smell of
burning wood. With her thumb and index finger, she took a small
piece of the gooey marshmallow and put it her mouth. A mixture of
hard and soft sugar burst over her tongue. “What do you mean?”
    “He likes her.”
    As she pulled her finger out of her mouth,
she glanced up to find Logan McMaster’s staring at her. She stared
back and released the digit slowly and seductively over her bottom
lip and smiled. “Who?”
    He smiled back.
    “Jared.”
    “Here, hold this,” she said, standing and
gave her hanger to Stella. Never taking her eyes off Logan, she
grabbed the bottom of her tank top and yanked it up and over her
head. Underneath she wore a skimpy white bathing suit halter with
sheer horizontal stripes.
    His gaze lowered to her breasts, and his
tongue wet his bottom lip.
    She grinned.
    Stella said, “I’ve seen the way he watches
her when he thinks no one is looking. He’s got it bad.”
    She swiveled around and gave her friend an
incredulous stare. “What a minute. What? Logan likes Dayna?” A whip
of hurt clogged her throat. Dayna and Logan had gone to college
together, but as far she knew had never dated or even been
attracted to each other. They’d taken a couple of classes together
and had remained friends even after Logan had gone on to play
professional football.
    “Will you stop performing your sneaky little
strip tease and pay attention? No. Jared likes Dayna.”
Stella’s gaze roamed the camp fire until it landed on Logan. “Logan
McMasters only has eyes for you tonight.”
    Air whooshed from Violet’s throat. She sat
down slowly even though a zany mass of flutters began in her belly.
“Do you think so? I’ve been trying to get his attention all
day.”
    Stella nodded in his direction and smirked.
“Oh, you’ve got his attention all right.”
    Violet stretched her legs out in front of her
and crossed them at the ankles. Then combed her fingers through her
shoulder-length hair and shook it out behind her. “Excellent.”
    Stella laughed and said, “You need to get
your mind out the gutter. How was work this week?”
    “Oh God, please don’t ask.” She covered her
face with her arm. “You’re ruining my mood.”
    “Uh oh… What happened?”
    She dropped her hands in her lap. “I got
demoted. That’s what happened.”
    “What?”
    Violet’s gaze followed Logan as he stood and
moved closer Ian, their mutual friend who had the hots for Stella.
He’d surprisingly convinced Stella