Free Meant to Be by Jessica James Page A

become
one.”
    Lauren laughed at that. It hadn’t
seemed hard at all. One moment she was sitting on the beach. The
next thing she knew she was attending a beach party and meeting his
closest friends.
    Her sudden outburst must have drawn
Rad’s attention. He strode over and stood behind Lauren with his
hands on her shoulders. “What’s going on over here?”
    “ Just talking to your
girl.” Reese cocked his head and stared at them. “So how long you
two known each other anyway?”
    When Lauren glanced up at
Rad he shot her a “don’t tell him” look, so she provided an answer
without really answering. “Oh my goodness, it’s been so long, I
don’t even know.” She leaned back into him. “Do you remember how
long we’ve known each other… honey ?”
    Rad smiled and wrapped both his arms
around her. “All I know is, not long enough.”
    Without warning, Lauren heard a
shutter click a few times and then noticed that the lens of the
beach photographer’s camera was aimed at her and Rad. Startled, she
wriggled out of his arms and turned her back. “Tell him to delete
anything he took.” She hoped he would take her tone of voice
seriously.
    Before she walked away, she heard Rad
talk to the man in a low voice as the photographer nodded his
head.
    Ocean City was well known for the
“Scopes” photographers who roamed the beach seeking families and
couples who would buy the pictures they shot. When she glanced over
her shoulder, Rad was already heading back up to her while talking
to Pops. The photographer was busy snapping photos of the other
guys posing with their new girlfriends.
    Lauren wanted to make sure Rad had
watched the photographer delete the photos, but before she had time
to ask, he grabbed her around the waist from behind, leaned down,
and whispered in her ear—which made her completely lose her train
of thought.
    “ Pops said we could use
some more beer. You okay here for a couple of minutes?”
    “ Sure.” She turned her
head and stared up at him. “But hurry back.”
    Rad winked at her. “You can count on
that.”
    Before he was even out of sight, she
felt a tap on her shoulder from Reese. “I’m sure Rad would insist I
keep your mind off his absence.”
    “ Oh, that’s very
chivalrous of you.” Lauren smiled up at the man who was even taller
than Rad. He had wild, unruly hair, and a mouth that curled as if
always on the verge of laughter.
    “ Yeah, who says chivalry
is dead?” Reese nodded and belched at the same time. “Now, Rad,
he’s not like me at all.”
    Bipp and Wynn wandered up just then,
each carrying a red cup that smelled of something stronger than
beer. “You can say that again,” Wynn said.
    “ No, Rad is not like me at
all.” Reese glared at Wynn for interrupting and continued. “He’s
more like the kind of guy who sets low personal standards, and then
fails to achieve them.”
    That made every man there roar with
laughter. Lauren wasn’t sure if their amusement was caused by the
fact that it obviously wasn’t true, or because Reese didn’t have
the nerve to say it when Rad was present.
    She stood silently observing the men
until Wynn spoke. “Word has it Rad is pretty serious about
you.”
    Lauren was in the middle of taking a
sip of beer and almost choked. “Really? Why do you say
that?”
    “’ Cause he wouldn’t have
introduced you to us if he wasn’t.”
    She laughed, thinking now he was
joking. “Oh, I see. So he needs your approval.”
    Wynn looked at her sheepishly. “Well,
yeah. Sort of.”
    “ Then I hope I passed your
test.”
    Reese draped one arm over her shoulder
and raised his cup in the other for emphasis. “Put it this way, if
he lets you go, I’m available.”
    “ Hey! What’s going on?”
Rad strolled down the beach with a thirty-pack in each hand. “Good
grief, I leave you alone with my girl a few minutes and you make a
move. Great friend you are.”
    All the men laughed, but Lauren
noticed Jackie and Jasmine weren’t