Free Angel Beach (Summer Romance Collection) by Tess Oliver

him storming out of here.” His eyes widened. “Did my brother hurt you?” His expression of anguish quickly flashed into white hot anger.
    I hugged myself against a sudden chill that swept across the bleachers. My arms were tender where Reeve had grabbed me. Zach was standing by the exit looking sad and lonely. “Please, Jamison, just leave me alone.”
    He stood there for a moment longer then walked down the bleacher steps and out the door of the auditorium. I swallowed back the dry feeling in my throat. I’d flung some harsh words at him and deep down I hadn’t meant any of them.
    Zach saw me sitting on the bleachers, and I waved weakly back at him and sent him a smile that I hoped he would return. He stuck his hands deep into his pockets and headed out the doors. What a night. Usually this evening was painfully dull, but this year it was just painful.
    I sat for the longest time with my arms wrapped around me hoping that Mimi would lose enough bingo to decide it was time to leave. Zach had not come back inside the auditorium, and I thought it was time for me to find him and apologize. We never stayed mad at each other long. The night temperature had dropped dramatically, and aside from a few people hovering around the warmth of the barbecue, most people had either left or gone inside. The brothers and their minion were nowhere in sight. Mimi was amazing. It was improbable to think that her scolding had scared away Reeve Freely, but he seemed to have left the party without further incident. And Jamison must have left with them. He seemed genuinely hurt by my words tonight, but it was hard to believe that it would last long. He was probably already on to his next conquest and that thought actually pained me, another good reason why giving him the brush off was a smart idea. The last thing I needed was to become hung up on Jamison Freely.
    “Mike, have you seen Zach?” I asked.
    “I think I saw him walk out the gate. I’m just glad those other boys left.”
    “Me too.” I headed to the parking lot figuring Zach had decided to sit the rest of the night out in his mom’s car. I could hear loud radio music blaring as I reached the lot. Reeve’s big truck was parked across three spots. Unfortunately, they had not left completely.
    Reeve’s massive body was leaning against the side of the truck with a girl on each side of him drinking beers. The jeep was still in the lot too. The lighting was not terrific in the school parking lot, but I could see Jamison sitting on his bumper with a girl standing between his legs facing him. He got over heartbreak even faster than I would have expected. At least I no longer had to worry that I’d made the wrong decision.
    I found Zach’s car but it was empty. I decided to head back inside before any of the Freelys spotted me, but then something caught my eye. Zach was in the parking lot after all. He was standing in the bed of Reeve’s truck gulping a beer.
    My first instinct was to race over and pull him away from the truck, but he’d been so pissed at me about coming to his defense at the table, he would probably never speak to me again if I interfered with him now.
    Reeve threw another beer up to him and he popped it open. The light was out over the front steps to the auditorium, so I walked over and sat down. I would just watch from a distance to make sure nothing happened to Zach. It was my only choice. Several times I peeked over at Jamison. He was kissing the girl, and it was really hard to watch.
    Zach laughed loudly as he climbed clumsily over the side of the truck bed. He took a couple of faltering steps backward before regaining his balance. The others laughed too, but I knew they were laughing at him-- not with him. I had no idea what had prompted him to make this horrid decision.
    A girl’s giggle floated over from the jeep, but I could not bear to look that way. This night was slowly deteriorating into a complete nightmare. Reeve’s chilling laughter filled the