He held my hand in his and worked his phone with his right, his cast no longer in a sling separating us. By the time we made it back to his truck, he sported a frown.

“Looks like everything is booked.”

I glanced around the almost deserted parking lot. “So we have nowhere to sleep tonight?”

His eyes tracked the perimeter. “I might have an idea.”

He rooted around in his truck and came up with a couple of blankets.

“You want to sleep on the beach?”

He patted the side of the truck. “One better.”

I eyed it and around the area again. “Do you think that’s safe?”

He shrugged. “It’s better than me getting behind the wheel. I’m too wasted, and if we get pulled over…”

He didn’t have to mention the worst-case scenario, like us causing an accident.

“Besides, there’s no one here.”

“Do you think the lot closed?”

He eyed the area where the booth was far off from where we parked.

“If it did, we can’t leave anyway.”

I watched as he spread out one blanket before holding out a hand to me to hoist me up. We sat with our backs to the cab. Over dinner, we’d talked about favorite things like movies and places, all random things.

“I got an interview,” I blurted. He glanced over and I smiled. “With my father’s company. And a few others. I meet the team at the career fair in a few weeks.”

“That’s great.”

Sitting with him with the sounds of the ocean’s waves lapping at the shores felt much more intimate.

“How’s your project going? Are you done?” I babbled.

I was a riot of emotions from hate to falling in love with him, but I wanted to know more about him.

“Almost, just the drive test left.”

“What’s that?”

He tapped a rhythm on the side of the truck.

“Putting the engine inside my Mustang and getting it to drive.”

“You have a Mustang?”

“It’s a 1966. It probably wouldn’t work in a newer car. Older ones don’t have all the computer systems that would require more power. It should work well enough.”

The wind had blown his perfect hair out of place, not that the messy look didn’t suit him. But I reached up and put it to rights.

“That’s so incredible. A mind like yours shouldn’t go to waste.”

Immediately I wanted to retake my words. Darn alcohol brain.

“I’m sorry,” I amended.

He faced me. “I get it. I’m not offended. We all make choices.”

“It’s just so hard. I can’t imagine me doing something I didn’t want to do.”

Glancing away, he said, “It’s complicated. He doesn’t want me in the family business—I just can’t imagine leaving him on his own.”

His tapping increased. I noticed he did that when he was nervous or lying. I wasn’t sure which. It happened when we’d gone to the restaurant and again at the pier.

“Make sense. If my mom needed me, I’d be there for her too. She’s been my hero for as long as I can remember. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for her.”

“I wouldn’t call my dad a hero—maybe antihero. Anyway, he’d never throw it in my face all the things he’s done for me.”

What did that mean? I wanted to ask more, but was afraid he’d clam up.

“Sounds like both our parents made sacrifices for us. I’m glad my mom found someone. She never dated while I still lived at home—not that I’m aware of, anyway.”

“Same. Though I think my dad feels like he’d disrespect my mom’s memory if he moved on.”

I grinned at him. “We have a lot in common, don’t we?”

There was something sad about his smile. “In this we do.”

He was just so easy to talk to, I went on. “When I was little, I used to think Mom wore a superhero costume under her clothes.”

His chest rumbled with laughter.

“Stop. I’m serious. When I asked what she did for a living, she’d tell me she brought down the bad guys. So I would go to school and tell everyone that she was a hero in disguise. I was so adamant, they called her and she had to explain to me the difference.”

He must have found me dumb because his laughter stopped. “What does your mom do for a living?”

His question caught me off guard. Not so much what he said, but how he said it—all cautious and hesitant.

“She’s a lawyer. She works for the state prosecutor’s office.”

“I guess she does put away the bad guys,” he said before going silent for a long moment. “I think I need a swim.” He left me sitting in the back of the truck.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out that what my mother did for a living had changed things. I didn’t want to assume and fit pieces of the puzzle together, because what if I was wrong? Worse: What if I was right? Would I walk away from Gavin like my mom walked away from my dad?

I left the cocoon of the blanket and followed him out to the edge of the water. The cold sand squished between my toes because I’d taken off my shoes again when we got in the truck. It should have been a warning for what was to come, but my focus was on Gavin. He stared out into the ocean like he was lost.

He turned when I got close. A wave crashed and rolled forward, hitting my feet with the force of a bucket of ice water. I yipped and jumped into his arms, chilled to the bones. At least his smile was back, even if it was at my expensive.

No words left our lips; our connection was instant fire. Our mouths crashed together as I wound my legs around his waist. We were on the move, but all I could think about was that we weren’t close enough.

He walked us back to the truck and sat me down on the tailgate. I kept my legs locked around him.

“Scoot back,” he whispered.

I unhooked my legs and moved back. I laid down in offering. The parking lot was empty, which seemed odd, but maybe it was a sign. Or maybe the lot was closed because the lights were out. But the back of the truck faced an empty beach. In the darkness, we wouldn’t be seen.

He pulled down my shorts and tugged at the strings on either side of my bikini bottoms. He hadn’t unveiled me yet.

“I’m not going to fuck you,” he said.

“What?” I sputtered, lifting on my elbows.

“I respect you too much and I can’t be who you want me to be. But I am going to find out how many licks it takes to get to the center of your pussy.” So many phrases and curses came to mind, I didn’t speak.

When I just gaped at him, he added, “You did say no guy has gotten you off before?” I nodded, unable to speak. Were we really going to do this? Could he take me where no guy had before? “Lie back, Angel, and enjoy the ride.”

He crawled between my legs and moved the fabric aside. Curiosity had me defy him so I could watch. My mind scrolled through a catalog of a thousand words a minute until his cool tongue snaked down my slit. I drew in a sharp breath and squirmed because it was a little ticklish. His hand braced one hip to keep me still.

“Relax, Angel. I’ve got you.”

He went back to work, stroking down to penetrate my core. When a giggle escaped me, his tongue headed north and his mouth closed over my clit.

My brain fried and all laughing ceased. I collapsed to my back as phrases like what are you doing to me, is it always like this hung on the tip of my tongue.

I couldn’t stop writhing and panting from sheer pleasure. He certainly knew what the heck he was doing. He had moved to an all-out assault on my lady parts. His sucks and flicks of his tongue weren’t hesitant. One long stroke over my slit after another until he pushed his wiggling tongue deep in my channel over and over again to zigzag over a spot inside that took everything to another level.

He used calloused fingers to tease my nub. Their friction and gentle pressure created the perfect storm I could have never imagined.

An orgasm the size of a mountain teasingly built inside me. I lifted my hips and ground myself against his face, needing more, wanting to reach that elusive place.

“Oh god, please don’t stop,” I cried out.

I shouldn’t have spoken, because his mouth ceased doing delicious things to me.

“If you want me to finish you off, you’ll be a good girl and hold still.”

A soulful moan left me. “Please,” I begged again and tried my best to honor his command.

His chuckle fanned over my swollen nub and it took the willpower of ten statues to keep me in place.

Gone somewhere I’d never been, I must have made too much noise because his hand left my clit and covered my mouth. Still he didn’t stop. Two big fingers pushed inside me as his mouth covered my mound again.

My back bowed as the cord inside me grew taut, about to snap. His tongue pressed down on that magic button and I had liftoff. My inner walls quavered and bliss took me to the moon and back. He continued to thrust his fingers inside, continuing the ride he promised me. My orgasm seemed endless until I lay unable to move. He tied my bottoms back and crawled to lie beside me.

“I never…” I began.

“I know.” His smirk should have been annoying, but he’d more than proven himself.

If he could get me off with his mouth, what could he do with that monster-size erection of his? It made an impression and not just because of its size, but because of the impressive tent created in his shorts.

I edged up to stare at it.

“I’ll be fine,” he said, fisting it as if he could make it submit to his will.

Sugar, honey, iced tea—that was hot. There was no way I would do nothing. I wasn’t that selfish. I got on my knees when he stopped me.

“You don’t have to.”

“I know.” I grinned at him. “You’ll respect me in the morning, won’t you?”

I leaned over and reached in before he answered. Wrapping my small hand around him was nearly impossible. I bent down after I used my other hand to free him. Shut the front door, he was…well, he wasn’t lacking. With a firm hand around him, I dipped to suck the head in.

His grip on my thigh said I was doing something right. I hollowed my cheeks and took more of him in until I had a different thought. I lifted my shirt and shifted my bikini top to free my breasts. Heavy as they were, they swayed.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

I did have a few tricks up my sleeve. I moved to place him in the valley of my chest and squeezed my boobs around him.

“Shit, Angel. Fuck.”

Smiling, I flicked out my tongue each time the head popped through the top. His hips jerked up in a rhythm as I seized the opportunity with one dip of my head to lick a bead of precum off the tip.

“Use that wet mouth of yours to take me deep,” he said.

I let go of my breasts and moved my hair to one side, because it wouldn’t easy to give him what he wanted. He was certainly the largest guy I’d ever been with.

Opening as wide as I could, I let him push his cock deep inside the cavern of my mouth. He filled me so I couldn’t stop a light graze of my teeth over him as I found a tempo that suited us both.

I played with his balls with one hand, sliding my finger over his taint, the skin just passed his balls. A slew of curses flew out of his mouth before he moved my leg to the other side to straddle him. Then after shifting fabric out of the way, his mouth was on me again.

It was harder than Hades to concentrate on blowing him when I was rounding toward orgasm number two.

I was so close, I made it my mission to get him off before I did. I squeezed him tighter, took him deeper, and stroked his taint, which had gotten a rise out of him before. Up and down, I swirled my hand around him in up-and-down motions as his tongue probed inside me.

His hips bucked as my legs felt like jelly. If he didn’t stop, I was liable to smother him. I almost laughed, but his hips pitched up and he slipped past my throat. I struggled not to gag, wanting to win this battle. I would get him off if it killed me.

“Suck me with that greedy mouth of yours.”

I applied more pressure until he grunted, “I’m coming,” and did that thing again with his tongue over my clit as his fingers pumped in and out of me.

Bright lights danced behind my lids as I sucked him until there was nothing left to swallow.

I panted several minutes before I could get my limbs to work. I crawled next to him and he held out his arm. I curled against his side and wondered what tomorrow would be like before sleep claimed me.

He kissed me, mixing our tastes between us.

“I shouldn’t be amazed that you got me off, but I am. I was sure I was broken,” I admitted.

His grin was infectious. “No, Angel. You are most certainly not broken. You just messed around with amateurs. Now get some sleep.”

He tugged me closer and so many other things unsaid passed between us. It felt like maybe we could move this thing between us to another level, or was that me dreaming? Having felt oblivion, I wanted more. I wanted him buried inside me so deep I wouldn’t know where he began and I ended. I wanted him to be mine.

“Excuse me.”

The word made my lids fly open to see seagulls flying above.

“You shouldn’t be here. The lot is closed for repairs. There was a sign.”

A skinny guy who looked like he didn’t bother with things like food leered at us. As the air warmed up, we’d kicked the covers to the side. Thank goodness my bottoms were on, but not my shorts.

Gavin reached for the blanket and covered me. Then he went for his jeans and took out his wallet. He handed the guy some bills.

“Thanks, man. We’ll leave in a minute.”

The guy nodded, but kept his eyes on me. I yanked the blanket high, covering the color in my cheeks.

Finally he walked away. Gavin handed me my shorts. “We should go. How about Atlantic City?”

My eyes widened. “I’ve never been.”

“We have a winner. There are no hotels around here, but I know a place we can get in there.”

I agreed as excitement zinged through me. We would be alone in a hotel room tonight. Would it happen?

The drive took about three hours. Gavin did in fact get us a room. And the first thing I did was shower. I hadn’t locked the door and wondered what I would do if he came in. He’d seen my hoo-ha, but not the girls. Sadly, he hadn’t entered. In fact, he wasn’t in the room when I got out.

Disappointed, I dried my hair and brushed my teeth. I was propped up on one of the queen-sized beds staring at the picture of us at the ocean’s side restaurant when he came in.

Quickly, I closed that app down and pretended to check email. The smell of food made my stomach growl.

“I thought you would be hungry.”

He handed me a bag and sat on the other bed. Though we’d sang in the car like we were at a karaoke bar, now there was distance between us.

“I’m going to grab a shower.”

I nodded, trying not to read into the change in him. One thing I was glad of was that we hadn’t had sex. Whatever this was between us now would have crushed me.

The cheeseburger could have been a cardboard cutout for all I noticed. The shower clicked off and he stepped into the room with water droplets running down his face from his wet hair. His chest was damp and the towel could easily be removed.

“I forgot my bag.”

Embarrassment colored my cheeks as he’d caught me watching. But he made no sex joke. The curl to his lips barely counted as a smile.

I was too much of a chicken to call him on it. We were in Atlantic City for spring break. Why make waves? Hadn’t he been clear on the friend rules before we came on the trip?

Friendship wasn’t half bad. For the next two days, I’d woken to a late breakfast. We’d spent lazy afternoons on the beach, tried different restaurants, and gambled at night. Friday night, he convinced me to ride the Ferris wheel.

“No,” I said, pulling away from him. “You know I’m scared.”

“I dare you,” he said, his sexy smirk back.

He loosened his tug-of-war grip on my arm.

“You win, you get whatever you want?”

“That’s not fair,” I all but sang, the last word drawn out like an a cappella note.

He didn’t back down and neither did I, stupid bet.

Once we were on, he rested his arm behind me on the seat. I gripped the bar like I knew I was going to die.

“It will be fine, Megan.”

That was the first fissure that formed in my heart. I’d been “Angel” practically from the first moment we met.

I sat rigid in the seat, paralyzed with fear, not just of heights but of how painfully I knew this night would end.

His hand landed on my back and rubbed circles on it. Another crack formed in the center of my chest. Even his touch was different. We might not have been in the Twilight Zone, but I was most definitely in the friend zone.

I held my breath, trying to hold back the tears. Riding a Ferris wheel with a guy turned out to be nothing magical like it was in the movies.

Hope came when he took my hand in his. But hope could be like the peak of a roller coaster; things could go downhill quickly.

Once we were off, he laughed. “It wasn’t that bad.”

“Yes, it was,” I complained.

“So what do you want?”

I’d been telling Reagan to take risk. So what if every time I’d tried before I’d failed? Plus, I was sure he was only holding back for a set of reasons that didn’t include how he felt about me.

Bravely, I lifted my chin and gazed into his beautiful eyes. “I want you.”

There, I’d said it. The next words out of his mouth could make me or break me.

“Megan…”

He didn’t have to say anything else.

“No, that was stupid. I didn’t mean that,” I backtracked.

I didn’t know I was stepping backward and away from him until he moved forward.

“I was kidding,” I tried again with false cheer. “I want you to teach me how to play craps.”

My smile was toothy and he paused, which had to mean I was pulling it off. I spun around, feeling the moisture pool in my eyes.

“Let’s go,” I called over my shoulder and jogged for our hotel.

Before he caught me, I’d blotted my eyes.

Until now, he’d told me to stay away from those tables. He warned they were nothing but a money pit. But I needed the distraction from the colossal mistake I just made.

We stood on the side, close but so very far away. As others played, he explained to me what was going on. I heard him, but nothing registered.

“Can you wish me luck?”

I didn’t realize a guy was talking to me until an older woman tapped on my shoulder. I glanced up. The only way to describe the guy was pretty. He had the privilege written all over him. I pointed at my chest and he nodded.

I glanced up at Gavin. Nothing in our postures suggested we were together. His expression was blank and I couldn’t think of any good reason not to go. After all, Gavin and I were just friends.

“Be right back.” I knocked Gavin’s arm like we were buddies.

Sandy blond hair with chiseled features greeted me. This guy was definitely a hottie, and he knew it.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

“Megan.”

“Well, Megan, I’m Sawyer and that over there is Ash.” The guy with him was more than pretty, though he looked as closed-off as Gavin. “Blow on the dice for me, sunshine, for good luck.”

This wasn’t unusual. I’d seen a few people do it as Gavin taught me the game.

“I can do one better for you and throw it. But I’ve never done it.”

He grinned and handed the dice over. All the clanging from the slot machines and crowd chatter disappeared the moment I met Gavin’s gaze. Sawyer moved behind me like he was trying to teach me how to play pool.

“Now just toss it like so,” Sawyer said, holding my arm. “Release,” he whispered in my ear.

As I bent forward, I felt Sawyer’s excitement.

Still, I kept my eyes on Gavin, who did nothing.

The crowd around the table roared when the dice stopped. Sawyer spun me around and wrapped me in his arms.

“We won! You are good luck.” He hugged me close, but he wasn’t who I wanted. “Why don’t we go have a drink with our winnings?”

I turned my head and Gavin was collecting chips. He must have placed a bet before I’d walked over.

“Sure.”

It might have been wrong, but I needed space. It might have been stupid, but we didn’t leave the casino. We sat in a nearby bar and I watched my drink as it was being made until it landed in my hands. I didn’t have anything to fear. Sawyer and Ash turned out to be good listeners. After a few drinks, I’d spilled my boy troubles to them. Sawyer was full of advice. For a guy two years younger than me and just a sophomore in college, he seemed to know more about relationships than I did. Or maybe he just understood the male perspective.

Ash was the one that walked me to my room. We left Sawyer to entertain several girls. He was charming—too bad he wasn’t Gavin. When I’d left with them, I thought I could flirt. But that had ended in utter failure. Sawyer picked up on that and asked me about the guy I’d been standing with, which led to me spilling my guts.

“Goodnight,” I said to Ash.

He wasn’t a talker. He nodded and aimed his eyes at the door. I knew he would wait until I was safely inside.

The room was dark. The hallway light illuminated my steps inside. When the door closed, a shaft of moonlight haloed legs and feet at the end of the first bed.

Gavin said nothing as I approached, but the tension was palpable.

I stopped in front of him, unable to meet his eyes. He stood, dwarfing me. Before I could speak, he sidestepped me and headed toward the door.

“Where are you going?” I called after him.

He didn’t bother to look back. “Out. Apparently, I’m the only guy in your no-fucking zone.”

The door didn’t slam shut, but it might as well have. I wanted to yell at him that he was the one that put the brakes on that last night. But a shouting match in a hotel hallway wasn’t my style. Instead, I showered, feeling dirty for no reason. I’d done nothing wrong. Okay, I’d left him, but he’d been acting like he hadn’t wanted me there.

The water rained down on me along with my tears. My throat felt raw when I finally got out, skin pruned. He wasn’t in the room. At some point, I’d fallen asleep.

I blinked awake, hearing movement. I rolled away from the glaring sunlight and spotted Gavin fooling with his bag.

“We should go. Checkout is soon and we should head back to campus.”

“Yeah, okay,” I croaked.

“Breakfast is there.”

Like the previous mornings, he’d brought a selection of things. I bypassed it and took my bag. Things were worse than they’d ever been before. He hadn’t exactly been cold, but there hadn’t been any warmth coming from him. I brushed my teeth and hair and pulled it back. The waves couldn’t be contained and there was no time to flat iron it.

I’d showered twice yesterday, so I didn’t that morning. He seemed to be in a hurry to leave, which was evident as he sat on the bed waiting for me to be ready. I packed up a breakfast sandwich, a muffin for later, and fruit in a plastic-covered bowl. I left the rest.

We drove in silence…well, not exactly. Music played through the speaker and the station we listened to was on some kind of Taylor Swift marathon. After every song, I looked at him, waiting for him to change the station, but he didn’t notice. After about the tenth, it was a good thing I’d left the plasticware at the hotel. I felt all kinds of stabby after a while. Who could listen to one breakup song after another, nonstop, while riding in a car with a guy that you’d practically broken up with?

The road to school never seemed like heaven before, but I wanted to kiss the ground when he pulled into the lot attached to my dorm.

He didn’t turn off the car, but it was early afternoon. I didn’t need an escort. I pushed open the door and got out. Before I closed it, I spoke for the first time the entire trip back.

“By the way, I didn’t screw anyone. I’ve only kissed and played baseball with you since we met.”

I shut the door, feeling somewhat vindicated at the perplexed look on his face. Still, I thought about the cutie who’d been trying to get me to go out with him before spring break. His name was Shawn. The only problem was he was Gavin’s replacement on the rowing team.

But what the heck. I had nothing to lose.