I looked around my motel room. I couldn’t stay in here all day and hide out from Cole. I threw a bottle of sunscreen into my beach bag and one of the towels he had brought yesterday. A day at the beach was in order and I deserved this. It was my vacation.

I twisted the key in the lock and pulled my sunglasses over my eyes. The sun was blaring.

“No, I understand, but if you could just give me until the end of the month—” I heard Cole’s voice. It sounded like he was near the ice machine. “I have reservations the rest of the month, if you would just let me keep the account open until then.”

He sounded like he was in the middle of a negotiation. It was unmistakably about the Dunes. “Right, I know you have a business to run. I’m just asking as a favor—only until the end of the month.”

The call must not have turned out the way he wanted, because I heard the ice machine take the brunt of his anger.

I clutched the beach bag tightly to my shoulder and took the steps to the boardwalk two at a time. I didn’t want Cole to catch me eavesdropping on his business call. Things at the Dunes must have been worse than I thought.

From the top of the peak, I could see South Padre beach spreading for miles in both directions. To my left was the spot of last night’s bonfire and to my right was the party mecca. I walked straight ahead, shook out my towel, and stretched out under the Texas sun.

I tried to take deep, relaxing breaths and focus on the warmth of the sun’s rays, the waves pounding the shoreline, and the gulls circling overhead, but every time I heard a wave crash, I thought about that kiss and Cole’s hands on my body. Damn it. I sat up.

It was just a crush—a crush that should be out of my system now. Nothing else could happen.

“Here you go! Party at Bottoms Up tonight.”

A runner with a messenger bag slung over his bare chest ran past while shoving a flyer in my hand. I looked at the fluorescent green paper.

It wasn’t the most creative marketing I had seen, but it was sure to draw lots of other grads like me. Maybe that was what I needed. I should get away from the Dune Scape and hang out with other people my age. I needed to integrate with the rest of the real world. A distraction from Cole and those lips was in order.

There was a long list of performers. Luckily, whoever had designed the Bottoms Up flyer had added a map at the bottom. Like Peabody’s, it was on the sound side of the island and not too far from where I was staying. I smiled before tucking the party invite into my bag.

* * *

The green sundress would have to be ok for the Bottoms Up party. It was the only dress I had, and I didn’t want to wear running shorts for my night out. I checked my reflection in the mirror. It hit my curves in all the right spots, and I thought about what Lisa had said about how I looked in it. I wasn’t above accepting a few free drinks tonight.

I grabbed my purse and the palm tree key chain, and jogged out of the door and straight into Cole.

“Oh, hey. Sorry. I was—” I looked at him. He was carrying a stepladder in one hand and his waist was wrapped in a tool belt.

“You in a hurry?” He set the ladder down against the wall.

“I thought I’d try the Bottoms Up party tonight.”

I brushed my choppy bangs to the side. I don’t know why he always made me fidget so much. I never did this around Branch.

“Right. I thought you said you weren’t a party girl.” I couldn’t tell if he was teasing me again or offended I was leaving.

“I’m not. I just wanted to see what the big deal is.”

I couldn’t tell him I needed a break from him. That if I stayed in my room tonight, I’d just think about last night.

He dropped the smile from his lips. “Well, be careful. It’s a big crowd and things get a little crazy down there.”

“So you’ve been before?” I tried to imagine Cole in a dance club. Should I ask him to go with me?

“I’m not that old. Yeah, I’ve been before. It’s not really my scene. I like Peabody’s.” He picked up the ladder.

I hesitated in the walkway, hoping for a sign of familiarity between us—a smile, a wink, anything. “Ok. See you around, I guess.”

I tucked the palm tree key into my purse and walked away from Cole. I liked Peabody’s too. If he had asked me, I would have gladly ditched my Bottoms Up plan to go have a drink with him at the bar, but he didn’t. Instead, he acted as if nothing happened last night.

* * *

The bouncer at the door barely looked at my ID before shuttling me through the gate that led into Bottoms Up. I was wedged against the back wall by a crowd of people in line for drinks at the bar. I edged along the wall, taking in my surroundings. There were cages dangling from the ceiling with bikini-clad girls dancing, a rapper I had never heard of performing on stage, and girls with beer logos strategically placed over their breasts handing out free drink samples.

Everything was flashing and the bass was so loud that I couldn’t think. Bottoms Up was all wrong for me. I knew it within my first two minutes inside the club. Why did I think this was a good idea?

“Can I buy you a shot?” An overly muscled guy wrapped his hand around my waist and shouted into my ear. He had doused himself with at least half a bottle of cologne and was wearing a tight tank top.

I tried to push back a little from him. “No, thanks. I was just leaving.”

I could still make it to Peabody’s and have a margarita. This evening didn’t have to be a total waste.

“You here alone?” His hand was attached to my waist, and I didn’t have much room to move.

“I’m meeting someone, so thanks for the offer.” I tried to smile and brush past him, but he was like a solid statue I couldn’t escape. I looked around his sculpted arms, pretending to search for my imaginary friend.

“I’d like to buy you a drink.”

The guy was really pissing me off. “I already said no thank you.” I dropped my sweet girl act.

This time I made no hesitation in my attempt to breakaway from him. I pressed my hand against his chest and shoved. It was like pushing against a rock.

“Hey, bitch. Watch it.”

He grabbed me by my wrist and twisted it. If he was trying to get me to cave to my knees, he knew what he was doing. I looked around to see if anyone noticed what was happening, but the energy was frenetic in the club and no one saw the dick who now had me in a mercy hold.

“Let her go.” From out of nowhere, Cole appeared.

He towered over the guy. Before he had a chance to negotiate whatever he was thinking, I raised my knee and brought it straight up with as much force as I could.

“Aww. Bitch!” The asshole let go of my wrist and crumpled to the floor.

I rubbed my wrist and stood over the guy who was writhing in pain.

“Wait, you didn’t even let me hit him.” Cole looked pissed.

“I didn’t need you to hit him. I took care of it.” I placed my hands on my hips.

The guy rolled on his side into a fetal position.

“But I was going to hit him.” Cole watched as he shifted to his knees and started to crawl away.

“I had it under control.” I glanced at Cole. “I already have one big brother.” I realized how bitter and nasty the words sounded.

“I can see that.” He rubbed the side of his jaw and shook his head.

I pursed my lips. “What are you doing here? I thought you said you hated this place.”

“Come on,” he directed me.

Cole pressed his palm into the small of my back and ushered me away from the wall. We walked out on the sound terrace where the rapper’s music wasn’t so loud.

“You shouldn’t be here alone. I never should have let you leave the Dunes.”

“You were worried about me?”

“Something like that.” He avoided eye contact.

“Well, I can take care of myself. I’m not a damsel in distress type of girl.”

Cole laughed. “I guess I should have thought of that. I’ll give you the self-defense technique.”

“Thanks. I think.” We both stared out at the water.

“Kaitlyn, why in the hell are you here alone?” Cole turned to me.

“I had to get out of that room.”

“No. I mean Padre. Why did you come here by yourself?” he pressed.

It was the one question I really didn’t want to discuss with him or anyone. But somehow I felt as if he deserved the truth.

“The condensed version is that the person I planned the trip with had a last-minute change of plans. So I decided to do the whole thing solo.”

“Brave girl.” He whistled.

I wondered what he would think if I told him the entire story. Why did it matter if Cole knew I had just been dumped? I didn’t lie, but I left out a few key points I didn’t want to think about, at least not when he was around.

“I’m ready to get out of here. Walk me back?”

“Sure. Yeah, of course, but I drove.” Cole turned toward the party that was raging in front of us. “I think we can leave through the side gate. No reason to go back in that shit.”

I followed him around the side of Bottoms Up and through the wooden gate that was marked as an emergency exit. I waited for a siren to go off as he pushed on the handle, but it was silent.

“They just mark the gates like that so people don’t sneak their friends in. That’s how my buddies and I used to get in here.”

I looked at him. “You used to sneak into Bottoms Up? Tell me it ain’t so.”

Cole laughed. “Yep. And I did a lot more than that.” His sexy smile made me melt. “Come on, let’s get you back.”

Cole walked over to a huge maroon truck parked in the club’s lot. He crossed in front of the vehicle and opened the passenger side for me. I had to hold the grab bar to hoist myself into the cab. This was definitely the highest truck I had ever ridden in, but that was supposed to be Texas. Big trucks, right?

Cole pulled into the empty parking lot at the Dune Scape and cut the engine. I could hear the waves hitting the beach through the open windows of his truck.

“Would you want to have a drink?” Cole pulled the keys from the ignition.

“Should we ask Ryan?”

He shot me a look.

“Kidding. Yes. A drink sounds good.”

“Ok, then. I’ll grab a few drinks from my room and meet you at the boardwalk.”

I climbed down from the cab and made my way to the wooden path that led to the beach. The breeze had picked up and I wished I had something to cover my arms.

After a few minutes, Cole emerged behind me holding two beers. “Sorry, I don’t have a huge selection. Beer ok?”

I wasn’t about to admit that I didn’t drink much beer. “It’s perfect.” I took the cold bottle and sipped. A shiver ran down my back.

“You cold? Here.” Cole handed me his beer and unbuttoned the plaid shirt he was wearing. He pulled one sleeve and then the other before wrapping it around my shoulders. Underneath, he had on a T-shirt. I studied every move he made, as if he was unwrapping a present.

“Thanks. I guess you did get to be a knight in shining armor after all.” I laughed and was glad to be warm. The shirt was heated was from his body.

“Follow me.” He tilted his head in the direction of the water.

“Where are we going?”

“My secret spot on the beach.”

“Sounds mysterious.” I trailed behind Cole as we walked down the boardwalk and north along the dunes, glad his playful side had emerged again. We felt normal again.

“Here it is.” He stepped into an alcove nestled by beach shrubs. “It’s a natural wind barrier. You won’t be as cold in here.”

I also noticed that we wouldn’t be spotted by a single soul on the beach. The cove was tucked away among higher sand dunes. Cole tossed one of the forbidden motel towels down on the sand.

“I heard you can’t use those except for showers. There’s a strict motel policy,” I taunted him.

“I’ve got connections.” If it hadn’t been so dark on the beach, I would have sworn he winked at me.

I hugged his shirt around me and sat on the towel next to Cole.

“Didn’t you say you had guests checking in later this week? When do they get here?” I sipped on the beer. I actually liked this one, it tasted like it was mixed with orange.

He leaned back, his palms pressed into the blanket. “I held off on taking any early reservations. Other than you, the first reservation of the summer season checks in on Friday.”

“And you have to do all of the work yourself? You can’t hire anyone?” I asked.

He exhaled. “No, I can’t. And to be honest, I don’t even know if I’ll have all the rooms ready by the weekend. Maybe they won’t notice the broken deck boards or the missing shower rods. What do you think? Too obvious?”

I don’t know why it took so long to surface, but the idea seemed to be staring me in the face. “Why don’t you let me help you?” Last night, I couldn’t think straight when I offered to help, but now I had clear thoughts.

I felt Cole stiffen next to me. “No way. I don’t need charity.”

“It’s not charity. I want to help. I could do something useful, I’m sure. I’m a business major. Maybe I could get the accounting and the reservations squared away for you, and you could focus on the fix-it stuff. That way you’re not trying to do everything.” I remembered how stressed he looked sorting through the receipts.

“Business major?”

“Mmm-hmm. I am. I know some numbers.” I mimicked his position on the blanket, smoothing the blanket over the sand as I leaned back.

“I can’t pay you. It wouldn’t be right.” Cole shook his head.

“You don’t have to pay me, and I can help straighten the rooms and deliver towels too. There’s no limit to my skills.” My need to do good deeds kept pouring out. “And aren’t you the one who said last night we’re basically family?”

“You really want to help me out?” Cole sounded cautious.

“I do.” I wanted to help more than I could explain.

I shifted toward him. In the light cast by the half-moon, I could see his eyes were raking over my body. Then I felt it, the charging air between us. The force that stopped all my thinking and tempted my body to give in to the rush of feelings that surfaced when Cole looked at me that way. I wanted to ask him if he felt it too, but it was one of those things I couldn’t describe. Words might ruin it.

“Kaitlyn, I don’t know what to say. I’m doing this whole thing on my own. The Dunes is my burden—my problem. It doesn’t feel right accepting free help.” He had nestled his beer in the sand and his hand traced my jawline. “I’m doing it for Grayson.”

This is exactly what he did last night, and I loved every intense and hot second of it. My breath quickened, anticipating and wanting his next touch.

I leaned into him. “Just say, ‘Yes you can help me.’”

I barely uttered the words before he closed the space between us, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me toward him. I tasted the beer on his lips and his tongue. Within seconds, the shirt I had been borrowing shimmied down my arms, and Cole’s lips grazed my shoulder and the line of my dress. I wanted him to rip that dress off me. I wanted less between us. I tugged at the bottom of his T-shirt to pull it over his head. My mouth found his again in the dark, and I moaned as he kissed me deeper and harder.

“Cole—I …” My body was responding to every flick of his tongue and every time his lips moved against mine. He was the most incredible kisser. If he kept doing that thing with his tongue, he could convince me to do anything. I pulled myself into his lap, needing to be closer to him.

The roughness of his palm surprised me as it trailed over my leg, hiking the hem of my dress as he shoved the fabric out of his way. I moaned quietly as his thumb pressed deeply along my inner thigh. It was tender and possessive at the same time. The pressure in such a sensitive spot made my skin burn for more touching. I rocked my hips forward.

“We said we weren’t going to do this,” he growled.

His voice was breathy.

“I should at least thank you for saving me tonight,” I teased.

His mouth covered mine in a forceful kiss. Did he feel everything I did? Was he as addicted?

“Just one more night,” he groaned.

I nodded. “One more.”

We rose from the blanket and walked back to the motel in silence.