A celebratory dance was underway when Jonathon and Quentin made it to the other end of the beach. With a few locals and the staff from the bar, they clapped hands and circled Christopher and Norma in a dance of congratulations. Quentin went straight for the open cooler that sat tight in a chunk of sand. It was filled with ice and Corona stretched through the dense cubes.

Seeing them walk up, Jacob and Jordan offered up a Que-dog whistle.

“The dogs are here!” They shouted.

Quentin and Jonathon smirked and began to step like they did whenever someone mentioned their Omega Psi Phi fraternity. Their moves brought the attention of the locals and a few curious eyes from women lingering around. The men became louder as they shouted and moved, stomping and dipping down to show off their unique talents.

“Aww shit, don’t hurt ‘em now,” Octavia, Jonathon’s wife, shouted.

With their faces scrunched in a tight mask, Jonathon and Quentin pulled their hands to the sides of their face with their arms open in their fraternity’s signature pose.

“Aye!” Quentin shouted.

“Aye!” Jonathon followed.

Jacob moved from his seating position and stood in line with his brothers as they stomped, kicking up sand and barking out shouts. No one noticed Phoebe coming from the same direction that Jonathon and Quentin had come. They were so engrossed watching the men step that she slinked passed them and came around to find a seat next to her sister Eden.

Leaning over to her, Eden whispered, “Nice try, but I’m your twin, and I see everything.”

Phoebe shrugged. “I wouldn’t have cared if everyone else saw me, too.”

Eden’s brows bunched as she frowned at Phoebe. “Well, that’s a first.”

“How?” Phoebe said, “I’m tired of feeling like I’m sneaking around my family like I’m a child. I’m not you know. I’m a fully grown, kick-ass attorney, and I don’t need anyone in my damn business.”

“Uh, oh,” Jasmine, Phoebe’s triplet sister said, leaning. “What happened this time?”  

Phoebe huffed and turned to peer at Quentin. In his thin gray T-shirt, his muscles flexed and his biceps bulged as he stepped next to her brother. Sharply, she turned her eyes away and scrambled to grab a cold Corona.

The men finished their step with a loud howl that the rest of the men imitated. Excitement and laughter bubbled around them, but Phoebe’s attitude went sour by the second. She twisted the top of the beer and took a swig, plopping back down next to her sisters.

“Whoa, whoa,” Jordan said. “There’s a minor with an alcoholic beverage, somebody call 911,” he joked, and everyone laughed but Phoebe and Quentin.

Phoebe rose to her feet and poured beer all over Jordan.

“Hey, girl, what the hell?” he shouted.

“For your information Jordan, I am not a minor, I am a grown ass woman!” she snapped. “I have a higher success rate at your law firm than any of your junior partners period! I don’t need anyone telling me what to do, looking over my damn shoulder, or telling me who to screw! Because I will do what the hell I please, and I will screw whomever the hell I want!” She tossed the bottle, and everyone in Jordan’s angle ducked.

“Phoebe!” Jordan yelled.

“Go to hell!” she said, marching off down the beach in the opposite direction.

They all stared after her with eyes wide and mouths hanging open. Jordan stood to his feet and went after her, and so did Quentin.

“Can somebody tell me what’s going on?” Christopher said.

 

Stalking down the beach, Phoebe’s madness was on high, even as the soft winds turned cool, making her fold her arms and shiver.

“Phoebe!” Jordan yelled as he and Quentin jogged to catch up with her.

“Leave me alone, Jordan.”

Jordan reached out to stop her angry escape. She whipped around with a glare and an icy stare that cut through him.

“I’m sorry!” Jordan said. “I was just playing with you; I didn’t think you were going to get all Zena warrior princess on me.”

Phoebe waved him off and turned back around, purposefully ignoring Quentin’s probing gaze.

“Phoebe!” Jordan called out, reaching for her again.

“Leave me alone! I didn’t come all the way down here for you to follow me. I need to be by myself.” Phoebe continued to trek down the beach.

“There’s no one down the beach this way,” Quentin said to Jordan.

“We’ll have to watch her from here. She wants to be left alone.”

They both stood there watching Phoebe stroll down the beach.

“What do you think is wrong with her?” Jordan asked.

Quentin let out a breath and pulled a hand over his face.

“From that outburst, I would say she’s tired of being treated like a child.”

Jordan frowned. “I was just messing with her, man. I do that all the time; she’s never lashed out like this.”

“Maybe she’s tired of it. You know she’s been saying for years we need to mind our business.”

“That’s only when it involves some dude she likes,” Jordan said. Quentin didn’t respond, and Jordan pulled his eyes away from Phoebe’s disappearing form to Quentin’s emotionless face. “She’s not seeing anybody, is she?” Jordan asked.

“Nah, not that I know of,” Quentin responded.

Jordan cast his eyes back down the beach. “She’s gotta be seeing someone. I’ll find out,” he promised.

There was a brief moment when Quentin sized Jordan up, but just as quickly he shook the possible confrontation from his mind. He was going crazy. In his heart, Quentin knew Phoebe was the one, and tonight he’d crossed the line with her, but he was unapologetic. There were only two things he could do. Have what he knew would be an unpleasant interaction with his best friends, or leave Phoebe alone. Neither of those options were satisfactory for Quentin.

“I’m going to get closer, I can barely see her now,” Quentin said.

“Hey,” Jordan called out.

Quentin glanced back to him.

“Make sure she’s all right, and bring her back.”

Quentin nodded, turning his stroll into a steady jog.

 

Phoebe stood still with the wind against her face, catching her hair in its swiveling currents. Her outburst had been a first, but it had been brewing a long while. What could she say, Phoebe was severely frustrated, and it was time they all knew it.

“I told you to leave me alone,” she said, keeping her eyes on the crashing waves at the shoreline.

“You know I can’t,” Quentin said.

Phoebe closed her eyes, and her heart raced.

“You should,” she said. “Playing this song and dance with you doesn’t work for me, Quentin. I’ve never been one to play around, so you really should just leave me alone.”

With her eyes evading him, Phoebe sucked in a breath when a cloud of warmth hovered over her. She knew he was standing behind her, but she wasn’t prepared for his touch. Again, her eyes shut when his hands tread across her shoulders. Her body betrayed her, instantly rising with arousal. His arms followed, engulfing her in the sanctuary of his chest. His lips dropped down to her ear, and his warm breath toasted her against the cool sailing winds.

Phoebe tried to gain her strength. “You may want to be careful touching me. I’d hate for someone to see you.”

  Quentin turned her to face him. “They only want what’s best for you,” he said. “I only want what’s good for you, too.”

Phoebe’s smile was cynical. “I guess this is the part where you tell me, you’re no good for me, right?”

Quentin pushed out another breath. “You have to understand, Phoebe, your brothers and I have been through a lot together. I will never be good enough for you in their eyes.”

“But you would be good enough for the girl at the bar, right?”

“It’s not the same.”

“Whatever.”

“It’s different when it’s your sister, mother, or daughter.”

“You know what I don’t get, Quentin? Even with everything you guys have been through, my brothers should know your heart. Do they honestly think you would ever hurt me?”

Quentin didn’t speak, but he soaked in her words carefully.

“Would you, Quentin?”

“Hell no.”

Phoebe turned her head and looked back down the path she’d walked. The silence stretched again, and only the ocean waves could be heard.

“Do you even want me?”

Quentin’s gut constricted.

“You don’t know what you’re asking,” he responded.

Phoebe brought her eyes back to him.

“Do you?”

His lids lowered. “More than anything,” his dark voice grooved.

Phoebe shivered, and she didn’t think it was because of the chill of the night.

“Then what do you plan to do about it?”

It was a standoff, with both of them tackling their own thoughts. Quentin moved first. His hand reached for her chin and his mouth covered hers. An electrifying current buzzed through them both, and they roasted right where they stood. Quentin’s free hand slipped up her shoulders and neck, settling in the back of her hair. Pulling her head slightly back, Quentin stared at her while breathing into her lips.

Phoebe loved the yearning she saw in his eyes—if only he would act on it and let go of this ridiculous vow he’d made with her brothers.

“You don’t know what you do to me…” he said.

“That’s funny, I could say the same about you.”

Phoebe stuck her tongue out and licked his lips. Quentin shut his eyes briefly then inhaled her, sucking her tantalizing tongue down his throat. A burst of heat ran through them, and Phoebe quickly tossed her arms around his neck. Quentin picked her up, and her legs coiled around his waist as their bodies burned together. Kissing from her lips down her neck, Quentin sucked in Phoebe’s warm skin then sank his teeth into her soft flesh.

“Ssss… aaah, baby…” Phoebe moaned with her head hanging back. “Don’t do this to me,” she panted.

Quentin pulled his gaze to hers.

“Don’t do this to me if you don’t plan to finish,” she said.

They stared at one another with desire spilling between them. After too long of a minute, Quentin finally spoke.

“We can’t do this now.”

“It’s now or never.”

“You can’t do that.”

Phoebe untangled herself from him and plopped down to her feet. She turned to walk back up the beach.

“Phoebe.”

Her feet paused, and she waited for him to declare his love for her. She waited for him to tell her he’d wanted her for just as long as she’d wanted him. Phoebe waited as the wind whipped around her, for Quentin to give her some sign that they could be together. That all their teasing when they were young, and all his protectiveness as they got older was all boiling down to this moment in time when they could finally confess their love. Phoebe’s heart knocked in her chest, and her nerves stood on pins and needles.

But his silence was golden, giving her all the answers she didn’t want. Phoebe locked and unlocked her jaw. How much time had she spent daydreaming and fantasizing that the one guy she’d always loved would love her back?

Without saying a word, she resumed her trek back down the beach with the silence behind her becoming infinite.