Best and Honor

Chapter 5

Sophie

What I thought would be a relaxing day on the beach turned into the sweetest form of torture I have felt in a very long time. Stepping off the curb in front of the hotel to see all 6'3" of solid muscle waiting for me had been so exciting it felt like a spark had ignited somewhere in my gut. He was wearing a tight fitting t-shirt that did very little to mask the lean muscles it was covering. His board shorts hung low on his hips and he must've run his fingers through his hair minutes before I'd seen him because it looked perfectly messed in a way that made my fingers itch to run through it.

He appeared not to notice the way the female population on the strand seemed to feel his presence and turn their head to watch him as he walked beside me. It was as if his piercing masculinity was calling out to their biological clocks and they were helpless to it. He was doing a number to my insides as well. Clearly every part of me was interested in every part of him and the warm tingles were everywhere making it impossible to ignore.

I was proud of myself for pulling it together by the time we had made it to a location that was far enough away from the hotel. My heart slowed down and I felt my stomach unknot with the chance of running into the girls decreasing each step we took. Of course, that relief was short-lived because Andrew had reached down and taken my hand in his as he guided me onto the sand. It was the briefest of moments, but I swear it made my insides completely melt.

I didn't think he could be any more perfect, but then he removed his shirt. I watched from behind him as his muscles pulled and flexed with the movement and I felt my mouth go completely dry. His dark tattoo was a beautiful addition to his glowing skin. I was totally staring, and not in a way that I was ever going to be able to play-off as a quick glance or accidental peek. This was full on hero worship. My skin prickled with goose bumps even though the temperature outside had to be in the high eighties. It was as if it was trying in vain to rise up and get closer to him.

I've been a good girl for a very long time. It's been helpful for me to bury myself in my work so that the pain of what Evan and Rachel had done didn't sting so much and the fear of trying to rebuild a relationship with someone else didn't seem so daunting when I didn't have time to think about it. The problem is that apparently not having a man's hands brush across my skin had made it all the more exquisite when I finally felt Andrew's on my bare back. There is no describing the way my nerves had lit up and sent pulses of electricity down my spine and across my skin.

So I laid there with my eyes closed after returning the favor of wiping sunscreen all over his broad shoulders and back because if I had left them open, I would have surely thrown myself at him. I needed to remember the purpose of being on this stupid trip and forget about the way my body hummed with an angsty energy that was begging to be released by none other that my ex-boyfriend's best friend. Yes, I was hot for the best man.

It wasn't my imagination that he kept looking at me. I would feel it like it was a physical touch, the way his eyes glided over my curves. The first few times I tuned over or adjusted my top, his eyes would fall to where the movement was and he seemed mesmerized by the small peek of new flesh that had been previously covered, or the motion of my curves as I turned to feel the heat of the sun somewhere new. Ok, so maybe I moved a little more than I would have if sunbathing with a female friend, but I couldn't help it. He had me so wound up I needed to do something to burn the energy.

After a few hours we'd packed up and headed back to the hotel. Rachel and Evan have plans for us to all have a few drinks tonight in a hotel bar so those of us who don't already know each other can get better acquainted. At first I thought drinking my way through this weekend would be the right move, but now I wonder if adding the alcohol will lower my inhibitions enough that I'm going to end up in a big heap of trouble with the best man.