The Strings Attached

Chapter 38 - Loni

Loni

Chilled waves crawl up my toes and splash against my ankles. The water is so cold, but I'm still tempted to dive in. I love the ocean. I think it's the best part about living in Florida. I could fall asleep to the sound of the waves crashing on the shore.

Hadley walks back up to the shore towards me after taking a quick dip to cool off. Sleek black hair cascades over her shoulders. "Are you going in?" she asks, wringing out her hair.

I nod. "Yeah, when everyone gets here."

"I still can't believe it." She says on a laugh, tossing her wrung-out hair behind her shoulder

"Can't believe what?"

"You and Jace, fuck buddies. I knew I was right when I told you to go for him. I guess he is your type after all."

I fluff my hand in the air. "We aren't in a relationship. It's just sex."

"Just sex?" She raises her brows. Her body perks up suddenly. "Now how am I supposed to believe you when Jace looks at you like that?" She motions her hand behind me.

I turn around. Jace is walking toward us with the biggest grin stretching across his face. His eyes are locked right on me before he pulls down his black sunglasses.

"Hey, pretty girl," he greets.

Hadley shoots me a told you so look.

I give her a you don't know what the hell you're talking about look in return.

"I'm going to help Kaden get the paddle boards out of his jeep," Jace says as soon as he approaches us.

"Okay."

He takes my hand, gives it a quick squeeze, eyes my body up and down then shoots me a wink before walking back up the beach.

Did he really just walk all the way down here from the parking lot to find me? Now he's trudging back up the beach. I can't help but feel butterflies swirl around in my stomach. Heat grows in my cheeks as well as other places. And the way he just looked at me... Fuck.

I hate to admit it, but I really put a lot of effort into my appearance before I came to the beach today. Normally, I don't care what I look like. I'm going to get all sandy and wet anyway, so why does it matter? Honestly, I wanted to impress him. So I'm wearing a light blue bikini. The top gives me some much-needed boob support, making them look bigger than they are. And the bottoms, well they are so far up my ass I can practically taste the fabric.

"Oh, babe, you are so past the fuck buddy stage it's not even funny."

"We are keeping it casual."

"Deny it all you want. But I know you. You don't do casual. Especially not with a guy like Jace. I was all for your little sex plan, but you can break it if you want to actually date him. I won't judge you," she laughs.

"Dating comes with a lot of baggage. I just don't think I'm ready for that kind of commitment yet."

Hadley sighs. "Fine. But just know, you are allowed to let yourself be happy. You are allowed to let your walls down."

I shrug. Hadley is right, but I'm not ready yet. I just fully got over Eric to where the thought of him or the sound of his name doesn't put a sour taste in my mouth. If I get hurt again, I don't think I'll be able to recover.

"I can't wait to go on Kaden's paddle board," she says, changing the subject which takes a weight off my chest.

I glance up the beach towards the parking lot and when I do, there's a girl walking right towards us. She's beautiful. Tall and lanky with boobs that are probably the prettiest, perkiest set I've ever seen. She looks like she should be a supermodel with her long legs and pinched waist.