“Ladies, how are you? Thanks for getting a table.” Axel is grinning widely as he and one of his friends take the bench across from us, next to Mia and Juniper. The other one sits next to Sav, forcing Dayton to sit in the only available space—next to me.
He sits down, but the bench is almost too small for four people. The side of his thigh presses up against mine. I hold my breath, expecting him to pull away, but he doesn’t. My skin tingles at the point of contact.
Stop overanalyzing every little thing he does. It doesn’t mean anything!
“Babe, meet, uh—I mean, Summer. Sorry.” Axel winces. “Meet the guys, Josh and Billy. This is Summer and Savannah. And this here is Summer’s stepbrother, Dayton.”
“Nice to meet you,” Savannah says.
I feel Dayton’s eyes on me before he reaches out a hand to shake Josh’s and Billy’s.
“I’m Mia. This is Juniper.”
Everyone shakes hands and says hello.
“Did y’all break up?” Billy asks Axel, looking at me.
Axel chuckles. “Yeah, we did. It’s all good. We’re staying friends.”
He smiles at me, and I feel a weight lifted when I don’t see a hint of animosity in his gaze.
I smile back. “It was mutual, and no one talked us into it. We both decided it was for the best.”
Dayton straightens beside me.
That’s right; you didn’t influence this decision, buddy.
“Well, in that case, can I buy you a drink, Summer?” Josh leans forward, winking at me.
“Hey now. It might be a little soon for that, okay?” Axel shakes his head. “But you can get me a drink, asshole.”
Josh laughs, standing up. “All right, this one’s on me. Anyone else want anything?”
Axel and Billy both want a beer, so Josh leaves to go order. They have waitresses walking around, taking orders, but when it’s this crowded, it’s faster to wait at the bar.
Axel and Billy are chatting with Sav about the last performance at Marg Fest. I zone them out, my mind wondering about the girl on Dayton’s social media.
I’m trying to think of a way to bring it up without letting him know we stalked him when he suddenly presses his leg up against mine. My body goes rigid. I reach for my mai tai, taking a sip. I glance up at him to see if he’s looking at me, but his eyes are on Axel, who is describing how great the waves were this morning and how electric it felt to surf with a few B-list celebrities.
Mia asks him who was there. Juniper and Sav start talking about the best-flavored marg they had all day.
All I can focus on is Dayton’s leg pressed up to mine. I should just pull it away, but then he would realize it was bothering me. I want to appear completely unaffected by him.
I am completely unaffected by him. He’s just a nuisance.
My head clouds when I feel a big hand brush across my thigh and rest on top of it, applying a gentle but firm amount of pressure with his fingertips. I know it’s him. It has to be his hand, but there’sno way. My mind must be playing tricks on me. He used to play this game with me in high school. It was the ‘Are you nervous?’ game, where he’d go higher and higher up my leg until I would jerk away and tell him I was nervous.
No one else is close enough to be doing it right now.
Dayton’s hand is on my thigh.
I don’t move. The pressure of his leg against mine was bad enough, but there’s no possible explanation for why he’s squeezing my thigh like this. My skin is on fire. His hand andleg are both warm, overheating me. I suck down the rest of the mai tai. As if on cue, a waitress approaches the table.
Marina grins at me. I barely manage a forced smile back.
“Can I get you guys anything?”
Josh returns to the table with the beers. Savannah says she wants to order Cal’s famous Sex on the Beach.