Shock Waves. Colleen Collins
wasn’t sure what to wear at the beach,” she murmured.
“Coulda fooled me.” He gave her an appreciative once-over, which gave her no small thrill.
She plastered on her best beach-babe smile, although she felt like a total fake. Except for the shoes. And the fishnet. And the tattoos, of course.
And how she felt every time she was near him. Those feelings were as deep and real as they’d been when she was a girl.
They faced each other, the heat from the sun pouring down on them. In the distance, waves thundered against the shoreline. A couple of teenagers walked past, carrying umbrellas, towels and a radio that was blasting Sheryl Crow singing how she just wanted to have some fun.
So did Ellie. She’d started out telling herself this week was about chilling, then about winning points and being on her favorite show. But now all that paled to what she really wanted—to be with Bill and have fun. The kind of no-regrets, go-for-it fun she never allowed herself. Now was the perfect time to indulge herself.
And he was the perfect man to indulge herself with.
Everything would be great, too, as long as she kept up the facade, never let on that she lived in that depressing vampire world where he assumed goths resided. From what she’d gleaned, this was his only afternoon off, so she didn’t have to keep that facade up for long anyway. A few hours, hopefully more. Not a daunting task.
Although the thought of saying goodbye again was.
“Something wrong?” he asked, concern filling his eyes.
She glanced at the coffee stain. “It’s probably set by now. Too late to get it out.”
“Now, now, Ellie, so pessimistic,” he kidded, lightly rubbing her back.
She could feel the heat from his hand through the open spaces in the fishnet, warm and liquid against the bareness of her back. His touch was light, confident, exciting.
“We have bigger things to worry about than a coffee stain.” He took her hand and started walking toward the festival. “Like what should we order for lunch?”
It’d been seventeen years since her maddening childhood crush. Seventeen years of remembering and fantasizing about Bill, and now all those memories and dreams and girlish yearnings coalesced into this single afternoon. If she ever had the opportunity to live in the moment, this was it. To revel in each moment, each minute, each hour.
Even if what happened in Malibu stayed in Malibu, she’d have the memories of this afternoon for the rest of her life.
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