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That is…I’m not normally childish. Dancing on my table and asking Kal to kiss me last night was indeed a little childish.
Yes, I remember. I remember what I did…what I said…And I could crawl under a rock and die at how he carried me inside, at how I laid there, and at how I legit asked the man to seduce me.
Heat floods my face with the memory.
Yes—unfortunately, reading that note brought everything back. All of it.
It’s just another reason I won’t be going out with him tonight.
Reason number one: Stranger danger. I learned that a looong time ago. I teach that to my students. It’s a rule…and I always follow the rules.
Reason number two: If I’m lucky, there is a teeny-tiny piece of pride still left intact inside of me, and I’d like to keep it that way.
Reason number three: That isn’t why I’m here.
A stupid voice sneaks into my brain, one hundred percent without permission, and asks the question: Then why are you here?
It isn’t Autumn’s voice. It isn’t my mother—that’s for sure. It’s not even my bestie from college, Brooke, who happened to do her own running away this month.
No, it’s my voice.
I’m asking the question.
Sensible, responsible Meg—why did you come?
I grab my beach bag with my towel, sunscreen, glasses, and Diet Dr. Pepper and head out my back gate. I’ll spend a nice, quiet evening on the beach with my Addison Adams novel, reading about other people living life to the fullest and falling in love.
And Kal can go to that wedding reception alone.
It won’t kill the charmer to be brought down a notch. Besides, he doesn’t need me. No doubt he’s got girls galore waiting for him.
I push open the gate, peering into my bag as I do so—yep, I’ve got my key.
“Hello, Meg.”
A war cry that my lungs and lips have never met before shrieks from my mouth, and I kick as if I were a deadly Rockette in action.
Kal catches my leg before it can connect to his chest. He’s wearing a blue suit that fits him like a glove, and despite my determination to dislike him, to never see him again, to avoid him here and now, I drool a tiny little bit at the sight of him.
I can’t help it. A man in a suit gets me every time—and this suit may have been tailor-made for Kal.
Still holding my ankle, he tilts his head, giving me a half smile. “Nice high kick.”
I swallow. “Thanks,” I say—only there’s zero confidence in that word. It comes out more like a question.
“Going somewhere?”
I owe this man nothing. Sure, he carried me to my bed last night and tucked me in—at least I think that’s how it went down. And sure, he didn’t kiss me, not even when I begged for it. Fairly decent of him, seeing as how I wasn’t exactly myself at the moment. Decent of him, humiliating for me…
But that doesn’t mean I owe him.
So, you refrained from kissing one girl, playboy—because he is one, I see it in those charming eyes—good for you, here’s your medal of honor.
“Yes, I’m going out,” I say, though my mouth feels as if it’s been stuffed with cotton. “I thought I’d spend the evening at the beach. Thank you very much.” I tug my ankle, impressed with my ability to balance on one foot so well. “Do you mind?” I ask with another tug.
“Sure,” he says through a light laugh. But he doesn’t let go. “I’m not giving it back just to have you try and kick me again, right?”
I smile. A thoughtless, unimpressed-by-his-charm kind of smile. “No. I’m not going to kick you, Kal.”
