Page 14 of Ask No Questions

"Sorry, but you're one of us now. We treat our girls all the same." He waved a hand to emphasize his point toward Talia and Alexis, who were making their way through the crowd over to us.

"Well, I guess you've met everyone now, or they met you!" Alexis was still laughing when she got to my side. "I think you have everyone's interest now. Way to get noticed."

"Thanks, I totally planned that.” I gave a discrete stink eye to Bear and adjusted my clothes. “You guys should have warned me!"

"No way! That's initiation into the group—you are now one of us." Talia glanced over my shoulder. "You should take advantage of this attention while you can."

That wasn’t what I wanted at all. I craved a break. A moment of peace to calm down and remind myself I wasn’t back at Neil’s party getting humiliated all over again.

“I’ll be back in a minute.” I hurried off before they could stop me.

The lone figure was back facing the ocean, so I changed my direction to make my way to it. When I got closer, I could tell it was a guy close to six feet tall. He must have heard me since he turned my direction when I got a few yards away. He looked at me for a moment before his handsome face turned serious.

I hesitantly lifted a hand and waved. "Hi, I'm Aubrey. I noticed you over here by yourself, and I thought it would be easier to meet one person than try to take on that whole group."

"I know who you are. I think the whole beach does now." He turned back to the ocean. I probably should have taken that as a sign, but I wasn't willing to give up.

"Do you go to their school, too? The girls said most people here do, but I guess you could go somewhere else, or be homeschooled, or maybe you graduated already..."

"You talk a lot."

I took a step back, stunned by his curt tone. "Well, you didn't answer my question.”

“Do I need to?”

I scoffed. “No, but you don't have to be rude to someone just trying to talk to you."

I turned and walked away from him just as a rogue wave hit the beach knocking me over. So much for grace and dignity. I felt strong hands reach around my waist, lifting me up before I was dragged out into the ocean.

"You could have found a way to get my attention without throwing yourself out to sea." His deep voice was low against my ear as he held me against him.

I gasped for breath, then his words sunk in. "I was not trying to get your attention! I just wasn't expecting that.” I pulled my shirt down and pushed my hair out of my face. “Thanks for your help, but I'm fine now. You can let go of me." His head dipped down like he didn’t realize his hands were still around my waist before practically pushing me away. I didn't bother saying anything else to him before marching away.

“What happened to you?” Mckayla was the first to notice me walking back to the group, but others turned when she yelled.

“I was getting warm, so I decided to take a little dip.” There was no way I was going to tell her what happened with that jerk and give her more to laugh at.

“You should go change into some of my clothes then come back out. There are still some people you should meet.” I tried not to groan as I walked back to her house. I was done meeting strangers, and I just wanted the night to be over.

Eight

Last night hasn’t been as bad as I worked it up to be. Talia and Alexis were nice, and once I got changed into dry clothes, we spent the rest of the night hanging out around the fire and I was able to relax and observe without being put on the spot again.

I wanted to tell Brandon, but the kitchen was empty. I saw a mass on the couch and thought he was sleeping until I noticed the blond hair sticking out from the blanket.

I shrieked as I jumped back, assuming the sleeping stranger was either a murderer or robber. It made sense at the time when my heart was racing and my body was deciding between the fight or flight response. I compromised between the two. I ran to the kitchen to grab the nearest knife and held it to my chest as I waited for the stranger to move.

Slowly the lump stirred and sat up facing me. His face showed signs of sleep, and he stared me down with a glare. For what? He grumbled something at me, but I only caught, “Who are you?”

He has the audacity to ask me who I was, in my own home. Who was this guy? I answered him as I slowly sidestepped toward Brandon’s room. I didn’t want to spook him, but I wanted my brother to kick this guy out. “I’m Aubrey.”

“Aubrey?”

“Who are you? And why are you on my couch?”

“Your couch?”

“Yes, I live here!”