Page 53 of Love You Like This

“My line was better.” He shrugs. “If they want the wave so much, they can fight for it.” He turns and leers down at me. “But I have to say the view is much better here anyway.”

I physically recoil when he reaches over and runs his pinky along my hip.

“I can’t believe Xander’s been hiding you away for so long.”

I want to stand and walk away, but that would put my ass in his face, and the last thing I want is his lecherous gaze on any part of my body. When I look out at the water, I see Xander walking up from the shore with his board tucked under his arm.

“He hasn’t been hiding me anywhere. I’m just learning how to surf.”

“You had a few decent rides.” He leans closer to me. “But I know where you can have one you’ll never forget.”

My lip curls in disgust that I don’t try to hide. “It’s inspiring that you don’t let your height get in the way of your confidence.”

He jerks back. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing. I would just expect you would need to be a little more creative with how you try to get laid.”

“You’re a nasty little bitch, aren’t you?”

My heart is pounding in my chest, but I try to keep from showing my nerves. “Call it like I see it.”

He pushes to his feet, towering over me. “You know what I see?”

I tilt my head back, trying to look as unbothered as possible. “I don’t particularly care.”

“A spoiled little cunt who needs to be taught a lesson.”

“Back the fuck off,” Xander charges up to us and dumps his board. “I know I didn’t just hear you call her a cunt.”

“What are you going to do about it?” Chase lifts his chin, but even having the higher ground, he’s still barely past Xander’s shoulders.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Zach slips between them and faces Chase. “You’re not doing this. You’re still on probation.” He pushes Chase away, who holds up his hands and walks off, but not before kicking sand at me like a petulant child.

“Are you okay?” Xander reaches down and helps me to my feet.

“Yeah.” I brush the sand off my side. “I’m fine. He was just being a gross asshole.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” I grab my stuff. “But can we go home?”

“Yeah.” He picks up his board. “Of course.”

I’m unusually quiet on the drive home. That wasn’t the first time I felt unsafe like that. Mom briefly dated a guy when I was twelve who had the same energy. I caught him watching me change clothes once. I’ll never forget the fear that overtook my body.

You can say a lot of things about Suzette Maxwell, but you can never call her a bad mother because as soon as I told her what happened, she believed me. She threw him out and tried to report him, but the police said they couldn’t do anything. Apparently when they spoke with him about the complaint, he claimed it was a misunderstanding. I’ve never seen her so pissed. We moved to a different apartment complex after that.

Xander keeps sending me furtive glances out of the corner of his eye. When we pull into driveway, he doesn’t get out of the car.

“Are you okay on your own for a bit? I have something I need to do.”

That’s weird. I tilt my head and look at him, waiting for him to elaborate. When he doesn’t, I shrug. “I’ll be fine. Probably just take a shower and watch a movie or something.”

“I’ll grab food on the way home for dinner.”

I reach for the door handle, but he grabs my hand. When I look over at him, there’s nothing but turmoil on his face. His fingers tighten around mine.

“I’m so sorry you had to deal with him. I wouldn’t have brought you to that beach if I thought he’d be there. They don’t usually leave Orange County.”