Conception (The Wellingtons #4) - Tessa Teevan Page 0,23
one of several modest one-piece bathing suits.
Sunny groans when she sees them. “Amelia, darlin’, I love you, but trust me on this. That city hunk is miles above Robert. Not that you can’t on your own, but girl, you gotta knock him off his ass. Wow his socks off. Make his pleasure pump stand at attention and salute at the sight of you.”
I roll my eyes. “Oh my god, I get it. What’s wrong with those suits? He liked me well enough in my Daisys last night.”
She’s shaking her head, and I already know I’m going to lose this one. “Joe took me shopping in the city a couple of weeks ago and I got a few new suits for the summer. One is this gorgeous teal-colored suit with high-waisted bottoms and a to-die-for tube top. We’re the same cup size, and I’ll have you know Joe really liked what he saw.”
“First of all, if you want to convince me to wear one of your suits, you probably shouldn’t emphasize Joe’s reaction. Secondly, a bikini? Sunny, I don’t know…” I protest, because in all of my life, I’ve never worn a two-piece. Sure, Grams told me to have fun. If she saw me in a teeny bikini, she’d probably get the vapors.
“Amelia, it’s a heat wave. It’s going to be bad enough out there with the hot temperatures. You’ll be more comfortable this way. Come on. Trust me. Would I steer you in the wrong direction?”
She absolutely would.
And I find I’m totally cool with that.
I should always trust my best friend not to steer me wrong. After nourishing our minor hangovers and appeasing the boys with promised breakfast, we put on our suits—if you can call them that. Sunny’s matches the one she gave me, just in a peach color instead of teal. Instead of going to the dock, we walk about half a mile to a private shore that’s still relatively hidden from most out-of-towners. Considering the sweltering temperatures, I’m not surprised that the four of us have the beach all to ourselves.
Once our towels are spread out, I hesitate to strip down to my suit.
Sunny whips her T-shirt off and throws it at me. “Come on, chicken. It’s just the four of us, and if you recall, Sam already saw your nipples this morning.”
I look to Sam, whose head swivels around in every which way except for mine. Considering he seems more embarrassed about it than I am, I decide c’est la vie. I drag my top off and shimmy out of my shorts, feeling practically naked. But Sunny was right. As sweat droplets race down my back, the breeze is welcome against my bare skin.
Joe lets out a low whistle. “Damn, babe, you had to let her borrow that one?”
“Can I look yet?” Sam yells.
“Sure, Sam. Soak it all in,” I tell him.
Sam’s fisherman’s hat nearly falls off his head with how fast he swivels it towards me. He echoes Joe’s whistle. “Killer, babe. Fuckin’ killer. Sure you don’t want to forget the city slicker you met yesterday and repeat the glory of the summer of ’75 with me?”
Ah, the summer of ’75. Before I can reminisce, Sunny chimes in.
“Wait a minute. The summer of ’75? Was that the summer I was grounded for the whole month of June—”
“—for hitchhiking to Johnson City with Patti Hartsock to see Kiss in concert,” I finish for her. “Not my fault you weren’t around to tell.”
“It was Gene Simmons! And you know what, for one month’s grounding, it was sooo worth it,” she says, sighing with a wistful smile.
Joe rolls his eyes, and Sam sticks his tongue out in perfect Kiss fashion.
“Sunny, you should have been grounded till you were eighteen! Do you know how many girls go missing when hitchhiking? You can’t get into cars with complete and total strangers.”
“Oh, Lord. Not the serial killer spiel again.” She drops Joe’s hand and inches towards Sam, a sickeningly coy smile crossing her lips. “So, Samuel, what did you mean about revisiting the past in 1975?”
He coughs, casting me a pleading look. But I have no shame from it, so I shrug, keeping silent, and letting him field this one.
“Uhh, well, umm…” He places a hand on the back on his neck, rubbing, and stalling as he tries to figure out how truthful he wants to be. “Well, you were grounded, Joe was always working at Mickey’s, and I happened to run into Amelia on the way to the movies.”