Brazen Girl by Ali Dean Page 0,53
don’t get the keys to the new house in Jay Beach until next week. But we can hit up the park in the backyard today if you cancel your afternoon interviews?”
“Just the two of us? No one else will be around?”
“Nope.”
“No cameras?”
“If there are any cameras still on that property, we can destroy them together.”
“I guess that’s good enough for me. Actually, see if Griff can come. That way he can help us break in if we need to, and then help us find and destroy any cameras.”
As I put my dishes in the sink and turn to head out, I feel Beck loop his fingers in my pockets. He pulls me to him and I turn around in his arms.
“I know we don’t need to have make-up sex. But can I get a kiss?”
“You can stop asking every time you want to kiss me, Beck.”
He’s smiling when his lips find mine, and we only pull apart when we hear cheering from the top of the stairs. My roommates are spying on us through the rails on the second floor.
“Get the popcorn!” Zora shouts. “This is way better than Shred Live!”
“I think I’m going to start crying,” Ellie wails.
“Don’t forget your skateboard!” Lucy calls.
Beck takes my hand and pulls me out the door, grabbing my skateboard from beside the door as we go. We wave good bye, and as soon as the door shuts behind us he murmurs, “Does this mean they won’t get too mad if I try to convince you to move into the Jay Beach house with me?”
“One step at a time, buddy. I still need to watch those episodes.” I quickly realize that it’s too soon to tease him about that, so I add, “I mean, if you had to endure all that while filming, I guess I can endure watching the condensed version. But I might need to recover from PTSD before sleeping at the house.”
Beck shivers. “Me too. We can go to therapy together.”
“I think the skatepark will be my therapy.”
He throws an arm around me. “Yeah, that’s what I meant.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Beck
“You’re not going to answer?” Jordan asks as I silence the call from my dad.
“No, we’re here.” Jordan’s never been to Jay Beach and as I turn onto the main drive, she takes it in.
“This is cute. I didn’t know there were cute places like this in southern California.”
“We might not have the old New England charm you’ve got in Connecticut, but we’ve got some character.”
Griffin is standing on the sidewalk and he waves as we pull into an empty spot. We talked to him on the way over and he told us we could meet him at the space he’s thinking about leasing for Brazen’s first shop and offices.
“I still can’t believe you’re putting off skateboarding to tour a building but wouldn’t do it for a quickie,” I grumble.
She pats my knee. “Poor Beck. So deprived. Also, that was before I cancelled my interviews this afternoon. Now I have the entire day free. So, if there’s another opportunity…” She trails off.
“Now you tell me,” I complain. I’m only teasing, but the call from my dad has put a little damper on my good mood.
Griff on the other hand is lit up. He greets Jordan with a giant hug even though he just saw her yesterday. “I know it’s not a done deal, but I’m damn happy this might happen again. For both of us. It felt so shitty the way things ended.” I know he’s talking about Brazen but I bristle a little anyway. What can I say? I’m a sensitive asshole when it comes to Jordan.
“Me too. This time I’m not considering it as a ploy to get closer to Beck either,” she teases, glancing at me. “He’s stuck with me whether I go pro or never touch a skateboard again my life,” she says so lightly, I almost miss the gravity of her words.
My phone alerts me to a voicemail. Dad calls every couple of weeks but rarely leaves a message. When I slide the phone out and click on the voicemail to translate to text, I’m expecting something like “Stop ignoring your old man, let’s meet up.” But instead I see the word “divorce.”
“Oh shit. I need to listen to this,” I tell Griff and Jordan.
Putting the phone to my ear, I pace in the opposite direction.
“I know you’ve been busy filming, traveling and competing. But I thought I should let you know Skye and I are getting a