The Vincent Boys - Abbi Glines Page 0,7
top shelf. The red bikini I’d bought for Sawyer, but never wore around him for fear he would disapprove, was nestled in the bottom of the shopping bag. So many times I’d reached for the bag but had never actually taken it out. The bikini had been an impulse buy, one I figured would end up rotting away unseen. I could almost see Grana’s approving grin as I slowly pulled out the revealing swimsuit she had insisted I buy.
“How’s this for trouble, Grana?” I whispered to myself before a small giggle escaped me.
Beau
If I’d ever taken the time to wonder about my soul being as black as this town seemed to believe, I knew the moment Ashton stepped out of her little white Jetta, looking like an angel from heaven, that my soul was damned to hell. When I’d sent the text asking her to meet me it’d been to remind me how untouchable she was. I thought seeing her ‘no’ response would’ve been the wake-up call I needed to stop obsessing over her. Instead she agreed and my stupid black heart had soared. I watched her steps falter when her pretty green eyes met mine. More than anything I wanted to walk over to her and reassure her I was going to be good. Just talk to her and watch the way her eyes light up when she laughs or the way she nibbles on her bottom lip when she’s nervous. But I couldn’t act on that desire. She wasn’t mine. She hadn’t been mine for a very long time. She shouldn’t be here and I shouldn’t have asked. So instead of reassuring her, I kept leaning against the tree looking like the devil and hoping she turned and ran.
She started walking toward me and perfect white teeth caught her full bottom lip between them. I’d fantasized about those lips way too many times. She’d barely covered up her long tanned legs with a pair of shorts that made me want to go to church this Sunday just to thank God for creating her.
“Hey,” she said with a nervous blush.
Damn, she was gorgeous. I’d never envied anything of Sawyer’s. I loved him like a brother. He was the only family I truly loved. When he excelled I silently cheered him on. He’d stood by me through a rough childhood, begging his parents to let me stay over nights when I was too scared to go back to a dark, empty trailer. He’d always had everything I didn’t have. The perfect parents, home life, but none of that had mattered because I had Ashton. Sure, we all three were friends but Ash had been mine. She’d been my partner in crime, the one person I told all my dreams and fears to, my soul mate. Then just like everything else in Sawyer’s perfect life, he got my girl. The only thing I’d thought I could call mine had become his.
“You came,” I finally replied. Her blush deepened.
“Yes, but I’m not sure why.”
“Me either,” I replied, since we were being honest.
She took a deep breath and put her hands on her hips. Not a pose she needed to be in with a bikini top being the only thing covering her generous cup size. The view was more stimulation than I needed so I tore my eyes off her cleavage.
“Look, Beau, I’m bored and lonely with Sawyer gone. Leann is either waiting tables at Hank’s or with Noah. I think I’d like to be . . . friends. You were my best friend for eight years of my life. I’d like to find that again.”
“Okay,” I said, grabbing the hem of my shirt and yanking it over my head. “Let’s swim.”
I didn’t wait to see if she’d actually step out of those tiny shorts. Part of me wanted to watch her take them off but the other part knew my heart couldn’t handle watching Ashton shimmying out of the blasted things. My heart may be black but it was still capable of heart failure.
I grabbed the branch over my head and swung my body up onto it. Standing on the thick limb, I walked out and grabbed the rope swing. For a moment I was a kid again, flying out over the lake. Letting go, I flipped and dove smoothly into the still water. When my head broke the surface I turned to look back at the bank in hopes I might catch a glimpse of her undressing. The little shorts were