I freshened up, then reluctantly returned to the table.
“We’re gonna head to the beach,” Ryan informed me.
“Whose idea was that?” I asked.
“Mine,” Chase said. “I just love a nice drive to the coast.”
It took everything in me not to say I didn’t feel well, but I knew what Chase was doing. And if I bailed now, he won. “Great. I love the coast. Skinny dipping is actually on my bucket list.” I looked at Ryan. “I think you might be the only one here who doesn’t know I have a jar full of bucket list wishes.” I glanced around the table. “Anyone up for skinny dipping?”
I watched Chase’s tough exterior falter under my words. Served him right for suggesting a drive to the coast.
“I’m in,” Ryan said.
“Chantel?” I challenged.
“If Chase does,” she said.
He stared across the table at me. “We’ll see.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
We piled into Chase’s black SUV. Chantel took the front, and Ryan and I climbed into the back. I stared out my window as we drove wondering whose convertible we’d taken to the coast and what the hell I’d gotten myself into. I had no desire to skinny dip with any of them. I just needed them to know they couldn’t make me look like a fool.
“So, Sophia. When was the last time you’ve been to the coast?” Chase asked.
And the hits just keep on coming. “Oh, funny story.” I met his eyes in the rearview mirror. “Some guy thought he could get with me by taking me to the coast. He picked me up in a convertible and everything.”
“I’m glad it didn’t work out. Since I’m with you tonight and not that guy,” Ryan said with a smirk.
“Yeah. It was a total letdown,” I said, holding Chase’s eyes in the rearview mirror.
“How’s your pledge class, Chantel?” Ryan asked.
She twisted in her seat. “Great. Most of them are legacies from wealthy families which is really amazing. How about you guys? Chase hasn’t said much about your new pledge class.”
Ryan shrugged. “Well, they do a nice job cleaning up our shit after parties.”
“That’s how you judge a good pledge class?” I asked.
“Pretty much,” he said.
I shook my head, amused.
We reached the beach in record time. Chase parked in the empty parking lot, pulling up to the dune separating the parking lot from the beach.
“Do you have any towels?” Chantel asked him.
“I may have a couple in the back.” He opened his door, and we were treated to a gust of salty air and the sound of crashing waves nearby. Chase circled to the back to check for towels, grabbing a couple as the rest of us stepped out of the car.
The gusty beach air was such a contrast to the inland air, but I breathed it in, reveling in the scent and feel and wishing it didn’t remind me of my day with Chase. I walked over to him and pulled one of the towels from his hand.
He looked like he wanted to say something, but he didn’t.
Chantel grabbed another towel from him.
We made our way onto the sand. I stopped, slipping off my shoes before following the group down to the water’s edge. The guys slipped off their shoes and socks, while Chantel kicked off hers.
My heartbeat kicked up a notch, and I wondered if the rest of them would be stripping down. “You guys still going in?”
Ryan pulled his shirt over his head. With the moon almost full, the beach wasn’t completely blanketed in darkness, so I could see the cross tattoo across his back. It was always the quiet ones. He slipped off his jeans and stood in front of us in only his boxers. “Give me the towel, Sophia,” he said to me. “I’ll hold it up while you get undressed.”
I glanced to Chase who looked ready to hurt someone. “Okay.”
Ryan held the towel up around me as I shimmied out of my leather pants. Those would be a bitch to get back on while wet. I pulled off my top, leaving me in my black panties and bra, and wrapped the towel around me. I eyed Chantel and Chase. “You two gonna wimp out?”
Chase pulled off his charcoal Henley. Holy shit. The ridges defining his muscles and six-pack abs left a lot to be desired. I tried not to stare for fear of Chantel rearing her claws, but my God. A vision of his chest pressed against mine in the library flooded my brain. And all those emotions rushed back as he dropped his jeans