Kyle’s lower jaw. He grunts and lurches back. Pain courses through my knuckles and down my hand, but I ignore it and wait for Kyle to retaliate. He shakes his head slightly when he steps forward and rubs his jaw. His eyes harden as he moves even closer.
I see the punch coming from a mile away, but don’t even flinch. A fierce, white light clouds my vision when his knuckles make contact with my eye. I stagger back, but I don’t feel a thing. I will later, but right now the adrenaline coursing through my veins has blocked it out.
I blink twice to clear my vision before swinging again. This time, I hit him in the stomach. His hands go to his gut, and the second he’s distracted, I grab his shoulders and throw my knee up, right into his groin. Kyle falls to the ground with a groan, and Viki is immediately next to him. Clay stands on the other side of the fire with his hands clenched and a big smile on his face. Carmen just frowns.
Roz comes from out of nowhere and puts her hands on my shoulders. I shrug her off and head down the beach. My eye has started to throb—along with the injuries Rick gave me earlier, which I’d almost forgotten about them. I’m going to have a shiner tomorrow morning.
Shit.
I shake my head and let out a sigh. Why can’t I make it through a whole day without getting hurt in some way?
Footsteps pound against the sand at my back, and my shoulders tense. I can’t take Roz right now, but if I tell her to get lost, she’s going to be pissed all over again.
“Roman!” Carmen calls out.
Thank God.
I stop, waiting for her to catch up. Breathing heavily as my heart pounds like a bass drum at a rock concert. By the time Carmen stops next to me, my shoulders have relaxed a little. Not much, though.
“You didn’t have to do that, you know,” she says breathlessly. “Mac would have just laughed it off.”
I shrug and look out over the dark ocean, concentrating on the sound of the waves lapping up onto the beach. She’s right, but Mac shouldn’t have to.
“Roman.”
I look up because I know that’s what she needs from me—and I’m not a total asshole. Carmen shakes her head and frowns, disappointment in her eyes. It makes a smile creep across my face. Her expression reminds me of the look my mom used give me when I’d done something wrong.
“You know he likes you,” I blurt out before I have a chance to think better of it.
Mac is going to be pissed.
Unless it gets him laid, that is. Then he’ll worship the ground I walk on.
Carmen smiles, and the pink that spreads across her cheeks is just visible in the moonlight. “I know. I keep waiting for him to make a move. Kiss me or something…” She looks down.
I shove her playfully and wink when she tears her eyes away from the sand. “Guys like an aggressive girl.”
Carmen laughs.
My side is throbbing and my eye feels like it’s going to swell shut, so I turn away before she can say anything. Waving over my shoulder, I say, “I’ll see you at school tomorrow.”
“You’re actually going to be there?”
I nod in response, and it must be enough of an answer because a second later, her footsteps fade behind me as she heads back toward the bonfire. Hopefully, Kyle’s face will be black and blue tomorrow.
I walk past my house, not even glancing toward it, and continue down the beach without really knowing where I’m headed. I never go home until I’m sure Rick is out for the night. The less I see him, the better.
A light in the house next to ours catches my eye, and I find myself stopping. The balcony door on the second floor is open, and Jules is standing there. The wind blows her hair across her face as she leans against the railing in nothing but a little tank top and her underwear.
Even though my head screams at me to move on, I can’t. Especially not when a low aches starts in my stomach and works its way down.
Kyle was right. She is hot.
I’m leaning up against the wall outside school when I spot Mac
I see the punch coming from a mile away, but don’t even flinch. A fierce, white light clouds my vision when his knuckles make contact with my eye. I stagger back, but I don’t feel a thing. I will later, but right now the adrenaline coursing through my veins has blocked it out.
I blink twice to clear my vision before swinging again. This time, I hit him in the stomach. His hands go to his gut, and the second he’s distracted, I grab his shoulders and throw my knee up, right into his groin. Kyle falls to the ground with a groan, and Viki is immediately next to him. Clay stands on the other side of the fire with his hands clenched and a big smile on his face. Carmen just frowns.
Roz comes from out of nowhere and puts her hands on my shoulders. I shrug her off and head down the beach. My eye has started to throb—along with the injuries Rick gave me earlier, which I’d almost forgotten about them. I’m going to have a shiner tomorrow morning.
Shit.
I shake my head and let out a sigh. Why can’t I make it through a whole day without getting hurt in some way?
Footsteps pound against the sand at my back, and my shoulders tense. I can’t take Roz right now, but if I tell her to get lost, she’s going to be pissed all over again.
“Roman!” Carmen calls out.
Thank God.
I stop, waiting for her to catch up. Breathing heavily as my heart pounds like a bass drum at a rock concert. By the time Carmen stops next to me, my shoulders have relaxed a little. Not much, though.
“You didn’t have to do that, you know,” she says breathlessly. “Mac would have just laughed it off.”
I shrug and look out over the dark ocean, concentrating on the sound of the waves lapping up onto the beach. She’s right, but Mac shouldn’t have to.
“Roman.”
I look up because I know that’s what she needs from me—and I’m not a total asshole. Carmen shakes her head and frowns, disappointment in her eyes. It makes a smile creep across my face. Her expression reminds me of the look my mom used give me when I’d done something wrong.
“You know he likes you,” I blurt out before I have a chance to think better of it.
Mac is going to be pissed.
Unless it gets him laid, that is. Then he’ll worship the ground I walk on.
Carmen smiles, and the pink that spreads across her cheeks is just visible in the moonlight. “I know. I keep waiting for him to make a move. Kiss me or something…” She looks down.
I shove her playfully and wink when she tears her eyes away from the sand. “Guys like an aggressive girl.”
Carmen laughs.
My side is throbbing and my eye feels like it’s going to swell shut, so I turn away before she can say anything. Waving over my shoulder, I say, “I’ll see you at school tomorrow.”
“You’re actually going to be there?”
I nod in response, and it must be enough of an answer because a second later, her footsteps fade behind me as she heads back toward the bonfire. Hopefully, Kyle’s face will be black and blue tomorrow.
I walk past my house, not even glancing toward it, and continue down the beach without really knowing where I’m headed. I never go home until I’m sure Rick is out for the night. The less I see him, the better.
A light in the house next to ours catches my eye, and I find myself stopping. The balcony door on the second floor is open, and Jules is standing there. The wind blows her hair across her face as she leans against the railing in nothing but a little tank top and her underwear.
Even though my head screams at me to move on, I can’t. Especially not when a low aches starts in my stomach and works its way down.
Kyle was right. She is hot.
I’m leaning up against the wall outside school when I spot Mac
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