an intoxicating combination. “I'm sure there is nothing going on over here, ma'am. It must have been the sun playing tricks on the eyes.” “I know what I saw.” “Oh shit.” Lane glanced over at the sand dune. “That's my boss.” He nudged Becca's shoulder. “We have to get decent. It sounds like they're coming this way.”
Chapter Seven
Lane sprang into action. If his boss caught him on a public beach fooling around like this, he could be fired. He needed this job if he wanted to stay in the area. Sure, he could go back down South where he was attending school, but to be honest, he hated it down there. He wasn’t really into the Southern culture, and his business degree lacked focus. He knew he wanted to be an entrepreneur but was too indecisive to settle on any one thing. He had tried a variety of failed start-ups in the past and wasn’t too keen on building something from scratch again. He scrambled into a standing position and threw on his clothes. Becca and Gabe did the same. He watched them as they dressed and couldn’t help missing the feel of their bodies next to his. He had forgotten how much fun sex with a three people could be. He didn’t forget the fallout, however. It hurt being told he wasn’t wanted anymore. He’d never let that much pain fill him ever again. Becca went down to the water to gather the paddleboards as Gabe collected the blankets. “What’s going on here?” Lane looked up and saw his boss peek around the dune. “Just giving a private paddleboard lesson.” Lane nodded down to where Becca was gathering the equipment. “I didn’t do anything wrong, did I?” His boss glanced at Becca and frowned. “It’s my day off…” Lane stuffed his hands in his pockets, unsure of what to do. “They weren’t doing that when I saw them.” An outraged older woman said as she peeked her head around the corner. “What were we doing?” Gabe asked as he cradled the blanket under his arms. The woman appeared shocked. “You were all naked.” “How did you know? Did you see us?” Gabe pressed. “I saw enough.” She huffed and crossed her arms. Gabe smiled. “But you didn’t see anything.” “Well, I…” Gabe raised his brows. She turned to Lane’s boss. “Young people shouldn’t be allowed to do whatever they want out in the open like this. It’s indecent.” Lane’s boss sighed and ran his hand over his face. “All right, ma’am. They’ve had their warning. Now let’s leave them be.” “Warning? Shouldn’t they be thrown out?” “For paddleboarding?” Lane’s boss asked. “No. For that-that other thing.” “There’s no proof of what you think you saw,” Gabe said. “What I saw!” The woman frowned as Lane’s boss put his hand on her back. “If I see them do anything like that in the future, I’ll take the proper action then.” Lane’s boss gave him a poignant look. “Come on, Ms. Garrison. Let’s leave them be.” The old woman sputtered and complained as Lane’s boss led her away. “Whew, that was close.” Gabe pushed his hair from his face. “Yeah. Thanks.” Lane offered him a shy smile. “I could have gotten in a lot of trouble if you didn’t step in.” “No problem.” Gabe reached out as if to touch Lane but then seemed to think better of it. He glanced down the beach at Becca as she was making her way back to them with one of the paddleboards. “Text me later, okay?” Gabe asked as he returned his attention to Lane. “We need to talk.” “Okay.” “Did I miss anything?” Becca asked as she caught up to them. “Nothing noteworthy.” Gabe took the paddleboard from her. “I’ll bring this back to the car.” Lane watched Gabe’s muscular form as he made his way back to the parking lot with the paddleboard. “Well,” Becca said after a moment. “I suppose I should get the other boards.” “Yeah.” Something bothered Lane about this situation, but he wasn’t quite