Chapter 7

When Lauren was about a half a block away, she saw Rad pacing in front of a bench. When at last his gaze met hers, he quite openly studied her with eyes that were piercing in their intensity, but with an expression she could not read.

“Where have you been?” He smiled in a careless manner when she reached him, but his tone had revealed emotion.

“What do you mean?”

“You’re late.”

“Not according to my phone. You worried about me?

“Let’s just say I was getting ready to knock down the door of every hotel room on the block.”

Lauren chuckled even though Rad did not appear to be joking. “Yeah, right. You were probably getting ready to leave, and I was only a minute late.”

She started to walk down to the beach, but he pulled her to a stop. “Don’t underestimate what I would do to find you.”

His voice sounded serious, and the strength he exuded felt overwhelming, but when Lauren met his gaze, his expression was again unreadable. Maybe he was feeling what she was feeling. And maybe he was as mixed up and confused about it as she was.

“Anyway,” he said, smiling now, “you just said you were on time.”

“Okay. Perhaps I was a few minutes late. You can’t expect me to be under the scrutiny of your friends without cleaning up a little.”

His eyes swept her up and down appreciatively. “You win. It was worth the wait. I see you’re taking this meeting-my-friends-thing pretty seriously.”

She glanced down at what she’d thrown on. “It’s just blue jeans and a tee shirt for heaven’s sake.”

“Um-hmm. But you make it look good.”

Lauren smiled at him appreciatively while her eyes soaked in the sight of him. You don’t look so bad yourself. He wore a navy blue tee shirt that emphasized the breadth of his shoulders, along with an unbuttoned denim shirt that was so faded it was barely blue. It occurred to her she should have brought something with long sleeves as well, but he soon interrupted her thoughts.

“Let’s go.” He casually draped his arm over her shoulders and strolled toward the party that had now grown even larger. Apparently a few females who had been strolling down the beach had been given an impromptu invitation by some of the guys—and there were a number of new male faces as well.

“Hey, Lauren.” Annie beckoned her when they got near the canopy.

Lauren noticed that during their absence another canopy had sprung up, along with more coolers and food. “This is Heather, Wynn’s fiancée.” She had to speak loudly over the music now blaring. “Heather, this is Lauren.”

“Great to meet you.” Lauren shook hands with the tan blonde who wore a camouflage ball cap and a Duck Dynasty tee shirt with cut-off shorts. Petite and slim, she gazed at Lauren with big, brown eyes that reflected welcome and acceptance.

“We don’t know what she sees in Wynn, but apparently she’s here to stay,” Rad said as he opened the lid to the cooler.

“Geez Rad, that’s not very nice.” Lauren shook her head.

“Oh, that’s tame for him.” Heather’s brown eyes twinkled. “He must be on his big-boy behavior with you around.”

Rad spoke to Heather as he handed Lauren a beer. “Some things are just between us, Heather. No need to spread unfounded rumors.”

Heather spilled over with contagious laughter, which drew Wynn and a few of the other men to the tent. “Wynn, I think Rad is worried we will tell stories about him. Why don’t you share what he’s really like?”

Wynn gazed at Heather a moment and then his eyes shifted over to Rad, appearing to ponder whose side to take—his fiancée’s or his friend’s. “You mean how he’s a perfect gentleman at all times? Never late, organized, good manners, all that?”

That made the whole group laugh. Heather just shook her head and looked over at Annie, who shrugged as if to say, they’ve got each other’s back—even here.

“Come on Lauren, there’s someone I want to introduce you to over here.” Rad turned with Lauren in tow, but Wynn touched her on the shoulder to stop her. “I can tell you one thing about him. He’s got the biggest balls of anyone here.”

“Good heavens, Wynn!” Heather shook her head. “Sorry. He can be blunt—and tactless.”

Lauren smiled and trotted to catch up to Rad. “But it’s true,” she heard someone from behind her say with a mixture of respect and joviality in his voice. “That’s the modern-day John F’ing Wayne right there.”

 

Lauren usually hated parties, detested trying to make small talk, and despised having to pretend she was having a good time. The realization she was actually enjoying herself hit her with an unexpected jolt. Rad had kept close tabs on her at first, but now she was talking with Reese and Bipp about different places they had visited in Ocean City while he conversed with Pops.

Reese must have noticed Rad raising his drink and winking at her in the midst of a conversation. “What’d you do to him anyway? Cast a spell or something?”

Lauren cocked her head. “What do you mean?”

“He’s like the most antisocial man I’ve ever met.”

“Really?”

“I mean, don’t get me wrong. He’d do anything for his friends—it’s just hard to become one.”

Lauren laughed at that. It hadn’t seemed hard at all. One moment she was sitting on the beach. The next thing she knew she was attending a beach party and meeting his closest friends.

Her sudden outburst must have drawn Rad’s attention. He strode over and stood behind Lauren with his hands on her shoulders. “What’s going on over here?”

“Just talking to your girl.” Reese cocked his head and stared at them. “So how long you two known each other anyway?”

When Lauren glanced up at Rad he shot her a “don’t tell him” look, so she provided an answer without really answering. “Oh my goodness, it’s been so long, I don’t even know.” She leaned back into him. “Do you remember how long we’ve known each other… honey?”

Rad smiled and wrapped both his arms around her. “All I know is, not long enough.”

Without warning, Lauren heard a shutter click a few times and then noticed that the lens of the beach photographer’s camera was aimed at her and Rad. Startled, she wriggled out of his arms and turned her back. “Tell him to delete anything he took.” She hoped he would take her tone of voice seriously.

Before she walked away, she heard Rad talk to the man in a low voice as the photographer nodded his head.

Ocean City was well known for the “Scopes” photographers who roamed the beach seeking families and couples who would buy the pictures they shot. When she glanced over her shoulder, Rad was already heading back up to her while talking to Pops. The photographer was busy snapping photos of the other guys posing with their new girlfriends.

Lauren wanted to make sure Rad had watched the photographer delete the photos, but before she had time to ask, he grabbed her around the waist from behind, leaned down, and whispered in her ear—which made her completely lose her train of thought.

“Pops said we could use some more beer. You okay here for a couple of minutes?”

“Sure.” She turned her head and stared up at him. “But hurry back.”

Rad winked at her. “You can count on that.”

Before he was even out of sight, she felt a tap on her shoulder from Reese. “I’m sure Rad would insist I keep your mind off his absence.”

“Oh, that’s very chivalrous of you.” Lauren smiled up at the man who was even taller than Rad. He had wild, unruly hair, and a mouth that curled as if always on the verge of laughter.

“Yeah, who says chivalry is dead?” Reese nodded and belched at the same time. “Now, Rad, he’s not like me at all.”

Bipp and Wynn wandered up just then, each carrying a red cup that smelled of something stronger than beer. “You can say that again,” Wynn said.

“No, Rad is not like me at all.” Reese glared at Wynn for interrupting and continued. “He’s more like the kind of guy who sets low personal standards, and then fails to achieve them.”

That made every man there roar with laughter. Lauren wasn’t sure if their amusement was caused by the fact that it obviously wasn’t true, or because Reese didn’t have the nerve to say it when Rad was present.

She stood silently observing the men until Wynn spoke. “Word has it Rad is pretty serious about you.”

Lauren was in the middle of taking a sip of beer and almost choked. “Really? Why do you say that?”

“’Cause he wouldn’t have introduced you to us if he wasn’t.”

She laughed, thinking now he was joking. “Oh, I see. So he needs your approval.”

Wynn looked at her sheepishly. “Well, yeah. Sort of.”

“Then I hope I passed your test.”

Reese draped one arm over her shoulder and raised his cup in the other for emphasis. “Put it this way, if he lets you go, I’m available.”

“Hey! What’s going on?” Rad strolled down the beach with a thirty-pack in each hand. “Good grief, I leave you alone with my girl a few minutes and you make a move. Great friend you are.”

All the men laughed, but Lauren noticed Jackie and Jasmine weren’t sharing in the laughter. Rad had the sleeves of his shirt rolled up to his elbows, and both their gazes seemed locked on his tan, well-muscled forearms. Simultaneously, their attention shifted to Lauren, and the expression on their faces changed from smiling approval to glaring condemnation.

Lauren ignored them and helped Heather and Rad dump beers into the coolers.

“Hurry up, bro.” Wynn slapped Rad on the back. “We’re getting a volleyball game going.”

Rad, who was leaning over a cooler, looked up at Lauren. “You in?”

“No way, but go ahead.”

Rad hurriedly dried his hands on his shirt and took off after Wynn.

“Grab a chair, or here’s a towel, if you want to sit closer.” Heather pointed to a stack of towels under one of the tables.

“Wow, you girls have thought of everything.”

“We’re not really wives and girlfriends—we’re mothers,” Annie said. “As you can see, they are just a bunch of kids.”

Lauren walked to the volleyball court with a towel and plopped down on the beach to watch. She knew how competitive Rad was and soon found out that every guy playing was equally as driven. They spiked, they cursed, they dove for balls, and bruised the other team with their power serves. The only problem was, there were two women on each team as well—none of whom seemed to care whether they won or lost.

Jackie and Jasmine, who had stripped down to bikinis, were on one team, and seemed more intent on trying to collide with the guys than actually recover a ball. The two pick-ups on the other team made an effort but had apparently never played before.

The sun, hanging low on the horizon, caught Lauren’s eye, and her attention drifted from the game to the edge of the beach where dark waves laced with white foam lapped the sand.

“Sorry men, but I gotta take a leak.” Everyone on the team, including Rad, groaned when Wynn made the announcement and ran off toward the Boardwalk. The two girls on the same team also decided to call it quits.

“Lauren, get in here and help us out.” Rad waved at her. “We’re down one point, and it’s soon going to be too dark to see.”

Lauren shook her head, but he came over and grabbed her by the arm. “Come on, we just lost three people. You can help us out.”

“Me?” She looked around. “But what do I do?”

“Just stand here and if the ball comes your way hit it over.”

Lauren walked reluctantly to the net and stood where Rad placed her. “So I just hit it when it comes to me?”

At that moment, one of the guys on the other team served a nice high ball over the net, right to her, expecting it to drop into the sand.

“Hit it, Lauren,” they yelled, taunting her. “Just hit it.”

Lauren jumped up and spiked the ball straight down between the front two players on the other side, too close to the net to be recoverable even if they had been ready.

“You mean like that?” She put her hands on her hips and blinked innocently.

“No fair! No fair!” Tork and a few of the other guys protested as they ran up to the net.

“No fair? You told me to hit it, right?” She turned and held her hand up as Rad walked by and slapped it with a loud high-five.

“We’ll keep playing even though we’re two-men down.” He rubbed his hands together excitedly. “Our serve.”

But Jackie and Jasmine had lost interest. “No, now you’re even,” Jackie said as they strolled away from the game, leaving the two teams with the same number of players.

“Even better.” Rad smiled at Lauren. “Wanna serve?”

As he handed her the ball, he whispered, “Hit it to Tork. He’s weak on serves.”

Lauren didn’t respond, other than with a slight nod of her head. When she got to the serving line, she held the ball as if she was going to bop it from underneath like a girl, but then she hesitated, shifting her weight back and forth for a minute. She hadn’t played volleyball in years and wasn’t sure she could hit it the way she used to. By this time, those who had their hands up in the air on the other side had started to lower them.

After another moment of deliberation, Lauren decided to go for the overhand power shot and hit the ball so hard, it slammed Tork in the chest before he even had time to lift his hands again.

“Tie game!” Rad ran over and gave Lauren another high-five just as Tork said, “What the hell?”

Lauren ran up to the net. “Sorry, Tork. I was afraid it wouldn’t make it over, so I might have overcompensated.”

“Game on, girl.” Tork’s eyes flashed with competitive fire. “Don’t expect any special treatment when we serve.”

When the ball came back for their team to serve, Rad flipped it to Lauren. “No pressure, but it’s game point, and they’re pissed.”

Lauren frowned. “Thanks for reminding me, dude. Where do you want it to go?”

“Just hit it like the last one.”

Nodding again as she lined up the shot, Lauren sent the ball sailing over the net. This time Tork was ready—at least enough to react. He put his hands up and made enough contact with the ball to keep it in the air. Bipp lunged in with a fist and sent it sailing back over the net.

Rad stepped up, and instead of hitting it back over, set it up for Lauren. She ran forward from the back row and spiked it over the heads of the front row who were trying to block the shot. It landed in the sand behind them without being touched.

Rad threw his hands in the air. “Game point!”

“We demand a re-match!”

Bipp and the rest of the team ran up to Rad, yelling and flailing their arms, acting like they had just lost the Super Bowl rather than an informal game of beach volleyball.

“You can’t make substitutions in the middle of a game.” Bipp planted himself in front of Rad with his arms crossed. “That’s the rules.”

“Funny, you didn’t mention that rule when we were down three people and putting a girl in.” Rad laughed. “Anyway, it’s getting too dark to see.” He took Lauren’s hand. “And I need a drink.”

Lauren waited until they were out of hearing range, and then leaned into him and said in a low, serious tone. “In case you’re keeping score, I just saved your ass.”

Rad’s laughter broke out so loudly, everyone within hearing distance paused and looked over at the two of them.

Lauren didn’t notice the disturbance the outburst had caused. Her attention, and her gaze, were locked on Rad and his captivating, magnetic eyes.