Scandal - Jay Mirano (read book txt) 📗

to catch my breath. "I think I have a date with Evan Winters." Bliss

 

 

 

The sun beat down all around like a big, golden kiss. Sahara sighed, rolling over and extending an expectant hand in my direction. "Ahem," she said, beckoning with her fingers. "Lotion?"

"What? Oh! Sorry, I'm so not with it today," I said, digging through my bag and retrieving the bottle of tanning cream. I squirted some on my hands and rubbed it into Sahara's back, its rich coconut scent lacing the air like perfume. 

"Yeah, on Planet Evan," Sahara laughed, undoing her bikini straps and laying face down on the sand. Not that Sahara even needed to tan. Her skin was naturally a deep olive, like a blushing summer's sunset. I'm not going to say I was jealous of her, but oh god, what I would give to have skin like hers. 

I suppressed a girlish smile, pretending not to watch Evan as he dived under a wave. His shoulders were broad and muscular―courtesy of highschool football―beads of water clinging to his skin like diamonds in the sun. Tommy Richards jumped on his back and tried to dunk him under the water, and Evan shook him off like he was little more than an annoying bug. Even from here, all the way up on the beach, I could see Evan's dimpled smile shining like a beacon.

Tink was waving at me furiously, stumbling as a wave hit her from behind. Her hair was snapping like a candle, eyes squinting up into the sun's glare. When she realized I was purposely ignoring her, she ran up from the water and stood over me, dripping.

"Aren't you going to come in?" She asked, almost breathless. "I'm the only girl in there."

"Ask Peyton," I said, pushing my sunglasses up my nose and closing my eyes. "I'm enjoying the view from here."

"Oh please," Peyton's voice was lilting and melodic. "You could get a much better view of Evan's abs if you were down in the water with him."

"Who said I was checking out Evan?" I asked, but the blush in my cheeks was a dead giveaway. Dammit, I wish I wouldn't blush at the first hint of embarrassment. 

Tink leaned down and grabbed my wrist, groaning as she tried to pull me off my position on the sand. "C'mon, please? I'll buy you some Dairy Queen on the way home I promise!"

"Tsk, tsk, what do we have here?"

Oh please no, not that voice. I fumbled with my sunglasses, throwing them down into the sand. I propped myself up on my elbows and flashed the most casual smile I could muster. "Just four girls in bikinis, what does it look like?"

Evan smiled. "It looks like you're refusing to go in the water," he looked me up and down, eyes lingering on my chest. Suddenly I wished I had a less revealing bikini on, that pesky blush creeping into my cheeks once again. "Because that's something I just won't stand for."

"Oh yeah? And how exactly are you going to make me get in the water?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Like this," he grinned, leaning down and grabbing me by the waist. He hoisted me up onto his shoulder like I was nothing at all, seemingly not noticing my flailing arms and legs hitting him from all directions. Oh god, his shoulder was so warm. He smelled like salt and―

"Put me down!" I squealed, beating my fists on his back as he trudged through the sand. "I'm not kidding around Evan, put me down." 

Before I could protest much more, Evan pulled me down from his shoulder, his hands digging in to the soft flesh of my waist. He gave me his infamous half-smile, before unceremoniously dunking me under the waves.

I came back up in a flurry of struggling limbs, gasping for breath. Evan was laughing hysterically, hands on his hips as he doubled over with the force of his laughter. 

"So not funny!" I growled, shoving him backward with all my force. He stumbled slightly, then wound his arm around my middle and pulled me close to him.

"You're a feisty one, aren't you? And I thought it was Sahara that got called 'The Bitch'."

"You thought wrong," I said, trying to look pissed off. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Tink bobbing in the waves next to us, smiling apologetically. Oh man, she had a lot to answer for later.

Evan leaned down for a kiss, and I struggled from his grasp. I shoved my hands through the water and splashed Even right in the face. Ha, revenge.

"You're gonna pay for that, Tali!" he said, shaking the water out of his hair like a dog. He pinned both arms to my side and pulled me out into deeper water with him, our bodies rising and falling with the gentle swell of the waves. I could feel Evan's heart beating against my chest, a soft fleshy thrum. His breath was misting on my neck like a thousand little kisses. 

We were out in chest-high water, everyone else looking like little specks on the shore. I could barely feel the sand underneath my feet, and when a wave lifted us up I felt like I was floating. I wriggled free from Evan's grip, winding my own arms around his neck. I played with the soft curls of his hair, idly winding my fingers around them.

"Where did you come from?" Evan whispered, eyes locked on mine. "How has it taken us so long to get together?"

"I don't know," I said, putting on my best seductive whisper. "It's your own damn fault." 

"Oh really, why's that?"

"Because I've been waiting for you all this time," I said, wrapping my legs around Evan's waist. I could barely believe how brazen I was being. My heart beat wildly out of pace.

"You should have told me," Evan said, his lips finding their way to the gentle rise of my collarbone. "But I guess we should just make up for lost time now."

Evan kissed a trail along my collarbone, winding up onto my shoulder and along the arc of my neck. I was acutely aware of the way the water felt as it lapped against our entwined bodies, the way my wet hair clung to the length of my back, and sounds of Evan softly breathing as he nuzzled into my jawline.

This is a dream. I know it, and I'm going to wake up any second. There's no way this is happening, there's no way that Evan Winters would be interested in a girl like me. But then, how many years have I been totally, completely, wholly infatuated with him? He had dominated my every waking moment since middle school, and now here we were, finally, in each other's arms.

His fingertips were grazing along my back, tracing the curve of my shoulderblades and the line of my spine. His fingers found their way to the nape of my neck, tightening around the string of my bikini and pulling it loose. 

"Hey!" I squeaked, gathering my slackened bikini and pressing it tight against my chest. 

"What's the problem? No-one can see us out here," Evan drawled, trying to pry my hands away from their protective position.

"The problem is I'm not that kind of girl," I said, detaching from Evan's embrace and hastily tying the biking strings together at the back of my neck. "I don't want to be half naked in a public place!"

Damn he was doing that half-smile again. Even though I was trying to be mad at him, I couldn't help the way my stomach flipped whenever he looked at me like that. "Look, I'm sorry. I find it hard to... Control myself, around you." He pulled me close again, his lips against my hair. "Do you forgive me?" 

Even though my hands were itching to slap him, and my bikini still wasn't properly secured, I couldn't help but melt at Evan's words. I buried my face into his shoulder, arms clamped against his back. "Of course I do."

***

True to her word, Tink had taken us all to Dairy Queen after the clouds had rolled in and plunged the beach into shadow. I shoveled a mouthful of M&Ms Blizzard into my mouth (not good for the waistline, I know), and tried to stifle the laughter that was treatening to bubble up inside me. Sahara, Tink and Peyton were all staring at me, eyes wide and glittering. Tyler was staring at the table, tracing shapes with his pinkie finger on its surface.

"So? What happened," I'm sure Peyton's voice just broke some kind of decibal law.

"Not a lot," I was trying not to grin, and failing. "We kissed. Okay, we kissed a lot. He might have untied my bikini." 

"What!" Sahara choked back a mouthful of cherry sundae. "What a horny fucker."

"It wasn't like that," I shrugged. "He said he can't control himself around me."

Tink let out a sharp burst of laughter. "He's so into you!" She pressed her hands to her heart. "Girls, I think our little baby's going to lose her V-Card soon!"

Peyton snorted. "Wait, wait!" She dragged her purse onto her lap and started pawing through it. "No glove, no love babe." Peyton threw three condoms onto the table and shoved them in my direction. Sahara ripped one open with her teeth and dangled it in my face.

"Cut it out you guys!" Ugh, trust them to make a scene like this. 

Ty slammed his hands down onto the table, cutting us all off mid-giggle. "I don't know what you see in that guy, Tali. He's a douchebag and he's going to break your heart."

"What do you know?" I asked, raking the condoms off the table and into my lap. "You've barely even spoken to Evan." 

"I don't need to speak to him. You might cruise through your life being the naive, pretty girl, but I see what's going on around us. He's dated more girls than he can probably name, and you'll just be another notch on his bedpost."

"Oh can it Tyler, you're just jealous that you're not the one getting with Tali," Sahara leaned in close, eyes boring into Tyler's. "We all know you're in love with her; you have been since second grade. Build a bridge and get over it already."

I felt a sharp twist of shock writhe in my stomach. Tyler, in love with me? As if. We couldn't stand eachother. As if to emphasise my point, Ty shook his head at me, grabbed his bag and stormed out of the store.

"Jesus Christ, Sahara, why do you always have to be like this?" Tink hissed, hurriedly sliding out of the booth and running after Tyler. The little bell over the door tinkled for a second time.

Sahara shrugged, scooping another spoonful of cherry sundae into her mouth. "Everyone was thinking it."

"I wasn't," I said. "If Tyler's in love with me then I'm the Queen of England."

Sahara cocked an eyebrow at me. "I was just pushing his buttons. That guy is way too easy to piss off."

"Yeah, well you've pissed Tink off as well," Peyton said, twirling her straw around in her glass of water. "I mean, I know they're twins and all, but she is way too protective over him."

"I know, right?" Sahara had her bitch voice on. "If it weren't for Tink, Tyler would be hanging out with all the other