Zoe peeks around Jake so I can see her face and scrunches her nose. “It sucks that they close the rides at five.”
I smile and nod, though the rides were sort of lame and so not what I had in mind for today. But the long hours of laughing and touching and kissing Bobby without full relief have made me more than ready to go back to the house. I would have preferred to pass on today’s big fun since our first three days here have been pretty freaking amazing even if we didn’t ever leave our bedroom.
But Zoe begged and wheedled for us to spend the day out with the group and Caroline is such a witch. It didn’t seem a very good best-friend move to leave Zoe completely on her own with her for the entire five days.
Bobby turns me into him. “Are you hungry? We should probably grab some dinner somewhere. What do you want, Kaley?”
I curl into his chest and peek up at him. “I want to go back to the house.”
I can tell my eyes are sparkly.
Bobby beats back a smile.
“Don’t give me that look,” he warns.
“What look?”
He lowers his forehead until it rests on mine. “You know damn well what look. We might as well eat somewhere. We’re not going back anytime soon.”
I pout, even though I am really tender there. We pushed it—well, I pushed it—and he knows it. But I can’t keep my hands off him. It just keeps getting more amazing each time we do it. The more we have sex the more I want him again.
“Well, I’m hungry,” Zoe announces none too subtly.
“Let’s just go to Longboards like we always do,” Caroline suggests, her gaze fixing on Bobby.
Zoe locks eyes with me and behind Caroline’s back she mouths always and then makes a face.
“Where do you want to go, Kaley?” Bobby asks.
“Longboards sounds fine to me,” I say sweetly, startling Caroline since Zoe is right—Beach Barbie Bimbo is jealous as hell and it shows on her face that she’s just itching to try to pull a pin on me again.
Bobby takes my hand and starts guiding me down the street. I smile at Zoe walking next to me, earning an approving nod from her.
We bypass the trendier, touristy places on the main drag and stop outside a building that looks a bit rustic and has that hole-in-the wall shabbiness. I can’t see through the smoked glass windows. Not what I expected. But the food must be good. The parking lot is packed with cars.
I glance at the menu posted outside the door. Your standard California dive options. Really? Caroline picked this? I expected frou-frou cuisine and bucks-up décor. I doubt they even have Pellegrino here for her.
Bobby looks down at me. “Is this OK with you?”
Caroline rolls her eyes.
“Whatever you want,” I whisper, easing up into Bobby to kiss him.
I hear an annoyed exhale of breath: Caroline.
Then a choked-back laugh: Zoe.
Bobby pulls open the door and I step in before him, a rush of warm air and noise hitting me. The interior is appropriately tacky to match the exterior. Heavy dark wood walls. Surfboards and pictures everywhere. Rock music blasting from the sound system. Dining tables all through the room in a haphazard way. Peanut shells littering the floor. Pool tables.
Such a guy kind of hangout.
I stare. “Interesting place.”
“Great food, though,” Jake pipes in.
I look past him to Zoe, eyes wide. “Did Jake really speak or am I hearing things?” I ask, but my cheeks redden when she doesn’t laugh.
Jake glares and starts moving into the dining area, pulling Zoe with him.
Bobby holds me back. “Are you done giving him shit yet? You’ve been doing it all day. You’re really pissing Jake off. He likes Zoe, and most of the guys she dates aren’t good guys to her. You need to let up.”
I try to look contrite, but I’m still kind of pissed for Zoe’s sake over Jake’s fat girls try harder moments their first night together.
Bobby lifts a brow.
“I’ll let up,” I say.
He drops a kiss on my nose. “I can’t imagine what he did to turn you all vigilante. If you tell me I’ll make sure he never does it again.”
My eyes widen. “I can’t tell you Zoe’s private stuff.”
“Oh,” he says with heaving meaning. “I don’t want to know Zoe’s private shit. Jake’s either. And since it’s their issue, stay out of it. You’re making them both uncomfortable, in case you haven’t noticed, and he’s an all right guy.”
Barely all right, I retort inside my head, but I nod.
Bobby starts cutting through the crowd toward our table and I realize people are staring at us in varying levels of obviousness, but then we are a good-looking couple. My fingers tighten around his and I kiss his bicep.
You can look. You can drool. But sorry, girls, this guy is mine.
By the time we reach the table, there are only two side-by-side vacant seats, one flanked by Caroline and the other Zoe. Bobby motions me forward. Crap, both options suck. Either I’m stuck next to Caroline or I put my guy next to her.
Both situations are no bueno.
I sink down onto the chair closest to Zoe. “Do you know what you’re going to order?”
Zoe shakes her head. “Everything looks really good. I’ve been watching the trays when the waitresses go by.”
“I wouldn’t take you anyplace you’d be unhappy, Zoe,” Jake assures her and she beams. “I know what you like and it’s all good here.”
He quickly shifts his eyes to me to see if I’m going to zap him again. Bobby’s right. I need to let up. Jake has been really sweet to Zoe all day.
They start talking softly to each other. I watch for a second, smiling, then bury my nose in my menu, settling my hand on my guy’s thigh.
My guy.
I shift my gaze to Caroline. She’s leaning into Bobby as if Seth isn’t even here, and her flirtatious obviousness is definitely annoying. Why doesn’t she give up and leave us alone? I resolve to ignore her.
We order our food and by the end of dinner we’re all laughing. Longboards is hopping now that the live band is on stage, and the atmosphere around the table is more festive since Caroline hit the floor alone to throw some shapes to work off the calories of that lame, tiny dinner salad which comprised her entire meal.
Yep, Zoe’s right. She’s nothing but a plastic fembot. I don’t know why I let her get under my skin. I hate girls who pretend they don’t eat, toss their hair, and preen and strut for every guy who looks at them.
Zoe and I stare at her, smirking. She’s all over the floor, trying her damnedest to be sexy, but it’s not working. Seth isn’t even paying attention to her since the second she left us he wandered off to chat up some girl at the bar—though I doubt Seth is her target with this performance—and Bobby has been in deep conversation with Jake from the moment she left the table.
Frowning, I try to work my way into their discussion. They’re trying to decide something but I can’t quite figure out what it is.
Zoe points a finger at her mouth, as if gagging. “Can she be any more nauseating?”
“That girl has got no moves,” I say, and we both start pulsing in rhythm in our chairs since there is a nice thumping bass line rocking the room.
Zoe’s eyes widen. “Do you want to hit the floor and show her how it’s done?”
It’s not crowded, there’s lots of space, and I’m a pretty good dancer. Still—
I shake my head, nestling into Bobby’s side. “I’m ready to go back to the house. Aren’t you? If we slip out quietly maybe she won’t notice and follow. Why don’t we leave?”
Zoe shakes her head. “Not yet. It’s early. It’s Saturday night. It’s our last night here.”
Bobby buries his lips in my hair. “So what do you think? Snowboarding? Over winter break?”
What?
Snowboarding?
My eyes lock on Zoe’s and we explode with laugher.
The guys frown, watching.