Welcome to the Summer For Love Blog Hop put on by The Romance Troupe!
I wanted to share a fun summer scene from my first novel, The Forgotten Ones. Read through and tell me in the comments what your favorite summer memory to win an ecopy of The Forgotten Ones, Book 1 in The Danaan Trilogy. Make sure to leave your email address so I can let you know if you win!
I
inhaled the salty ocean air, and the lingering scent of suntan lotion
filled my nose. The sun was searing my legs, and it was time for a
break in the shade. My skin burned easily and although I had
sunscreen on, I was already looking a little pink. I put my bookmark
between the pages and attempted to brush some of the sand off of my
legs as I stood. Lifting my arms, I stretched before retreating to
the chair under my umbrella.
Down
at the water, I could see Rachel with her arms wrapped around her
middle, the wind whipping strands of dark hair into her face. She
kept jumping and shrieking when Sean or Ethan stumbled on their
boogie boards and splashed her. Ethan caught my gaze and motioned for
me to come join them. I laughed as a wave collapsed on top of him and
shook my head.
Settling
into my spot, I took off my sunglasses and closed my eyes, listening
to the sound of the gulls. I sighed contentedly. This
wasn’t so bad.
A
loud cawing interrupted my tranquil moment. I pried open an eye and
looked at the kids building a sand castle next to our spot. There was
a crow standing a few feet away, facing my direction. Weird. I’d
never seen a crow at the beach before. Maybe there was a beached seal
nearby.
I
started to open my book up, but the hairs along the back of my neck
stood up, and a funny feeling came over me, like I was being watched.
I glanced around, and this time, the crow locked eyes with me.
Something about its beady eyes made me shudder, and I turned away
quickly.
On
my other side, Nicole was just about done burying Jeff in the sand.
All that was visible was his spiky brown hair and his Red Sox visor.
“Just
stay still for one more second, Jeff. I’ve got to get a picture,”
Nicole begged as she grabbed her camera from her towel. She clicked a
few times before the sand started to crack and crumble around him.
“That’s
it, let me out of here!” Jeff shouted. The sand broke apart around
him, and he climbed out. Nicole yelped in surprise as he took off
chasing her down to the water.
“Come
swim with us, Al!” Nicole yelled over her shoulder as she ran.
I
shook my head with a smile. “I’m good,” I called out before
reopening my book.
A
few minutes later, I heard a quiet thud as Ethan dropped down to his
knees on the blanket by my feet. He dug around the cooler and pulled
out a soda.
“Aren’t
you having fun?” he asked breathlessly between gulps.
“As
a matter of fact, I am,” I replied, gesturing to the umbrella and
my book.
“Yeah?
Whatcha reading?”
I
felt a blush rise on my cheeks as I held the book out for him to see.
I was reading Gone
With The Wind.
Again.
Ethan
started laughing, nearly choking on his soda. “I imagined you up
here reading The
Guide to Modern Physics.
I would’ve never guessed you were reading a romance novel!” He
stretched himself out on the blanket and closed his eyes to the sun,
his lips curved up in that mocking little smile. His dark hair was
slicked back with water, and he was perfectly tanned. I couldn’t
help noticing that his lashes were a thick, dark fringe. I forced
myself to look away.
When
I glanced back at him—I couldn’t help it—Rachel had snuck onto
the blanket and gestured to me with her finger to her lips. She
flopped down onto her stomach and began running a piece of ice that
had fallen out of the cooler along Ethan’s chest, causing him to
shout in surprise.
“You’re
going down!” he yelled before hauling Rachel up over his shoulder
and running down to toss her, squealing, into the ocean.
I
looked down to the water, wondering how Sean felt about Rachel’s
not-so-subtle display. They had one of those on-again-off-again
relationships. They were all friends, but her flirting with Ethan
must have bothered him. If I wanted to be honest, it even bothered
me.
I
pushed all of Nicole’s friends out of my thoughts and tried to
enjoy the rest of the day. When it was time to leave, I walked up the
old wooden steps to the parking lot with my arms full of beach gear.
The others were lagging behind, but I could still hear the sounds of
their laughter and teasing.
“If
you’re going with Jeff, I am too,” I heard Rachel say to Nicole
in her whiny voice.
“Sweet!
Shotgun in Al’s car,” Ethan yelled. A smile crept onto my
face—Rachel would be disappointed that she wouldn’t get to cozy
up next to him in the backseat. Good thing no one could see my face.
“Damn,
man, I was just going to say that!” Sean said, a thump
following. I could only imagine from Ethan’s grunt that Sean had
whacked him upside the head. I laughed to myself that both guys were
so desperate to stay away from Rachel.
I
opened the hatch and started loading it when Ethan gently pushed me
aside. “I got this,” he said, winking at me as he hefted the
cooler in.
“Yeah,
I wouldn’t want to break a nail,” I muttered, placing my bag in
the back.
Ethan
just laughed and shook his head.
“Meet
us at Nic’s!” Jeff shouted out his window before tearing out of
the parking lot.
I
started the car as Ethan and Sean piled in. As usual, Sean reached up
front and ruffled my hair before settling in his seat. He grew up in
the house on the other side of Nicole’s, and he’d always been
nice to me, even if his sometimes-girlfriend was a jerk.
“You
coming over tonight?” Ethan asked as he flipped through the CD’s
in my case.
“Me?”
I tried to swallow down the butterflies. “Are you kidding? My bed
is already calling my name,” I replied, trying to keep an aloof
tone.
Ethan
shook his head and smirked, no doubt trying not to laugh at me.
“We’re just going to be watching a movie.”
“Didn’t
your mother teach you not to beg, dude?” Sean asked, teasing. “You
probably have a hot date, right Allie-O?” He shook my shoulder
lightly. I smiled at the old nickname from the days when we used to
play hide-and-seek in our neighborhood.
“Yeah,
a hot date with Rhett Butler,” Ethan said. I kept my eyes on the
road, but I couldn’t help the smile that played on my lips.
“Poor
Ethan,” Sean said. “I think Rachel wants to snuggle with you
tonight, pal.” He was laughing, but there was an edge to his voice.
The idea of Rachel and Ethan together made my chest squeeze, too.
Ethan
chuckled. “No, thanks. Rachel is all
yours. She’s not my type.”
“Since
when do you
have a type?” Sean asked, the tension lifting.
“I’m
twenty-three years old, man. Time to start thinking of the future.”
I
nearly snorted soda out of my nose…until he slung his arm around
the back of my chair. Then it was all I could do to keep the car on
the road.
He
had to know the way he affected me, how he got under my skin. Four
years ago, in one of my weaker moments, I’d fallen for his charm. I
couldn’t let that happen again. But the memory of that kiss still
left me breathless.
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