Read The Seacrest for Free Online Page B

Honest.”
    “I love what you’re saying, Finn.” She pulled my arm and we walked in the surf. “But can you humor me for a little while?”
    The tide was out, and periwinkles scuttled in the shallow water, surrounded by flitting silver minnows. Ripples stretched across the wet sand, making designs almost too perfect to be real.
    I sighed. “What do I tell my folks? My stupid brother already said I had a girlfriend. And my father asked about your family.”
    “See? People do care about lineage. And it’s so dumb.” She stopped again, looking at me with an impish smile. “Wait. Did you say girlfriend?”
    I blushed. “Um. Well. Yeah. I’d kinda hoped you’d go out with me. Only me. Not my brother. And he’s interested, believe me.”
    We reached the end of the low tide sand, and walked now in six inches of water. With a tinkling laugh that made me feel giddy inside, she ran ahead of me, splashing in the water.
    “I might have to choose, you mean? Between your older, handsome, dashing brother, and you?”
    I ran after her. “Yeah. And he’s not so dashing, once you get to know him. He’s a royal pain in the ass.”
    “Is he, now?” With a saucy smile, she bent low and cupped seawater in her hand. “Who do you think I should choose, big guy?” She splashed water toward me. It splatted against me, making a dark circle on my tee shirt.
    I caught her wrist and pulled her close to me. “Hey, if I’m wet, you’re gonna be wet.” I flattened myself against her. “Feel that?”
    She stopped, suddenly serious, her big eyes searching mine. “Yeah.”
    I pressed her closer, realizing the double entendre of my words. My body had gone into launch sequence, and I didn’t know what to do to hide it, except keep her as close as possible. “Sassy?”
    She tilted her lips to mine. “Uh huh?”
    “I think I love you.” I leaned down and kissed her, this time tenderly and for a long, long time. The stirring in my jeans became almost painful, and she glanced downward when it moved against her.
    Her arms wrapped around my neck, and her lips parted slightly. I felt her tongue tentatively touch the tip of mine.
    “Finn,” she rasped. “I think I know who I’ll pick.”
    I kissed her again, deeper this time. We finally came up for air. “Okay. Who?”
    One hand reached down to gently touch the fabric of my jeans where I bulged against it with surging readiness. “Oh, my. Did I do that to you?”
    I nodded, feeling helpless and wanton and completely besotted. “Uh huh. You’re killing me. But you didn’t tell me who you picked.”
    She kissed me again, then pushed back a few inches, looking up at me. “What’s your brother’s name again?”
    “Jax,” I said stiffly. “Short for Jaxson.”
    She caressed my face, running one finger around my lips. “Just curious.”
    “Come on, Sassy. Will you be my girl?”
    She loosed a wide smile this time, her eyes searching mine. “Yes, Finn. I will be your girl.”
    I picked her up and swung her in a wide circle around me. “Oh, Sassy. This’s gonna be one hell of a summer.”
    She loosed a flirty little laugh and grabbed my hand. “It is. Come on, the tide’s coming in, and I’ve gotta get home before they discover I’m missing. Let’s run back.”
    Silent except for the slapping of our feet on wet sand, we ran together, the lightness of youth making our legs fly, our muscles easily pushing on and on until we finally made it to the end of the beach and stopped, breathing hard, our eyes bright with the flush of endorphins.
    We put our shoes on and mounted our bikes. “Can I ride you home?” I asked.
    She shook her head. “Only to the corner. After that, I’m on my own.”
    I shrugged. “Okay. If that’s the way you want it.”
    “It is,” she said. “I can’t risk my father seeing us together. He’s already worried.”
    “Okay. It’ll be our little secret. Until he has to give you away at the wedding,” I said. “We’ll have to tell him