Back to the Beach (Hunt Family Book 4) (9 page)

Chapter 13

My hands were still holding Nico's face when he told me he thought I was going to kiss him. It was an open invitation, but I still couldn't bring myself to do it.

"Mia?"

"Yeah?"

He gave me a stomach-flipping smile. "I'm waiting."

"I'm scared," I said.

"Of what?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

I took my hands off of his face ran them over the top of his head, letting them come to rest on the back of his head. "Of everything and nothing at the same time," I said.

"It's just a kiss," he said, smiling and relaxing into my grasp like he enjoyed the feel of my hands on the back of his head.

I came really close to saying, "It's not just a kiss to me," because that's how I felt, but instead I just smiled back at him.

"You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," he said with a sweet half-smile aimed at me.

"I'll bet you've seen a lot of beautiful things," I said, feeling shy.

He shook his head almost imperceptibly—I could only tell he was doing it because I was holding onto his head. "Not like you," he said.

I was thankful for the darkness because his sincerity had me blushing. "I probably think you're sort of beautiful, too," I said, glancing down since it was a ridiculous statement.
What, I'd like to know, happened to my English-speaking skills when I was around this guy?
I was so embarrassed that I let my hands fall from the back of his head, letting them come to rest on his shoulders.

"Mia," he said, causing me to look at him again. His light eyes shone in the moonlight, and I stared into them. "Put your mouth on my mouth, baby girl." It wasn't a request, it was a command, and the sound of it coming out of his mouth left me breathless. I drew in an unsteady breath as I continued to stare at him. I was scared to death, but I leaned toward him with every intention of letting my lips touch his. He noticed my movement, and leaned forward as well, meeting me in the middle. Our lips touched with spine-tingling tenderness—one, two, and then three times before he pulled back no more than an inch. They were still almost touching when he said, "I'm gonna do that again."

"Uh-huh," I whispered breathlessly, wishing he would go ahead and do it already.

"Yeah, but I'm gonna do it differently this time," he said with his mouth still only an inch from mine.

"Uh-huh," I whispered again even though I wasn't sure what he was talking about.

He took one of his hands from around my waist and ran it over and then behind my ear, letting it come to rest on the back of my head. I let out a tiny little whimper at the feel of it, and he smiled at the sound. Without another word, Nico brought his mouth to mine. He used the hand on the back of my head to pull me toward him, and I opened my mouth to him instantly. He let his tongue dip into me, and I tilted my face to the side in an effort to let it go deeper. He knew what I was doing, and I felt his grip on the back of my head tighten as he deepened the kiss even further. Another whimper escaped my lips as he pulled back, and the sound made him kiss me again.

No kiss in the history of the universe had ever felt like this one. A week's worth of pent up frustration came out as he kissed me like I was his and nobody else's. He started to pull away, and I bit at his bottom lip for an extra second before letting him go. He must have been the best kisser in the entire world because I couldn't imagine anything feeling better than that. Our mouths were created to come together. He stared at the ground and rubbed his eyebrows as he cleared his throat. We were both struggling to regulate our breathing. Our chests were both rising and falling as we tried to calm ourselves down.

"Baby girl, I might have to put you in my luggage," he said.

And just like that, the spell was broken. The stark reality that he would be leaving in the morning set in, causing my heart to drop. It dropped and shattered like a heart-shaped piece of glass hitting the pavement. I swallowed hard, but otherwise tried to seem unaffected.

"I don't fit in duffle bags," I whispered.

"How about Charlotte's suitcase?" he said, giving me a smile that was laced with regret.

I shook my head.

"One of Logan's movies is on HBO," we heard from the top of the stairs. I knew it was Evan speaking before I ever looked up.

"He's not gonna want to watch that," Nico said without turning to look at Evan.

"It's one Rachel and Cub haven't seen, and they want to watch it," he said. "They already talked him into it. It's getting ready to start."

"We'll be there in a second," Nico said.

"We should go," I whispered once Evan walked away.

Nico nodded reluctantly. "I guess we should," he said.

I got to my feet, and Nico did the same. We were standing on the stairs when he reached up and gently pulled the little tiara from my head. The feeling of it running up the sides of my head gave me the chills, and my shoulders wiggled as I took a shuttering breath.

"I'm keeping this," he said.

"You can't," I said. "It's Ryan's."

He shrugged. "I'll buy her a hundred of them," he said. "This one's mine."

Nico gripped it in his hand in such a way that said it was a done deal as he smiled at me and turned to walk up the steps. He reached back to hold my hand and make sure I was following.

We walked into the house still holding hands, but I let go once we crossed the kitchen and were approaching the living room. Evan, Logan, Rachel, and Cub were sitting around on couches and in recliners.

"I'm going upstairs to shower and change," I said.

"Charlotte's up there doing the same thing, but she's probably done by now," Cub said.

Nico decided to come with me, but only to grab some pajama pants and a T-shirt out of his bag. He said he'd use the downstairs shower and meet me in the living room once I was done.

The bathroom door was cracked open, so I cautiously went inside once Nico was on his way back downstairs. "Knock, knock," I said, barely opening it some more.

"Come in," Charlotte said. "I'm done in here."

I opened the door to find that she was fully dressed and standing in front of the mirror with a towel wrapped around her head. She leaned toward the mirror and wiped underneath her eye as if making sure she had washed off all of the makeup.

I set my clothes on the counter next to her, and she turned to face me. I didn't know until I looked at her that she was wearing a wide-eyed expression.

"Is he up here?" she whispered, pointing at the open door.

I shook my head. "He's downstairs."

"What happened?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"What do you mean, what do I mean?" she asked with an incredulous expression.

"What happened just now when y'all stayed outside?"

She paused and glanced down at my mouth. "And where did your lip-gloss go?"

I instantly shifted to stare at myself in the mirror, touching my mouth in the process. Charlotte giggled quietly as she pushed at my shoulder. "I'm just messing with you," she said. "But did you kiss him?"

"Probably," I said, regarding her through our reflections in the mirror.

She continued to stare at the side of my face with a smile. "He was about to Judo flip Evan for butting in," she said.

"
I
was about to Judo flip Evan," I said, smiling and shaking my head. "I don't know what's wrong with him."

"He's just being a protective older brother," Charlotte said. "I don’t know how many guys Logan ran off when I was younger."

"Yeah, but I'm not younger," I said. I was about to add that I didn't want anyone running Nico off, but I kept that part inside.

"He'll always be your big brother," she said.

"I guess."

"Are you coming downstairs to watch the movie?" she asked as she grabbed her cosmetics bag and handful of dirty clothes.

"Yep," I said. "I'll meet you down there."

I showered and brushed my teeth and hair, braiding it loosely over one shoulder just to keep it out of my way. I knew I would want to get comfortable while watching the movie, so I grabbed a pillow and blanket before heading downstairs.

The movie had already gotten started by the time I made my way down. Nico was sitting in the corner of one of the sectional sofas with his feet propped out on one side. We made eye contact, and he patted the seat next to him.

"Why don't you get us some popcorn and M&M's while you're up?" Logan asked, teasing me as I came into the room.

"Why don't you get up and get your own." Nico said.

Neither of them had been serious, so I didn't bother responding. I just smiled as I crossed the room to sit next to Nico. I put the pillow and blanket beside me and settled into the space next to Nico.

I was sitting cross-legged, so my knee came into contact with his leg. He reached out and placed his hand on my knee, letting it rest there. I could feel the warmth of it through my pajama pants.

We sat in this positioned for the first half of the movie. We gave Logan a hard time about a few parts being farfetched or about using a stunt double, but we all knew what a gifted actor he was and were just messing around. We teased him because that's just what you do when your cousin acts in movies and you're watching one of them on HBO.

We were about halfway through the movie when I moved so that I could position the pillow where I had been sitting. My plan was to lay my head near Nico and stretch my legs out on the other side of the sectional.

By the time I got ready to lie down, I noticed that Nico had taken my pillow and repositioned it behind his own head. He was propped up with his hand behind his back like he didn’t have a care in the world.

"You took my pillow," I whispered where no one else could hear.

"This?" he asked, leaning forward just slightly and wearing a surprised expression. "This is mine."

"What am
I
supposed to use?" I asked.

Nico smiled and reached down and patted his stomach, indicating that I should rest my head on him. I smiled back and shook my head, giving him a
you're impossible
glare, even though I loved the idea of using him for a pillow. I snuggled up in the blanket and rested my head on his side.

"Can you see?" he asked, repositioning his knees.

I nodded even though half of the TV was obstructed by the armrest of the couch. I didn't care. I was too tired and comfortable to worry about watching the movie anyway. Nico put his hand on my head and absentmindedly ran his fingers over my hair. It was near the end of the movie when I finally drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 14

I had all these plans floating around in my head for how our goodbye would go the next morning.

I thought we'd sleep upstairs and I'd hear them when they got up to start getting ready. I imagined the possible scenarios in my head. I pictured myself being sleepy and sitting up on the couch with my blanket wrapped around my shoulders while they got their things together. Then, I'd go downstairs with them and wave goodbye from the front porch (all with the blanket still wrapped around me).

I thought of the conversation I'd have with Nico. Everyone else would be around, so it would be difficult to say anything too sentimental, but we'd find a few seconds to share a short, whispered conversation in which we would talk about having no regrets or something else equally as appropriate for the moment.

I had the whole scene worked up in my head, which was why it was so disorienting when I woke up downstairs with the California crew nowhere to be found.

"She's up!" I heard Ryan say the minute I opened my eyes.

I blinked, feeling disoriented. "Hey, Aunt Mia," Ryan said cheerfully as she came to stand in front of me. "We had to whisper till you woke up."

"You did?" I asked sleepily. "What time is it?"

Ryan glanced toward the kitchen with a confused expression. "What time is it?" she yelled, startling me.

I sat up on one elbow as I tried to gather my wits and remember what I wanted to say to Nico before he left.

"Ryan Diane, you were supposed to let Aunt Mia sleep." Paige said, coming to stand at the foot of my couch with an apologetic expression aimed at me.

"What time is it?" I asked her, sitting up more fully.

"Eight-thirty," she said.

I sat straight up and looked all around the living room and into the kitchen. Evan was sprawled out in a recliner, Dee-dee and my parents were at the table, and I could see my Uncle Dave on the deck, but none of the California crew were there.
And why would they be since they had to leave at eight o'clock!

I swallowed hard at the idea that they were already gone. I was already frustrated enough that our goodbye would be rushed, and now I realized there would be no goodbye at all.

I looked at Paige. "Did Logan and them leave already?" I asked, hoping against hope that I had been wrong about the time.

She nodded from behind her coffee mug. "They left before eight, I guess. Ry and I came down here just in time to see them off. Everybody said to tell you goodbye."

I smiled, but it wasn't genuine at all. I felt sick knowing that Nico was on a plane headed to the other side of the country.

Ryan reached out to run her fingers through my hair. It got stuck in a tangle and pulled, and I didn't even flinch. She tucked it behind my ear and I gave her a sleepy smile.

"Did you have fun at your party?" she asked.

"I sure did, peanut," I said. I spoke in an exaggerated sleepy tone to disguise my disappointment.

"Did the people like your crown?"

A stab of heartache hit me at the mention of the tiara, which was in Nico's duffle bag on its way to California.

"They sure did," I said, trying to smile at her even though I wanted to cry.

Talk about waking up on the wrong side of the bed. This was officially the rudest awakening I could have imagined. I never in a million years expected that he'd just be gone. And why had he left me sleeping downstairs all night instead of waking me up to go upstairs with him? Or had he stayed down there with me?

"So where is it?" Ryan asked. She was so bright eyed and bushy-tailed that it was impossible not to smile at her.

"Where's what?" I asked.

"My crown, silly," she said. She reached up and patted the top of my head as if to make sure it wasn't hiding under my hair somewhere.

I instinctually reached up and touched my head as well. "I think I might have to buy you a new one of those, sweetpea," I said.

"You do?" She tilted her head at me with an expression that said she was wondering what in the would could have possibly happened.

"You want some coffee?" Paige interrupted as she was walking off toward the kitchen.

"Thank you, but I'll get up and get it in a second," I said. I focused on Ryan again and smiled sleepily as I patted the seat next to me on the couch. "I had to give your tiara away last night, but I promise I'll buy you a new one."

"Did you have to give it away to someone who didn't have one?" She asked with the sincerity of someone who was talking about me giving food to starving children.

I nodded. "Yep, and he was very thankful."

"You gave it to a
boy
?" she asked incredulously.

I hadn't even noticed that I said 'he' until she reacted, and I giggled at her shock.

"Why did a
boy
want it?"

"I don't really know," I said, speaking quietly in a hint for her to do the same. "He just wanted it."

"Who was it?" she asked.

"Who was it? It was, uh, one of Logan's friends."

"Nico-lo-de-on?" she asked.

"Probably," I said.

She thought that was the funniest thing she'd ever heard. She fell back onto the couch giggling her head off.

"Why would Nico-lo-de-on want to wear my tiara?" she asked.

The whole time she spoke, I was urging her to be quiet. "Shhhh, shhhh," I said, patting her knee and leaning over to whisper in her ear. "We don't need to tell everybody I gave it to him."

"Why, would he be embarrassed?" she asked with a serious expression as she sat up.

I nodded.

"Because boys aren't supposed to wear tiaras," she whispered. Her face was so intent that I couldn't contain a smile.

"I don't think he wanted to wear it," I said.

As soon as I said it, her face scrunched up. "Why did he want it, then?"

I didn't know what to say, so I said, "Because he thought it looked pretty on me…"

"…and he wanted to give it to his girlfriend so she can look pretty, too?" she asked.

My heart dropped. "What girlfriend?" I asked, wondering if she'd heard him say something.

She shrugged with wide eyes. "I don't know, but who else would he want to give it to? His mom?"

I smiled and sighed, wondering how I'd gotten this deep into a crazy conversation right when I woke up.

"I think he just wanted to keep it," I said, since she was still waiting for my answer.

"To give to his next girlfriend?"

"Yep," I said, even though it gave me a stomachache to hear that and agree with it.

"I thought you were gonna be Nico's girlfriend," she said. I turned to look down at her when she said it, and she stared up at me with a sweet, adorable smile.

"Why do you say that?" I asked.

Paige came to stand behind me, handing me a cup of coffee. "Thank you," I said as I took it from her. I didn't take a sip right away, but it felt comforting to hold a hot cup of liquid. "Why did you say that?" I asked, focusing on Ryan again once Paige walked off.

"Because I just did," she said.

I wanted her to say more—to tell me everything she had ever thought about Nico, or me, or us as a pair, but that was all her attention span could handle.

Evan woke up in all his favorite uncle glory, and she hopped off of the couch so she could run to the recliner and into his arms.

I sat on the couch, drinking my coffee for the next few minutes while everyone hustled and bustled around the living room and kitchen. I was overwhelmed by how sad I felt that he was no longer there.

I knew his departure was coming, but I honestly hadn't expected it to be that hard for me. I thought back to all the other times I had fallen for him on a trip and then been forced to say goodbye, but this one felt different somehow. This time, I was convinced he liked me back just as much as I liked him. This time, I thought for sure there would have been a heartfelt goodbye and maybe even plans to talk to each other again.

I decided to go for a run in hopes that the physical excursion would clear my mind. I was just about get up and get dressed when Evan came to sit next to me on the couch.

"You were out like a light last night," he said, leaning back.

"Why didn't y'all wake me up?" I asked.

"I wanted to, but Nico wouldn't let us," he said. "Were you uncomfortable down here?"

"He wouldn't let you do what?" I asked.

"You fell asleep on him, and he said he'd sooner take me outside and skin me alive than wake you up and tell you to go to bed."

I smiled. "He said that?"

Evan smiled. "Not in those words, but basically."

"So he slept down here with me?" I asked.

Evan nodded and pointed to the nearby recliner. "And I slept right there just to make sure he didn't try anything."

"Why didn't they wake us up before they left?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I slept, too." He paused and looked at me with an earnest expression that was rare for someone as easy-going as Evan. "Please tell me he didn't hurt you," he said.

My stomach was already in knots, and for some reason Evan's words made it worse. I was hurting, but not in the way Evan thought—or maybe it was the way he thought. I was too confused to know, really. Either way, I felt like I wanted to cry.

"Did he?" Evan pressed, looking perturbed by my hesitation.

"No, Evan, of course not. Why would you even ask something like that?"

"Because, I see how you are with him, Mia, and then he sits you down on the stairs, and kisses you, and probably makes you all sorts of promises he can't keep just so he can…" Evan trailed off, not wanting to say what Nico could do.

"So he can what?" I asked, feeling blood rise to my cheeks.

"I just don't want him hurting you."

"He's not," I said. "He's gone, and I'm fine with it," I added, even though it was a blatant lie. "And he didn’t make any promises," I added.

We were quiet for a minute before he said, "You don't need to mention to Cody that I let you sleep down here."

I regarded him with a
why would you even say that
expression that made him smile. "Cody doesn't want you having anything to do with him, and I was supposed to keep an eye on you last night." He paused, shaking his head. "He'd kill me if he saw what y'all were doing last night on the stairs."

I gasped and pushed at my brother's shoulder. "Evan Michael, I really hope you weren't spying on me!"

"I wasn't until I went out there to tell you guys the movie was starting."

I shook my head at him. "Well, it's none of yours or Cody's business," I said.

He sighed. "I'm just glad he's gone."

I glared at him. I was in no mood to hear such a thing. "Well,
I'm
not," I said, stubbornly.

"That's the problem exactly."

"There's no problem," I said, standing up. "Nothing happened, he's gone, and I'm fine—end of story."

"Good," he said. "Good talk."

I shot him an overly sweet, fake smile as I threw the blanket onto the couch. "Good talk," I agreed sarcastically.

I walked upstairs feeling numbly disoriented and ticked off at the same time. Part of me wanted to collapse onto the couch upstairs for a whole day, and part of me wanted to put on my running shoes and take off running until I felt better, which might be a few years straight like Forrest Gump. I opted for the running shoes, knowing I'd be better off breaking a sweat than hiding under the covers all day.