Dangerous to Know & Love (31 page)

Vin hurried over to her, muttering something about, “My job,” which made Kirsty giggle.

“Come on, man!” yelled Isaac. “Football! You playing or what?”

“Or what,” replied Vin, rubbing sunscreen over Kirsty’s back.

“Aw hell,” muttered Isaac. “What about you, Dan? You wanna play some ball?”

Lisanne nudged Daniel’s arm as he dropped the bags of chips next to the food coolers.

“Isaac’s asking if you want to play football,” she said, quietly.

The gleam in his eye, followed by a wistful expression, hurt Lisanne’s heart.

“Go on,” she said encouragingly. “It’s only a beach game. Just have a go. You can always come back and rub lotion into my back.”

He smiled, “Always up for that, baby.” He took a deep breath. “Okay, what the hell.” Then he turned toward Isaac. “I’m in!”

Isaac whooped and high-fived the guy standing next to him.

Daniel unbuckled his boots and peeled off his socks. Lisanne watched, dry mouthed, as he yanked off his t-shirt and dropped his pants.

“Oh my God,” gasped Shawna. “He really does have nipple rings!”

Everyone turned to stare, but Daniel didn’t know why. He froze.

“It’s okay,” Lisanne said, reassuringly. “They’re just admiring your, um, chest jewelry.”

A knowing smirk passed across Daniel’s face. “Just so long as you like it, baby doll.”

“You know I do,” she said, her face suddenly becoming hot enough to fry an egg.

He leaned down and kissed her hard, leaving her breathless and flushed throughout her entire body.

She sat down, fanning herself.

“Hot?” asked Kirsty, a wry expression on her face.

“Definitely,” agreed Lisanne.

Vin laughed out loud. “Maybe I should get some.”

“Don’t you dare!” shrieked Kirsty. “It would be weeks before we could, um, I mean, it would hurt for weeks.”

Now it was Kirsty’s turn to blush.

Lisanne turned to watch the football game that was taking place further up the beach. She didn’t really watch football, as a rule, so when Vin whistled between his teeth, she looked at him questioningly.

“Daniel just threw a 30 yard pass.”

“Is that good?”

“Yeah,” he said quietly, then sat back to watch the game, one hand idly rubbing Kirsty’s knee.

Lisanne couldn’t really tell what was going on. There seemed to be a lot of shouting, along with some running and catching.

Then Isaac yelled, “touchdown!” and threw himself at Daniel, who looked pleased.

“He’s pretty good,” said Vin.

Then he stood up and jogged over to join in.

Lisanne watched for a bit longer, but Daniel seemed to be doing okay. She pulled out a battered paperback and settled down on her stomach to read.

Shawna had wandered nearer to the football game, dressed in a bikini that was so small, Lisanne wasn’t entirely sure why she’d bothered. She felt too shy to sit around in her bathing suit, especially next to Kirsty, who looked a goddess with her long curls and flawless skin.

After half an hour of burning sun, Lisanne decided to go for a swim. Kirsty was asleep, all the guys were absorbed in the game, and Shawna was still doing her cheerleader impersonation, although it wasn’t clear who she was trying to encourage. But at least it meant no one was watching Lisanne. She slipped off her tank top and shorts, hitched the top of her tankini a bit higher, and gingerly made her way over the heated sand to the ocean’s edge.

The water rippled over her feet, making it look as if they were bending and flexing like seaweed. She waded further in, letting the water cool her hot skin. She sank down to her knees and shivered slightly as the chill reached her chest. Inching further forward, she leaned into the water and took off in a serene breast stroke.

In the distance, she heard shouting and jeers. She turned her head to see Daniel holding up his hands to the guys, as if he was apologizing for something. Then he turned and jogged along the beach for a short distance, before diving into the water and swimming a fast crawl toward her.

He jumped up next to her, with his dark hair plastered to his head, and the sun glinting on his chest as seawater poured from his shoulders.

“Hey, baby doll. Miss me?”

“Might have.”

He pouted. “Only might?”

“Well, you seemed to be having fun with the
boys
, I thought I’d take a swim.”

“I know,” he grinned at her. “They were pretty mad, but between them and my girl getting all wet, it was no competition.”

He pulled her toward him and her legs wrapped around his waist. His hands slipped under her ass to hold her up as he attacked her lips.

She opened her mouth and his tongue swept inside. He moaned and lifted one hand up to the centre of her back, pulling her in more tightly.

When he moved his head back, his eyes were dark with desire. He groaned and shifted her carefully.

“What’s the matter?” she said in a voice so husky she barely recognized it as her own.

“I’ve got a boner,” he muttered. “That’s not supposed to happen to guys in cold water. It’s you, baby. You’re so
hot
– I could fuck you right here. Nobody would know.”

Lisanne giggled a little nervously.

“I think people might notice if you suddenly started putting on a condom, unless you can do that underwater.”

Daniel groaned again. “Fuck. We’re gonna have to get you on the pill, baby. You’re driving me crazy.”

Lisanne blinked. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. But Daniel didn’t notice the change in her expression. He was too busy kissing the top of her chest and sucking her throat gently.

He looked up when Lisanne shifted in his arms.

“What’s up, baby?”

“They’re waving us to come over and have some food.”

“Shit. I’ll need a minute,” he said, letting her slide down against his body. “I’ll just swim for a bit, okay?”

“I’ll come with you – I’m not really hungry yet anyway.”

Lisanne swam parallel to the beach, while Daniel zoomed a hundred yards out, then came splashing toward her.

As his head broke the water he grinned at her.

“Feeling better? Everything back where it belongs.”

“Not sure about that, baby. My dick belongs in you.”

Lisanne blushed. He had
such
a dirty mouth. She loved it.

They walked back along the beach, hand in hand, with Daniel leaning down to kiss her every few paces. Lisanne was pretty sure she could have passed for a bright red fire hydrant from his very public display of affection.

“Um, Daniel? We’re nearly there now.”

“I know,” he said, nuzzling her neck. “Your nipples are so hard – I can’t wait to wrap my tongue around them.”

She smacked his arm and he looked at her in surprise.

“What?”

“Don’t!”

“Don’t what?” he said, looking confused.

“Don’t… say stuff like
that
in front of people. I’ll just die of embarrassment.”

Daniel narrowed his eyes at her.

“Are you ashamed of being seen with me?”

“No! God, no! It’s just… when you say all that stuff about sex – I get embarrassed. I’m not used to it,” she finished, lamely.

Lisanne was relieved to see that his smile was quickly restored.

“Okay, baby doll, but I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to keep my hands off of you. Just sayin’.”

The others had made quick work of the food, and everyone seemed to have a paper plate loaded up with something.

Daniel’s eyes just got really wide when he saw the piles of barbecue ribs, chicken wings and hot dogs. Good food on a regular basis was something of a rarity for him. He was soon digging in happily.

Lisanne preferred the lighter fare of cold pasta and salad.

They settled down onto her towel and enjoyed their food.

“You’ve got an awesome throwing arm, man,” said Vin.

Lisanne tapped Daniel’s knee, and discreetly pointed at Vin.

“Sorry, man, what?”

“I’m just surprised you didn’t try out for the team. You must have played in high school?”

“Uh, yeah, a bit.”

“More than a bit,” snorted Kirsty. “Lis said you were your school’s quarterback.”

There was a short silence while Daniel threw an accusing look at Lisanne.

“Yeah,” he said at last.

Vin frowned. “So how come you didn’t try out this year?”

“Yeah, man,” added Isaac. “You threw a clean 30 yard pass and damn near out ran Vinny from a cold start.”

Daniel shrugged and stood up, tossing his plate into the garbage. Then he pulled a packet of cigarettes out of his jeans’ pocket.

“I was busy.”

Vin could see that for some reason Daniel was uncomfortable with the subject, so he dropped it quickly. The conversation soon turned to everyone’s plans for Thanksgiving.

Lisanne looked at Daniel and mouthed, “Sorry.”

He shrugged again, and blew his cigarette smoke away from her.

She cupped his cheek gently until he looked at her. “Sorry, really.”

He gave her a lopsided smile. “It’s okay. I like that you talk about me when I’m not there – well, if it’s good stuff.”

“Always,” said Lisanne gently.

His answering smile was shy and sweet.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. And,” she said, taking a deep breath, “there’s something else I wanted to tell you, but I’m not sure what you’ll think about it.”

A small furrow appeared between Daniel’s eyebrows. “Go on.”

“My mom invited you to join us for Thanksgiving.”

Daniel didn’t reply – in fact, his face seemed to have frozen halfway through a thought. Lisanne felt herself babbling.

“I told mom that you were by yourself – and that I wanted to stay here with you.”

That got his attention.

“You… you were going to stay here… with me.”

Lisanne nodded.

“Why?” he seemed genuinely puzzled.

“Because!” she said, rolling her eyes.

Daniel wasn’t generally obtuse, but sometimes he really didn’t get her.

Lisanne tried again.

“So will you? Come for Thanksgiving?”

Daniel rubbed his hands over his face.

“Seriously? Your old man is going to let me in your house for Thanksgiving… and he won’t shoot me or anything?”

Lisanne giggled at the expression on his face.

“Nope. He’ll probably just throw you a hard stare every time you look at me.”

“Sounds fun,” muttered Daniel, but Lisanne could tell he was trying to hide a smile.

“Can I tell her yes?”

“Will there be turkey?”

“Of course.”

“And mashed potatoes?”

“With gravy.”

“And pumpkin pie?”

Lisanne smiled. “Trust me – there’ll be enough food even for you.”

Daniel looked serious.

“That’s really great of them, Lis. I mean it. But I don’t think so – all those people. I won’t be able to… it’s really hard…”

She stroked his arm. “I’ll be there and I’ll help you. Today’s been okay, hasn’t it?”

He nodded and gave her a small smile.

“Yeah, today’s been great. I know I’ve missed some stuff, and some of the calls when we were playing football, but knowing you’ve got my back – that makes it a lot easier. I was going to tell you later, but… thanks. Thank you for today.”

Lisanne’s mouth dropped open with a soft pop.

“You’re welcome,” she said, faintly.

The afternoon passed peacefully. Vin organized a complicated game of Frisbee in the water, with three pieces of plastic whizzing over everyone’s heads, where no one except Vin was sure of the rules.

More food was eaten, and then most people stretched out for a sleep in the sun before heading back. Daniel had gone for another long swim, racing Isaac and one of the other guys. Then he dripped his way back up the hot sand and planted chilled kisses across Lisanne’s stomach. They lay together and dozed comfortably, her head on his chest.

Shawna had arranged to ride back in one of the other cars, which was just fine by Lisanne.

She picked some mellow music from her iPod, and soon the ambient sounds of Cults’
You Know What I Mean
and some Alison Sudol was filling the car. The journey was quiet, with everyone dozing after a long day of sun, sea, and sand.

Suddenly Vin sat up straighter.

“Oh, shit,” he muttered. “I’m being pulled over.”

Lisanne felt very nervous. She’d never been in a car that had been stopped by police before. Going with Zef to collect Daniel was the closest she’d ever come to a law enforcement officer. She really hadn’t wanted a closer encounter.

Daniel twisted to look over his shoulder when Lisanne pointed behind them.

“Fuck,” he said, quietly.

Kirsty faced him and shot him an angry look.

“Do you have anything on you, Daniel? Because if you do, this could affect all of us!”

“No, I fucking don’t!” he snarled at her.

Vin tightened his jaw but didn’t say anything. He pulled over and rolled down the window of his car as the policeman approached.

“Is something wrong, officer?”

“You failed to maintain the lane while you were driving: license and registration,” said the man, abruptly.

Vin opened his wallet and handed over his driver’s license.

“If you could step out of the vehicle, please, Mr. Vescovi.”

Looking worried, Vin climbed out and the cops walked him a distance from the car. They seemed to be questioning him about something and Vin was shaking his head vigorously.

Daniel watched closely and Lisanne knew he was lip reading them. He turned to her quickly.

“Lis, I think they’re going to arrest me,” he said, his voice strained.

“What?” snapped Kirsty. “How do you know that?”

He ignored her.

“Don’t say anything to them – just get a message to Zef as quickly as you can? Please, baby?”

“I don’t understand!” cried Lisanne. “You haven’t done anything!”

“Do you think that will stop them?” he sneered. “Believe me, when your name is Colton, they don’t need a reason.”

“Daniel,” whispered Lisanne, “is there anything else – anything at all?”

The look of anger and disappointment on his face dried the words in her mouth until they tasted like ash.

The officers returned to the car and ordered them all to get out.