Justin glanced over at her. “He had some stuff to do for school. He flew out to San Francisco this morning. He’ll be back tonight.” He leaned forward and flipped through radio stations. “What do you want to listen to?”

She reached in between the seats and picked up his cd case. He went back to looking at the road and tapped his fingers against the steering wheel to the song playing on the radio. Quietly, he began to sing along.

“You’re a loser,” Brenna mumbled, still looking through his cd case. “Singing to your own song?”

He grinned. “Maybe if you’d hurry up and get a cd in I wouldn’t have to.”

“I’m working on it.”

He leaned back in his seat and reached up a hand to rub his neck. “What movies did you guys watch last night?”

“Ten Things I Hate About You and then some other one. I don’t remember what it was called.”

“How late was Kate there?”

“I don’t know. It didn’t look like she was leaving when Drew and I left.”

He smiled. “I bet they got it on.”

“You guys just never quit with each other,” Brenna said, pulling out a cd and putting it in.

“It’s fun. Kate gets all bent out of shape if I go at it long enough. It’s funny.”

“Uh huh.”

“I called her before we left and she said she’d be at the beach at like two. By then you should try surfing with us.”

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to do it.”

“It’s all about balance. I’m a really good teacher. Ask Kate. I taught her.” He paused. “Actually, it’s Kate. She’ll say I’m a bad teacher just to be a bitch. But I’m good. I’ll teach you.”

She was silent for a moment. “Okay.”

The rest of the ride was mostly quiet. Brenna looked like she was off in her own world, staring out the window. They drove in quiet for about twenty minutes before reaching the beach. There was only one other car parked there and he pulled his jeep up a few feet away. He and Brenna both got out and grabbed their things form the back of the jeep. Brenna followed him off the pavement and onto the sand. There was a guy surfing and Justin went to a patch of sand away from the other person’s things. It was really nice out, hot and sunny and the perfect day to spend at the beach.

After setting down his things, he pulled off his t-shirt, leaving himself in his swimming trunks.

“Let’s go in the water.”

Brenna set down her bag and he waited while she pulled off her shorts and t-shirt. His eyebrows rose a bit when he saw her boycut shorts and bikini top. In Shelby Forest she had always just worn a plain one piece. Kate must have gotten to her.

Once she was in her bathing suit, he began to walk to the water. When he got to the water’s edge, he turned around to see Brenna following slowly behind.

“What’s wrong?”

She shrugged as she reached him. “I’ve never swam in the ocean before.”

“Oh. It’s not hard. Just don’t swallow the water.” He grabbed her hand and gave her arm a tug. “Come on.” He pulled her into the water and strode through the water a few feet, pulling her behind him. “See? Doesn’t the water feel good?”

“Yeah.” She moved up so she was walking beside him instead of behind him. “It’s cold though.”

“Gets colder as you go deeper.”

Once he reached waist level, he dove into the water, going completely under and swimming out a few feet before resurfacing. Brenna waded out a few more steps before swimming out to meet him. She ducked under the water, pushing her hair form her face when she came up. He could still stand on the bottom but she was treading water to keep her head above the water.

“Don’t you ever worry about sharks or eels or something?”

He laughed and kicked his legs out, going deeper. “There’s no sharks in shallow water. Never seen an eel.” He swam forward and grabbed both her hands, pulling her towards him. “We’ll just hope the sharks hold off until Kate gets here cause she’s a slow swimmer.”

Brenna laughed. “I bet she would appreciate that.”

He smiled. “Well we just won’t tell her then.”

She laughed again. “Sounds good.”

They stayed mostly in the water for the next few hours. Close to two thirty, Kate appeared from the parking lot and walked towards them to where they sat on the beach.

“Hey,” she greeted, putting her bag down.

“Hey, Kate,” he returned. “How’s Tyler’s penis?”

She rolled her eyes and sat down. “It’s great, Justin. How’s yours?”

He smirked. “Just fine, thanks.”

“No problem.”

Brenna groaned and laid back. “You guys are disgusting.”

Kate leaned across Justin to see Brenna. “And how is Drew’s penis, Bren?”

Brenna’s cheeks went red. “I wouldn’t know.”

“Not yet.”

Brenna sat up. “Kate!”

Kate smiled sweetly. “Brenna!” she retorted. “Hun, you’re really red and I don’t think it’s cause you’re all embarrassed. Do you have any suntan lotion on?”

Brenna looked down at her arms. “I forgot. Justin, do you-”

He had already gotten it out of his bag. He handed it to her. “Here.”

“Thanks.”

He laid on his back and closed his eyes as Kate began to talk to Brenna. He had just started to drift off when he felt something cold and wet hit his stomach. Startled, his eyes opened and he jerked his head up.

“You’re looking a little pink too,” Kate said, holding the bottle of suntan lotion.

He groaned and made a half hearted attempt to rub in the lotion.

“You’re gonna get a really bad tan if you leave it all streaky like that,” Kate said.

He laid his head back down. “So do something about it.”

Kate leaned over him and used both her hands to rub in the lotion. “Oh, Justin! Your muscles! Your pectorals! You make me so hot!”

He began to laugh as she moaned above him, glad there was no one around because of the scene she was making.

“Oh, Brenna, feel these abs of steel!” Kate grabbed Brenna’s hand and put it on his stomach. Brenna began to laugh and pulled her hand away.

“Damn, you’re an embarrassment, Kate,” he laughed, swatting her hands away. “Can’t take you anywhere.”

“You love it,” Kate replied, standing up and pulling off her pants and shirt, revealing her bathing suit. “So are we going surfing or what?”

“Yeah.” He sat up. “Brenna, you gonna try?”

“I don’t know.”

“I’ll teach you. I taught Kate.”

“And I got a concussion from it,” Kate smirked.

“That was NOT my fault,” he said, defending himself. “If I remember right, you got a concussion cause you tripped on your way to the car and hit your head on the curb. You can’t blame me for you being a klutz.”

“I can and I have been for a year now. Bren, I’ll teach you. I’m a good teacher. I taught Justin how to dress good and I’d say that’s a lot harder than teaching anyone to surf.”

“Yeah, well-”

“Oh my gosh, I’ll teach myself,” Brenna interrupted, getting up and brushing some sand off herself. She began to walk towards the parking lot and Justin jumped up. He caught up with Kate.

“I’m teaching her,” he mumbled to her.

She smirked over at him. “We’ll see.”

* * *

Later that night, Brenna winced a bit as she shifted in the passenger’s seat of Drew’s car.

“Are you alright?”

She looked over at Drew and smiled. “Yeah. I have a sunburn from being at the beach all afternoon.”

“Did you have fun?”

“Yeah. Justin and Kate were trying to teach me how to surf. I think it’s gonna take a lot more practice before I can do it though.”

“It can take a while to catch on.”

“It probably didn’t help that Kate and Justin were both trying to teach me their own way and fighting with each other the whole time. They’re like brother and sister.”

“I know. They’ve been like that since I’ve known them. It’s pretty funny to watch.”

“Yeah, it is.”

He looked away from the road and over at her. “You look really nice tonight. I know I already told you that but I really mean it.”

She smiled. “Thanks.” She leaned her head against the back of the seat and shut her eyes. She was tired form the day at the beach but giddy at the same time because of her date. Drew looked so good in his jeans and button down shirt and she had nearly started drooling when he picked her up.

They spent over two hours at the Italian restaurant he took her to and then they went to a nearby park and sat and talked. She hardly noticed the time going by as they talked, instead simply becoming more and more engrossed in him. He was funny and sweet and perfect. And he was interested in her. It couldn’t get any better.

Eventually the day caught up with her and she found herself not being able to hold back her yawns. Drew noticed and soon they were back in his car, driving towards Justin’s house. The soft jazz music was the only sound in the car for most of the ride, Brenna completely lost in her thoughts. She didn’t want the night to be over and when they pulled into Justin’s driveway, she was a little disappointed.

Drew shut off the engine and undid his seatbelt. “I’ll walk you in.”

She nodded and got out of the car with him. She waited for him to come around to her side of the car.

“Tonight was a lot of fun,” he said.

She nodded. “Yeah, it was.”

“When can we do it again?”

“Soon, I hope. I think I’m still pretty free.”

“Good.” He walked with her to the front door, keeping his hand on the small of her back. Her heart started beating a little faster as they reached the door and he stopped. He was standing close and she could smell his cologne.

“I’ll give you a call tomorrow, alright?”

She smiled. “Okay.”

Her heart jumped when he reached his hand up and brushed his hand over her hair and stepped a little closer.

Her eye shut when he leaned forward and softly kissed her. She had been imagining it all night but the feeling of his lips was a million times better than anything she could have imagined.

He pulled back and smiled briefly before leaning in again. His hands came up to cup her face as he kissed her again and she let herself be pulled up against him. It had been so long since she had really been kissed and a rush of warmth spread through her.

Drew tilted his head and deepened the kiss, moving one hand to the back of her head. Her legs had just started to feel like they wouldn’t hold her up anymore when he pulled back.

“Sorry, I couldn’t resist,” he said softly.

She smiled. “You don’t have to apologize at all.”

His lips curved up. “Good.” He brushed his fingers over her cheek and then let his hand slide from her face to his side. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Okay,” she said softly.

He dropped his hand form the back of her head and stepped back a little. She unlocked the front door and opened it a crack.

“Night, Brenna.”

She smiled. “Night.” With one last glance at him, she slipped inside, shutting the door quietly behind her. She brought her hand up to her lips and touched them. She could still feel his kiss.

Slipping off her shoes, she slowly walked through the house, following the sounds coming from the entertainment room. She reached the doorway of the room and found Justin and Kate sprawled out on the couch, watching TV. When she saw Brenna, Kate lifted her head from a pillow that was on top of Justin’s legs.

“Hey, you’re back. How was it?”

“Really good.”

Kate started smiling. “What’d you guys do?”

Brenna felt her cheeks redden. “Went for dinner and then went to a park.” She came into the room and sat down on an armchair.

“Uh huh. And…?” Kate prodded.

“And then he brought me home.”

“Those are really not good details.”

“Yeah, Bren,” Justin piped up. “Did you guys pull a Kate and Tyler and go at it in the park?”

“Oh yeah, Justin,” Kate said sarcastically. “We do that all the time.”

“What are you guys watching?” Brenna asked, looking at the TV.

“Did you kiss Drew?”

Brenna smirked at Kate. “You’re watching ‘Did you kiss Drew’?”

Kate rolled her eyes. “Did you?”

Brenna’s face warmed again. “Maybe.”

“Aww…how was it.”

“Do we have to discuss the details of a kiss?” Justin asked, stretching his arms above his head.

“I wanna know.”

“Maybe Brenna doesn’t want to tell us every detail about it.”

Thank you, Justin, Brenna thought silently. She didn’t say anything else and after a few seconds Kate sighed.

“Well fine then.” She laid her head back down. “We’re watching reruns of Survivor.”

“Oh.”

“Damn, you’re really sunburnt, Bren,” Justin commented.

“Yeah, I know. My back and shoulders are killing me.”

“I have some aloe vera lotion upstairs if you want. That’ll help.”

She stood up. “Thanks.” She left the room and went upstairs. She went into her room and changed into a tank top so there would be less material on her red skin.

In the main bathroom she found the bottle of aloe vera. She squirted some onto her hand and began to spread it on her shoulders, the cool liquid cooling off her skin.

She turned her head when she heard a knock on the partially open door and saw Justin standing there. He pushed the door open and came into the room.

“Oh, good, you found it,” he said, looking at the aloe vera. “I wasn’t sure if it was in this bathroom or mine. Wow, you’re really red.”

“I know,” she groaned. “I haven’t had a really bad sunburn like this for years.”

“Can you reach your back or do you want help?”

“I might need some help.”

He picked up the bottle of lotion and put some in his hand. He sat down on the edge of the bathtub and she went over to stand in front of him, facing away from him. She pulled the edge of her tank top up to her ribcage. She shivered a bit as he started to spread the cold lotion on her back.

“Yeah, you’re really burnt. You’re gonna peel.”

She sighed. “Perfect.”

“Hey, sorry about Kate bugging you before. She’s really nosy.”

“It’s fine. I expected her to be cause she and Drew are such good friends.”

“Yeah, but she’s just nosy in general. Can you pass me the bottle?”

She handed it to him and stepped forward a bit as he stood up behind her and began to spread aloe vera on her upper back.

“Tomorrow we have a meeting with Johnny,” he said. “We’ll get my schedule and figure out all that I’m gonna be doing now.”

“Will Trace come?”

“Yeah. Meeting’s at one. I have an appointment with my trainer at ten but I’ll be back by twelve at the latest.”

“Okay.”

His hands left her back and he went over to the sink to wash them. She pulled her tank top down.

“Thanks.”

“No problem.”

“I’m gonna go to bed. I’m so tired from swimming.”

“Yeah, me too. I told Trace I’d wait up for him but he should be here soon.”

She left the bathroom and he followed her. She paused outside her room. “So what time will we leave?”

“Like twelve thirty.”

“Okay.”

He began to move towards the stairs. “Night, Bren.”

“Night.”