Fusion (Explosive #5) (13 page)

Every time I thought he was feeling the same about me and about to act on it, he didn’t. I started to think I’d been imagining it all. That perhaps he didn’t return my feelings and maybe I was reading too much into his actions. So, when the opportunity to spend the summer in Ohio arose, I jumped at it, hoping a few months of separation would get my head back on straight.

Wishful thinking.

Being away from him for the whole summer had done little to squash my feelings. In fact, I think it had amplified them, and I had no idea what I was going to do about it. What if he didn’t feel the same? What if this whole thing was one-sided and, in the aftermath, it was too awkward to be around each other? Losing Jeremy’s friendship would kill me. Being in love with my best friend, who had no idea, was already starting to take its toll.

What if I told him and lost him? It would be unbearable. He’d always been an extension of myself. The silly “where you go, I go” mantra wasn’t actually all that silly. It was the truth. It was us. I couldn’t lose that, even if it meant hiding the way I felt.

Since that day we’d met down at the Sound, Jeremy and I had been inseparable. Best friends. The three amigos—him, Chris, and me. At least, that’s how it had been until school had started. Chris and Jenna’s childhood taunting had gone from friendly to romantic, and as soon as the two had become an official item, they’d gone off into their own little world. Jeremy and I had found ourselves as the two amigos ninety percent of the time.

He didn’t want to watch Jenna and Chris make out any more than they wanted an audience, so we became a twosome. And I was entirely fine with spending my time alone with him. In fact, I reveled in it. I stupidly thought he felt the same, but he proved otherwise. All of those moments I’d thought were near kisses were a fluke. A product of my fantasies, and now that I was mere minutes away from seeing him again, a flock of butterflies began to attack my stomach.

I had no idea when the lines between friendship and love had blurred. The summer had done nothing to help with my vision, because my heart still raced at the prospect of seeing him again. Part of me hoped my new look would entice him, but I wasn’t exactly counting on it. Hell, for all I knew, he’d found a girlfriend this summer.

The thought alone made me nauseated.

A knock sounded on my door, pulling me from my thoughts of self-pity. When I sat up, Jenna was walking into my room, and my heart dropped when she shut the door behind her. I jumped to throw my cover-up on, as I wasn’t comfortable with how much skin my bathing suit was showing.

“Hey, girl,” she called as she rummaged through her purse. It wasn’t until she looked up at me that she stopped dead in her tracks, her jaw dropping over as her eyes raked over my body. “Holy crap, Sierra! Where did those come from?” she asked in awe.

I squirmed as she leaned forward and surprised me by squeezing one of my brand-new boobs with her perfectly manicured hand. My cheeks flamed, and I pulled back, but she latched on and moved with me. Talk about humiliating.

Whoa. The wrong Banks twin was admiring my new assets.

“If I’d have known you could get those in Ohio, I’d have begged to come with you.”

I laughed at her frankness. “Late bloomer,” I told her. “I was starting to think I’d be flat-chested for the rest of my life.”

She whistled as she took in the sight of me. “Jeremy’s going to cream his pants.”

My mouth dropped open. “What?! No, Jeremy doesn’t look at me like that,” I protested. “Plus, that’s your brother. Gross.”

She waved me off and sat on the edge of my bed. Then she raised a disbelieving eyebrow at me. “You two are the blindest people I’ve ever met.”

I wrinkled my nose. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

She let out a deep sigh. “Tell me, Sierra. Why don’t you date? Plenty of guys asked you out last year, and you turned them all down. Don’t you like anyone?”

Ever since she’d started dating Chris, she’d become the ultimate girly-girl. Sometime halfway through our freshman year, she’d decided her mission was to find me a boyfriend, no matter how hard I’d tried to tell her that I didn’t want one.

“Sierra? Hello? Did you hear me? Isn’t there anyone you like?” she repeated. “What about Danny? He’s been asking about you all summer.”

My stomach tightened. Of course I liked someone. He just didn’t know it, and I didn’t know if I could ever tell him. And it was most definitely not Danny Moyer.

“Aha,” she said, causing me to frown.

“Aha what?”

“Like I said—freaking blind. Now, come on. The boys are already waiting, and we only have a few days of summer left.”

For about the thousandth time, I checked my new cell phone, then the parking lot, and then my phone again.

“What’s your deal, Banks?” Jace asked beside me. “You’ve been anxious ever since we got here.”

Like he had any room to talk. The guy’d been jonesing for another glance at Lexi Sullivan for the entire summer, ever since he’d first caught sight of her right before Sierra had left. Even though he’d protested, he was just as eager for the Sullivan girls to be back in Navarre.

I gave a noncommittal shrug. “Nothin’, McAllister.”

He gave me a knowing smile. “I hear Sierra’s back in town,” he said, causing Chris to snicker. “Dude, why don’t you just make a move already?”

I held my sunglasses up and glowered at him. “You really want to go there right now?”

Jace’s face reddened, and he swallowed hard.

“Yeah, I didn’t think so.”

Chris sat up and glanced between the two of us. “Okay, what the hell am I missing?”

“Nothing,” Jace replied—a little too quickly.

“McAllister has a thing for little Lexi Sullivan,” I told Chris.

Jace’s blush deepened as he threw his balled-up T-shirt at me. “Shut up, asshole. I’ve never even met the girl. Hell, I didn’t even know that was her name. Plus, she’s an incoming freshman.” He made a show of rolling his eyes, even though I knew it was just that. A show. “You know how younger girls can be. Clingy. Trust me, the only thing I’d ever want to be is friends.”

Chris’s laugh echoed around us. “Right, McAllister. Friends just like Jeremy and Sierra? We’ll see how long that lasts.” Then he let out a low whistle. “Lord have freaking mercy.”

Jace and I both turned to see what had caught his attention. It didn’t take long for the girl to enter my vision. I was shameless as my eyes raked up her body. Long, tan legs rose from the ground to meet a tight, pert little ass covered in teal bikini bottoms. Her long, blonde hair hung in waves, falling to the small of her back, where two tiny dimples begged for my fingers to touch. My mouth watered. She was gorgeous, and that was just the back view.

“Holy shit,” Jace whispered.

I echoed his sentiments.

“No, seriously, Banks. Holy shit.”

As she turned around, I realized what his “holy shit” was in reference to. My heart went on an immediate rollercoaster ride, rising and plummeting, confusing the hell out of me. As if that hadn’t been bad enough, my swim trunks suddenly felt exponentially tighter. The view from behind had done nothing to prepare me for what she’d look like when she turned to face me.

The hottie in the bikini? Not just any girl on the beach. Nope. The girl I’d just been salivating over was none other than Sierra. Yeah, my best friend, Sierra Sullivan. Holy freaking shit, was she smoking.

And I’d never wanted her more. At least, not in a physical sense.

I wanted to lie and say it wasn’t because of the boob enhancement nature had apparently blessed her with while she had been up north. That would’ve been shallow. Chauvinistic. Piggish, even. But it wasn’t that I liked her any more or any less. It was just…my body had naturally responded quicker than usual.

I still don’t think it was specifically because of her new curves. It’d been months since I’d seen her, and I’d missed the hell out of her. I would’ve had the same reaction if she hadn’t grown…those.

Either way, I couldn’t take my eyes off her. I had to force myself to sit still on my towel when the urge to jump up and sprint to her was weighing heavily on me.

Just as I was about to say fuck it and go to her, she spied us across the beach, her eyes lighting up as she saw me. Jenna jogged towards us, jumping on Chris when she got close. He laughed at something she’d whispered in his ear. Sierra followed but then was stopped by Ryan Harper, who made a big show of wrapping arms around her and lifting her up off the sand. His grubby little paws came dangerously close to her ass.

I’d always hated that guy.

Now, I wanted to kill him.

“Better hurry up, Banks, or Ryan’s going to move in on your woman. And, seeing how those cans have grown, I have a feeling he won’t be the only one.” Chris wiggled his eyebrows at me.

Jenna scoffed and gave him a playful shove.

“What?! I’m just saying. Sierra definitely grew up over the summer,” he said, holding his hands out in front of his chest.

I scowled at him. “We get it, Chris.”

“Oh, you get it?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. “Then you better hurry up and
go get it before someone beats you to the punch.
”

Just as I was about to rise from my spot on the towel, Sierra escaped Ryan’s hold and headed our way. Everything around me slowed down, and all sounds disappeared. All I saw was her.

Holy freaking shit.

“Holy shit!”

I’d just spotted Jeremy with a few of his friends when Ryan Harper intercepted me. He wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me in way too close for comfort. I glared at Jenna, and she gave me a sympathetic look. She wasn’t feeling too bad for me, though, because after giving him a quick hello, she scampered off, leaving me behind with the biggest horndog in our entire class. No, possibly the entire school.

“Damn, girl!” he said, bringing my attention back to him.

I struggled to not roll my eyes.

“Where’ve you been hiding all summer?”

I faked a smile, hoping that giving him a little bit of face time would get me out of there sooner. “Oh, I was in Ohio, visiting my grandma. We just got back last night.”

He whistled as his gaze roamed my body. I shifted uncomfortably, unused to that sort of examination. In this new bikini, I’d never felt more exposed.