Unfiltered & Undressed (The Unfiltered Series) (8 page)

So what on Earth made me think Will might be that guy?

Clearly, I’d been smoking crack because he’d turned out to be just as bad as the rest of them. Worse even.

I can’t believe I almost
…

I stopped myself because it wasn’t like anything had happened between us. I hadn’t
almost
let him do anything.

I’d made a simple mistake and I needed to stop beating myself up over it. Everyone was entitled to a lapse in judgment now and then. End of story.

I put the cover back on the carton and tossed the spoon in the sink. “There—happy?” I asked.

“Not till you get your ass dressed, and maybe run a comb through that rat’s nest of yours. You dragged me all the way to California, and now I’m takin’
you
to the beach.”

I sighed. “Fine. Whatever.”

But Em was right again, just like she had been about the whole
guys were dogs
things. The beach
would
be good. I’d been inside the house for two days, living on nothing but ice cream and pizza delivery. Given half a chance, she was prone to moments of brilliance.

I was done with all this feeling sorry for myself crap. Will could go screw himself as far as I was concerned. I didn’t move here to get my panties in a wad over some guy; I came to prove that I was capable of living my own life. That my dreams were just as important as my parents’ dreams.

Except, I had no idea what those dreams were anymore.

Even before Will had gone and quit on me, I’d been having doubts. Swimming was hard, and it had been obvious from day one I wasn’t exactly a natural. So what did that mean? Had I made a terrible mistake moving here in the first place?

Emerson had only come because of me, but that didn’t mean she didn’t love being here. I never thought I’d say this, but maybe I needed to change my attitude and be more like Em. Find something to make me want to stay.

I brushed my teeth, pulled my hair into a ponytail, and slipped into my bikini—because even though Will hadn’t appreciated it, that didn’t mean I didn’t look good in it. When I came back out, Em was grinning at me. “There’s the girl I know and love.” She hooked her arm through mine. “Now let’s go get you laid.”

“Or…” I offered instead, because maybe our goals didn’t exactly align, but I liked that she was still on my side. “We can start small and work on our tans.”

“How is it possible that my best friend in the whole wide world is gonna die a virgin?” she complained while she led me outside. She kept on like that, telling me how I was going to end up a “crazy cat lady” and that if I didn’t “use it, I’d lose it.” When I challenged her to explain that last one, she launched into a hysterical—albeit scientifically unsound—theory on black holes.

But when we reached the end of the road, and our toes were buried by the already hot sand, we stopped to stare at each other.

“I love you,” I told her.

“I know,” she said back. And then we took off racing toward the water like little girls, until my thighs burned from the effort and we both collapsed on our backs and made sand angels, and Emerson told me all about Lucas and everything they’d done—which was pretty much everything.

Suddenly, it didn’t matter
why
I was here, because I was here with Emerson. And we had an entire summer until she had to leave me to go back to school.

‡

I didn’t even realize I’d dozed off until I heard Emerson’s ear piercing squeals of delight. When I turned my head, I saw Lucas with his arms wrapped around her as he’d leapt on top of her in the sand. Em was giggling as she pretended to fend him off.

“Holy crap!” I shot up when I reached for my cell phone and realized how long I’d been out. It had only been about forty-five minutes, but my head felt fuzzy.

Lucas got to his feet and flung Emerson over his shoulder like she weighed less than nothing. She squealed louder and protested harder, but she wasn’t fooling anyone—she was exactly where she wanted to be.

“We’re going for a dip!” she shouted to me as Lucas started jogging toward the waves.

I waved her away while I reached for my sunscreen. The last thing I needed was a blistering sunburn.

“Need some help with that?”

I tossed my head around to see Zane on the other side of me, kneeling in the sand by two surfboards that I assumed were his and Lucas’s. I must’ve done a shitty job hiding my surprise, because Zane’s hands went up in surrender.

“Don’t worry,” he explained. “I promise to behave.” His brow fell and his expression turned solemn. “I’m really sorry about the other night. I really don’t know what got into me.”

It wasn’t the first time I’d heard one of these apologies, and it wouldn’t be the first time I’d accepted one. I shook my head. “Seemed pretty obvious to me,” I said, flipping open the cap of my sunscreen.

“Look, I get it. I came on too strong. But I don’t want you to get the wrong idea; I’m not always like that.”

I rubbed the lotion over my arm, purposely avoiding his eyes.

“Seriously, Lauren, I’m sorry. I was hoping we could be friends.”

I went still.
Friends.
I’d asked Will if we were friends and look where that had gotten me.

But Zane wasn’t Will, I reminded myself. Zane was here, and he was looking at me so puppydog-ish that I allowed myself a cautious smile. “Friends, huh?”

“No strings.” Leaning forward, he held out his hand, offering me a truce. “You have my word.” I sighed, my smile growing as I put my hand in his. He shook it, like we were striking a business deal. “You surf?” he asked, nodding toward the boards. “I got an extra wetsuit.”

I drew my hand away. “I don’t even swim.” I’d spent the past two days thinking about this, and about why I’d really come to California. I wasn’t sure if I was in love with the idea of being a lifeguard as much as I’d been in love with the idea of doing something my parents had been so adamantly opposed to. Maybe a little of both.

But now, I think I knew it was one of those childish dreams I needed to let go of. I wasn’t a swimmer, and admitting it now was strange. I’d been hiding that fact my entire life, making excuses and outright lying. Saying it now was sort of…freeing.

Zane laughed, which wasn’t exactly the reaction I’d hoped for. “That’s not a big deal.” Also, not what I’d expected. He looked at me eagerly. “I can show you how.”

“To swim or to surf?” I laughed, because the idea of him trying to teach me either was absurd.

“Either? Both? You choose.”

I scoffed. “You’re pretty confident, but I think you might’a met your match. I think I’m
unteachable
.”

He jumped up and sand flew everywhere. He held his hand out to help me up. “I accept your challenge. We’ll start with swimming, and work our way up.”

I had my hand in his, trying to decide. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”

He shrugged. “Why not? What’s the worst that can happen?” He tugged and I was up then.

“Um, I could die. Like, literally, I could drown.”

He laughed as he started dragging me in the direction of the ocean, and I did my best to push down the panic I felt after my last, which just so happened to be my first, experience in the formidable waves. “No way. We’re friends now, and friends don’t let friends die.”

‡

As a teacher, Zane wasn’t half bad.

I mean, he wasn’t half good, either, so I supposed one sorta balanced out the other. As a swimmer, I wasn’t any better or worse than when we’d started, but my confidence had skyrocketed, and I’d ended up having a blast with Zane.

Way more fun than plowing my way through a large pepperoni with extra cheese all by myself.

By the time he was chasing me back toward the beach, I was stumbling from exhaustion, and laughing about my lack of skills, and dripping with itchy seawater. I collapsed in the sand before we reached our towels, where Emerson and Lucas were going at it like no one could see the two of them making out in plain sight.

“Ugh,” I complained, “Seriously, I never realized there was so much sand. It’s everywhere.” I tried wiping the grains from my legs, only to have them cling to my hands.

“Yep, that’s kinda how it works here…at the beach.” He enunciated the last three words as he wrapped his elbows around his knees and studied the surf. “It’s beautiful, though. Nowhere else I’d rather be.”

I followed his gaze, watching the waves crest and break as the water came rushing in over the sand. “Have you lived here all your life?” I asked.

“Nah. I’m a Midwest boy. Newton, Iowa, to be exact. Tiny little town in the middle’a nowhere.” All of a sudden there was a twang to his voice, and I wondered if he was exaggerating it for my benefit.

“Never heard of it.”

He gave me a sidelong glance. “No one ever has.

I tried to decide what to make of him. A few nights ago, I’d wanted to write him off. But today…today, I was having second thoughts. Maybe my initial impression hadn’t been the best one. Maybe he’d been right and we really could be friends.

“Crap,” I muttered, dropping low so I was concealed behind Zane’s shoulder. The move wasn’t subtle, and Zane immediately twisted to see what—or who, rather—I was hiding from.

It was the surfboard I’d recognized first. Its green and yellow design on a stark white background stood out glaringly, even in the distance. Maybe I’d been tuned in to it, watching for it. Probably I had been. So when it appeared, even way down the beach, I couldn’t help noticing.

Zane didn’t have a problem helping me hide out. “What’s the deal with you two, anyway?” he asked, shielding me the best he could.

I peeked around him. Will still hadn’t spotted me, but he’d just come out of the water and I tried not to notice the way his wetsuit adhered to him, revealing his athletic physique. Even soaking wet, he made my blood pound. He was still searching the waves, watching for something as he effortlessly held his surfboard underneath one arm.

“Nothing,” I answered, my heart picking up speed. “I thought he was my friend. But it turns out, I was wrong.”

Several other surfers bobbed farther out, where the swells were calmer, before they crested near the shore—same as they had been all morning. Will lifted his arm to wave at someone, and I watched as one of the surfers broke away from the pack to paddle ashore. It wasn’t until the surfboard—a long, sleek red board—was being carried out of the water that I realized the surfer he was waiting for was a girl.

She was tall, and even in her wetsuit I could tell she had the kind of slender body I’d always wished for. She shook her soggy blonde hair as she dragged the tail of her board through the sand. Will laughed at the girl, and I told myself I wasn’t jealous even as I leaned away from Zane to get a better view of her.

I felt Zane tense beside me, and then he said. “C’mon. Let’s get outta here.”

“No. Wait.” I held my breath, everything inside me tense. “Who’s that with him?” I didn’t think I should ask, but I had to know.

Zane’s eyes felt heavy on me, but I couldn’t tear mine away from Will or the girl. “That’s Tess.” He sounded almost reluctant to answer, and I wondered what it was that was bothering him, but I couldn’t find the words to ask or muster the selflessness to care.

“Tess?”

“She’s the reason he came back,” Zane explained, still watching me.

I swiveled to face him. “Back? From where?”

He looked puzzled by my question, like the answer was obvious. “You don’t know? About Will…
Billy
?”

There was that name again, and the memory of that first night at the Dunes, when Will’s lips had been on my stomach, was fresh in my mind, haunting me. Making me shiver. “He said he didn’t like to be called that,” I told Zane absently.

“I’m sure he doesn’t. Probably brings back a lot of bad memories.” Zane settled back, leaning against his hands. “Your friend
Billy
was a big time surfer. Traveled all over the world, and was coming up through the ranks in all the semi-pro competitions. He had sponsors and was on the verge of going pro. Everything a guy dreams of.”

“So?” I asked. “What happened?”

“From what I hear,
she
did.”

My gaze swung back in their direction. To where Will, or
Billy
rather, and this Tess girl were standing near the edge of the water.

Zane went on, not even aware that his explanation was tying my stomach in knots. “He came back for her and let his whole career go to shit.”

As if he’d heard us talking about him, Will looked my way then, scanning the beach. He barely noticed me at first; almost looked right through me. But then his gaze landed directly on me.

I froze, my breath caught in my throat, and my heart stuttered.

“I’m sorry,” Zane said, because of course he’d noticed too—that flash of recognition that filled Will’s eyes, right before he glanced away, all in the blink of an instant. “I thought you already knew.”

Will turned his back then as he fell in step next to Tess, the girl he’d come back for. The girl he’d ended his surfing career for. When he reached her, he dropped his free arm around her neck and drew her close, whispering something in her ear.

I couldn’t watch for another second. My stomach lurched, and I staggered to my feet. I might’ve said, “I gotta go,” but I couldn’t be sure because my head was whirling. I couldn’t stop thinking about the way Will had kissed me, because what had that been, only two days ago? The way he’d put his mouth on my nipple and his hand between my thighs.

How could he have done that when this girl—this Tess—meant so much to him? How could he use me that way and then toss me aside?

No wonder he’d given me my money back. No wonder he refused to teach me any longer. Suddenly it was all crystal clear.

Will or Billy, or whatever the hell his name was, was a lying, cheating scumbag.

I felt sorry for myself, but I felt worse for Tess. Tess, who probably had no idea that the person she was in love with had almost fucked me in the pool that night.

I didn’t remember crossing the street to my bungalow, but when I locked the door behind me and fell on my bed still wearing my swimsuit, all covered in sand. I made a silent pact: I’d never, ever,
ever
fall for a guy like Will—or maybe any guy—ever again.