Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 123435 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 617(@200wpm)___ 494(@250wpm)___ 411(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 123435 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 617(@200wpm)___ 494(@250wpm)___ 411(@300wpm)
The friend looks highly amused. “Don’t deny it, Cass.” She winks at me. “We totally followed you here.”
“We did not,” Cassie insists, poking her friend in the side. Then she gestures to the door of the Rip Tide. “We’re just here to see the band.”
“Oh, you don’t want to do that,” I warn. “Trust me. They’re total shit.”
“Aw, no, really?” Her expression conveys disappointment. “This is one of the only places that’s featuring a live band tonight. Why are they shit? What kind of music is it?”
Cooper snorts. “Fucked if I know.”
Danny thinks it over. “All right. If I had to pin down a genre, I’d say it was, like … rockabilly surf emo metal.”
My gaze swivels to him. “Dude. That’s actually pretty fucking accurate.”
Cassie and her friend make identical faces, scrunching up their noses. “That sounds awful,” Cassie complains.
“I think Sharkey’s has a band playing tonight,” Chase says helpfully.
The friend shakes her head. “Yeah, we can’t go there,” she answers, pouting. “It’s the one place we always get carded.”
Cooper spins toward me. “Bro, we’re making friends with underage girls now?” He sighs.
“Hey. I’m twenty-one,” protests the friend. She jabs a French-tipped fingernail at Cassie. “She’s the one holding us back.”
“Gee, thanks,” Cassie says, her voice dry.
“But don’t you worry,” the friend assures Cooper, clearly having set her sights on him. “Cassie’s birthday is next month, so she and I will be happy to meet you two”—that bossy fingernail snaps the air between me and Coop—“at Sharkey’s once my girl is legal. How does that sound? One month from now. Eight o’clock. Sharkey’s. It’s a date.”
“Joy,” Cassie chides. She looks back at me. “She’s just joking.”
I raise a brow. “So it’s not your birthday next month?”
“No, it is. That’s not the part she’s joking about. We’re not going on a double date, I promise.”
“I would’ve been up for a double date,” Danny proclaims with a sad moan, pretending to be wounded. “But I wasn’t invited.”
“I’m gay, so I don’t care,” Chase tells the women.
Cooper lets out another snort.
“Anyway, it was nice seeing you again,” Cassie tells me, already edging away. She glances at my friends. “I’m Cassie, by the way. This is Joy. And I’m not a stalker, no matter what your stupid friend says. I’ve never stalked anyone in my life. Well, unless you count that one week in high school when I kept refreshing this guy’s Facebook page hoping his relationship status would change because I heard he and his girlfriend were having problems, but that’s more cyberstalking, I guess, and I’m not sure that actually counts—” She stops abruptly when she realizes she’s babbling.
Openly grinning, Joy doesn’t come to her friend’s aid. I suspect she’s used to Cassie’s blabbering, and I kind of love that she doesn’t jump in and rescue her. Just lets her dig that hole deeper.
“Tate,” I introduce myself to Joy, and she smirks in a way that tells me she knows who I am. Reputation precedes me, I guess. I introduce the others, ending with Cooper, and it turns out both girls know exactly who he is too.
“You’re one of the bad-boy twins,” Joy says with barely disguised glee.
He offers a faint smile. “Everything you’ve heard about us is a lie.”
“Excellent,” she says, flashing a sassy smile. “Because I heard you have a girlfriend. Now that I know you don’t …”
I smother a laugh. She’s got him there.
“Okay, that one is true,” he amends, laughing softly.
“He’s very much spoken for,” I confirm. “Living happily ever after and building a hotel empire with his girl.”
“Oh, right,” Joy exclaims. “I heard about that.” She looks at Cassie. “His girlfriend is the new owner of the Beacon.”
That captures Cassie’s interest. She instantly focuses on Cooper. “Your girlfriend is the one who bought the Beacon?”
He nods. “We’ve spent the past year restoring the place. The grand reopening is in September.”
“I know. That’s why I’m here. My grandmother was the seller. The Beacon was in my family for more than fifty years before she sold.”
Coop is startled. “No shit? Lydia Tanner is your grandmother?”
“She is,” Cassie confirms. “I’m staying with her for the summer. We sold her house here, too. It closes in October and then she’s moving up north to be near family. My whole family is coming to the reopening. Grandma’s really excited for it.”
“Damn, don’t tell my girlfriend that.” Coop grins. “Mac is stressing so hard about it. She doesn’t want to let your grandmother down.”
“I’m sure she won’t. Honestly, Grandma is just happy the new owner is dedicated to preserving her original vision for the place.”
“We did our best,” he says, his tone sincere. And now that he’s realized these chicks are more than just thirsty boardwalk tourists looking to hook up, he’s a lot more amenable to their plight. “Go to Big Molly’s instead of Sharkey’s,” he advises. “They’ve got a band tonight too, and I have it on good authority the bartender there isn’t above serving a cocktail or two to a twenty-year-old.” He winks. “Tell Jesse that Coop says hi.”