Family Ties — читать онлайн бесплатно полностью

“I thought you were officially dating,” Danny said quietly.

“Long story,” I said.

“So are you or aren’t you?”

“Let’s say it’s unofficial.”

“Well, you did sleep with her last night.”

He laughed and waved away my denial. “Relax. Birdy isn’t a kid.

Besides, I’m not my dad. Yeah, I look out for her—we all do—but you’re good for her. So we’re cool, you and I.”

Sabrina nodded agreement and smiled.

Christy said goodbye to her friends and they returned to their group.

“You wanna spread the blankets?” I asked Danny.

“Let’s move away from the party a bit,” he said. “If you know what I mean.”

“Ah. Right. Got it.” I handed my beer to Christy. Then I picked up our blanket and the other one as well.

“Thanks,” Danny said. He picked up the cooler and headed into the darkness.

We walked a few hundred yards farther down the beach and stopped at a dark and quiet stretch. We could still hear strains of music from the direction of the bonfire, but the sound of the surf mostly drowned it out.

“This spot’s as good as any,” Danny said.

“grab a couple of beers for us, would you?” He glanced at me. “You okay to guard the cooler?”

He chuckled and nodded toward the dunes. “I think we’re gonna find a quiet spot over there.”

They disappeared into the night.

Christy sat cross-legged on the blanket. I joined her and accepted my beer. The breeze from the ocean picked up and ruffled my hair. Hers blew in her face, and she tucked it behind an ear.

“Are you warm enough?” I asked. She scooted closer, so I put an arm around her.

“Better now,” she said.

We drank our beers in silence and simply enjoyed the sound of the surf.

“I’m sorry about this morning,” she said eventually. “I didn’t know what to do, so I went to find my dad.”

“Does your eye still hurt?”

“Yeah, but I’ll live. Gonna have a nice shiner, though.”

“Rich is just… very protective.”

“What?” she asked softly.

“Nothing.

“When you tucked me back in my shorts.”

“Oh, that.” She laughed. “He wasn’t ready for his big debut.”

“It would’ve been kind of awkward. I mean, he’d’ve made a speech, talked to people, posed for pictures. You know, all that stuff.”

“He isn’t normally shy, though, is he?”

“No. Definitely not shy.”

“Still, I don’t think my dad and brothers would appreciate him like I do.