Never Let Me Forget (Summer of First Kisses Book 2)

by Michelle Pennington

  This guy was flirting with me. With me.

  “Who’s Lori?” I asked.

  Dante put his phone away and leaned back with his hands behind his head. “I mentioned her the other day, remember? The girl I worked with that I was not interested in.”

  Jeremy laughed. “Now that she will not be happy to hear.”

  “She’s heard it before,” Dante said, shrugging like he couldn’t care less.

  One of the older waitresses stuck her head out the door. “Jeremy, Mack says you’ll have to take your break later. A big group just came in and ordered about a thousand margaritas.”

  “Oh sure, like I’ll get a break later,” he said. But he stood up and went to the door. Before he went in though, he paused. “I’ll see you around Sadie. And if you want a drink, come see me. I’m great with the virgin varieties too.” He winked.

  Was he implying what I thought he was?

  From the way Dante cursed under his breath, he probably was.

  “Look, drunk college guys, over-eager schoolboys, lonely businessmen…none of them are as dangerous as that guy. Trust me.”

  I tipped my head and studied him—the tense set of his shoulders, the almost bullish tautness of his jaw, and the angry glint in his eyes. All at once, I knew exactly how to pay Dante back for all the times he was too honest or too flirtatious.

  “Yeah, but dangerous is sexy.”

  “Dang it, no it’s not.”

  “And you were right. I could almost feel his eyes on me when he was checking me out. Think he likes curvy girls?”

  “Sadie Davenport, don’t even think about it. I am not kidding when I say that you are way out of that guy’s league. And before you get upset, I do not mean that you aren’t good enough. You aren’t experienced enough or jaded enough. Or desperate enough. Or…”

  I held up my hand to stop him. “I get it. It’s still flattering that someone found me attractive. Especially after the night I’ve had.”

  He nodded but didn’t look happy about it. “Let’s leave it for now. Hey, you have Sunday off, right?”

  “Yeah. That was the day I asked to have off every week when possible so we can still all hang out.”

  “Awesome. Brittany wants to have a little party at her house and have all of you guys over, but she’s nervous about it. Think you could go and help her feel welcomed. She’s friends with all of us guys, and Liv probably, but you and Piper and Kat are so tight, you know?”

  Did I feel an immediate urge to help out? No. But I did have a feeling she was a nice girl. And if she and Dante were going to be a thing, I decided that I wanted to figure that out now before I got stupid enough to fall for Dante. Which, with the way his eyes singled me out and focused on me like I was some kind of fascinating treasure, would have been all too easy to do.

  Not to mention the way he’d looked exactly like the demon slayer of my dreams the night before. When his eyes sparked with angry fire and I saw the shadow of his past in every taut line of his jaw. There was truly something wounded deep inside him. I’d glimpsed it for a moment, and now it had been locked away behind his charming smile again. I was intrigued, yes, but mostly I wanted to fix whatever it was that hurt inside him.

  “Sure. I can do that.” I kept my voice low and gentle.

  “Awesome. Her family is rich or something and they bought one of those huge beach-side houses in Paradise Cove. They have a big pool and hot tub, a fire pit, and a big outdoor grill area.”

  “What kind of party is it going to be. You know I avoid the crazy ones.”

  He studied me a moment. “Maybe that’s what you need—to be a little bad. To break some rules and loosen up.”

  “Ugh, no. I hate that. Why is it that good girls can never be attractive unless they change themselves? That’s why I hate that movie…Greasers.”

  “Grease?” He was enjoying this too much.

  “Yeah. Whatever. My mom got me to watch it with her. And I see it in books all the time. And other movies too. The girl changes herself so they guys will like her. There’s always this big makeover scene and then she does all these things that don’t fit her personality and suddenly, boom, the guy just has to have her. No thank you.”

  Dante crossed his arms and smirked at me. “Wow. I guess you have opinions about this. Chill, Sadie. I’m not trying to change you and this isn’t that kind of party. Last I heard, Brittany was trying to decide what to grill and what kind of music to play, not how many kegs to sneak into her parents’ house.”

  Feeling relieved, and more than a little foolish, I said, “Sounds awesome—I’ll come.”

  “Great. I can come by and pick you up since you’re on my way. Now, let’s get inside and get this shift over with.”

  He opened the door and stood back, holding the door open with his arm stretched out. The only way to go through was to go under it. I had to bend down a little, but not much. I tried to ignore the weird sort of pleasure and longing that flooded me as I passed so close to him.

  Then his fingers fell on the small of my back and I jerked in surprise.

  “Uh, sorry,” he said, pulling his hand away.

  “No. It’s fine. I…it just. Yeah.”

  Luckily, we went in two different directions then and I could relax. I seriously needed to get myself under control. No matter what, I could never, never, never forget that his random touches and warm, meaningful smiles didn’t actually mean anything.

  Chapter Eight

  Dante and Tyra were right. By the end of my shift on Saturday night, I had a fairly good handle on my new job. I still made mistakes and needed help when things got busy, but at least I didn’t feel like a complete failure anymore. Taking orders and keeping customers happy wasn’t proving to be the most challenging part of the job.

  No, that was the other waitresses. It was like high school all over again complete with the mean girls. But I didn’t want to think about that. I had to haul myself out of my bed where I’d been taking a long Sunday afternoon nap and get ready before Dante showed up to take me to Brittany’s party.

  I chose my plain blue halter top suit instead of the one I’d worn to the snorkel beach with him last week. That one seemed too dangerous somehow. I pulled on a soft yellow sundress over it and filled my beach bag with a few essentials. Sunscreen, lip gloss, a book. If Dante spent the evening flirting with Brittany like I suspected he would, I wanted something to retreat behind.

  My phone buzzed which made my heart flutter. I groaned, annoyed with myself, and checked to see who had texted me.

  Dante: I’m out front.

  Me: Coming

  When I went outside, Dante was waiting in a jeep with the top and doors off. He wore black and red swim trunks with a black t-shirt with the sleeves cut off. I couldn’t read his expression well because his dark sunglasses hid his eyes, but his twisted half-smile was dangerous enough without his eyes adding to it.

  “There she is. The best new waitress at Captain’s.”

  “Shut it, Dante. I’m the only new waitress.”

  He grinned. “You can’t say I’m wrong then.”

  As soon as I’d climbed up in his jeep and buckled up, he pulled back onto the street and drove off with just enough speed to make me grab for something to hold onto. There didn’t seem to be much. Fortunately, he had to slow down when we reached the beach-side highway because the speed limit was only twenty-five miles per hour. As soon as I wasn’t terrified that I was going to fly out of the jeep on the next curve, I reached up and grabbed hold of my hair because it was blowing around my head, whipping against my eyes, blinding me, and tangling into a rat’s nest.

  “I’m never going to get these tangles out.” I wound my hair into a knot and twisted a hair tie around it to hold it in a bun.

  “It looks cute though.”

  “You’re a pain.”

  He just laughed and slowed down, putting on his blinker to turn right. I looked in awe at the fancy wrought-iron gates of Paradise Cove. None of the houses behind the g
ates would cost less than a million dollars and the ones right on the beach would be five times that. I’d never been in here before, but every time I’d been by it my whole life, I’d always tried to imagine the kinds of people who must live there and what the houses would look like inside.

  Dante put a code in at the gate and drove confidently down the winding streets. I was lost in no time, but he seemed to know exactly where he was going. This obviously wasn’t his first time here. When he pulled up in front of a four-story white house with a black roof and black trim on all the massive windows and balconies, I gasped. The house was modern and luxurious and fully lived up to the community's name of Paradise. And I was only in the driveway.

  “Poop monkey. She lives here?”

  Dante laughed. “You really need to work on your cursing. But yes, she does. She said to go around the side to the pool deck. Come on.”

  I jumped down and followed him down palm-shaded sidewalk dusted with loose white sand along the side of the house to a narrow gate. Once again, he punched in a code and got the gate open, then stepped aside for me to go through.

  We went past a small paved courtyard with a fountain and a small table with an umbrella, then up a short flight of stairs to an enormous patio at the back of the house. I stopped on the top step, just staring at the long rectangular pool with massive hot tub at one end. The pool had an infinity edge that faced the beach, and wide ledge with shallow water for sunbathing. There was a large pergola at one side with billowing white curtains, a long outdoor couch with white cushions and pillows in tropical designs. Behind the hot tub was a patio tucked under the balcony of the second floor with tables and chairs and a gourmet-quality kitchen with a grill, pizza oven, and an enormous television screen.

  Dante laughed. “Um, I’m trapped behind you on the stairs.” He grabbed me by the waist from behind and propelled me forward. And even though he let go of my waist, he caught my wrist in a light grip as he led me toward the sliding glass doors leading into the house. He knocked lightly on them but didn’t wait for someone else to open them before going in.

  Brittany was in the kitchen on the other side of a living area. My eyes fastened on her red hair, a bright splash of color against the white cabinets and aqua tiles on the backsplash. She wore an emerald green bathing suit with a ruffled top that fell around her white shoulders, making her look even more glamorous than the other times I’d seen her. Her full lips stretched in a broad smile as soon as she saw us, but I didn’t miss the way her eyes focused on Dante’s fingers still curled around my wrist.

  I tugged gently away but continued to follow Dante toward the kitchen. I remembered, with great relief, that my dress had pockets. Glad to have something to do with them, I stuffed my hands deep inside them and did my best to look completely relaxed.

  “I’m so glad you guys are here,” Brittany said. “I was afraid no one was going to come. At least now I won’t feel like a complete loser.”

  My brows scrunched together. How could a girl that looked like that and lived in a place like this ever feel like a loser?

  “We’ve been looking forward to it all week,” Dante said, sending me a meaningful look. “Especially Sadie since she’s had a crappy week.”

  I sat down on a barstool and glared at him. “Who said I had a crappy week?”

  He sat down next to me and reached over to grab a piece of watermelon off a fruit tray Natalie had opened. “Oh, you had fun getting yelled at by that crazy lady you spilled water on?”

  “No, but—”

  “Or having Lori and Claire give you dirty looks every time Jeremy flirted with you.”

  My mouth dropped open. “Is that why they were acting so nasty? I thought it was something else.” Like something to do with Dante. Who knows. Maybe it was both.

  “Ugh. I hate mean girls,” Brittany said. “That’s one thing I like about you guys. You’re all so nice.”

  Touched, I said, “Thanks.” But I felt guilty as well. We hadn’t actually been that nice to her. I mean, we weren’t not nice, but we definitely could have done a better job of being her friend. “Well, it helps that we aren’t all fighting over the same guys.”

  “I’m not sure how,” she said, looking between Dante and I. “In a group of friends with four hot guys and four pretty girls, it’s pretty crazy actually.”

  I looked at Dante and saw that he was looking pensive. What was he thinking? As the silence dragged out, I jumped in and said, “I guess it’s because we’ve all known each other so long. It’s kind of like a brother and sister kind of thing, you know?”

  Dante’s eyes bore into mine. “No, it’s not. I mean, I guess I kind of feel that way about Liv, but…” he trailed off. “Hey Brit, need any help?”

  “Of course. I know how good you are at the grill. I’m counting on you to do all the cooking,” she said cheerfully, her voice full of suppressed laughter.

  What had Dante been about to say? And why did Brittany know he was a good cook and I didn’t?

  My phone dragged my attention away, and I was glad for the distraction. Checking my new message, I said, “The other girls are here.”

  “I’ll go open the gate for them,” Dante said, jumping up and heading out.

  Brittany laughed but kept her head down working.

  “What’s so funny?” I asked.

  “Oh, he is.”

  I bit my lip for a second, then went ahead and asked the question I was dying to know. “So, do you have a thing for Dante?”

  Her eyes shot up, surprised. “Me? No. I mean, I kinda had a crush on him for a couple of days. Who wouldn’t? But then I met…well, never mind. No, I don’t. Don’t worry.”

  “Worry? Me? I don’t like him.”

  “Relax. I won’t tell anyone.”

  “There’s nothing to tell anyone. And why does everyone keep telling me to relax?”

  “Maybe because you’re always stressing out. Would it help if I gave you something to do?”

  “Yes.” I jumped off my stool and went around to the other side of the counter. How had she figured out how nervous I was?

  “Think you could take all these trays out to the patio?”

  I picked up a tray with chilled shrimp arranged around a bowl of cocktail sauce. “This is one thing I can handle.”

  I was most of the way across the living room when I heard Brittany murmur, “I’m pretty sure you can handle Dante too.”

  Chapter Nine

  The best part about Brittany being rich was not having to clean up anything. We grazed on food, including grilled steak and shrimp and tuna and so many other amazing foods, that I had to carefully restrain myself from eating too much. Especially since the other girls were totally pigging out. But girls my size just can’t eat that way. At least, not around guys. The guys, however, barely moved away from the table where Brittany’s buffet was set up.

  If there had been one thing needed to make the guys love her more, this spread of food was it.

  But somehow, I didn’t mind anymore. She was every bit as nice as Dante had sworn she was.

  Well, honestly, it was probably that I now knew she didn’t have a thing for Dante. And after watching her, I believed it. Her eyes never followed him around the way they did Ridge.

  Hey, I’m observant too.

  “What are you thinking about?”

  I looked up as Dante came over toward me from the pool. Drops of water sluiced down his bronzed skin like crystal beads until they splashed in dark splotches on the sun-baked patio. I had found a seat on the outdoor sofa where I could lay back and watch the sunset over the ocean and read. At least, I had my book propped open on my chest because usually, people left me alone if I was reading.

  When Dante sat down next to me, though, I straightened, all at once feeling awkward. Why did laying next to him make me feel all fluttery?

  “What am I thinking about?” I asked, just to give myself time to come up with an answer that didn’t embarrass me? “I guess I was just wondering if Ridge
knows Brittany has a thing for him.”

  Dante turned to where Ridge sat on a bench in front of the firepit with a guitar, strumming the chords for some song I didn’t recognize.

  Ridge was the strong, silent type. And that was putting it lightly. He attacked life with a single-minded focus that didn’t allow for much messing around. He occasionally laughed at the rest of us when we were being especially dorky, but mostly he was just always kind of there in the background. But also not really there—like his mind was somewhere else. I don’t know if he thought about saving the oceans or solving world hunger, but I knew it had to be something epic and good.

  One thing he did not seem to care about was dating.

  Dante seemed to have come to the same conclusion. “Yeah, I think he does. But I don’t think he knows what to do about it.”

  I bit my lip for a second. “Think we need to invite him to the Virgin Lips Club and help him out there?”

  With an appreciative chuckle, Dante leaned back on the sofa, stretching his arm across the back. “Yeah, no. I didn’t mean he didn’t know what to do. I mean, he doesn’t know what to do about Brittany specifically. Kind of like Liv over there doesn’t know what to do about Cooper.

  My eyes widened. “That’s what Tate said.” I looked around for them, curious to see what everyone else had noticed.

  “They’re over there,” Dante said, nodding his head toward the hot tub.

  Sure enough, Liv and Cooper were in the hot tub. Of course, so was Cooper’s twin brother Zane, but Zane wasn’t paying either of them any attention. Why would he? Why would any of us? They’d been best friends for forever. But now I was paying attention and they were sitting super close together for two people who had a giant hot tub to spread out in.

  But then, as I turned around in my seat to spy on them better, my shoulder brushed against Dante’s arm and a realization shot through me like wild lightning. Anyone looking at how close together we were, set apart from everyone else, our faces only inches apart.