Page 46 of This Could be Love

“Which she constantly drops,” Milo said.

Pili tried to disagree but was met by all three saying in unison, “Oh, come on!” and the four broke out in laughter. We continued hanging out on the deck until down on the grass below a kind of impromptu dance floor appeared and Pili convinced Milo to go dance.

“How long? What do you think?” Brody asked Vince as we watched the two mix in with the other dancers.

“Two minutes,” Vince replied.

The song ended and the intro to “Calm Down” by Rema and Selena Gomez started.

“One,” Brody corrected him promptly and grinned.

I couldn’t really follow.

“That’d be a new record,” Brody said, his head lowered.

“Yep,” Vince said drily.

“What are we betting for? Loser’s got to wax the other’s board?”

Vince nodded.

“Oookay.” Brody fumbled with his watch. “One minute…starting…now.” The two stared intently at the dance floor where Pili and Milo were starting to get into it.

“Umm, what’s the bet?” I asked carefully.

“How long it will be before Pili and Milo start making out,” Brody stated baldly.

“Oh!”

“They like each other,” Vince explained. “But somehow, they just don’t get it together. Instead, they make out whenever they can but then blame it on the booze.”

“Which, more often that not, they haven’t touched,” Brody was quick to add. “Dude! Look!” He was pointing to the dance floor, and I couldn’t believe my eyes. Pili and Milo were indeed making out, and pretty heavily at that. A strange heat crept beneath my skin.

“Whoa!” Brody blared so loudly that Pili heard. Without turning around and without breaking the kiss, Pili gave him the finger.

He laughed out loud and clapped Vince on the shoulder. “Forty-five seconds! Maaan!” He shook his head. “I don’t know about you all, but I need something stronger than this.” He waved his beer bottle and looked at us expectantly.

Vince and I declined, and Brody disappeared into the house. Things grew quiet. I realized that I had hardly exchanged one word with Vince since we’d arrived. It hadn’t been any kind of decision; it had just happened.

“Thanks for taking me with you. This is really cool.”

“You sound so surprised.”

“Well, it could have turned out bad. You could have gone off to do your thing and…I don’t know, left me sitting in a corner or something.”

“You wouldn’t have stayed there for long. Not with that dress.”

His look caught me off guard, and I had to catch my breath. I wondered whether I’d understood him correctly. And then whether I’d properly interpreted what I’d understood.

“I’ve got an extra bedroom.” Chip’s voice cut through the silence. I felt heat shoot into my cheeks. He stepped in between us and draped his right arm around Vince, his left around me. “But they probably won’t make it that far.”

Relieved, I realized he was talking about Pili and Milo, who were still going at it. At the same time, my own thoughts were embarrassing. Yeah, Vince had paid me a compliment. But that didn’t mean anything. Maybe it had been far too long sinceIhad kissed anyone, sinceIhad made out with anyone.

“How long have you lived here?” I asked Chip, my eyes sweeping over the garden. “It’s incredible.”

“Around a year. But I bought the property a few years ago. After Nazaré, I had enough change to have the house built.”

Nazaré. Europe’s hot spot for big-wave surfers. From what I remembered, that’s where Chip had established his world record.