Dray Read Free Page A

for the longest time, but Cassie was always there, waiting for me to come to my senses. And once I finally had, she came to her senses and left me. I had never been good enough for her, and once she’d finally realized it, she was gone.
    I reached the lifeguard tower in front from the beach house. Clutch was standing in the water holding Taylor in his arms. She laughed wildly as he pretended to drop her into the waves. Her long legs kicked at the air as she struggled to stay out of the water. I waded into the water and dove under. After the long, hot run, it was shockingly cold. I surfaced near Clutch.
    Taylor’s arms were wrapped around Clutch’s neck. She smiled over at me. “Hey, Chubby, did you run off that extra six pack you were working on?”
    I patted my stomach. “Yep. It nearly killed me, but I’m back to abs of steel. Now I’m starved. Is there any of that fried chicken left in the fridge?”
    “I think there’s some in the ice chest.” Clutch glanced back toward the shore. “Unless Barrett has finished it all.”
    I trudged through the hot sand toward our chairs. The long, barefoot run had left the soles of my feet feeling as if I’d run a sander over them. Nix was sitting in a chair with the sketch pad he used to brainstorm tattoo designs. Scotlyn’s chair was empty. Barrett was stretched out on his stomach still sleeping off the night.
    I plopped down in the chair next to the ice chest and pushed open the lid.
    “How was the run?” Nix asked.
    “Long, boring and hot. I need to get to the gym for a real workout. I’m fighting in two weeks. Tank has collected a nice purse of money for the winner, and I plan to have it.” I fished around in the ice chest, but aside from grapes and a bag of tiny carrots, there was no real food inside. “Why is there only rabbit food in this ice chest?”
    Nix looked over his sunglasses at me. “Uh, I wonder. The ice chest was strategically placed between Clutch’s chair and Barrett’s towel. There was plenty of food in it when we dragged it down here.”
    “Crap.” I slumped back against the chair and shielded my eyes with my forearm. “Where’s Scottie?”
    “She went back to the house.” Nix’s chair creaked as he leaned forward and looked back at it. “She was acting sort of secretive. Not completely sure what she’s up to.”
    I sat forward. “Maybe she’s planning a delicious lunch for me.”
    Nix shook his head and went back to his sketch pad. “You really are a dreamer. By the way, I think I found a cool tattoo to cover Cassie’s name.” He flipped back through a few pages and held up the pad. “I figured that since the other fighters sometimes call you Wolverine, I could draw one. I mean the animal, not the X-man.”
    “Cool.”
    Nix lowered the sketch pad. “That didn’t sound very enthusiastic. I’ll think of something else.”
    “No, the wolverine is fine.” Against Cassie’s wishes, I had made the stupid choice of having her name tattooed on my back. She thought it would bring bad luck. I’d ignored her warning. I had been under the crazy notion that Cassie and I would be together forever. Covering the tattoo would seal the fact that I’d been completely delusional.
    “Think about it. There’s no hurry,” Nix said, finally understanding my lack of enthusiasm.
    My stomach ached with hunger. “I’m going to head up to the house and find some lunch. Do you want something?”
    “Nope, I’m good.”
    The sand burned my feet. I picked up my pace and was relieved to reach the small shaded yard. Scotlyn slid open the back door, and her eyes widened as if I’d been on some far away adventure and she hadn’t seen me for months. “Dray, you’re here.” Years of silence had left her with the talent of showing every emotion on her beautiful face, and there was a whole rainbow of reactions going on right now.
    “Yeah, I’ve been here all week, Scottie. You’re looking at me like I just landed here from another planet.