Piecing Together Sydney (A Sydney West Novel Book 3) Read Free Page B

blind. Your hair only gets that screwed up if someone had their hands in it, and the only reason Jason would—”
    “Fine. We fucked.” I placed my brush down on the counter and found some lip gloss in the medicine cabinet. It still looked good. “But that didn’t wake you, so I see no problem.” I rubbed my lips together and tossed the gloss onto the sink.
    I brushed past Amelia. She shook her head. “Yuck. Now I can’t sit on the couch.”
    “Oh well, it’s not the only furniture in the house. Though I’m debating if I wanna have sex on the kitchen counter. Sounds fun.”
    “Oh Syd.” She glanced out of the bathroom and then gave me her full attention. “I know you and Jason love your sexcapades, but you need to plan a wedding. The sex can wait.”
    “Sexcapades? I like this word.” I laughed, walking into the living room. “Okay, so where are we going?”
    Jason’s silver eyes pierced into me. “How about some pizza and music? I know a great place with an organ.”
    He was talking about The Organ Pizzeria, the place where we all went on a double date last summer. While the four of us were eating ice cream, Jason went up to the stage and requested the organ player to play “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?” from one of my favorite films, The Lion King . That night I should’ve known Jason was mine to keep forever.
    “Sounds perfect.” I closed the distance between us and trailed my fingernail down his jaw. “You know I love you, right?”
    He kissed the tip of my nose. “Of course. But not as much as I love you.”
    Amelia dragged Hunter out of the house. “Come on. I would die from hunger if it was up to you two lovebirds!”
    Jason pressed his forehead to mine, chuckling. “Who knew this was how we’d be spending this summer?”
    I looked up, staring him in the eye. “I’d have it no other way. But let’s go before Amelia tries to hotwire my car and take off without us.”
    “She would too.”
    We ran outside and slid into our seats. Emilie Autumn came on over the radio. Jason turned up the song as we drove to get some pizza. This was the kind of summer I always longed for, but never knew I was missing.
     
    ***
     
    The next day, the boys wanted to catch some waves. It was high noon, and I loathed surfing when the sun was at its zenith. That meant we were going to be cooked alive, not to mention the ocean would be reflecting the sunlight. The odds were three to one, so we were going to the beach whether I liked it or not.
    “Jason, can you put some sunscreen on my back?” I held out the bottle to him, moving it back and forth, waiting for him to take it.
    “Sure, baby.” He grabbed the bottle and looked at the label. “Damn, seventy percent. You don’t like the sun, do you? I thought last year—”
    “I love sunbathing and getting a tan. I do not enjoy being burned like a piece of hamburger.”
    He squeezed out some lotion into the palm of his hand and walked around me. “Noted.”
    Amelia and Hunter were already in the water. They slapped on a minimal amount of sunscreen and ran into the ocean like a pair of children in a water park. Laughter filled the air as they splashed each other.
    Jason’s hand slid along my shoulder blades and under my bikini. As he coated my lower back, I fought the urge to turn around and make out with him.
    It was insane how much I loved him. Just a year ago, I wanted to avoid him after we first met during our failed surfing lesson. He didn’t act like all the other boys in Malibu. At the time it annoyed the crap out of me. I wanted summer boys to fall at my feet, and then I would leave them at dawn feeling like I rocked their world. It was fun for a time, being wild and free. I foolishly thought it could last a lifetime, but who was I kidding? Partying until morning was something a college kid did, but not something a grown ass adult would.
    Jason clicked the bottle shut. “All done. You should be able to be in the sun now for a bit, my