Summer Dreaming (Hot in the Hamptons Book 1) Read Free Page A

bottom lip in that cute way of hers. Damn, I wanted to do the job myself. Tug, lick, kiss, and more. Much more.
    A splash sounded. I tore my gaze away from her hot mouth and scanned the pool. I had broken a cardinal rule of lifeguarding. Never look away from the water. Easy going as I was, I took my duties as a lifeguard seriously.
    Luckily, the guys performing cannonballs weren’t drowning. Horseplay was fine by me, but when combined with alcohol it made for a dangerous mix. I couldn’t yell ‘no jumping’ without embarrassing the host of the party. This wasn’t the local pool with a gang of preadolescent boys being boys. This was worse. Prevention was half the battle of lifeguarding. In this situation, I was unable to stop the inevitable. I was on standby until someone hurt themselves.
    I turned back to Kelsey. “Sorry, I’m on duty.” With my eyes back on the water, I continued, “I moonlight as a private lifeguard.”
    “I didn’t know there was such a thing.”
    “Go figure.”
    “No red shorts?”
    I wore blue ones. “Not tonight.”
    “Not even a whistle?”
    “Yeah, that would make me real popular at a party like this. I’m supposed to fit in.”
    “Well, you’re doing a terrible job.”
    “How so?”
    “You’re not stupid ass drunk.”
    I laughed. “I do have that going for me.” I didn’t dare turn my head, not even for a quick glance. If I did, I might not be able to peel my gaze away from how the light of the pool made her eyes seem like liquid fire. And that mouth! I wondered what she tasted like. Vanilla?
    “Who are you here with?”
    “Two of my girlfriends. Speaking of which, I should go find them.”
    I wondered if I knew them. “I’ll be here until 1:00 AM if you need me.”
    “Good to know.”
    I risked that glance. Her smile promised her return.
    But she didn’t. Either some slick playboy got to her or Kelsey was playing hard to get. Hard to get I could work with. I could play that game with the best of them.

Chapter 4
    Kelsey
    M y eyes opened to the sun streaming through the window. Making a mental note to draw the shades tonight, I rolled over and pulled the covers over my head. My muscles ached from the long drive, a day at the beach, and then partying all night. I felt guilty for abandoning Sean, but he was on the job and I wanted his full attention. There’d be plenty of time this summer to explore the depths of his blue-eyed gaze, unless he had found someone else last night. I whipped off the covers. Maybe it was time to call him. Reaching for my cell phone on the nightstand, I groaned at the time. 7:00 AM. I guessed it was a little early so I flopped to my back for a long, lazy stretch. A girl could get used to this life.
    A long run on the beach would get my blood pumping. Ever since the volleyball season ended, I’d been running to keep in shape. Maybe there was a 5k I could enter to satisfy my need for competition. Growing up a tomboy, it was never about how could I look pretty, but how I could I win.
    I hadn’t even worn makeup until my senior year in high school when my younger sister had held an intervention of sorts. It was embarrassing.
    I slid out of bed before the comfortable mattress lulled me back to sleep. I knew better than to attempt to wake up Storme or Leigh this early, never mind ask them to go for a run. I was on my own, which was okay with me.
    Dressed in peach-colored shorts and a t-shirt, I hit the sand running. Thoughts raced around my mind faster than my feet were carrying my body. When the summer was over, so was playtime in the Hamptons sandbox. Was it time to grow up and get a job or follow my heart and further my studies in architecture in Europe? Or something else entirely? After four years of college I should have had it all figured out, but I was just as confused as ever. I wondered what advice my Dad would’ve given me and if I would’ve listened. It’s not like I ever listened to my mother’s. What daughter does?
    I don’t know