Jesse

Sarah

Minutes passed while Sarah sat in the passenger seat, heart pounding, waiting for Valerie to answer her phone. "Hello?"

"Valerie?"

"Sarah, I've been so worried. Where are you?"

"I'm with Angel. We're dropping off his friend. Are you on your way home?"

"Home? It's still early. There's another party we're going to. Do you need me to come get you?"

"No, I think I'm good for now."

"Oh, my God, are you and Angel gonna hang out?" Valerie gushed.

The thought of what Valerie meant by hang out made Sarah's heart beat even harder. She bit her lip. "I'm not sure," she said. "I'll call you and let you know where to meet me."

"Is he right there next to you?" Valerie whispered as if he might hear her.

Sarah giggled. "No, he's outside with his friend. I'm in the car."

"You have to make out with him, Sarah, so you can tell me all about it."

Sarah laughed nervously, her face suddenly warm. "Valerie!" she gasped, "I hardly know him."

"He's totally hot. What more do you need to know?"

Sarah's body heat went up. Valerie wasn't helping her already strained nerves. "I gotta go. He's on his way back," she lied.

"Okay, okay, bye."

Her cousin was so different from Sarah when it came to guys. Valerie was commitment phobic. She'd had one serious relationship, and she said it nearly suffocated her. She could easily just make out with someone without giving it a second thought.

Sarah didn't think any less of Valerie for enjoying her freedom. She just couldn't understand how Valerie could turn off the emotions just like that. To Sarah, even holding hands inevitably meant feelings were involved. It wasn't something she could do and not feel anything. Just the thought that Angel might kiss her tonight had her in knots.

She studied the guys standing outside, face-to-face. Eric stood a few inches shorter than Angel. His hair was a lot lighter and curlier too. He didn't have Angel's pretty boy good looks, but still had rugged good looks of his own, and he was so nice it made him attractive.

She'd watched them as they carefully helped Romero from the car, genuinely concerned that he got home safe. Albeit they did it with a lot of laughing and repartee, it was obvious they were very good friends.

Angel walked back toward the car. That smile—it was unreal. She shifted in her seat, trying not to look like a goofball, but her own smile was so big and hard to hold back. She'd been talking to him most of the night and had been doing pretty well. Except for spitting up her wine and her miserable attempt to be deep about loving the beach, she'd managed to keep the blundering to a minimum. Why was she having such a hard time breathing now?

She took a long deep breath as he opened the door and climbed in the car. His eyes were immediately on her, making her insides into mush.

"Are you hungry?"

She let out her breath and nodded.

"Good, 'cause I'm starving."

They picked up some food at a drive-thru and headed to the beach, eating along the way. After driving up a winding road to the top of a cliff, he turned into a dead end and parked. The moon was bright, and the ocean went on as far as she could see. They were high above the ocean, and the view was breathtaking.

Sarah stared out the window in amazement. Her thoughts were muddled when her phone rang, and she went still. She had a feeling who it might be, and she didn't want to answer it. One look at the caller ID and her suspicions were confirmed: Jesse. Angel was eyeing her. "You gonna answer that?"

She shook her head.

Glancing at Angel, she noticed his eyebrows narrow, and she turned away biting her lip. Her phone rang one last time.

"Where are we?" She turned back to face him. He still had the same expression on his face, but he didn't say anything. He opened the door. "Follow me." He got out of the car.

Sarah got out, and he came around and held his hand out. She put her hand in his, and they walked toward the dead end. There was a rock trail off to the side behind the homes that faced the ocean.

They headed to the edge of the trail where there was a wrought iron fence. She looked down as they walked along the side of the fence and could see the waves crashing into the rocks below. When they turned the corner, she saw the trail stretched across the cliff. There were benches and grassy sitting areas with flowering tropical plants and an endless trail of palm trees. Sarah took it all in with awe. She turned back to him.

"I love it," she whispered.

"This is my favorite place."

"I can see why." She stepped closer to the fence and gazed out into the ocean. The lights on a couple of ships and some small sailboats still out there shone brightly. Angel stood behind her, and he grasped the top of the iron rail, enclosing her body between his arms. His warm body against her back felt good, especially since it was getting cold. His face came over her shoulder next to her ear, and she felt him take a deep breath. She closed her eyes, and her body tingled all over. It was still unbelievable to Sarah that she was here, doing this, with him.

"You smell good," he murmured.

"Thank you."

They stood there for a few minutes in silence, his breath against her temple. Finally, he spoke. "Can I ask you something? His tone made her nervous somehow.

"Sure."

He pulled away from her shoulder slightly. "Why were you in such a hurry to leave when you saw Jesse tonight?"

Sarah went stiff. God, she'd forgotten all about that. That was the last thing she wanted to be talking about right now. Jesse could be a pain in the ass when he was sober. Valerie had told her when he was drunk, he was even worse, and she had a feeling he'd been drinking tonight. She'd been afraid of another confrontation between him and Angel. "He can be a pest sometimes. That's all."

Angel put his hands over hers on the fence. "The other day, you said you'd hung out with him. What did that mean?"