I sit with my arms wrapped around my ankles and let him drape the blanket over my shoulders.

He asks, “Hot chocolate or coffee?”

“Ooh, cocoa please.” Sean hands it to me and sits down so we’re hip to hip. I’ve taken off my boots, but Sean is still wearing his. I bump his shoulder gently. “There should be a NO BOOTS ON THE BEACH sign.”

Sean glances down at his shoes after taking a sip of his coffee. “I’m glad there’s not.”

“Why would you possibly say something so hideous?” I smirk at him over the top of my cup and try to take a sip. The steam travels up my lip and warms my nose.

Sean looks at his boots and then over at me. “I didn’t want to tell you this, Avery, but—I hate the feeling of the sand between my toes.”

My eyes go wide and I spew the cocoa in my mouth, coughing. “No! You can’t mean that!” I think back to the other times we were at the beach and he never said anything. I’m questioning everything based on this statement, like it’s a pivotal point in our relationship, when Sean starts laughing.

When I turn to face him, he says, “I’m kidding. I’m just too lazy to take off my boots.”

Narrowing my eyes, I give him an evil look, before glancing back at my hot cocoa. I really, really want to keep it, but there’s no way I can resist. Placing the cup down in the sand, I stand and brush myself off, like he offended me. “We can’t be friends anymore, Mr. Ferro. I don’t joke about the beach.”

Sean can tell that I’m not serious, but he doesn’t react, which works fine for me when I turn and lunge at his boots. Grabbing hold of one, I wrap my arms around and pull. Sean flips backwards and makes a surprised sound as I yank harder. Well, fuck. They’re stuck. He’s wearing real biker boots so they’re stiff as hell and they won’t slip over his ankle.

There’s an expression that I’ve heard but never really understood until that second: If you’ve got a tiger by the tail, don’t let go. Catching a glimpse of Sean’s eyes, I see what level of screwed I am, and it’s well into orange or DEFCON 1, depending on how you look at it. DEFCON sounds more badass than colors. I like to say it out loud when no one’s around. The government probably tapped my phone and assigned me my own agent because I say DEFCON way too much. If I ever get a dog, guess what his name will be? DEFCON the badass Dog!

Okay, back to the present where I’m tugging Sean’s leg, literally. I could let go and expect mild retribution, or I can keep tugging and drag his butt into the surf. A wicked smile slips across my face as I pull his ankle fast and hard. Sean just managed to sit up when I start to run with his leg in my hands. He yelps and falls back into the sand again as I drag him as quickly as I can toward the water.

My problem is follow through. I have plenty of determination, so that’s not what stops me. It’s that I get too excited. Giggles take hold of me when I see his face. Sean realizes what I’m doing and looks like a cartoon character, which is so wrong on him, that I can’t stop laughing.

Sean’s lips twist into a smile a second later, “You’re dead, Stanz.”

“Yeah, well, you’ll have to manage to get up first, Ferro.” Digging my heels into the sand, I tug faster. The sand is damp and cold under my feet. We’re nearly there. Sean digs his fingers into the beach, like that’ll stop me.

“If you get me wet—”

I laugh and spurt out, “Psh. Like I’m ever dry around you?” A wild grin crosses my face as my cheeks burn.

Sean blinks at me and stops struggling. “You did not just say that.”

Ha! A sexy diversion! Just what I needed. I keep tugging and can feel the cold water under the sand now. The waves are crashing right behind me. My plan is to pull him into a wave and then run like hell in the other direction. Good plan, right?

“I think I did,” I giggle. The damn giggles tickle me so much that my body is shaking.

Sean stares at me, not realizing that the next wave will crash into us. The beach is damp and it’s getting harder to pull him. Just a little bit more. I strain, but the sand has collected around his perfect butt, so now I have to pull him over a hill.

Sean flinches, like he just realized he’s going to get soaked. His blue eyes go wide when he sees the massive wave coming. Close enough. Dropping his foot, I try to take off and run the other way back toward dry land, but Sean manages to whirl around and grab my ankle. I fall face first into the sand and Sean’s hands grab my ankles, then my calves, and finally my hips. He rolls me over so that I’m on top of him.

Just as the wave is about to wash over us, he grins like a little boy, and says, “I should have taken off my boots, huh?”

The beach has two types of water, and it’s based on the season. You can have the pleasure of swimming in damn cold water, or in the wintery wonder that’s called holy-fuck-are-you-insane iceberg cold water. You can tell which one it is by the expletives coming from people’s mouths when they wade in. We didn’t get that chance, but it was the latter. Squared. With a penguin on top. Holy fuck.

The wave washes over us, swallowing Sean and I whole. He doesn’t release me, but I can feel the ocean pulling us back as the wave recedes. Sand rushes by my hands as I try to pull away. Somehow, Sean manages to sit up and hold me in his arms. Seaweed is tangled in my hair and touching my face, and my underpants are mostly sand at this point.

I’m shivering and yelling, but Sean just laughs. “You’re such an ass!” I beat my fists into his chest and try to get up. Another wave is about to break. Sean’s fingers are locked around my waist.

When I look up at him, his eyes glitter with mischief, and he shakes his head. “And it’s a lovely ass too, or so I hear.” He grins at me. “Get ready for round two.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“I would.” His arms lock around my waist as icy cold water crashes into my back. Screaming, I hold onto him and cling.

When the water rushes back into the ocean I start laughing again. My hair is dripping ice cubes down my back. I shiver and look at him. Sean rarely looks this happy. It’s like every worry, every pain he’s ever had, was washed away. It makes me want to stay here with him, which is complete crazy talk because it’s freezing. “I think there are icicles in my panties.”

“Don’t talk about your panties unless you want me to rip them off.”

I giggle way too much. After I manage to put on a straight face, I lower my voice and speak seriously. “Mr. Ferro.”

“Miss Stanz.” His eyes lock on mine, but the corners of his mouth twitch like he’s repressing a grin.

“When did we get so formal?”

“We didn’t,” he says casually. “You only call me by my proper name when you’re aroused.”

My face scrunches as my jaw drops. I’m ready to contest it, to deny his accusation to the death, but a wave hits my back and I shriek as I fall into him. I had no idea my voice could hit that note, or that Sean could laugh so much. His warm hands hold me in place on his lap as the sand around us washes back into the ocean with the wave. His hips are half buried.

My shirt is frozen and stuck to my body. When I breathe it feels like I’m trying to suck in snow cones, but I gasp because Sean takes my breath away. He always has. My eyes drift to his mouth, to those perfect lips and that beautiful smile. For a second, it feels real. I’m not his hooker. I’m not his friend. I’m not his lover, but I want to be. I want to be anything and everything, so I lean in before he stops smiling and press my mouth to his. The heat, the warmth of his lips, stands in strong contrast to the cold water. When I feel his smile fade, I pull back and watch his eyes. I don’t know what I’m looking for, but it feels like I should find it there.

However, his gaze is lower. At first I think he’s looking at my chest. He could get a puncture wound, my nipples are so hard. Why does it feel like I crossed a line? Disappointment floods through me until I realize he’s looking at the ring around my neck. It’s under my shirt, plastered to my chest. Another wave washes over us, but Sean manages to pull the ring out before the water rushes away.

“You’re still wearing it?” He sounds shocked and blinks a few times like the piece of jewelry will disappear if he looks away.

I shrug, like it doesn’t mean anything. “Just around you.”

“You’re always around me.” Sean looks up slowly, his face expressionless.

“Then, I’ll wear it for a while,” I laugh uneasily and press my finger to his nose like he’s a little kid. “Can’t have you forgetting what you missed out on.”

“No, we wouldn’t want that.” His eyes shift down and he looks side to side, scanning the beach. I don’t know what he means, if he’s teasing me or if he’s being serious.

Either way, I don’t want to ruin whatever just happened. After everything that’s gone down, I needed this so badly and Sean seemed to know. I push off his lap and hold out my hand for him. My clothes stick to my body and I shiver as the wind hits me. It leaves very little to the imagination when clothing looks like skin.

Sean takes my hand and manages to get up before the next wave crashes. He pulls me against him and whispers in my ear, “We should do something to get warm.”

I press my lips together, still smiling so hard that my face hurts. “Ah, my call girl services don’t start until seven.”

“No, my dear,” Sean leans in and whispers in my ear. “I’m afraid you misunderstood. I’ll be servicing you.”

Giggling, I snap my fingers. “Sweatpants and hot cocoa?” He nods and rubs his hands up my back, pulling me against him. “Hot soup and fresh bread? Oooh! Lobster Soup?” I nearly have an orgasm thinking about it. I’m so cold and the thought alone of anything that warm is stimulating me in all the right ways. Mmmm. Soup.

Sean gives me a crooked smirk, revealing that dimple again. “Anything you want. Anything at all.” He winks and I chortle.