Celeb Date

Chapter 6- Beach Day

"You owe me!" I said, leaning back in Luke's warm leather seats in his Mustang.

"I owe you for having you try on clothes that I paid for?" Luke asked incredulously, though he sounded on the verge of laughter.

I bit my lip.

"Well now that you say it that way... nope! You still owe me."

He heaved a sigh and turned the key in the ignition.

"I was thinking of hitting the beach. You up for that?"

I looked down to my tank top and shorts.

"Yeah. I'm up for it."

As Luke eased his way into traffic, a thought came to me.

"So what do you know about me?" I asked, glancing at him.

A small smile flitted across his lips.

"You are stubborn for one thing. Your mom is pretty awesome. Your dad wants to kill me. Pink is definitely your color. Your best friend is named Ashley. And your name is Melissa. That's about it."

I made a face.

"That's not a very good list. And you're right, favorite color is really pink," I said returning my attention to the road.

"And rightfully so," Luke said, his fingers drumming against the steering wheel.

Within five minutes we were pulling into the parking lot to the beach, parking under a shady tree.

I set my phone in the cup holder, then hopped out of the car, walking towards the trunk. Luke grabbed out two beach chairs, and towels. I offered to carry something but he just shooed my hands away.

"I've got this," He said.

And he did, up until a little boy wearing blue dinosaur swim trunks came running past him, knocking him off balance. Everything tumbled into the sand. Well... everything except Luke himself. He mumbled something that sounded like a curse under his breath, then went to pick up the chairs.

This time I didn't offer, I just grabbed the towels and headed onto the pristine sand. I slipped my sandals off, letting the gritty sand in between my toes.

We set our stuff near a volleyball net, but not close enough that a game of beach volleyball could be a threat.

I looked out to the ocean and smelled the salty and fishy air. When I was younger my dad told me that the locals called this place Bear Paw beach, but no one really called it by its real name. I didn't even know what its real name was. In my mind it would forever be Bear Paw.

"Want to swim?" Luke asked.

I smiled.

"I would but I'm not exactly dressed for it, and neither are you. You wouldn't want to ruin that one-hundred-fifty dollar polo anyway."

He chuckled, reaching up to his collar.

Within seconds he had whipped his shirt off, leaving only his bare chest.

"I don't have to ruin it."

Luke grabbed something from his pocket and tossed it to me.

"Sunscreen?" I asked, staring at the tube.

He nodded.

"You look like you burn easy."

I rubbed some on, hating the greasy feel against my bare skin.