The bonfire was the last big night before the season closed, and the whole town came down to the cove for it.
Drew kept his arm around my shoulders like he was afraid I might drift off with the smoke.
Drew: I'm staying right here with you tonight. No Trent, no running off.
Drew: You and me by the fire. That's the whole plan.
He dropped his jacket over my shoulders and said it against my ear, and I let myself believe it.
Elaine found me by the drinks table and straightened the bracelet on my wrist.
Elaine: There. Now everyone knows whose table you belong at.
Her hand stayed on my arm a second longer than it needed to, and something in my chest eased.
Callum stood on the far side of the fire with a beer he wasn't drinking.
He watched me the way he always did, flat and steady, like he was waiting for me to prove him right.
Drew: Ignore him. He's been like that since he got home.
Paige: Alina. You're actually out of the workshop. I didn't recognize you without the grease.
Paige: Drew, does she come with a warranty?
Paige smiled, slow and bright, and Trent laughed into his cup.
Drew: Leave her alone. She cleans up nice.
He handed the line out to the fire like a gift, and my cheeks burned.
Then his hand found my lower back and steered me away from the fire.
Behind the stacked driftwood the light went orange and the noise of the crowd dropped away.
Drew: Told you. Just you and me.
He backed me against the logs and kissed me before I could answer.
He kissed me hard, one hand in my hair, the other already sliding under the hem of my skirt.
My lungs stuttered, and I grabbed a fistful of his collar to hold him there.
Drew: I've been thinking about this all night.
His palm was warm on my thigh, sliding up slow, and my body went soft and reckless.
I kissed him again and rolled my hips into his hand.
I pressed into him and felt him hard against my hip.
He made a low sound and pushed his fingers higher, and I let my head fall back against the wood.
Drew: Fuck. Look at you.
Then his phone buzzed in his pocket, once, twice, three times.
Drew: Ignore it.
It buzzed again. He swore and pulled it out.
Drew: Trent. What.
Drew: All right. Five minutes. I'm coming.
He said it easy, and the warm place under my ribs went cold.
Drew: I'll be right back. Don't move.
He kissed my forehead, quick, and pulled my skirt straight like he was fixing a crooked sign.
Then he was gone around the logs, and I was standing there holding his jacket.
Five minutes went by. Then ten.
When I came back around the fire, Drew was by the truck with Trent and Paige.
Paige had her hand on his arm, laughing with her head tipped back.
Drew: Babe, we're running Paige home. Trent's driving.
Drew: Stay by the fire. I'll text you.
He didn't look at me once while he said it.
Paige: Don't wait up. You're so good at that, though, aren't you.
Trent laughed. Drew got in the truck.
The engine turned over, and the taillights went red down the beach road.
I stood in the sand with Drew's jacket in my hands and the fire snapping behind me.
Half the yard was close enough to see me holding it.
Nobody came over. Nobody said one word.
Callum was still across the fire, and he was still watching.
His eyes went from my face to the jacket in my hands, and his jaw moved once.
He didn't come over. He just kept looking, like he already knew how this ended.
I pulled the jacket tighter. It smelled like smoke and his cologne and nothing that was mine.
Callum wanted nothing from me. So why did his eyes keep coming back?