Into the Deep by Lauryn April Read Free Book Online

moves that had my attention and that I hadn’t, at least not yet, heard his inner intentions.
     “I mean other than hitting up house parties and going to the beach with handsome guys like us.”
     I laughed, “Handsome, huh?”
     “Oh most definitely. So what do you like? Play any sports?”
     “Not so much. I got into volleyball for a while. It was fun, but I never was good enough to make varsity so I gave it up.”
     “Volleyball, well maybe we’ll have to get a game going the four of us.”
     I smiled genuinely when he said that. I had really liked playing volleyball my freshman and sophomore years, but I liked to play the sport for fun and after a while the long practices and heavy competitiveness that was known of all Alta Ladera sports started to make the game less of a game to me and more of a chore. My friends had never understood why I quit. To them it was important to be involved in school activities; to me it was about doing what I enjoyed. It was nice to think about playing again just to play. I was starting to feel like maybe it would be a good night.
     Once we reached our destination, the four of us made our way toward the fire pit. The dry sand slowed me down as I tried to run along the beach. Christy and Alex were up ahead of Steve and me, working on getting a fire going. Steve was carrying a six pack of Coors Light and I had a bottle of White Zin courtesy of Christy’s mom’s wine rack. We looked on at Christy and Alex in the distance as they struggled to get a flame going.
     “Looks like Alex has forgotten how to work a lighter,” Steve said.
     “Yeah, they’re not doing so good over there.” I smiled.
     I think we need to get everything heating up a little more around here , I heard him think and my smile faded a little. “By the way, you look really good in that dress,” he said.
     “Thanks,” I replied and couldn’t help but smile again, until I heard something else.
     It’ll look better when I get it on the floor though.
     I started to walk with a greater distance between us after that. I barely knew Steve. We’d only met a few weeks earlier at Nicolette’s party and he already thought he could… what? Get somewhere with me? It was starting to be obvious exactly what these two USULB college freshmen wanted with two high school juniors.
     Christy and Alex had just gotten the bonfire going when Steve and I reached them. Its flames clawed their way up to the sky and cast their faces in orange light. Christy was sitting beside Alex in the sand and he had his arm around her. I hovered uncomfortably for a moment as Steve set down the beer. He plopped down in the sand and I hesitated not wanting to sit beside him. I was out for a fun night with friends and he seemed to want something more and so did Alex.
     God this girl has great legs , Alex thought as he eyed my friend.
     “Come on, Ivy, sit down,” Christy said, glaring at me. Don’t be antisocial, you’re going to embarrass me , I heard her think.
     “Right, yeah,” I mumbled and sat down between her and Steve.
     She snatched the bottle of wine out of my hands with a smile and pulled out the already loosened cork. I heard it pop then watched her take a long sip. Steve leaned across me to hand Alex a beer, and Christy handed me the bottle once she was done. I stared at it for a moment then looked to Christy. Her eyebrows rose and she looked at me with expectation. I took a sip from the bottle.
     “So,” Alex said, “how about we get some kind of game going?”
     “Drinking game?” Christy asked. She beamed a smile at him.
     “Oh, Flip, Sip or Strip,” Steve said.
     “Strip?” I asked in a suspicious tone and shifted my weight in the sand to pull my dress down over my knees.
     “Yeah, well you don’t have to strip,” at least not right away, he added in his