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tonight. Is that okay?”
    “That’s fine. When are you going to be back?”
    “I don’t know. Do I have a curfew?” Please say no. Please say no. I’m almost eighteen. I don’t need a curfew. Please say no.
    “No , but I would like for you to be back at a reasonable hour since I don’t know this boy. Yet.”
    I wince, visibly I’m sure, when she says yet. I know at some point Roe will meet both my parents. It’s not a matter of if, rather a matter of when. I want it to be as far in the future as possible.
    “Okay. See ya later.”
    “MacKenna. I want you to invite that boy over for lunch tomorrow so your father and I can meet him. Especially if you plan on hanging out with him while we are here this summer.”
    “I will. I gotta go, M om. Love you.”
    I open the door and close it behind me before she can continue our conversation. I love my mother but she knows how to beat a dead horse. Talking in circles after she’s obviously won is her specialty.
    I smooth down the skirt of my sundress. It’s my favorite. I love the deep blue color. I love how it comes up high in the front and then dips low in the back, low enough that I can’t wear a bra. That’s not really a big deal since I’m not that busty. It falls right above my knees. The shoes I’m wearing, probably not for much longer since I can already feel the sand between my toes, match the sweater I brought in case it got chilly. Both also happen to match Roe’s eyes perfectly.
    I round the corner and see him standing in anticipation of my arrival. I’m still about ten yards away when he slowly lifts his head in my direction, shooting me one of his heart-stopping, lopsided, sexy-as-all-hell grins. I’m so caught up in staring at him that I almost trip over my own feet.
    When I say almost, I mean the only reason I didn’t hit the sand is because Roe caught me in time.
    “Careful , pretty girl,” he says as he pulls me up into his waiting arms and holds me until he’s sure my balance returns. I’m not sure I ever will completely have my balance around him.
    “Thanks.” It’s all I can say. I know I’m blushing and I hate it.
    “My pleasure.” His voice drops a few octaves. Holy hell that sounded sexy.
    I smile up a t him and he releases the hold he has on my waist. I’m sad but it only lasts a second as he grabs hold of my hand and pulls me away from my mother’s prying eyes and down the beach.
    We walk in silence. I want to ask him about his name. I want to ask him more about himself. I want to speak up, to say something, but my voice has disappeared. His touch has lit my body on fire and all I can think about, all I can focus on, is the way his thumb continues to lightly graze over my knuckles.
    When we reach the pier I notice there are a bunch of people milling about. It looks like there are vendors selling food. I can smell the smoke from grills and the scent causes my stomach to growl. Roe must have heard it because I hear him chuckle beside me. Even his chuckle is sexy.
    “How about we walk down the pier and then we come back and get some food?”
    “Sounds good to me. Have you been down here before?”
    “Not this year.”
    “I take it you come here a lot.”
    “My parents bring us here every summer. You would think because we live by the ocean the rest of the year they would take us somewhere inland, but it’s always here. I’ve never really understood why.”
    You can hear a little bit of irritation in his voice. I don’t think it has as much to do with the location as it does with the fact that he’s here with his parents. I feel the same way.
    I drop the subject and focus on the way he’s caressing my hand again. If feels incredible. He’s gentle but at the same time I feel like he’s holding back an entirely different side of him as well. A more passionate side. A side I hope to get the opportunity to see. Soon.
    By the time we walk to the end of the pier and back I c an’t stand the silence any more so I say the