The Boyfriend Project by Rachel Hawthorne Page A

farther.
    Kendall rubbed her hand along my shadowed jaw. “I’m liking this.”
    â€œGlad you like it. I forgot to pack a razor.”
    â€œDidn’t you make a list?”
    â€œNope. Decided to wing it, take my chances. Be wild.”
    â€œOf all the different ways to be wild, you decided to let loose with your packing?”
    â€œWhat can I say? I live for danger.”
    Her laughter echoed over the surf. I loved making her laugh.
    She tiptoed her fingers over my jaw again. “You should consider going with this look for the gun show. It’s pretty sexy.”
    Was I not sexy before? I didn’t think that’s what she’d meant, but still it bothered me. Lately I was noticing lots of little flaws in myself and I had to wonder if she’d noticed them, too. Maybe it was my dad’s constant harping making me second-guess everything. I really couldn’t wait to get to college.
    Kendall tugged on Duchess’s leash. “We should probably get back.”
    As we headed for the beach house, I was beginning to wish that I hadn’t agreed to participate in the gun show. It was all supposed to be in good fun, but I wondered if I’d have anyone other than Kendall donate even a penny on my behalf.

Chapter 15
    KENDALL
    We returned to find Avery and Fletcher preparing breakfast. I put out food and fresh water for the dogs, then sat at the counter and helped myself to the bacon, biscuits, and scrambled eggs. For some reason, everything tasted better. Maybe the salty air cleared the palate.
    â€œSo, I know we just want to chill,” I began, “but I think we probably should head to the beach as soon as we’ve eaten so we can claim a spot before it starts to get crowded. Jeremy and I could wander on down if no one else wants to go out this early.” I couldn’t quite let go of the schedule I’d made for the weekend.
    â€œWe’ll all go,” Avery said. “There’s a little storage room beneath the stairs where Dot keeps some umbrellas and lounge chairs that we can use.”
    â€œWe expecting rain?” Fletcher asked.
    Laughing, Avery gave him a playful push. “No. They’re big beach umbrellas for providing some shade.”
    â€œWhy do we need shade?”
    â€œBecause not all of us tan like you do.”
    Fletcher had dark hair and looked like he lived most of his life in the sun. Came from riding his motorcycle, I guessed. Avery was fair-skinned with blond hair, while I was freckle city if I wasn’t careful. Jeremy’s hair was sandy-blond; the bristles along his jaw—which I was really loving—were darker than his hair. In spite of his coloring, he did tend to tan. Maybe it had something to do with his brown eyes.
    When we finished breakfast and cleaned up the kitchen, we changed into our bathing suits, stuffed towels and essentials into my huge beach bag, grabbed the umbrellas and a small ice chest filled with drinks, leashed up the girls, and headed out to claim our spot.
    We drove a couple of spikes into the ground and secured the leashes to them so the girls could wander around but not bother anyone. Avery and Fletcher set up under one umbrella, Jeremy and I beneath the other.
    I settled onto one of the lounge chairs. “You might want to lie in the sun for a while,” I told Jeremy. “Even out your tan a little.”
    He gave me a blank look.
    â€œYou know, for the competition,” I explained.
    â€œDidn’t think we had to take our shirts off.”
    â€œYou don’t but, you know”—I rubbed his arm—“bronze is sexy.”
    â€œAnd prone to cancer.”
    â€œI’m just saying a little bit of sun wouldn’t hurt.” I nodded toward Fletcher who was already stretched out on a lounge chair and sipping a root beer. He was tanned to perfection. I lowered my voice and arched a brow. “If you want to give him a run for his money, that