Piecing Together Sydney (A Sydney West Novel Book 3) Read Online Free

Piecing Together Sydney (A Sydney West Novel Book 3)
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vampire.”
    I spun around and grabbed his cheeks with my hand, puckering his lips. “I may be pale now, but by July mark my words, I’ll be tan.” I let go of his face and gave him a peck on the lips. “Ready for me to kick your ass at surfing?”
    He rubbed his cheek, giving me a once over as if he didn’t know who I was anymore. “I don’t know. You’re kind of violent.” He pouted. “My face hurts…”
    “Poor baby.” I leaned in and kissed his sore cheek, trailing my fingers down his jawline. “Feel better?”
    His hands wrapped around my upper arms like vice grips. “Yes.”
    I broke away, knowing if we continued we’d have sex on the beach and that wasn’t an ideal place.
    “Come on!” Amelia shouted from the ocean. She probably saw us standing close and was afraid we’d disappear to be on our own.
    “Let’s catch some waves. I’ll race ya!” I grabbed my board and ran toward the water.
    “Hey!”
    I turned my head, watching him fumble for his board and chase after me.
    “Hurry, you slowpoke!”
    He snorted. “You’re a cheater. You didn’t even say to go, you just ran.”
    A wave broke on the sand, sending foam around my ankles. The chill of the water sent a tingle through my legs into my pounding heart. “You should know by now I don’t play fair.”
    The ocean accepted me like a lost child. I was in to my waist when Jason joined me. He sat on his board giving me a stern look, like I stole his last cookie. I flipped him the bird and paddled toward an upcoming wave. Hunter and Amelia were already riding it, going through the barrel like a couple of pros.
    Jason and I cut across the top. For a heartbeat, I felt like I was on top of the world. The wave died out, leaving us close to shore.
    Amelia paddled over to me. “That was a good wave! God, I missed California!”
    I inhaled a deep breath of salty air. “Yeah, I did too.”
    Jason bumped my leg with his. “You’re not bad. Glad you didn’t eat—”
    “Shut up! That was one time.” I splashed water at him. How dare he remind me of wiping out last year. I only crashed because I locked eyes with him and my body froze up, but I’d never tell him that. He’d gloat about it forever.
    He laughed, shaking his head. “Damn, Syd. I was kidding.”
    I licked my lips. They tasted like the ocean, extra salty. “It’s not polite to point out a girl’s failure.”
    “Right.” He hit his forehead with the palm of his hand. “My mother taught me better than that.”
    “Another wave is coming!” Hunter pointed toward the wall of water, trying to change the subject.
    “Let’s tackle it, Syd!” Amelia waved me along. Hunter was already moving toward it.
    That was how we spent the afternoon, riding waves until the sun sank into the horizon. I did have to stop briefly to reapply sunscreen, something the others wished they did more as their skin turned pink and sore.
    Hunter rubbed his shoulder. It was beet red. “Stop it, hun.” Amelia slapped his hand and applied more aloe vera cream to his burned flesh.
    I poked the campfire, making it burn more brightly. “I told you surfing at noon was a bad idea, but did anyone listen?”
    Amelia shot daggers at me with her eyes. “Not helping, Sydney!”
    I rolled my eyes. “Whatever.”
    Jason took out two huge marshmallows from the bag and put one on my stick and the other on his. “I can’t remember the last time I made s’mores.”
    Hunter moaned and closed his eyes tightly. “When we were kids and went camping up state with your parents.”
    “Right.” Jason became cold, staring into the flames as if it was his mission to learn its dance.
    “Sorry, I forgot about not mentioning…him.”
    “It’s fine.” Jason’s face became a stone. I couldn’t read what he was thinking, but I knew how it felt to have a shitty father.
    Last year I pretended my father was dead when he wasn’t, not yet. A few months after summer ended, he passed away from colon cancer. I thought I’d feel
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