As kids, Leah and Tanner hated each other. To this day, they still do. Tanner Cole is tall, dark, tattooed, and insanely attractive, though his ugly heart drowns all of this out to Leah. At eighteen years old, all Leah wants is to go off to college...
"And we've been enjoying every one of them," Zara announces.
"Ha, right. I have a few stories up my sleeve." Tanner snickers, soon finding his confidence.
I automatically fear that he may blurt about us making out, twice, so I quickly speak up before he has the chance to say anything. "Actually, I have a few for you. Remember when you were eight, and you thought you were a knight? You went off running into the woods when it was pitch black, and when our parents found you, you were stuck up a tree."
"You're kidding?" Zara gasps as a huge smile forms on her face.
"Yep," I say smugly, leaning back in my seat.
Tanner shakes his head, chuckling. "I completely forgot that happened. Those poor firemen, I bet the last thing they wanted was to rescue me in the middle of the night."
"This is too funny," Zara snickers.
Tanner and I lock eyes as we laugh at the memory as well, and it's strange to think that only a few minutes ago I wanted to be anywhere else than here with him on this yacht.
"At least it's not as bad as the time you thought kissing a boy would make your loose tooth fall out, and you kissed me on the cheek," Tanner jokes.
"I was only six," I counter.
"Still old enough to have known," Zara bursts out while laughing.
"True," my dad calls out.
"Traitors! The lot of you!" I cry.
Tanner finds my embarrassment hilarious and pushes further. "Don't worry if you have another loose tooth, you can try that experiment again."
He winks causing me to blush and while my parents laugh along, thinking this is all said in good humor, Zara seems to catch his drift and spits out her drink, spluttering everywhere.
"Are you okay, Zara?" Ben asks concerned as he rubs her back.
"I'm fine," she wheezes, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. "Just went down the wrong hole. That's all."
With no one watching me, I kick Tanner under the table and mouth, "Pack it in."
He gives a small grin and winks again, making me sheepishly smile. I shake my head to clear my mind and refocus my attention on talking to my parents.
Thankfully, Tanner behaves himself and actively joins in on our conversations, seeming happy and at ease for once. Even he and Ben are bantering back and forth with each other, clearly forgetting about what happened earlier in the week.
I'm surprised there hasn't been one hiccup since Tanner joined us, but I'm finding myself having a lot of fun in his company. I don't know what's changed my view on him exactly, but it's like this yacht separates my normal thoughts of hatred towards him, and it's replaced with warmth instead.
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