On the Outside (Caught Inside #3) by S. Briones Lim

shooting.”

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 15
     
     
    Xavier: Good news! I’m on my way home! I’ll be touching down tonight.
     
    I read the text over and over again, ecstatic beyond belief. After Charlie’s surprise visit, I dove further into the depths of reclusiveness, ignoring his calls and any other calls that came from unknown numbers. Though I knew I was digging myself into a gigantic hole and possibly alienating the people I’d be spending every waking moment with for the next few months, I couldn’t help but feel wary of those Hollywood types.
    You are one of those Hollywood types.
    I shrugged off the thought and picked up my phone, typing away with a smile that stretched ear to ear.
     
    Me: Awesome! I’ve been missing my surf instructor. When’s the next lesson?
     
    “Perfect combination—excited, yet coy,” I commented to myself as soon as I sent the message off.
    Almost immediately my phone chirped again.
     
    Xavier: I hate to tell you this, but it won’t be for another week.
     
    My stomach dropped. “Ugh, I hate this feeling.”
     
    Me: How come? I thought you were coming home?
     
    Xavier: I am, but my sister is coming to visit me. She’s meeting me at the airport. Haven’t seen her since she opened up her own restaurant.
     
    “Oh, that’s nice…” I took a deep breath and sighed. “Well, there go your plans, Harper.”
    Just as I was wallowing in self-pity, my phone went off again.
     
    Xavier: Why don’t you join sis and me for dinner tomorrow night?
     
    I blinked in surprise. “Okay, totally was not expecting that.”
     
    Me: Really? Are you sure that’d be okay?
     
    Xavier: Why not? I invited you, didn’t I?
     
    Me: Won’t your sister mind?
     
    Xavier: Nah. I mean, she can be a bit “difficult” at times, but she’s really personable.
     
    I bit my lip, suddenly feeling uneasy. The same drop in my stomach reappeared and I couldn’t help but wonder if it was a sign of bad things to come. Regardless, I couldn’t fight the excitement of seeing him again.
     
    Me: Are you really sure it’s okay? I don’t want to impose.
     
    Xavier: Positive…just do me one favor?
     
    Okay this got weird fast. I typed quickly.
     
    Me: And what favor is that?
     
    Xavier: Try going to the beach on your own. Maybe if you’re brave enough you can paddle around by yourself.
     
    I blinked in surprise and stared at his text. Leave it up to my Type A instructor to turn an invitation to dinner into a lesson.
     
    Me: We’ll see what I can do.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 16
     
     
    The ocean waves were loud the next morning, almost drowning out the beating of my nervous heart. Well, I wouldn’t say nervous exactly. I was anxious—anxious to the extreme. Being an extrovert, I admit I used to be a bad attention whore. I never once felt nervous when it came to meeting new people and actually loved it. However, the thought of meeting Xavier’s sister scared me beyond belief. I couldn’t explain it, but deep in the recesses of my mind, I felt as if she would play a part in whatever happened to me and Xavier. Though as of now what I had with him was nothing more than unbearable sexual attraction, meeting a crush’s family was still really frightening!
    I dragged my bright colored board to the shore and gulped as I stared out into the water. It wasn’t as calm as it had been in the past, and the thought of facing it alone scared me shitless.
    “He won’t know if I actually went in the water or not,” I mumbled to myself as I watched a nearby surfer wipeout painfully. I winced when I spotted him limping back to shore, carrying the remaining two pieces of his broken board. “No, Harper, you can do this.”
    Yet, despite my positive affirmations, I was still frozen in place. It was as if my muscles had taken on a life of their own, preventing me from sudden death.
    “Oh my gosh, you will not die.”
    Are you sure about that?
    Thinking twice about it, I decided