“I think I'd like to show you what 'very hard' means.”
Katya threw back her head and laughed. So loud, everyone in line turned to look at them. Liam was startled so much, he stumbled backwards a couple steps. She finally lifted her sunglasses and wiped at her eyes.
“I think,” she snickered and gasped for air. “I've seen all you've got to show, and once was enough, thank you very much.”
Liam looked stunned at first, then a little bit pissed off. He stepped back up to her, obviously ready to speak his mind, but someone else beat him to the punch.
“Good for you, girl,” a middle aged woman from the front of the line spoke up. “Don't you take no sexual harassment from some sandy piece of ass.”
Katya started laughing all over again, bending at the waist and pressing her hands to her chest. Liam just grumbled and moved along with the line, leaving her to snort and wheeze all by herself.
*
They spent the rest of the day sunbathing and generally ignoring each other. It was clear that Katya's skimpy bikini was making the men uncomfortable in all kinds of ways, but Liam was still angry at her, and Wulf was trying to act like he didn't care. She smiled to herself and stretched out a couple feet in front of them, giving them a nice view while she got a nice tan.
She went up to a snack bar at one point, grabbing a hot dog, and came back with a friend. Some guy who'd struck up a conversation with her while waiting in line. She'd made it very clear from the first word that she wasn't there to meet guys, but he seemed nice enough and didn't hit on her, so they talked about growing up in Carmel, different restaurants and parks they liked. He walked her back down the beach, laughing about a mutual acquaintance it turned out they had. By the time they reached her towel, though, her two companions had turned into watch dogs, and were standing at the ready. Arms crossed, glares visible through sunglasses, wide stances. Her friend made a hasty goodbye and all but ran down the beach.
Katya didn't even acknowledge Wulf and Liam, just skipped past them and sat down, enjoying her snack.
To her San Francisco acclimated self, Carmel felt warm. But as it shifted into evening, it dropped down into the fifties. Still not terribly cold, but when combined with a stiff breeze that started rolling in off the ocean, Katya was shivering soon enough. Wulf was the one who finally called it and told them to start packing up – Liam could've stayed there all day, it seemed like. He really was a beach bum.
They loaded up the car, but still didn't head home. Surprising them all, Wulf had been productive during his down time at the shore and he'd found them a place for dinner. Almost a pub – which shocked Katya – with a whole outdoor terrace, complete with large heaters. She put on a huge maxi skirt and a long sleeved, tight crop top over her bikini and then followed the men into the restaurant.
“This is actually nice,” she sighed, pulling her hair up into a high ponytail as the waiter walked away with their drink orders.
“Yeah. I'd never been down here before,” Liam commented, glancing around the area. “A friend and I drove to Manhattan Beach once, but that's really the only other place in Cali I've been, besides home and S.F.”
“Wow!” Katya was surprised. She continued messing with her hair, piling it into a messy bun.
“I'm not surprised,” Wulf replied, tossing his menu to the side.
“Shut up. The entire time I've known you, you've never even left the state,” Liam snapped. Wulf cocked up an eyebrow.
“I've gone plenty of times – when you fly in a private plane, you can go and come back from just about anywhere in a day. In May, I spent every weekend in New York.”
Sensing a “who's got the biggest dick” competition, Katya cleared her throat.
“Favorite vacation,” she spoke loudly. “Mine was when I was twelve – my parents took me to Spain, and we did this whole mutli-country backpacking trek. My dad was super into that kind of stuff, back in those days.”
Liam smiled big and sat up straight.
“Favorite vacation – summer camp, when we were thirteen. My mom shipped us off to this Christian bible camp. You know, like we had to go to chapel once a day and sing songs, learn how to make friendship bracelets and brush down a horse, that kind of jazz.”
“That was your favorite vacation?” Katya was skeptical.
“Yup. Sandra Clement. She was fourteen, we'd known each other a couple years through the camp. A big tomboy, I always picked her for capture the flag, dodgeball, stuff like that. We got in trouble one time and they made us muck out the stables. She totally took my virginity in the hayloft, and for the rest of the summer, we'd sneak off whenever we could and had sex just about everywhere in that camp,” he chuckled.
“You lost your virginity at thirteen?” Katya scrunched up her nose. Both Liam and Wulf laughed at her.
“Yeah, and to an older woman. Talk about bragging rights. Also two full years before Landon – I still won't let him live that down,” Liam said with pride.
“When did you lose your virginity?” Wulf interrupted, staring at her. She shook her head.
“Uh uh, we're talking about vacations. What's your favorite?”
“When I came to Carmel with you last month.”
It was like he'd dropped a bomb. She stared at him and Liam stared at her. She refused to react, though. She didn't believe him, and wasn't about to dissect that comment right there in front of Liam. She took a deep breath.
“I was seventeen,” she blurted out. Both men glanced at each other, then back at her.
“When you went to Carmel?” Liam checked. She crossed her eyes at him.
“When I lost my virginity,” she replied.
“I want details,” he insisted.
“I want to know with who,” Wulf added, speaking slowly. She wouldn't look at him, though. She was still reeling from his comment, plus she was pretty sure he'd know the guy.
“It was with a boyfriend,” she replied. “We'd been dating since I was fifteen. It was totally stereotypical – he was a senior, we went to his prom. It was held in a fancy hotel in Monterey. We'd talked about it, he got a hotel room for the night, there were rose petals everywhere. I cried after he fell asleep, and I was positive my mother was going to know just by looking at me. Ha! She thought I was a virgin till my third boyfriend.”
“That is … kinda boring,” Liam sighed. She threw a piece of bread at him.
“Who was it?” Wulf asked again, and she finally glanced at him.
“You probably don't know him, he would've been five years younger than you,” she pointed out. He shrugged.
“Then it won't hurt to say his name.”
“Kelsey Hochstein.”
“Hochstein?” Wulf's eyebrows shot up. “You went out with one of the Hochsteins? Actually had sex with one?”
“What's so bad about them?” Liam asked while Katya groaned.