I'm now realizing how right Anna was about the kids using Reece's promise of the beach against him while I'm with them. They're smart. Which is how we end up driving to the beach for a day out.

When we arrive, everyone jumps out of Reece's car, grabbing their things. Liam pulls into the parking space beside Reece, pulling a cooler filled with drinks from the trunk of his car. We all make our way down to the beach, finding a nice, shaded spot underneath some trees to lay out our towels.

Once I have laid my beach towel out, I sit down on it, kicking my flipflops off my feet. Anna lies down beside me, Liam on the other side of her. He starts digging through the cooler he's brought as the kids start giggling and running around on the sand.

"Anyone want a drink?" Liam asks, turning to look at Anna and me.

"Do you have water?" I sit up on my elbows to look at him.

"Sure do." He tosses me a bottle and I thank him, cracking the seal, and taking the cap off to have a sip.

Sophie stumbles over to us then, sitting down between Anna and me. "Can we go for a swim?"

I laugh, "Already?"

She nods excitedly, looking between the two of us.

"I'll take you, Soph." Reece tells her, coming to stand in front of us with his back to the ocean. "Do you have sunscreen on?"

"Uh huh!"

He smiles a little dimpled smile, "Alright then."

Then he takes his shirt off. And may I just say... He is fine, fine. Fúck me, he has abs and everything. His swim shorts hang low on his hips, showing a defined v-line which disappears behind the band of his shorts. Tattoos cover almost his entire upper body and it is clear he has no plans of stopping the expansion of his collection. They are absolutely beautiful, and I want to memorize every one of them. His abs are partially hidden by his many tattoos, but it is very clear that they are there.

He steps forward and takes Sophie's hand in his much larger one, leading her towards the water. Macy and Cody both run after them, Macy grabbing his other hand while Cody runs straight for the water.

"You done ogling my brother?" Anna asks from beside me, making my head snap to her. A smirk is dancing on her lips.

"I was not!" I defend myself, feeling my cheeks heat up.

"You were so." She argues.

"No, I was just... admiring his tattoos." I say. It isn't a complete lie.

"So you weren't staring at his abs?"

"Well, he does have a nice six pack, but-"

"Eight." She cuts in.

I furrow my eyebrows, "What?"

Her smirk deepens as she stands up, "He has an eight pack, not a six pack." Taking off her shirt, she gently knocks Liam's side with her foot to gesture for him to stand up. After she takes off her shirt and Liam takes off his as well, they both run down towards the sea.

I huff, leaning back, and shaking my head, "Dámn." I turn my head to look at Max who is sitting beside me, scrolling through his phone. "You gonna come for a swim?" I ask him as I stand up, taking off my shirt. He looks up and nods immediately, slipping his shirt off as I take off my shorts. I'm left in just my blue-grey bikini.

Max grins up at me. "Last one to the water's a rotten egg!" He shouts before taking off towards the sea.

My mouth falls open in shock before I quickly start running after him. "No fair!"

Of course, as it is only a short run and he already got a head start, Max won. I huff, coming to a stop beside him at the water's edge. "That was so unfair."

He shrugs, still grinning. "Life's not fair."

"Layla!" I little voice grabs my attention before a small body suddenly jumps into my arms. I stumble a couple steps, hoisting the little girl onto my hip.

"Hey, Soph." I smile down at her, walking further into the water. The temperature isn't too bad, a little cold but warm enough to swim in.

"Reecey's throwing us in the water!" She says with a giggle.

"Is that right?" I grin.

She nods, "Uh huh!"

I lean in closer, whispering in her ear, "How about we get him back then?"

She giggles, "Yes!"

"Alright then," I mumble to myself, setting her down and taking her hand in mine. We walk through the water towards Reece who is facing away from us. When we are only a meter or so away, I start splashing him with the water. Laughing, Sophie joins in too, her little hands pushing the water towards her older brother.

Reece turns around, holding his hands up in front of his face. "What did I do?"

"You were chucking us in the water!" Sophie replies, giggling.

Reece laughs, "You wanted me to!" He then starts splashing us back, walking towards us.

Sophie and I stop, looking towards each other in alarm before quickly trying to run away as best we can through the water. I hear a small squeal behind me and look back to see her being picked up by Reece and gently thrown into the water. She resurfaces, giggling, "Run, Layla!"

I do just as she says, trying my best to run through the water, but it is no use. Reece catches up to me quickly, his arm wrapping around my waist before he lifts me into his arms bridal style. I squeal slightly, clasping my arms around his neck so as not to fall. My whole body is on fire as his bare skin presses against mine. His hold on me is firm but he is extremely gentle, being careful not to drop me.

I look up at him and pause when I meet his gaze. His eyes crinkle as he smiles down at me, the blue of his irises seeming impossibly bright. His dimples are deeper and more prominent now that he is smiling properly. His mouth is pulled back into that gorgeous smile that I once thought was rare. But now I realize, it just takes the right people to bring it out of him. And right now, I happen to be one of those people.

"Don't drop me." I whisper, my breathing more labored from running.

His chest rises and falls at a similar pace to mine, his muscles flexing as he holds me. "Sunshine, I'm not going to drop you," Then his smile widens into a grin. "far."

And suddenly I'm falling into the water, listening to Reece's laugh. I quickly resurface, pushing my hair out of my face, and standing up. The water only comes up to my waist.

"Reece!" I exclaim, my mouth falling open in shock.

He grins, "Sunshine."

I huff, a smile breaking out on my face, "Not funny." I say, adjusting my bikini top.

He chuckles quietly, "It so was."

"Hey, guys!" Anna calls causing both Reece and I to look over at her, "Do you wanna play some beach volleyball?"

Sharing a brief glance, Reece and I both agree, making our way back to our things on the shore. The kids are all on the sand now, having fun building sandcastles. We leave Max to keep an eye on them as the four of us walk over to the beach volleyball nets which are set up only a little away from our things. From the courts, we can still keep an eye on them.

There are two nets set up, and one of them is already being used by a group of teenage boys. We quickly claim the other one, Anna dragging me onto the opposite side of the court to the boys. "Layla's on my team," She announces.

Liam pouts dramatically, "No fair! Now I'm stuck with this guy." He mutters, gesturing to Reece. That earns him a punch in the shoulder.

The boys serve first, and the game begins. Liam and Reece are really good, but Anna and I aren't bad either. The game is pretty even, and about halfway through they are down by just one point. Liam hits the ball over, but strikes it slightly too hard, the ball going out of the court and rolling onto the one behind us where the group of guys are playing.

While the boys sulk about us gaining another point, I jog over to the other court behind us to retrieve the ball. One of the guys playing on the court picks up our ball and I stop in front of him as he turns to face me.

"Sorry about that." I smile, holding my hand back to take the ball back.

A sly smile pulls up the boy's lips as he takes a few steps closer, standing right in front of me now. "That's alright, Doll." He winks and my lips turn down in disgust. He has greasy bleached blonde hair and dark, unshaped eyebrows. There are a few tattoos that I can see littering his upper body and I can't help but compare them to Reece's. Where this boy's tattoos look cheap and impulsive, Reece's are intricately designed and beautiful. I almost wince at the thought of this guy having these on his body forever.

"Um, can I have the ball back?" I ask, laughing nervously. This guy is starting to make me very uncomfortable with the way he's looking at me.

He only laughs, taking a step forward and sliding an unwanted arm around my waist. "Leaving so soon?"

Alarm bells instantly start ringing in my head. He has his arm on me and I don't like it. I need to remove myself from the situation as quickly as possible. I step out of his hold, having to forcefully pull his arm off of me. That only spurs him on as he continues to invade my personal space.

This is not going to end well.

Liam complains about the girls scoring another point against us, but I'm not really paying attention. I'm too busy watching Layla jog over to retrieve the ball from the court opposite ours out of my peripheral vision. A guy on the other court picks up our ball and I instantly pay more attention. I don't like the vibe he gives off, with greasy bleached hair and multiple badly done tattoos. He looks like trouble.

And I know I can't really say a lot with my own body covered in tattoos, but even from here I can tell his are cheap. And it isn't just his looks, it's the way he acts as well.

His mouth pulls up into a sly smile as Layla jogs over to him. He turns to face her, and I definitely don't miss the greedy once over he gives her. He licks his lips and says something to her. Stepping forward and ignoring her awaiting hand, he says something else. I immediately notice the change in Layla's demeanor. Her body is ridged as he speaks.

And then he puts his hand on her waist, and I wait. Maybe they're flirting, a voice in the back of my mind says. Deep down, I know they aren't, but I can't help but listen to that nagging.

"Should we do something?" Liam mutters in my ear, but I don't spare him a glance. I wait another couple of seconds before I see her remove his hand from her body. That's when I know they aren't flirting. She doesn't like what he's doing. She clearly feels uncomfortable.

I quickly start walking over to them, ducking under the volleyball net. Neither of them notice as I approach them. I gently place a hand on Layla's back which makes her jump slightly and turn her head to look up at me. When she sees me, she relaxes and not-so-subtly steps behind me, away from the guy who is still holding our volleyball.

In the few seconds before he speaks, I size him up, noting that he is a good few inches shorter than me. Around 5'9", maybe 5'10". His tattoos look even cheaper up close and I almost wince. That is going to be on his body forever. I always carefully think through my tattoos, making sure I really want them on my body permanently before I go through with it. And I only ever get them done by my dad who I know is an amazing tattoo artist.

"Everything alright?" I ask, looking down at Layla once again. I can see the grateful look in her eyes, and I give her a short nod.

"And who are you?" The bleached blonde sneers, although I can see the slight worry in his eyes.

I glare at him, taking a threatening step forward as I feel my rage spike, "I'm not someone you want to mess with."

Fear flickers in his eyes, but he doesn't back down, "Well, mister tough guy, everything's fine. You can leave."

My eyes harden and my hands clench into fists, "I don't think so. She didn't look very comfortable, so I think we'll just take our ball and leave." I say, trying to control the urge to punch this guy.

The guy laughs, throwing our ball onto our court, but he doesn't move away. "There's your ball, but I think Sugar Lips over here was enjoying the conversation we were having so-"

He doesn't get to finish his sentence as I swing my fist back and punch him in the face.

"Reece!" I hear someone shout my name, but I ignore it, stepping towards the guy who is now holding his jaw. His friends look like they are going to step in and help him, but a harsh glare from me stops them. The guy looks like he is about to come back for round two, so I take another threatening step forward. I quickly stop in my tracks.

Layla steps in front of me, holding her hands up and looking at me pleadingly. I see her mouth moving, indicating that she is saying something. But I can't hear her. My eyes move from her to the guy and rage bubbles through me again. I'm about to go after him when her hands on my bare chest stop me. My eyes meet hers once again and I focus on that. On the different shades of green that make up her irises and the amount of worry they hold. Is she worried about me?

I breathe in deeply, focusing on her and only her, trying to calm down. Her voice soon enters my head and I focus on that too. I keep my eyes on her while I listen to her soft words.

"It's okay, Reece. Leave him, he's not worth it. I-I'm okay. I'm here. Just focus on me, okay?"

And I do. I take deep breaths in and out, closing my eyes and listening to her calming voice.

"He's gone now, okay? It's alright, I'm here." She murmurs. Her hands come up from my chest, holding my face between her hands and making my eyes snap open to meet hers. As my breathing begins to slow, I bring my hands up, holding hers to me and closing my eyes again. She is right in front of me now and I can feel her breath on my chest. Her thumbs gently brush against my cheekbones as my heartbeat finally begins to slow.

"Thank you." I whisper to her, leaning my head closer to hers but not opening my eyes.

I can almost hear the smile in her voice as she replies, "I'm surprised that even worked."

I shake my head, "Thank you for calming me down. I needed that."

"Anytime." She whispers.

"Okay, what the fúck?" Liam's voice interrupts from behind us making me groan softly.

"What?" I sigh, reluctantly dropping Layla's hands, and turning to face my best friend.

His mouth is agape, "No one can ever get you to calm down like that. Whenever I try, I usually end up getting shoved away or punched in the face."

"Yeah," Anna agrees with a raised eyebrow, "What was that, Reece?"

"He was píssing me off," I grumble, not even answering their questions before turning around and walking back to our stuff where the kids all are. "We're going." I mutter once I reach them, starting to pick up our stuff. I look down and notice that my hand had slightly split. Oh well, I've had worse.

We all pile back into the cars and start the drive back home. Macy and Sophie are happily chattering away to each other in the back while Max stays quiet on his phone. Layla has been quiet the whole drive, but I see her sneaking glances at me every so often. I'm stealing glances at her too. I don't know how she got me to calm down like that, but I'm grateful.

I hear her gasp quietly from beside me, making me look at her quickly before returning my eyes to the road. She's looking at my hands. Shít. "Reece, your hand."

"I know," I mumble quietly, sparing her another quick glance. I pull up outside my house and the kids all get out immediately, leaving just Layla and me in the car.

She turns to me, gaze still focused on my hand. "Reece, let me bandage your hand."

I scoff, shaking my head at her, "I'm fine, Sunshine. I can do it myself."

"No, you'll probably just rinse the blood off and call it a day. You have to let me do it properly." She argues, looking up at me.

"Alright, fine," I relent, "Come on then."

We head inside and go straight to the bathroom. I get out the first aid kit for her before sitting on the counter, waiting for her to get everything ready.

Max soon appears at the door to the bathroom, leaning against the doorframe. "So, who did you punch?"

"Some guy who was píssing me off." I reply gruffly, watching Layla as she works. Grabbing the now alcohol-soaked cotton balls from in front of her, she steps closer to me. She gently grabs my hand in hers and starts cleaning it. I wince slightly as the soaked cotton comes in contact with my skin, but I don't pull away.

Max chuckles a little, "What did he do?"

My hands clench into fists, making Layla look up at me and pause her work. I stare down at my fist that she is holding gently in her much smaller hands. She clears her throat a little, turning to Max, "He wasn't acting very gentlemanly."

I scoff, relaxing my hands so that she can continue working, "That's putting it lightly,"

Max soon leaves the room with a few parting words, leaving Layla and I alone. She cleans my hand up as quickly and as gently as possible, her gaze concentrated on the task at hand. Grabbing the bandage, she steps back between my legs and begins to wrap my injured hand. Light bruising is starting to form on my knuckles already.

"Thank you." I murmur, making her look up at me as she steps back.

She smiles, throwing the trash into the bin, "You're welcome." She continues cleaning up for a moment before I speak again.

"Sunshine?" I murmur, gaining her attention. She hums in response, looking up at me briefly to show that she is listening. "Did that- do I scare you?" I ask bluntly, making her instantly shoot her head up to meet my gaze.

She smiles softly shaking her head a little, "You don't scare me, Reece. I mean, it was a little scary when you punched that guy, but I wasn't scared. I knew you wouldn't hurt me."

I'm silent for a moment before I speak up again, "How did you know?"

She smirks slightly as she looks up at me from beneath her long, dark eyelashes. "You're not as scary as you think you are, Reece. I don't really get why you're 'the bad boy'. Apart from the fighting, there is literally nothing bad about you."

I smile slightly, looking down at my lap, "Yeah, that was kind of a misunderstanding. My whole 'bad boy' reputation."

She raises her eyebrows, "Really? What happened?"

I sigh, hopping down from the counter, and putting the first aid kit away under the sink. "First day of Freshman year, I saw a kid getting beat up by a guy twice his size around the back of the school. They were both seniors, I think. I wasn't the tallest or the strongest guy out there, but I'd just started boxing so-"

"Wait!" She exclaims suddenly, cutting my story short and staring up at me with wide eyes. "You box?"

I clear my throat slightly, feeling my cheeks heat up. "Uh, yeah. I have been for about three and a half years now."

She grins, "Woah, that's cool. So, that's how you know how to punch so well."