2 | Exposed ( ETHAN DOLAN )

ELEVEN

E X P O S E D
C H A P T E R E L E V E N

THE sun's rays were ruthless as they beat down on Andrea's skin. The air was hot and sticky outside of Grayson's air conditioned Ford Bronco and all she wanted was to be in the cool ocean water of one of Malibu's famous beaches.

Andrea began to make her way onto the beautiful, white sand, too excited for her own good, but before she could do that, Grayson had told her to wait. She frowned.

"I have to bring you somewhere first," he said. Grayson began to lead the girl, whose face was scrunched into curiosity. She expected nothing but a regular day at the beach, but then again, Grayson wouldn't have driven over an hour away from his apartment to simply have a 'regular day'.

"Where are you taking me?" Andrea questioned, but it was a silly question to ask once she had received her answer.

"You'll see."

Grayson was smirking, obviously.

Fortunately for Andrea, she didn't have to wait long at all. Pretty soon, she had arrived with Grayson at what seemed to be a surf shop.

"Grayson, what are we. . ."

"You told me you liked surfing," the boy grinned, as a woman appeared holding two surfboards.

Andrea tensed. Before she could object, however, she was handed a surfboard and her confidence had washed away.

"You guys don't need an instructor or anything like that?" the woman had offered, to which Grayson shook his head in reply.

"We've both done this before. Thanks," he smiled. The face of the woman who seemingly worked at the shop scrunched into slight doubt upon seeing Andrea's concerned expression, but Grayson had quickly ushered her out.

"Ethan and I actually have our own surfboards, but I just didn't want to ruin the surprise," Grayson explained, and Andrea's eyes bulged out of her head when he removed his t-shirt with complete confidence. He was, to put it simply, ripped. Jacked. Shredded. The photos she'd seen on his Instagram did no justice to how big he was in real life.

For a moment, Andrea was intimidated. He looked as if he could knock her out with the tip of his fingers. The veins on his arms were prominent, but subtle enough and looked naturally hot, and the bronze colour of his skin defined the ripples on his abdomen. The only word that suited him was God-like; he looked to be the inspiration for precious marble statues.

Andrea had no shame in staring at him. She knew from the way his lips were curled into a smirk that he was aware of how stunning he was, and how stunning Andrea thought he was, which was why she made no effort to hide her awe.

Eventually she forced herself out of her daze and stripped herself of her own clothes until she was left in her favourite leaf patterned bikini. This time it was Grayson's turn to gaze at her figure with astonishment and wide eyes. Unlike him, she didn't smirk without hesitation. Instead, her cheeks grew hot and turned a deep red colour, and it wasn't because of the sun.

Grayson handed her one of the yellow surfboards, which was just slightly too heavy for her to hold.

"Here," he said, picking up one end of the board so she could pick up the other. Together, they took off towards the azure, salty water. Dozens of surfers already glided across small waves that rolled in and crashed on the shore. Andrea was growing nervous, now more than ever.

"Grayson, wait, I need to tell you something," she admitted as the boy eagerly made his way into the ocean.

The water was cool as it lapped at their feet, the crisp, salty smell filling their nostrils and bringing back tons of good memories for both of them.

Grayson's eyebrows were raised as he waited for Andrea to explain.

"I've never actually been surfing."

His face morphed into a frown– it didn't add up.

"But you told me you have," he replied, recalling the conversation they'd had on Snapchat several months ago.

"I know, I lied. I guess I didn't wanna seem boring to you," Andrea explained and a sudden guilt washed over her when she noticed the hurt on Grayson's face.

"Did you even go to Hawaii? Or was that a lie, too?" he questioned.

"No, no, I actually went to Hawaii, I promise. I have pictures. Grayson, I told Ethan about everything I lied to you both about. Didn't he tell you anything?"

Grayson nodded his head, still frowning. Betrayal grew on his face. Ethan had only hugged her when she admitted to lying.

"Gray, I'm sorry," Andrea said, gently grabbing his hand and rubbing her thumb over his knuckles. She watched his eyes soften, despite him avoiding eye contact. "I was just scared."

"I know, I get it," he responded.

"Will you forgive me?" Andrea looked up at Grayson through her waterproof-mascara coated lashes and purposely batted them.

"Only if you let me teach you how to surf."

"Deal," Andrea grinned.

[ double update is coming soon because i haven't updated in so long and this is boring. also i've never stated andrea's sister's age in this, so i went back and edited the first chapter. veronica is 21. ]