He shifted himself in the sand to show me the length of his arm.
“This one,” he said, pointing to his shoulder where his biggest tattoo was. A black Batman symbol that looked like it had been spray painted, but the edges on one side broke away to bats flying, spreading to his back shoulder. “Liam and I got at the same time. We were eighteen, and I was leaving for Cornell at the end of the summer.”
“His Superman tattoo.” I nodded. Liam had a blue and red Superman tattoo on his shoulder that had the same spray paint effect, minus the bats.
“Yeah. It might seem lame, but I don't regret it at all. He's my family. He's all I have left.” He laughed softly and added, “Plus, we were young and dumb and had a thing for comics. He swore it made us look badass.”
“I like it,” I said.
His eyes flashed to mine, and he cleared his throat. “This one is for my fraternity,” he said, pointing to a tattoo of a dragon on the inside of his bicep. “And this one,” –he pointed to the ridge of his forearm and traced his finger along the length of the tattoo—“was my first tattoo. A reminder.”
I could make out the sharp rise and fall of a heartbeat, but at the end of the tattoo, it flat-lined. Then the lines changed again. They became softer, still thin and sharp, but it looked like words. He followed my gaze.
“It says ‘it goes on.’ It’s a quote by Robert Frost.”
I nodded my head. “I know it, ‘in three words I can sum up what I know about life.’” I met his eyes but was distracted by a figure walking down the beach. “Damn.”
Ethan turned to see what I was looking at. He finished his beer and then stood up, casually brushing the sand from his still wet pants as he waited for Liam to join us.
I stayed seated and guzzled down the rest of my bottle.
“Kate.” Liam walked past Ethan and hovered over me. “I’ve been looking for you. Can we talk?” He reached his hand out to help me stand.
I ignored his hand and looked out over the ocean. I wasn’t going to touch him. I didn’t want to see him. I kept picturing his waist with Taylor's legs wrapped around it.
He looked from me to Ethan. “Why the fuck are you two wet?” He stepped towards Ethan with barely contained anger. “What the hell is going on?”
“Relax.” Ethan laughed and grabbed his shoulder. “There’s nothing going on. I went to make a beer run with Shane and when I got back, I saw her on the beach alone. I couldn’t find you, so I came out here to talk to her. We went for a swim. No big deal.”
The fact that Ethan had to explain what we were doing infuriated me. I wanted to scream at Liam. Why doesn’t he explain what the hell he was doing? He had no right to be concerned. I stood up and brushed myself off aware of Liam's gaze trained on me.
“You went for a swim? Why?” He reached out to touch my dress.
I stepped back and met him with a direct stare, daring him to say something else.
“Your dress isn’t all wet. You took it off.” He threw his accusations like stones.
“Yes, I took it off. And he took off his shirt.” I gestured towards Ethan. I wanted to say so many things, but the words choked me, and I couldn’t find my voice.
I tried to go back to the house, away from them, but Liam grabbed my arm, spinning me towards him. I stood frozen, staring into his angry eyes.
He maintained eye contact as he spoke, “Ethan you can go now. I need to talk to Kate.”
I ripped my arm free of his grip. “No,” was all I could manage to say.
Liam took a step towards me.
“I don’t think she wants to talk to you right now.” Ethan stepped in between us. “Leave her alone for a while. I’m sure she’ll talk to you later. Maybe in the morning when we haven't been drinking, right?” Ethan looked to me for confirmation.
“Yeah, sure.” I'd agree to anything if I could get away right now. I was ready to take off running to the house.
Liam looked past Ethan to me. “I’m sorry for getting mad earlier. I don’t want to pressure you. I only want to talk.”
I could tell by the way he looked at me that he wanted to sweet talk everything away. He thought I was mad about earlier. He didn’t realize I knew about him and Taylor.
If I hadn’t been so drunk, I may have been able to better articulate my feelings. As it was, all I could manage was, “Go fuck yourself.”
I turned on my toes and ran up the beach back to the house. It wasn't till I reached the steps and picked up my shoes that I turned to look back. But neither of them had followed me. Ethan and Liam sat on the sand, each with a beer in hand.
“What the hell have you been doing?” Sydney slurred as I stepped into the house.
She was sitting on the floor with Shane around the coffee table, and Sonja and Sebastian were on the couch opposite them. They had some sort of card pyramid building in-between them.
I attempted to smile and mask my anger. “I was on the beach.”
“You’re all wet.” Sonja wrinkled her nose at me. “Were Ethan and Liam with you? I haven't seen either of them.”
I looked at the clock on the TV. 1:30 am. “Yeah, they're both on the beach. I’m going to bed. I’ll see ya’ll in the morning.”
“Aw, she said ya’ll,” Shane pointed out.
Laughter followed me from the room.
As I walked to the steps, I caught sight of Chelsea and Taylor giggling shoulder to shoulder at the kitchen table. When Taylor looked up, she put a finger to her lips to silence Chelsea and then pointed to me.
“Have you seen Liam?” Taylor asked with mock innocence.
Chelsea laughed into Taylor’s shoulder.
I swallowed my response and went upstairs. Not wanting to sleep in the room with Liam, I gathered my belongings and found an unclaimed room. Once I locked myself in. I imagined all the responses I wish I could have said.
I would love to have told Taylor that I was the one who Liam originally came to, and it was only after I turned him away, all hot and bothered, that he settled on her skank ass. But I knew those words would never leave my mouth. Just like I knew I never had Liam first. It had always been Taylor Liam wanted. I knew it last weekend; I just had my proof now.
But I didn’t care. I also knew that I didn’t really care for Liam. He was fun, but I had only liked that he chose me. It was my ego that was hurt tonight, not my heart.
The one positive outcome was that I knew I had to change. I had to stop letting things just happen. Like Ethan had said, I needed to make my own choices. It was that simple.
I took a shower and then passed out. If anyone tried to find me, I didn’t hear them.
Margaritas, beer, and wine are not a good combination. My body spent the morning teaching me this important lesson. Around noon, I finally climbed out of bed and threw on my bikini, cutoff shorts, white T, and sunglasses. Then I braved going downstairs to face everyone.
“I was about to wake you up.” Sonja stood from her chase lounge and kissed my cheek in greeting. “We're leaving in an hour. How are you feeling?”
“I feel like I drank too much.” I plopped myself on the nearest lounge chair in the shade of the lanai.
Sydney and Shane were on nearby chairs, either dead or passed out. But Ethan was in the water swimming laps.
“I’m going to wake up Chelsea and Taylor. Could you wake up Liam?” Sonja asked as she tugged on my arm.
My stomach tightened at the thought. I didn’t want to see who he chose to sleep with.
I made a choice and decided to spill to my sister. Getting up, I admitted to Sonja, “He's probably in bed with Taylor. You can wake them up.”
“Oh no. I'm sorry. What happened? Did you see them?” She spoke in a hushed tone as she pulled me into the kitchen, away from the others.
I gave her a reassuring smile. “I saw them last night before I went to the beach.”
She hugged me, “Oh sweetie, have you talked to him about it yet? That asshole.”
“Not really.” I laughed, thinking abo
ut it. “I told him to go fuck himself, but I don’t think he knows why. Or maybe he does by now. I think Taylor knows I saw them.” I shook my head overwhelmed by the mess. It felt better to tell someone about it though.
Sonja looked concerned for me, and I tried to reassure her. “It’s okay. Really, I’m fine. I just don’t want to talk to him about it yet. Not here in front of everyone.”
“I understand. I'll do my best to help you avoid him till we leave. It’s only an hour.” She nodded like she was trying to convince herself of the plan. “I’ll go wake them up. You stay here.”
I walked back to the lounge chair in the shade and laid down, trying to appear relaxed.
Ethan swam to the edge of the pool and pulled himself out of the water. He wrapped a towel around his narrow hips as he greeted me, “Good morning.”
I admired the line of his body as he walked my way. His hips flowed to well define abs and then expanded to wide, rounded shoulders. He ran his hand through his hair, sending sprays of water everywhere and leaving it in wet spikes.
“Morning,” I responded. He looked much too cheery, and I wonder how much he actually drank.
He sat in the open chair next to mine. “The pool water will help you feel better. It’s refreshing, promise. I nursed plenty of hangovers this way in college.”
I stared at him through the safety of my dark sunglasses. The water certainly looked refreshing as it pearled on his skin and dripped down the length of his torso. I focused on one drop that slid down the line of his stomach muscle like a slide.
He settled back in his chair. “Or you can choose to be boring and sit there.”
I stood and slipped my shirt over my head. “I’ll have you know that I had already decided to go swimming before your little lecture.” I unbuttoned my shorts and let them hit the ground as I stepped out of them. “Hence the bathing suit.” I walked away satisfied that I made my point.
I eased into the shallow end, then slid under the water and swam to the deep end of the pool. When I reached the edge, I lifted my head and saw Ethan standing above me. I gripped the ledge of the pool and watched as he dove over me into the water. Showoff.
Pushing off the wall, I used the momentum to float on my back towards the shallow end, and then I walked the rest of the way to the steps to sit in the water.
“Getting out already?” Ethan asked.
“No, just going to relax on the steps. I’m tired.”
Watching Ethan swim was its own form of meditation, he swam fluidly through the water as he completed two more laps. I didn't even notice that Liam had joined us and was sitting on a chair nearby until he spoke.
“Where did you go last night?”
I looked around the pool for an escape. Shane and Sydney were still asleep on the chairs, so I decided to wake them up.
Liam stood and handed me a towel as I got out of the pool. I thought of walking past and continuing to ignore him, but I did need a towel, so I took it and wrapped it around me.
“Thanks,” I said from habit, and then I walked away.
“Can you get my towel, too?” Ethan teased him.
“Shut the hell up,” Liam responded.
I sat on the side of Sydney’s chair and gently shook her.
“She's a pain to wake up. She can sleep through anything,” Chelsea said as she walked out of the house in a bright maxi dress. With her hair pulled back into a braid and makeup done, I would never have guessed she just woke up.
She took off Sydney's sunglasses and then grabbed each of her shoulders, giving her a firm shake as she ordered, “Sydney, wake up.”
Sydney groaned, and her eyelids fluttered. She lifted one eye and then tossed her arm over her face. “Where are my glasses?”
“Here you go.” Chelsea tossed Sydney’s glasses onto her stomach. “We're leaving soon so get up,” she added as she went to wake up Shane.
Sydney eyed the boys racing in the pool. “How the hell can they have so much energy in the morning?” Then she stared at me. “You’ve been in the water too? Where are the normal people?”
I just smiled in response and spread my towel on the chaise next to her to dry off in the sun. Under cover of my sunglasses, I watched the boys in the water. It was a shame that such a jerk was wrapped in such a pretty package. I wondered if Ethan was the same as his friend, but I dismissed this line of thought; it didn’t matter since I had already slept with his best friend.
“The car is here. Bring your luggage to the front, and the driver can load your bags.” Sebastian announced through the kitchen door.
“That doesn't make sense, Sonja. Ethan, Liam, and Kate are all going back to the same building; they should ride together.” Sebastian explained. “You, Chelsea, Sydney, and I are all going to the same area too; we should ride in the helicopter.”
“That makes sense. Taylor can ride in the limo with us,” Ethan added.
That sounded like a horrible idea, but I climbed to the seat at the far end of the limo, a small two-person bench. If I had to be stuck in the limo with them for the next hour, I was going to pretend to sleep. And I'd claim this spot just for me.
“Why don’t we all ride back in the car together?” Sonja suggested. I knew what she was doing, and I was grateful for her attempt.
“The Helicopter has to return home anyway, why waste the ride? See you all later,” Sebastian said as he pulled Sonja away.
Liam climbed into the limo followed by Ethan and Taylor. He scooted around to the seat closest to me, but we were separated by the mini bar. Ethan took the bench opposite me on the far end of the limo, and Taylor sat next to Liam, tossing a smile my way, of course.
I put on my ear buds, turned up my music, and laid down on the seat. Closing my eyes, I shut them all out.
“We’re home,” Liam said as he brushed the hair out of my face.
I sat up quickly, stopping him from touching me again, and looked around. Taylor was gone. They must have already dropped her off.
The valet opened the door and Ethan scooted out. Liam held out his hand in a gesture for me to go first. I didn’t hesitate; I couldn’t wait to leave the confined space.
Ethan poked at the messy bun on my head with a playful smile. “Your hair was knocked around on the ride.”
I pulled on the band in my hair, releasing the bun, and quickly gathered the strands into a low ponytail. “Better?”
“You’re cute no matter how you wear your hair,” he complimented as he pulled our bags from the trunk of the car.
“Good response.” I tried to grab my bag from him, but he swung it out of reach.
When we reached the elevator, I pressed the call button, and Ethan and Liam stood on either side of me as we waited.
“Are we still on for Game Of Thrones and dinner?” Ethan questioned.
The elevator doors opened, and I stepped on and hit the numbers to our floors.
Liam added, “We can order pizza this time or Chinese. What would you want?”
“I can't make it.” I avoided eye contact with either of them.
When the elevator opened to my floor, I turned to Ethan for my bag, but Liam intercepted it first.
“I’ll be up soon.” He handed his bag to Ethan and then stepped off the elevator after me.
“Can we talk?”
“Okay, talk,” I directed.
~Carly~
It was jealousy. It had to be. He wanted her for himself, and that knowledge felt good. Almost as good as the way his hands felt as they took possession of her now.
Carly arched her back as his fingers slid rhythmically in and out of her.
“Oh, you are beautiful. And ready. Now make me ready.” Connor panted into her neck as one of his hands pushed on her shoulder, making his desire clear.
Carly eagerly slinked down the length of his body to take possession of him in her mouth. He often praised her for this talent. And she loved the feeling of power it gave her to know that she was the only one that pleased him in this way.
; Her confidence soared when his warm seed spurted into her mouth within moments. She greedily swallowed what he gave. He had told her this was his favorite part, and she was happy to remind him how much pleasure she could give. He wouldn’t want to give this up; she knew that.
Chapter Twelve
If you want different results, you have to make different choices.
He lifted the duffle in his hand and nodded to my door. “Can we go inside and talk?”
Without responding, I walked to the door and unlocked it, hoping that my mother was not home. I didn’t need any more awkwardness. The lights were on, but I didn’t see her. That didn’t mean she wasn’t in her room though. I led Liam directly to my bedroom. He set my duffle down by the door and walked around the room, pausing to read the quotes I had posted on the vanity and above my dresser.
I gestured to the couch and sat on the edge of my bed, arms crossed and waiting. He wanted to talk; he needed to be the one to do the talking.
“I said I was sorry,” he said as he dropped back on the couch. “I didn’t mean any of what I said. I don’t think you’re a tease, but I was frustrated. It’s hard to pull back.”
“I get that, and I should have been clear from the beginning. I don’t sleep with guys easily. It would not have happened anytime soon.”
He sat up with his teasing smile. “That’s a surprise considering our past.”
My teeth clenched. “I was clear about that. I wasn’t myself that night.”
“You never explained why though. What was going on that night?”
I shook my head, dismissing the question. “I’m not getting into that with you right now. That’s not the point of this talk.”
“All right, what’s going on with you and Ethan? I heard his side, but do you like him?”
“Is that a serious question? What’s going on with you and Taylor?”
He paused then and sunk back into the couch. “I’ve told you, we’re just friends.”
My muscles tightened in anger, but I kept my voice level, dismissive. “Oh. Well, Ethan and I are just friends too.” He could read into that whatever he wanted.
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