Down for Her

by Melissa Chambers

  “Never,” Bailey says with a grin.

  “I bet Jack Massey could get her to tell,” Logan says and then ducks as Bailey throws her empty sparkling water can at him.

  Tori shifts, looking at her phone like she’s disinterested, but I know she never really got over him. I hate that he hurt her, and I hate worse that she can’t seem to shake him.

  Bailey stands and holds up her phone. “Venmo me, folks. Simone and I will head to the liquor store now.”

  “Done,” Tori says, typing into her phone.

  I pull out my phone and send her twenty. In a second, she looks up at me with a grateful smile. “Thanks, Brett.”

  “That’s for her, too,” I say, indicating Kylie. Tori gives me a raised eyebrow while I try to ignore her. “I’m going to eat if anyone wants to come,” I say.

  “I’ll go,” Cohen says.

  Tori stands. “I’m gonna get a nap.”

  Logan nudges her. “I’m going with Tori.” She shoves him and he stumbles backward with a grin. “Someday, sweetheart.”

  “In your dreams,” Simone says. “I’m going with Bailey.”

  I glance at Kylie, who’s getting to her feet. “You hungry?” I ask.

  “No, I’m good. Are you okay with me going back to your place?”

  “No problem. Val is probably gone to work now.”

  “He works on the weekends?”

  “Yeah, caddies don’t do the eight-to-five workweek.”

  “Sounds good,” she says and then heads off.

  We all scatter and Cohen comes up to me. “I’ve got my truck here. I’ll drive.”

  “Cool.” We head toward the parking lot.

  “Did I fuck something up for you just then?” he asks.

  I wave him off. “Hell no.”

  “She’s cute.”

  “Mmm,” I grunt.

  Cohen chuckles.

  “What?” I ask.

  “It’s just funny. Usually, when I say a girl’s cute or hot, you’re like, ‘Yeah, she’s bangable or whatever.’”

  “I’ve never said bangable.”

  “You know what I mean.”

  “Fine, she’s bangable. Happy?”

  Cohen shakes his head. “Better watch out. Brett might be letting a girl get to him.”

  I go to push him, but he’s already taken off, so I chase after him. But I’m downwind of the sand he’s kicking up as he runs, so I finally give up.

  8

  Kylie

  I’m glad I made myself go to the beach. It gave me a chance to reconnect with some of the girls I met last night. I left with Bailey and Simone set up in my phone. I texted Bailey to send me her Venmo name, and she let me know that Brett covered my part, which makes me feel both guilty and giddy.

  The best part of the day was getting to know him in the ocean. My stomach seesawed with the motion of the waves, and I can’t be altogether sure his presence didn’t add to that sensation.

  I feel like there’s so much more to him than the suave player he likes to make himself out to be. The genuine glimpses I get of him make me want to dig deeper.

  I shower, dress, and then head to Bailey and Simone’s unit, which is sort of catty-cornered from Brett’s place. I’m glad to have the invitation so that I can get out of here before he returns home from going to eat with that guy Cohen, who was also super cute, by the way. What’s in the water down here?

  Bailey opens the door sporting a halter top bikini with a mosaic print and a long, flowy skirt. I feel the closest to her of any of these women, mainly because she reminds me of one or two of the women in my circles back home. She’s a fashionista, way more than I’d consider myself to be. I had a personal shopper in my former life. But I’m guessing her style is all her own. “Hey, girlie,” she says. “Come on in.”

  We walk to the kitchen, where Simone is working on those margaritas that were promised. She’s got on a black bikini and a red sheer skirt, both of which look stunning against her dark skin. Her braids are piled up in a bun on top of her head, showcasing her brown eyes. She hands me a plastic cup. “Tell me what you think.”

  I take a sip. “Wow, these really are good. What’s the secret?”

  Simone looks at Bailey as if she could be giving up the nuclear codes, and Bailey nods. “I think we’re safe.”

  “Raspberry liqueur. Pretty simple, huh? But we’ve got the market on these things,” Simone says.

  “Yeah, we actually walked away with extra cash this time,” Bailey says, smiling at Kylie. “I thought it was interesting that Brett covered for you. Is there a story there?”

  Lord, is there. But I can’t tell them my whole sordid mess…not right now, at least. I just want to have a fun night and pretend none of that happened at the moment.

  “Definitely nothing going on there,” I say.

  “Are you sure?” Simone asks. “You two were pretty cozy out there in the ocean today.”

  Heat seeps up through my neck. “No, totally not. He’s just helping me out this weekend.”

  “Helping you out how?” Simone asks.

  I swallow before revealing my secret. “They screwed up my housing. They gave me the key to Brett and Val’s place. I thought I was Val’s new roommate.”

  “Did you deal with someone named Lauren in housing?” Bailey asks.

  “How did you know?”

  “She’s been interning here for months. We’ve had so many complaints about her. We couldn’t get her out of there fast enough, but it’s a sticky relationship between the resort and the school she goes to. We had to grin and bear it until it was over. Needless to say, she was not offered full-time employment.”

  “So what happened?” Simone asks. “Did you let yourself into their apartment or something?”

  “Oh, yeah,” I say, starting to feel safe with these two. “I totally walked in on Brett. He had just gotten out of the shower,” I say, a giggle getting the best of me, “and he was looking for a towel.”

  Bailey’s eyes go wide. “You saw him?”

  I nod, taking a sip of my margarita through a smile, that sense of giddiness taking over.

  Simone lifts her eyebrows. “You’ve got to tell us. Are the rumors true?”

  “Tell me what the rumors are first.”

  “They vary from he’s hung like a horse to he has a snake tattoo on his inner thigh,” Bailey says.

  I can’t help a smile. “I couldn’t actually see his inner thigh, but I’m starting to wonder if that one might be true.”

  “And that other rumor?” Simone asks.

  I think about Joshua standing next to Brett, and there’s no contest. “That one might be true.”

  Simone gives the cutest laugh that makes me giggle with her.

  “Well, I’ve definitely got him on my list of doable guys,” Bailey says.

  “Along with Jack Massey?” Simone asks.

  This time, Bailey doesn’t throw anything. “I wish everyone would just shut up about it,” she says, but she smiles at her friend. Her expression turns serious. “Not that I could even if I wanted to.”

  Simone nods in agreement, taking a sip of her drink.

  “That’s right,” I say. “You said you work in the business office, right? You must work with him or near him or whatever.”

  “That alone is reason enough,” Bailey says.

  “But not the only reason,” Simone says, and the two of them give one another a knowing look.

  “Is there a story here?” I ask.

  “She wouldn’t do it to Tori,” Simone says.

  “Ah,” I say. “So it’s Tori’s story to tell.”

  “Not that you could get it out of her,” Simone says.

  “We both love her to death,” Bailey says, “but she’s got walls up the size of a skyscraper.”

  “So did they date?” I ask.

  “For like five minutes,” Simone says. “But it was an intense five minutes.”

  “Did Jack break Tori’s heart?” I ask.

  “Nobo
dy’s sure who broke whose heart,” Simone says.

  “I noticed he and Brett don’t seem to get along,” I say, instantly regretting it. I need to watch my gossip.

  “I’m not sure that had anything to do with Tori,” Bailey says. “They’re both teacher’s pet.” Bailey and Simone exchange knowing looks again.

  “What teacher?” I ask.

  “Robert,” Bailey says. “He’s the guy who owns this place. He likes to pick someone to mentor every couple of years, usually a boy, of course. He’d been mentoring Brett for years when Jack came along. The two guys couldn’t be more opposite if they tried. But both can’t be favorite.”

  I have so many questions to ask, but I sip my drink, biting my tongue.

  After about an hour of resort gossip and backstories on everyone we’re going to meet, we head to the pool, dragging a wagon behind us with the margaritas in two big pitchers with spouts. We come in through an employee-only entrance, and I get my first look at my new workplace. It’s definitely got an adults-only vibe. Rocky walls with waterfalls sprawl up the sides, and a large grotto you can swim in and out of sits at the top.

  “They’ve got it going on here, don’t they?” I say, taking it all in.

  “Not your typical family resort,” Bailey says. “Robert’s goal is for this place to be an escape for parents. We’ve got an amazing pool for kids with all the slides and stuff and a lazy river ride on the other side of the resort, but this is where the adults come for sanity.”

  “My parents would have had us coming to this place when I was little if they’d known about it,” Simone says. “God knows they needed some peace from my brothers and me.”

  “It’s not open at nighttime?” I ask.

  “It closes at seven,” Bailey says. “Parents typically pick up their kids from Kids Company at five, so it’s usually a ghost town here after that.”

  Bailey takes one side of the beverage dispenser and Simone gets the other. As they lift it onto the table, Simone says, “Lucky for us.”

  It’s not long before the guys who were at the beach show up along with some others I don’t recognize. I can’t help it, but I scan each group as they come in the gate, hoping to see Brett, silly girl I am.

  Bailey and Simone pull off their cover-ups, so I do the same. I’m wrapped up in a conversation about office gossip led by Bailey when the gate clangs, and my attention is drawn to Brett, Tori, and Val. Tori is rocking a pair of cutoff jean shorts and a bikini top, working her curves like nobody’s business. It seems impossible to me that Brett could not see her in a sexual way, but I remember that they are more family than anything.

  Brett and Val take off their shirts and do matching flips into the pool.

  “Show-offs,” Bailey says, wiggling in her seat.

  “Mmm-hmm,” Simone says with a grin like she’s got Bailey’s number.

  Drinks are poured, cans are popped, and everyone gets into the pool.

  The girls minus Tori cluster at the three feet while the boys set up a basketball hoop that someone pulled from the employee-only area, and it’s middle school all over again—boys versus girls on either side of the gym.

  A security guard walks in and I think we’re all sunk, but he just gets himself a margarita and leaves us. I turn to Bailey. “I see what you mean now. Lucky he’s working, huh?”

  “We wouldn’t be here if he wasn’t,” she says with a waggle of her eyebrows.

  Part of me feels like I’m back in college. I haven’t done anything sneaky in eons. The pool parties I’ve attended in recent years have included high-end cocktails poured by a personal bartender and the latest theme in charcuterie boards.

  The more drinks that flow, the closer the guys get to the girls. Flirtations start, and couples draw together like magnets.

  Two of the guys I’ve met in the past couple of days approach our group. I’m still learning names, but I’m pretty sure the white guy is Logan, and the black guy is Isaac. “I’m walking over to the bar to get some ice,” Logan says. “Y’all want to come? Sneak a shot while we’re there?”

  Bailey and Simone shrug and then turn to me. “You want to go?” Bailey asks.

  I glance over at Brett, who is talking to Val and that other good-looking guy, Cohen, I think. He gives me that player smile he’s so good at.

  “I think I’ll stay,” I say.

  The girls seem to catch on. “Cool,” Bailey says.

  “Come on, Kylie. I’ll show you Big Fish Pub, my bar,” Logan says.

  Isaac backhands him. “The bar where he works.”

  “Same difference,” Logan says with a smile. In fact, I’m not sure I’ve seen him without a smile on his face yet.

  “I’ll see it soon. I’m just gonna hang here and finish my drink.”

  “We’ll be back in just a bit. It’s right around the corner,” Simone says.

  “Take your time,” I say.

  They head out, and I relax back on the side of the pool, closing my eyes and letting my feet drift to the top of the water. I can feel movement toward me as the water pushes in my direction, and someone pinches my toe. I open my eyes to find Brett there, and my stomach does a little sizzle.

  “What do you think about your new workplace?” he asks.

  “If only I could hang out in the pool every day, this job would be fantastic.”

  “Better than working at the family pool, I guess.”

  “But I’m so good at picking up ice cream wrappers and shouting at kids to stop running.”

  “You may have to turn the hose on some couples in that grotto.” He glances at it.

  “Tonight?”

  He grins. “Definitely, but during the week, too. The moms and dads start drinking about ten a.m. so they can sober up before they pick up their kids from us at five.”

  “That’s what I hear. Sounds like a pretty good setup this resort has.”

  “You didn’t want to go on a walk with the four of them?” he asks.

  “And be a fifth wheel? How could I ever have turned that down?”

  He smirks. “Simone and Bailey are good girls like you.”

  “Oh, yeah? And you know this how? Went there and got rejected?” The margaritas have fueled my engine.

  He smiles that player grin that says he knows it all and I’m just a naïve little girl. “I didn’t go there. I only hook up with women who aren’t interested in more than the night ahead.”

  I nudge him in the stomach with my toe. “Because you’re so above it all, aren’t you?”

  He grabs my foot, which is so strangely erotic. “I just like my freedom. You can’t fault me for that.”

  “I’m enjoying my freedom.” I tug my foot away from him before I get hot and bothered right here in this pool in front of God and everyone.

  “Ten bucks says you left a boyfriend in Oklahoma.”

  I hold out my hand to him. “Pay up.”

  He gives me a skeptical look. “How do I know you’re not lying to me?”

  “Why would I lie?”

  “Ten bucks.”

  “True, and I could use it right now, but it’s no lie. I didn’t leave a boyfriend there. I left an ex-boyfriend. Huge difference.”

  “I guess it is.” He narrows his gaze at me. “Are you going to tell me the story?”

  I turn away, biting the inside of my lip. “It’s not my favorite subject.”

  “Then what is? Skiing?”

  “Actually, I’d be happy to never go fucking skiing again in my life.” The drink is definitely getting to me. I don’t really cuss unless I’m drinking or really mad.

  “Skiing equals boyfriend memories?”

  I cup water in my hands, then watch it flow out, trying to avoid looking at him.

  “Where is this asshole now?”

  “Up my dad’s butt, I suppose.”

  “So he got your dad in the breakup?”

  “He can have my dad. I’m not interested in a father who takes his daughter’s cheating fiancé’s side over hers.” My stom
ach sours with the swirl of the drink and the betrayal of my father.

  He lifts his eyebrows. “Fiancé, huh? Now you’ve got to tell me the rest of the story.”

  I pick up my cup. “Margaritas cause loose lips.”

  “Nah, they just help you get out all the bullshit inside that’s erupting.”

  I consider him, wondering if he’s really interested or if he’s humoring me. “So you’re saying if I unburden myself to you now, I’ll feel better?”

  “Guaranteed. And the best part about it is you know I’ll never tell anyone.”

  “How do I know that?”

  “Because I’m loyal.” The intense look in his eyes makes me believe him.

  “Guaranteed, huh?”

  He crosses his heart, not breaking his gaze from mine.

  I’m just tipsy and desperate enough to take him up on his offer, even if he’s only humoring me…or trying to soften me up so I’ll hook up with him later. “I walked in on my fiancé in bed with another woman.”

  He winces. “That’s tough.”

  “Yep.”

  “Where were they…in your bed?”

  “Well, technically, it was his bed. I hadn’t officially moved in yet. I was still living at my dad’s house.” I hold up a hand. “I know a person in her mid-twenties should have her own place, for the record.”

  “I just moved out from my mom’s place last week.”

  “Really? Like for the first time?”

  He nods. “Keep going.”

  “The whole thing was particularly painful because he and I had given up on foreplay years ago, and the two them were engaged in...” I make a motion with my hand.

  “Oral?”

  I scratch my neck, hoping my face isn’t candy-apple red. “Mmm-hmm.”

  “Why had you given up on foreplay?”

  I mess with my eyebrow, hoping to cover my eyes. “That should have probably been my first sign, right?”

  “Would have been mine. So what happened?”

  “I had a whole speech prepared, but I chickened out and bolted.”

  “You knew you were going to find them?”

  “I was clued in by a friend…my only friend.” I try to put everyone close to me who kept it from me out of my brain.

  “Who was the woman?”