Labeled

by Jenni Linn

  "Alright, I don't know about y'all, but I'm ready for some water action!" Vance stands up, stretching out his limbs. We all follow his lead, stand and begin our way to the front double doors. Once we’re outside we say our goodbyes to my parents. I watch them walk away, arm in arm. "It's hard to believe they're still together right?" The voice comes from my right, and I glance over to see Victor watching them as well.

  "Yeah," I agree, my eyes back on them as my father opens the door for my mother. Chivalry isn't dead.

  "Everyone deserves to find that love."

  I smile at his words. "Have you?" I ask, curiously.

  "Yeah, I think so."

  I look to Victor again, but his eyes are on Melissa. "You will too." His gaze moves to me.

  "I hope so."

  "Let's roll!" Vance yells out, grabbing our attention.

  "We'll follow you," Victor says before moving away. "Anyone's welcome to ride with us," he says before moving towards his car. I'm torn between who to ride with. I want to be with Chase, regardless if we can't show any affection. I just want to be around him but at the same time, I'd love to spend some time with Victor.

  "I'm gonna ride with Victor," Vin announces, moving towards the back door.

  "When did Victor get rid of the Audi?" I hear Chase ask Vance as I move towards them.

  "Not long after he started working for Melissa's father's firm. I guess it wasn't ‘professional enough’. Whatever that means." Vance says annoyed, with a shake of his head. "She's got him so whipped. His nose is permanently glued to her ass." I smack Vance with the back of my hand. "Stop. He loves her," I point out.

  "Yeah, loves her magical box."

  "You are such a pig." I need to walk away, so I turn to stalk towards Chase's truck.

  "Oink. Oink." Vance snorts behind me, followed by his obnoxious laughter.

  "Shotgun!" Vaughn yells just as I'm about to grab the handle of the passenger door. I quickly jump in and lock the door, watching him stand right on the other side.

  "Not cool, V. I called shotty!" Vaughn yells, through the closed door. I stick my tongue out at him. Vaughn gets in behind me as Vance climbs into the back behind Chase, who's settling into the driver’s seat. I pull the seat belt over my torso, and I’m clipping it in when I feel pain on the tip of my ear.

  "Ow! That hurt." I turn to glare at Vaughn, who's laughing.

  "Yeah? It was supposed to."

  "Jerk," I mutter. I rub my ear.

  "Alright, children," Vance cuts in. "Knock it off."

  Chase is struggling to try to contain his laughter.

  "I hate you all," I say, crossing my arms,and keeping my gaze out the window.

  "Oh, yeah," Vance says behind us, as if he’s forgotten something. I turn in the seat, my curiosity getting the best of me. His face is painfully close to his phone, fingers moving diligently when they stop, and he looks up. He scoots forward, "Hey, Chase...how many people can fit on your boat?"

  I groan while Chase answers, "Ten. Why?"

  "Because we are getting some company, boys."

  "This was supposed to be a relaxing day!" I protest.

  "Hush. It will be."

  "Who did you invite?" I ask, annoyed.

  "Talia and friends will be meeting us at the dock."

  Fantastic. I was looking forward to a relaxing, calm afternoon on the water. "Seriously Vance? You didn't even ask Chase."

  "Chase doesn't mind, do ya?" Vance looks at Chase, who's busy driving, but he shrugs his shoulders in response. "See?"

  "Did you ever think that maybe he didn't want a bunch of random people on his boat?"

  Vance laughs a little, "No sane guy will mind a few hot girls in bikinis on his boat." I huff. Why did my brother have to go and ruin such a good thing? Oh, that's because it's what he does.

  "Stop being a baby. Talia isn't that bad. We'll still have a good time."

  So yeah, he’s right--Talia's not bad. I can't speak on behalf of her friends because I have no idea they are. Talia and Vance have an odd relationship. I don't know all the details, and I'd like to keep it that way. She is always nice to me, so it honestly could be worse. I just wanted a nice relaxing time with Chase and my family.

  After about an hour drive, we arrive at the lake's marina. Chase pulls his truck into the parking space closest to the dock's entrance and Victor's Volvo pulls in next to us.

  Without realizing it, I must have a permanent scowl of annoyance plastered across my features. That or Victor just knows me. "Whoa, what's with the face?" he asks after taking a good look at me.

  "Vance invited his girlfriends." I use my fingers to quote the word ‘friends’.

  "Really?" Melissa says as she joins us, then looks at Victor.

  "It's not my boat." Victor shrugs and pulls her to him. "Don't worry, those girls have nothing on you," he says to Melissa, then places a kiss on her forehead. It's so sweet.

  Despite him being my brother, it's swoon worthy. He looks up at me, "We'll have fun." They walk around to the trunk and grab a cooler out, along with some towels and a beach bag.

  Loud music grabs all of our attention, causing us to look at the convertible Beetle driving our way before parking behind Victor's car. I instantly recognize Talia behind the wheel. Her eyes are covered by big sunglasses, her honey-brown hair is pulled up into a messy bun, and her tan skin on full display. It goes quiet when she shuts off the car. "Hey guys!" she yells out to our group along with a wave. Her two friends climb out of the back and help Talia close up the top.

  Talia has on a cute long tank that dips low on the sides,showing off her bright pink bikini while her offcuts peek out at the bottom. Her friends have nothing but their bikini tops and some shorts on. I hate judging people before I get to know them, but I can't help but be envious of their assets--therefore I hate them. Well, hate is a strong word, so let's just say...I strongly dislike them. I have a mental battle with myself as I watch them work together, admiring their bodies, and wishing I look half as good as they do.

  Once they're all finished, they close the circle of our group. Talia comes to hug Vance, although when they pull apart his arm remains wrapped around her shoulder. Talia's face lights up when she sees me, standing across from her. "Oh my gosh! V! It's been forever." She moves forward--out from under Vance’s arm--and embraces me in a hug.

  "Hey Talia," I respond as she steps back. She pulls her sunglasses off, placing them atop her head. Her caramel eyes widen. "Look at you, girl!" she says as her eyes roam my body, even though it’s covered by a white romper. "You're hot!" her voice is loud. It seems as if she's almost shocked by this. I've never had another girl openly admire my body, but I don't find it awkward in the least. It's actually a very empowering thing.

  "Thanks?" I say, not knowing how to respond.

  She laughs. "Work that body!"

  "Uh, No," Vance chimes in from behind, and she waves her hand at him.

  "Oh shut up, Vance." There’s a smile playing on her lips.

  Talia moves around the circle saying hello to my brothers, stopping to chat with Victor and Melissa for a bit, then ends up by her friends. "These are my sorority sisters, Jenny and Laura." She introduces us all one by one. Laura's eyes linger on Chase a bit longer before moving to me and smiles. This, of course, annoys me. But it's completely understandable because, well, Chase is hot. We all exchange pleasantries with the girls.

  "How come you haven't told me you were in a sorority?" Vance asks, surprised.

  "Why?" she asks, placing her hands on her hips.

  "Education reasons." Vance smiles.

  "Uh-huh." She smirks.

  "Let's get a move on!" Vin suggests. Vance and Vaughn shout out their approvals. Chase leads our large group out onto the dock towards one of the larger boats parked on the water. Someone whistles. "Damn, Chase," Talia's voice cracks, "I am with the wrong guy." she quips, causing Chase to laugh.

  "He may a big boat, but I have a big—"

  "ALRIGHT!" I yell out, stopping Vance f
rom finishing his sentence, and he erupts into a fit of laughter.

  Chase climbs on and has Vance come up with him to help the girls over. Victor does the same, helping Melissa with their stuff and then bringing her over. I move to allow Chase to help me. I grab his outstretched hand and he pulls me over as if I weigh nothing. When I am safely standing on two feet, his free hand moves to my hip, giving me a slight squeeze. "You good?"

  "Yeah."

  He laughs lightly following that with a wink, then releases me to help the others. My eyes scan the boat, taking in the seating options. There's seating in the front, a seat across from the driver, and then seating at the back of the boat where Melissa is sitting--looking slightly peeved. I don't blame her. I decide to take the seat next to her, she gives me a weak smile.

  Once everyone is on board, Chase goes about getting the boat ready to go. "Chase, you need help?" Victor asks him.

  Chase starts the engine and looks at Victor. "Yeah, if you can untie the ropes from the dock and reel them in."

  "V." Victor gets my attention. "Can you help?" I nod and get up moving towards the front. He unties the rope, and I pull it up. He moves to the back and then quickly jumps back onto the boat pulling that rope up. Once I've pulled all the rope up into the boat, trying to keep it organized, I yell, "What do I do with this?"

  "Here." The voice is closer than I expected, which startles me. I turn around and come up close and personal with a nice set of smooth, tan, muscular pecs. I look up into Chase's vibrant blue eyes. He's standing really close, and it makes me nervous and excited at the same time. Chase has lost his shirt, and it's making my mouth water.

  He gives me a wicked grin and it hits me low, low, low. He takes the rope from my hands. "You okay, V? You're looking a little flushed." He smiles wide, giving me a nice view of his, near-perfect, teeth.

  I release a breath, "Yeah." It comes out airy. I take a step back, hitting the boat, which startles me again. I hear his laughter and I clear my throat. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm good. I'm good." I move away from him before I do something stupid.

  I take my seat next to Melissa, who is now staring at me as well, but I avoid looking her way. I take in the nearby boats, realizing just how big this boat is compared to those around us. My heart has slowed to a normal rate. I glance away, still feeling eyes on me, eyes that belong to Mel. "What?" I ask. Her smile widens then her eyes flick to Chase. I ignore her.

  A whining noise comes from behind me, startling me. "What is that?" I quickly look at Chase. He's amused on behalf of my frightened state. "I'm pulling up the anchor."

  "Oh. Okay." I settle back into the seat while the boat starts to move away from the dock. More of the lake comes into view--it's stunning. The other side is nothing but a mountain of trees, and it truly looks like something out of a movie. Other boats glide across the glistening water. He's driving slowly, but I still feel a slight breeze. The sun is shining bright, and I bask in the feeling of it on my skin.

  When we're a decent distance away from the marina, Chase yells for everyone to hold on. He slowly pushes the throttle down, and while the boat picks up speed I grab onto a handle on the side. I'm so glad I sat in the back because sitting at the front looks frightening. The girls up front squeal out as the tip shoots upward.

  My eyes move to Chase, taking in his muscular back rippling as he moves. I've never thought a broad back would affect me like this, but Chase's back is sexy as hell. I can't tear my eyes away from him. His body twists, and now his abs are facing my way. That's when I realize the breeze has stopped, and we're no longer moving. My eyes move upward to a very amused Chase staring back at me. His posture and cocky smirk tell me he knows exactly what he's doing to me. I look away, because I have to--for my sanity.

  I take in the surroundings and realize we've made it to the cliffs. Multiple boats are floating nearby. There are people laying on rafts connected to their boats, and others swimming in the water.

  My eyes crane upwards towards the highest cliff, and even though we’re still a decent distance away it still requires me to look up. A guy is standing at the edge, looking over while his friends are waving their hands in gestures that I can only assume mean to support him. He walks away until he's out of sight, then seconds later he appears running. He runs until he reaches the end and launches himself off, falling headfirst into the water. His friends yell atop the cliff, and some shouting comes from a nearby boat.

  "Oh my gosh," Melissa whispers next to me.

  Someone else throws themselves off, but they've done this before because unlike the first guy. This guy shows off--he does a flip in the air, then dives in perfect form into the water.

  "Do you do that?" she asks me, and I look at her. Her eyes are wide.

  "I haven't," I tell her, "but the guys do."

  "How high is that?"

  I shrug. "I'm not sure."

  "Victor, how high are the cliffs?" I called out to Victor, who is standing near the front, watching the people jump from the cliffs.

  He turns to me. "I'm not exactly sure, but I'd say roughly eighty feet." His attention goes to Chase who asked him something.

  Melissa's eyes widen. The worry is evident on her face.

  Vance jumps down from the front of the boat. "Who's jumping?" he asks, rubbing his hands together.

  "I'm in!" Talia yells, jumping onto Vance's back. He easily catches her.

  "Hell yeah!" Vin yells.

  "That is high," Laura says.

  "No way." Jenny's shaking her head back and forth.

  "Oh, you chicken shits!" Talia calls to them. "C'mon V, let's show these girls how it's done!" She jumps off of Vance and walks to me. Vance's laugh is boisterous, "V won't jump."

  The last time we came here, which was two years ago, I chickened out. I couldn't jump off the highest cliff and opted to jump off the smallest one. Even that was terrifying. For some reason, Vance telling me I won't jump makes me want to even more. I stand up defiantly, untying the knot at the back of my neck.

  "Oh, shit." I hear Vin. "She's gonna do it!"

  "She'll get up there and choke." Vance dismisses, which only adds more fuel to my fire. I completely remove my romper, leaving me in my bikini, and toss it on the seat. Loud coughing comes from Chase, whose face is red, and he's hitting his chest. Vaughn, who is closest to him, hits his back, "You alright, man?"

  "Yeah..." He coughs and sputters some more, "Just..." he points to his throat, another cough. "Spit went down the wrong tube."

  "Alright!" Talia shouts, grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the rear. "Let's do this!"

  I wasn't prepared to jump, so when she jumps in while holding my hand, I don't land in the water gracefully. Thankfully I managed to turn on my side to avoid doing a big ol' belly flop. As soon as we're both under the water, we release hands and swim upward, breaking the surface. The water is surprisingly refreshing, so I allow myself to float and enjoy it.

  "C'mon you pansies!" Talia yells, laughing.

  "Pansy?" Vance rips off his shirt and walks to the back. He dives into the water and surfaces next to Talia. She yells and squeals as he pulls her to him. His head goes to her neck and I look away.

  Vaughn and Vin both do the same but flip off the back, creating a massive splash. We're all treading water but my arms are quickly becoming tired.

  "Let's go, Daniels!" Vance yells. My eyes move to Chase, who looks up at his name being called. "I'm coming." He slips off his shoes and dives in off the back, surfacing behind the group a second later.

  "You comin' Victor?" Vaughn shouts.

  Victor shakes his head. "No, I'm gonna stay with Melissa."

  "Fucking pussy whipped pansy," Vance mutters low enough, but I still catch it.

  "Race?" Vaughn questions.

  "One. Two. Three. GO!" Vance shouts, right before taking off.

  We all race to the side of the cliffs. Vance gets there first and makes sure everyone knows it. The guys climb up, leaving me and Talia in the water. There's a thick rope hanging from a
rock above, so I move to grab it when a hand shows up in front of my face. My eyes travel up the muscular arm, connecting with blue eyes, and a beautiful smile.

  "C'mon," He says, shaking his hand for me to grab. He pulls me up easily, then helps Talia.

  "Thanks, honey bun." She walks ahead while ringing out her hair. I follow, which leaves Chase behind me. I follow the makeshift path, created by the years of people coming up the side of the cliff. I try to stay confident, but I can't help when my ass is practically in his face as we climb upward.

  Reaching the top, the area is massive and most of it is flat. Towards the back are all trees. Moving towards the middle, you can see the wide expanse of the lake and all the boats moving along. The sight is beautiful.

  Vaughn is standing at the edge of the cliff, and yells out, "WHOOOOO! I'm the king of the world!" The shouts and whistles come from down below. He backs up a good distance and then runs forward, launching himself out in the air. My heart is in my throat, and I'm not even the one jumping. My nerves are getting the best of me. A second later, he screams out, "Clear!"

  Vin is pumping himself up to go next when Vance sprints by him and jumps off yelling, "pussy" on his way down. A second later, we hear him yell, "Clear!"

  My heart is pounding, and my eyes are focused on Vin before he darts and disappears. I don't even hear him call out after hitting the water. My vision is becoming tinted around the edges, and vaguely I can hear my name being called.

  Talia's standing in the middle of the vast area, getting in position to run and leap off. We're crazy. This is crazy! Who does this? She takes off and soars into the air--her scream can be heard down until it's suddenly cut off.

  "V!" I'm jostled. I look over at Chase whose hand is on my shoulder--his face just inches from mine. "Are you okay?" I can feel his breath on my cheek. I nod. I'm really not, though. Internally, I'm freaking out. Heights are not my thing. I'm terrified, and it must show on my face, because Chase offers me a sympathetic, "Do you want to go back down?"

  I shake my head. I shouldn't care what the hell Vance thinks, but I know he'll give me so much shit. I take a deep breath. I can do this. I take another deep breath.