by M. M. Koenig
On our way out, Ethan clutched my hand and gave it a squeeze as we walked downstairs. When we entered the kitchen, a loud round of applause broke out along with some hooting and hollering. I glanced at Ethan, totally confused. He shrugged with a sexy smirk before taking out a stool for me. The amused looks from everyone around the room made my face flame. I had no idea why they were looking at me with shithead grins. Ethan remained behind me with his arms around my midriff. I tilted my head to him, with my eyes begging for clarification.
Ethan whispered, “They sort of heard us last night.” I pulled away, suspecting there was more by his anxious tone. “They saw us too,” he confessed.
“What!” I yelled, dropping my head into my hands.
I was so mortified that it wiped away my hangover. I had never been so embarrassed in my life. The idea of having everyone hear us was bad enough, but knowing they saw us really made me want to die. I desperately tried to go back to that part of the evening. My eyes bugged out as my mind found the moment when Ethan had mentioned something about a window.
“Oh. My. God,” I muttered, horrified.
Ethan shuffled down next to me and gently pulled my head up. His hand rested on my cheek before his lips brushed against mine. Unable to deny him, I kissed him back. The catcalls rang out when Ethan deepened the kiss. I hastily pulled away and closed my eyes.
“Don’t worry about it Mia. You two were fucking hot. I think almost everyone had sex last night after seeing you two go at it,” Ziggy declared.
I kept my eyes shut. I didn’t want to acknowledge that everyone standing in this room had seen me naked. There was no way I’d ever live this down. The rest of my skin started to match the color of my cheeks as extreme embarrassment took over.
“I sure as hell did,” Dom agreed.
I pinched myself in the hope that it was a dream. I opened my eyes to see everyone was still staring at me. The pit in my stomach grew even deeper.
“I got my girl to go several times. Watching you guys left her horny as ever,” Eli chimed in, draping his arms around the gorgeous brunette in front of him.
“You two shut down the party. Let’s see a show of hands of who took off to their rooms to get laid after Ethan and Mia moved away from the window,” Wyatt asked.
I looked around the room to see every hand raised in the air. Ethan started laughing with a smug smile. Not particularly pleased that this had happened, I glared at him. He cocked an eyebrow, merely displaying it was just as much my fault.
I swear I’ll never drink that much again. Ever.
A hangover, coupled with humiliation, was crippling me. Everyone was happily watching us while stuffing their mouths with an array of food. There were a few girls I didn’t recognize seated with his friends. I caught Bri watching me and doing nothing to contain her laughter. I peeked over at my boys – they gave me the thumbs up of approval. I gagged as everything inside made a push to be set free. I massaged my temples while holding my stomach.
Ethan slid a cup of coffee over to me. I took it and prayed it would help me, because nothing else was. In fact, the longer I was awake, the more details started flooding in. It became all too clear how very exhibitionist Ethan and I had been. Ethan fixed a plate of pancakes for himself and pushed a plate in my direction. I dished up some scrambled eggs with cheese along with several slices of greasy bacon. At first, I just stared at my plate. I wasn’t entirely sure about taking the first bite. Ethan nudged me to eat. I sighed and drove my fork into the eggs. Ethan scarfed down his food. I finished off the majority of my eggs and ate every slice of bacon. The greasiness worked wonders.
“I know Ethan told you to have fun this weekend, but you might want to be a little more discreet with certain things,” Bri joked, taking a seat next to me. I glared at her. She grabbed the corners of my cheeks to force me to smile. I faked half of one. “I’m teasing Mia. How are you feeling this morning?”
“How do you think? I feel like I’ve been run over by a tank. And that was before I found out I shared my sex life with an entire party,” I grumbled.
Her brow creased as she made an extra effort not to laugh at me. My boys crossed over to join us and gave Ethan a nod of approval. He rolled his shoulders with a sly smirk.
I’ll be hearing about this on my death bed. Well done Mia; well done.
“Babe, we’re going to do some boarding. Do you want to join or would rather take it easy?” Ethan asked, resting his hands on my hips. His eyes sparkled. I could tell he wanted me to go with him. I chewed nervously on my lip. He brushed his forehead against mine. “It’s OK. Hang out on shore until you feel better. We have all weekend.”
I placed my hands on his chiseled cheekbones. “Thank you for understanding. I will later,” I promised.
“I’m staying on shore with Mia,” Bri spoke up.
Ethan swept in for a kiss. I leaned my head to the side. I wasn’t about to draw any more attention to us. He rolled his eyes and gave my cheek a quick kiss before getting up. My boys followed Ethan and his entourage out the patio door. Bri chuckled and grabbed my arm to lead me out of the kitchen. My eyes surveyed the catastrophe around us.
“If you’re wondering about the mess, Wade said that a cleaning service will be here in an hour to tidy up.”
“Seriously?” I asked, following her outside.
“You can tell Ethan that he’s welcome to extend those services to us after our parties. It makes me a little bitter that you didn’t meet him sooner. It would’ve saved my hands a lot of calluses over the summer,” Bri kidded.
“I wish that too; and under better circumstances,” I said with a heavy sigh.
I plopped down on a lounger by the pool. Bri pulled one up next to me. I buried my head in my hands. The pounding in my head intensified as my mind drifted to all the ups and downs with Ethan over the last several days. I couldn’t avoid the lingering frustration with one remaining issue when it came to him. Bri caught my agitation and raised an eyebrow.
“Ethan’s hiding something from me,” I admitted.
Bri flopped onto her back and shut her eyes for a minute. She should get an award for putting up with me as a best friend. She opened them, clearly upset, and inquired, “What do you think he’s keeping from you?”
“Before we left for this trip, I came up in conversation between Ethan and Colin. He requested I stay back from the trip, but Ethan demanded I go. Every time I ask about why Colin would care where I am, Ethan flips out.”
Bri shot up in frenzy. “Shit. I don’t like that one bit. You need to make him tell you. You have a right to know why that sleazebag is interested in you. When you get him to open up, you have to tell me Mia.”
“I will Bri,” I said, closing my eyes.
I hadn’t been awake for long, but it already felt like the evening was around the corner. Bri laid down with her hands rested on her stomach. I wasn’t sure if she was feeling sick. She caught my concern. “I’m fine. I’ve felt pretty decent for the last several days. I’m just tired. I saw your eyes closed and liked the idea of squeezing in a catnap,” Bri yawned and closed her eyes.
I decided I could use a few more hours of sleep. I snuggled deeper into the sunbed and shut out the world.
We were rudely awoken an hour later by the cleaning crew. Bri pulled me up from what had become my safe haven. Some of the girls that had spent the night were out joyriding around on the jet skis. There were two left at the dock so we headed that way. We rounded the dock and released both of them. Bri climbed on and rested her hands on the seat. She waved her hand towards the other one.
“What’s the matter?” she asked after removing her shirt and shorts.
The lake looked a tad on the choppy side. It was perfect for wakeboarding, but they made me anxious. The pounding in my head had finally reduced to a dull throb and my stomach was finally calm. Bri rolled her eyes and joined me on the dock where she was quick to shove me onto my jet ski.
“If I can do this knocked up, you can give it a try with
a hangover,” Bri demanded.
“Fine,” I grumbled, placing one hand on the bars while the other played with the key.
When it appeared as though I wouldn’t jump off, Bri walked back to hers. She stopped in the middle of the dock to grab a lifejacket and threw one in my direction. I caught it and slid it on before starting up the jet ski. When I took off, I made sure to send a wave of water towards Bri. If she was going to be a pain in the ass, I had no problem picking on her.
“You’re going to pay for that Mia,” Bri bellowed, shaking a finger at me.
She revved her jet ski to life and raced after me. I laughed and hit a higher gear to glide across the water faster. We chased each other around for a bit before going our separate ways. It was around noon so the sun was high above me. I wheeled around in circles before jumping over the tiny whirlpools.
When I had burned through a quarter of the gas, I made my way back to the shoreline where the rest of the girls were lounging. They had formed a circle with their jet skis off. Bri had joined them and was sitting on the back end of hers with her feet dangling in the water. I pulled in next to her and killed the engine. I slid to the end and let my legs rest in the water. Someone had gone back to shore to grab a cooler that was floating near the middle of the circle. The blonde girl on the other side of Bri gestured a beer can in my direction. I shook my head and pointed towards the water. She let out a hearty laugh before tossing me a bottle.
I looked around the circle to take in each girl. I remembered one from this morning by Eli’s blunt comment about having sex with her. She had long brown hair with matching eyes. Her skin was tan, with cleavage that made all of us envious. The blonde that tossed me the water had shoulder-length hair with hazel eyes. She struck me as volleyball player, because she was just as tan as the other girl but had the most defined muscles I’d ever seen on a woman. The one across from me had fiery red hair with a flashy white smile. She was quite petite, so the jet ski looked enormous with her on it.
“I suppose you’re wondering who we are?” the blonde chuckled.
Color crept up my neck. “Umm … yes. After this morning, it’s painfully obvious everyone knows who I am,” I answered, still mortified.
“Oh sweetie, don’t worry about it. Those guys fell in love with you after last night. Wouldn’t you agree girls?” she asked, gazing between the other two. They smiled wide, nodding their heads. “I’m Olivia. I’m Tristan’s girlfriend.”
I smiled back, but had to admit her comment was interesting. I hoped it was a sign that she had a carefree personality and would be easy to get along with for the rest of the weekend.
The brunette faced me. “I’m Kami. I’d be the one you saw with Eli this morning. I’m his—I don’t know what we are … let’s just say we have an understanding.”
I giggled, because we had all been there at one time or another. She’d already proved this morning that she’d be easygoing this weekend.
“I’m Drew. I’m Reece’s fiancé,” the redhead said, waving her finger towards me.
I forced myself not to drool. The rock on her finger was humungous. The sun caught the diamond and sent rays of blinding light in all directions. Happiness exuded from every pore of the girl, so she wouldn’t be an issue.
“Congratulations,” I said, grinning at her. I turned to the others and continued, “It’s really great to meet all of you.”
“And I’m Bri, the fairest of them all – with the hottest boyfriend,” she jumped in jokingly.
The rest of the girls laughed with her. It seemed like they had established a repartee with one another while I was lost in my own little world on the lake. It calmed me even more to know that Bri liked them. We were usually on the same page when it came to other girls.
“Karissa is staying too, but she headed back in for a nap. She’s Wyatt’s girlfriend. She’s really hungover and wanted to rest before tonight,” Olivia spoke up.
“I feel her pain,” I muttered under my breath. Bri heard me and stifled a giggle. I scratched my head after catching the last part. “Do you know what’s planned for tonight?”
Drew shook her head knowingly and asked, “How long have you and Ethan been dating?”
“Ah … close to a month and a half,” I answered, confused.
“Then you should know by now that the women in those boys’ lives never have a clue what will happen next with them. They’re all wired the same way. You’ll learn to roll with it, if you haven’t already,” Drew said, eyeing the other two.
“That’s an understatement. Eli called with two hours’ notice and told me to get my ass on a plane. He’s lucky I was able to find a flight. Dumbass,” Kami joined in with a roll of the eyes.
“Tristan had my stuff packed when I got home from volleyball practice,” Olivia remarked.
“Damn, I should’ve called you girls. I refused to let Reece have any until he explained his secretive behavior after meeting up with Ethan,” Drew confessed.
I looked at her in awe. I was going to have to start using that tactic. Bri splashed water in my direction. “Don’t even think about it. You can’t manage it Mia,” she teased.
I sent a wave of water back at her that made everyone laugh.
“We have no idea what they have planned for rest of the weekend. I’m sure it’ll be brilliant. They usually don’t disappoint when they’re together,” Olivia said excitedly.
Bri floated the cooler over to herself and took out a bottle of water. By the look on her face, she was going into interrogation mode. She had the same look with Ava. I scowled at her constant need to be on the inquisition.
“How did they all come together as a group?” Bri asked.
“They’ve been friends from childhood. Ever since kindergarten Ethan, Dom, Reece, and Tristan have stuck to each other. Wade, Kane, Eli, Ziggy and Wyatt are a year younger, but they fell in with them too. They all share a common bond,” Drew answered, focusing on me.
They all come from abusive homes. She wouldn’t be staring at me if that weren’t it.
I broke from her gaze and stared at my ring. An awkward silence descended upon us.
Kami cleared her throat. “Drew and Olivia have been with Reece and Tristan since high school. They left for college together and settled between L.A. and San Diego. Eli and I have been one thing or another since junior high. Probably a lot longer than that if I count all the years he tortured and teased me in grade school.”
Bri gave Kami a sympathetic smile. “What’s with all the tattoos? Trey has a few, but nothing compared to them.”
Olivia flashed a dimpled smile. “It’s their way of showing they’re a united front. It started our freshman year after Ethan showed up with a couple. The rest of them couldn’t resist so they made a deal with one of the parlors to ink them while they were still underage. I think by the time we graduated more than half of them were covered from head to toe.”
I was about to ask what kind of deal was struck, but sealed my lips when I heard boats approaching from the distance. I squinted my eyes to confirm it was the guys. Olivia, Drew, and Kami turned around on their jet skis and motioned for Bri and me to do the same. I crawled up mine, completely perplexed. It wasn’t like we were invisible out here.
Kami grinned. “Trust us. You want to be on shore before they get back here or you’ll regret it. You never know what they’ll do to have a little fun.”
I started up my jet ski and headed back to shore with the rest of the girls. We secured them to the dock before making our way back towards the pool. The mess from earlier had vanished. I imagined the rest of the house was just as spotless. I went back to my trusty lounger and laid down for another quick catnap. The rest of the girls followed my lead.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Crash and Burn
With the amount of people staying over for the weekend, it was easy to get lost in various conversations as we ate our lunch. Most of Ethan’s friends had cracked open beers, along with my boys. I stuck with water. Since I’d alre
ady made an ass out of myself, I was perfectly fine with remaining sober for the rest of the weekend.
Ethan rose from his chair and strutted towards me. The rest of the boys followed suit, seeking out their girlfriends. Tristan popped up around Olivia and placed a kiss on her head. Trey pulled Bri up for a more grand display of affection. Wyatt disappeared into the house to check on Karissa. Eli poked Kami in the sides. She squirmed out of her chair and into his arms. Shane and Jackson joined the rest of Ethan’s friends as they made their way down to the dock.
“Are you ready to do some boarding Mia?” Ethan asked, almost pleading.
“Yeah, but the same rules apply as last time. You can’t laugh at me,” I answered.
He swept in for a quick kiss. Every part of me warmed at the thought of being responsible for his happiness.
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Ethan replied, dragging me out of my chair.
We grabbed a boat with Bri, Trey, Eli and Kami. The rest of his friends split themselves between the two remaining boats, with Olivia and Tristan taking a jet ski. Wyatt reappeared with Karissa by his side. She was petite like Drew and had long blonde hair, with streaks similar to mine.
Our boat flew across the lake with Ethan behind the wheel. I smiled as he took my hand and turned it over to place a gentle kiss on my scar. A few weeks ago that would’ve royally pissed me off, but it didn’t bother me anymore. Red canyons flanked us on both sides of the lake. Ethan slowed to a stop where the canyons slinked the lake into a channel before widening on the other side. It was clear this was his destination as he whipped the boat around. There were miles of wide lake for us to board on, without another boat in sight. The other two boats joined us. Jackson flew out of his seat and Kane did the same.