by Claire Adams
I turned and smiled. "You looked great, as always. I love the skinny jeans and that blue top. It's much better than anything in your suitcase."
"I feel ridiculous." She walked to the door. "You sure?"
"Yes. Let them in." I dried my hands and turned to look out at the lake through the window just above the sink. Some part of me hoped that Brody would forgo the evening and instead spend it with his cousin or one of her friends. But a bigger part of me prayed like hell that he would be there to tease me, to make me feel something. And boy was he good at that.
A smile touched my lips at the sound of Clay's voice.
"Don't you look incredible?" He spoke, and Emily giggled. It was out of character for her, so much so that I turned to make sure he wasn't tickling her.
Brody walked in and stopped just inside the door as our eyes met. He lifted a six-pack of beer and gave me a cocky smile. "I come in peace."
"I doubt that." I dropped the towel and walked toward them, turning my attention to Daniel. "Hey, you."
"Hi, Cora. You look beautiful." Daniel touched the side of his glasses and blushed slightly, causing me to smile. He wasn't going to be anything other than a good friend, but it was cute watching him get flustered.
I took the beer from Brody and turned to face him. "I hear from Emily that you're the grill master."
"Among other things, yeah." He winked and moved past me toward the kitchen. "I brought some brats because the guys wanted them. Whatcha got in mind for dinner?"
The serenity of his persona washed over me, and I realized how much I enjoyed confident people. His cockiness was a bit annoying at times, but mainly because it reminded me too much of my own.
He opened the fridge and leaned over, his navy shorts pulling tight on the perfect swell of his ass. My body warmed, my cheeks flushing and stomach contracting.
He might be a player, but he was the perfect guy for the job. I'd yet to see anyone better looking in Lake Havasu.
"Are you checking out my butt?" He glanced over his shoulder and lifted his eyebrow.
"Nope. I was seeing if we had mustard." I leaned across his back and plucked it from the door. "Good to know. I enjoy eating my weenies with mustard."
He chuckled and moved back. "Seems like a useful bit of information."
"Oh Lord," Clay mumbled and walked into the kitchen. He stopped beside me and smiled at me. "How are you, Cora? We missed you at breakfast yesterday. Emily is quite the cook."
"Where's Dedra?" Derek walked into the kitchen and pulled his cowboy hat from his head. "And Cindy?"
"I'm here!" Cindy walked in and smiled at everyone before turning her attention to me. "Did you get everything done?"
"Yep." I moved away from the fridge, trying hard not to notice how good Brody's cologne smelled. I turned to Derek as Daniel moved up beside him. "Dedra ran into town. You guys keep an eye out for her to make sure she doesn't need help.”
"What's she got?" Daniel asked.
"Drinks for tonight." I glanced over at Clay as Emily moved up beside him and wrapped her arms around his middle. Longing rolled through me. It had been far too long since I'd let someone hold me. "I hear you're quite the cook. How come you never cook for us?"
Emily chuckled, and I couldn't help but feel the weight of Brody's stare on me. I ignored it, though every part of me wanted to turn and give him my attention. Gorgeous wouldn't do him justice, not in the slightest, but looks weren't everything.
"Because I cook for you." Cindy bumped me with her hip, catching me off guard. I took a few steps forward to catch my balance and had to reach up to press my hands against Brody's chest before crashing into him.
The look on his face was far different from anything I'd seen Friday night. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm good." I pulled my hands down and turned toward the front door, grateful to hear the slam of a car door. "There's Dedra. Let's help her out."
I started to follow the guys out, but was stopped by someone tugging me backward. Brody.
"Hey, I'm sorry about Friday." He shrugged. "I'm not sure how to be anything other than the alpha asshole of this group."
"You are who you are." I shrugged and turned away from him, ignoring the soft sigh I heard leave him.
It would be far too easy to sink into him and let him make me feel like a princess for the night, but the sun would soon rise. He was the kind of asshole that would sneak out before the morning came and wouldn't look back. With a whole summer with him beside me thanks to Emily and Clay starting something, it wasn't happening. I'd come to Lake Havasu to have fun, nothing else. Brody would prove to be just that, but only for a night.
Everyone had the liquor in their arms, plus a few bags of extra goodies that Dedra picked up, too, by the time I got out there. I held the door for Brody, but didn't find him behind me.
"It's busy in town. I think everyone is getting excited for the Fourth of July coming up soon. The firework stands are packed with people and explosives." Dedra blew a hair out of her face as I reached for the bags in her hands.
"Are we doing fireworks?" Emily asked, moving up beside me as I turned and walked back into the house.
I started to respond, but realized she was talking to Clay.
"We can do anything you want to do." He smiled down at her as I passed by.
"Are you promising the girl the world?" Brody gave a crooked smile as he opened the door for all of us.
I moved in without giving him a glance and walked to the kitchen to find Derek and Cindy laughing about something. The smile on her pretty face caused one to lift on my own. I wanted her happy, but wasn't so sure this band of guys were the ones to make that happen. Derek seemed nice, but anyone willing to put up with a guy like Brody meant they, too, objectified women—or maybe I was once again overthinking it.
"What's the plan for tonight?" Daniel walked into the kitchen and sat two large bags down. "You girls want us to go grab a movie to watch?"
"Cora and I can go get something." Brody glanced over at me. "It's just a couple of blocks up the road. Come on; I've seen you looking out that window several times in the last ten minutes. You want to get outside."
Everyone was watching me, and for that reason alone, I nodded and grabbed my purse from the counter. "Yeah, sure."
The mumbles that resounded behind us were almost comical, but I would have been a fool to think the tension between me and Brody was only felt by the two of us. I waited until we got outside to turn and glance his way.
"You sure a senator's son should go anywhere without his bodyguards?" I smirked as he gave me a look.
"Are you always so full of piss and vinegar?" He reached out and grabbed my arm just before I ran into a pole.
"Fuck." I jerked back and pressed my hand to my chest. "Yes, I am, and thanks...I think."
He laughed. "You think? You're welcome, I guess."
I tried to ignore how cute the slight dimple in his left cheek was as he rolled his eyes at me. "You're not like any of the girls I've met, Miss Thing."
"Miss Thing?" I moved around the pole, trying to avoid being too close to him.
"Yep." He gave me a sideways glance as he ran his fingers through his blond hair.
"How am I so different? Is it because I don't melt the minute you look my way? You've known me for three days and have yet to see me naked? Different like that?" I stopped at the cross street and looked to my left and right.
"It's to your right. Tucked away right here." He took my elbow and turned us, ignoring my question. "What kind of movie do you girls like?"
"Chick flicks, mysteries, porn." I shrugged and walked beside him as I kept my eyes ahead of me. I'd almost embarrassed the hell out of myself by running into a pole in front of him. The last thing I needed was to owe him something for saving my ass again. He'd done it twice already.
"Hmm...porn sounds fun. It's been years since I've seen one. I bet money with the cinematography and stuff that they're pretty awesome nowadays."
"Do you really expect m
e to believe that you haven't seen a porn recently?" I shook my head, unable to pull myself back from being a complete ass. What the fuck was I doing? This wasn't me. My need to protect myself was working overtime.
"No need to watch one on TV when you live it every night, right?" He gave me a “fuck you, too,” smirk and held the door open. "Pick out whatever you want and I'll get it. The guys won't let me live it down if I don't, not that any of that should be your concern."
He walked down the aisle farthest from me, and my stomach dropped. I owed him an apology. I hadn't acted this shitty since I was a teenager with raging hormones. Following him down the horror aisle, I picked up Friday the 13th and turned it over.
"I've seen this one lots of times, but it's always a good scary date-night movie." I glanced up, thinking he might have given me a smile or a shitty comment over me calling the evening a “date-night.” Nothing. "Okay, so let's get it."
"Yep. And let's get this." He handed me The Notebook and walked toward the front, not giving me a second glance.
"Really? I'm not sure your friends would be too hip on a sappy love story."
"It's far more than that." He glanced over his shoulder as he pulled his wallet out. "Not that I'd know. I was too busy making out the 10,000 times I've seen it, but the opening scene is pretty good. Hooks you right away."
The sarcasm in his voice was hard to swallow. He was pissed that I was being so judgmental, and I could understand it all too clearly. I hated being judged for anything and by anyone. Nothing felt more condemning. He might deserve it, but it wasn't my place to give it.
The cute blonde cashier’s face lit up as Brody walked just in front of me.
"Hey, you. Where were you?" She pushed at his chest as her smile lifted to her eyes. "You push me in the lake and disappear. What are you, 10?"
He chuckled. "Naw. I like the courtship to go slow, and you were...aggressive that day. Just figured I'd cool you off a little."
I stopped beside him, having half the mind to reach over and wrap my arm around his back like he meant something to me.
Her eyes moved toward me as she picked up the movies and started to scan them. Her cute smile faltered, and some part of me loved it.
"Who...who's this?" She said like I wasn't there.
Brody glanced down at me and back to her. "Oh, this is my sister, Kelly. She's here for a few days, and we're hanging out tonight, but I should be done around 11 if you're off by then?"
"Yeah. I will be." The girl extended her hand to me. "Hi, Kelly. I'm Tanya."
I shook her hand as warmth coated my chest and rose up my cheeks. Had the cock beside me really just called me his sister?
"Nice to meet you." I took the movies from her and walked to the door as Brody finished making his plans for the night. Asshole. He was exactly the guy I thought him to be. That I would even began to feel bad over my thoughts was sickening.
"Alright. One chick-flick and one scary movie for those in the group with someone to cuddle up to." He put his wallet in his pocket and glanced over at me. "You want me to carry those?"
"Nope. Your little sister has it." I kept my voice flat.
"Little? You definitely look older than me." He chuckled and moved back as I swatted at him.
"You're a pig, you know that?" I gave him a sideways glance before turning back toward the house.
"Why? I was just kidding. You know you're the hottest girl in this town. Stop getting offended so easily. You're wearing your emotions on your shoulders. That never works well for people like us." He reached out and pulled me closer, helping me to avoid the bikers coming our way.
"People like us?" I huffed and hugged the movies to my chest. "I'm nothing like you."
"No?" He jogged up the steps to the house, pulling the door open. "Maybe not. I guess I would need to know you a little better before imposing my own assumptions about you. Otherwise, I'm just being a complete ass, right?"
"Asshole." I walked into the house, clearly getting his underlying hints. He wasn't the only one being an ass. I was, too.
Now to figure out how to stop.
Chapter Thirteen
Brody
Fuck this girl and her preset notions.
I held the door for her before grabbing a beer and walked back out to the patio. Clay and Emily followed me out, and I was grateful to see the door close behind them. While Cora was exactly the type of woman I wanted to press to the bed beneath me, she was quickly turning me off with her pissy, “better than you” attitude.
"Let's get the grill fired up and we can put the brats out here." I glanced over at Emily. "Did you guys want me to put anything else on here will I'm at it?"
"Yeah. I think we got…”
"Corn and hot dogs." Cindy walked out and gave me a warm smile. "I can't believe you got The Notebook. It's my favorite, though I swear I never make it past the first scene."
I laughed and nodded. "Exactly. It's a make-out movie, right?"
"Totally." She moved up beside and helped lay everything out on the grill before glancing over her shoulder. "Hey, I'm sorry about Cora."
"What? What about Cora?" I didn't turn my attention on her. I couldn't.
"She's gone through some rough shit this last semester. Her boyfriend of two years was cheating on her and had been for the whole two years. She's just incredibly sensitive right now." Cindy closed the grill, and I turned as Emily started talking.
"She's a really great girl. The best." Emily smiled and moved into Clay's lap, leaving me needy for someone to reach out and show me a bit of attention. Not someone: Cora.
"I'm sure she is." I shrugged and took the beer that Cindy offered me. "I don't want to cause any trouble, but I am who I am."
"And, we love you that way, buddy." Clay lifted his beer. "You make us feel better about ourselves."
I laughed. "Jerk."
"Only with you can I be myself." Clay wrapped an arm around Emily before pulling her down for a long, passionate kiss. I turned my attention to Cindy and shook my head.
"These kids nowadays." I followed her back into the house, not at all thrilled to see Cora laughing at something Daniel was saying. Maybe he was a better match for her mentally. Physically, it was 100 percent me, but maybe she was too broken to do anything but seek out the weakest link. Cool. I could deal with that.
"You're too funny." Cindy glanced over her shoulder. "Did Derek tell you I made a new dessert for you guys?"
Derek piped up. "For me, girl. For me."
"For all of us." I picked up a pillow on the couch and tossed it across the room to him.
"For all of you." She smiled and turned her attention on Derek. "You want a beer?"
"A pretty redhead who can dance, cook, and offers to get me a beer?" Derek let out a long dramatic sigh and let his head fall back. "Marry me, Cindy."
"I need to make sure you're good in bed first, but if so...then yes." She giggled and walked toward the kitchen as a genuine smile lifted my lips. I turned to follow her as Derek continued to sing the girl's praises.
Cora glanced over at me from the kitchen table, but I ignored her. She was damaged goods. Better let Daniel handle her, instead. He was the sensitive type of guy.
I would hang out for a little while and then be on my way. There was no need to stand around in hopes of something that wasn't going to happen.
"You know," Cindy turned from the counter where she was working on uncovering a bowl of dip. "If you work on being friends rather than trying to get her in bed, it might work."
"I don't need it to work, but thanks." I kept my voice soft and friendly, even though I felt the exact opposite. I wasn't a lovesick fool with my eyes on one woman. I was interested in the sexy brunette at the kitchen table for a few hours of sweaty fun. Nothing else. Obviously, I was giving off the wrong vibe to everyone, seeing that they were all handing out advice or teasing the hell out of me over her.
"I'm sure you don't, but we have the rest of the summer, and if I was going to go after anyone on this
whole lake, it would be Cora." Cindy shrugged. "She's the full deal. Smart, beautiful, sexy, funny, daring, strong, and the best friend we all have."
I glanced over at her as my heart swelled in my chest. It wasn't love. It was infatuation to know the woman Cindy was talking about. I'd seen enough of that around the edges of the cold-hearted bitch that had Daniel laughing like a school girl, but I wanted to see more.
"I'm sure she is, Cindy, but she's not interested, and I'm not the kind of man who chases after a woman. I'm just not." I opened the bag of chips closest to me and walked over with a chip in hand. "Now, stop trying to sell me off to the nearest available girl and let me taste your dip."
She smirked and held out the bowl. "You're lucky that cowboy in the other room is so cute, or I'd let you do more than taste my dip."
I laughed. "Good to know."
"What are you two giggling over?" Emily walked into the kitchen and picked up the bag of chips. "Oooo, is this Cindy's enchilada dip?"
"No clue, but it's fucking amazing." I reached over for a few more chips as the flavor of the dip rushed across my tongue. It had to be one of the best things I'd ever tasted.
"It's the taco dip, but close enough." She gave us a sweet smile. "Do you guys really like it, or are you just being nice?"
"Just being nice. It tastes like shit." I grabbed the bowl and the bag of chips and walked to the living room. "I'll take one for the team and eat it all."
"No, you won't." Cora walked into the living room and sat down beside me.
Daniel dropped down beside her.
"What's the big deal with the dip?" He pulled his glasses off and cleaned them. "Is it really that good?"
"The best." Cora reached for the chips, but I pulled the bag away.
"What do you say when you want something someone else has?" I let my eyes move down to the thickness of her bottom lip, wondering how good it would feel pressed between mine. She had to taste like passion and feel like heaven.
"Give me the chips or I'll kick you in the crotch?" She smirked and reached for the chips.
I leaned in, unable to help myself.