by E. M. Moore
I smile back at him and then pull the tag off the suit to show the girl. She rings me up, looking between Cade and me, probably trying to decide if we’re together or not. I go to pay her, but Cade takes out his wallet instead, further confusing her because she most definitely thinks we’re together now. “Thanks,” I tell him, genuinely shocked. He didn’t have to do that. When we walk out of the store arm-in-arm, I turn toward him. “You know she thinks you’re with me now, right?”
Cade slides his Aviator-like glasses down his head and over his eyes. “She wasn’t my type.”
I smirk at that. “I’ll pay you back,” I tell him.
He shakes his head. “Don’t bother. Just think of it as me paying for the price of admittance for all that’s about to go down.”
“What?” I ask, thoroughly confused.
He shrugs. “Don’t worry about it, Shortie. The suit looks great on you, and you deserved to have it.”
Reid and Lex both eye me as we walk up. Lex found me first because he was looking, but Reid was in mid-conversation with another football player when he saw me. I look down, making sure I’m not once again slipping a nip or anything, but I’m all put together, thankfully. I’m kind of worried about that with this suit.
“Look confident, Briar,” Cade whispers to me. “You own that suit.”
I do as he suggests as he walks me to the towels they laid out. I find the sunblock in the bag and start to rub it all over my skin, even under the meshy part of the bathing suit because I’m not sure if the sun is able to get through that material or not. By the time I’m done, I lie down only to have a big shadow fall over me. I look up to find Reid there. “Yeah?”
“Volleyball?”
He knows I can’t resist a good volleyball game. Brady used to tell me he was surprised I never took it up in high school. I could have. I was always just focused on my schoolwork rather than a sport. Reid holds his hand out and pulls me up when I take it. There are others walking toward the net too. A bunch of football players and some of their girlfriends. Every single one of them is from SHH. The last time I played volleyball here, it was a similar situation except Brady and Jules were playing too.
I take a deep breath, trying to relax into myself. Reid, Lex, and I end up on the same team while Cade ends up on the opposite side of the net. I fall into an easy rhythm when the game starts. Seeing the guys play another sport other than the one they excel at is comforting. They’re not bad, not by any means, but the fact that I can keep up with them is promising. We play the best of three games, and the team Lex, Reid, and I are on cream the other team. Mostly because it looks like Cade is preoccupied with trying to get into a Sophomore’s pants by the end of the day instead of on the game.
When we finish, it’s high fives all around. Even Reid gives me one, along with a smile. I almost forgot what he could look like when he wasn’t staring at me while pissed off. His look stops me in my tracks and throws me back in time. Maybe I always did have a soft spot for Reid Parker but kept it under wraps for the obvious reason that he was my brother’s best friend. Then again, I had a soft spot for all of them. They were my…friends.
Lex hovers in the background and then turns in the sand as he heads back to our towels. I head that way, too, but instead of stopping where our stuff is, I keep going. Reid is rubbing sweat off the back of his neck when I pass while Lex is digging around for a beer in the cooler next to us. I keep going until my toes hit the water. The waves splash over my feet and up to my ankles, dousing me. It feels so good that I keep walking. When the water is up to my waist, I dive in, swimming under the surface until it feels like my lungs might burst. I come up around the buoy line that separates the shallow area from the deep end. I slip under the line and set my sights on the diving platform. There’s only two other people out there at the moment, sunbathing.
I take my time, letting the water slip through my fingers before diving back under to swim, bubbles from my nose rising to the surface until my hands clasp onto the ladder. I heave myself out of the water and stand there. From here, the people on the beach are tiny. I can see Sasha and her friends who’ve avoided Reid all day. Looks like she wants to ignore him as much as he wants to ignore her. As I stand there, water sloshing off me, the two who were sunbathing decide to get up. I don’t recognize them from school, even though they look like they could be my age. They must be dating because they hold hands and jump into the water at the same time.
I move over on the platform to even it out. The waves from the couple diving in rocks the platform for a moment or two before it evens out again. Another figure has passed from the shallow area to the deep area, and it doesn’t take me long to figure out who it is. Before long, Lex appears at the base of the platform, pulling himself out of the water. His wide chest eclipses the ladder, making me laugh. He looks up, his head cocking to the side. His trunks slip lower and lower, so once he’s on the platform, he hikes them up and ties them again. He shrugs when he looks over at me. “I swear I could hear your mother in my ear telling me to make sure you were okay out here.”
The smile doesn’t leave my face. “I remember.”
After what happened between Lex and me, we haven’t talked much. Since we’re the only two out here, I take a seat on the platform, letting the sun’s rays shine down on me. I sprawl out, leaning back on the palms of my hands, and he mimics my stance, sitting next to me in the same position. “I’m sorry all that happened,” I say.
He must be thinking about the exact same thing. “Yeah,” he says, jaw working.
I reach out to pat his hand. “I miss talking to you, Lex.”
He looks over. Lake water is still dripping from his chin. It falls to his chest then traverses over the dips and hard planes of his abdomen until it slides right into his belly button. “I need to ask you something, Briar.”
“Okay…”
“Or tell you something. I don’t know. I guess I just need to get something off my chest. Something that doesn’t seem right.”
I cock my head at him.
His throat works for a second before he lifts his gaze to meet mine. His dirty blond hair is plastered to his forehead, giving him an almost boyish look. I swear we could throw ourselves back a decade and be in this same exact position. “Be careful around, Reid. He may look like he has everything together, but I—I don’t know.” He shakes his head. “I’m not sure he’s in the right head space right now.”
“You mean because he locked me in a room all night?” I tease.
“Yeah. Maybe,” he says, trying to smile.
This is different. These three—used to be four—were untouchable. No one would dare say shit about one to another or they’d have hell to pay. “He seems…angrier than I remember,” I say, almost whispering as if the lifeguard who is at least twenty yards away gives a shit about what we’re saying.
He shakes his head. “That’s not all I wanted to say either.” He shifts up, placing his elbows on his knees, letting his hands dangle out in front of him. “I want you to know I don’t regret anything we did. Not at all. I loved every second of it. What I do regret is that maybe you were doing it for the wrong reasons. Maybe that’s why it made you sad.” He runs a hand through his wet hair. When he looks over, he slides his hand over mine.
I don’t have the ability to speak right now. I want to. I can see the need for me to say something in Lex’s eyes, but nothing’s coming out.
I open my mouth, but Lex is quick to jump in. “Don’t say anything until you’re ready. You don’t owe me anything. You don’t owe anyone anything, so don’t think you have to start something with me because of guilt. Or shame. I don’t want that. I just wanted you to know how I truly felt about it.”
Lex stands. He looks down at me and gives me a half smile.
“Wait,” I say, just before he jumps in. “You—you like me?” Is that what he’s trying to say? I really wish he would spell it out for me.
He nods once, then dives into the water. He doesn’t come up a
gain until he’s halfway to the buoy line, and even when he does, there’s still a stranglehold around my throat and my thought process.
The only thing that keeps whirring through my head is that Lexington Jones the Third just told me he likes me.
14
On Sunday, the guys must get sick of me because I spend the whole day at my house texting with Jules. Ezra still hasn’t responded to my pic even though I can tell he’s seen it. I agonize over what to do about it since things suddenly got awkward because of it. So, I end up messaging him that I was drunk, so he can delete the picture if he wants.
When Monday morning rolls around, I hear voices in the other room while I’m still lying in bed. I can pinpoint one voice intermixed with my mom and dad’s. It’s crazy that he’s here this early in the morning. Usually, he’d send someone else, like Cade, to do his dirty work, but not today. His voice rouses me, forcing my feet to the floor. He completely ignored me at the beach after I got in from the diving platform. In fact, he completely ignored everybody. It’s like his mood did a one-eighty, and when we left the lake, he dropped me home without a single word being said.
I had all day yesterday to think. I tried to read my textbooks, maybe even get ahead in class like I’m used to but going to the lake and then not having anyone to talk to right after about the mixed emotions flowing through me wasn’t great for my mental state. Coupled with the fact that Ezra never messaged me back and that Jules was surprised I’d went to the guys’ party, and I think hurt that I didn’t tell her, made me slide into a deep yearning for Brady—for normalcy. Not some place where I have to “pay” because I wore a jersey I picked out of a closet.
I don’t ever lock my door, but I walk toward my door now and flip the lock so Reid can’t get in. Let’s see how he likes being locked out instead of locking me in. Prick. There’s something wrong with his head if he thinks doing that is normal. Then, I go to my closet, yank the doors open, and peruse what I got. I settle on an old t-shirt of my dad’s that I used to sleep in. It’s big, baggy, and has the name of some band I’ve never heard of scrawled across the front. Then, I find a pair of black leggings and throw them on. To me, everything else just takes too much effort.
A knock sounds on my door.
“Go away.”
“Seriously?” I hear him mutter before he tries the door. The knob turns this way and that, and a sigh of frustration sounds. “Open up, Briar.”
“No,” I say simply. I’m facing the door with my hands on my hips, arguing with the door like I’d be arguing straight to his face. I feel like I was in another world for the last few days. I felt better sometimes and worse during other times, but it still brought me right back to here. Why does everything always end with me feeling like this?
He tries the door again like it’s going to miraculously unlock itself. Not likely. “Goddamnit, Briar. Open this door.”
“Yeah, I don’t think so,” I say, calling out over my shoulder. “I’ll meet you at school.”
“Not happening. I’m taking you to school.”
“Don’t need you,” I remind him as I pull my hair up in a high ponytail. It still has lake water in it and doesn’t smell the best, but I’m not concerned.
“You do,” he says, arguing with me, “because your parents just left.”
I sigh. Of course, they did. Are they just relying on the guys to bring me up now? What the hell is wrong with them? I bet even if I told my mom that Reid jerked himself off in front of me, she’d probably come up with some excuse for him. “I’ll walk.”
“I don’t think your parents will like it if I break this fucking door down. You’re going to school.”
I fucking know he will, too, but if he does that, he’ll just be shooting himself in the foot. “Have at it, Lucky Number Seven,” I deadpan.
Footsteps stalk away. I roll my eyes, but he’s back before I can think of what to do next. If I have to walk to school, I should really go now. I can always go out the window…
A drilling sound revs through the air. “What the…?” I move closer to the door and lean toward it. Sure enough, Reid Parker is taking the doorknob off my bedroom door. Fucking Asshole. I scramble toward my desk for my bookbag and then head for the window. I take the screen out, throw the window up, then hear several noises behind me. With one leg out of the house, a hand clamps around my shoulder.
“Briar, get your ass back in this house.”
“I thought I told you to leave me alone?”
Reid gives me a tug, taking my bookbag right off my shoulder, then pulling me back through the window and into my room before replacing the screen. He looks me up and down once he turns. “You’re not wearing that and look at your hair. Get in the shower.”
I step up to him. “Leave me alone, Reid. I’m going to school, and I don’t need you or your help.”
Reid sits down on my bed and leans back, his hands behind his head like he owns the place. He leaves his scent in the air between us. “I’ll wait here.”
“You’ll be waiting a long time.”
“Don’t test me, Briar.”
“Test you?” I laugh darkly. “I’m one moment away from telling my parents what you did to me in the hallway of your house. You think they love you now? Just wait.”
Reid moves so fast I don’t realize what he’s doing at first. Before I know it, I’m hiked over his shoulder and he’s striding out of my bedroom.
“Reid!”
His hand clamps around my back as he takes me into the bathroom. He turns on the showerhead while I’m trying to wiggle out of his grip.
“Stop!”
He tries to deposit me in the shower, but I hold on for dear life. I’m doing anything to make this harder on him. Tears of frustration gather behind my eyes. I know I’m acting like a bitch and a baby. I know this isn’t normal behavior for me, but I just want everyone to leave me alone. Is that too much to ask?
Reid curses sharply under his breath, then he kicks his shoes and socks off before stepping into the shower with me. I gasp when the water runs down my back, instantly soaking my shirt and falling down my hair. In that instant, he deposits me on my feet and turns me around, then pushes me back until my head is under the spray. In the commotion with him, my hair pulled out of the hair tie, so my dark hair is long down my back and now completely soaked through like the rest of me.
I just stand there and glare at him as the showerhead does what it was created to do, except I’m also in clothes. “Happy?” he asks.
I don’t answer. My jaw clamps shut, and I’m still fighting against the emotion threatening to pour out of me.
Reid sighs. He lets me go long enough to grab the shampoo and put some in the palm of his hand. Then, he turns me around and starts to wash my hair. I’m too stunned to say or do anything. His fingers work over my scalp, and I grab the shower walls to steady myself from his thorough work. He slides his hands up my neck and into the back of my hair. My eyelids flutter close. I don’t know how long he does it for, but I’m so caught up in the moment that when he jerks me back around to put me under the water again, I go willingly. He tilts my head back by lifting my chin, then slides his fingers through my hair again as the soap runs over my clothes and to the drain.
“You’ve always been just—” He swallows. “—a classic beauty. Like Julia Roberts or Marilyn Monroe. I don’t know why you do this to yourself. It doesn’t make you fit in, Briar. All it does is make you stand out more.”
My breath hitches in my throat. I’m staring into his green eyes the entire time he talks. There’s so much depth of feeling in his stare right now that I don’t know what to focus on first. There’s sadness there, making me believe he’s thinking about Brady, but there’s a lot more there, too. Concern, and lust maybe? I don’t know how well all those feelings go together, but they’re all there.
He brings me out of the spray and squeezes the water out of my hair. “Do you use conditioner?”
I push his hands away. “I can do it.”
Since I’m already in the shower and soaked, I decide I might as well finish what he started. I pull my leggings and panties off and deposit them at the end of the shower. Then, I peel my shirt over my head before dropping it with the rest of them. I hear a groan even over the shower noise. I look down when I unhook my bra and notice I was wearing a red one, something I’m sure shows up really well even through the glass shower distortion.
So, I was right about the lust I saw in Reid’s eyes.
I pull the strap from my arms and toss it on top of the other soaked clothes at the end of the shower stall before rubbing conditioner through my hair. My legs are next. I shave from ankle to thigh, casually shifting my gaze to Reid every now and then. He hasn’t taken his eyes off me the entire time. I use the Bath & Body Works shower gel I have next, soaping me up good and filling the whole bathroom with the sweet scent before washing everything off. The soap, the conditioner, and what’s left of the shaving cream from my legs. After I squeeze the excess water out of my hair, I shut the shower off and turn toward the door. “I’m ready to come out now,” I say, a little breathless. I feel like we’ve just ran through the best foreplay without touching ever.
I know Reid has a girlfriend, and besides the fact that she’s just a terrible person, they aren’t right for each other either. I’m probably not right for someone like Reid either. Too much history. Too much…I don’t know. Everything.
I grab hold of the shower door and roll it open. I stand there, naked, in front of Reid while his gaze devours me from head to toe. He’s hard. His cock is pressing against his khaki shorts, but I remind myself that guys Reid’s age get hard over everything. I could probably be a middle-aged mother of three standing in front of him and he’d still probably want to bend me over. It doesn’t mean anything. It’s sex. It’s not love. It’s not all those feelings I think I’m missing now more than anything.