Fireworks: A Holiday Bad Boy Romance

by Claire Adams

  "No, he's going to stay here." I licked the cheese off my fingers as I tried not to get my dinner all over my shirt. "How about Emily?"

  "She's staying here, too. She'll be taking her masters and then doctorate at Arizona State." She took a big bite of her fajita and closed her eyes, moaning loudly. The sound of her finding pleasure shot an arrow of desire through the center of me. I wanted to hear it again and again.

  "Good. Then maybe we'll be in each other's lives for a long time." I took a big bite, wanting to moan loudly myself, but holding it in. The food was delicious, but the company was much better than anything I'd experienced in a long time.

  "Brody?" A loud whiny voice called me from the moment. I turned to see Dina standing a few feet from us, a smile on her beautiful face. Her long dark hair was hanging around her shoulders, leaving her to look like an exotic princess of sorts.

  "Hey, Dina." I stood up, thinking it might be best to walk over to her rather than have her come and introduce herself to Cora. With my luck, she'd mention the blow job in front of my newest obsession and send me back to square one.

  "You look amazing." She smiled and reached out, brushing her hands over my chest as I stopped in front of her.

  "You, too. Life treating you well?" I carefully took her hands and pulled them from me, trying to be nonchalant about it.

  "It's been good, but I've missed you. Three days and nothing? Was I not good enough?" She gave me a knowing look. The bitch was every man's wet dream. She was good enough for most, but she wasn't the girl for me.

  "Don't be silly. I'll call you soon. I'm having dinner with a friend tonight, though. Take care, okay?" I winked and turned, walking back to the table as she called out to me.

  "No taking her to the lookout, okay? That's our place." A sexy smile lifted her lips.

  I cringed as I dropped back down in my chair and waved at her. "Yep."

  Cora laughed and shook her head. "Your hormones know no bounds, do they? You're just the typical frat boy type."

  Her words didn't match her tone, so defending myself didn't seem necessary.

  "Frat boy type? And what does that mean exactly?" I winked at her and shoved the rest of my fajita into my mouth.

  "Hot. Cocky. Sleeps around. Doesn't really care much about commitment." She picked up her drink and pressed the straw to her lips as she watched me closely.

  God, she so fucking hot.

  "Thanks for the compliment?" I wiped my mouth on my napkin and then worked to make myself another fajita. "I'm not so sure I agree with the last part of your statement. I've never been in a committed relationship, so the first one I actually agree to, I'll let you know if I care enough to remain committed."

  "No way, really?" Her eyes grew a little wide. "You've never had a girlfriend?"

  "Maybe when I was a kid, but not since." I shrugged. "I've never found a woman that wanted anything more than a few nights in the sheets. I don't have dates or conversations like this. Girls are far more whorish than guys, and I'm not kidding. You've seemed to convince yourself otherwise. I've seen it from this angle, and I'm telling you that half the reason I am the way I am is because of being treated like a tool by too many women."

  "Wow." She sat back and crossed her arms over her chest. "Are you being serious right now or shitting me?"

  "I'm being serious." I took another big bite of my dinner, chewing slowly and letting her digest the idea that maybe she'd turned me into a villain without considering the why. She didn't say another word, but picked at her food while I finished mine.

  I paid the chest and stood up, extending my hand to her. "You ready for this horrible, god-awful chick flick that you're dragging me to?"

  She laughed. "I am, and I'm sorry again. Maybe I was wrong about you."

  "No, I think you were right, but there's always more to the story." I started to release her hand, but she intertwined her fingers with mine and moved through the restaurant that way. A silly warmth pumped through me, and by the time we got outside, I was ready to pull her close and offer her another make-out session.

  "I don't need to see the movie. You didn't buy tickets yet, did you?" She turned to me, pulling our hands behind her and forcing me to stand close to her as she glanced up at me.

  "No, I didn't, but the night is young. I'd rather us see the movie than take you home and not see you at all." I licked at my lips, nervous as fuck. What was wrong with me?

  "We don't have to go home. Besides, I owe you a good date, seeing that I've been nothing but a bitch since we met." She stepped forward, pressing her breasts against my chest.

  I reached up and touched the side of her face, memorizing the way she watched me. "You don't owe me shit. I'm still that same guy, Cora. Don't make me into something I'm not."

  She smiled and pulled back, releasing my hand. "Never. Let's go walk on the beach and dig more into this softer side of you. I almost like it."

  "No, you don't," I laughed and followed her around the building and down toward the sand. Three large bonfires raged around various parts of the lake, and she moved toward the closest one and beckoned me to come with her. My eyes moved over her body as need rolled through me. How easy it would have been to tug her back and tell her it was time to go back to her place or mine. To undress her slowly and taste every inch of her before fucking her until she begged me to stop, but that's what she expected. She'd labeled me as that guy.

  Where I was pretty damn sure that I wasn't in the friend-zone, I was still worried about the idea of being tested and coming up short where she was concerned.

  Several guitar players belted out an old Billy Joel song as people danced around in the sand and laughed, having a good time.

  "Come dance with me." She turned and tucked her hair behind her ear before extending her hand to me.

  I gripped it and tugged her toward me, wrapping my other arm around her tightly and leaning down to press my mouth to her ear.

  "What are you doing? You know this isn't going to end well. We're supposed to see a movie, give each other grief in the midst of our sexually charged relationship, and go our separate ways, dreaming about fucking each other and yet pretending that we didn't." I tightened my grip on her.

  She groaned softly and slid her hands under my t-shirt along my back. "Is that how it's supposed to work? You go back to being a jerk and me a bitch, and the story ends there?"

  I moved back as she glanced up at me, but I made sure not to break contact with her as we swayed to the music. "I think that's the best scenario for us, don't you? We have a long summer of seeing each other. No need to fuck it up just yet."

  "Fuck it up?" Her smile faded a little as she stopped moving. "Is that what you think a night together would do?"

  "Do you want a night together? Cause I can give you that." I licked at my lips as my heart started to race.

  What the fuck was I doing? I was unwinding the calm between us and driving us back to her being defensive and me being back on the chase. It had been three days. Three days and she was softening. I wanted her to open up to me, but for some reason, it felt like sex would be the end of things, not the beginning. Was I refusing sex with her? No fucking way.

  "A night?" She moved back another step and wrapped her arms around herself. Hurt brushed across her features, but she seemed to be working to hide it from me. "Anyway, I guess the ambiance and the music made me think... You know what, never mind. It was stupid."

  She turned and I reached for her, but she wasn't having any of it, anymore. I walked behind her until we made it to the restaurant and stopped beside the bikes.

  "I think I'm going to walk. Thanks for dinner. It was great." She gave me a half wave and turned, walking across the street without waiting on a reply from me at all.

  "What the fuck just happened?" I pressed my hands to my face and let out a low growl before walking back out on the sandy shore of the lake and sighing loudly.

  How the hell had we gone from having a great dinner to her leaving before I even got a kiss in o
r learned anything more about her?

  Had she wanted sex? Just sex? Was she like every other woman around here?

  "Fuck this life," I mumbled and stared out at the water, unsure of what to do, but too mentally fried to figure it out.

  Chapter 18

  Three Days Later

  Brody

  I pressed my arms to the railing on the deck and turned my head to give Clay a look. He'd been after me to talk about what happened between me and Cora since Wednesday, but I didn't have anything to say.

  "Dude, I fucked up. Okay? Lay the fuck off of me over it. I'm not telling you again." I stood up and pushed my chest out a little, warning him that I was done talking and ready to hand out an ass-whooping to the next idiot that brought her up.

  "You can blow up to someone else, Brody. I'm your best friend, and we've been watching you mope around this fucking cabin for three days. At least tell me why?" He moved up closer, pressing his chest to mine.

  "There's nothing to say." I pushed him back as I deflated. "I like her, okay? I can't remember another time liking someone this much. I want to know what her favorite candy is and where she likes to read books or shop for panties or...ugh. I like her, shit."

  "That's great news. Why are you so damned depressed?" He patted my back as I leaned back over. "Hell, why is she so depressed? What did you do on Wednesday? Something got fucked up. What was it?"

  I pressed my face into my hands and growled. "I know. Fuck. I know."

  "What?" He moved up beside me and pressed his shoulder against mine. "Stop being a dick and just talk to me."

  I glanced over at him. "I need to leave it alone, Clay. I know you think I should make amends and fix this thing with her, but I'm pretty sure she's the kind of girl that could have me swearing off all others. I don't want that right now, and I'm telling you, she deserves far better than me."

  "Did you guys fuck?" He turned and glanced out toward the lake.

  "No, but she wanted to. Or I think she did." I stood up and rubbed my chest just over my heart. The dull ache inside of me wouldn't seem to go away. "Maybe I need to find some other chick and just lose myself in the carnality of sex for the afternoon."

  "I think you should fix this shit, but then again, I'm a different kind of guy than you are. I like long-term. Being with one woman feels good—right." He shrugged. "If you need a fuck-fest to get you past this depression shit, then get to it. It's almost the Fourth of July and we're going to have fun—together, which means Cora will be there. I'm not choosing between you and Emily. That's not happening, and as selfish as you've been our whole fucking lives, you own me this shit."

  "You're right." I stood up and pulled my phone from my pocket. "I'll hook up with some hot piece of ass this afternoon and get my mojo back. Cora's a great girl, but I bit off more than I could chew, Clay. She's like the catch of all catches. I'm not grown up enough for that shit yet."

  "I agree." He patted my back and went into the house, leaving me with my tarnished thoughts. I should have just taken her back to the house and made love to her all night, given her anything she wanted, but I couldn't.

  I wouldn't have been able to sneak out before the sun came up and ignore her for the rest of the summer. How she'd gone from ignoring me and talking trash to wanting to be close to me so quickly was almost stifling. Had her friends convinced her that I was a better man than I was? Fuck, had my friends helped to convince her? Someone had because her change of heart was almost overnight.

  "Help!" an attractive girl yelled from across the street, her face a mask of terror as she waved her arms at me and turned to dive into the water.

  "Shit." I jumped over the railing and ran to the water to see what she was screaming about. A kayak was sitting a little ways into the lake, but it was turned upside down. She was swimming furiously toward it, but not getting there fast. I raced down the dock and dove in, swimming hard until I reached it and forced it over with all of my strength.

  The little boy in the thing couldn't have been more than ten years old. He took in a deep breath as I reached over and rubbed his chest.

  "It's okay, buddy. You're okay. You good?"

  He glanced over at me as he bit his lip, fighting back tears like I would have done, as well. He nodded, and I moved back as the woman reached him and half crawled into the thing, crying and patting his face.

  I pulled the kayak back to shore and made sure it was secure before walking back up. The girl called to me and I turned around, offering her a kind smile.

  "Thank you so much." She helped the little boy out and walked up to me, pressing her hands to my chest. "I'm Vanessa. I can't thank you enough."

  "Is he your son?" I looked around her and smiled at the kid, grateful as hell that he was okay.

  "No. My brother. I was supposed to be watching, but I closed my eyes for five damn minutes." She pressed her hand to her lips and shook her head. "Thank you so much."

  "No problem. I'm Brody." I moved back a little and extended my hand. Her bathing suit was tight and looked damn good on her, though it really didn't seem the time to hit on her.

  "Listen," she glanced around before looking back up at me, "I was going to take Charlie home in a few minutes and then hopefully catch a ride out to the island. You're not headed that way are you?"

  "Yeah, we're going out there in about fifteen minutes. We'll give you a ride." I smiled and waved at Charlie. "Be safe, kid."

  "Yeah, thanks." He nodded and turned to pull his kayak out of the water.

  "I'll be here in fifteen minutes." She smiled shyly, though something told me she wasn't at all the shy type.

  I turned and jogged back to the house to find Daniel standing outside, watching the show.

  He clapped his hand and shook his head. "Bravo. That was pretty damn cool."

  "What? It was nothing." I walked up the stairs and reached for a towel that was hanging over the edge. After wiping myself off, I stripped out of my shirt and rolled my shoulders. "She's going with us to the island in a few minutes. Let's load up."

  "You just got a date over saving her son? Do you even sleep with chicks that have kids? Aren't they a little more..."

  "Needy?" I rolled my eyes and popped him with the towel. "It was her brother, but you're being quite judgmental for a doctor, aren't you?"

  "I didn't mean it like that. Never mind." He shook his head and dropped down onto the bench next to him. "Hey, guess what?"

  "What?" I stopped before going into the cabin and glanced back over my shoulder.

  "I asked Dedra out, and she said yes." He smiled widely as his cheeks colored pink.

  I stifled a chuckle. "Like out on a date or out like she's your girlfriend?"

  "Like a date. Do people really ask each other out like boyfriend-girlfriend anymore?"

  "No clue. Either way, that's cool as hell. Congrats, man. It would seem that your balls have finally dropped." I winked at him and walked into the house to the sound of him berating me. "Let's go, fuckers. I want to get out of here for a little while and go out to the island. You guys coming?"

  "Yep." Derek got up from the couch and stretched. "Are the girls going with us?"

  "Nope. It's a guy’s afternoon. We're taking a hot little number out to the island with us, but we'll drop her off and go play some volleyball or something." I rolled my shoulders and turned as Clay stopped by the opening to the kitchen.

  "What hot little number?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest. "I just fucking left you on the porch, and you already got some girl's digits?"

  "You know it. Some chick whose brother was drowning, and I saved his scrawny ass." I beat on my chest like Tarzan. "I'm a hero; she wants to pay me back. She's a good girl, obviously."

  He rolled his eyes. "I swear, dude. You're impossible to figure out."

  "Like a human-sized Rubik’s cube." I grabbed my swim trunks from the basket by the couch and stripped out of my shorts before tugging my trunks on.

  "Come on, man. Shit." Derek covered his eyes and stoppe
d by the couch.

  "Jealousy doesn't look good on you, Derek." I laughed and turned, walking back out to find Daniel on the phone, laughing with someone. It was cute, too cute, and left me wanted to gag toward him. It made me want to see Cora again. "Let's go."

  I jogged back down to the boat and got everything situated as the other guys walked down the pier. Vanessa walked up a few minutes later in a much more revealing bikini.

  "Damn," someone muttered behind me.

  "Right?" I reached up and smiled at her. "Hey, you. Your brother okay?"

  "Yeah. Thanks again, Brody." She reached down and slid into my arms, fitting almost too well. Guilt blasted through me, but I couldn’t find a reason to hold onto it. I was doing Cora a favor. Having come to respect the beautiful brunette over the course of a week or less, I was taking a step back and leaving her alone because she was too much woman for me. Plain and simple. I'd never admit it in a million years, but the fact still remained.

  "Guys, this is Vanessa." I moved back, releasing her and getting into the driver's seat. The guys greeted her as I started the boat. "You just need a lift to the island?"

  "Yeah, and a date for the big Fourth of July party they’re throwing out here. I don't suppose some lucky girl already has you for the night?" She gave me a sexy smile that should have thrown my hormones in overdrive, but I felt nothing but a small thrill over the fact that my favorite holiday was coming up.

  "I'll give you my number, and we can talk about it later. I'm pretty sure I have plans, but if not, I'm all yours." I winked at her and turned back to the wheel before pulling on the gearshift and hitting the gas.

  The boat picked up speed fast, and I moved us easily in between the various boats around us. The wind felt good in my hair and rushing past my skin. I should have been enamored with the beautiful blonde beside me, but I couldn't seem to find any desire to do much more than press the gas harder and push my luck with the speed of the boat.