Casual

by Different Thoughts

  “Oh it’s been about six months, hasn’t it?” James, smiling, turned to Gigi. I felt Darcy tense next to me and turned to see the expression on his face-–a mixture of incredulity and resentment.

  “Yeah.” Gigi had no option but to squeak out her agreement.

  Gigi had kept her relationship a secret a lot longer than even I thought she had. Apparently, Darcy was under the impression this was a fairly new event. I wasn’t sure if he was more upset that she had kept it a secret for so long or with the amount of time itself, which indicated that this was objectively serious.

  There was another tense couple of seconds, and then Jane and Charlie walked in. They were bright eyed and fresh faced, holding hands and looking totally in love with each other. My heart constricted a little and I felt a surge of happiness go through me. This is what Jane truly deserves, I thought. She’s so much more than a pretty face to show off to people, as I felt she had been treated too often to in the past. She deserved a man who was truly in love with her and who could make her this happy.

  Smiling, I turned to back to the table as everyone called out greetings to the couple and the conversation was full of questions about their ride and invitations to take a seat and join the fun. During this I was mostly quiet, letting everyone else talk and question and learn how great their afternoon had been.

  Darcy caught my eye, distracted from James for a moment. He had an inquiring look on his face and I smiled, letting some of the happiness I was feeling leak through. He relaxed his shoulders a bit and softly smiled back at me, which just spiked the pleasure I was feeling in the moment. He subtly scooted his chair closer to mine and put an arm around my shoulder, pulling me flush up against his side. I half hugged, half leaned into him as I laid my head on his shoulder for a second, then sat up a bit and shifted my seat so if I leaned back slightly I would be back against his side.

  We redistributed the cards and with Jane’s sweetness and Charlie’s open friendliness, the interrogation of Gigi’s new boyfriend lessened to resemble more of a friendly get-to-know-you chat. Most of this basic information I had already learned, so I focused on keeping the conversation light and open, and anytime Darcy got too tense and worked up, I soothed him back down again.

  It was a bit of work, so I was happy when we decided to shift the party outside to the pool deck where we wouldn’t be so closely confined and confrontational. We all split up to get changed and, with effort, on our part at least, made it back to the pool fairly quickly. Darcy and Charlie began gathering ingredients inside for burgers and Richard opened the wet bar on the side of the deck with James’ help.

  Caroline, Jane, Gigi and I sat on the edge of the pool where talk fluctuated between wedding plans, to how school was going for Gigi, to Caroline’s latest fashion premiere for her company, which I was just hearing about today. I couldn’t imagine her being dedicated enough to successfully run a company, but I may have been slightly prejudiced against her.

  Slightly.

  We ate and those of us who were legally allowed to, drank. Richard had offered James a drink, very casually, but the younger man had declined, telling us with only a little bit of discomfort that his dad had been an alcoholic and he had decided never to touch the stuff.

  “Bartending is a strange job for someone who never drinks,” Richard pointed out.

  “At least I never drink my profits,” he said with an upbeat attitude. Richard eyed him suspiciously, obviously trying to figure out if this jovial attitude was genuine.

  The rest of the afternoon and into the night we all drank, swam, ate, and laid by the pool. There was a volleyball net and sand a bit away from the house and the four guys played a few rounds while we laid out in the sun for a bit.

  “Thank you so much, Lizzy,” Gigi gushed when we were laying side by side.

  “For what?” I asked with a bit of surprise. She rolled her eyes.

  “For keeping Will and Richard in line. This has gone so much better than I thought it would, or could,” she laughed. “Look, my brother is actually out there playing volleyball with my boyfriend.”

  Darcy was indeed playing with him, even on the same side, but if I knew her brother that was purposeful. Knowing him, he was probably peppering the younger man with questions, or losing on purpose to see what James’ reaction would be. I didn’t think this would help Gigi relax, so I diplomatically did not point it out.

  ∞∞∞

  We made it back to the game room for a few hours before someone suggested a movie. It was about two in the morning, but to my surprise everyone seemed to want to keep the party going, so I agreed as well. It was a pretty awesome theater room, with a screen that covered the wall and 15 seats, three rows of five, to lounge in while we watched.

  Darcy and I held hands like teenagers throughout the movie.

  When it was finally time to say goodnight, Darcy insisted on showing James his room personally. We all saw through this of course and Gigi blushed in embarrassment, but James took it in stride. Following the rest of the party up, we all said our goodnights and announced our plans for sleeping in once again tomorrow morning, and then I was alone in Darcy’s room. This actually worked out well for what I had planned.

  I got changed quickly, then stealthily made my way through the house. By the time I had found the room I was looking for, Darcy was texting me asking where I went.

  Come find me.

  He never answered, but not a minute later he was bursting through the door of his office. Once again he found me wearing only that white, lacy thing I had only worn once before–at Christmas in this very room. He locked the door behind him.

  “Have I ever told you,” he licked his lips, coming closer, “that you have very good ideas?”

  “I don’t believe so,” I put my arms around his neck when he was close enough. “Usually you are pointing out all the flaws in my ideas.”

  “Well,” he kissed my cheek, “That’s unfortunate. I believe I should make it up to you in some way.”

  “Gee, I wonder what you had in mind.” I grinned at him.

  “Don’t worry.” That predatory grin of his appeared. “I’ll make sure you enjoy it.”

  As usual, he was try to his word.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Weekend Day Three

  “Lizzy,” Jane said a bit loudly next to me.

  “Huh?” I turned to her, flipping my sunglasses up. “Sorry, what?”

  “I asked if the fifteenth was good for you,” Jane smiled sweetly at my inattention, “for the families to have dinner together.”

  “Aw, Jane.” Charlotte was not so forgiving. “You can’t expect Lizzy to be capable of things like listening with that around.” She turned to where I had, indeed, been staring.

  It was unseasonably warm, but the boys were out back building a fire pit. The idea was floated around at breakfast. Apparently Darcy, who loved to work with his hands, had the materials already. It was Richard, according to him, who was to blame for it not being finished in time for this weekend, as they had been talking about putting one in for a while. This led to a bit of a back and forth on whose fault it really was until Darcy challenged him to do it this afternoon. Fast-forward to about an hour later, and all the boys got roped into it as the girls relaxed by the pool.

  As for the reason I was so distracted, well, like I said it was unseasonably warm and it hadn’t been long before Richard stripped his shirt off. He was good looking, don’t get me wrong, but I hadn’t given him much more than a cursory glance. The next to succumb to the heat was Charlie. Once again, not a bad view, but I was not very interested. James was next; he was perhaps the least good-looking, in my opinion, but not unpleasant.

  Darcy, prim and proper Darcy, had refused to take his shirt off even though they were digging in the dirt, hauling big, heavy stones and bags of what looked like mulch around and all in hot, humid air. I could see the heat and sweat on him from here, and it was becoming distracting as I glanced over to see him still refuse to cool off even
a little by tossing his shirt.

  Five minutes ago, he finally had. I had my sunglasses on, so I thought my spying was super stealthy. I had seen him naked before of course, but there was something about seeing him doing manual labor in the hot sun that I was very much enjoying. Too much, I guess. I hadn’t heard a word anyone had said to me.

  “We should bring them some drinks,” Caroline, of all people, suggested. She, too, was eyeing the man candy and I had no doubt that her eyes strayed very far from Darcy. I couldn’t bring myself to be annoyed with her, however. As far as I was concerned, your eye just naturally landed on him.

  “That’s a good idea,” Jane agreed. “We don’t want them to get dehydrated.”

  We went inside to get some cups, ice, and a pitcher of water. Caroline politely insisted on carrying the tray out, and we followed her lead.

  “We thought you boys might be thirsty,” she said when we got close enough, her flirty voice directed, of course, at Darcy.

  “Ah, just what I was thinking,” Richard dropped a shovel and came forward. With thanks, Charlie and James did the same.

  Darcy made sure to put his tools away before stopping work. I wondered, sometimes, how he and Richard were related. If they hadn’t looked like brothers, I would have doubted it more.

  “Thank you, Caroline,” Darcy said, taking the last cup from her. She practically swayed. I rolled my eyes before I had the thought to do it.

  Darcy drank about half of the water down, then tilted his head back and poured the rest over his head. I think my jaw might have dropped but I was entirely too focused on the image to know for sure. The water cascaded down his naked chest and I couldn’t help but be reminded of our many showers together and all that those entailed. My face flushed at this thought and I bit my lip, trying very hard to think of more innocent things, but all I could manage was to wonder what the reaction would be should I walk up to him in front of everyone and explore the feel of his damp skin under my fingers

  “Will has the right idea,” Charlie grinned, then followed suit. James and Richard soon did the same as well.

  While the others refilled their cups, Darcy caught my eye. There was no outward indication of it, but he was laughing at me. He must have noticed- what doesn’t that man notice? –that I hadn’t been able to look away from him for more than a few moments. I realized he had poured that water over himself on purpose, just to tease me.

  I narrowed my eyes at him, but his eyes only sparkled more.

  “Lizzy, did you want some water? You look a little flushed.” Charlotte brought my attention back to the other members of our group. She and Richard were both grinning at me. Was everyone laughing at me?

  “Shut it,” I huffed at them with embarrassment, but they only laughed. Will took the pitcher from the tray Caroline had finally laid down on a large stack of bricks and refilled his cup, then stepped within range and held it out to me.

  “Thirsty?” he inquired innocently. I waited a beat, then smiled serenely and took the proffered cup.

  “Thanks,” I told him sweetly, but instead of drinking, I slid a hand behind his neck and pulled him slowly towards me. His mouth quirked in a smile, and I know he felt like he had the upper hand. My lips had barely grazed his when I lifted the cup and poured the water over him.

  He sputtered, shaking his head to rid himself of the water while everyone laughed but him, and Caroline of course.

  “You,” he began in an exaggeratedly low, menacing voice, “should not have done that.”

  I laughed. “I’m not afraid of you,” I told him.

  With swift, fluid movements, he took a step back, reached out his arm and took hold of the pitcher.

  “Darcy!” I cried out, putting my hands up in a weak attempted to defend myself as I took several steps backwards.

  He ignored my plea, tossing ice cold water at me. I had made it back next to Jane, Charlie, and Gigi and although I got the brunt of it, all of them were in the splash zone. We all called out in protest as the frigid water hit us, and Charlie immediately retaliated with his own refilled cup. Both Darcy and Caroline got that one. Richard and Charlotte, who hadn’t gotten any water on them so far, were in hysterics. Even so, Richard held his second full cup high above his head, in case anyone got any ideas.

  “James, do you mind?” Gigi held her hand out for her boyfriend’s cup, then immediately tossed it at her brother.

  “Hey!” he cried out, clearly believing he hadn’t deserved that second splash.

  “I’m soaked!” Gigi defended herself, wringing out the summer dress she was wearing over her bathing suit.

  “Not yet,” Richard chuckled, suddenly behind his younger cousin, the cup of water upside down above her head.

  Gigi yelped, knocking his hands away and giving an exaggerated shiver. I couldn’t help but laugh at her reaction.

  “Think that’s funny, do you?” Darcy was behind me.

  I spun, checking his hands for ammunition. He put them up in a placating manor. I hesitated, knowing he was not one to give up so easily, but in my hesitation, he stepped closer, putting his arms around me in what I assumed to be an apologetic embrace. Too late, he twisted himself so that all he had to do was bend down, put an arm around my legs, and I was in his arms.

  “Stop, stop,” I laughed, trying to wiggle out of his grasp. “What are you doing?”

  “Oh, Elizabeth,” he smirked. “I’ve long admired your intelligence. I think you can guess.” Since he was already walking back towards the pool, he had a point.

  “No,” I laughed, wiggling harder, but his grasp was firm. “Darcy, don’t!”

  He ignored my pleas with a familiar look of determination on his face.

  “Charlie! You’re my big brother now! Help!” I called, choosing the one person who I thought both could and would help me out.

  “My first task as a big brother!” He looked excited. “I got you, Lizzy!”

  Darcy put some speed in his step, but Charlie wasn’t carrying another person and caught up quickly enough. I held my hand out and he grasped it, but Darcy wasn’t letting go so easily. We were near the pool now, and the boys struggled to keep a controlling hold on me. Richard and Charlotte were cheering for opposite sides, which started the others up too.

  Just as I was slipping out of Darcy’s grasp, he gave one last tug, then pulled backwards, falling into the pool with me still attached. I saw Charlie teeter before I was underwater; a few seconds after we splashed in, he followed.

  We all came up around the same time, and I immediately splashed Darcy. He actually cracked a smile, wiping the water from his face.

  “Are you guys okay?” Jane asked when we emerged. We all answered in the positive.

  Richard was never one to be outdone, let alone by his cousin and soon Charlotte was in the pool with us.

  “What was that for?” she asked when she came back up.

  “You looked a little flushed yourself,” he grinned charmingly at her. She rolled her eyes.

  Caroline made a loud point of going back to lay down before anyone had any smart ideas about throwing her in the pool as well. I wondered if James had the nerve to dunk Gigi, but they were very slowly making their way back to the house and my attention soon shifted back to Darcy.

  “Truce?” he offered, swimming close.

  “Charlie!” Jane yelped in surprise; I turned to see Charlie tugging my sister into the pool by her hand.

  “Well,” I hesitated, eyeing him as he got close enough that our legs and arms occasionally brushed in the water, “I’m not sure.”

  I was slowly pulling away from him, but he wasn’t letting me get far. It didn’t take long before he had corralled me closer to the shallow end of the pool and I only guessed at his reasoning until I realized he was able to stand on the bottom while I still had to swim to keep afloat. He stepped into me and pulled me close while also holding me up, putting his mouth against my right ear.

  “What can I do to persuade you? To make it up to you?” he as
ked.

  I shivered as I felt his voice reverberate against my skin and instinctively wrapped one leg around his and tugged so our hips met. His grip on me tightened and I put my arms around his neck.

  “I would be able to answer that question,” I licked my lips and then, suddenly wary of being overheard, I imitated his earlier action and put my mouth against his ear and breathed, “if we were somewhere more private.” I pulled back enough to see his expression, which looked both eager and hopeful. “I would be suitably impressed if you could manage to legitimize a reason for both you and me to be upstairs in your room for a minute.” Teasingly, I softly kissed him right under his ear and felt very proud of myself when I heard him suck in a breath. “Or two.”

  “I believe,” his voice was low, husky, and one I had now heard enough times to understand he had a plan in mind for us. “That I can rise to that challenge.”

  “You have not disappointed me yet,” I couldn’t help but reply with a small, teasing smile. He tossed me that familiar smug smirk that had, somewhere along the way, became endearing rather than intolerable.

  He pulled back and in the next few minutes, slowly separated the two of us in a way that was very subtle, and did not look at all like it he had any ulterior motives. Slowly, everyone got out of the pool and started to disperse. He stared at me until we locked eyes and then, after a deep breath, broke the contact. I furrowed my brow for a moment before he spoke, and I caught on to his meaning.

  “I believe lunch will be getting started soon. I’m just going to check in and make sure everything is running smoothly,” Darcy announced before putting on a button-up shirt. I was secretly thrilled when he didn’t bother buttoning it and left a great deal of skin exposed. He glanced at me one last time before heading into the house.

  “I think I’ll head up and get dressed,” Jane said.

  “Me too,” I quickly seconded her. Soon everyone was drying off and making their way to their respective rooms.

  As soon as I stepped through the door to Darcy’s room, he was pushing it shut behind me and tugging me closer as our lips met in an almost reflexive way.