I nodded. “I get it, Gi. I see it too.”
They both stood there, still unsure of what to do.
So I broke the ice by walking to the fridge and getting us each a bottle of water. Then I grabbed the remote to the TV and jumped to the largest leather sectional I had ever seen in my life.
“I’m in,” Kip yelled.
He charged toward the couch and jumped over it, landing next to me.
The force made me jump.
I looked back at Gi and Iris.
So did Kip.
“Come on over girls,” Kip said. “There’s always room for more.”
I made a tight fist and punched Kip in the arm. “Stop. Sicko.”
“Nobody’s sick,” Kip said. “Just three pretty girls hanging with me.”
Three pretty girls, huh?
I hated myself more than a little for feeling jealous by that comment.
I reminded myself that Kip was part of this entire mess too. He threw money into a bet to get into my pants. All three of them were rotten assholes. And the only reason they were helping me now was guilt.
“Kip, Barr, come here,” Pres ordered.
“See you later, girl,” Kip said.
He winked and kissed the air.
He left the lingering smell of the ocean around me.
That with those flirty blue eyes…
I looked back at Gi and Iris again.
They finally came over to the couch and sat down.
I tossed Gi the remote. “Try to enjoy this.”
“This place is crazy awesome,” she whispered. “But they are crazy dangerous.”
“And if this is the safe spot, then we’re in real trouble, Ti,” Iris said.
“I don’t know what to say to that,” I growled. “I tried to leave town. That was my plan. Remember? And are we BFFs again, Iris? You good now? You climb down from the bitch pedestal?”
Iris threw me the middle finger and sat back, crossing her arms.
Gi started to flick through the channels and my eyes watched the Rulz.
Barr stood cool and casual, playing with an unlit cigarette.
Kip stood with his hands balled into fists, every muscle flexed, ready to fight.
And Pres was the commander. The one in control.
Something was said that didn’t go over all that well.
Barr stuck the cigarette between his lips and walked away.
He climbed the stairs to the loft and never looked back.
Kip turned his head and swallowed hard. I watched his Adam’s apple take a bow and I felt myself going back to that moment in his bedroom. When things were about to happen. His hands and lips…
Pres looked right at me.
Our eyes locked and I gasped.
I felt like I was cheating on Pres or something.
What?
Pres walked away and left the room.
Kip turned and faced the window.
Barr was up in the loft area by himself.
I looked at Gi and Iris.
“I’ll be back,” I said to them.
“Where are you going now?” Gi asked.
“To get more answers,” I said.
As I walked by, Iris grabbed my wrist. “Are you sure you want that?”
I looked down at her. “I don’t think I have a choice anymore.”
* * *
The first thing I did was look at the bed.
With the messy sheets and blankets.
All the pillows scattered at the top. One pillow that looked worn, with an indent of where Barr’s head slept at night.
It caught my attention and it kept it.
I paused and pictured Barr… playing piano. Smoking a cigarette. Sweat dripping down his face. Commanding that underground club. Everyone applauding for him. Him kissing me. The taste of cigarette smoke and fancy, expensive brandy on his lips. Taking me home. Here. Right here.
I shut my eyes.
It seemed my heart wasn’t willing to face the same reality as my mind.
That it was all a lie and it was all fake.
I turned away from the bed and saw Barr outside on a balcony that overlooked the ocean.
I shook my head.
They were all so fucking rich. Not just the Rulz either. It was Gi and Iris too. And Claire. Everyone in BFH.
The doors that led to the balcony were French style doors. They connected to the large window that covered the back wall. I had no idea how it all worked but my goodness it was such a breathtaking sight. I couldn’t even imagine what it must have been like to be in that bed and wait for the sun to come up or go down.
You could find out, Ti…
I shook the thoughts away and stepped outside.
I took a deep breath on purpose to smell Barr’s smoke.
“Famous house, huh?” I asked him as I stepped up next to him.
He looked at me. “Yeah, love. Fucking famous.”
“So what’s the story? Ghosts?”
Barr laughed. “They love the attention.”
“The ghosts?”
Barr turned sideways and leaned against the railing. He grinned. “You’re something else, love. Someone’s out to put a bullet in your back and you’re worried about ghosts.”
I shrugged my shoulders. “When you’re poor, Barr, you have nothing to lose. Someone wants to shoot me? For what? I have nothing, remember? I’m still as fake as ever.”
“See, that’s your problem, love,” Barr said. “You were never fake. For a second.” He reached out and stroked my cheek. “You’re as real as anyone I’ve ever met. And everything I showed you, that was as real as I can get.”
“Yeah, trying to fuck me for some money, right?” I asked.
Barr got close to me. Really close. He took a drag off his cigarette.
It took me back to one of our first moments when he blew smoke in my face.
My body raged with fire.
I couldn’t stop it.
“If it was all for that, love, it would have ended really fucking quick,” he whispered. “I liked being with you. Near you. Talking to you. Flirting with you. I liked pushing you to the edge. And don’t think for a second I didn’t know there wasn’t something waiting behind those pretty eyes of yours.”
I was frozen.
Stuck in a cloud of cigarette smoke.
I tried to hide it but that was impossible to do.
Barr had my lips quivering.
I hated myself even more as I thought again about what it would be like to wake up in that messy bed of his and have a view like this one…
Barr touched my cheek again. “Now, let’s talk ghosts, love. My parents bought this house for the story. The old man got a good deal on it. Because of what happened. Nobody knows the truth. Just two sort of famous people lived here. They had their own stories floating around town too. The house was loud and busy. The exact kind of thing my parents enjoy. So when someone comes over, they can hide their true hatred for each other by giving the tour of the house. Think about that. An entire marriage and life and something they think is love all based on a fucking house.”
I licked my lips. “It’s kind of sad, Barr.”
“That’s right, love. It’s kind of sad.”
“Is that why you… you know. You, uh, ended up going to that bad school?”
Barr curled his lip. “Unless you’re rolling in the sheets with me, love, I’d suggest you find a piece of paper and draw a line down the middle. On the left, put questions you should ask. Like… my birthday. My favorite Christmas present. Why I like to smoke. When am I playing that unground club again. Got it? And then on the right, put the questions you should keep to yourself unless I’m deep inside you… because by then, love, you won’t even remember your name, let alone some stupid question about my life and my family.”
Barr leaned in and brushed his smoke stained lips to mine.
He walked away and I faced the railing, my hands slowly gripping it tight.
I started to shake, like before.
&
nbsp; I never knew someone could be so fucking intense…
… and so fucking sexy at the same time.
* * *
Gi and Iris had settled into a bottle of vodka and some dating reality show. They were in a full argument over what was considered cheating. To the point I heard Iris say that showing just one nipple was not cheating. It was merely reminding yourself that interest existed beyond the situation you were currently in.
The vibe had completely calmed down to the point where it seemed like everyone belonged there together. The whole the Rulz vs everyone else thing was pretty much gone. I wasn’t dumb enough to think it would be gone forever though.
But for the moment, I’d take it.
I opened the fridge to get another bottle of water.
When I shut it, Kip was there.
He scared me.
Whatever.
I was easily scared.
No big deal.
“Have a real drink, girl,” Kip said. “You’re sleeping here. What’s the harm?”
I ripped the bottle out of his hand and chugged. I chugged like it was water. I chugged to the point that his eyes went wide.
When I stopped, I popped my lips off the bottle as loud as I could.
“Happy now?” I asked him.
“Shit, girl,” he said. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m a little hard over here.”
“You poor thing,” I whispered.
Feeling bold, I reached for him and gently patted it.
And Kip wasn’t lying.
It was feeling…
I opened the bottle of water and started to chug that.
Stop this, Tinsley Ditkiss. Right now. Because…
Because what?
Someone was going to get hurt?
Everyone was already hurt.
And there was nothing fake between all of us.
So if I wanted to mess the sheets with Barr, it didn’t matter. And if I wanted to feel just how hard it could get with Kip, that was my business.
“I should have known better, girl,” Kip said. “All those little moves of yours. You were a dead giveaway.”
“Yeah?” I asked. “Shows how dumb you boys are. Unless, of course, you feel like telling me where you got all your information from.”
Kip grinned and winked.
I inched toward him. “Maybe I can get it out of you. You know… if I try real hard. Just keep pulling at it… until it can’t hold back…”
Kip grinned wider.
I wasn't going to break him. I was going to make him come right there in the kitchen.
I took a deep breath and smelled Pres’s cologne.
He appeared from behind me and slammed a hand to Kip’s shoulder.
“Let's go," he said.
“Leaving so soon?” I asked.
“Business,” Kip said. “Keeping your nice ass safe.”
I gasped. “They said that too."
"Said what, sugar?” Pres asked.
“That I had a nice ass," I said. “That’s what made me think it was you.”
Pres curled his lip.
“Damn,” Kip said. “I can't argue their taste. But I still want to bust up their jaws.”
“You stay right here,” Pres ordered me.
I listened.
Sort of.
I walked to the window to see what they were doing.
All three stood down on the beach.
Barr smoked a cigarette.
Kip paced with his fists tight.
Pres stood still but was moving the most - in his mind.
I shook my head, still not sure what was going on.
When I saw Brando, Maverick, Roman, and Sutton approaching, I raised my eyebrows.
“Hey,” I called out. “You two should see this.”
Gi and Iris joined me at the window.
“Whoa,” Iris said.
“What is this?” I asked.
Pres grabbed Brando by the shirt and pulled him nose to nose.
Maverick made a move at Pres but Barr put an arm out to stop him.
Sutton and Kip looked at each other.
“Does this mean they think the football team did this to me?” I asked.
“No,” Gi said. "I don't think so. If they thought that they would have just kicked their ass. No questions asked.”
"This is…” Iris’s voiced trailed off.
"What?" I asked.
"Oh, shit," Iris said.
“What?”
Pres shoved Brando back. He barked orders and Brando nodded.
More words were exchanged but the four BFH football players walked away.
Barr tossed away his cigarette with force and purpose.
Kip said something to Pres, pointing at him, and then walked down to the water.
Pres looked down.
“This doesn’t seem like a good thing,” I whispered.
“Not at all,” Gi said.
“Yeah. And now we know why,” Iris said.
“We do?” I asked.
“This is internal,” Iris said. “To this town. It’s not you, Ti. But now it sort of is.”
“Meaning?”
“East against west,” Gi said. “Damn.”
“The two schools?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Iris said. “That’s why they sent Brando. To test the waters, so to say.”
“Meaning?”
Iris looked at me. She was scared. Truly scared.
“People get hurt when they fight,” Iris said.
Gi scoffed. “More than hurt.”
“What’s more than hurt?” I asked.
Gi and Iris each grabbed for a hand.
And together they said one word.
“Killed.”
six
six
Hot tub.
Need I say more?
The water was bubbling, super warm, and the lights changed colors every few seconds.
I sat there with Gi and Iris. We were giddy and giggly after just a little too much to drink. But my god it was such a welcomed relief to feel the way I did with them.
“Okay, first time…” Gi snorted.
“Don’t let Gina try and tell a story,” Iris said. “Waste of time here.”
“No, no, no, it’s good,” Gi said. “When I tried…”
She started to laugh again.
I laughed. For no reason other than Gi was laughing.
“Cannonball!”
We all looked and there was Kip, sailing through the air, knees tucked to his chest, coming right at us.
We all screamed as he splashed down into the water.
I had no idea how he didn’t hit one of us or hurt himself, but he hit and popped up, standing, facing me, leaving me eye level with… it.
He looked down at me and grinned, knowing what he was doing.
He then sat down and sank down to his neck, sticking his giant feet up out of the water on the other side.
“What are we gossiping about?” he asked.
“Nothing you need to know,” I said.
“Talking about your first time, girl?” he asked with a wink.
“Nope,” I said. “It was so long ago, I don’t even remember.”
“Oh, tough girl now.”
“Please,” Gi said. “She’s been with one guy.”
“Giuliana!” I cried out.
“Bitch move,” Iris said to Gi.
“You know, girl,” Kip said, “after a certain time, if you haven’t… used it… you basically become a virgin again.”
“Is that really what you tell yourself at night, Kip?” I asked.
“Whatever it takes to fall asleep.”
“Remind me not to touch your sheets,” I said.
“Too late, girl. Remember?”
I sucked in a breath.
Iris smiled big.
Kip laughed. “Plus, I have a housekeeper that takes care of that for me. Fresh sheets for a fresh girl.”
“Now that’s romantic,” Iris said.
>
“Oh, look at you all talkative over there,” Kip said. “Did she ever tell you the story when she got really drunk at a party and she ran around the beach topless trying to impress us?”
“Iris…?” I asked.
“I don’t know about that story,” Iris said.
“Yes you do!” Gi said.
“You know, Gina, you should cut it before I start spilling your secrets,” Iris said. “Want to tell everyone here about one of your firsts in the guy’s locker room…?”
Gi frowned. “You swore…”
“I’m a little drunk,” Iris said. “I might slip up.”
“Oh, I’d love to see you three slip up together,” Kip said.
I splashed water at him. “Perv.”
“You like it, girl,” he said.
He lunged at me and ran the tip of his nose up my cheek.
I shrugged my shoulders even though it sent sparks through my entire body.
Kip stood up and his shorts pulled down.
They weren’t board shorts for swimming or hot tubbing. They were regular shorts. And they were heavy with water. And they pulled… way down.
So much perfect hard, tanned skin and a v cut that left me biting my bottom lip.
“Better go check on some things," he said. “You three stay safe. And if anyone slips someone the tongue, take a picture.”
“You don’t want to know where I might slip my tongue,” I said.
Kip exhaled and wiped his forehead. “Damn, girl…”
He backed away with a grin and turned and ran.
“Holy shit, Ti,” Gi said.
“What?”
“You own him.”
“What?”
“You’re a fucking devil,” Iris said. “No wonder you came back. Are you sure you were actually held up?”
“Excuse me?” I asked.
“He’s so fucking hot,” Gi said. “And you just fuck with him like that. I’d be chewing on my tongue making a mess of myself if Kip looked at me the way he looked at you.”
“Of all of them, Kip,” Iris said.
“What does that mean?”
“Nothing,” Iris said. “Back to our stories.”
“Oh yeah… my story…” Gi said.
“No,” Iris yelled. “My story.”
“About?”
“Marcus,” she said.
Gi laughed instantly.
“Who’s that?” I asked.
“Douchebag that moved away a few years ago. He was the first one to try and take off my bra.” Iris rolled her eyes.
UNTamed: a bay falls high novel Page 5