I offer nothing.
He stays quiet a minute, too, before deciding to go for it. His tone is slightly cautious, as it should be. “Demi, Nic?”
“Don’t,” I warn right from the gate.
My eyes find her on the beach with no fucking effort. She peels off her hoodie even though there’s still a morning chill in the air and doesn’t bother laying a towel down before plopping into the sand, leaning back on her hands. She tilts her head so the sun is hitting her how she wants it to.
“We didn’t hook up last night,” I admit.
“How the hell did she even end up in your room?”
I lick my lips, not giving the answer he’s asked for. “I convinced her to make people think we’re together.”
Trent’s silence has me looking his way, and I’m not surprised by the confusion staring back.
“Turns out,” I start with a low, humorless laugh. “She’s into Hammons.”
He watches me closely before a low curse leaves him. “And Alex threw that shit out about asking her to formal.”
I nod, sitting back.
“Nic... don’t do this. This isn’t the same as—”
“He already saw me with her, Trent.” I cut him off. “It’s game on at this point.”
Unease lines his forehead, and my best friend can’t help himself. He tries once more. “You sure this is a good idea, my man?”
I finish off my coffee and then push to my feet. “Nope.”
Not in the slightest.
“Girlfriend, fucking spill!” Macy’s voice hits me, and my eyes open, finding my friends walking up all giggles. Fresh coffees in their hands.
“Spill?” I’m confused at first, but then it hits me.
Shit.
Nico.
Of course they heard!
“It’s not what you—” I start to deny it when their eyes lift, big smiles and girly googly eyes take over their faces.
“Speaking of the new boy toy!” Krista laughs. “What up, Nic?”
“’Sup.” His deep voice comes from behind me, and suddenly long, muscular legs are caging me in, his wide chest framing me in from behind.
I tense, my stare snapping to Carley’s.
Her lips clamp tight, but in a get it girl kind of way.
“So... this is new,” Macy drags out excitedly, none of them moving to sit.
“Tell us how it happened!” Krista’s eyes practically sparkle for the juice.
“Krista,” I start, ready to distract her one-track mind somehow, but pause when Nico shrugs against me.
“It was only a matter of time,” he says with pure confidence.
Only a matter of time?!
Is he serious?
Because the most wanted shithead in the senior class has never once done a damn thing to lead anyone to believe we were a possibility. And it goes both ways.
Yeah, okay. As if they’d believe—
“That’s why you were drooling over him at the game!” Carley says.
Both mine and Nico’s muscles harden.
“I was not.”
“I knew it!” Our other friend Ava squeals, and my head snaps her way. “Me and Krista used to bet on when you two would finally hook up!”
“Seriously?” I question without thinking and all eyes fly to me.
Shit.
Ugh! I never agreed to this! What the hell am I supposed to do? Lie to my best friends?
“I always thought you had the hots for him but didn’t wanna say.” Krista grins, all proud like. “I used to plot with Trent, trying to hook you up, you guys are so alike it’s unreal, but he’d get mad and tell me not to push it.”
Nico’s chest flexes against my back and I hold my breath.
Krista smiles wider. “I bet he knew Nico had the hots for you but worried you didn’t feel it.” She gasps. “We can totally double date now!”
Oh, god. Shoot me.
And did she say we’re alike? Ha!
I try to sit up more, to remove my body from pressing against Nico’s overheated one, but he only tightens his hold, his lips hitting my ear.
“Stop it,” he whispers unexpectedly, and my abdomen constricts. “This’ll help us both, go with it. If you keep trying to pull away, I’ll whisper something so dirty in your ear it’ll have you squirming, and all your friends will witness me turning you on.”
What the what?
I try to fight the unexpected pull his nearness seems to have created, but apparently my eyes have a mind of their own, and I can’t stop myself from glancing over my shoulder, the move bringing my lips even with his.
His eyes are sharp and warning as his tongue sneaks out to flick my lips.
All I can think is thank god for padded bathing suit tops.
My traitorous nipples pebble without permission.
This guy...
The breathy “dang” that leaves Macy has my head snapping toward them.
“I just got hot,” Macy admits.
I gape at her, but she simply shrugs.
Krista gives her a high five. “Same. I’m going to find my man for a little ocean water rub down.”
I can’t help but laugh when she runs off to do exactly that, the rest of the girls laying their towels out and piling beside us.
Nico shifts behind me, and then suddenly his shirt is at our sides, the natural heat of his naked skin now pressed firmly against mine, nothing but the tiny strings of my top between us. While tension swims deep in my stomach, my body decides to settle into his.
“See how easy it is, D,” Nico murmurs for only me to hear. “No one will question us.”
I wish I was as sure as he seems to be, but hey, if he insists on sitting behind me, I might as well use him.
I lift my hips so I can shimmy my shorts down and kick them to the side, allowing my upper body weight to be fully held by his.
“If you don’t put those back on—”
“Quiet,” I cut him off, not bothering to keep my voice low as he did. “I need your body, not your words.”
Carley laughs beside me, slipping her glasses in place.
Nico’s chest vibrates with his groan, but after a second he leans back some, so I’m angled just right, the bright California sun beaming down on me.
Not a second after I’m settled in completely, accepting of my makeshift chair, Nico’s whispered words find my ear yet again.
“Use my body however you want, D. As far as everyone is concerned, it’s yours now.” He pauses a minute before continuing, “But remember, if you do, it’ll go both ways.”
Both ways. Meaning if I use him, he’ll use me, but how or in what ways?
Dirty ways?
An involuntary shiver runs through me and his chest shakes with silent laughter.
Asshole.
“Damn, this is gonna be fun.”
I’m not sure fun is the right word, but I’ll worry about that later. Right now, I’m enjoying the heat of the sun’s touch too much, almost as much as his warm body on mine.
I fall asleep.
Macy skips into my room and does a little twirl, her neon romper causing her chestnut skin to glow even more, dark curls bouncing all around. “How’s it look?” She smiles, posing with her hands on her hips.
I laugh, turning back to my mirror. “Hot. The color looks awesome on you,” I tell her as I finish applying the last of my mascara.
“Thank you, thank you. I’ll probably freeze once it gets darker, but it’s worth it.” She chuckles, plopping on the bed. “What are you wearing?”
“I think my white shorts.”
Macy bounces over to my bag while I let my hair out of the braids I put them in after my shower earlier. It’s not quite dry yet, but the waves are there like I wanted.
“I say this one.” She pulls out my plum maxi. It’s a stretchy cotton, ankle-length dress.
I shake my head. “I use that as a coverup for over my bathing suit.”
She frowns. “Why? It’s meant to be a dress.”
“Well, you haven’t worn it here, so it’s a dress this time.” She tosses it at me. “Wear it.”
I roll my eyes, tugging it off my head. “Fine. It’s long, so it’ll keep me warmer anyway.”
“Girl, you could wear your bikini to dinner and I bet that boy’d have you sweating without even touching you.”
“Shut up!” I hiss, looking to the adjoining door.
Her eyes widen, her mouth dropping open before a huge, devious grin takes over. “That’s his room?”
I nod, pull my t-shirt off over my head and slip my dress on, letting my shorts fall to my feet.
I move back to the mirror to put on my earrings.
Loud moaning comes from behind me and I whip around, panicking when Macy lets out another, and then another and another.
“Macy!” I shriek, darting toward her, but she grabs the chair and rolls it between us, darting the opposite way from me. She turns her head, so her mouth is closer to the door and lets out a breathy, “Oh, yes!” and my face flames.
“You little bitch,” I squeak.
Footsteps pound behind me, and I look right as Krista and Carley nervously peek around the corner, both of them laughing when all they find is us.
Macy laughs silently, crossing her legs as if trying not to piss herself, and brings her finger to her lips telling them to keep it down.
“I’m gonna kill you!” I force through my teeth.
She laughs harder.
I yank the chair from her and attempt to cover her mouth, but all it does is make her moans sound desperate and muffled by blankets or something.
“Oh my god.” I look to Carley and Krista. “A little help, assholes?” I hiss, but they can hardly catch their breaths at this point.
“Why are we even whispering?” Carley giggles.
“Wait for it!” Macy says quietly, tipping her head back for one last sex call. “Don’t stop!”
That’s it!
I tug my dress up to my hips and jump on her, my hands smashing over her mouth just as she whips open the adjoining door, revealing a half-naked, dripping wet, frowning, Nico Sykes.
I freeze, Macy laughs uncontrollably now, and the girls gasp, followed by loud laughter.
His glower flails me, but just as quick, roams the room before settling on my naked legs around her waist. A single, dark brow quirks.
“Something I should know?” he teases.
My glare zooms to Macy.
She smacks my ass, letting my legs drop so I’m standing in front of her now, Nico still in the open doorway.
In a towel.
“She’s an idiot,” I offer, shoving Macy away with one hand.
“It was experimental, and effective,” Macy disagrees, shoving me right back. “If he only wanted to bang it out with you this weekend and ditch you come school, he’d have finished his shower in peace. The glare and balled fists show the truth.” She winks at him. “The boy’s smart, not willing to share our girl.”
Mine and Nico’s eyes meet.
Shows how much Macy knows.
Nico doesn’t give a damn. He probably just enjoys porn and her noises were, I don’t know, appealing or something.
I mean, I watched him have sex for shit’s sake, can’t fault him for simply listening to what he thought was me fucking.
A hard knock followed by a door opening echoes in Nico’s room.
“You ready, dickhead?” comes from inside and suddenly Trent is standing in our adjoining doorway.
He freezes, looks between us both and opens his mouth to speak but then something, or someone rather, catches his attention behind me and he glares.
Trent gently moves me to the side, so he can step in my room.
“What the fuck?” he spits.
I spin to see Krista is only in her underwear and bra.
She frowns at his words but then drops her eyes to her body. They pop back up wide and unaware. “Oh, shit!” She reaches for a towel off my floor and holds it in front of her. She grins. “To be fair, I had to run in here so I could see who was fucking!”
“What?!” he shouts.
She laughs loudly, dropping her head back. “Okay, that sounded worse. Come on, baby. I’ll explain in my room.” She wiggles her brows suggestively, disappearing with the others.
Trent looks at me, his irritation softening some. “Care if I walk through, Dem?”
“Go, just do us all a favor, and maybe close the door to her room?” My nose scrunches.
I swear a hint of embarrassment colors his cheeks, but when his eyes shift back to Nico, it’s gone. He clears his throat, crosses through my room and into the next.
I glance at Nico, who now has both arms propped against the door frame staring after his friend with a blank expression.
Slowly, his eyes come back to me.
“Um.” I rub my hands against my thighs as my attention falls to his bare chest, and then to the towel barely hanging on to his waist. “You can go back to your shower now.”
“I was done.”
“Right.” I trail a water droplet as it makes its way down his abs, disappearing into the thin, dark trail that leads to his most practiced tool. “Well, you can go dry off now or you know... something.” I swallow.
When he makes no move to leave, I look up.
His eyes narrow the slightest bit, and he stays put for a few more seconds before finally backing away. Of course, he leaves his door wide open as he moves farther into the room, so I close my side. My hand lingers on the knob a moment before I let it go and get back to what I was doing.
I move into my bathroom to pull off my underwear, smoothing out the edges of the dress so no lines can be detected.
The second I step out, Carley and Macy are walking back in, both dressed and ready to go.
“Is the coast clear?” Macy laughs, dodging the hair tie I flick at her.
“All clear, biatch.”
“I think your comment made Trent feel bad cause they went to his room instead,” Carley says. “For a quickie, I’m sure.”
“Where’s his room?”
Carley smirks. “Her dad assigned him to one on the other side of the hotel.”
“As if that would stop them.” I laugh. “So, do we wait?”
“We should time it,” Macy suggests with a grin.
“Or we could go make sure our seats are saved and meet them there?” Carley laughs.
“Like Krista didn’t tell them where to put us at the table.” Macy rolls her eyes but gives a big fake grin. “Lead the way, oh buzz killer one.”
Carley shoves her and together, the three of us head into the hall.
We get a foot past Nico’s door when it’s whipped open.
I yelp as Nico catches my arm and tugs me inside, the door closing behind us.
He spins me, pushing my back against the wall in one swift move, his large body trapping me there.
“What—”
I cut myself off when he begins to lower his thick lips to mine. At first, my eyes widen in surprise, only to close just as quickly.
A second passes, and then another, and still the pressure of his mouth doesn’t land on me.
His breath, warm and cascading across my skin, has me sucking in a lungful of air. My move has our bottom lips brushing each other’s but only the slightest bit.
Not a second later, the heat of his body vanishes, causing my eyes to peel open.
While I probably look like a wanton Barbie, plastered to the wall with shock and an unexpected thrill coursing through me, Nico appears completely unaffected, his breathing steady as he steps away from me.
“What was... why’d you...”
Why’d he what? Try to kiss me?
Why’d he not kiss me?
What the hell was I about to ask?
“You’re my girlfriend, D,” he says with unmistakable aggravatio
n. “I had to know what to expect when I kiss you in public.” His eyes slide back to mine as he callously adds, “Needs work.”
Dick.
“We didn’t agree to kissing.”
Did I even agree to anything?
He shrugs. “It goes hand in hand with the title. Couples kiss, should have been obvious.”
Right.
Right. Couples also—
No. Not going there.
I eye him as he reaches for the door handle. “You really want to do this, like for reals?”
“We’re already doing it.”
“But we can still pass it off as a one-night stand at this point.”
“I need you for more than a night, D, and I want you all in.”
His voice is so strong, so sure, that I almost misinterpret the meaning.
It makes sense, though. Why pretend to date me if he didn’t?
He has something to gain here, too.
I’m not entirely convinced this will do anything for me other than piss off Nico’s ex and anyone else who might be hoping for a chance with him. Alex already knows me, so it’s not like I’m starting at square one.
Maybe I should ask Alex out now and back away from all this?
I let the superficial part of me inspect Nico.
Dark eyes framed by darker lashes. High cheekbones and pouty lips, lips he chooses that exact moment to run his slick tongue across.
A deep, dark smirk hits next.
I mean, what’s the rush in backing out?
There’s always Monday.
“What up?” Trent drops beside me.
“’Sup.” I cut him a quick glance, looking back to the girls.
They’ve just finished their appetizers and are now killing time before the meals are here by taking pictures at the end of the pier.
Krista flings her hands all around, and the large group of girls break away, leaving her and her core group standing there. They huddle up for some shots of the four of them.
They take their time, going from big smiles to goofy ass faces and even unflattering poses. That’s what I like about their little crew. They don’t feel the need to be picture perfect or shoot for sexy all the time, they have a good ass time the way they want to.
Krista whips around right then, shouting across the pier. “Come on, baby,” she calls for Trent. “Nic, you too!”
Fake It 'Til You Break It Page 9