by Claire Adams
"So, what if you're not at all confident? I mean, if we're talking about school or intelligence, I got it down, but anything else? Especially if we're talking about confidence in the bedroom. I'm completely at a loss there." Daniel let out a long sigh. "It's fucking terrifying."
"Yeah, but after you do it once or a hundred times, it gets easier." I turned my attention to him. I couldn't remember having anything but confidence in the bedroom, but then again, I'd started sleeping around right before high school started. It had been far too many years to think back to the beginning of it all.
"I guess." He sighed again. "I need to just go for it. I'm going to work on it tomorrow night."
"On your confidence or getting laid?” I sat up and rolled my shoulders before glancing behind me to see if there was a bathroom close.
"Both?" He covered the top of his eyes as he looked over at me. "What's up?"
"Looking for a restroom."
The girl beside me turned over and smiled. "It's at the back of the island. Just walk toward the palm trees.
"Thanks, pretty girl." I winked at her and got up. "Be right back."
"I'll be here. Contemplating the purpose of all of this shit." Daniel's voice was filled with concern. I felt for the guy, but I wasn't sure what to say to him. I was simple and straightforward, and he was an intellectual, a brilliant guy who overthought everything. My advice? Find a girl and fuck her until you both have trouble walking. To say that I wouldn't be a big help to him was the understatement of the century.
I found the restroom a few minutes later and jogged toward it. The line of girls standing outside of the women's half was astounding, and I felt bad for the ones bouncing on their feet. It had to suck to high heaven to be a woman.
After washing my hands and checking myself in the mirror, I walked back out and caught the eye of a dark-haired beauty standing beside the line, but not in it.
"Hi," she spoke softly, lifting her hand and rolling each finger down in a sensual greeting.
"Hi." I walked toward her and stopped in front of her. "Brody."
"Dina." She extended her hand.
"A pretty girl like you got a boyfriend around here?" I took her hand and glanced around before pulling it to my lips and kissing her fingers softly. She was breathtaking, the kind of woman you'd wish would let you take pictures for the lonely nights to come once she was done with you.
"Nope. Men are too needy to keep one for more than a night." She smiled and pulled her hand from me.
"I agree. I try hard to be gentle when letting them down, though." I shrugged. "Such sensitive creatures."
She laughed, and I enjoyed the sound of it. "Are you going to the party tomorrow that Clint's throwing?"
"I am." I let my eyes run across her, enjoying how very tiny her bathing suit was. "How about you come home with me? I make a mean margarita. You look like you could use a drink or two."
She glanced around as if thinking things through.
I jumped back in, hoping to seal the deal. "No pressure for anything more than a walk through town and a drink."
"Yeah. Okay." She nodded toward the other side of the beach. "Let me grab my shorts and tell my friends where I'm going."
"I'm over there near the red boat." I pointed before reaching out and touching her hand. "Hurry. I don't like to be kept waiting."
She bit her lip and turned, surprising me a little as she jogged across the beach. I returned to Daniel and offered him a hand. "Let's go, buddy. I have a date for the afternoon."
"What?" He glanced around. "Where?"
"She's coming from the other side of the beach." I walked out toward the water, waiting as she jogged up with a smile on her pretty mouth. "This is Dina. Daniel."
I introduced them and forced myself to keep the laugh trapped behind my teeth that wanted to leak out. The look on Daniel's face as he looked at the beautiful vixen was hilarious.
We got on the boat, and I settled down beside her, putting my arm over her shoulders as she and Daniel conversed the whole way back to the dock.
I got out of the boat and offered her my hand, pulling her up and looking over my shoulder at my friend.
"I'll be back in a bit. Thanks for driving." I winked at him as he scoffed at me and mumbled something under his breath.
"So, where are you from?" She walked close to me as I tugged on my t-shirt. For a woman who knew she was headed to a one-night stand, she was starting with a question that most experienced people wouldn't ask.
Keep it shallow. That was the rule.
"Up the road." I wrapped an arm around her shoulders again and turned in front of the house, walking toward town. "Let's grab an ice cream cone and head back to my place."
"Sounds good to me." Her fingers teased my hip as she slipped them under my shirt and snuggled against my side.
"You sound good to me." I licked at my lips subtly as she glanced up. No reason to put up pretenses. The ice cream was a way of saying thank you for her letting me use her for the afternoon. It wasn't much, but she seemed pleased with it.
"I am good, but if you're thinking you’re getting in my bathing suit bottoms without me knowing anything about you, you're wrong." She gave me a sexy smile. I wasn't sure if she was teasing me or testing me. Either way, I wasn't missing out on hearing her moan.
I glanced up to see a beautiful new BMW sitting in the driveway of the house just in front of us.
"I'm Brody. Twenty-five and own my own investment firm." I pulled her toward the car and pressed her to it with my body flush against hers. "I like expensive cars, large houses, and women who moan loudly."
She laughed and pushed at my chest before glancing back at the car. "Is this yours?"
"Yep." I leaned in and nipped at her lips. "You wanna be?"
"Yours? She whispered and wrapped her arms around my neck.
It would seem that I was wrong. She wasn't at all the player I thought she was. Too bad I was.
Chapter 5
Cora
"A party?" Cindy snagged shotgun on the way back to the house, which was almost comical. She rarely sat up front, but seemed to be in a rather playful mood. "We've been here two weeks without an invite and you guys show up and get one your first day? No fair."
"Stop bitching and be grateful. You wanted us to bring the party with us, right? Well, we did." Emily chuckled in the backseat.
"Cora, there's the basketball court. Let's go check it out later tonight after dinner. Yeah?" Dedra reached up and pointed, tapping the window beside me.
"Absolutely." I stopped for a guy jogging in a pair of tiny shorts. "Wow."
"Nothing to ogle over. If a guy can wear shorts like that, then he's not got much to hide, you know?" Dedra dropped back in her seat.
Cindy smirked and turned to look into the backseat. "Not like your chocolate man, right?"
"Homeboy was packing something in his swimsuit. I could see it from the boat. That, ladies, is why I almost wrecked the boat."
I snorted and laughed, pressing my hand over my mouth. "I swear you guys are worse than boys most of the time."
"You love it." Cindy smiled over at me. "You want me to show you how I make this homemade lasagna we're having tonight? I know it's your favorite, and there will come a day when we don't get to do this anymore."
"Do what?" I glanced at her quickly before turning my attention back to the road. I'd never been more nervous driving a two mile stretch of road. There were more people than trees, plants, and animals combined.
"Get together as a friend group." Cindy shrugged, but I could sense a change in her mood.
"Don't start this. We get to do this sappy shit at the end of the summer, not the beginning." Emily spoke up. "Besides, we'll always be friends. Tell me about the party and the guy that gave you the invitation, Cora."
I nodded and reached over, squeezing Cindy's hand as she teared up. "He was totally your type. Lanky, brown hair, rich, baggy clothes."
"Ha ha." Emily reached up and tugged at my hair, causi
ng it to fall from the makeshift bun I had it in. "Was he cute?"
"In a little boy way, yeah." I shrugged and released Cindy to put both hands back on the wheel. I pulled up in the driveway to the house and let out a short sigh. "One of you guys is driving next time. That was stressful."
"We can walk, too, you know." Dedra got out and stretched as I climbed out of the car and took another deep breath.
"I need to find a quiet place to sit and think. I've been waiting for this vacation all year." I closed my door and leaned against the car as my eyes moved across the faces of people walking by.
A cute guy waved and nodded as he called out, "Hi there."
"Hi." I smiled and turned back to the car as my cheeks warmed. I wasn't shy or a prude, but tucking myself away from the possibility of dating for the last few months had me feeling like a virgin again. Madonna started to play in the recess of my head, and I rolled my eyes at myself as I helped with the groceries.
"Did baggy brown-haired boy have a name?" Emily moved up beside me. "Were there any pleasantries exchanged or did he just spitball the invitation to you and run like hell?"
I chuckled. "You're so dramatic. Are you sure you don't want to look into something like acting? Your science degree will be used against you if you get all exaggerated like you always are."
"Whatever. Did he have a name?" She opened the door as Cindy and Dedra walked in ahead of us.
"Yeah. Cliff, maybe?" I walked into the kitchen and sat my stuff down before nabbing the last cookie on the plate.
"Clint." Dedra glanced over her shoulder as she worked to unpack one of the bags of groceries. "He was cute. Totally your type, Emily."
"Cliff? Where did you get that from?" Emily shook her head at me. "I swear you're losing brain cells, or maybe you writing off guys really is going to work this time."
"She hasn't written off guys." Cindy bent over to pull a large pot from the cabinet beside the stove. "Get this."
I walked over and took it from her. "Want me to put some water in it?"
"Yeah." She stood up and put a pan on the stove, looking at me over her shoulder. "You haven't given up on guys, right?"
"No, but I'm not actively looking, either." I walked toward the sink and started to fill the pot up as I glanced out the large window in front of me. A guy was pressing a girl to the side of my car, laughing and touching her face. "What the..."
"What's up?" Emily glanced up from chopping up lettuce as I walked past them.
I opened the door and moved out to the patio, putting my hand on my hips and clearing my throat. While I wasn't super materialistic, having some dude make out with his girl against the side of my new car was out.
They didn't pay me a bit of attention.
I took a few steps toward the stairs as the guy whispered something against the girl’s hair and turned to glance up at me.
"Oh. Shit. I'm sorry." He backed up and lifted his hands. "This yours?"
"Yes." I lifted an eyebrow at him. He was impossibly hot with his defined abs and tanned skin. His blue eyes moved across my face like he was trying to uncover some hidden secret.
"Brody," the girl called to him, touching his arm. "Do you know her?"
"No. He doesn't." I took another step toward them, waiting at the edge of the stairs. "Perhaps you can find somewhere else to seduce this chick besides the side of my new car."
"Her new car? I thought you said-” the girl started, but he wasn't paying her a bit of attention. He was still watching me.
Stalker. Hot stalker, but still a stalker, nevertheless.
"It's not mine. I lied." He walked to the bottom of the stairs as she made an angry sound and stomped off, cursing him all the way down the road.
"I see you have a way with the ladies." I lifted my eyebrow and held the smile that wanted to lift my lips under tight control. There was no way I was actually getting involved with anyone over the summer, least of all the playboy in front of me. He had several strikes against him, the first being his golden hair.
"Brody. Nice to meet you." He extended his hand.
I glanced down at it and scoffed. "Find someone else's car to covet."
"No introduction, hmm?" He chuckled as I turned and walked back to the door. "You could at least give me your name, seeing that you just ruined my afternoon."
"My bad." I rolled my eyes, wishing I were more disgusted than curious. My stomach tightened with desire, but I ignored it, not wanting to even begin to entertain the thought of conversing with this guy.
"I'll forgive you this once." He glanced over toward the car, giving me a few moments to let my eyes run over him. "I like your wheels. I bet they ride real good."
I stopped at the door and glanced over my shoulder, hating myself for being the cocky brat I fought not to be most of my life.
"Better than anything you've ever taken for a spin, I'm sure." I walked into the house and tried to still my racing heart. Just the idea of flirting with someone so insanely hot was nerve-wracking. It was going to be a long summer, as guys like him were a dime a dozen.
"What was that all about?" Emily handed me a bowl of salad. "Dressings are on the table."
"Some idiot had a girl pinned to my car, making out with her." I grumbled and walked to the kitchen table, dropping down across from Dedra and pouring salad dressing into my bowl.
"Was he hot?" She wagged her eyebrows as I glanced up.
"He was a white chocolate man." I laughed and took a big bite of my salad. "Yeah, he was hot."
"Most of the guys out here are, but be careful." Cindy walked into the dining room and sat a few wine glasses on the table. "I learned the hard way our first week here that they aren't looking for summer romances."
"No? I'm surprised to hear that." I moved over a chair as Emily joined us.
"Summer flings, yeah, but no romance. They just want a night of grunting and then they're gone." Cindy shrugged and lifted the glass of wine nearest her to her lips, downing the whole thing.
"Whoa." I watched her. "Obviously, you have some storytelling to do."
"After a few more glasses." She filled it back up and turned to go back into the kitchen.
"Do you need help?" I called after her.
"Nope. Just enjoy yourself and rest. It's your downtime for the next few days."
"And, after that?" I took a glass of wine and took a quick sip, hating how tart the dark liquid was. I was a beer drinker, but the smell turned my friends off completely, so I would abstain for our first night.
"After that, we're going to bike, hike, and boat the hell out of this place." Dedra picked up a piece of bread from the center of the table. "Don't overeat. I don't want you to have any excuses when I whoop your ass on the courts later tonight."
"Excuses? You're going to whoop me, regardless. I'm soon to be in law school, and you're a basketball star. Is this a joke? Am I being punked?" I glanced around as she chuckled.
"You're good enough to be on the team, and you know it. You just don't want to deal with your folks over it." She dipped her bread in her salad dressing and shrugged. "I get it. My parents expected me to play, and yours would have died had you brought it up."
"Why is your dad so strict? I never have figured out the why behind it all." Emily glanced over at me. "Was your grandfather strict?"
"He lost his parents when he was little." I took a big bite of my salad. I rarely talked about my parents. It wasn't a conversation that created warm fuzzy feelings inside of me, so I usually avoided it.
"And?" Dedra leaned back in her chair.
"And, it made him callous and overbearing. He sees how finite life really is and wants to make sure I get the most out of it." I glanced up as Cindy walked back in and sat down.
She pulled her salad toward her and stirred it around. "But whose right is it to define what 'most' looks like? Maybe you getting the most out of life is dancing on Broadway or cooking for the president."
"Has he seen you dance or cook?" Emily laughed, causing all of us to join in
.
"You're right, but he is who he is. I love him either way, though I wish I could come up with a solid argument to fight him with. I don't want to be a lawyer. Not in the slightest." I took another bite of my salad. The summer with my friends was set up to be a great time, but the four of us had been friends for ages. It was hard not to dive deep into each other's lives. I expected tears, but not on the first night.
"You'll figure it out." Emily reached over and squeezed my arm. "When you get to the point where their disapproval doesn't outweigh your desire, you'll fight back."
"Very true." I leaned back as the image of the sexy guy against my car rolled through my mind. I snorted and shook my head.
"What?" Dedra lifted her eyebrow at me.
"Nothing. I was just thinking about that guy outside. He had some nerve telling that poor girl that my new Beamer was his. What if she asked for a ride?" I sat back and licked at my fork.
"Then he probably would have given her one. The ride of a lifetime." Dedra bit her lip seductively as we all laughed at her.
"How much longer until the lasagna is ready?" I pushed my bowl away and fought against the desire to get outside. I'd been cramped up all year. I wanted the freedom being out in nature would provide.
"About an hour and a half, maybe?" Cindy took a sip of her wine.
"Let's go shoot hoops for an hour and get back to clean up and eat?" I stood up, turning my attention back to Dedra.
"Sounds good to me." She bolted up. "I'd never give up the opportunity to play."
"You guys wanna come?" I turned my attention to Emily and Cindy.
"No." They answered in tandem.
"Let me change into some shorts." I moved out of the dining room and grabbed my suitcase, walking down the hall and taking the last bedroom available. They were all about the same size—not that I cared. I lugged my suitcase onto the bed and grabbed a pair of shorts, a tank top, and some thicker socks.
After changing as quickly as I could, I pulled my hair into a ponytail and walked back into the kitchen, finding Dedra already bouncing the basketball.
"Where is the court? Do we need to drive?" I reached for my keys.