by Claire Adams
"You awake, buddy?" Derek patted my back as I pressed my hands to the kitchen cabinet and let out a long yawn.
"Yeah, I'm good." I ran my hands over my face and followed them out to Clay's old blue truck. We piled in it and rode to town with the guys singing loudly. I wasn't awake enough to do much more than grunt here and there.
By the time we got to the burger joint, their attention was on me and my lack of personality.
"What's up, man? Too many girls getting away from the famous Brody Myers?" Clay pushed at my shoulder as we walked into the burger place.
"Yep. I need to up my game." I grabbed a menu and walked to a table in the middle of the room. The place was packed, and the noise grated on my nerves a little.
"Up your game?" Daniel sat down across from me as our other friends took the seats on my right and left. "If you haven't upped your game yet, I'm not sure I want to see it."
They laughed as my lip turned up in a smirk. "I'm going after this one chick I met yesterday."
"Oh, yeah?" Derek pulled off his cowboy hat and moved it to rest on his knee. "Tell us about this woman. I'm interested, seeing that you usually don't have someone on your mind more than the three minutes you're plowing into them."
"Hardy har." I glanced up at the waitress and smiled. "Sweet tea, please."
"Sure." Her voice was soft and sexy. She was alright, but in the dark, that voice would sound delicious.
"Beers for the rest of us." Clay handed her the menu. "We all want burgers all the way and two baskets of fries. Right?"
We all nodded, and I leaned back in my chair, ignoring the way the girl's eyes kept returning to me. I was after the rich girl with big tits and an attitude problem. I wouldn't be diverted.
"You getting sappy on us?" Derek popped me in the chest and laughed.
"Just ‘cause I ordered a tea?" I smirked.
"No. You didn't even bring a girl home this afternoon. Just seems rare." Derek shrugged. "I'm thinking you might be growing up a little."
"Not a chance." I turned my attention to the waitress as she delivered our drinks. "Hey, baby. Is there a good place to go dancing around here?"
"Oh, yeah. There's a great club in the center of town. Did you guys just get here?" She gave me a cute smile.
"We sure did." I lifted my phone, checking the time. "You wanna go with me tomorrow night? Let me watch you shake your ass on the floor for me?"
She glanced around at the guys around me as her eyes widened a little. I extended my hand toward her.
"Don't mind them. They're just protection in case I run into an adoring fan. Brody." I shook her hand and bit my lip a little as I checked her out.
"Protection?" Her voice was nothing more than a whisper. She was flustered.
"Yeah. My dad is a senator." I shrugged and picked up my tea. "Anyway. You're cute. Let me get your digits before we leave."
"Okay, yeah. Sure." She smiled and walked off as I turned back to my friends and settled back.
"What the fuck was that?" Clay leaned in and gave me a look.
"What? You guys are right. I'm in a funk. Time to up the game." I shrugged, feeling a little better now that I had plans for the next night. The chances of me bedding the hottie from earlier were slim. Either way, if she was at the party, my main goal was to get her name. It was hard to invite her into my daydreams without a name to groan.
"Incredible." Daniel laughed and readjusted his glasses. "I need to figure out how to do this."
"No, you don't." Clay glanced over at him.
"I think it's more about Brody being a good-looking whore and less about a set of steps he could teach you," Derek offered, causing all of us to laugh.
"Fuck you guys for being ugly and making it harder than it should be." I smiled as they gave me shit. "I'm going to the john. Don't steal my girl while I'm gone."
I walked to the back of the burger joint, checking out a few new faces as I walked through the crowd. The party would be fun, and I planned on getting fucked up. It was someone else's turn to play responsible adult in the group. I'd taken the last round and been bored out of my mind. Drunk chicks didn't seem appealing unless I was drunk, too.
The door to the women’s room opened at the same time as I opened the door to walk out of the men’s room, causing them to hit hard.
"I'm sorry." I moved out and stopped short. The pretty girl that had denied me help at the dock was standing there in the same shock I was. Her brown hair was curled at the ends, her make up perfect, and tight smile sexy as fuck. "You again. You following me?"
"You wish." She turned and walked back toward the restaurant, ignoring me.
My stomach tightened as I let my eyes run down the long line of her legs. Her dress was pretty, sensual, yet not over the top. She was confident in herself. I could tell by the way she held her head up a little, her shoulders back.
"Damn," I mumbled and followed her back to her table. Three other girls sat with her, each of them pretty in their own way, but nothing compared to her. "Hey, girls. I'm Brody."
The one from the dock earlier smiled and extended her hand to me. "I'm Emily. Nice to meet you, Brody."
"Ahh... The pretty girl that helped me out of the lake when her friend denied me so coldly." I gave a puppy dog look and the other two laughed.
"You didn't need help." Hottie glanced up at me. "And, we're not buying what you're selling."
"I might be." The dark-skinned beauty beside her extended her hand. "I'm Dedra. Whatcha selling, exactly?"
"And, I'm Cindy. Are you here with friends, or do you want to join us?" The redhead at the table moved over like she was going to share her chair with me.
"No!" The only girl at the table whose name I wanted spoke up, sounding rather pissy. Surprise, surprise. "He's got friends. He can sit with them."
"I'll leave you girls in peace. I just wanted to invite you to a big party that Clint's throwing up at the mansion in town." I turned my attention back to her, studying her dark eyes and distrusting glare.
"We were invited by Clint last night." Dedra glanced around. "Where are your friends? You should get them. We love meeting new people."
"No, I want us to spend time together. We just got here." Hottie looked around at her friends with a look that had to be girl code for get rid of this dick.
"What's the deal, Cora? He seems nice enough." Emily smiled over at me.
"Cora, huh? Awesome. I'll leave you ladies in peace. See you tonight." I turned without another word, loving like hell the look on Cora's face when she realized I'd gotten the only thing I was after for the moment.
Her name.
Chapter 8
Cora
"Damn. Really, guys?" I glanced around at my friends as anger burned through me.
"What?" Dedra turned her attention to me, but seemed to have to force herself to do it.
"I didn't want him to know my name." I ran my fingers through my hair and settled back in my seat. "I hate guys like him. He reminds me of Brandon through and through."
"Because he's as hot as sin?" Emily glanced over at me. "Maybe you should go for the nerdy type this time. I'm thinking Brody needs a girl like me to teach him a lesson."
Dedra snorted. "You? I'm thinking me."
"I'd let him in my bed for the night for sure." Cindy turned and shrugged. "What? He's wicked hot. I bet his chest and abs are chiseled out. I love that. It's fun to let your tongue-”
"Okay. Thank you very much." I lifted my hand and shook my head. "None of you are allowed near Brody. He's probably the town whore. He's got it written all over him. I've run into him twice since getting here, and each time he's with a new woman."
"Maybe he's just not found the right one?" Emily asked and gave me a pleading look.
"No. He's a whore." I moved back as our burgers were delivered. It took everything inside of me not to look around for him. His dark blue shirt fit him beautifully and accentuated his green eyes and blond hair. As much as I wanted to not be interested, I couldn't help th
e way my body reacted to his attention. He wasn't getting anything from me. Not my attention, my time, or my lusty thoughts.
Yeah, right.
"Do you think he has friends that look like him?" Dedra stood up and looked around, showing her lack of shame.
"Sit down. Jeez." I tugged her back down and picked up my burger. "What's wrong with you guys? You know that type of guy is everywhere. Are you seriously interested in a one-night stand?"
Cindy smirked. "With him? Yes."
"Me, too." Emily popped a french fry into her mouth as she wagged her eyebrows.
I turned to look at Dedra, pleading with her with my expression. "Come on, D."
"Oh, hell no." She shook her head.
"Finally. Someone with sense in their heads." I took a deep bite of my burger as she continued.
"No, I meant oh hell no to that look you were giving me. I'd be one hundred percent in on this guy. I'd spread these legs open wide and give it all up to him." She awarded me with a cheeky grin as I groaned and chewed my mouthful.
The waitress appeared a few minutes later and started to clean the table off.
"Hey, I know this is weird," I reached out and touched her arm, "but, do you know that really good-looking guy in the center of the room? Dark blue shirt, blond hair, impossibly hot?"
"Now she says he's hot." Emily scoffed.
I ignored her, keeping my attention on the waitress as she glanced around.
"I think you're talking about Brody." She smiled down at me.
"Yes, that's him." I glanced around at my friends like 'see I told you so'. "Is he by chance the town whore?"
"Cora. Shit." Dedra laughed and leaned back in her chair.
"Town whore? No. He's the son of a senator. He doesn't live here from what I understand." She shrugged. "Those guys with him are his bodyguards."
I stood up, not willing to believe the line of shit this girl was giving us. "Really?"
He glanced up and smiled, waving at me like we were old friends. I lifted my eyebrow and shook my head before sitting back down. What an asshole. Lying to this poor girl.
"That's what he said." She shrugged. "Can I get you anything else before you go?"
"Just our check." I picked up a pickle off my plate and popped it in my mouth as my friends started to talk about how hot Brody was again.
"You guys should have seen him this morning with his shirt off." Emily giggled. "I pulled my shirt off in hopes of getting his attention."
I gave her a quick glare and hated how badly I wanted to reach out and smack her. What was wrong with me? Why was I trying to protect everyone from this handsome playboy? Half the reason we decided on one last trip before starting our jobs in various places across the country was to have one last fling.
Someone needed a fling with Brody. All of my friends wanted it to be them, but I couldn't see them surviving him.
"What are you thinking about?" Emily poked me.
"Nothing," I grumbled and glanced back up at the server.
"Sorry, girls. Your tab has been picked up by Brody." She smiled and shrugged. "Enjoy your night."
"What? No." I stood back up and turned toward him as him and his bodyguards stood up. I mouthed, “no,” but he ignored me, blew me a kiss and turned to walk out.
"Hey. It's okay." Cindy stood up and touched my arm. "What's up with you? Did something happen that you're not telling us about?"
"What? No." I pushed her hand away and grabbed my purse. "I don't want him paying for our dinner."
"Oh, fuck," Emily muttered, moving up beside me as I moved through the crowd.
"Hey." I caught up with them about the time we got outside. The three guys with him turned before he did, giving me a quick visual on what had to be his closest friends. We had the brain, the brawn, and the cowboy. Of course, Brody would need to be the cocky playboy. Typical. "Hey, Brody."
He turned and slipped his hands into his pockets as my friends moved up around me. "Ladies. You want a ride to the party? We got Clay's truck. It would be fun to pile in the back and get to know each other, no?"
"No," I barked as my friends all yelled yes.
They started toward the truck, leaving me standing there. I wasn't getting in the truck with him. It wasn't happening.
"Come on, Cora. Don't be odd man out." Brody turned to me as he helped my friends climb in the truck. "You can ride shotgun. Sit in my lap?"
"Fuck that." I shrugged and turned to walk toward town. I was fine not having a ride. It was a short walk, and it would prove a point.
What? That you're being a prick?
A deep growl resounded behind me followed by shoes hitting the pavement.
"Come on. Don't be like that." Brody moved up beside me. "I'm not going to bite."
"Really? You look like a piranha to me." I glanced over at him, hating how insanely good looking he was. That I couldn't be attracted to someone for their personality first and then their looks was aggravating.
"Do I really?" He nipped at the air rapidly, looking ridiculous as we walked up a steep hill side by side.
I couldn't help but smile.
"Stop it." I swatted at him, hitting him in the chest, and realizing how firm he was. Great.
"Come on, Cora. You don't even know me. Stop acting like you do." He reached out and grabbed my hand, jerking me back before I walked into oncoming traffic.
I pulled my hand from his and let out a soft sigh. "I know plenty of guys like you. You get used to recognizing them when they're all you've dated."
"Awww, come on now. I'm a new face and a new opportunity to have a little bit of fun." He started across the road, keeping his hands to himself, which surprised me.
"Your definition of fun doesn't match up to mine, at all." I kept my eyes on the people in front of us, not willing to give him an inch.
"I highly doubt that." He touched the small of my back as we hopped up on onto the sidewalk across the street. It felt silly to slap him away, and within a second, his hand was off of me.
The wind picked up and blew my hair about as his cologne drove into me, leaving my heart racing.
No. He's a total asshole. A user. Just like Brandon.
That thought alone doused any desire I had completely.
He cleared his throat. "I can see you're not going to make this easy."
We stopped across the street from the mansion, waiting on the light to turn.
"Make what easy?" I glanced over at him. "Please do explain yourself."
He smirked. "Make getting to know you easy."
"You don't need to know me, Brody. I'm not your type of girl, nor are any of my friends. We respect ourselves more than that." I shrugged and darted out through the traffic, hoping to lose him. I wasn't interested in conversing with him for another minute. I was strong in my resolve, but even I had a breaking point. If he batted his damn eyelashes at me once, I would melt like butter.
He was far too sexy to chance it. I just prayed that my friends would find his friends complete duds. The last thing I needed was my girls wanting to hang out with his guys. That would leave me with one thing to do: get to know him.
*
"What the fuck was that all about?" Emily got in my face as I stood by the drink table in the center of the large living room as the party raged around me.
"I don't want anything to do with him, Emily. Is there some reason that you guys don't understand just how much Brandon hurt me? He was a slut and a half, and this guy is no different." I tried to keep my tone even, calm. There was no reason to feed into her anger.
"I get that, but leaving and walking over here by yourself was dangerous. I tried to find you, but didn't see you after you took off. You scared me." Her eyes filled with tears. "Don't do that again. Got it?"
"Okay. I'm sorry." I reached out and pulled her into a hug. "Don't be mad at me. I just don't need this guy in my life. Not even for a summer fling."
She pulled back and wiped at her tears. I needed to be more cognizant of her feelings. They'
d lost her little sister a few years back in a sporting event and never found her.
"Alright. I get it. Just don't run off again. You're the only family I really claim." She gave me a tight smile and glanced around. "Brody might be a player, but I'm not so sure the rest of his friends are. They seem really nice. I'd let Clay take me out sometime, but I'm not sure he's the kind to ask. He's quiet."
"I thought you liked Brody, that you were the woman to teach him a lesson or two." I chuckled, forcing myself to relax a little. The party was supposed to be fun. Brody wanting my attention wasn't going to change that. He was like every other man in the world: ignore him long enough and he would simply go away.
"He's got eyes only for you, sister." She poured herself a glass of punch. "We sure this stuff isn't spiked with drugs?"
"Nope." I downed mine and glanced around, spotting Dedra and Cindy talking to Brody's friends. He was nowhere to be seen, and though a little part of me felt guilty for being such a class-A bitch to him, it was better that way. "Come over here and introduce me to Clay. I want to make sure I'm good with him before you let him sweep you off your feet."
I lifted my eyebrow as she rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right. I'm not looking for anything long-term. Life is about to change drastically for most of us."
"Not you." I rubbed her back as we walked toward the group.
Dedra turned and put her arm over my shoulders, tugging me against her and smiling down at me.
"Did you let that big bad hottie run you off?" She smirked.
"I sure did." I extended my hand to the shortest guy in the group, assuming he was Clay by the way Emily moved over toward him. "I'm Cora."
"I'm Clay. This is Daniel and Derek. Forgive us for being friends with Brody. It's an age old issue, but we love the guy, nevertheless. He's like the black sheep of the group." Clay chuckled and shrugged as the other guys smirked.