by Emily Snow
“This was a great idea. The waterpark,” Cal said.
“Yeah, I agree,” Penelope butted in. “Everyone’s having so much fun.” She hooked her arms around Gage’s waist and he pulled her in closer, kissing her forehead twice. Those small forehead kisses were getting to me. I remembered how warm his lips were against my forehead, how he’d stroked the edges of my hair and kissed me so delicately that I could have been considered fragile. To top it all off and make it worse, he was half-naked and looked extremely delicious. Gage Grendel without a shirt would have caused me to salivate had I not been so aggravated by his presence.
“You guys should join us at our pool,” Gage insisted smoothly. “We’ve got drinks and they’ll be bringing food over in just a bit. We’re ordering now.”
I shook my head quickly. “No, thanks.”
“Hold on now,” Cal said, lifting his arm to hook it around my shoulders. I stiffened and if I wasn’t mistaken, Gage did as well.
Penelope noticed and placed her hand on Gage’s chest, looking up at him. “You okay, babe?”
“Fine,” Gage mumbled, his shoulders lacking some of the tension. His eyes flickered to the arm around my shoulder and then back into Cal’s eyes again.
“Eliza and I would love to meet you at the pool. All we have to do is grab our stuff.” I frowned, slipping from beneath Cal’s arm. I hated how he was using “we” and “our” as if we were a couple. It was kind of uncomfortable.
Grudgingly, I turned around and stepped out of the restaurant. I couldn’t go to that damn pool. I didn’t want to be around Gage, who I knew would purposely kiss and lick on his girlfriend in front me. I knew for sure he was planning on getting drunk, and a drunken Gage wasn’t good to be around unless he was with me. While he was with Penelope, I wasn’t too fond of the idea. It was selfish as hell, but what did I care?
Cal came bursting out the doors behind me and smiled, hooking an arm across my shoulders. “I should get a good scoop tonight, don’t ya think?”
“You could.” I sighed. I don’t know why, but seeing Gage made me not want to be around Cal any longer. I didn’t want to be around anyone. I just wanted to be left alone. On top of that, I was starving and almost exhausted. I was going to grow even more exhausted with trying to ignore and avoid Gage at the pool.
Cal and I grabbed our things as the sun was just setting. The sky was filled with splashes of pink, yellow, orange, and even a fierce red. It was a beautiful sight, but it wasn’t the night to enjoy it.
Cal brought up some more small talk (more about the magazine and the band than anything else), and I was half relieved, half upset we’d finally gotten to the pool. Relieved because Cal finally stopped talking and upset because Gage was in the pool, so close to Penelope they could’ve been considered one person.
I kept stealing glances of them and with each one they were closer and closer, if that were even possible. Her back was against the wall and I knew her legs were wrapped around him beneath the water. She ran her fingers through his hair and he placed kisses on her neck, his beer resting on the concrete outside the pool, locked in his right hand. He would place a few kisses on her lips, but I noticed how he didn’t kiss her as much as he’d kissed me last night. These kisses weren’t as passionate or deep. It was kind of strange, seeing as she was his “girlfriend” and all, but I shrugged it off.
Two beers appeared in front of my face and as I looked over my shoulder, I saw nothing beyond Montana’s bright smile. “Come on,” he begged as I scowled at the beers. “You’ve got to. You’re sitting at the edge of this pool all pouty and shit.” He stepped over to sit beside me. “Are you upset about Mr. Grendel?”
“No,” I snapped quickly, looking around, glad no one could hear him. Cal was talking to Deed and the other people around were dancing to the boom box music playing loudly. My feet were in the water as I surveyed everyone from the opposite side of the pool.
“Drink one with me please, Miss Eliza,” he insisted, lifting one of the beer bottles. Sighing, I grabbed it and he chuckled. “Atta girl.”
I popped the cap and took a long draw. Montana did the same and I thought he was going to question my overzealous drinking, but he didn’t. In fact, when we both finished our first bottle, he told me to wait while he went to get a few more. I could have rejected the drinks, but I refused to do so. I wanted to forget about Gage and the night we shared before.
I started thinking maybe that night wasn’t real, but I knew I was to blame for him being with Penelope. I mean, I didn’t want him, but I would much rather him be alone than with any other girl. That seemed so selfish, but it was just too soon for him to be rubbing and kissing another girl after what we shared less than twenty-four hours ago.
“I’m pretty sure you’re upset about seeing him in there with her,” Montana said, as if he’d just read my mind.
I looked at him and he smiled lazily. “I’m not,” I lied.
“You sure?” He grinned, his head tilting.
“I’m…”
He raised an eyebrow, waiting on my response. Why was I being hesitant? Was it because I knew I was upset and would rather it were me he was against? I couldn’t believe how stupid I was being. Why was I getting so upset over it? It was never like me to get upset over guys, but of course Gage was the one who had to be the exception. Gage, my high school crush and the guy that’d always haunted my dreams. Gage, the one I always happened to drool over whenever he made an appearance. Gage…
“Why don’t you just go for something?” Montana inquired.
I looked at him, frowning as he took a sip of his beer. “What do you mean?”
“If you don’t want to see him with her,”—he nearly cringed as he pointed at Penelope—“then why don’t you just take her spot?”
“I don’t wanna be his girlfriend.”
“You don’t have to be his girlfriend.” He laughed. “And besides, Penelope is not his girlfriend. She just believes she is because she’s known him for a while. She thinks after he’s done partying and living life like a star, he’ll finally settle down with her.” Montana laughed again, placing his beer down. “Not likely. Not Gage.”
“But even if that were true, she still allows him to do whatever he wants behind her back?”
“Sometimes he’ll tell her.” He smirked. I gaped. “She’s crazy, I know. It’s exactly what you’re thinking. She’s head over heels for Gage and I’m really not sure why he hasn’t gotten rid of her yet. I’m not sure why he still leads her on. He can’t stand that girl. None of us can.”
“And you really expect me to ‘go for something’ with him?” I shook my head and laughed, placing the rim of my bottle against my lips.
“I look at it this way: you both have two months together on this trip and the more you try to avoid each other, the worse it’ll be between you. He told me what happened this morning, and if we’re being frank, it was really fucked up on your behalf.”
I was about to protest, but he shook his head and his voice overpowered mine. “I’m pretty sure after the tour is over, you won’t be seeing much of Gage. You won’t have to worry about him because you’ll be… wherever you are and Gage’ll be too busy doing shit with the band. I say have at it. Have fun. Don’t let any feelings get involved if you don’t want to. I’m all up for having a friend with benefits—a hot friend at that. As long as she doesn’t expect me to change or want to go through with something more, we’re good. As long as she’s all about fun, I can get down with that. Gage is the same way. He just wants some fun.”
I pressed my lips together. “So you’re saying I should have a casual fling with Gage?”
He nodded. “Or casual sex. No feelings, of course. Your choice.” He smirked.
My cheeks sparked. That was going to be hard seeing how I was a virgin and all.
“Just a small fling,” Montana said, placing the palms of his hands on the concrete behind him. “You can’t lie and say you didn’t have fun with him last night.” I laughed as h
e raised a knowing eyebrow at me. “I saw it clearly and I was high as hell.”
“I did,” I admitted, “but we were drunk—”
“Doesn’t matter. Fun is fun.”
I looked from Montana to Gage, who was now sitting on the edge of the pool like us, his feet in the water. He was bobbing his head to the music and Penelope was still in the water between his legs. He seemed to be thinking about something else as she babbled on. Apparently the music was taking him away. He was staring right at Penelope, but he didn’t seem to be listening to a word she said.
He then swung his gaze up and I stilled as our eyes locked. It was magnetic, powerful. I tried to blink and dared myself to look down, but I was stuck. Gage’s face remained firm. His jaw ticked as he scanned me from head to toe and then looked at Montana who was only an inch away from me. He finally tore his gaze away, sighing and whispering something in Penelope’s ear. She nodded and she and I both watched Gage walk away from the party with a beer in his hand.
I looked at Montana who was staring up at the stars, his palms still planted on the concrete behind him. “What if I actually start to… like him?”
He shrugged. “Try not to. Look, if you never take the risks, you’ll never live. That’s how I go about my life. We only have one to live, so why not make the most we can out of it? I’m sure since Gage is so ‘hot’ and ‘charming,’”—he dramatically batted his eyelashes and I giggled—“then you might fall just a little, but you’re a strong girl. I think you’re smart enough to play it safe but still have some fun until it’s time for you to go.”
I nodded because he was right. Montana grunted as he pushed on his hands to stand. “I’m gonna get back with the people over there, but seriously,” he said, eyeing me, “think about it. I’ll catch you later, Miss Eliza.”
He stumbled off and I watched him meet a blonde in a yellow and grey bikini. He kissed her and she melted in his arms, and I refused to watch his fingers slide into the bottoms of her bikini so I stared at the water.
I felt a pair of heavy eyes on me and I looked up, directly at Penelope glaring at me. Her lips were pinched tight and her dark eyes looked me over, as if she were trying to point out my flaws. Perhaps she’d caught sight of the magazines as well. At the thought of it, I gave her a smug smile and she snobbishly turned to meet with a brunette nearby.
I stumbled onto my feet and my head swayed. I’d obviously had too many beers. Montana kept bringing them back-to-back, but I had to admit they were easing my mind of the night before with Gage. I looked over at Cal who was still talking to Deed and decided not to interrupt. He was most likely interviewing him… again.
I figured taking a walk around the park was best. I would take a short trip alone to actually think about what Montana told me. Perhaps he was right. Gage and I could be a casual thing. A quick fling. I wasn’t usually up for stuff like that, but it seemed like it would be fun with someone like Gage, especially after last night during the party.
Maybe it won’t be so bad, I thought. The only thing bad about it was losing my virginity, but I was tired of holding it, and as bad as it seemed, I sort of wanted Gage to take it. My virginity had almost been taken one time. Back when I was eleven… by a man my mom was dating. Good thing she actually rescued me from that one. Thinking of it made me cringe inside, though. I hated reliving my past. It sucked so much and it wasn’t easy to let most of it go.
The breeze picked up and I inhaled, allowing the air to fill my lungs. Happy thoughts, I told myself.
Breathe. Think happy thoughts. Breathe.
My eyes darted over to the trees and I spotted a bench… but it was occupied. With his elbows on his thighs and his gaze on the ground, Gage was sitting there looking nearly drained. He was hunched over, as if he’d drunk too much and was trying to sober himself up. “Gage?” I called cautiously.
At the sound of my voice, he looked up quickly, his eyes glazed over completely. Realizing it was only me, he scowled and looked down again. I stepped to his side and he tensed. He tensed even more as I sat beside him but not too closely. “Are you okay?” I asked.
“Fine,” he muttered. “Just go back to Cal… or Montana… or whatever.”
I couldn’t ignore the slur in his tone. It was obvious he was drunk. I wanted to walk a bit more but knew he wasn’t suited for walking, and if he were to pass out, I wouldn’t have been able to support his weight. I remained seated, taking a deep sigh through my nostrils. It was silent between us. Crickets chirped and a few fireflies glowed around us.
The sun had set even more and the moon was hovering right above us. I could still make out the pink, red, orange, and yellow beneath the midnight purple of the sky, and it humbled me a bit.
“What do you see in them anyway?” Gage asked, catching me completely off guard.
My head whipped to look at him quickly and he was bent over even more, his forehead pressed on his folded arms.
“They’re just friends.”
“Oh, like I’m just a friend?” he slurred, aiming to be sarcastic. Unfortunately it didn’t work to his advantage. His tone came off as harsh, insulting. “You really confuse me.”
Shit, I confused myself. He wasn’t the only one. “I’ve thought about it,” I whispered.
He gave me a side-glance. “About what?”
“The ‘more than friends’ thing?”
“And?”
I bit my bottom lip, hesitant to answer. Was I sure about it? No. I didn’t know how the hell I was only going to remain friends with Gage without feeling anything in return. It just wasn’t me. I wasn’t like the girls he slept with that could wake up the next morning and act like nothing ever happened. I was far from it. Plus, I was going to see him every day. What if something went wrong? What would happen if I wanted to continue our fun nights, but he got bored of them? Bored of me? I was an amateur at a lot of things, after all. It would make it that much easier for him to forget about me.
Before I could respond, Gage sat himself up and pulled me in by the waist. “I’m not forcing you to do anything with me, Eliza.”
“I know you’re not,” I said, my eyebrows stitching.
“So why are you so hesitant? It’s not like I’m asking you to… fall in love with me or anything.”
I pressed my lips because he was right. I was just afraid of it possibly sneaking up on me.
When I didn’t say anything, he sighed, running his fingers through his hair. The ink on his arms was bolder beneath the moonlight as his muscles locked. He swallowed noisily and I sighed, unsure of what to say to him. “How about we take a swim?”
I looked into his low, hazel eyes and he revealed a crooked, dazzling smile. With that, I was up for it. Gage wasn’t as much of the stumbling, drunk idiot I thought he would be. He actually seemed to carry himself pretty well as we searched for another pool with no one around. We finally found one a bit smaller than the other.
Sighing, I stepped away from Gage and went for the steps to check the temperature. It was cooler than the other pool, but I didn’t care. I slid out of my flip-flops, shorts, and tank top, stepping into the water and shivering with each step.
But then I realized Gage had been watching me attentively, even while I was undressing. I was embarrassed, but it was already over with so I lowered myself into the water. The light from the pool reflected onto him as he stood in his blue-and-black swimming trunks.
“Are you coming in?” I asked, smiling.
With haste, Gage stepped toward the edge of the pool and jumped in. As he surfaced, the water ran over his gorgeous face and my breath hitched as he brought a hand up to clear it all away. Noticing I was staring, he revealed a small smile and swam toward me.
As he neared me, he reeled me in, but I remained still, although I had the urge to hook my arms around his neck. My feet were kicking in the water to keep me afloat.
“I wanna kiss you again,” he said, his breath warm as it tickled my cheek. He sluggishly licked his lips and I stared at them, slight
ly aching for those lips to touch mine.
“Weren’t you just kissing Penelope?” I asked instead. I couldn’t seem easy.
He laughed deeply, huskily. The sexy laugh that always made me melt. “It feels a whole lot better to kiss you.”
“How?” I whispered. I don’t know why I’d gotten so quiet. Perhaps it was because no one was around and I knew he was the only person who could hear me. Or maybe it was because I wanted to just shut the hell up already and kiss him. I couldn’t figure it out.
“I can show you.” His eyebrows rose and he pulled me in even closer. The water was still running from his hair to his plush, pink lips and he licked away each droplet. At the sight of his tongue, the pit of my belly heated. “I can show you a lot of things, if only you’d let me.”
It wasn’t worth it to stall anymore, especially as Gage inched closer. His hands moved up the small of my back to pull me in even tighter and first he kissed my cheek and then my neck. He kissed my neck in different areas, all sweet to the touch, and beneath the water my legs effortlessly circled around his waist. He moved forward so my back could press against the nearest wall, but his lips didn’t stop teasing my skin. I was biting and nibbling on my bottom lip, heat bombarding my stomach and moisture building between my legs.
Lifting his hands, Gage gripped the edge of the pool and pressed his cock against me. When he was done tasting my neck, he devoured my lips, and I couldn’t help it; I wrapped my arms around his neck. My legs squeezed tighter around him, wanting to feel the rock in his pants. It was turning me on in more ways than one. His silky tongue, although laced with alcohol, tasted sweet as it ran over mine.
He thrust against me and I moaned, running my fingers through his slick hair. His hard chest was pressed firmly against mine, no space between us. The little nibbles and bites he took of my lower lip were driving me insane. His fingers that snuck beneath my bathing suit to slide inside me caused my moans to grow louder and his lips to fall so he could grunt against my neck.