Fingers crossed for a sane person.
As I’m making my way out of the house, Sarah bumps into me. “Hey, where are you off to?”
“Some things in town I need to do. Possible shopping, looking at beauty salons, and, um, some other stuff.”
She nods. “All right. Well, call if you need anything.”
“Okay.” I start to move out the door and smack right into someone coming inside. “Ugh.”
“Hey, Em. Sorry. Didn’t see you there.”
I wipe the wetness that plastered my face and sneer at Graham. “That’s gross. You smell awful. And it was on my face.”
“What was on your face?” Kyle asks. His tone is harsh.
Graham wipes his face with a towel and looks over at Kyle. “She walked right into my sweaty shirt.”
Kyle looks at him, then over at me. “I’m going to the beach.” He walks past us out the door and snatches a cooler that was sitting on the deck outside.
“He’s been doing that a lot lately,” Madison says.
I squeeze out the door before anyone can pull me into their conversation about Kyle. He’s probably just sulking because he can’t find any ladies willing to do the whole one night of bliss-and-ditch routine.
I glance back one last time at the retreating back of muscles that has my head and heart in a tangled mess; then I sigh. This is for the best. I’m changing my ways. I just hope this knotted feeling in my stomach will go away eventually.
Chapter Fifteen
Kyle
The beach is like a buffet of women. Women of all shapes, sizes, colors, and normally, I’m down for it all. But my dick is not feeling this. No. It only seems to spring from a slumber when Em is around.
And only Em.
That girl is going to have me sideways if this keeps up. She’s hot one minute, cold the next. Hell, she’s been avoiding me for the past couple of days all because I told her how I felt about relationships. She used to be on the same page. That’s what I liked most about her.
Now. Shit. It’s like the girl is completely different. She’s not walking with her head held high. She isn’t making remarks about her eye candy littering the beach. She didn’t even smack some random dude’s ass which is a very common Em move. Not that I want her smacking or touch another guy’s ass. Especially in my presence. I know I’ll lose all my patience then and beat someone’s face into the sand.
It’s just … something happened to her in fucking Florida, and I want to know what.
I twist the cap on my beer and take a long swig. As the cool liquid quenches my throat, Bryce plops down in the chair next to me. “Hey, man. Mind if I have one?”
I swallow. “Help yourself.”
He digs out a beer, and I go back to staring at the waves. “Maddy is worried about you.”
“I’m fine. Just chillaxing on the beach.”
“Right.”
I study him for a second. “What?” I ask.
He takes a drink of his beer. Then leans back in his chair. “I know you still don’t trust me. And I know you probably aren’t going to be real with me. But I’m going to say it anyway. I know something is up with you and Emily. I know you all probably screwed each other at some point and are tiptoeing around it. I personally don’t give a fuck. But I love the hell out of your sister, man, and she’s freaking out. She believes you and Em are being weird and it’s her fault. You aren’t trying to screw the entire single female population here. Her words, man, not mine. But I think she’s right because this whole not hooking up with a different chick every night isn’t your style at all. Then she’s worried that Emily is all sorts of crazy or something really shitty happened to her and that’s also all her fault for not going to school with her. And no matter how many times I tell her it’s not, she won’t listen. Could you do that?”
I sigh. “Yeah. It’s not her fault. I’m just trying not to have that weird moment in the morning with Emily. You know? I mean, the girl had a crush on me forever. How awkward would it be if I just walk into the kitchen with some strange?”
“Uh … awkward. Yeah. That’s what we’re going with. Okay. Look. I’m not your sister. I saw the I-will-fuck-you-up look you had going on with Graham this morning. I mean, she ran into his chest, got his sweat all over her face, and you looked like you were about to murder him. But whatever you want to tell yourself is fine.”
My hotheaded temper is about to come to life. I’ve been good sparing him from my fist meeting his jaw for my sister’s sake, but if he doesn’t shut the hell up soon, that is about to come to a close. He’s ruining not only my chill mode but also my buzz. One more fucking word out of his mouth about my apparent love for Em and I’m going to punch him in the face.
I get up from the chair. I shouldn’t be here. The smart thing to do is leave. Mom and Dad wouldn’t know. Maddy will be okay. Emily could go back to acting normal too. In fact, the more I think about it, I truly think it’s me. I’m the one causing her to act like a bottled-up version of herself.
I kick at the waves pouring into the shoreline while taking a swig of my beer. Yeah, I’m going to head to Cali. I’ll call the guys, and that will be that.
As I’m making my way back to my chair, I spot Em. Her eyes are wide, and she keeps looking around for something, or someone. The pit of my stomach sours at the thought she’s hunting for some strange.
Then her eyes land on me, and she leaves the porch. She walks over to me and says, “Hey. I, um, have a problem.”
“What is it? Fair warning, I’ve been drinking a lot, so if you need a ride, you’re SOL.”
She frowns at me. “No, I don’t need a ride.” Her gaze drops to the almost-empty bottle in my hand. “You’ve been doing that a lot.”
“I’m on vacation. Get on board.”
As I start to move past her, she mumbles, “If this is it, no thanks.”
I face her with a steely glare. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“This isn’t like you. Are you doing this because I won’t be crawling into your damn bed?”
Where the hell does she come off? “Not every fucking thing is about you, princess.”
She crosses her arms. “Don’t call me that!”
I take a step closer and raise my hand. Her whole body stiffens, and as I reach out to capture a stray piece of her hair, she flinches. I quickly tuck it behind her ear. I’m a little tipsy, but I see the fear swimming in her eyes. I immediately drop my hand. “Em,” I say softly. “I’m not going to hurt you. I’d never hurt you. You know that, right?”
She nods once and looks down at the ground. I brush my fingers under her chin and tilt her head up so her gaze meets mine. “I need you to listen to me when I say this. I’ll never hurt you. Any man who lays his hand on a woman and physically hurts them is not a man. Do you get what I’m saying?”
She doesn’t speak; she just nods. “As far me calling you ‘princess’ or ‘beautiful’ or any other name I feel you deserve, guess what? I’m not going to stop. And just between us, you’ll always be ‘beautiful’ or ‘princess’ to me.”
She takes a step closer, then rests her head on my chest. Damn it. I want to fix this girl. I’ve been drinking myself stupid because I’m pissed off. Em is broken, and I don’t like it. Not one fucking bit. I breathe in her scent. “I’m sorry.”
She pulls back, and I notice her eyes have tears gathering at the lashes ready to break free with one solid blink. “I know you’re mad at me,” she whispers.
“I’m not.”
“Yes, you are. I turned you down, and you’ve been acting odd around me. You haven’t been trolling the beach for girls. I noticed. Madison even mentioned it. If it’s because of me or you think you’re trying to spare my feelings, don’t.”
Her words piss me off. I don’t want the other girls here because my dick only seems to want one girl. And she’s currently in my arms. I can’t exactly tell her this though; she’ll just bottle up and probably lock herself in her room to avoid me forever. So I
chuckle and kiss the top of her head. “Maddy needs to start minding her own business. As for sparing feelings, good to know. I’m just flustered that’s all.”
She pulls back and stares at me. “Well. Go get some then.”
If only it were that simple. I nod because it’s the only thing I can do right now. She smiles and swings me around and pushes me toward my beach chair. “I’ll make you a deal, Kyle. I’ll help you with your flustered state by being your wing girl. You help me by keeping everyone in the house out of my business.”
I glance back at her. “I don’t know if I like the sound of this.”
“You’re going to have to trust me.”
“Em, I know we’ve known each other for a long ass time, but I don’t trust you with my sexual frustration problem.” Unless she’s the one providing the help.
She glares at me and shoves me to my lounge chair. She plops down in the empty seat next to me. “I promise to pick girls you like. Just please help me out with Madison. She keeps lurking over me or giving me strange looks.”
“Em, the only way to solve that is to start acting like the old you. Not grade-school you. But, like, last year you.”
She shakes her head. “I’m not doing that. There has to be another way.”
I huff. “Have fun. Smile. Laugh. Go shopping. Get a tan. You’re the whitest person here, and you’re usually the darkest. If you see a group of dudes walk by, pretend to notice.” Okay that last bit I did not mean to say. I don’t want Emily noticing any of the guys here. Especially if they aren’t me.
She nods. “All right. Does that mean you will help me?”
I roll my eyes. I must be crazy as hell to agree to this, but I stick my hand out. We shake, and she undoes her white button-down, exposing her hot pink bikini which accentuates her perfect body to everyone on the beach. She lays back against her chair and says, “Shoot, I forgot oil. Can you get some?”
“Sure. I’ll go get it.” I need more beer anyway, if I’m going to pull off this insane deal. Shit.
Chapter Sixteen
Emily
How is it Kyle always seem to make everything crappy go away? To be truthful I came out on to the beach to see if he’d go on a walk with me. But here I’m sitting in a chair regretting my silly decision to help him find a girl to help cure his sexual frustration.
This was not how I planned to spend the rest of the afternoon after I returned from the therapist’s office around three. I was feeling a little better about going. To celebrate I wanted to go hit the store or maybe the beach with the girls. But as soon as I walked into the house, I overhear Maddy and Sarah talking about me.
It sounded at first that Maddy was concerned I wasn’t acting like me. Which, hey, it’s true. It’s when she started suggesting to Sarah about finding me a person that I slowly withdrew the idea of letting them know I was home.
“I think we should find her someone to hang out with,” Madison says.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. Just let her be. Maybe it’s good that she’s mellowing out.”
“I know, but it’s not her usual self. I can see if she even said ‘hey, ladies. I’m going to try something new this year and not be a total player.’ I could support that all the way, but she hasn’t said a word. She just mopes around in her room. Watches TV. Or goes grocery shopping. She hasn’t asked me or you to go to the shops, the beach, nothing. That’s not my friend in there.”
Sarah sighs. “Well, Kyle isn’t acting like himself either. Do you want to go hook him up with someone too?”
“Um. No. Kyle is just in a slump. Probably got turned down or something. But he does need to slow down on the drinking. Maybe we’ll hide the alcohol later.”
“Good idea. And the ping pong table. I do not want to stay up watching a game of beer pong against Bryce and Graham again. Thanks to that dumb shit, I didn’t get any.”
While Madison was giggling, I slipped into my room, changed into my bikini, and headed to the beach to find Kyle. If anyone could help me deflect Madison and her watchful eye, it would be him.
Well, that’s putting it mildly. If I were being truthful, Madison is more like a mother hen. And if she’s already making plans to pick me out partners, I need backup fast. I know she’s my best friend. I know she’s just worried about me. She can’t do this though.
Maybe if I came clean and told her what I was up to, it would change things. But I know Madison, and she’ll just hover more. Waiting for some damn shoe or something to drop. The last thing I need is this. Any of it.
I need to just fix me before I can go on dates or get into a routine again. None of that is going to happen if I have her constantly watching me. Or her waiting to intervene.
I scan the beach for a moment before my eyes land on Kyle.
Yes, I drink him in too. From his messy hair down to his muscularly toned body. As soon as I spilled the plan though, I instantly regretted it. I mean, I don’t want to find him someone.
While I’m sitting in the lawn chair waiting for him to return with some oil, I watch the waves spilling into the shore. As I’m getting lost in my thoughts, I notice two brunettes block my view of the ocean. They literally stop and stare with their mouths gapping open like fish. What the hell is wrong with … “Here you go,” Kyle says as he hands me a bottle of suntan oil.
I don’t what comes over me. Honestly, I must have lost my mind because I lean into him and say in a sultry voice, “Would you mind rubbing some on me?”
“Uh … okay.”
He drops down beside me and takes the bottle back from me. I sneak a peek at the girls. They’re still standing there, trying to get his attention. Jealously flares inside me, and I want to put an end to them checking him out. Before Kyle rubs his hands all over me, I pull him close and lick his ear.
He cranes his gaze to mine and asks, “Why are you licking my ear like a dog?”
I shrug. “Cause I can.” Then I glance over his shoulder at the girls. They both must have gotten the hint because they’re now moving down the beach.
“Oh. Is that so? All right then.” He grabs my face and turns my head a little. I squeal and laugh, but he licks the side of my face and then nips at my ear with his teeth.
I squirm, and he finally lets go. “That’s what puppies do.”
“Are you a puppy?” I giggle.
“Damn straight. I’m as cute as one, and don’t try to deny it, Em. You know I’m right.”
I smirk at him. “Whatever you have to tell yourself, sweetie.”
“Where do you want this oil at?”
“I can do it.” I snatch the bottle back and start applying it all over my front. I can’t help but notice Kyle staring at me as if I’m half crazy. Well, whatever.
He shakes his head at me. “What?” I ask.
He takes the seat next to me while rubbing the back of his neck. “It’s nothing, I guess,” he says.
“No really what?”
“You had that evil smirk on your face earlier. I just wanted to know what that was all about.”
“Nothing.”
He laughs. “Worst liar ever.”
I stick my tongue out at him.
“Now, Em. Don’t suggest things unless you plan on fulfilling them.”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t stick your tongue out at me unless you plan on putting it in my mouth.”
“And if I don’t?” I ask even though I know I shouldn’t.
He looks at me with a wicked smile upon his adorable face. “You’ll find out sooner or later.”
That damn little promise sends a shiver down my spine. I sure do want to find out. I can’t though. This is part of Kyle’s game. And if I want to keep my heart intact, I need to stay the hell off his playing board.
“Em, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” I fake a smile and then scan the beach.
“Still the worst liar ever. I’m going to get to all of it sooner or later.”
I get up from my beach cha
ir. “Oh, Kyle, there’s still so much you’ve got to learn.”
He grins at me. I turn and walk toward the ocean. As I make my way to the water, my feet our suddenly swooped off the ground, and my body is pressed against a hard chest. A scream escapes me as I slap my hands on bare skin. A deep rumbling laugh bubbles through my screams and I yelp. “You better not, Kyle! I swear to Jesus I’ll murder you!”
“Oh, this is worth a thousand deaths, Em. Better hold your breath,” he says while running us through the waves. Then I’m suddenly flying through the air and plunging into the salty water. Even though I knew it was going to happen, I still was not prepared.
Suddenly, my eyes are instantly on fire from the salt water. My lungs are filling with disgusting water. I burst to the surface and cough only to be sucked back under as a wave takes ahold of me and pulls me down.
I feel something come around me. A grip of some sort because I can’t see. My eyes sting with tears and salty ocean water. My lungs hurt, and I want to possibly cough one up maybe both. Suddenly I don’t feel the slapping of water submerging my body. I feel sunlight and a light breeze. I cough out water and God knows what else.
I open one of my eyes and then slowly the other. I’m in Kyle’s arms, and he’s rushing us to our chairs. He plops me down and looks me over gingerly. “Aw, dang it, Em. I warned you to take a deep breath not swallow the entire ocean. Are you okay? Shit. I’m sorry. I was just having a bit of fun.”
I smack his arm as hard as I can. “Get … Away … From … Me!” I cough between each word and gasp for air.
He doesn’t leave though. He doesn’t even look as if my slap hurt him one damn bit. “Babe.” He pushes back some of my wet locks. “I’m sorry.” Then his lips press against mine. Just as I am about to smack him again, he pulls back. “When you keep slipping under, you scared the living hell out of me.”
Kyle (Scandalous Boys Book 3) Page 7