Cougar

by M. A. Foster

  He chuckled, shaking his head. “You can’t mask that kind of love, Cam.”

  Well fuck. “I don’t even know how to respond to that.” I sighed in defeat. “I’m sorry, man. It really is just a teenage crush. Kind of like a kid crushing on a babysitter. I would never disrespect you.”

  Marcus chuckled and threw an arm around my shoulders. “You’re a good man, Cam.” He lowered his voice. “Take the offer with the Tornadoes. I promise you the sacrifice will be worth it in the end.”

  I didn’t understand what he meant by that.

  “Just promise me one thing.”

  “Of course. Anything.”

  “Promise me you won’t try to make her forget. Emerson has a big heart. There’s room for both of us.”

  Emerson is lying by the pool, eyes closed, tapping her tiny foot to the beat of whatever song is pumping through her wireless headphones. My guess is it's a classic rock band, like Journey or Queen. Hell, it could be Justin Timberlake.

  Her black hair is twisted into a messy knot on the top of her head. Her tan skin glistens under the sun with a mixture of tanning oil and sweat. The triangles of her black bikini top are stretched over her fairly large breasts, the bottoms dipping low enough to show off the small tattoo, a tribal heart, on her pelvis.

  I’d give my pitching arm right now for the chance to untie that little scrap of material and bury my face in her—

  “Are you checking me out?” My gaze jerks to meet hers and she winks. There’s the sassy Emerson I know.

  “Shamelessly.” I smirk.

  “Funny.” She swats a hand at me. “Creeper.”

  I wasn't trying to be funny. “It’s the truth.” I squat on the lounger beside hers. “I’m a guy and I have eyes.” I exhale a whistle through my teeth. “And you’re very easy on the eyes, Em.”

  Her mouth twists to the side. “For an old lady?”

  “Forty is the new thirty, you know? You don’t look a day over twenty-nine.”

  She rolls her head back and laughs. “You’re so full of shit.”

  Resting my forearms on my thighs, I lean forward. “I’ve never been more serious in my life, Em. You’re seriously one of the sexiest women I’ve ever known.” I should probably dial it back a little before she clams up.

  She stares at me for a moment before snagging her sunglasses off the side table and sliding them over her eyes. My eyes fall to her chest and I notice the flush running up her neck to her cheeks. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you.” I chuckle. “You’re so adorable.”

  “Great,” she drawls. “I went from sexy to adorable.”

  “You can be both.” I wiggle my brows before scanning her backyard. “It’s nice back here. I’ve wanted to check out the lake. Have you been down there yet?”

  She shrugs. “No.”

  I shake my head. “Em, you need to get out of this house. Even if it’s only for a boat ride on the lake.”

  “I go out.” She sits up and looks over her shoulder. “We have a boat?”

  I bark out a laugh. “Seriously?”

  She shrugs. “No one ever mentioned a boat.”

  “You should let me take you out.”

  “On the boat?”

  “On the boat. To dinner. To a movie. To a club. Anywhere that isn’t here.”

  She smirks and settles back against the lounger. “I’ll think about it.”

  She didn’t say no. I’d say that’s progress.

  Emerson

  The back door slides open and Bass steps out with Troy following him. Troy hangs back under the shade as Bass makes his way over to us.

  “What’s up, man?” He clasps hands with Cam.

  “I came to check out the new digs and use the washing machine. I’m heading to Miami in the morning.”

  “Didn’t you say the guy was coming to fix your washer tomorrow? Do you need me to go over and wait for him?” I offer.

  “Zach’s got it covered.”

  That reminds me. “What’s up with Zach, anyway?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “He asked Jay to dinner the other night and then stood her up.”

  Cam raises his brows in disbelief. “My nephew? No way. Zach would never do that to Jay, or anyone for that matter. Not on purpose. He’s a good kid.”

  I shrug.

  “You going to the football game tonight?” Bass asks.

  “Of course. It’s Zach’s first game of the season.” Cam’s gaze swings in my direction. “Are you going?”

  “I was thinking about it.”

  The back door slides open again and Jay comes prancing out with a big smile on her face, wearing her custom-made school jersey with a number one on the front, a pair of skinny jeans and gray Converse high-tops. The petite girl trailing behind her must be Lexi, because she looks just like her movie star mother. She’s adorable, dressed similar to Jay, wearing a Heritage Bay Academy football T-shirt, skinny jeans and gray Van slip-ons. Her caramel-colored hair is twisted into two messy knots on top of her head.

  “I’ve missed you, B.” Jay wraps her arms around Bass’s middle and gives him a squeeze. With her in school and Wednesday evening dance classes—which Bass refuses to take her to ever again after the first class, claiming he needed to bleach his eyes—they haven’t been spending nearly as much time together.

  “Hi, honey.”

  “Hi, Mom. Hi, Cam.” She points to me. “Nice suit.”

  “Oh.” I wince. “None of mine fit. This one still had the tags on it.” Jay isn’t the only one who lost weight. I hadn’t realized just how much I’d lost until I put on my bikini bottoms, tied them as tight as they’d go and they were still loose.

  She waves me off. “Keep it. Anna gave me one in every color and then some. Take whatever you want.”

  Anna Sizemore is a young up-and-coming fashion designer who Jay met through her best friend, Evangeline. Jay modeled for Anna Sizemore’s “Girl Next Door” fashion campaign in exchange for Anna’s assistance in designing some Project Mayhem T-shirts and hats.

  “How was the pep rally?” I ask.

  “Amazing.” She grins as she pulls away from Bass and gestures to the girl with her. “This is my friend Lexi. Lexi, this is my mom, Emerson. This is Bass and that’s Cam.”

  Lexi nods. “I’ve met Cam a few times through Zach.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Lexi,” I say.

  “We’re going to the football game tonight,” she tells me.

  “We were just talking about that.”

  “Are you going?” she asks.

  “I think so.”

  “Okay. But I’m taking my own car because Zach invited me to a party afterward.”

  “Go, Zach,” Cam murmurs, and I shake my head with a grin.

  Lexi shoots Jay an incredulous look as if she’s silently asking, “Why the hell would you tell your mom about the party?” and I hear Cam chuckling under his breath. Clearly Jay has no idea how to be a sneaky teenager. Then again, she’s not your typical teenager.

  “Where’s the party?” I ask with a laugh.

  Jay looks over at Lexi with raised brows. “Why are you looking at me like that? Even if I didn’t tell her about the party”—she gestures to Bass—“he would.” She looks over her shoulder and points to Troy lingering in the doorway. “Or him.” She looks around. “Or the other one who’s hanging out around here somewhere.”

  “The party is at Carter Nixon’s house,” Lexi tells me. “He lives right down the street from Cole.”

  “Okay.” I nod. “No drinking.”

  “No problem.” Jay jerks a thumb over her shoulder. “You’re not gonna make me take one of the joes to the party with me, are you?”

  I laugh at her nickname for her bodyguards and shake my head. “No. I trust you’ll be fine.”

  Emerson

  This is the first time I’ve sat in the bleachers during a Heritage Academy football game. My family is gathered on the crowded bleachers while I’m sandwiched between Bass and Cam. My brot
her Max is sitting on the bench just below me with Willow standing in his lap.

  “Where’s JJ?” Willow asks as she scans the crowd for Jay. I smile in awe over her custom-made football jersey with “Mackenzie” across the back and the number fifteen in the center. Cole’s number.

  “She’ll be back,” I tell her.

  A couple of cheerleaders are gathered at the fence, talking to their friends, while the others are behind them, stretching on the track that circles around the outside of the football field. A feeling of melancholy washes over me as I remember my glory days as a cheerleader. Cheering alongside my best friends, for my team and the boy I thought I’d marry one day.

  Chris stops beside the blonde girl who’s at the fence talking with some of the cheerleaders. Her back is to me, so I can’t get a good look at her, but I assume she’s his daughter because he kisses the top of her head before walking over to the bleachers. Just as he turns to sit beside Mike, his eyes find me and he gives a little wave, which prompts Mike and Elizabeth to look over their shoulders. Mike shoots me a smirk while Elizabeth shoots daggers.

  Cam chuckles. “She needs to get over herself.”

  “I don’t really care.” I shrug. “I ran into Chris the other day when I went to have lunch with my father.”

  “That must’ve been awkward.”

  I nod. “It was at first. But we talked, cleared the air, and we’re good now.”

  “Huh.” Cam stares down at the back of Chris’s head as if he’s pondering something. Then he leans over close to my ear. “I heard he got divorced.”

  I snort softly. “You’re as bad as my mother,” I say a little too loudly, prompting her to look at me over her shoulder. I wave her off and turn my face to Cam. “Who told you?”

  He lifts a shoulder. “A friend.”

  Whenever Cam says “a friend,” he’s referring to a female. I can’t help but wonder how many “friends” Cam has. Why do I care?

  “It was final last month. Don’t say anything to your sister. But again”—I roll my eyes—“this is Heritage Bay. I’m sure she and everyone else in this town knows.”

  “I didn’t know. Not that I care.”

  “If you don’t care, then why’d you ask?”

  He shrugs. “No reason.”

  I give him a look. “Mmmhmm.”

  He huffs out a soft laugh. “Fine. A friend of mine had coffee with him. When she told me about it, I kinda flipped out on her. I thought she was messing around with a married man. She said he told her he was divorced, and I told her he was lying. Guess I should apologize, huh?”

  I bug my eyes out at him. “Yeah.”

  “I’ll text her later.”

  “No, text her right now. You can’t mess with people’s relationships.”

  “Emerson.” He chuckles softly. “It was a coffee date.”

  “It doesn’t matter. Do you really think he’d lie to your friend about being divorced?”

  “Why are you defending him? He cheated on you.”

  I blow out a breath. “I don’t know. Guilt, I guess.”

  “He cheated on you.”

  “You’re right. He did. And then your sister—” I clamp my mouth shut. “The point is my whole life changed after that.”

  Cam nods. “All right, I get it.” He pulls out his phone and taps out a text. A moment later his phone pings with an incoming text, and a smile appears on his face.

  “Hey,” I greet my friend Lisa. I’d called her earlier and invited her with us to the game. She had a date but offered to meet us at Mac’s afterward. Apparently Mac’s is where everyone goes after the Friday night home games. This place is packed.

  “Hey, girl,” she replies as she hooks her purse on the back of an empty chair and sits down. “Hey, Cam,” she singsongs. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages.” Her eyes flick to Bass and immediately light up with interest. “Well hello.”

  I snort a laugh as she extends her arm across the table.

  Bass takes her hand and grins. “Hello to you, too.” He winks.

  “Lisa, this is Bass. Bass, this is Lisa, my old friend from high school.”

  Lisa tsks and shoots me a teasing look. “Who are you calling old?”

  I laugh. “How was your date?”

  “Interesting.” She lets out a soft laugh. “His name was Robert. He’s the son of one of my clients.” She shakes her head slightly. “Bless her heart. I think he would’ve been a better match for Xavier.”

  “Oh?” I snort. “Well at least you made a friend out of it.”

  “I have enough gay friends.”

  “You can never have enough gay friends.”

  “Trust me, Xavier is enough.”

  That cracks me up. “Jay adores him.”

  “Me, too, when he’s not being a bitch.” She returns her attention to Bass. “So, Bass. Is that your real name, or is it short for something?”

  Bass smirks as I blurt, “His name is Sebastian.”

  He jerks his gaze to me. “Woman,” he warns playfully.

  “Anderson,” I finish.

  “Where did Bass come from?” Lisa asks.

  “Marcus gave him the name because of his deep voice.” I laugh and gesture to B. “Hence, Bass.”

  Cam chuckles as he stands from his seat and shoves his phone in his front pocket. “All right, I’m out. I gotta be up early.” He leans over and drops a kiss on the top of my head.

  “You heading to Miami?” Bass asks as he reaches out and clasps hands with Cam.

  “Yeah, in the morning. I’ll be back tomorrow night.”

  “Good luck,” I say. He shoots me a wink and jerks his chin to Lisa before leaving.

  “He’s such a hottie,” Lisa says. “I didn’t realize you guys were close. Considering your fallout with Liz and all that.”

  “It’s not his fault his sister’s a bitch. Our families are still close, and we were neighbors for years.”

  My phone vibrates on the table. I lift it to see a text from Jay.

  Jay: Heading home.

  “Well that was fast,” I murmur.

  “What?” Bass asks.

  Me: Come to Mac’s and hang out with us. Alex and Dylan are playing tonight.

  Jay: On my way. Will u order me a burger and fries? Pls.

  Me: Got it.

  “Jay’s coming. She wants a burger and fries.”

  A look of concern crosses Bass’s features as he flips open his menu and begins to scan it. I spot Harper at one of the nearby tables and wave to get her attention. Harper makes her way over to our table with a friendly smile. “Hey, Emerson,” she greets. “You want another glass of wine?”

  “Yes, please, and….” I gesture to Bass.

  “Two Mac’s Specials, medium, with fries,” he adds before passing her the menu.

  Harper’s eyes widen and I laugh. “One of those is for Jay,” I tell her.

  She snorts a soft laugh. “Oh, okay.”

  “And I’ll have a margarita on the rocks,” Lisa chimes in.

  Harper nods. “It’ll be a few minutes on the food, but I’ll have Will bring your drinks right over.”

  Just as Harper returns to the table with our food, Jay walks in with a tall, good-looking boy trailing behind her.

  “Harper, do you know who that boy is?” I jerk my chin. Bass turns in his seat and Harper looks over her shoulder just as the boy throws his arm over Jay’s shoulders, pulling her into a side hug. He dips his head to her ear and Jay smiles.

  “That’s Grayson Martinez,” she tells me.

  Jay scans the packed room, seeking us out. I raise my hand to get her attention, but Dylan gets to her first and points her in the direction of our table.

  “Martinez?” My gaze flicks to Bass, but his attention is laser focused on the boy jogging up the stairs to the game room on the second floor.

  “Grayson graduated last year, but his brother, Evan, is in our class.”

  “Hi, Harper,” Jay chirps as she takes the empty seat Cam just vacated
.

  “Hey, Jay,” Harper replies. “I brought you a bottled water. You want anything else?”

  “No thanks, I’m good.” She picks up a couple of fries and shoves them in her mouth.

  “All right, I gotta get back to work. I’ll see you later, Jay.”

  “Thanks, Harper,” I say.

  Jay covers her mouth with her hand and mumbles a “See you later” before Harper drifts over to the next table.

  “How was the party, Princess?” Bass asks.

  Lisa props an elbow on the table, resting her chin in her palm as she watches Bass and Jay interact.

  Jay shrugs. “It was okay, but I’m pretty sure high school parties aren’t my thing.”

  Lisa laughs beside me. “That’s a first. I thought high school parties were supposed to be fun.”

  Jay shrugs. “Getting drunk and making a fool of myself is not my idea of fun. Besides, that’s how rumors get started. No thank you.”

  “Tell me about the guy you came in with,” I hedge.

  “That’s Grayson. Evan, Lexi’s boyfriend, is his brother. We met at the beach party last weekend.”

  “He seems… friendly.”

  She smirks. “He’s a total flirt, but he’s actually a nice guy.” She pushes her plate away and leans back in her chair. “I’m so full.”

  She pulls her phone from her back pocket, looks down at the screen and rolls her eyes as swipes her finger across it. With a heavy sigh, stands from her chair. “Zach’s outside and wants to talk to me. I’ll be right back.”

  Bass stands, too. “I’m coming with you, Princess.” Jay gives him a skeptical look and Bass shrugs. “I just want to shake his hand. He played a good game tonight.”

  I twist my lips to the side to hide my smile.

  “Yeah, okay,” Jay says sarcastically before she weaves through the tables with Bass following.

  Lisa whistles. “Damn, Emerson. Bass is a fine-looking man. Is he single?”

  “Very.”

  “How did you two meet, again?”

  “College. Sophomore year. We’ve been best friends ever since.”

  “Marcus didn’t mind that you had that fine-ass man hanging around?”