by A. R. Perry
“Jayla.” The girl gave me a small salute as she propped herself up on her elbows. “You look about as uncomfortable as I feel.”
“Lily.” I pointed at my chest as I dropped down on my towel. “That obvious? Beaches aren’t really my thing.”
“Me either, but my dad wanted to do something different this year. Most of the time I convince him to take me to Disneyland or camping, but no, he wanted to rent a boat and teach me to water-ski like he did as a kid.”
“How’s that going?”
“Do you see him or a boat around?” Jayla sat up and slid her sunglasses up to rest on her head. “I nearly broke my neck, I shit you not. Nope. I’m good. I prefer to watch the water at a safe distance.”
Jayla was quickly becoming my new best friend since mine went MIA.
“Where do you go to school?” I reached into my bag and pulled out a water bottle. It was way too hot out.
“I go to Eatonville. It’s in the middle of nowhere. So being around a bunch of kids I don’t know is a little unnerving. My brother was around here but he ditched me to go do something with a group of guys he met. No doubt includes burping and setting something on fire.”
“Yeah, my friend ditched me too.” Wait, did I just call Parker my friend? I shook my
head and focused on the water bottle, rolling it between my palms.
“Speak of the devil.” Jayla jumped up and shouted at a group of guys making their way over. “Hey, asswipe! You left your stuff here, which means that I had to stick around waiting for you to get back. I didn’t know looking at a boat took two hours.”
“Chill out, Jay.” A tall, muscular guy who looked around my age made his way through the crowd. “I’m back now so you can go home and continue binge watching whatever sappy show had you hugging your blanky earlier.”
“You’re a dick.” Jayla bent down to collect her things and sent me a tight smile. “It was nice meeting you.”
“Who’s this?” Her brother threw an arm around her shoulders as she stood up. Now that he was closer, it was obvious they were twins down to the towering height, which I hadn’t noticed when Jayla was sitting.
“This is no one. Go back to your burping contest.”
“I’m Lily,” I said it without thinking and tried not to acknowledge the dirty look Jayla sent my way.
After brushing one of his dreads off his forehead he extended a hand down to me. “Jayden.”
My eyebrows shot in the air. Jayla and Jayden?
“I know,” he answered my unspoken thought. “Our parents suck. It wasn’t bad enough that I had to share a womb with her.” Jayla stuck her tongue out at him. “But then they gave us such similar names it confused our teachers for most our lives.”
“Why don’t you go by nicknames then?” I asked, standing to join them because looking up was starting to give me a headache with the sun in my eyes. I was in such a rush I left my sunglasses behind on the kitchen counter.
“Because it annoys her to no end that I won’t go by something else and since she was born first she says she has rights to the name.”
“And I do.” Jayla slung her tote onto her shoulder. “You staying out here then?” she asked her brother. He gave her a nod and smiled in my direction. “Whatever, be home by dinner because I’m not going out looking for you again.”
With that she stomped off, leaving Jayden there smiling at me.
“So.” He plopped down on my towel. “What are you doing out here alone?”
I shrugged and joined him. “My mom forced me to come up here with the family that lives next door. He ditched me so I figured I might as well take advantage of the sun and water.”
“Well he’s an idiot then.”
“What do you mean? I mean totally, but why do you say that?”
Jayden smiled. “Why would he leave such a beautiful girl out here alone? He’s either blind, an idiot, or goes for a different persuasion. So I went with idiot.”
“Wow,” I giggled, bending forward to grab my knees. “Does that usually work?”
“Usually.” Jayden joined in on the laughter, leaning forward so that his face was close to mine. “But seriously, you guys aren’t like…you know?”
“No. God no.” I waved my hands frantically in the air. “We grew up together. Honestly, I think my mom just wanted me out of the house. I haven’t even talked to the guy in four years.”
“Well that’s good news for me.” Jayden pushed my wayward bangs out of my face. “Have any plans for the afternoon?”
I felt my cheeks warm and not from the sun. Jayden was full-on flirting with me in plain sight on a beach swarming with hot girls. At my school I would have had to strip naked and run down the halls just to compete. And even then most of the guys would have given me one look, then continued on their merry way.
“Well…I was thinking about playing a game of pool, but then I was ditched. Can’t play pool alone.” I shot him what I hoped was a flirty look. Judging by the smile on his face, I was doing better than expected.
“I love pool! We used to have a mini one in the garage until my dad decided he wanted to restore an old Challenger. I haven’t played in years because the only other place in town that has any is in a bar and they won’t let me in.”
“Well, it is kind of hot. Want to come play?” Wait… did that come out totally wrong?
Jayden grinned and reached for my hand, standing up in the same movement. “Hell yeah.”
I gathered up my stuff with a growing lump forming in my stomach. Okay, yes, I had planned on finding a guy to prove to Parker I wasn’t the least bit interested in him. And Jayden wasn’t hard on the eyes, but the way he smiled down at me and gripped my hand. It was almost enough to change my mind. I didn’t want to hurt him in the process. Then again, it was a summer fling. No one got attached at the lake. That’s why there were just as many hookups as there were breakups.
My thoughts ran a mile a minute, trying to come up with a list of pros and cons on the fly. That was, until I saw the boy standing next to Tracy fiddling with the string on her bikini top. Freaking Parker. Seeing him with her solidified my plan. If I didn’t make it clear that he meant nothing to me and made sure my own brain knew that, he would make my life a living hell. Ten times worse than he had before.
I entwined my fingers with Jayden’s and tugged him toward the house. A little pool and flirting never hurt anyone.
As I was making my way up the embankment, I caught Parker’s gaze. Even from where I stood, I could have sworn I saw a frown on his face. It only lasted a minute before Tracy threw her head back and laughed, drawing his attention to her.
But the smile on his face was forced in a way I hadn’t seen since the day he stood next to his dad and greeted his extended family in that sad black suit.
Jayden’s ball banked off the side and hit mine, sending it straight into the corner pocket. I laughed and poked him with the clean end of the pool stick. He may have had a pool table at his house, but he wasn’t very good at it.
“Are you on my team or something? Because you keep sinking my balls.” I gave him a little wink as I bent over to line up my shot. He had been doing such a bad job that after a measly five minutes, I only had two balls left on the table.
“It’s at an angle I’m telling you!” He took a drink of his Coke, shaking his head as I laughed and made my shot.
“It’s okay to admit you’re terrible at something. You can’t be great at everything, you know.”
Jayden growled playfully and crunched the empty can on the counter. “The sun was in my eyes.”
“Uh-huh.” I attempted to sink red seven into the far pocket, but I missed by a mile causing Jayden to whoop and jump off the barstool.
“Big talk for someone who can’t make a wide-open shot.”
“Which are you again? Because I thought you called stripes off the break but the number of solids you’ve sank says otherwise.”
“I’m sticking with the sun was in my eyes.” Jayden managed
to sink one of his balls and sauntered around the table toward me. He leaned in, his breath blowing my hair out of my face. “Or maybe it’s just the view.”
I scrunched my eyes shut and felt my face warm. Again. It was at least the tenth flirty comment he had thrown my way and I had to admit, the boy was smooth. Maybe a little too smooth. I would never be able to keep up with him. Parker would see right through it.
“Why don’t we call a tie on this game? I saw a nice hot tub out on the deck.” Jayden leaned on his pool stick and arched an eyebrow.
Images of my rejection in the hot tub the night before surfaced, forcing a lump to form in my throat. “I’m not letting you off that easy.”
Jayden groaned and nudged me out of the way. “Fine. But after I win, we take a dip.”
“And when you lose, what then?”
“You’re feisty as all hell.” Jayden tugged on the sundress I had thrown on over my bathing suit when we got back to the house. “I like it.”
His gaze locked on to mine, and I felt my breath stutter as he leaned down toward me. I wasn’t planning on kissing him. Not with my original plan. But I couldn’t deny how attractive I found him. The boy could have been a model and he knew it, but instead of being a complete ass like most of the boys at my school, he had a genuine demeanor about him. His smile didn’t seem forced and his playful banter came natural. So, yeah, I had to admit I was a little smitten especially since all that flirting power was directed at me.
I wet my lips and he tracked the motion with his eyes, letting out a little groan as he tipped his head to the side. My hands gripped the pool stick as I closed my eyes and waited for the pressure of his lips on mine.
Instead, a throat cleared from somewhere in the room and in a rush of wind I felt Jayden move to the side.
My eyes focused on the figure in the doorway. The angry figure. Yikes, I couldn’t recall ever seeing that expression on Parker’s face. His glare was directed at Jayden, hands clenched into fists for a few seconds past awkward before he concentrated his anger on me.
“Who’s this?” He tipped his chin in Jayden’s direction, keeping his eyes on me.
“This is Jayden. We met at the lake.” I set my pool stick on the table and did my best not to wither under his stare. Seriously, if looks could kill I would have fallen victim in a heartbeat.
“You must be the guy Lily is staying with.” Jayden took a step forward, extending his hand.
“I must be that guy.” Parker’s gaze traveled to him for a split second before sliding back to me. He ignored the offer of a handshake and Jayden let his hand fall back to his side. “And Lily should know that we can’t have visitors at the house when my dad is out.”
“Oh shit, man, I’m sorry. We just wanted to get in a game of pool.”
I flinched under Parker’s unyielding glare. Part of me wanted to get Jayden out of the house fast so I could defuse the situation. The other part of me wanted him to stay because I was fairly certain Parker wouldn’t go off on me with someone there. It still didn’t explain why Parker was so pissed though unless his dad had given him that rule and I went ahead and broke it.
“Well game is over unfortunately.” Parker crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe.
“Sure, man, no problem.” Jayden turned giving me a weak smile. “Maybe I can get your number? I’m out here for a few more days. We’re going out on the boat tomorrow if you want to join.”
“We have a boat, but thanks, Jayden,” Parker answered for me.
I shot him my own dirty look as I held out my hand. “Sure, give me your phone and I’ll put my number in.”
Jayden fumbled for it, glancing between us uncomfortably as I typed in my number.
“So…I’ll call you?” His words came out as a question as he gathered up his stuff.
Something told me that he wouldn’t be calling me. Especially after he bolted from the room, taking the stairs two at a time.
I stood at the top of the staircase a few seconds after the front door slammed shut. I could feel Parker’s glare attempting to burn a hole through my back, but I suddenly didn’t have the energy to face the inevitable blowup.
Plan successful, I guess? Only instead of seeming relieved that he didn’t have to turn me down to my face, Parker seemed pissed.
I still couldn’t believe what I walked in on. Sure, I’d seen them leave together, but I never figured I would come home to them all cozy and on the verge of a kiss. Especially not after the weird moment in the hot tub. Unless I had read way too much into it.
Lily avoided my eyes as she came back into the room and began cleaning up. She tossed the two empty pop cans into the trash then hung up the pool sticks on the far wall. As of late I couldn’t read her. One minute she was hot the next she was cold and distant. I would blink and she would flirt and then the next moment she showed up at my house with another guy. A guy she didn’t know who could have done anything he wanted to her with no one around to stop it.
In an instant my blood boiled. An image of him on top of her popped into my head and refused to leave making me angry and confused at the same time. Maybe that’s what she wanted. A guy to screw during summer vacation. After all, I hadn’t seen her with a boyfriend since sophomore year. Maybe her new thing was a quick hookup. No wonder she gave in and came to the lake.
Lily finally turned to me after she had racked the balls. Her teeth nibbled on her lower lip as she fidgeted from one foot to the other.
“Would you just say something? Anything?” she blurted out then took a deep breath. “You’re freaking me out just standing over there staring at me.”
“What were you thinking?” My words came out harsher than I expected and it caught her off guard.
“W-what are you talking about?”
“Lake guy. Do you know anything about him? Or are you in the habit of inviting strangers back to your place? That your new thing? Bang it out and move on with your life?”
Lily looked like she had been slapped, her face turning pink all the way up to her ears. “You’re one to talk. That’s all you ever do. I can guarantee I know more about Jayden than you did about little miss ‘Oh God! Oh God!’ Classy.”
She was referring of course to Alexis Woodall who threw herself at me during a bonfire party in the spring. We may or may not have gotten better acquainted in the bed of Hunter’s truck. But that was consensual, and I had known her or I should say of her all year.
When I didn’t say anything right away Lily smirked. “That’s what I thought. So don’t go throwing stones when you live in a glass house, Parker. You’re bound to get cut.”
She made a move to step around me, but I grabbed her arm halting her. “He could have hurt you.”
“Since when do you care?” She ripped her arm free and took a step back. Her face wavered between hurt and angry.
“I’ve always cared.” Saying those words out loud physically hurt. It was a secret I wanted to take with me to the grave. I never planned on telling her how long I held a flame for her. Flirting aside, I had always cared about her and unbeknownst to her, I had kept tabs on her to make sure she was okay, and that whatever boyfriend she had was taking care of her. Of course, there hadn’t been anything to keep track of for the past couple of years. But that didn’t stop me from checking in.
“Please.” Lily crossed her arms over her chest and leaned away from me. “You dropped me the second you found a cooler group and never looked back. I needed you that summer and I get that you were going through things too, but instead of leaning on me you ran away. You broke my—” Lily clamped her mouth shut, biting her lips together and cutting off her words.
Words I was pretty sure included her heart.
“I never meant to hurt you. I just—”
“Well, you did. So you don’t get to drop back into my life four years later and get all protective and jealous.”
“Jealous?” My anger flared again at the fact that she picked up on my emotions so easily. So easily in fact
I was scared she would figure out the biggie I kept hidden and throw it in my face. “I wasn’t jealous so you can check your ego. I was worried that some lake bum was gonna trash my place or steal some shit after doing the one thing I’m sure he had planned for you.”
“You’re an ass.”
“And you’re an oblivious airhead. Guys don’t just come back to someone’s place to play pool.”
“Guys like you don’t, Parker. But believe it or not, not everyone is a pig.”
We both glared at each other, breathing heavily from rising anger. I wanted to leave her standing in her own irritation just as much as I wanted to kiss her. Years of hiding my emotions left me unstable when I had to face them.
“I want you to take me home tomorrow,” she growled.
“No.”
Lily’s eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. She was used to getting her way and in the past week, I had shown her that her way or the highway wasn’t how life worked.
“No?” She took a step toward me, her anger palpable. “You dragged me up here under false pretenses.” She caught the brief guilty look that flashed across my face. “Yeah, don’t think for one second I believed your dad got called in last-minute. You knew damn well he did, but you brought me up here anyway just to torture me.”
“That’s not why!” I shouldn’t have said that and the moment I did I wished I could take it back. Lily could smell blood like a shark and she zeroed in on it.
“Then why did you bring me up here? And don’t tell me it’s because you enjoy my company so much because we both know that’s a lie.”
I couldn’t flat-out tell her that’s exactly why so I went with a more believable lie. “Because I was keeping my end of the dare.”
“Well the dare is over, you said it yourself. So you are taking me home tomorrow and we can forget about this whole thing and go back to ignoring each other.”
“No.” My voice broke in a way that sounded like a toddler midtantrum. I hated that she was getting to me, riling me up in a way only she could. “We also had a truce, but I don’t see you keeping up your side.”