Overachiever (Slumming It Book 2)

by S. M. Shade

  Remee

  Owen’s lips on my neck wake me, and I run my hand up the back of his head, threading his soft hair through my fingers. “Mmm. Good morning.”

  “It’s going to be.”

  “Are you sure the door’s locked?” I tease while his hands roam my body, lighting it up. The only response I get is a hum and his hands sliding my underwear off. He pulls me against him, my back to his chest, and his cock prods between my legs.

  I’ve been awake thirty seconds and I can’t wait to get him inside me. How does he do this to me? His phone buzzes on the nightstand. Mine follows suit when he ignores his. “Friends are waiting on us,” I point out.

  His hands reach between us to put on a condom. “Just need one little thing first. Won’t take long, I promise. But it’s important.”

  True to his word, it doesn’t take long before I’m shuddering through an orgasm and he’s groaning into my ear with his own release. There’s no better way to wake up.

  The feel of his lips and hands on me is still on my mind hours later, when Serena, Zara, and I board the day cruise.

  The yacht is even more impressive than it was in the brochure, and while there are around thirty other passengers taking the cruise, there’s more than enough space. At least half of the passengers gather in the air conditioned cabin where the bar is located, but we grab our drinks and find a spot on the deck.

  It’s a gorgeous day, sunny with puffy clouds scattered across the sky. The ocean is somewhat calm, rocking the boat in a manner that’s not unpleasant. The shore fades from view, and we take a seat in a row of loungers.

  It’s quiet for a few moments while we take it all in until Serena breaks the silence with one of the last things I expected to hear. “Did you do anal with Owen?”

  Zara nearly spits out her drink.

  “What? No. Why are you asking that?”

  Serena shrugs and sits back, adjusting her bikini top. “I’ve never done it and I’ve been considering giving it a try.”

  Zara shakes her head. “I tried once. Once. Never again. Hurt like hell.”

  “Maybe he didn’t do it right,” I suggest, thinking of how it felt when Owen put the plug in.

  “You have done it!” Serena accuses.

  “No, I only tried the…you know…plug, but if anal always hurts that badly why would anyone do it?”

  “Good point.” Serena sips her drink. “Did the plug hurt?”

  “No, not at all.”

  “Did it feel good?” My face heats, and I hesitate. Serena’s the most sexually open person I know and that’s not a bad thing, but sometimes things get personal fast.

  “Yeah, odd but good.”

  “I still can’t believe you two are together,” Zara says. “Didn’t see that coming.”

  “Owen’s a sweet guy. I imagine with all that frantic energy he can fuck you ragged too,” Serena says. “I can see why you’re with him.”

  “I’m not…we’re just sleeping together. It’s just a sex thing for the summer. A fling.” I’m not fond of the shared glance between Serena and Zara that implies they know differently.

  “Does he know that?”

  “Of course. Now, new subject. Tell me what I’ve been missing at home.”

  Before Serena can answer, a smile bursts across Zara’s face, and she leaps to her feet. “Dolphins! Look!”

  We follow her to the railing to look out on the clear blue water. Sure enough, a pod of dolphins swim just behind the boat. They dart around, playing in the wake, and a few other passengers join us to watch them frolic in the waves.

  A young guy leans over the railing next to me and his sunglasses slip off his head, falling into the water. “Oh shit!” he curses.

  One of the dolphins gets underneath them and keeps them from sinking. There’s no getting them back, but the dolphins have a new toy, and we both glance at each other, laughing when they start tossing them around.

  The day with the girls is everything I hoped it would be when I ordered the pricey tickets. Relaxing fun on the ocean while we catch up and talk the day away. It’s evening when we have our scheduled massages, and it’s a perfect way to end the cruise.

  After a very thorough rubdown from a man whose hands need to be placed in the hall of fame, I join Serena and Zara on the deck to watch the sunset while the boat heads back to shore.

  Owen would love one of the night cruises, where he could see the stars. Maybe we could take one. I can’t wait to tell him about the dolphins and—something inside me snaps to attention. I’m thinking about Owen. Looking forward to talking to him. We’ve only been apart a day and…I miss him.

  I’ve let myself get too attached. With all the times I’ve reminded myself that it’s just a temporary fling, some part of me forgot. Was it the sweet sex this morning? The message he sent me earlier showing him on a jet ski? Even in the middle of the fun he was having, I came to his mind the same as he did mine.

  This isn’t supposed to happen in a friends with benefits situation. Is it?

  “I need advice,” I blurt out. “I’m thinking about Owen.”

  “Okay.” Zara pauses. “Thinking what about Owen?”

  Sighing, I rub my cheek. “No, I mean, he keeps popping into my head when he shouldn’t. And he messaged me earlier so maybe I’m in his head too and that isn’t how this is supposed to go. We’re just sleeping together. It’s temporary. It’s just sex.”

  A look is exchanged between them before Zara asks in a soft voice. “Is it, though?”

  “Yes!” It has to be.

  Serena tucks her legs beneath her. “Okay, let’s talk it out a little. You agreed to be friends with benefits.”

  “Right.”

  “Only while you’re in Florida.”

  “Yes, just a summer vacation fling.”

  Zara’s gaze meets mine. “Vacation flings usually end because you both go back home. To separate places where you never see that person again. You and Owen are going to see each other. A lot. I don’t think you’ve thought this through.”

  No, I didn’t, which isn’t like me at all. I just said to hell with it, let’s get laid, and now things are spiraling in my head.

  “Is it only sex, Remee?” Serena asks. “Do you ever sleep in the same bed?”

  “Well, yes, it doesn’t make sense to switch beds after.”

  “So only when you’ve had sex?” My answer must show on my face because she nods and adds, “Every night. I’ve seen you together. He holds your hand, you smile at each other constantly. Have you spent most of your time together since you got here?”

  Damn near all of it. “Yeah, we have. It’s not like we really know anyone else though.” That’s bullshit, and I know it. The guys from work often invite him out and some of their girlfriends have tried to include me when we all end up hanging out at the beach.

  Zara speaks up. “Have you talked about important stuff? Been there for each other? Comforted each other?”

  I think back to holding his hand while he freaked out meeting his favorite author, him tending to my sunburn, holding me when I was upset over the guys at work being assholes, our talks about the future and what we hoped to get from it.

  Serena rubs my shoulder when I bury my face in my hands. “That isn’t how friends with benefits or fuck buddies or whatever works. That’s not a fling. It’s a relationship, whether you’ve defined it or not.”

  “I can’t be in a relationship. It’s not in my plan. Not yet, anyway. First, I have to graduate, then find a good job and get settled into my career. I’m not even halfway to that goal.” Panic sneaks into my voice, and I take a deep breath.

  “You can’t plan for love,” Serena says, squeezing my hand. “It just happens.”

  “He doesn’t love me! We’re not in love. It’s just…he’s good in bed and fun, and I need to put an end to it.” The last words strike me hard with their truth as they spill out of my mouth. I have to end it now, and the thought hurts more than I want to admit.

  “R
emee.” The reasoned calm of Zara’s voice pierces my growing hysteria. “It doesn’t have to be one or the other, you know. You can date and be successful.”

  They don’t understand. They don’t understand how the smallest mistake can screw everything up, how one slip up can steal your life. “It’s fine. I’m making too big a deal of it. I just need to talk to Owen and tell him we need to stop. We’ll all be back home in three weeks. Everything can go back to how it was.”

  Serena looks at her phone when it won’t stop buzzing. “It’s Graham. The guys are at the hospital.”

  Fear races through me for a few seconds until she continues, “Marty broke his leg.”

  “Idiots,” Zara chuckles. “Is he okay?”

  “Yeah, he’s getting a cast now, and they’ll be going back to the motel. That ass will do anything not to take his turn driving back.”

  “When are you leaving?”

  “After checkout time tomorrow,” Zara replies.

  “I can’t believe you drove all the way here just for two days.”

  “Two days on the beach, plus a free kinky peep show. Totally worth it,” Serena teases, and I toss my empty water bottle at her.

  The boat docks, and we disembark, chatting about other things that don’t matter. If they’re trying to get my mind off of the conversation I need to have tonight, I’m grateful.

  Owen will understand. After all, he’s never wanted more either.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Owen

  It’s been a great day. We’ve spent it on the water, racing across the waves on jet skis. Now that it’s evening and we need to start back, Marty is hitting on women left and right, determined to get some “vacation strange” while he’s here.

  Marty doesn’t have trouble getting women, I’ll give him that. He’s tall as hell, built, and rarely wears a shirt to make sure everyone knows it. Today, though, it’s not going his way.

  As we make our way across a beach, a trio of bikini clad women cross in front of us, just on the other side of a low cement wall that separates the beach from the next property.

  “Damn, girl! Your bone structure is giving my bone structure!” Marty calls out and jogs toward them. Judging by the expression on the women’s faces when they look our way, that line wouldn’t have gotten him anywhere if he hadn’t misjudged his hop over the cement wall. Maybe if he hadn’t attempted a little scissor kick, he would’ve made it instead of catching his foot on the edge. The world may never know. What I do know is that he hit it hard, then fell flat on his back on the packed sand.

  Marty’s one of my best friends, and I’d do anything in the world for the guy, but that doesn’t mean I can control the laughter which pours out of me when he tries to talk and all that comes out is a croak. We’ve all been there.

  He sits up and tries again, still unable to overcome getting the wind knocked out of him.

  “Stop trying to force it,” Graham advises as I grab his hands and pull his arms above his head. I don’t know why that helps, but it does. He manages a gasp, then a full breath.

  “Is he okay?” one of the women asks.

  “Might need a nurse,” Marty replies, his voice strained. “Do you have a nurse uniform?”

  Rolling her eyes, she turns back to her friends, and they laugh as they walk away.

  “That could’ve gone better,” Marty says. He tries to move and lets out a sharp cry. With wide eyes, he looks up at us. “Guys, I think my leg’s broken.”

  “It’s probably just a sprained ankle,” Graham says, but reconsiders after kneeling next to him to have a look at his shin. “Nope, I take it back. That looks awful.”

  “Fuck, I can’t afford an ambulance ride. The hospital bill will be bad enough. Just get me to the car.”

  Graham stays with him while I retrieve the car and pull up right beside them. We do our best not to jostle his leg as we get him into the back seat, but he’s still sweating from the pain.

  “If anyone asks, I hurt it cliff diving,” Marty says, when we pull up in front of the hospital.

  Our trip to the emergency room doesn’t take as long as I expect it to. Apparently, they’re well staffed and prepared for idiots during this season, and they have his leg x-rayed, set, and casted within a few hours.

  He’s out of it on the meds they gave him to set the leg and for the pain afterward, and sleeps most of the way back to the motel. When he’s awake, he babbles hilarious nonsense. At least he isn’t in pain.

  It’s a good thing there’s an elevator to get him up to the second floor and to their room because he’s bigger than me and Graham. With all the drugs in his system, he can’t manage the crutches they gave him tonight, so we practically lug him to their room.

  The girls show up just as we’re getting him through the door. “What happened?” Remee exclaims, sitting beside him on the bed.

  Marty gives her a cheesy grin. “Bungee cord broke.”

  Remee whips around to look at me, and I shake my head with a snort. “He’s lying.”

  “Fine, I was cliff diving.”

  All three of them look at Graham, who is happy to answer. “He was chasing some poor unsuspecting women, tripped and fell on his ass in front of them.”

  “He did give them a great frog impression though,” I add, and Remee covers a smile. Damn, she looks good tonight. Sun kissed and bright eyed. I can’t wait to get her alone.

  “Are you okay?” Zara asks him.

  “I’m great. And you have super sexy eyebrows.”

  Zara glances back at us. “They drugged him up pretty good,” I explain. “He’ll be okay. It’s a small fracture. He’ll have the cast for six weeks and has to follow up with his doctor at home. They gave him a prescription for pain.”

  “Don’t need them,” Marty mumbles, and a few seconds later, he’s sound asleep.

  “You two have to work in the morning, don’t you?” Zara points out, referring to me and Remee.

  “Yeah, but we could meet for breakfast first before you leave,” Remee says.

  “Or we could go in late,” I add. “Not like they’ll fire us for one late day.”

  Remee looks scandalized. “No way. What if that goes on the record and they tell the school?”

  Good lord, this woman worries too much.

  “Go to bed,” Serena orders. “We’ll see you in the morning. Graham can call us if he needs help with Marty.”

  She’ll get no argument from me. Remee is quiet on our walk back down to our room. “Long day?” I ask, and she nods.

  “Yeah, I’m going to grab a shower before bed.” She doesn’t look at me as she gathers her clothes and retreats to the bathroom. Something’s wrong. Maybe she’s upset about the others leaving tomorrow. Seeing them may have made her a little homesick.

  The shower stops, and I hear her blow dryer kick on as she dries her hair. It takes her far longer than usual to emerge, and when she does, her teeth scrape across her lip in a nervous gesture.

  “Are you okay?”

  Nodding, she sits across from me on her bed. “I need to talk to you. About what we’ve been doing. I can’t…we can’t do it anymore. The whole friends with benefits thing.”

  “I agree.”

  Shocked eyes look into mine. “You do?”

  “Yes, it isn’t what I want either. I want you, Rem. As my girlfriend, not just a temporary thing.”

  Her surprise melts into a look of regret, and I know what’s coming next.

  “I can’t. That isn’t what I meant. We need to stop. Go back to being just friends. I’m getting too…emotionally involved.”

  Part of me is thrilled she’s feeling the same way I am, but it doesn’t mean anything if it isn’t what she wants to feel. “So am I. I have feelings for you too. That’s why this could work.”

  She swallows hard when I slide my hand into hers. “No. I’m sorry. It’s not you. Being with you has been amazing and fun. I’ve loved every second, but I can’t be in a relationship. Not with anyone.”

 
“Why not?”

  “It isn’t in my plan. I have too much I have to accomplish. I can’t be distracted and screw it up. I need to focus on school and my future.”

  I’ve never seen Remee in a serious relationship, but I didn’t think it was because she was completely averse to them. She’s always been obsessed with having perfect grades and getting ahead. “I know working hard and succeeding is important to you. Do you think I’d get in the way of that?”

  “Not intentionally. But a relationship isn’t a risk I’m willing to take at this point in my life.” Pain glazes her eyes as she looks at me. “I’m sorry. I need to make something of myself first.”

  There’s no point in arguing with her. That set of her chin, the tone of her voice. She won’t be swayed, at least not tonight, and pushing her will get me nowhere. She’s freaking out and getting anxious because of how she feels. It’s part of who she is, and I can give her some time. Once our friends leave, and we’re back in our routine, she’ll feel comfortable again, then we can talk about us.

  For now, I have to respect what she wants, no matter how badly I hate the idea. “Okay, if that’s what you want.”

  Her sigh disagrees with her words, “It is.”

  I cup her face in my hands and steal one last kiss. “You should know, Rem, I could love the hell out of you. If you decide I’m worth the risk.”

  Silence presses in around us as I get up, grab my clothes, and take my turn to shower.

  Disappointment weighs me down while I let the water pour over me, but I’m not ready to give up. If she didn’t feel the same way, it’d be different, I’d have to accept it, but that’s not the issue. She’s afraid.

  Why is she so sure that a relationship would ruin her plans? Has she had a guy screw things up for her before? As determined and ambitious as she is, for some reason she doesn’t trust herself not to lose her way. There must be a reason.

  The room is dim, lit only by the streetlight sneaking through the crack between curtains. Just enough for me to discern her outline in her bed. She lies with her back toward my bed, facing the wall. If she’s awake, she doesn’t show it.