Jett waves to the grill. "They're right here. Chill."
"I'll fight you," she fires back. "Tell me I'm overeating next."
The back door opens, suddenly spewing an influx of tall, muscular, handsome men. Indie squeezes my arm. "The Seattle Wolves are here!"
"’Sup, ladies," a tall, mop-haired blond says. He looks at me, then winks. "I'm Brad."
"Hi," I say breathily. Brad has cheekbones for days. His unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt shows off tanned pecs and abs.
"Are you here with someone from the Havoc?"
I bite my lip and shake my head. "No. I work for the Havoc."
"And I'm Indie," she offers, shooting her hand out. "I'm not here with anyone either."
He shakes her hand, mischief dancing in his brown eyes. "Nice to meet you.”
"Do you want to grab lunch with us?" Indie asks.
"Hell yeah. Let's go." Brad waves us on, touching my lower back for a brief moment. "You can help me decide between a hamburger and a hot dog."
"You're only having one?" I ask, eyeing him like he’s a crazy person.
A grin splits his face. "Oh, I like you."
"Thanks." I laugh. "My name's Mollie, by the way."
We chat as we fill our plates. I catch sight of Thorne shooting a black look our way. But fuck that. As if I need him acting all big brotherly around me right now.
He can sit and stew.
After eating, the crowd migrates down to the dock. This is obviously one of the main attractions here because it's huge, with deck loungers, jet skis, and a speedboat anchored to it. We spread out in little clumps. Indie gravitates toward Theo; not surprisingly, given his Golden Retriever energy. I sinkinto a lounge chair with an umbrella and Brad drops into one right next to me, grinning.
"This is the life, huh?"
I shade my eyes and smile as I peel off my wrap dress, leaving me in a geometric print bikini. "It's pretty dope. Hand me that sunblock?"
I try not to stare at Brad as I slather myself diligently from head to toe. Being a redhead, I sunburn in the shade, so I take my skincare seriously.
He looks me up and down as I'm rubbing sunblock into my thighs.
"You look like you want to say something."
His mouth curves up in a smile. "I know enough to realize that I shouldn't."
"And if I wanted you to?" I arch a brow. Am I flirting with this guy? I definitely feel a vibe between us.
His smile widens. "Then I would say that you're very cute and that I hope we hang out the entire weekend."
I can feel the blush spreading across my face. "Maybe we will."
I lay back on the deck chair, casting a secret glance at Brad. He's tall, barrel-chested, and incredibly muscular. He's also seen a barber within the last decade, something the guys on my brother's team seem allergic to. Even pretty boy Thorne could use a good trim-up.
So, the fact that I'm flirting with this good-looking baseball player is... nice. Thorne may have flat-out rejected my proposal to sleep together, but Brad hasn't.He doesn't seem to know that I'm an almost-24-year-old virgin who's locked up tighter than a nunnery at night. Do I want this total stranger to take my V-card? No. But the flirting is definitely nice. It feels good to meet dudes that aren't married to their hockey sticks and also happen to have panty-melting smiles.
I hang out on the dock with Brad for the entire afternoon. He's funny in an off-the-wall sort of way, making jokes and catching me off guard. I laugh a lot and diligently reapply sunscreen every hour. The summer sun is high and full at the beginning, but by the time it has slipped from its zenith and the afternoon heads into early evening, I'm starving.
Brad says, "It's almost time for dinner, right?"
