“The pink bikini is infuriating,” he says as he stands and wipes the dirt off his legs. He doesn’t even look my way when he drops his empty beer into the trash can. “And you’re the most interesting person in every room.”
He leaves me there, wide-eyed and stunned. He does not glance back or give me time to respond. He just joins the game of spike ball that everyone else is playing and leaves me to melt on this beach chair.
I may or may not need to dive into that water to cool off after that. He…flirted with me…I think? His tone was as gruff and dismissive as always, but his words…
I stand up and storm right into the water.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
boston
I don’t knowhow I survived multiple days at a lake house with Ariana Forkerro in the world’s hottest bikinis, but I did. Each day, she would put on a new one, enter the room, and meet my eyes. She'd do a little turn while everyone’s backs were to us and then raise her brows, as if she was asking for my opinion.
I’d shoot her a look, and my dick would shoot to attention. I’m getting confused, clearly. So is he. Being so close to her with nowhere else to go is painful. I’m forced to look at her, to listen to her speak, to listen to herlaugh. She’s beautiful, she’s witty, and she’d have already been in my bed if she wasn’t Forker’s sister. I’ve come to peace with that fact.
On the last night at the lake, I got up in the middle of the night to take a piss, and she opened the bathroom door as I reached for it. Another test from the devil, I’m sure. With her blonde hair in a long, perfect ponytail, and a bit of toothpaste on the corner of her mouth, her eyes widened at the sight of me. She froze in the doorway.
Me and her. In a pitch-black house while everyone else slept. In the threshold of a room with a lock on the door.
Never seen her speechless before.
Would have been the perfect time to cross the line.
She leaned against the door, closing it behind her, and smiled up at me in the dark.
It wasn’t going to happen.
I reached forward, grabbing her by her hips before she could say a single word to entice me—hating the way her breath hitched as I did—and slid her out of the way.
“Good night, sweetheart,” is all I said, my voice thick with sleep. I didn’t look back to clock her expression, I knew I wouldn’t have survived it. I just pushed myself into the bathroom and shut the door behind me, flicking the lock.
If she entered the bathroom and locked us both inside, I wasn’t sure what restraint I’d have left. Something would happen. What? I’m not sure—but something.
And now we’re back in this fucking vehicle, heading to the city and right back to that hotel where she will be across the hall from meagain. We have the rehearsal dinner tonight, tomorrow is the big day, and then—finally—the day-after party. Three more nights of having her within reaching distance. I can survive three more. I survived three days spent with her in next to no clothing, begging me to flirt with her, finding any excuse to come and speak to me. I can survive three more days with two doors and a hallway between us.
I can do this. She’ll be clothed this time.
When we pull into the parking lot of the hotel, a familiar face is waiting by the doors, barking demands into a phone.
A smile touches my lips at the sight of her.
Lemmy.
As if feeling her stare, I glance in the rearview mirror.
Ariana’s eyes are already burning into mine. Her brow furrows at whatever she sees on my face, so I wipe the smile from my mouth altogether. Lemmy is one of my nearest and dearest.Yeah, we’ve seen each other naked, but it’s not like that. I don’t want Ari thinking it is, either.
I try to tell her that with my eyes as we pull into the parking spot, but she’s suddenly glaring out the window and refusing to look at me.
This should feel like a win, but it doesn’t.
We climb out of the car and I raise my hand, grabbing Lem’s attention. She nods, speaking quickly into the phone, and then hangs up—a smile pulling on her mouth. She crosses the parking lot toward us, dressed more casually than I’ve ever seen her.
“How was the beach?” she greets us. Unsurprisingly, she reaches for me first. I feel the burn from Ari’s eyes on my back the entire time. I hug her like I always do, because again, she’s my friend. “A tan looks good on you, Boston.”
I run a hand over my jaw as she greets the girls. Ari stares at me as Lemmy speaks, her face unreadable, but she plasters a blinding smile on her face when Lemmy looks her way.
I need a stiff drink.
