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While Cole was controlled and calculated, Rhys was like a storm rolling through the ocean. He was chaos and adventure, not a rule follower like his friend.
Cole rejected me several days ago, and we still hadn’t spoken about that night. I doubted we ever would. He made it clear that he didn’t return my feelings. But, for some stupid reason, it only made me want him more.
With Rhys here, I didn’t have to be alone. He was a good distraction from Cole, and I could already tell he was the perfect person to help me scratch off the last four items on my bucket list.
Kiss a boy
Get asked out on a date
Lose my virginity
Fall in love
We didn’t have much time until my dad would be home from his assignment to collect me before we moved to his next duty station. So I had to expedite my plans to check off at least three items.
I doubted I could fall in love that quickly, not even with Rhys and those killer smiles he flashed at me.
We sat by the pool under a cabana, sipping margaritas. I was a little tipsy from drinking for the past few hours and ready to nap by the time I finished my drink.
Rhys set his glass on the table and hopped up from the lounge chair, his hand extended. “Swim with me, princess.”
I laughed the first time he called me that because it was far from the truth. If my life were a fairy tale, it would be one of the dark and twisted stories written by the Brothers Grimm.
Cole flipped up his sunglasses and groaned beside me, readjusting the book in his hand. “We just got out of the pool.” He tipped his head at the chair. “Sit, Vanderbilt. Stop flirting with Grace.”
They’d been friends for years and had attended York Military Academy since they were kids. But I could sense some hostility from Cole since Rhys’s arrival. Whenever Rhys got too close to me, Cole treated me like his possession, which only drew me closer to Rhys.
He was fun and made me laugh. I didn’t feel like another one of his responsibilities.
A part of me enjoyed watching Cole squirm whenever I let Rhys put his hands on me. I wanted him to feel my pain.
He made me feel stupid.
It was only fair Cole had to watch me with Rhys. There wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it, even though he did his best to keep us apart.
Rhys wiggled his long fingers in front of me. “Don’t listen to Marshall. He’s no fun.”
I took his hand, and he helped me up from the chair, scooping me into his arms. Rhys’s muscled chest pressed against mine, which would have been okay if I weren’t wearing a bikini that was a size too small.
His eyes dipped between my cleavage and then back to my face. Rhys licked his full lips.
I liked the way he looked at me. For the first time, I felt like someone sawme.
“You know the rules,” Cole reminded Rhys, setting down the novel in his hand on the beach chair. “Grace is off-limits.”
This was at least the tenth time Cole reminded Rhys this week. He was strict and what you would expect from a man raised by the military. In a lot of ways, he reminded me of my adoptive father, who was a Marine. But after feeling trapped for years, I wanted to be free.
I wanted to explore.
Rhys let me do that.
“Give it a break,” Rhys snapped, yanking me away from the cabana. “Chill the fuck out and stop acting like we’re at the academy.”
Before he graduated, Cole was the platoon commander, which wasn’t much of a surprise. He was the textbook cadet colonel, constantly issuing orders like he was in charge.
I followed Rhys toward the pool and squealed when he put his hand on my ass.
He grunted at my reaction, cupping my cheek with his palm. “You look good in this bikini.”
