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“Yes,” I began, “and now that Blaise has gotten it over with, he’s unlikely to pull any more stunts.”
“But he might because, as we’ve already established, he’s a little fucker. And if he does decide to make a nuisance of himself again, he could do something worse next time, feeling all emboldened by having gotten away withthis.”
“If that does happen, I’ll spill all to my dad. I will. Because Blaise will otherwise just keep on escalating. But let’s first give him a chance to back off. He might—you never know.”
“Well, I’m not hopeful.”
Arriving at my car, I glared down at the graffitied sign in front of it, feeling my blood boil all over again. “I hope he falls on Lego. While naked. And cold.”
“One can only dream.” She gestured at the sign. “Do you think Felicity put him up to it?”
“Possibly,” I replied. “It’s not like she’d have had to worry that he’d be arrested or anything. But it’s just as possible that he came up with the idea on his own; that he went through with it to please and impress her.”
“The two of them need their heads examined.” Sabrina shoved a hand through her loose curls. “I can’t tell you how pissed I am about this.”
“I don’t know about you, but I’m not going to let this crap ruin it. I wouldn’t give Blaise that satisfaction.” Or, at least, I didn’twantto. But I suspected the chances were low that I would manage to completely put this out of my mind.
“On another note, are you looking forward to your birthday tomorrow?”
“For what reason? I stopped getting excited about them after I turned twenty-two. I am looking forward to the BBQ, though. You and Tamara are still coming, right?”
“You say that like you have any chance of keeping us away. Where there’s free food and free wine, we’ll be there. We can bring Aleksei, if you want,” she said, a twinkle in her eye.
“Don’t play cupid. Just don’t.” Like I’d dally with a man who was practically her brother-in-law anyway.
“I won’t. But I will tease you. It brings me peace.”
“Whatever.” I gave her a gentle shove. “Go home, I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
“I’ll bring super strong bleach.” She flicked a meaningful look at the graffitied sign. “Scrubbing that paint off won’t be easy.”
∞∞∞
Acouple of hours later, I lay back on the sun lounger, sighing as the towel—warm from the heat—met my wet skin. “This is everything I didn’t realize I needed,” I said, sliding my sunglasses further up the bridge of my nose.
“Told you it’d be good for you,” said Alicia from the neighboring lounger.
I’d originally intended to chill in my living room and read, but she’d talked me into accompanying her to one of Oakengrove’s outdoor pools. So there we both were, clad in bikinis, an umbrella hovering over our beds and placing us in shadow. It didn’t much spare us from the thick summer heat, though.
Palm trees bordered the entire area, providing an element of privacy. Rows of towel-covered loungers circled the sizeable pool. There were also bathrooms, lockers, and a concession stand.
Plenty of people were around, but not so many that it felt crowded. Most were in the pool, swimming or fooling around. Others sat at its edges, relaxed on loungers, or ate food in the sitting area. Kids wearing colorful water-wings toddled about, adults walking behind them to supervise.
I closed my eyes, my fingers tapping out the rhythm of the music playing over the loudspeaker. The cool breeze carried snatches of muffled conversation, the laughs and shrieks of the kids, the rustles of leaves, the splashing of water, and the scents of chlorine and concession food.
Hearing Alicia curse, I looked to see she was squirming, her hand beneath her butt. “What are you doing?” I asked.
“I’ve got a wedgie.”
I snickered and snatched my bottle of water from the small table between our beds.
“You know, I really like it here.”
“The pool?”
“Oakengrove. It’s peaceful. I’m glad I took you up on your offer to stay here awhile.”
“So am I.” I unscrewed the cap from my bottle and then knocked back some water. “I haven’t seen you much over the past two years.”
