Epilogue
Christian
I groaned as Gretchen lightly shook my shoulder. I'd been up late the night before. I'd gotten caught up working on the boat out in the garage, and the next thing I'd known, it had been three in the morning, and I still hadn't gone to bed. Gretchen had to know that I'd gone to bed late, too, since she'd clearly stayed up waiting for me, she'd eventually fallen asleep with a book in her hands.
I'd come back to the room and found her like that, and I hadn't been able to hide a fond smile as I watched her. It seemed like every new day, every new caring gesture that she made, I loved her more, as though that were somehow possible. But she was so wonderful.
“Give me five more minutes,” I mumbled, turning my face into the pillow.
“But then your breakfast is going to get cold,” Gretchen said, and when I cracked an eye open, I saw that she had brought me breakfast in bed.
But of course she had because it was Sunday morning, and she always brought me breakfast in bed on Sunday mornings, just like I always cooked dinner for her on her days off. I always insisted that she didn't have to do that, but she liked doing it, and it wasn't like I was complaining about it.
I pushed myself up into a sitting position, surprised to see how late it already was. “One o'clock already?” I asked, baffled to see that.
“Yeah, you were asleep,” Gretchen said, smiling fondly at me. “I didn't have the heart to wake you up any sooner.”
“I slept well,” I admitted, stretching broadly.
“And how's the boat coming along?” she asked.
“Really well, actually,” I told her. “I think I'll have it ready to sail by the time summer starts.”
“Awesome,” she said. She slipped into bed next to me and pulled her tray over her lap as she cuddled up next to me. “You know, I am still worried that you're just going to sail away and disappear one of these days,” she teased.
“You know I wouldn't do that,” I said easily.
“Hmm,” was all Gretchen said, even though I knew she couldn't possibly think that anymore. She had finally stopped asking me if I regretted moving to Hawaii, and things had been going great between us over the past couple years.
“You're coming to the luau tonight, right?” I asked her, trying to sound nonchalant.
“What luau?” she asked, frowning at me.
I shrugged. “Mark told me about it,” I said. “You didn't hear about it from Mina?”
“No,” Gretchen said frowning. “I've been pretty busy with work lately, what with all the new clients that we've been taking on. I think I need to find another masseuse to take some of the work because Mina and I are pretty much booked solid!”
“I know,” I said. “I've missed seeing you lately.”
“You see me every evening,” Gretchen said, rolling her eyes a little, but she was smiling. “And every day off as well, with the rare exception of the days that Mina and I both take off.”
“I know,” I said. “But it's not enough.”
Gretchen laughed. “What about this luau tonight? What are we even celebrating, anyway?”
“Do you need a reason to celebrate to have a luau?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at her.
“Well, I guess not,” Gretchen said, giggling a little.
I shrugged again. “I don't know what it's about, I just know Mark told me about it, and he has his finger on the pulse here, so I'm sure there is one. You'll go with me, right?”
“Maybe you and Mark should just have a guy's night,” Gretchen suggested. “I have appointments tomorrow, nothing too early in the day because Mina said she'd take those, but even still.” She shook her head. “Honestly, I've been working a little too much lately, I think. I'm just tired. As fun as a luau sounds, I don't think I can make it.”
I sighed and lightly stroked the back of her neck. “I understand that,” I said. “I know just how hard you've been working, and your clients do as well. But don't you think we could have just one night of fun? I'm not saying that we have to stay out until late or anything like that, but maybe we could just go for an hour or two and then head home? I'm sure there are a lot of people there who'd like to see you and ask how the business is going, and you don't want to leave all the talking to Mina, do you?”
“No,” Gretchen admitted, grimacing a little. She sighed. “Fine, I'll go,” she finally agreed. “But just for an hour or two. And then I want to come straight back here and curl up on the couch with you to watch some shitty TV.”
“That's a deal,” I said, reaching out a hand so that we could shake on it. I grinned slyly at her. “Would you wear that pretty green dress that I love on you?” I asked.
Gretchen laughed. “Sure,” she said, blushing a little.
That night, when we got to the beach, Gretchen looked around in confusion, even more confusion than she'd sported when I insisted on “dressing up” a little, in khaki shorts and a green button-down shirt that matched her dress. Of course, it was nothing like the dressing up that I used to do in New York, but she'd grown pretty accustomed to seeing me in t-shirts by this point. I had to hide a grin.
“No one's here yet,” Gretchen said slowly, looking around. “Are you sure that Mark said there was going to be a luau?”
“Yeah,” I said, shrugging a little. “Maybe everyone's getting a late start since it's a work day. But come on, let's take a little walk down the beach. If we come back and no one's here, then we'll head home and have that TV date that I promised you.”
“Okay,” Gretchen said.
We ambled hand-in-hand down the beach, just on the line where the ocean met the shore. “It's still so beautiful out here,” I sighed as we walked along. “You know, I am so lucky to have met you and to have you in my life.”
Gretchen laughed a little. “I'm lucky too,” she said. “I never thought I was going to end up loving someone like you.”
“You are the sexiest, most beautiful, most talented woman that I know,” I continued. “When you want something, you get it. You constantly keep me on my toes. You have from the first day that I met you. That's what makes dating you so much fun. You've got a real spark to you. And I love that.”
Gretchen giggled. “What, are you trying to make me blush?” she asked.
“You're adorable when you blush,” I told her. “Honestly. I don't know what it is about it, but I love that you still get so shy around me sometimes, as though we haven't been intimately living together for the past couple of years. And I love hearing you giggle. It's cute.”
“Seriously, Christian, what's going on?” Gretchen asked, pulling me around to face her, looking searchingly up into my face.
I smiled gently down at her. “I'm just trying to tell you how much I love you, that's all,” I told her, steering her into walking again. We were almost there.
“You don't have to-”
“Yes, I do,” I interrupted her. “I want to make sure that you know, every single day for the rest of your life, how special you are to me, and how much I love you. I want to wake up with you every morning, and I want to go to bed with you every night. I want to stay with you here in Hawaii, or wherever we end up living. I want to build a home and a life with you.” I turned to face her as I led her into the spot that Mark and I had chosen.
Then, I sank down on one knee, as Mark illuminated the fairy lights all around us, showing the elaborate flower trellises and other decorations that we'd set up.
“Gretchen Means, I would very much like for you to do me the honor of becoming my wife.”
Gretchen stared down at me, her hands up over her mouth. Then, she looked around at the decorations, and then back at me. “Did you…”
“Yes,” I told her. “I had a little help from Mark and Mina, but it was my idea.”
She shook her head and then laughed, reaching a hand down toward me and cupping my cheek. “Yes,” she said, the sound choked with emotion. “Yes, Christian, God, yes. I would be so lucky to be your wife.”
I smiled at her and slipped the ring out of its box, sliding it carefully onto her third finger.
“God, it's gorgeous,” Gretchen said, her fingers tracing the pattern of flowers, dotted with little diamond centers, which swirled around the ring.
“If you don't like it, we can return it and get you something else,” I told her. I hadn't been sure about the design. Something about it spoke to me.
“I love it,” Gretchen told me, reaching down to pull me to my feet. “And I love you too.” She leaned in to kiss me. As we kissed, cheering and clapping broke out around us, and I grinned.
Gretchen whirled toward the sound and blushed brilliantly as she realized that pretty much everyone that she knew was there. They'd been waiting off in the shadows, but they'd seen the whole thing. She turned back to me, laughing. “You did all of this?” she asked.
I nodded and shrugged. “I know how important everyone is to you here,” I told her. “They're your family. It was only right that they be here for this special night.”
“There isn't a luau tonight, is there?” Gretchen asked.
“There will be now,” I said. “But I was the one to organize it. You should also know that Mina has canceled all the appointments at the shop for tomorrow, so you don't have to worry about staying out late. And speaking of Mina-”
Mina threw herself into Gretchen's arms. “I'm so excited for you!” she cried. Then, she pulled away, grabbing Gretchen's hand. “Let me see the ring. Christian wouldn't let me see it before he gave it to you, even though I told him that I'm good at keeping secrets; I kept this whole thing a secret, didn't I? But he wanted you to be the first person to see it, other than him. And wow, that is pretty. It suits you too.”
“Congratulations, man,” Mark said, clapping me on the back as he joined our little group. “Seems like just yesterday I was picking you up at the airport.”
“Oh, come on, don't get all nostalgic already,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Plenty of time for that when we're old.”
“I'm going to file that comment away and make sure I get super nostalgic in my speech at the wedding,” Jeff told me, winking at Mina as he slipped an arm around her waist. “That is if I'm allowed to be part of the wedding.”
I rolled my eyes again. “You're going to be my best man, aren't you?” I asked him. “So, yeah, I think you might have to be there at my wedding.”
“Hey, I thought I was going to be your best man!” Mark said, laughing.
I shook my head. “Sorry man, I've already destroyed my friendship with my brother once; I don't need to do it again.” I grinned.
Gretchen threw her arms around me again, burying her face against my shirt. “You're the best,” she said.
“No, you are,” I told her teasingly. I looked around. “Now, I know you all want to congratulate our beautiful bride-to-be, but let's get this luau started!”
Later that night, it was just Gretchen and me again, walking down the beach. “That was the best night,” she told me quietly, twisting her fingers into mine.
“It was,” I agreed, just as quietly. I paused. “You know, I am glad to be here.”
“I'm glad that you're here too.”
That’s the end of the Billionaire’s Vacation. Below I included 4 of my previous books to read as a free bonus.
YOUR FREE BONUS BOOKS
FIREWORKS
By Claire Adams
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2017 Claire Adams
Chapter One
Cora
"Finally. Thanks for staying behind with me. I thought the funeral was going to be more difficult than it was." Emily turned around and smiled. "I'm glad I have you."
"You stayed with me while I wrapped up that issue I had with my science credits, and I stayed to help you get through Mimi's death. We're best friends. It's what we do."
"I guess. Remind me to give the other two hell for leaving without us a few weeks ago."
I tugged on the zipper of my suitcase and glanced up. "I'm glad they did. I'd rather they get to the lake house early and clean up the spider webs for us."
"I guess, but I'm sure Cindy already has several guys helping her do anything she wants. I swear the girl sold her soul to the devil to attract any man she wants."
Emily moved over to my bed and pushed down on the top of my suitcase. My best friend since grade school was far too pretty to cover herself up the way she did. I glanced over and let my eyes run over her baggy t-shirt and loose shorts.
"She's just friendly, cute, and looks innocent. Unlike us," I snorted and tugged hard on the zipper. "You're bringing something other than your baggy clothes, right? You have a hot body under all of that, you know?"
"This again?" She gave me a sideways glance. Her dark hair was pulled up in a loose ponytail, her face free of makeup.
"I'll always plague you about this. You're never going to find a guy when you don't look like you want to." I moved back and bent over, tying my tennis shoes and admiring her shapely legs. "And, I know you want a boyfriend."
"I do, but I'm not getting him with nothing more than physical attraction between us, Cora. I've seen how well that's worked out for both you and Cindy. Guys who are head-over-heels for a hot girl are everywhere. And no offense, but it would seem that it's not just the first hot girl they meet that steals their attention. It's every hot girl. How long am I going to entertain a guy that thinks with his dick instead of his brain?"
I nodded and stood up. "I get it."
There hadn't been too many times in my life that I could recall having a boyfriend who didn't sleep around while we were dating. Brandon James was the most recent, and thanks to him, I'd sworn off guys for a while — and blonds forever.
"Hey." She reached out and touched my shoulder. "I didn't mean to insinuate anything. I just don't want a guy who's interested in the size of my boobs and not my personality, nor my intelligence."
"Good luck with that." I walked to the kitchen table and picked up the brochure from Emily's grandmother's funeral. "The service was beautiful. I'm proud of you for speaking at it. I know that had to be hard."
I turned to smile at her as countless memories of our summers at her Mimi's house raced over me.
"She would have been disappointed if I didn’t. I'm sure the silly old goat would have haunted me." The smirk that lifted her mouth didn't take away from the sadness around her eyes, but it was a start toward healing.
"This is true, and she would have haunted me for not supporting you." I laughed and grabbed my sunglasses and keys. "We ready?"
"Yep. I just need to run to the restroom. Get the snacks out of the cabinet that I picked up for us. It's cheaper to buy in bulk." She turned and walked out of the room as I rolled my eyes.
After grabbing the treats, I did a quick sweep through the apartment and let out a sigh. "Four years of my life...over."
Graduation had been a few weeks before, and I was now a grown up — or I was supposed to be.
"Are you talking to yourself again?" Emily snagged the keys from me. "I want to drive the Beamer. My parents aren't rich, and I'm almost out of time to live vicariously through you and yours."
"Don't say that." I picked up the bag of snacks and walked into the living room. "You and I are going to be in each other’s lives forever."
"You really think so?" She glanced over her shoulder as she popped the handle to her suitcase.
"I know so. We've been friends since grade school. Why would that change now? We're finally free." I grabbed my bag and walked to the door. "You sure your brother is going to take good care of this place?"
"Yes, for the millionth time. He's just like me: conservative, timid, and a clean freak." She shrugged and opened the door, moving out into the hall. "Besides, he needs to check out the campus, and this is a great way to do it. We're stuck in this damn lease until September, thanks to you."
"Always my fault." I paused to lock the door as a warm breeze blew through the open-air hallway.
"It usually is and you know it," she chuckled.
"If it makes you feel better to blame me, then fine. I'll take it." I tugged at the shoulder of her shirt and shook my head. "I'm getting you in a bikini this summer."
"I'll wear one with you guys, but it's not happening in public. My boobs are too big, and they don't talk back," she smirked.
"They don't talk back? What the hell does that mean?" I paused by the only elevator in our apartment complex, preparing for a long wait as per usual.
"Guys talk to my chest when I wear normal clothes. My boobs don't talk back. I need to get a shirt made that says that."
"I almost feel giddy for the man that actually catches your eye and means enough to pull your clothes off for. He's going to feel like he just uncovered buried treasure," I laughed as she pushed at me.
"You're jealous."
"Of course, I am. You're insanely hot and yet you hide yourself behind all those clothes. It makes no sense to me, but I support whatever makes you comfortable." I got into the elevator to find it empty. The apocalypse must have been coming; it was usually packed with people, most of whom were frat boys who didn't seem to think personal space existed.
"No, you don't, but whatever. Your peer pressure might work on Cindy and Dedra, but I'm immune to it. I've been fighting it my whole life."
I let out a soft gasp. "Me? Peer pressuring someone? Next, you'll be calling me bossy."
"You? Never," She rolled her eyes and held the door for me.
"I can't help it, and you know it. You've met my father, right? If he wants his way, all else be damned." I tugged my suitcase out into the hallway and nodded at a hot guy walking toward us. I turned my head to check him out as he passed, only to find him doing the same.
"I thought you swore off men." Emily bumped her suitcase against mine.
"Just blonds. He had brown hair." I winked and moved down the sidewalk, letting out a groan. "Why is Arizona so hot during the summer?"
"At least it's dry heat." Her tone was pinched.
"Alright, what's up?" I popped the trunk and lugged my bag into the back of the car. My parents had outdone themselves with my new BMW for graduation, and where I wanted to think it was for doing a great job, I knew better. Nothing came from my father without strings attached. It was an incentive to keep going. My business degree was great and a good start, but pre-law was next. No matter how much I abhorred the idea of it.
"Nothing. I'm just worried about you." She lugged her bag into the back. Her shirt pulled tight, and I could make out her curves. She was perfect, and yet her jacked up sense of self-preservation left her hiding all the time.
She hides behind clothes, and I hide behind false importance.
"Don't worry about me, Emily. I'm good. Brandon is in the rearview mirror — long gone." I shrugged and closed the trunk. "Let's stop talking about the past and start living in the future."
"How about we live in the present?" She glanced at me over the top of the car. "You sure you're good with me driving?"
"Yep. You wreck it and you get to talk to my dad."
"Oh, hell no." She tossed the keys over the hood, and I jumped up to catch them.
"I was kidding." I watched her as she walked around the car.
"Yeah, well, just in case you're not. I'm not looking for any reason to talk to your dad. He's the only guy in the world I think has the ability to make someone feel stupid before even entering the room he's in."
I moved around to the driver's side door and opened it, getting in and buckling up. "You should try living with him. College has been a dream come true." Nostalgia rolled over me as I glanced up the road to see the signs for Arizona State. "I love this place. I'm going to miss it."
"Not me. I'm going to start my master’s in the fall and before I know it, I'll be teaching in the science department. I'm never leaving." She settled in before turning around to look in the back seat.
"Lucky." I turned to see what she was up to before starting the car. "The snacks are in the back of the car."
"Why? That's not gonna help us when we're starving in ten minutes." She got out and moved to the back as I popped the trunk.
I was leaving behind a lot of good memories from college, as well as some not-so-good memories. I wanted to be excited about the future, but it was hard. It wasn't my future, but one my parents were still working to control.
A summer on Lake Havasu would do me some good, even if my parents highly disapproved of such a waste of time. Avoiding their phone calls was getting trickier, but I was still managing, somehow.
"Got 'em." She got into the car and tossed the bag in the back. "Let's go. I want to get there and let my hair down."
I reached over and tugged at her ponytail. "Let it down now. I'll roll the windows down, and we can let this hot ass air blow through our hair."
"No thanks. I'd rather breathe, but thank you." She pulled out her phone and leaned back. "Do you really think I might find someone to hang out with this summer?"
"You're hanging out with us." I pulled out of the parking lot and gave her a quick sideways glance. "Are you talking about a guy?"
She popped me in the arm. "Of course, I'm talking about a guy."
"Yeah, I think you could find several ‘someones’ to hang out with. Let me do your hair and help you pick out an outfit one of the nights we go out."
I almost flinched as she turned to face me. We'd had the same conversation for most of our lives. I loved makeup and dressing up and being girlie. Emily, not so much.
"Alright. I'll let you do it, but you have to promise me that you won't set me up." She stuck out her pinkie. "Pinkie promise me."
"What are we, ten?" I extended my hand and wrapped my pinkie around hers. "I promise."
"Good, and stop degrading our trust system." She smirked and kicked off her shoes before putting her feet on the dashboard. "You okay with my feet up here?"
"Absolutely. It's my dad's car. I'm just using it until I disappoint him again." I gave a sardonic chuckle.
"That's dumb. You're twenty-two, Cora. When are they going to stop acting like you’re still a kid?" She brushed her hands over her legs and let out a long yawn.
"I guess when I stop acting like one, so never?" We laughed for a few minutes over how ridiculous my parents were, more so my father than my mother. She just nodded and went along with his directives. As much as I loved her, I wasn't sure she had ever had an idea that wasn't my father’s at the start.
"What are you looking forward to this summer?" Emily glanced over at me as she worked her long, black hair out of the ponytail.
"Spending time with you, Cindy, and Dedra, for sure. Laying in the sun in a tiny bikini and getting a tan. Finding a cute boy to skinny dip with." I smiled as she let out a dramatic gasp.
"You hooker. You're not skinny dipping with a boy. That leads to sex, which leads to love, which…”
"Ain't nobody trying to fall in love." I rolled my eyes and ran my fingers through my shoulder-length, chestnut hair.
"I'm sure you're not going to be trying, but you know how these things go for you. You're horrible at flings. Dedra and Cindy? They have it down, but you're no good at it." She shook her head, and I reached over, gripping just above her knee and squeezing as she squealed.
"Oh yeah? Maybe I'm going to prove you all wrong," I pulled back as she swatted at me.
"No, you're not." She pulled her legs down and grabbed her phone as it buzzed. "That's Dedra."
"Put her on speaker." I smiled as excitement bubbled up inside of me. I needed this summer more than any of the others. They had something to look forward to at the end of it; I had these three months and that was it.
"Hey. We're just leaving the campus." Emily put the phone on the dash.
Dedra's voice filled up the car, causing me to smile. "Good. It's been a long two weeks without you guys. Cindy is grabbing some groceries, and I was in charge of cleaning up the house. Don't look in the closets or under the beds, okay? No telling on me."
I snorted. "Have you guys been having a good time?"
"Honestly, we've been resting a lot. We have a boat as part of the rental property. Did I tell you that?"
"No, but I'm ready to get on it." I glanced over at Emily and smirked. "Who's been driving that thing? I know Cindy hasn't."
"Me and the occasional boy Cindy brings home. I swear this girl is a man-magnet."
"She looks like a model," Emily added to the conversation.
"So do you, under those clothes," Dedra chuckled as I gave Emily a knowing look.
"Whatever. You guys need us to grab anything before we get there?" Emily tugged at her seatbelt.
She hated to be the center of attention, and I was hoping like hell I could help her get over that during our next few months at the lake together. She deserved the world, and yet it would be her own fault if she didn't get it.
"Nope. We just need you guys." Dedra's voice was filled with excitement.
"We'll be there shortly. Tell Cindy to round up some hot guys. We need something pretty to look at after the week we've had." I let out a short sigh and picked up the phone. "See you soon."
Emily glanced over at me as I dropped the call. "Thanks again for staying behind with me. I'm not sure I would have gotten through Mimi's funeral without you."
"I'll always be here for you. Now it's time to leave the past in the past and enjoy our summer. You ready?"
"Hell yes. Drive faster."
Chapter Two
Brody
"You getting tired of all of this yet?" Daniel glanced over at me as we lay on the dock just outside the house, our feet skimming across the top of the lake.
I opened my eyes and turned to look at him as I ran my hand over my chest. "Is that a joke? We have a boat, plenty of beer, and a new wave of scantily clad chicks rolling in daily. This is heaven. I'm staying forever."
He laughed and turned to look up at the sky. "Real life waits at the end of this summer. Sucks."
I sat up and grumbled under my breath at him. "Always pissing on the parade."
A boat pulled by just a few feet from us and the group of girls on it started to give us shit. I couldn't have been more thrilled. Daniel not so much, but me? I knew how to handle a woman, and they were all the same.
"Hey, good looking," a leggy blonde called out as she stood up from the passenger's side seat of the boat, pulling off her sunglasses.
"Hey there. You guys behaving yourselves?" I glanced down the lake, not giving her too much attention.
Daniel sat up beside me and growled. We'd been friends for a while, and he was a good guy – maybe too good. He hadn't dated much. School mattered too much to divert his attention from it.
And, that's why you'll be a doctor and I'll be a pauper.
"Behaving?" The girls laughed. "Who wants to behave? That doesn't sound like fun, at all."
"Right." I pressed my hand into the dock beside me and pushed up, getting to my feet in one smooth motion. I pulled my t-shirt over my head. "Come get me. I'll drive you girls around a little."
"Brody. Come on, dude," Daniel mumbled and got up, giving me a look.
"What? Come with us. What harm can it do? There's a blow job in one of those girls. No?" I was half-whispering, but could have cared less if all of them heard me. Most of us were at the lake to get laid and forget about reality, and I was their king.
Daniel turned his attention back to the girls as they giggled. "You think?"
"Yep." I turned back to blondie. "You up for it? Like to go fast?"
"I love fast." She tapped her friend's shoulder as the girl bobbed up and down in the driver’s seat.
The driver pulled her headphones off and glanced up. "What?"
"We're letting sexy over there take us for a ride." Blondie glanced up to me and tilted her head. "You prepared for the afternoon?"
Condoms. I slipped my hands in my pockets and shook my head.
"Nope. A pretty woman like yourself doesn't go everywhere prepared for a chance encounter with the man of her dreams?" I gave her a sexy smile, letting my eyes moved down her taunt, tanned flesh, imagining all the ways I could make her moan. She was breathtaking, and yet a dime a dozen.
"Is that a joke?" she laughed.
"I guess so." I bent down and picked up my shirt before turning to Daniel. "Let's go, buddy. Time for a beer run, anyway."
We started back toward the house as she called out to me. "Wait. Where are you going?"
I looked back, but didn't stop walking. "To get prepared for the next boat of hot women — unless you're still here when I get back."
"What? I'm not waiting here for you." Her anger was cute. It was nice to know in advance that she was a drama queen – from calm to raging in three point two seconds.
"Your loss, baby-doll." I glanced down the street before tugging at Daniel's t-shirt. "Let's go, buddy."
"What the fuck just happened?" He glanced over his shoulder and jogged across the street with me. "Were those girls really going to let you drive the boat? There's liability insurance that has to be filled out for that sort of thing. It doesn't just cover everyone.”
I popped him in the chest and lifted my eyebrow as we stopped on the other side of the road by the rental house. "Hey, we're 22, not 82. Slow your roll on being a stiff, okay?"
"Whatever. You guys are going to learn one day that life isn't a game." He glanced back over his shoulder as indecision raged across his face. "Are we going back down there?"
"Nope." I gripped the side of the patio railing and pulled hard, hopping over it and leaving him to walk up the stairs.
"What? Why not?" He jogged up beside me, tugging at my arm by the front door. "The brunette was kind of cute. I wouldn't mind talking to her."
"Talking?" I laughed and pushed the door open. "There's no talking to those kinds of girls, Dan. They want a quick fix and that's it."
"Quick fix? Sex?" He laughed sardonically as he closed the door.
"Sex?" Clay glanced up from reading a magazine. My oldest friend was stretched across the couch, his short, stocky frame only taking up two thirds of it.
"You need some? They're selling it on pier 322." I wagged my eyebrows and walked into the kitchen to search for something to eat. "Where's Derek? Still sleeping?"
"No, he met that girl a few nights ago at the club in town, remember? Sarah, Sandra, Stephanie?" Clay groaned loudly before walking into the kitchen, rubbing his chest. "I'm still sore from playing ball two days ago. What the hell?"
"We've been laying around for almost three weeks, Clay." I turned and back-handed him in the chest. He tried to get out of my reach, but I was captain of the rugby team: “Quick” was my middle name.
"Fuck, dude. I told you I was hurting." He swung at me playfully.
I moved and caught his arm, pulling hard and pressing him to the refrigerator before putting my shoulder into his back.
"What's on the agenda today?" I reached around and poked his chest again before moving back and laughing.
He came out of the hold swinging again. The only thing he connected with was Daniel. The poor guy had chosen the wrong time to come in the kitchen.
"Ouch, that hurt." Daniel swung back, not capable of putting too much of a hurt on anyone. Where Clay was short and stocky, Daniel was tall and thin as a rail.
"Hey; all my fault." I lifted my hands and smiled as they turned and started after me. I busted through the front door and was halfway across the street by the time they came out of the house. I stood on the other side of the road and laughed at the look on their faces. Joke’s on them.
"Are you coming?" a pissy voice called from behind me.
"Oh fuck," I mumbled and turned around as a smirk lifted my lips. "You still here, baby?"
"You told us to wait," one of her friend's piped in.
"Right… About that…" I never got out another word. My two friends grabbed me and together wrestled me to the edge of the dock before launching me off of it.
I hit the water laughing. Payback was hell, and I was grateful for a reason to put the hurt on them soon. I came up in time to get a glass of beer to the face.
"I hope the alligators in this lake eat your dick off." The blonde threw the cup at me.
I lifted my arm and diverted it as a laugh bubbled up in me. "That might be good for everyone around here. He'd be full for a week."
"Ugh. Get us out of here, Tesa." The girl moved back as I submerged myself under the dark blue water and pushed off toward the dock. Girls were readily available and more than willing to strip for any swinging dick. I was just grateful that the offering was plentiful.
I had only one rule: sleep with them once and never again.
In all my years of fooling around with women, I'd never failed to hold tight to it, and as far as I was concerned, that wasn't going to change for a long time.
I pulled myself up onto the dock and glanced over my shoulder as the blonde turned toward me and tugged her top off. Her breasts were beautiful and big enough to send a shockwave of desire through me.
"See what you're missing?" She shrugged, causing them to bounce.
"I'm right up there in cabin 10-A. When you're ready for the best experience you'll have this side of heaven, come find me. I don't chase women, sweetness. There's no need for it."
I turned and jogged across the street, hating myself for not climbing into the boat and giving in to her. It would have been an afternoon of lust, as I have no doubt that each of her friends would have wanted a turn, too, and who was I to deny anyone?
I walked back into the house and pulled my swim trucks off. "You fuckers. You're going down for that."
"Oh yeah?" Clay looked up from the couch about the time I lodged my trunks at him. They smacked him in the face, and I laughed so hard I had to reach out and grab the table next to me.
"Yeah, bitch. Where's Daniel? I need to slap him around a little." I walked down the hall as Clay chunked my suit at me.
"Get something on. No one in here wants to see your ugly, white ass, and Daniel is shitting his guts out. He's scared of you, remember?" Clay called at me as the front door open.
I turned back, hoping to shock Derek with my nudeness, finding him and a pretty girl, instead. He was talking about something and had his head turned around toward her, but her? She was watching me.
Her eyes widened and she gasped as she pointed at me. "Wow."
"Yep. Home grown." I nodded at Derek as he turned to see what was going on.
"Brody. Shit, man." He moved in front of the girl, and I walked into the kitchen, grabbing a hand towel and a beer. I dried my hair and walked back into the living room as Derek was trying to hustle the girl out of the house.
"You should stay. We're playing strip poker. I just suck at cards." I turned my attention back to Clay, who was chuckling.
"You're a fucker, you know that?"
I dropped down on the couch beside him, slapping at his feet to make room for me. I opened my beer and dropped the towel in my lap. No need to make everyone overly jealous.
"Yeah? I kinda like me." I took a long drink of the beer and leaned back, letting out a long breath. "Most women like me, too."
"Yeah, yeah. God's gift to women and shit. We all know." Clay nudged my arm with his foot. "You're going to find some intelligent, sexy minx one day, and you know what's going to happen?"
I looked over at him. "We're going to fuck like rabbits?"
"No," he sat up and chucked the magazine at me. "She's going to be everything you want in a girl, and she's going to deny your ass – plain and simple."
I caught the magazine and laughed deep in my chest. "Is that a joke?"
Daniel walked in, his complexion pale. "Is what a joke?"
"Stomach upset, buddy?" I asked before taking another sip of the beer.
"Something like that." He dropped down in a chair close to me and shook his head. "Are you naked?"
"Yep. You can thank your bowels for good timing." I patted Clay's shoulder. "Your buddy here got a pair of wet swim trunks to the face."
"Oh, great. At least he got his already." Daniel pressed his hands to his face and leaned back. "We need to find you a girl to sleep with. You're too damn aggressive otherwise."
"Sleep with? Who wants to-” I was cut off by Derek's loud, country voice as he barreled back into the house.
"Really, Brody? Shit, man." He closed the door and walked in, stopping beside the couch nearest to me.
"What?" I looked over at him. "Pretty girl, by the way. How much did you pay her?"
"She said you guys slept together a few nights back, and now she was looking for a real man." He shrugged and laughed as he turned toward the kitchen.
"Did we? I'm losing track of them." I yawned and rubbed my hand over my chest.
"Why do you do that?" Daniel asked, his voice softer than moments before.
"Do what?" I sat up and pulled the towel up to finish drying my hair.
He rolled his eyes and got up, acting as if he hadn't seen my dick a million times. Shy was one thing I wasn't.
"Treat women like objects." He disappeared into the kitchen, and I turned to Clay.
"Do I do that?" I lifted an eyebrow, already knowing the answer and not caring a bit.
He didn't glance up from his new magazine. "Yep, but so what? They do the same to you."
"Yeah." I stood up and walked into the kitchen. "Yeah. They do the same to me."
"You want them to, brother." Derek tossed a package of sausage to me. "Go get on some shorts and let’s get these things on the grill. You're the best man for the job."
"That's because you guys burn everything." I sat the sausages down and ran my fingers through my wet, blond hair. "Do I really objectify women?"
"Yep!" all three of my friends yelled in tandem.
"Well, I guess I should change that." I walked toward the bedroom as they all started to laugh. I joined them before yelling back behind me. "Naw, it's not my style. Fuck 'em all."