One and Only by Jenny Holiday (15)

If Jane had been harboring any doubts about her…thing with Cameron, the haunted roller coaster had chased them all away.

Of course, she still had no idea what that “thing” actually was. He’d been up-front about his lack of interest in a relationship, and she was down with that. The fact that they didn’t have a relationship was probably the only thing that had made her shed her inhibitions so thoroughly two nights ago as he’d made his point about the awesomeness of human-assisted orgasm. She was pretty sure that, paradoxically, if she thought Cameron might want to date her, she would be a lot more inhibited.

She just hadn’t been sure that he would be interested in a repeat performance. He seemed like he might be a “one and done” kind of guy. Had there been an implicit agreement that what had happened between them had been a one-time thing? Would she seem like a slut if she suggested they do it again? Or, worse, would she seem like she was pushing him into a relationship?

She had been tormenting herself with these questions, but then, somehow, once he appeared in the flesh, those questions faded.

Well, that wasn’t quite right. They didn’t go away. It was more that they got drowned out. They didn’t stand a chance against the overwhelming, all-consuming nature of her attraction to him.

How was it possible for a mortal man to be so stupidly hot? It wasn’t fair. But there he was, winking at her in the rearview mirror with those should-be-illegal aqua eyes, or putting his big, tattooed arm around her as she shrieked in exhilarated terror on the rides.

He made her palms damp. He made other places damp. Just by standing there, being alive.

So although when she stopped and thought about it rationally for two seconds, she was still worried about all those questions that had been dogging her—Is he going to think I’m a slut? Is he going to think I have designs on him? Does he even want me again?—her body didn’t let her think about them for too long before it took over. Shoved her intellect aside with an inarticulate “Let’s paaarrrrty!”

He grabbed her arm as she moved away from a concessions stand inside the waterpark where they’d decided to spend the second half of their day, startling her and almost making her drop the limp iceberg lettuce monstrosity she was carrying. The girls had opted for hot dogs and were clustered around the condiment stand, loading them up.

He leaned down to whisper in her ear. Or—okay!—actually, to bite her earlobe.

So, yeah, clearly, she’d been overthinking things. She was pretty sure they would be getting it on again in the near future, which made her very, very happy.

It had been going on since the haunted roller coaster, this sexed-up game of cat-and-mouse. It was as if, by kissing him in the dark, she’d given him permission or, more accurately, unleashed the beast. After that ride, he grabbed her every chance he got. There had been a quick kiss at the very top of the Ferris wheel—he must have rationalized that even though the girls were in adjacent cars, there was no way they could see them when they were at the apex of the ride. Then there had been an epic ass groping as they stood in line for the Windseeker.

And it wasn’t just him. She was dishing it out herself. She had discovered the most effective way to torment him was to accidentally brush against him with her breasts. Like now, for instance. “I forgot a napkin,” she said, moving by him as she headed back to the snack bar. “Oh, excuse me,” she said, widening her eyes and looking up at him as she passed. And if she let her gaze drop, for a second, to his crotch to check if she’d had any impact (she had), could anyone really blame her? He was too easy to rile. When she looked back up at his face, he was scowling.

As they conferred about where to set up, Elise said, “Oh, let’s get one of those,” and pointed to a cabana.

“I think you have to rent them,” Jane said, having remembered reading something about that in her Wikipedia research.

Elise tilted her head, looking puzzled. “I’m surprised you didn’t do that, Jane. You’re usually so…organized.”

The hint of disappointment in Elise’s voice annoyed Jane. “Well, remember, I didn’t know you were coming until this morning.” Honestly, Elise expected to crash a party and have all her needs foreseen?

“Your wish is my command,” Cameron said, surreptitiously patting Jane’s butt before spinning on his heel and taking off. It had been the lightest of touches, but Jane swore she ached as if he’d spanked her.

“Let’s go change,” Gia suggested. “We can leave our food here.” She spread out a towel and set down her drink and hot dog, and everyone else did the same.

Jane girded herself as she followed her friends into the changing room. Though she and Cameron were trying to be subtle with their groping, what were the chances that the girls hadn’t noticed the sparks flying between them?

Thankfully, they hadn’t. Or, more likely, there was no time for anyone to get on her case because Elise pulled out the industrial-size bottle of 100 SPF sunscreen she’d been dabbing on their noses all morning and started slathering it on Wendy’s back.

“Asian skin doesn’t burn!” Wendy protested, twisting away from the bridezilla.

“I’m pretty sure that’s a myth you are selectively invoking, but even if you don’t burn visually, your skin can still be severely damaged by the sun,” Elise lectured, wrestling Wendy into submission.

“And, what? Invisible skin damage doesn’t go with your color scheme?” Wendy said.

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that,” Elise said, flipping the bottle to Jane and giving her a stern look.

When everyone had been slathered to Elise’s satisfaction, they trooped back out to find Cameron waiting for them.

And, oh God, he was shirtless.

Of course he was shirtless. Did she expect him to hit the water donning Mormon modesty-wear or something? And she had seen him naked already, so what was the big deal?

The big deal was the bright sun glinting off his tattoos.

The big deal was the muscles in his chest and back, rippling as he arranged a towel on a lounge chair.

The big deal was the way he lifted his head when he sensed them approaching and looked directly at her, his gaze bypassing everyone else, even the model in the string bikini.

Gia whistled, low enough that he couldn’t hear. Probably. But he had to have heard Wendy’s “Wow.”

“Sorry, Elise,” he said, oblivious to all the ogling. “The cabanas are all booked. You’ll have to slum it with the plebes.”

Elise huffed a little sigh of frustration. Jane couldn’t help thinking it was directed at her, but that was ridiculous. Yeah, she was the den mother of the group, but she couldn’t read minds.

“Let’s eat, and then we can hit the slides. We’ll hardly be here anyway,” said Wendy, glaring at Elise. Jane patted Wendy’s arm. Though she appreciated the attempt at peacemaking, there was no need to antagonize the bride unnecessarily. She had faith that when this was all over, they’d get their sweet, funny friend back.

Everyone spread out their towels. For once Jane wasn’t trying to manipulate things so she could be next to Cameron. In need of a breather, she purposely took the chair farthest from him.

“Nice tats, Cameron,” Gia said, pulling a magazine out of her bag. “What’s the story with them?”

He shrugged. “No story.”

“I know I crashed the party, Jane,” said Elise, forcing Jane to stop eavesdropping. “I just thought you would have, like, booked a cabana this morning when we all decided we’d do the rides this morning and the waterpark this afternoon. You’re usually so good at organizing that kind of stuff.”

Wow. Elise wasn’t going to let this go, was she? Jane struggled to think what to say. She wasn’t keen on the idea of apologizing for not booking a cabana she didn’t know existed for a group outing she didn’t know was happening.

“Yeah, Jane,” said Wendy in a teasing, singsong voice. “You really fell down on the job there.” Jane shot her a grateful smile for trying to break up the tension.

“Yeah!” Gia exclaimed, taking up the mantle. “You’re supposed to be the responsible friend!” She infused her voice with joking, artificial drama. “It’s like we don’t even know who you are anymore!” She darted a glance at Cameron, then back at Jane. “What have you been doing that’s more important than anticipating our every need?”

Crap, and here she thought she’d pulled one over on her friends.

“Okay, you guys are right. I’m being a bitch.” Elise rolled over and looked at Jane. “I’m sorry, hon. You didn’t deserve that.”

“No problem,” said Jane as her phone dinged, signaling an incoming text. She seized on it as an excuse to move past the uncomfortable moment.

Her stomach dropped. It was Cameron, apparently texting from four lounge chairs over. She risked a glance at him. He appeared to be perusing the map they’d been carrying around all day but probably had his phone tucked inside it. Another one arrived before she could even begin to think how to reply.

Her face heated instantly, blazed with such intensity that she feared Elise would start accusing her of being sunburned. Her fingers shook as she typed a reply.

She glanced at the girls. Wendy and Gia were eating their hot dogs, and Elise, having finished hers, was absorbed in her own phone.

So she went back to…holy crap, was she sexting with Cameron? Well, why the hell not?

She bit the insides of her cheeks to prevent herself from grinning like an idiot as she looked down at her body and tried to see it through his eyes. She was rather pleased with the bathing suit. She’d bought it last winter when she and her mom and brother had gone to Florida. It was a bikini, but, on the surface of things, a modest one. The bottom was high waisted and the top a halter style. She’d thought when she bought it that the cut flattered her curves and that the white background and hot pink polka dots were fun and retro. It did make her feel like a pinup girl from the 1940s or 1950s, back when her body type would have been more idealized.

She typed the same response as before, hoping the repetition would come off as coy and sexy, but probably she was going to have to get better at this sexting thing. She was a writer, for heaven’s sake. She tried again.

She cocked her head at her phone. That probably didn’t come off as sexily as she’d meant it. She couldn’t quite get the hang of this. But, hey, she was going to cut herself some slack because last time she’d had a person to sext with had been the flip phone era. And Felix would not have been into sexting anyway.

It didn’t seem to matter, though, because her mediocre effort earned her a response that made her have to stifle a gasp.

Oh my God! Her body was in full-out mutiny. She shifted in her chair, turning away from everyone because she was afraid they would somehow see the rush of moisture between her legs that his dirty words had summoned.

Crap. She really, really needed to get better at this. But again, it didn’t seem to matter.

She whimpered. It was out before she realized.

Wendy turned to her. “Are you okay?”

“Yes!” Whoa. That had come out too vehemently. She cleared her throat and tried again. “Yes, fine.” She dropped her phone into her bag. “I’m getting really hot.” As soon as it was out, she realized that wasn’t the right way to phrase things. She let her gaze flick to Cameron, who was still absorbed in his map. “I’m going to hit the water,” she added, standing and looking around. She needed a moment before Cameron made good on his pledge. “I’m going to pop into the pool for minute.” She didn’t wait to see if anyone was following, just strode toward the wave pool that was mostly filled with kids.

“Come back soon to reapply sunscreen!” Elise called after her.

Usually, Jane was a toe-dipper. Her normal process for immersing herself in a body of water was to draw it out so much that she annoyed even herself: a toe, an ankle, a shin, a knee. Then she’d finally stand around on her tiptoes squealing and letting the tips of her fingers skim the surface.

But not this time. This time, she walked right in. And kept walking until she was up to her boobs. Then she bent her knees and submerged her head.

Because it was cold and silent beneath the surface. She didn’t have to worry about how she was conducting herself underwater. There was no sexting underwater. No responsibilities. Underwater, no one was watching her.

Cam watched her the whole time. Given that his goal was to get rid of his raging boner so he could actually, like, get up and walk around, the decision to do so had been self-defeating. But he couldn’t make himself stop. Could. Not. Drag. His. Eyeballs. Away. From. Her. Pink. Polka-dotted. Ass. To begin with, that retro bikini thing was kiiillling him. It wasn’t overly revealing—Gia, for example, was showing much more skin—but there was something insanely hot about Jane’s suit. The playful confidence of those pink dots, the sexy expanse of bare back with the big bow at her neck. The heaviness of her breasts, weighing down the fabric that was cradling them. The way her hips and ass splayed way out from her trim waist. Those curves were the perfect resting spots for his hands. His fingers flexed of their own accord, wanting to press her hips down, to hold her immobile while he made her moan.

“Cameron? Hello?”

He jumped a little, turning toward Elise’s voice but keeping his eyes on Jane’s head as it disappeared into the water as she submerged herself. “Yes?”

“So Jay told me he asked you to be an usher?”

“What? Right. Yes.” After their apparent truce at the bachelor party, Jay had indeed asked Cameron to play the role of usher. “You’re my brother,” he had said. “You should be in my wedding party.” He’d gone on to explain that if he bumped one of the actual groomsmen, Elise would lose her mind, so usher was the best he could do. Cam had accepted with a studied casualness, but in truth, he’d been touched. “Oh, no.”

“No?” Elise’s voice was tinged with confusion.

“No. I mean, yes.” Shit. He’d been responding to the sight of a drenched Jane making her way out of the pool, coming toward them with water running off every part of her body. Forget making good on the lewd threat he’d issued via text. He was never going to be able to get off this damned chair. He needed to think about taxes. Or maybe his recent trial.

“I wanted to talk a little bit about the wedding if you don’t mind,” Elise said. “About your specific duties.”

Bingo. That would be perfect. He shifted so Jane was out of his field of vision. “Hit me. I’m all ears.”

“Does anyone want to go on the Body Blaster with me?” Jane asked, trying to will Cameron to say yes and everyone else to say no. She’d cooled off enough from her little freak-out that she was ready to take him up on his promise-slash-threat.

Either that or she was crazy. Because it was only two o’clock and the girls were talking about going out to dinner after they were done at the park, so it was going to be hours before…stuff could really happen. She had, however, selected the slide that seemed best suited for Cam’s, uh, stated purpose. It was a good thing her suit was already wet.

“I will!” Gia jumped up, adjusting the tiny white triangles that barely covered her boobs. Jane sighed. It was hard not to hate Gia sometimes. Even though she knew with one part of her brain that Gia’s body was the result of genetics, and that it happened to coincide with the body ideal of the day, another part of her brain was hella envious.

“I will, too.” Cameron unfolded his long limbs from his chair and took off his mirrored shades, and the envious part of her brain flew the white flag of surrender. Because the phrase “he only had eyes for her” applied. It was like the size two supermodel wasn’t even there, and how often did that happen? Jane smiled to herself and allowed a little extra sashay in her step as she turned and led the way. Sadly, though, even though Gia wasn’t, apparently, going to steal Cameron’s attention, her presence was going to end up tanking their plan. Sneaking kisses was one thing, going down a water slide cozied up against the bad-boy brother of the groom quite another.

When they got to the top, though, it was moot, because the park’s regulations didn’t allow two riders to slide together. The guy manning the top was leaving a good ten seconds between riders. Which made sense, assuming most people didn’t want to dry hump their way down. Or wet hump.

She was more disappointed than she should have been.

There were two slides to choose from, and Jane went to one.

“After you,” Cameron said to Gia, which prompted Gia to move to the other one.

Which in turn left Cameron in line behind Jane. As the attendant nodded at Jane and Gia that it was time to go, Gia took off, but Cameron held Jane back with a hand on her arm. Then he leaned over and whispered in her ear, “Use your imagination.”

It wasn’t, on the surface of things, an untoward thing to say.

But it made her gasp all the same. Use your imagination.

And when the attendant gestured again for her to go—she was holding up the line—she plunged into the cold water and did just that.