Chapter Six

BUZZ…BUZZ…BUZZ.

“Hadley, if your phone goes off one more time, I might flush it down the toilet,” Aurora growled from her side of the room.

“Hmmm?” I was lying face down and wasn’t paying attention. I was having the most bizarre dreams. Something about knights, jousting, and men hitting each other with baseball bats.

Buzz…buzz.

Aurora slung her covers off and jumped up. She speared me with an angry gaze...clearly not a morning person. “I’m not kidding Hadley, whoever that is has a death wish. It’s freaking seven in the morning on a Saturday. Nothing is that fucking important to keep messaging you.”

My phone was going off? I looked down where it was sitting on the floor and saw the light on the screen just before it shut off. Holy crap, did that say two missed called and five text messages? I blinked, my brain not ready to wake for the day. Aurora got up and padded to the bathroom. When she shut the door, I reached down and picked up my phone. What in the ever loving hell… all of the notifications were from Wrigley. I rolled over and brushed my hair out of my face.

Wrigley: Wakey wakey come find the snakey.

Wrigley: Ok wait! That didn’t come out the way I meant.

Wrigley: I’m starting to think I’m not as funny as I think.

Wrigley: Hadley, wake up!

Wrigley: I’m going to call.

I must’ve just missed his call when Aurora had woken me up. Was he crazy? His first text had my mind going places it definitely shouldn’t be going. What did he expect me to do with all of this? When he said he would text, I didn’t actually expect him to. It was too early for this crap. And he wasn’t supposed to follow through with the things he said. The water was running in the bathroom and I felt like I needed an IV drip of coffee. I sat up and set my phone down, choosing to ignore the texts for now. I saw no reason to respond. He never cared before, I didn’t expect him to keep trying.

Getting up, I went to the coffee pot, but I wasn’t the one who normally made it. I was pretty sure I might be able to figure it out and not ruin it. Besides I watched my parents do it all the time, how hard could it be? I filled the coffee urn up, but when I got to the part with scooping the grounds into the filter, I had no clue how many scoops I needed. Going on a whim, I dumped seven scoops and shrugged my shoulders. Good enough. My phone buzzed again. My eyes widened and I held perfectly still as I looked at the offending object on my bed. It was like I had stepped on an IUD and triggered a pressure plate. If I moved so much as a muscle, the whole building would go up in smoke.

I heard footsteps beside me. “What are we doing?” Aurora whispered as she looked at my bed with me.

“Shhh.” I hushed her.

“I think I’m missing something.” She spoke out of the corner of her mouth, holding just as still as me.

“I said shhh, it’s going to happen again.” As if on cue, my phone buzzed. My eyes grew wider. “That!”

She dropped her arms that she had been holding up just to be dramatic. “You got a text. What’s the big deal?”

“The big deal is I don’t get texts.”

I knew she had rolled her eyes at me as she walked over to the coffee pot. The smell of the fresh brewed coffee filled the room and she smiled as she poured herself a cup. When she started coughing up a storm, I twisted around and watched her gasp for air. She dumped the cup in the sink and stuck her mouth under the running faucet to get the taste out of her mouth.

“Hadley, what the fuck did you do to the coffee?”

“Too strong?”

She was holding the pot up to the light trying to see into it. “Uh, yeah. I’m pretty sure I got a mouth full of grounds.”

“Oops.” I said sheepishly.

She dumped it and started to make it the way she always did. “So, what’s the deal with the text messages?”

I peered at my bed over my shoulder. “It’s from Wrigley.”

She set the pot down loudly on the counter and water sloshed around. “What?”

I shrugged. “I don’t get it. It’s like he’s on some sort of pity mission to be my friend or something.” She didn’t know the details of our chat yesterday because she’d wanted to give me every detail about the blond guy she was interested in.

Aurora was looking at me like I’d sprung a second head. “He’s not doing it for any other reason other than you got his attention.”

I shook my head. “No.”

She walked over to my bed and picked up my phone. I cringed when she opened the messages and read them out loud. She giggled at the first one. “Hadley, he’s flirting.”

“Don’t go there. Wrigley has never and will never flirt with me.”

She tossed my phone back on the bed and walked over to finish what she’d started. “I’m going to make your cup a little stronger, ’cause you clearly need to wake up. Do you wanna know what the last text said?”

Of course I did, but then again, I didn’t. “What?”

“He said he was on his way over.” A devilish grin appeared on her face.

“You’re lying.”

“No, I’m not. Check.” I must’ve had a look of sheer panic on my face because she laughed and said, “Well, that reaction right there tells me that you do, in fact, like him.”

I ignored her and walked over to my phone. Fine, I liked him. I don’t think I’ve ever stopped liking him. I’ve attempted many times over the years to unlike Wrigley Brooks, and it has been failed efforts on my part. I’ve simply taught myself how to live with it, and how to hate-like him. It was a thing. Picking up my phone, I went to the texts and read the last message.

Wrigley: Hadley I know UR awake by now. You have ten min to text back or I’m coming over.

Oh shit. I looked at the time on the top of the screen. When was this text sent? My eyes darted all over the screen. I had one minute to spare. As quickly as I could, I typed back to him. Doing my best to sound nonchalant, and unaffected.

I just woke up.

I added the sleeping emoji for good measure.

No need to come over but good morning.

I nodded. There, that didn’t sound needy or dumb.

“Did you dodge the bullet?” Aurora seemed pretty pleased with herself as she slipped on a tank top that had been laying on the floor, then poured a cup of coffee.

I gawked at my phone. Three little dots showed up indicating he was typing back. “Huh?” I couldn’t pry my eyes away. “Oh, uh yeah, I think so.”

When she flopped down on her bed, she said, “If he’s coming over, you need to tell him to bring Bishop with him. But I’m going to need ample warning. The coffee hasn’t kicked in yet, and he woke me about three hours too early. There’s dark circles under my eyes.” She pointed at them as if I’d see something that wasn’t there.

I waved my hand at her to hush. “He’s not coming over. He was joking.” Why aren’t those dots going away or words appearing? What was he saying?

Wrigley: I’m here

There was a knock at the door seconds after the message flashed on the screen. Aurora sat up, and I twisted around so fast, I hopped. “Oh my god!”

“That asshole, he didn’t even give me a chance to finish my first cup.” She stood up to go answer the door.

I held my hand out. “No, don’t.”

She paused. “What?”

“Don’t open it,” I whispered.

Laughing, she put her hand on the knob. “He knows you’re in here, silly.”

“No, he doesn’t. I could have gone out for a jog. Yes, I’ll text him back and tell him I’m out for a run and he can’t come over.” My rattled brain was rolling through as many excuses as I could, trying to find one that was feasible.

She sighed. “Do you know how ridiculous that sounds?”

I truly wasn’t ready to see him again so soon. My entire life, I’d never been around him as often as I had been since school started. It was a foreign concept and not a welcomed one. Aurora chose to ignore me as she opened the door. There he was in all his glory. Not a single soul on this planet should look that good this early in the morning. I’ve seen it many times before, but never once was it with him staring in my direction, grinning like an idiot, holding two cups of coffee. He had on a basic, white shirt that was loose around the waist, but tight on his arms, and board shorts that had some wild colors and designs on them.

“Ladies,” he said in greeting, stepping inside. “I took the liberty of grabbing some coffee on my way over here. I wasn’t sure if either of you had any yet this morning.”

Aurora snagged a cup, like she was a starving woman and he was dangling a burger in front of her face. “Perfect! This one over here,” she nodded her head towards me. “Apparently likes to drink the grounds.”

I gaped at her. “I tried.”

She chortled and walked past me, slapping my butt on the way to her bed so she could sit down. It made me jump. While she was looking adorable as ever, I was currently wearing a long t-shirt that had a pink Power Ranger and the words, ‘I fight mornings’. I was sans bra, and my nipples were at attention, which I was painfully aware of. My hair was a tangled mess that I know was sticking up on one side, and I had on my oldest pair of shorts, which I was pretty positive had a small hole on the seam right on the butt. I could do nothing but stand there looking at him, a picture of perfection, while my less than enthusiastic self wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out. I’d been embarrassed before, but never like this. What’s worse was I hadn’t had a chance to brush my teeth. Clamping my mouth shut, I tried hard not to breath.

Wrigley took a couple steps in my direction and had his hand with the other cup of coffee extended. I took it from him and took a tentative sip. It was hot on my tongue, but absolutely perfect. He’d added a little creamer and a small amount of sugar. I used my arms to cover my nipples while I held the cup to my lips, trying to play it off like I wasn’t doing it on purpose. He glanced down, and I knew he had seen them. More than just the coffee was warming my cheeks.

“I figured you didn’t take it back.” A small smile played on his lips.

“You figured right. Thank you.” It was all I could say.

His eyes wandered around our small space, taking in all of our decorations, and how we lived. My over dramatic attempt to have an adult space, and Aurora’s child-like purple explosion. I was not super uncomfortable with him looking at my things, but it made me feel exposed. Honestly, my side of the room didn’t say much about who I was. It was generic and not personalized at all. Well, with the exception of a small frame of my parents on the nightstand next to my bed. It had been taken two years ago before I went to my Junior prom. I hadn’t wanted to go, but my mom had told me I needed to experience it. I didn’t go for myself, I went for her.

But it wasn’t a bad memory exactly. My mom had been overjoyed at the opportunity to style me for the prom. I had played dress-up and let her pick everything out. When I’d left for the dance that evening, I didn’t actually end up going. I drove myself to the local drive-in movie theater and watched the new X-Men movie. I’d had no one to hang out with and refused to be the girl who sat at the table alone, because nobody wanted to dance with me.

I had no clue if I should be going to get dressed, or if he was simply stopping by to prove a point that he keeps his word. The coffee was a nice gesture, but not needed. While I wasn’t particularly happy that he’d showed up unannounced, my inner girly side was relishing in it. He truly looked incredible.

There was an awkward silence, which followed after he’d handed me coffee and I couldn’t help but notice he wouldn’t take his eyes off me. I squirmed, shifting from one leg to the other and casually attempted to comb down my hair. He was picking up on my discomfort and played on it.

“Nice shirt. I don’t remember us playing Power Rangers as kids.”

I bit down on the side of my lip. “That’s ’cause we didn’t.”

“The pink girl, she was the hot one.” He was looking directly at my chest.

“I wouldn’t know,” I replied. I tried to cross my arms to divert his attention, but wasn’t doing a very good job of it while holding a hot cup of joe.

He chuckled.

“Alright Captain Pervert, now that you’ve sufficiently gotten an eye full and made Hadley all weird, what are you doing here this early in the morning?” Aurora asked, stepping up in my defense. “Your texting this morning nearly got you killed…by me…with my bare hands,” she said between sips. “The coffee is all that is saving you right now. So what gives?”

He walked over and plopped down on my bed as if he’d done it a thousand times before. “Well, I’m here to get you both into your bikinis so we can do a wet t-shirt contest and vote whose ass is the roundest.”

I coughed loudly, while Aurora busted out laughing. No freaking way. Who in the hell did he think he was?

Aurora made a loud buzzing sound. “Try again. I see you’re in swim trunks but what are you really wanting us to do?”

“Okay, okay. One of the guys can use his dad’s pontoon boat and we are towing it to the bayou to do some swimming and bridge jumping. Figured it would be a fun thing do to on a hot day and I came to drag you ladies out for a day off campus.”

I shook my head. “I don’t do bridge jumping. And do you know what lurks in bayous?”

Wrigley raised a confused brow. “Fish?”

Was he stupid? “Alligators. Freaking alligators with sharp teeth the size of my fingers.” I held up my hand and wiggled them to drive home my point.

He grinned. “Hadley, I had no clue you were such a damsel in distress.”

“I’m not in distress. I’m not going,” I stated firmly. Meantime, I saw my roommate happily going through her drawers and pulling out her bright green bikini.

He stood up and came over to me. Placing his hands on my shoulders and looking me in the eyes, I held completely still. His touch was warm, and his scent was washing over me like a blanket I could wrap myself in. I had to try to not lean forward and bury my nose in his neck.

“Bathing suit, Hadley. Now,” he demanded. “I’m not taking no for an answer.”

I jerked my head back. “You can’t boss me around.”

His head cocked slightly to the side. “Really? I’m nearly twice your size, and will muscle you over my shoulder and kidnap you.” He arms dropped. “Besides, we have that new best friend status. So let’s roll, Bestie.”

I shifted and gave him my back. “You can’t seriously be considering going.” I knew the answer because Aurora gave me a look. “Gators, Aurora. And who knows what else is in there. This won’t be like swimming in a chlorinated pool.”

“Nope, it won’t. It’ll be much more fun. Have you ever jumped off a bridge?”

“Well, no.”

“Have you ever been on a boat full of hot guys?”

I blushed. Why did she always have to be so brazen? “No,” I spoke softly.

“You think I’m hot,” Wrigley teased Aurora.

“Meh. You’re alright.” She looked at me and winked.

Wrigley clutched his chest. “Ouch. Bullet straight to my heart.”

“Drama queen.”

“You think I’m hot, don’t you Hadley?” He put me on the spot.

Okay, as much as I would shout it from the rooftops that yes, I think he is the hottest guy on the planet, being asked that question by the object of my affection made me clam up. My poor palms got sweaty, and I shut my mouth. I willed my face not to turn bright red, and I wanted more than anything to not give myself away.

“You’re not her type, Romeo,” Aurora laughed as she came to my rescue.

“Damn. Tough crowd,” he said, but he was looking at me like he was still waiting for an answer. An answer I knew that he knew. He wanted me to say it, but I would rather die than give him the satisfaction of knowing that I found him attractive. He had all the females under the sun expressing their interest in him. I wouldn’t become one of the ‘Wrigley loving sheep’.

“I’m not going swimming.” I protested, pathetically attempting to change the subject back to the important one.

Wrigley narrowed his eyes at me. “Hadley, find your sun screen, get your bathing suit on, toss on some flip flops because I’m leaving in ten minutes. Nobody said you had to swim, just that you’re tagging along, now, let’s go. I’m not walking out of this door without you.”

I guess the new best friend rules state that he gets to boss me around. I could have stood there looking like a hot mess, attempting to argue with him for the rest of the day, but I knew I wasn’t going to win. I think he really meant it when he’d said he would throw me over his shoulder. I also knew my roommate would be of no help. She would likely have her phone recording the whole thing to post on Instagram.

I dropped my shoulders and my defensive mode disappeared. I guess my day was planned for me. Pontoon boating with Wrigley’s friends. Sighing, I left the room briefly to go to the bathroom, comb my hair, brush my teeth, and snag my sunscreen from under the sink. When I came out, Wrigley was still sitting on my bed. I tried not to make eye contact with him, as other ideas were lurking in my mind about him being there. Wouldn’t it be nice to lie down next to him for the entire day. The errant thought made me blush but I’d say that would be a better day spent, than getting pink under the sun with strangers.

When I pulled my suit out of my top drawer, Aurora whistled, “Ooh la la. That’s super cute.”

“Thanks,” I said, keeping my head down.

My bathing suit was a cute, black two piece with fringe across the low cut top. It wasn’t super revealing like a string bikini, but it wasn’t modest like a one piece either. One thing I’d never really felt self-conscious about was my body. While I may be short, and my thighs touched at the top, I was thin around my midsection. My boobs weren’t small, requiring me to wear a training bra or anything, but I also wasn’t so large I needed to wear a bra all the time for support. I was fit, and my body showed it.

“I have a beach bag if you want to toss your stuff in it.” Aurora offered as she folded a towel and put it inside. I nodded and dropped my things in.

Standing up, Wrigley seemed quite proud of himself. Rubbing his hands together, he said, “Ladies… let’s go.”

Outside, I recognized Wrigley’s car parked in the lot. It was a blue, four door Jeep Wrangler. His parents had gotten it for him when he’d turned seventeen. He would have gotten one sooner, but from what my mom had said, he failed his driving test twice, and Paul wouldn’t let him take it again until he was certain he’d pass the third time. Jeeps were his family’s thing. Donna had one, and so did Turner. I’d had no clue he’d driven it here from Georgia, but I wasn’t surprised. Inside, it was very clean and still had a new car scent. How on earth did it still smell like that when it was over a year old? And as a typical eighteen-year-old, weren’t boys supposed to be gross, with soda cans lying all over, and gym bags?

“Did you just get this detailed?” I asked curiously.

I’d chosen to sit in the back, feeling entirely too uncomfortable being in the front next to him. He looked at me through the rearview mirror. His brows drew together. “No, why?”

I glanced around. “It’s awfully clean in here.”

“I’m a clean guy.”

I scoffed, “No guy is this clean.”

We had already started off down the road, and Aurora was staying quiet in the front seat as she flipped through texts on her phone.

Stopping at a light, he twisted to look at me. “Hadley, I’ve never been a messy person. You’ve been in my room dozens of times. Have you ever seen it dirty?”

I thought about it. “No, I just assumed your mom made you clean it before you had company or she did it herself.”

The side of his mouth tipped up. “Nah. She got after my brothers all the time for their messes, but never me. I just prefer it this way.”

Hmmm, yet another thing I didn’t know about him that I felt I should have. Not that it was a big deal, but I used to feel like I knew him better than most. Now he’d admitted two new things about him in as many days and I wondered how much I didn’t know about him. We drove a couple of miles and I wondered where we were going. I wasn’t familiar with the area since I had yet to really wander off campus. But were we going to his place, his friends, or straight to the boat dock? My question was quickly answered as we pulled up to a park that had a parking lot meant for boat trailers. The water in this area of the Gulf was dark, and deep. The park had kids running around playing, and boats were being trailered into the water. I looked around for a bathroom that I could change into my swimsuit. There was a public one up on a small hill.

When we parked, Wrigley said, “I’m going to go help the guys get everything ready. Make sure you have everything and we will load up and head out.”

There was a Ford truck with a large pontoon party boat attached and four guys mingling around it. Wrigley headed straight for it, and I looked to Aurora to see what she’d wanted to do. She was staring at the group of guys and smiling.

“Oh good, he’s here,” she said, pleased.

I assumed she meant surfer guy who was play boxing another guy. We both had the same thing in mind to go change into our bathing suits and walk over to the group. I carried the bag just to have something to do with my hands so I didn’t feel useless standing there. And heaven forbid I start clicking my nails. So there were six of us. I didn’t feel too weird since we were the only girls. It was females I felt the most uncomfortable around because they were the ones who judged me more than most.

“Hadley, Aurora, these are some of the guys I play with every day. Austin, Bishop, Matt, and Christian, but we call him Chris.”

They all politely smiled and nodded as each one’s name was said. While they were all attractive, Wrigley was still the best looking of the five. They were all pretty typical looking baseball players, with tanned skin, and brown messy hair. The only exception being Bishop. He was the blond with longer hair. I could understand why he’d gained Aurora’s attention. I found it funny that these boys had probably spent every waking minute together and they’d already picked up each other’s behaviors.

“Hey, everything is set, I’m going to back it into the water.” Matt said to the guys. “Wrigley, can you stay in and unhook it?”

“Yep!” He hollered as he climbed into the boat.

They all did their thing as the boat got put in the water, Matt went and parked the truck, and Wrigley pulled up to the dock so we all could get in. Austin gave Aurora and me a helping hand, and I found a seat just behind the driver’s side.

Aurora came and sat next to me, but she was focused on Bishop. I knew at some point, probably soon, I’d be sitting alone. I think Wrigley planned on being the driver. Which was fine. I’d rather be back here by myself, than stuck sitting next to him, attempting conversation that was forced.

“We ready to go?” Matt asked.

“No, we are waiting on two more.” Austin said.

“Who else is coming?”

“Livi and Abby.”

Wrigley glanced back at me. He knew I hadn’t had the greatest first meeting with her at the field. “Whose genius idea was it to invite them?” he asked.

“Dude, who doesn’t want to see them in their bikinis? The way I see it, right now there’s two chicks on the boat and five guys. Don’t you think the amount of dicks should be at least somewhat equal to the tits?” Matt tried to point out, like it was the most obvious thing ever.

Aurora laughed. “Well, considering the way you’re running your mouth, I’m thinking that there’s actually only four dicks on this boat, since yours seems small enough to try and come up with something so brilliant.” She winked at him while he scowled.

The guys all busted out laughing. Chris said, “Dude, I think she’s got you there.”

“Man, you know what I’m packing. We’re all shower in the same locker room.”

Wrigley jumped in on the easy joke. “You saying you’ve been checking out my junk?”

Matt stuttered. “No. I’m saying my dick isn’t little. Every girl I’ve been with has loved it and said it was huge.”

The four other guys all busted his chops for bragging about something that wasn’t true. While they heckled each other, I sat in my seat wondering how today was going to go and my apprehension about seeing a girl who clearly wasn’t fond of me. I mean, maybe I could change her mind if she just hung out with me for a little bit. She could see that I’m a nice person, who can be fun. I won’t be fun swimming because gators might be lying beneath the surface. But maybe she could get to know me on the boat.

Seemed just as I thought of her, she appeared out of nowhere. “What are we laughing at boys?”

Livi walked up, hips swaying, and a picture of seduction. She was wearing a deep blue string bikini and cut off shorts that were so short her cheeks were hanging out of the back with each step she made. Her hair was pulled up into a messy bun on top of her head, and even without make-up she was a sight to see. She had yet to see meek little me sitting in the back of the boat as she was helped on board by Austin. One of her little triplets from the other day followed behind wearing something similar. I wasn’t surprised. These two reminded me of Rachel McAdams and her friends on Mean Girls. They were their own little bitch squad.

Regardless of how I felt or what I’d conjured up in my mind about her, I was going to make the most of an uncomfortable situation. That resolve vanished the moment Livi’s eyes locked on Wrigley and she smiled as sweetly as she could manage. Maybe I was being too hopeful.

“Hey Wrigley. Looking awfully good over there behind that driver’s seat.” She batted her lashes.

“Thanks,” he mumbled.

She went to his side and set her bag down. Her sidekick followed but quickly saw there wasn’t room for her to put her things. Wrigley didn’t appear to be thrilled by this, and neither was her friend. She glanced around and saw an empty seat next to Aurora. Her eyes grew round and she bumped Livi with her elbow.

“What?” She twisted to look at her friend. Her tone irritated.

She glanced in the direction her friend was looking and spotted Aurora. My roommate sat, watching the whole exchange and grinned, giving her fingers a wiggle in the air as a playful, teasing hello. I knew better. There was nothing friendly about it. She didn’t care for Livi but she was never going to be one to let her get the best of the situation. Aurora could spend this entire boat trip pretending Livi wasn’t here and it wouldn’t affect her in the least. Her roll it off the shoulder attitude was something I admired greatly.

“I think you’ve met Aurora and Hadley.” Wrigley stated, a smirk on his face.

Livi twisted and finally spotted me sitting in a ball in a corner seat of the boat. I gave a curt head nod. I could’ve said hi, but considering the state of her face, she definitely was pissed I was breathing the same air as her. How did people even get like that in the first place? She hated me before she even knew me. I couldn’t comprehend it stemming from jealousy. Girls weren’t jealous of me. So what if Wrigley gave me a little attention. He was interested in a friendship, nothing more. I wasn’t a threat to her in any way. Females were strange when it came to picking and choosing who they wanted to be friendly toward.

“Hi,” she said snidely—it was clear she wanted nothing more than to drop me off at the dock and leave me there.

“Hi,” I repeated but much more timidly.

Matt stepped back to where we were and said, “This is Olivia, and Faith.” As if we needed intros.

“It’s Livi,” she stated coolly. Matt was clearly not her favorite person.

He chuckled. “I know, Kitten. Thought a formal introduction needed formal names.”

“You’re annoying.” She curled her lip.

“You’re gorgeous,” he deflected.

“Can we get moving now that we’re all here?” Wrigley asked impatiently.

Austin untied the ropes from the dock and waved his hand in the air. “Ready to roll. You driving?”

“Dude, I have no fucking clue where I’m going. I think I’m going to sit with Hadley back here and enjoy the ride.”

My back straightened. Why sit with me when there was clearly someone who was willing to give you all of the attention in the world standing next to you? I thought to myself. Aurora grinned at me and I gulped. Livi and Faith were whispering to each other and looking back at me, making it very clear I was topic of conversation. Great!

I was grateful we would be moving at a speed that would make it difficult to hold conversation. Not without shouting. But being in this close proximity to him and knowing if we hit a bump, he would be touching me made me slightly excited. I was already a little thrilled he had chosen to sit next to me instead of Livi. Even if I knew it was going to cause a little turmoil.

Livi was watching his every move as he sat down. I wish she wouldn’t. It was making me more nervous and she had no reason to. But what he did next nearly sent me into cardiac arrest. He tugged at the bottom of his shirt and yanked it over his head, exposing every bare inch of his defined abs and chest. Wrigley was on the leaner side compared to his brothers, but his more lithe body helped him be a fast runner between bases. He would likely fill out more as he got older, but for an eighteen-year-old, he already had stacked abs and arms that lifted a decent amount of weight in the gym.

He plopped down next to me, his eyes sparkling as he looked at me. I shut my mouth, which had been slightly parted, and faced forward. Dear God, this was going to be quite the day. As the boat’s motor kicked to life, I looked around.

“Whatcha looking for?” Wrigley had leaned over to ask.

“Life jackets.”

A bubble of laughter escaped Livi’s throat and Wrigley glanced at her. She rolled her eyes, making me feel like an idiot.

“We don’t need to wear the life jackets unless you’d like to or aren’t a great swimmer.” He paused to see if I’d say anything. “But we have them onboard. The law says we have to have one per person. They are in a compartment at the front of the boat. Do you want one?”

While his offer was nice, I wasn’t going for the record of biggest loser of the day here. I shook my head. “No, I didn’t realize we weren’t required to wear one.”

“When was the last time you were on a boat, Hadley?”

“Uhhh...” I had to stop and think about it. “I think I was eight and had gone on a fishing trip to Wisconsin with my dad.”

He nodded in understanding. “Man, it’s been a while.” His smile eased me. “Well, no worries, unless this boat suddenly explodes or a hurricane pops up out of nowhere, the boat will stay afloat and we should be fine.”

Definitely wasn’t feeling like the sharpest crayon in the book so I looked out at the expanse of water we were soaring over. I spent the rest of the boat ride clinging to my towel, and wishing Matt wouldn’t take corners so fast. I had no clue what it would take to flip a boat that was twenty-five feet long, but it certainly seemed plausible at these speeds. Aurora sat in the middle just in front of the driver’s seat. She was clearly enjoying her conversation with Bishop along with the wind blowing in her hair. She looked free. Not a damn care in the world except whether or not she would pass her next art exam. I wanted to be free like that. Instead, I was a bundle of nerves.

I tried to relax myself and watch the scenery as it went by. It was completely different from Georgia’s waters. While this was part of the Gulf, these inside water passages were also considered part of the bayou. Low hanging trees full of greenery, and muddy waters that sloshed up on the sides were a stark contrast from the blue and green waters where I was from. While it was different, it was beautiful. I saw several Egrets wading in the water hunting for fish. And everyone on the boat was slouched back in their seats while the heat beat down on our skin. It was just after ten in the morning and the sun was already blazing hot.

About twenty minutes of smooth waters, the engine started to slow and we drifted into a smaller area on the water. The width from one side of the shore to the other was no more than fifty feet. We floated up toward an empty embankment that had a sand and mud mixture. The bridge we were supposedly jumping off of was to the left. It wasn’t as high as I’d expected. When I’d heard of bridge jumping, I thought of cliff jumping. I’d seen it on YouTube videos. But this bridge was old and rusted. It used to be a crossing for vehicles that wanted to travel to the closed down building that apparently used to sell food and snacks.

If I’d had a camera, I would have snapped a photo and framed it in black and white. It felt very rustic and nostalgic, but it wasn’t somewhere I wanted to jump in the water and cool off.

Chris jumped up from his seat near the front and pulled out a long chain that was attached to a decent sized anchor. After he tossed it overboard, it halted the boat and subtle waves washed up to the shore. Everyone stood up and stretched like they’d been sitting for hours. Aurora took her shorts off so she was just in her string bikini. Bishop was watching like a starving man. I was certain she was used to this kind of attention because she was almost playing with him as she gave him her back and slowly slide the fabric down her legs. He got a full view of her ass and, by the way she smiled at him, I knew my friend was toying with him.

The other female eyes were watching her, glaring like she was doing something wrong. I thought to myself, Okay Livi and Faith, I’m certain you’ve had your fair share of teasing and screwing around to keep the attention of a guy. Wrigley included. It ticked me off that they were looking at her like that. Why were girls so catty?

Matt flipped a switch and country music filtered through four speakers that were in the floorboards of each corner of the boat. He turned it up loud enough that everyone could hear it, even if they weren’t on the boat. Wrigley was the first off. He opened a small gate at the back of the boat and back flipped off the edge. His splash was so large, it sprinkled cool water on me. It felt so good on my over-heated skin. The way the sun was feeling already, and not even during the hottest part of the day, I may have to reconsider getting in the water.

Wrigley surfaced and shook the water from his head. He gazed up at me and winked. “Come in, the water feels great!”

Just as I was shaking my head, Livi slid up next to me. “How great?”

Her attempt at flirting may have lured any other male right to her, but it didn’t seem to be working on Wrigley. And if I had an opinion about it, I’d say that was pretty cheesy on her end.

“Uh, it’s good,” he responded.

She started to put on the same little show Aurora had only moments before, but Livi didn’t seem to realize Wrigley was in the water and couldn’t see much but our shoulders and up. I giggled. She looked at me. I kept it to myself that she was being a moron and simply shrugged my shoulders at her. She’d figure it out on her own when she glanced back at Wrigley, who was swimming around, checking out the shore, and not paying the least bit of attention to her.

It didn’t take long for everyone to either jump into the water, or climb down using the ladder on the back of the boat. I looked around and saw Aurora’s bag, so I grabbed my sunscreen. Slathering myself up, I tossed a towel across the long bench seat and stretched myself out on my stomach after taking off my shorts. I tanned fairly easily with my dad’s part-Italian blood running through me. I laid there, hearing their laughter and splashing, teasing, and having fun while I once again excluded myself from group activity. Sure, I had a genuine fear of the water, and I was very aware that there could be alligators in these waters but I was choosing to stay on the boat, maybe for other reasons. I was beginning to question if my reason for excluding myself was more fear based, or because it’s what I’d always done.

Flipping over on my back, my stomach now exposed, and breasts in the air, I tossed my arm over my eyes to shield them from the sun. It was easily one hundred degrees, maybe a little warmer. I pondered my reasoning for some time. Just as I was wondering if I should let go of my pretenses, I felt welcoming, cool, wet droplets on my upper thighs. I peered out from under my arm and saw Wrigley standing there, dripping with water, his hair a delicious mess that I wanted to run my fingers through. He was pretty much a Greek god. He was looking down at me with a devious grin.

“Uh, can I help you?”

“Yep.”

Well, I’d like you to help me by not being so attractive. I thought to myself. “Okay, with what?”

“You’re gonna come swim a little, then jump that bridge.”

I looked over at the bridge, then looked at him and laughed. “No, thanks.”

He narrowed his eyes at me and I knew I was challenging him. “It’s not a request.”

I shook my head. “You know, I don’t know what it is with you and your brothers, but this whole bossy alpha male thing doesn’t always work with every female.” He tilted his head to the side. “Not every female will fall victim to all of your egotistical male prowess.”

He stayed silent for a beat then said, “I have no clue what you just said to me, but you’re going off the bridge… into that water.” He pointed down at the rippling murkiness.

I sat up and sighed. “Forget what I just said. No, I’m not. I’m willing to go to the shore and maybe wade my feet a little, but I’m not jumping off bridges. I like my life, thank you very much.”

He chuckled. “You’re not going to die, Hadley. I’ll even jump with you.”

“Wrigley, didn’t you learn in school that no means no?”

He shrugged. “Sure, with the stuff that matters. Now let’s go.” He took a few steps toward the back of the boat.

“Isn’t someone going to move the boat closer to the sand?”

“No. The boat would get wedged and it’s not like a fishing boat you can just shove off the mud.” He motioned to me. “Come over here and I’ll carry you on my back to the sand.”

My eyes widened. That would mean I would be wrapped, with my arms and legs, around his nearly naked body. My chest rose with my increased breathing. I knew better than to fight him on this. If Wrigley wanted me in the water, he would make sure I got in the water. It was up to me on how I would get in it. But I was definitely not jumping the bridge.

I noticed Livi and Faith were wading in the water near Austin and Matt. Livi was watching with curiosity what was happening over here. I wished the boat was facing the other direction. I didn’t want her watching me cling to Wrigley’s back. I knew she’d either judge me or become an ultra bitch before I even got a chance to show her she had nothing to worry about.

“Let’s go friend, I don’t have all day.”

“Friend,” I mumbled under my breath. “I don’t know what that means.”

“Hmmm?”

“Nothing.”

I shuffled my feet to where he was standing and waited for him to give me directions with my next step. Was he going to climb in and I got on his back in the water? Or was he going to have me hop on now and he’d climb down the ladder with me? The second option seemed ridiculous. When he started down the ladder without me, I exhaled a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. When he was fully submerged, I looked down at him. His eyes were sparkling in the sun. His were the prettiest hazel I’d ever seen.

“Come on, Hadley. The water is perfect.” Aurora shouted. She was up on Bishop’s shoulders and he was splashing up at her while she laughed.

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” I yelled back. “Why is everyone so pushy?” I grumbled.

“Because you never know how much fun you’re going to have until you try it,” Wrigley answered. I hadn’t realized he’d heard me.

“Well, I’m going to try it. If I get eaten by some weird, water creature, make sure my parents know you’d made me do it.”

He laughed. “Will do. Now get in.”

I started with a foot on the first step on the ladder. The water did feel great, but I was nervous to go any further. My fear of the water was a very real one. I hardly went into any water that wasn’t full of chlorine, or I couldn’t see completely through. While a lot of people shared this fear, people who had never been afraid, didn’t really understand it. It didn’t help that I knew that Wrigley was getting an eye full of my ass cheeks while I clung to the railing.

“One more,” he coaxed. “I’m right here.”

His voice was soothing and he was trying to comfort me. “I am, just give me a second.”

“Hadley, you’ve been standing there for over a minute. Now, I’m not going to let anything happen to you. Just come down; I’ve got you.”

Had I really been holding on for that long? My foot shook and I made another step down. I could still see both of my feet on the ladder, but another one down, I likely wouldn’t. The boat rocked a little as a wave rolled past from a boat outside of the waterway.

Come on Hadley. What’s worse, being in water you’re afraid of, or showing everyone here that you’re a huge chicken and never get asked to do something like this again? On a leap of faith, I quickly took the last two steps down, and, like Wrigley had promised, he was right there, an arm going under mine, and he guided me around onto his back. I desperately wanted to squeeze the life out of him until he had us up on the shore, but killing the one that was going to ‘save’ me wouldn’t be wise.

Instead, I focused on my breathing and tried to enjoy this very temporary moment of holding onto the guy I’ve been crushing on my entire life His warm skin was pressed again my bare stomach and it was an incredible feeling. His hands gripped my thighs as we got to a spot where he was able to touch bottom. I was grateful I’d shaved my legs the night before.

“Watch out for snakes!” Aurora shouted, laughing hysterically at herself.

There weren’t any snakes, but she was trying to get me to freak. Maybe I’d hold on to Wrigley tighter. I did inadvertently, and whether he was doing it on purpose or not, he squeezed my thighs a little firmer. It sent a very unfamiliar sense of warmth through my body and I felt slightly turned on. It was embarrassing. As he walked up the shore, I still clung to him like a scared monkey. He was completely out of the water with me on his back.

“You’re on land!” Faith shouted. Livi laughed and nudged her friend.

My cheeks felt hot. “Uh, right.” I loosened my grip on him and let go with my legs. I slid down until I felt my feet touch the ground. It seemed almost sensual how slowly he guided my wet body down his. I could’ve swore I heard him groan. “Sorry about that. I don’t mean to be a big baby. Hopefully, I didn’t break your back or anything.”

He rolled his eyes. “You’re a tiny thing, Hadley. I don’t even think I exerted energy.”

I glanced around. There were tall weeds in every direction and a sound of a bird echoed off the bridge. It was actually quite beautiful. I wished the music was off so I could sit on the little shore and enjoy it. Wrigley had other plans. He marched towards the rusted hunk of metal like a man on a mission.

“Get it big boy!” Austin catcalled.

“Yeah, we’ll see you try a back flip from this high.” Wrigley responded. He was climbing a semi steep hill to get up top.

I stood there, refusing to move. Was he seriously going to back flip off from that high? Couldn’t he hurt himself? It’s not like we knew how deep the water was down there. Although it was likely deep enough to jump. When he was standing at the top, he turned and put his heels on the edge.

“Get it, hot stuff,” Faith called out and I couldn’t help but notice how annoying her voice sounded.

Wrigley didn’t respond. Instead, he bent at the knees and then flung himself backwards. His whole body leaped into the air and he did a full three-sixty before he sliced through the water. It was so graceful that I held my breath and tried to memorize it. Wrigley was good at so many things—this was just another to add to the growing list.

When he came up for air, he slung his head side to side and his hair whipped back and forth flinging droplets of water. If only my brain could put it into slow motion and play it like a movie reel. He looked like a movie star filming something like Baywatch. He wiped his hand down his face and then smiled brightly.

“How’d you rate that?” he asked proudly.

Why was he looking at me to answer? I glanced around like maybe the other awkward girl on the sand would respond. “Uh, a ten?” I said, unsure.

He frowned. “You sure about that?”

Ugh I hated this. I wanted to be a chameleon and turn green like the reeds. “Yes, I’m sure,” I sighed.

“Good,” he said egotistically. He started wading toward me. “Your turn.”

My eyes grew huge and I looked at Aurora, panicked and wondering if my friend would come save me. “I’m not jumping that.” I pointed at the offending bridge. “You can’t make me.”

He was now waist deep and he grinned an evil grin. Like the devil was rising from the water looking beautiful and edible. “Yes, I can.”

I had half a mind to make a run for it. I was sure if I just took off across the land I was on, it was bound to meet with another road at some point. I looked like a helpless college student; someone was bound to pull over and assist me, right? I had no shoes on and I was in a bikini. I looked like a Girls Gone Wild episode and who knew who’d stop and pick me up like this.

Frowning, I said, “Okay, you may be able to, but that doesn’t mean you should.”

As he approached me, my instinct was to back up, but I stood my ground. My head tilted back as I looked up at him and he blocked the sun from my eyes. I swear if he tried to throw me over his shoulder, I was going to ball up my fists and swing at him as hard as I was capable of. Thankfully, I didn’t need to.

Livi, whom I didn’t hear approaching, walked up beside Wrigley and stood so close that her shoulder was touching his arm. She looked at me with such distaste I almost flinched and then she turned to him, the look gone as if it had never been there.

“Come jump with me,” she said flirtatiously.

She grabbed his hand and started yanking him toward the hill, he’d just climbed.

While he allowed her to move him, he looked over his shoulder at me. “Hey, if you change your mind, I’ll jump with you.”

I was really disliking her more and more, but I was grateful she’d taken his attention away from me and that jump.

“What a bitch.”

I wasn’t paying attention to much except Wrigley, because I hadn’t heard Aurora coming either. Her face was disgusted and she had her lip curled.

“No, it’s fine,” I admitted.

“It really isn’t. He hasn’t paid her the least bit of attention, and here she comes swooping in all Wrigley come jump with me” She imitated Livi’s voice in an exaggerated, annoying tone.

“Okay, and he let her.” I pointed out.

Aurora shielded her eyes from the sun as she peered up the bridge to see them getting to the top. “And that’s what makes him a dense dickhead.”

That made me giggle. “Maybe, but I honestly don’t want to jump. I don’t mind being out here and relaxing on the boat or the beach, but being in the water isn’t my thing.”

She touched my shoulder and I peeked at her out of the corner of my eye. “It’s fine. I’ll let him pass on this one because you really mean it. But if this happens again, I’m pointing it out to him since you won’t.”

I nodded, not feeling like arguing. There really wasn’t anything to point out. If Wrigley didn’t want to be pulled away from me, he wouldn’t have allowed it. It’s not that I thought he was being a jerk or setting out to abandon me after carrying me over here, I just think he was wanting to do his thing and have fun. He enjoyed things like bridge jumping and swimming in murky water. And that was okay with me. I didn’t need someone’s attention or them to be by my side to feel content. I’d learned a long time ago to find comfort by myself.

After squeezing my arm reassuringly, Aurora went back to Bishop. I watched her and couldn’t help smiling as she flirted relentlessly. Faith and Livi hung around Wrigley, Austin, and Chris as they took turns trying some new jumps off the bridge. Every time Wrigley went, he would swim up to the shore and pass me, shaking his his head like a wet dog so drops of water would fly at me. I’d laugh and cover my face. But I spent the rest of the day, sun bathing out of the water. It was time to go when the tide was coming in and water was lapping at my feet.

I got back on the boat by myself this time. While I had a mild panic attack that I kept to myself, I didn’t feel like being the damsel in distress and expect Wrigley to swim me back to safety. Instead, I held my breath and doggy paddled like a son of a bitch until I reached the ladder. The guys chuckled at me because my swimming looked more like flailing, but Wrigley didn’t step in to help. He knew better.

Once on the boat, all of us seemed drained from the sun. We sat in the same spots as before, with the exception of Austin, who now drove, and Chris sat up front. On the back of the boat, I propped my legs up and wrapped my towel around me to block the wind. I could have fallen asleep but Wrigley sat so close, he kept me awake. While we didn’t speak, his shoulder was brushing against mine with every bump and turn. Livi kept a close eye on us and, if looks could kill, I’m pretty sure I’d be a puddle of mush she’d toss over the side of the boat. I did my best to ignore her.

When we got back, Livi and Faith waved bye to the boys and mentioned that they’d be seeing them later that evening. A pang of jealousy hit me at the idea of them showing up at Wrigley’s place and casually hanging out. I didn’t know what it was like to just hang out. I’d never went to someone’s place to just sit, watch movies and eat pizza. I’d been asked once by a new girl who’d lived a couple blocks away, but she quickly learned how awkward I was with people and that I wasn’t part of the crowd she sought after to mix with. It also wasn’t missed by me that Livi and Faith didn’t bother saying goodbye to Aurora or me. It was evident, after today, that there would be no budding friendship and getting to know each other sleepovers. I frowned.

“Hey, what’s the face for?” Wrigley asked, holding his hand out to help me off the boat.

“Hmmm?”

“You’re kind of pouting.” He gave me a sideways grin. “While it’s very cute, I wanna know what caused it.”

I almost stumbled as I made the large step from floating object to hard cement. He gripped my hand tighter. He’d just called me cute. Well, not me, but I guess my pouty lip, which I didn’t even know I had.

“I don’t know.” I shrugged, trying to blow him off. “I’m just tired I guess.”

He raised a brow. “That’s a lie, but I’ll let it slide.”

Stop paying attention to me like that, I scolded him in my head.

Aurora sidled up beside me and cleared her throat. “We ready to go? I need to shower before I meet up with Bishop later.”

“You’re going on a date?” I asked.

She flung her hand in front of me. “Don’t sound so formal, Hadley. We’re meeting up for a movie.”

“Sounds like a date to me,” I mumbled.

“It’s a date,” Wrigley laughed, agreeing with me.

“Ugh, gross.” Aurora blew us both off.

Wrigley grabbed Aurora’s bag from her shoulder and started walking towards the Jeep. “Is he paying for you?”

“I don’t know.”

“I know my man. And Bishop isn’t going to let you pay your own way. Therefore, it’s not gross, it’s a date. And there’s nothing wrong with that.”

“See.” I bumped her with my shoulder. “Apparently, what Wrigley says is golden.”

He gave me a sideways glance. “Why do you say that?”

Open mouth, insert foot syndrome. “Oh, just that the girls today, they’d hold on to your every word. It’s just like high school all over again.” I tried my hardest to make it sound like it wasn’t a big deal. It really wasn’t, but it could have sounded like I was jealous.

“No, they didn’t.”

Aurora stepped in to defend what I was saying. “Livi would lick your feet if you asked her to. And because you blow her off, you’re more of a challenge for her.”

He shook his head. “You’re both crazy.”

I had nothing else to add. I’d already said enough, and like Aurora, I just wanted to get back to our room so I could shower, get into pajama pants, and start my school work for the next week. We got to the car, and the ride back was quiet. Wrigley had country music on low, but that was the only sound besides the wheels on the road. When we got to the parking lot, Aurora jumped out and thanked Wrigley for inviting us. She disappeared inside, and I turned to look at him.

I felt awkward. “What she said. Thanks for asking us to come. Something a little different for my Saturday.”

He stood on the other side of his Jeep, driver’s side door open. “No problem. Hope you had fun.”

“I did.” I wrung my hands in front of myself.

“Just like last time, Hadley. Keep your phone near you. I’ll text you.” He winked and climbed in.

I took a step back and tried not to stumble. Okay then. Another promise of communication. Lordy, what did I do with this sensory overload. Swallowing hard, I gathered myself and went inside.