Freedom out in the open water appealed like nothing else, with nothing to churn my thoughts other than the ripple of the water as my oars barely broke the surface. My biceps burned as the familiar movement became a chore, because I’d doubled my normal morning workout routine. Still, I kept up my pace, sculling the St. Marys River. By the time I made it back to shore, I paid for my efforts as I struggled to carry the boat over my head to the boathouse.

The sun blazed a fiery path along my skin and I berated myself for not using sunblock in my haste to leave that morning. I wanted out of my head. Pink had starred in my dreams, forcing me to jerk one out before I left. It had been forever since my control had broken and I’d been forced to finish myself off, unable to wait for a girl to do me the honor of sating my needs. Tonight, I thought.

There was rumored to be a party in one of the upperclassmen townhouse-style dorms where I lived.

I pulled up short while on my way to the café for a late breakfast. A small area next to the water held a meager amount of sand that emulated a beach. It was littered with bodies lying out on towels catching the sun. It was an unusually warm day in late January, hitting record highs. Everyone was enjoying the mild heat while it lasted. There amongst them was the blonde with pink in her hair.

Abruptly, I headed in another direction, hoping to avoid her and her brunette friend.

“Hey,” a bright voice sang out. I continued forward, pretending I hadn’t heard. It was plausible that whoever called out wasn’t trying to get my attention. “Gavin’s friend.”

There was a decision to be made, and I wasn’t sure which to make. I could blow her off and continue on. Then she would probably hurl curses at me, and I didn’t want the attention. The last thing I needed was a girl with a cause. She might wage a war and Google search me. With my luck she would hit pay dirt and find out who I was. Slowly, I turned around.

The brunette got to her feet and I was given a view of her impressive breasts. They nearly spilled out of her bikini top. However, I found myself glancing away from her and down toward her friend. Pink propped herself up on her elbows and watched the brunette’s forward movement. I wondered where the third friend who had been with them at the bar was, or had I mistaken a duo for a trio of women?

“Where’s Gavin?” the brunette asked when she stopped within a foot of me.

“I’m not his keeper.” I folded my arms across my chest and feigned boredom.

Ignoring my snark, she asked, “Are you English?” having finally picked up on the hint of accent I had.

I’d attended secondary school in England. The hope had been that I might have a more normal life there than I could have gotten here in the spotlight as a senator’s son. Being American overseas, I wasn’t that interesting to the foreign press and was able to live life under the radar. I decided to return home for college.

I’d chosen McClain because they were number two in the country for sailing after Yale. They weren’t yet ranked in rowing, which was my passion, but I intended to change that. I sat in the stroke seat of our crew after putting in the time and work required.

“Look, I’m sorry for—” she broke off to glance over her shoulder and wave at her friend. “She’s not good with guys like you.”

A part of me wanted to throw out another sarcastic remark like, good, because I’m not good with her kind either. However, I found myself curious and asked, “What kind of guy am I?”

Her arms rose and it was hard not to notice her tits bouncing with the movement. I shifted my eyes north just as she said, “You know…pretty.” She animatedly used her hands and arms to gesture at all of me.

“Look, I’d love to continue this conversation, but the café will close for breakfast soon.”

“Sure. But can you put in a good word for me with Gavin?” Her eyes held the glassy dreamy gaze some girls got when talking about Gavin. It took me not thinking about Pink to notice that she didn’t sound like Minnie Mouse anymore. Yes, her voice was high, but it wasn’t as annoying as it had been the night before.

“I don’t know what I can say. I don’t know you, and Gavin has his own mind.”

Her smile dipped. “Just tell him you spoke to me and I’m not that lunatic girl from last night.”

My stomach rumbled, and I wanted this conversation to end. Pink lifted up a bit more to see over the bodies in her field of vision. I got the loveliest view of her cleavage. My swim trunks weren’t equipped to conceal hard-ons. I had to move. “Sure.”

Striding off, I made it to the café with enough time to snag the remnants of breakfast. By the time I got back to my room, my cell rang. A picture flashed on the screen.

“Mom.”

Although she wasn’t my mother by birth, she was the closest thing I’d ever had.

“Tade.” Her soft reply spelled out the reason for her call. “How are you doing?”

“I’m good. You?”

She sighed. “I’m worried about you.”

“There’s nothing to worry about. I’m fine.”

“Yes but…”

The but was the one thing I didn’t want to talk about.

“Like I said, I’m good. You don’t have to worry about me.”

“We can still get you in to see him before…”

Mom found it hard to finish sentences on what she liked to call distasteful subjects. And the him in this instance was my biological father, her brother. She was my aunt by birth and the man I called Dad was her husband.

“I won’t do that to Dad. If the press finds out who he is to me, it will hurt his campaign.”

“Tade, he’s your—”

“Father?” I barked a laugh I didn’t feel. “He was never really that to me.”

The guy wasn’t bad to me. He’d just treated me like a nuisance when I’d lived under his roof. It wasn’t really his fault as my grandfather hadn’t been in his life. He’d been married when he knocked up my grandmother, who’d been one of his household staff. She was fired when Grandfather’s wife found out.

Having never had anyone show him what a dad should be, I couldn’t really blame him for his shortcomings.

“Then do you want to go to his…”

Execution? “No.”

I wanted to forget that part of my life. When he’d been found guilty of multiple federal charges, the prosecutor had made sure to seek the death penalty. I might have been in jail too if I hadn’t been freed from that life.

Mom might not have given birth to me, but she’d given me a new life. One that didn’t involve crime and everything else that came with it. The only good thing my father had done was give me to her when she came looking for him after Grandfather died and left him a little money.

“Will you let me know if you change your mind?”

“I won’t.”

She didn’t say it, but she wanted to apologize for the lawyers she’d hired being unable to get him off or at least get a lighter sentence. Mom was good like that. She had a big heart and I owed her my life.

“How are you doing otherwise? You sound tired.”

“I was out late and practiced early.”

“You’re being safe, right?” I groaned and she laughed. “I’m not ready to be a grandmother.”

“That’s the last thing you have to worry about.”

Especially since the one girl I’d been interested in didn’t want anything to do with me.