“KNOCK, KNOCK!” JESSIE’S voice echoed through the foyer.
“In the kitchen!” I called back.
“Is Blake serious with this house?” Jessie squealed. “He never said he was royalty.”
“He’s not royalty.” I laughed, rolling my eyes. “This is what you get when you sell your soul to the devil.”
Her eyes continued to roam. “Well, he can have mine, too, because this is gorgeous.”
“Thank you, thank you.” Blake walked in, his body tilted in an incline carrying a case of beer. The bottles clanked with his strides, knocking off his thick thighs as his biceps stretched the material of his black T-shirt. He set it down next to the fridge. “Angel would rather live in a cabin of sweet music and heartfelt photographs, though. We’ll be dirt poor and rich in love.” With a crooked grin, he bent to line the bottles on the bottom shelf.
A playful grin met my face as well. “Sounds perfect.” I swatted his round ass, the sound of glass ricocheting off one another ringing out.
Blake steadied them quickly, jumped up, and grabbed his behind. “You’re assaulting me again?” The effect was just as cute as the first time I had done it.
I stifled a giggle, pointing. “I own that ass now. Consider it never safe.”
Blake scowled, tucking a couple of bottles to his chest, and turned to unload them, blinking like an innocent fawn, peeking back over his shoulder to be sure I wasn’t too close.
“Idiot.” I laughed before turning back to Jessie. “Did you drive up alone?”
“Nah, Sandra and Jeremy are bringing all the stuff in.” Her face puckered. “They’re so sweet to each other they make my teeth ache.”
“Don’t be bitter.” Sandra’s voice came from the doorway.
“Oh, there’s Miss Sugarcane herself,” Jessie mocked.
“You love me.” Sandra batted her eyelashes before tucking her auburn curls behind her ear. “Fancy quarters.” She smiled at Blake, who was bending to kiss her cheek.
“Thanks.” Blake reached behind her to slap Jeremy’s hand. “Hey, bro. Glad you guys could make it.”
“Course,” Jeremy replied. “Thanks for inviting us.” Jeremy was on the shorter side and clean cut for an artist. And Sandra loved him madly.
Blake went back to his task. “Go pick your rooms, guys. Consider everything here yours and make yourselves at home.”
Victoria danced into the room. Always full of life, she beamed at their guests, sticking out her hand to each of them. “Hey, guys. I’m Tori. Don’t let them convince you to call me Victoria.” She hopped onto the kitchen island and snagged a peach before taking a big bite. Peaches, grapes, and oranges. I didn’t think I’d ever seen a fruit bowl in someone’s house that didn’t contain apples. But, ever since the incident in the cafeteria when the apple had freaked me out, Blake never had another one around, which made me realize it was most likely on purpose that his bowl lacked their presence.
Will we always revolve our lives around my past?
Either way, I loved him more for the effort.
Jessie bounced over to Tori, her matched spunkiness making me realize they were the perfect pair. I didn’t know why it hadn’t occurred to me sooner to introduce them. “Hi! I’m Jessie. You can call me Jessie.” Her smile practically reached her ears.
“How cute you are with your curly hair. I wish my hair was curly. It just lays there.” Victoria fingered her own gorgeous strands.
“You’re kidding me, right?” The corner of Jessie’s lip turned up like she was disgusted. “You have, like, silk-head. I’d die for your hair. Here’s what I can do with this. This . . .” She pointed to the current style of her hair, which was just fluffy curls. “Or a frazzled ponytail. That’s it, sista.”
“Well, I love it.” Victoria took another healthy bite.
“Jace not coming?” I looked at the crew.
Sandra began to answer. “Nope, he said he had pl—”
“Don’t you bitches be talkin’ about me.” The front door banged off the wall, revealing Jace in rose-gold Michael Kors aviator sunglasses. His hair was slicked back, and a bag hung from his crooked elbow. On the other elbow, he was wearing . . . Drew?
“This stud offered to ride me—I mean, give me a ride,” he corrected with a grin, “although that still sounds fun.” Jace smirked at his own joke, while Drew looked mortified and out of his element around my eccentric accomplice.
“Do you know how long of a car ride it is from Manhattan to the Hamptons? Anyone?” Drew polled us. Judging by his disheveled hair and the stoned look in his eyes, he had clearly been Jace-ized.
Poor guy.
“Don’t play like you didn’t love every second of it, honey.” Jace rolled his eyes as they made their way further into the kitchen.
“I’ll never be the same,” Drew mumbled more to himself. He shivered, and I laughed, imagining what he’d had to endure in that car. Jace made his rounds, double-kissing cheeks while popping his leg back in the air. And Victoria . . .
Victoria slid slowly down the edge of the counter, her eyes fixated on Drew as though a god had entered the room.
Drew addressed Blake first, reaching a fist out to give him a pound. “Thanks for the invite, man. Nice place.”
“Anytime.” Blake returned the gesture with a warm smile.
Drew rolled his neck around, cracking it, walking toward me. “Hello.”
“Hey.” I rose to my toes and kissed his cheek. “You okay?”
“Not yet.” He chuckled, glancing around before his eyes snagged to my right where Victoria was now standing, her stare trained on his hazel eyes. She rocked to her left into my arm, nudging me to introduce them. Drew’s jaw tightened, his muscles bulging as his grip cinched his bag.
I looked back and forth between them.
“Um, Drew, this is Victoria.”
“Tori.” Victoria’s hand stretched forward.
Drew’s gaze fell to it before he slipped his palm into hers. “Drew.”
I saw it—the hitch in Victoria’s breathing, the lapse in rhythm as her cheeks reddened before her eyes skirted away from his. She pulled her hand away and scraped it along her thighs.
Within moments, Blake was at our sides, his shoulders sharp and straight. He looked back and forth between them as Victoria took a few steps back.
“Victoria,” Blake annunciated, “is my kid sister.”
Drew’s shoulders rounded out as if he were a kid who had just gotten all his candy stolen. “She’s charming,” he croaked out.
Victoria put her hand on Blake’s shoulder, and I caught him wince as she squeezed. “Thanks for clearing that up, brother. You can be on your way now.”
“Don’t get cute, Tori,” Blake warned.
“Didn’t you say you wanted to enjoy your girlfriend? Go. Enjoy.” She swatted her hands at Blake, shooing him along.
“Oh, boy,” I muttered. I saw the look in her eye, and if I wasn’t mistaken, my handsome personal trainer was returning it in ten-fold.
The door opened, and the direction of attention shifted once again as Eric stood before us, beaming. “Now, the party can start.”
Blake smiled, seeming relieved as though back-up had arrived. “What’s up?” He slapped Eric’s hand and pulled him in for the customary bro hug.
“Not a thang, not a thang. Been looking forward to this for weeks. I need to unload.”
“I thought Brayden was riding with you.” Blake looked toward the door.
“He backed out. Said something came up with Casey and he would catch up with you another time.” Eric looked around. “Beer?”
“In the fridge,” Blake responded, thumbing behind himself. “Help yourself.”
“You know I will.” Eric stopped to give me a kiss hello before pulling back the refrigerator door.
“You guys trying to kill me?” Jace fanned himself. “All this hot in one room—it’s like sitting on the freaking sun. Anyone else coming? Brad Pitt? Kostas?”
“You love you some Kostas Martakis, don’t you?” I laughed.
“I do. I really do,” Jace replied, wetting his lips.
“You don’t even know what he’s saying,” I said. Kostas Martakis was a Greek singer who, as far as I knew, barely spoke English.
“I don’t need to, honey. Those hips move in a universal language.” Jace mimicked a hip roll. When he realized all eyes were on him, including Blake, Drew, and Eric’s, he smirked. “Uh-huh. It’s confusing, isn’t it?” He waggled his eyebrows, and all the guys turned to start talking to one another to hide the blush to their cheeks.
“Eric needs no introductions,” I stated before turning to Victoria. “Tori, why don’t you show Drew to a room.” I looked at my other friends. “I’ll bring you guys up. Try not to get lost. This place is huge.”
“Tori, don’t give him my room!” Eric called after us, popping a cube of cheese into his mouth. Tori tucked her hair behind her ear and motioned to Drew that he should follow her. I was in shock. I didn’t think I had ever seen either one of them with nothing to say.
“Well, isn’t this an odd turn of events?” Jace spoke close to my ear as we walked up the stairs. Sandra, Jeremy, and Jessie were close at our heels.
“I’ll say. Blake looks like he’s about to have an aneurism.” I laughed lightly but was equally concerned.
Drew and Victoria came from two opposite worlds, and her dad was not the most accepting person. Judging by the look in Blake’s eye, it didn’t seem he would be too quick to welcome a romance between those two, either. I loved them both, and I didn’t want to see either one’s feelings hurt.
When we got to the top step, I looked to the left. Victoria had her back against one of the bedroom doors, her hand behind her on the knob, and a seductive smile on her face. Drew was directly in front of her, his broad chest not touching her but close enough to be considered indecent if it weren’t invited. The muscles on his arms were near-popping, most likely from restraint. She was saying something that I couldn’t hear before she freed the door and walked backward into the room.
They’re adults, I reminded myself. And they were each the loneliest two adults I knew. I hoped they would catch a break and be able to have some fun with one another without too much of a hard time.
I’ll have to keep Blake nice and distracted.