Chapter 10
Cora
I spent most of Saturday recovering from the hangover I got Friday night. Brody's friends had joined us for a little while, but gone back to the party when they realized that we were headed for pajamas and a bottle of wine, not hot sex in the back of a truck.
I couldn't help but think they were like him more than they knew. All of them except Daniel. He was different and not in a way that was too thrilling to think about.
"What are you thinking about?" Dedra dropped down next to me as she worked to get her sandals on.
"That yesterday was a waste because of all that liquor I drank." I curled up on my side, pulling my feet away to give her more room. "Are you really going to find a church?"
"I think laying around yesterday was good for us, and yeah...my grandmother would roll over in her grave if I missed church. You should come with me." She popped my thigh and smiled. "You could ask for forgiveness for all those naughty thoughts you've been having about Brody."
"I have not." I pulled my blanket up to just under my chin. "He's a man whore."
"Yep, and like any other woman in this place, I'd pay for him for a night." She laughed and got up.
"Now who needs to ask for forgiveness?" I pushed at her with my foot as I smiled.
"I'm not denying it." She shrugged and grabbed the keys to my BMW. "Can I?"
"Of course." I glanced over toward the kitchen as Cindy walked out.
"When will you be back from church? I was hoping we could go do some shopping today. We could eat at that bistro that we went to the first day we got in. Cora and Emily would love it."
Dedra nodded before walking toward the door. "I'll be back around twelve. Be ready to go, and we'll eat and shop our afternoon away. Sounds like fun."
Cindy tugged at my foot as the front door closed behind Dedra. "You want some bacon and eggs?"
"I do, but I hate the idea of you cooking." I sat up and stretched. "Where is Emily?"
"She stayed the night with Clay last night. You passed out early." Cindy shrugged and sat down beside me.
"What?" I grabbed my phone and called her. "Is she okay?"
"Yes. What's up with you?" Cindy laughed and got up. "Come in the kitchen for breakfast after you're done playing mother to your fully grown best friend."
Emily's voice filled the line. "Hey. I'm coming home soon. Just making breakfast for the boys."
"You hate to cook." I couldn't keep the jealousy out of my voice. Watching Brody leave with the dark-haired supermodel on Friday night had me in knots. I didn't even know the guy, but the fact that he was going to be part of my life for the next few months thanks to our friends hooking up left me confused and pissy.
"I don't mind so much. None of them were cooking." She yawned and giggled. "Stop it, Clay."
"Hey, I'm on the phone still. No grossing me out." I got up and walked to the kitchen, hating how badly I wanted to ask her if Brody was there.
"Sorry. What are we doing today? The guys want to get together tonight, I think."
"We're going to lunch and shopping. We'll talk about all that jazz when we see you. Be here by noon." I got a glass from the counter and turned to find Cindy watching me.
"Alright. See you soon."
I dropped the call and sat the phone down. "What?"
"You know what." She put her hands on her hips. "You like him."
"Daniel? He's alright, but I'm not attracted to him. He's too studious." I shrugged and walked to the fridge, pulling out a gallon of orange juice and pouring me a glass.
"Okay. We've been friends for forever and you're going to stand here and lie to my face?" I could hear the hurt in her voice. She was my most sensitive friend by far.
"Fine. I don't like him at all, but I'm insanely attracted to him. Okay?" I turned to face her and lifted my juice to my lips. "The fact that he took his cousin home on Friday is still bothering me. But..." I shook my head to stop her from getting excited, which was exactly where she was headed. "He's a user. I'm not getting involved."
"Not even for a night?" She leaned against the kitchen counter.
"What? No. Who would survive that? He would be that dude." I took another drink of my orange juice and staved off the images that continued to push through my mind's eye. I couldn't stop myself from seeing the way he looked on the dock a few mornings before. I'd licked water from his abs ten times in my mind over the last day.
"What dude?" She pulled a few things from the fridge as she turned her attention back on me.
"The guy you compare everyone to." I sighed and sat my juice down. "He's a playboy, Cindy. That means he's probably a terrific lay. Not many guys care to be a great lay. So then, for the rest of my life, I'm going to be settling for the okay lay when I've had the terrific one?"
"You should hear how ridiculous you sound." She laughed and turned toward the stove. "I look at it like the opportunity to have a terrific lay. I've been with a lot of guys. Good or bad, in between, and I'm telling you, the terrific ones in the sack were worth every ounce of heartache afterward."
"I doubt that." I grabbed a banana and walked to the front door. "I'm going to sit out on the porch for a little while. Come get me if you need me."
"You still want breakfast, right?"
"Yeah, if you're cooking it, but if not, no worries, really." I opened the door and walked out to the patio. The sun was shining in the far end of the sky, and boats were already covering a large portion of the lake. A part of me wanted to get the keys to ours and disappear for a few hours. I wasn't on summer vacation to fall in love. It wasn't part of the plan. Though, there was a slight chance that it would happen, if it did, Brody was exactly the type of guy it would happen with.
He was a Brandon, and for that reason alone, I was going to fight like hell to ignore his advances.
Now, I just had to stay sober enough around him not to make any advances of my own.
Easy. Sort of.
*
"Let's go." Dedra shook my shoulder, pulling me from the sleepy state I sat in on the porch after breakfast. After eating more than I should have, I'd gone back outside to rest and think through all the reasons why liking Daniel rather than Brody would be a better option for me. The chances of anything physically happening between us were out, since he wasn't at all my time. And the best part? If Brody thought his friend was interested in me, then there was no way he was dick enough to step in Daniel's way. Right?
"Where are we going?" I shaded my eyes as I glanced up at Dedra, half expecting to find her still in her Sunday best.
"Shopping. Emily and Cindy are already in the car. Get up, missy." She readjusted her sunglasses and pulled off her hat.
"Alright. I'm coming." I sat up and let out a long yawn before walking to the house to find some sandals. My shorts and t-shirt were cute enough to keep up with my friends’ clothing choices for the day, and seeing that I was working to repel most men rather than draw them in, I was good. I'd dress up as soon as I found a good reason that wasn't Brody.
"Hey, sleepyhead." Emily reached over and squeezed my arm as I got into the driver’s seat.
"Hey." I rolled my shoulders. "How was spending the night with Clay? Were the other guys good to you?"
"Just ask." She gave me a sideways glance as Cindy chuckled in the backseat.
Dedra got in as I started in on them.
"Just ask what? I'm not interested in him. Okay?" I turned a hard gaze onto Emily, and then turned to make sure Cindy saw it, too. "Not. Interested."
"Okay. Okay. Put your teeth back in your head, Cujo." Emily lifted her hands and laughed. "They were all good to me, Brody included. He's hilarious when you get to know him a little."
"Excellent. Glad you had fun." I pulled the car out of the driveway and ignored the need to scream at her. I needed to get myself together. I wasn't at all the type of person that would attack my friends due to something internally that I was wrestling with. It wasn't their fault that the center of my wet dreams was a demanding asshole who wasn't going to let up until I gave in.
Or maybe he would?
I couldn't help but remember how quickly he'd moved from giving me attention to ignoring me on Friday night. It almost seemed worse that he would pretend that I wasn't there at all. It was part of his game, and he was damn good at it, but I could play a few games of my own.
Stop it. Shit.
"So, here's what I'm thinking," Cindy began, leaning up into the front seat a little as I drove toward town, "You need to find a cute guy that's not Brody and get laid. Your mood has gone from good to worse to sucky. We're going to throw your pretty ass in the lake if you don't stop being crabby."
I laughed, unable to help myself. Emily was usually the one to set me straight and threaten my life, but never Cindy. She was too sweet and motherly for that.
"Wow." Dedra chuckled. "That's what I'm talking about. Let's get our girl laid by a non-Brody stud and we'll be back on track."
"Alright. Thanks for the offer, but I can rein myself in. No need to pimp me out." I shook my head and pointed to a café across the street. "That looks good. You guys wanna try that one?"
"Absolutely. The quiche is fantastic there and there are ten different ones to try." Cindy's voice lightened a little as she sat back. "Drop me and D off at the door, and we'll go grab a table. It gets crazy packed. You can park just about anywhere you find a spot."
"Alright, sounds good." I glanced over at Emily, who was smirking at me over Cindy, verbally popping me no doubt. To see our friend out of her shell a little was almost worth my mini-ass chewing.
I dropped them off and pulled into a spot near the water before turning to face my best friend.
"I'm sorry. Forgive me?" I reached over and squeezed her hand.
"What? Are you kidding me?" She tugged her hand away. "I've known you most of my life. You don't have to apologize. I know you're interested in Brody, and I know that having any desire toward him scares the hell out of you. I was there when that shit went down with Brandon, remember?"
"Yeah." I pulled my hand back and turned the car off, but didn't move to get out. "He's so damn hot. I can't stop thinking about him, and yet...there is no way in all the realms of hell that I'm letting him near me. I don't need the drama in my life, Emily."
"I agree. He's not the kind of guy that settles down, from what I can tell. The guys teased the heck out of him last night for screwing the whole damn city." She reached for her door handle. "But, I will say this..."
"No, don't say it," I chuckled and got out of the car, breathing in deeply and letting my eyes scan the faces around us. As much as I prayed that I wouldn't run into him again soon, I sure was looking for him to pop up.
"Yes, I am." She walked around the car and looped her arm into mine, tugging me toward the bistro. "He's a funny guy. I think there is more beneath the surface than he's willing to show in front of his friends. You know how guys are."
"This isn't about how he acts with his friends." I glanced down at her as I worked to pull my hair from my face with my free hand. "It's about him sleeping around. I don't care if he's cocky. I actually prefer cocky, confident meat-heads. It's that he's the exact kind of guy that would be found sleeping around, no matter what commitment he promised to make and keep."
"You're looking for a fling, though.”
"I'm done talking about this." I pulled my arm from hers, once again fighting the need to turn into a bitch. "I love you like crazy, and I'm stoked that you and Clay might have started something, but I'm not considering Brody for anything more than what he is. A good-looking guy who's part of the friend group that I'm going to be around this summer. Nothing more."
"Alright. Suit yourself." She shrugged and held the door open for me. "I guess I won't tell you how many questions he peppered me with last night."
"Questions about what?" I walked in as my chest constricted.
Don't say questions about me. Don't say-
"Questions about you." She walked by me and shrugged as I stopped dead in my tracks. "You might not be interested, but I can tell you one thing for damn sure: he is."