Chapter 18
Three Days Later
Brody
I pressed my arms to the railing on the deck and turned my head to give Clay a look. He'd been after me to talk about what happened between me and Cora since Wednesday, but I didn't have anything to say.
"Dude, I fucked up. Okay? Lay the fuck off of me over it. I'm not telling you again." I stood up and pushed my chest out a little, warning him that I was done talking and ready to hand out an ass-whooping to the next idiot that brought her up.
"You can blow up to someone else, Brody. I'm your best friend, and we've been watching you mope around this fucking cabin for three days. At least tell me why?" He moved up closer, pressing his chest to mine.
"There's nothing to say." I pushed him back as I deflated. "I like her, okay? I can't remember another time liking someone this much. I want to know what her favorite candy is and where she likes to read books or shop for panties or...ugh. I like her, shit."
"That's great news. Why are you so damned depressed?" He patted my back as I leaned back over. "Hell, why is she so depressed? What did you do on Wednesday? Something got fucked up. What was it?"
I pressed my face into my hands and growled. "I know. Fuck. I know."
"What?" He moved up beside me and pressed his shoulder against mine. "Stop being a dick and just talk to me."
I glanced over at him. "I need to leave it alone, Clay. I know you think I should make amends and fix this thing with her, but I'm pretty sure she's the kind of girl that could have me swearing off all others. I don't want that right now, and I'm telling you, she deserves far better than me."
"Did you guys fuck?" He turned and glanced out toward the lake.
"No, but she wanted to. Or I think she did." I stood up and rubbed my chest just over my heart. The dull ache inside of me wouldn't seem to go away. "Maybe I need to find some other chick and just lose myself in the carnality of sex for the afternoon."
"I think you should fix this shit, but then again, I'm a different kind of guy than you are. I like long-term. Being with one woman feels good—right." He shrugged. "If you need a fuck-fest to get you past this depression shit, then get to it. It's almost the Fourth of July and we're going to have fun—together, which means Cora will be there. I'm not choosing between you and Emily. That's not happening, and as selfish as you've been our whole fucking lives, you own me this shit."
"You're right." I stood up and pulled my phone from my pocket. "I'll hook up with some hot piece of ass this afternoon and get my mojo back. Cora's a great girl, but I bit off more than I could chew, Clay. She's like the catch of all catches. I'm not grown up enough for that shit yet."
"I agree." He patted my back and went into the house, leaving me with my tarnished thoughts. I should have just taken her back to the house and made love to her all night, given her anything she wanted, but I couldn't.
I wouldn't have been able to sneak out before the sun came up and ignore her for the rest of the summer. How she'd gone from ignoring me and talking trash to wanting to be close to me so quickly was almost stifling. Had her friends convinced her that I was a better man than I was? Fuck, had my friends helped to convince her? Someone had because her change of heart was almost overnight.
"Help!" an attractive girl yelled from across the street, her face a mask of terror as she waved her arms at me and turned to dive into the water.
"Shit." I jumped over the railing and ran to the water to see what she was screaming about. A kayak was sitting a little ways into the lake, but it was turned upside down. She was swimming furiously toward it, but not getting there fast. I raced down the dock and dove in, swimming hard until I reached it and forced it over with all of my strength.
The little boy in the thing couldn't have been more than ten years old. He took in a deep breath as I reached over and rubbed his chest.
"It's okay, buddy. You're okay. You good?"
He glanced over at me as he bit his lip, fighting back tears like I would have done, as well. He nodded, and I moved back as the woman reached him and half crawled into the thing, crying and patting his face.
I pulled the kayak back to shore and made sure it was secure before walking back up. The girl called to me and I turned around, offering her a kind smile.
"Thank you so much." She helped the little boy out and walked up to me, pressing her hands to my chest. "I'm Vanessa. I can't thank you enough."
"Is he your son?" I looked around her and smiled at the kid, grateful as hell that he was okay.
"No. My brother. I was supposed to be watching, but I closed my eyes for five damn minutes." She pressed her hand to her lips and shook her head. "Thank you so much."
"No problem. I'm Brody." I moved back a little and extended my hand. Her bathing suit was tight and looked damn good on her, though it really didn't seem the time to hit on her.
"Listen," she glanced around before looking back up at me, "I was going to take Charlie home in a few minutes and then hopefully catch a ride out to the island. You're not headed that way are you?"
"Yeah, we're going out there in about fifteen minutes. We'll give you a ride." I smiled and waved at Charlie. "Be safe, kid."
"Yeah, thanks." He nodded and turned to pull his kayak out of the water.
"I'll be here in fifteen minutes." She smiled shyly, though something told me she wasn't at all the shy type.
I turned and jogged back to the house to find Daniel standing outside, watching the show.
He clapped his hand and shook his head. "Bravo. That was pretty damn cool."
"What? It was nothing." I walked up the stairs and reached for a towel that was hanging over the edge. After wiping myself off, I stripped out of my shirt and rolled my shoulders. "She's going with us to the island in a few minutes. Let's load up."
"You just got a date over saving her son? Do you even sleep with chicks that have kids? Aren't they a little more..."
"Needy?" I rolled my eyes and popped him with the towel. "It was her brother, but you're being quite judgmental for a doctor, aren't you?"
"I didn't mean it like that. Never mind." He shook his head and dropped down onto the bench next to him. "Hey, guess what?"
"What?" I stopped before going into the cabin and glanced back over my shoulder.
"I asked Dedra out, and she said yes." He smiled widely as his cheeks colored pink.
I stifled a chuckle. "Like out on a date or out like she's your girlfriend?"
"Like a date. Do people really ask each other out like boyfriend-girlfriend anymore?"
"No clue. Either way, that's cool as hell. Congrats, man. It would seem that your balls have finally dropped." I winked at him and walked into the house to the sound of him berating me. "Let's go, fuckers. I want to get out of here for a little while and go out to the island. You guys coming?"
"Yep." Derek got up from the couch and stretched. "Are the girls going with us?"
"Nope. It's a guy’s afternoon. We're taking a hot little number out to the island with us, but we'll drop her off and go play some volleyball or something." I rolled my shoulders and turned as Clay stopped by the opening to the kitchen.
"What hot little number?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest. "I just fucking left you on the porch, and you already got some girl's digits?"
"You know it. Some chick whose brother was drowning, and I saved his scrawny ass." I beat on my chest like Tarzan. "I'm a hero; she wants to pay me back. She's a good girl, obviously."
He rolled his eyes. "I swear, dude. You're impossible to figure out."
"Like a human-sized Rubik’s cube." I grabbed my swim trunks from the basket by the couch and stripped out of my shorts before tugging my trunks on.
"Come on, man. Shit." Derek covered his eyes and stopped by the couch.
"Jealousy doesn't look good on you, Derek." I laughed and turned, walking back out to find Daniel on the phone, laughing with someone. It was cute, too cute, and left me wanted to gag toward him. It made me want to see Cora again. "Let's go."
I jogged back down to the boat and got everything situated as the other guys walked down the pier. Vanessa walked up a few minutes later in a much more revealing bikini.
"Damn," someone muttered behind me.
"Right?" I reached up and smiled at her. "Hey, you. Your brother okay?"
"Yeah. Thanks again, Brody." She reached down and slid into my arms, fitting almost too well. Guilt blasted through me, but I couldn’t find a reason to hold onto it. I was doing Cora a favor. Having come to respect the beautiful brunette over the course of a week or less, I was taking a step back and leaving her alone because she was too much woman for me. Plain and simple. I'd never admit it in a million years, but the fact still remained.
"Guys, this is Vanessa." I moved back, releasing her and getting into the driver's seat. The guys greeted her as I started the boat. "You just need a lift to the island?"
"Yeah, and a date for the big Fourth of July party they’re throwing out here. I don't suppose some lucky girl already has you for the night?" She gave me a sexy smile that should have thrown my hormones in overdrive, but I felt nothing but a small thrill over the fact that my favorite holiday was coming up.
"I'll give you my number, and we can talk about it later. I'm pretty sure I have plans, but if not, I'm all yours." I winked at her and turned back to the wheel before pulling on the gearshift and hitting the gas.
The boat picked up speed fast, and I moved us easily in between the various boats around us. The wind felt good in my hair and rushing past my skin. I should have been enamored with the beautiful blonde beside me, but I couldn't seem to find any desire to do much more than press the gas harder and push my luck with the speed of the boat.
"Hey. Slow your wild ass down, or you're going to get us a ticket. Shit." Clay patted my shoulder, reminding me that there were rules that even I had to keep to.
"Sorry, man." I glanced up and looked over to find Veronica watching me closely. I winked at her again before pulling my glasses out of the container below the dash. I was going to force myself to pay her a bit of attention, but it wouldn't come naturally. I couldn't shake the thought of how badly I wanted it to be Cora watching me like that, fucking me ten ways to Sunday in her mind.
I pulled up to the dock, slowing down significantly and smiling over at Veronica. "We're here, pretty girl. You need help off?"
"Are you not coming?" She stood and moved just beside me.
The guys got off and left me to deal with the girl and the anchor on the boat. I stifled the need to sigh and stood up as Veronica reached out and brushed her hands over my chest.
"I'm coming. I just wanted to let you get to your friends or whoever you're meeting over here." I reached out and gripped her narrow hips, not really having anywhere else to rest my hands.
"Then, I'll help you and we can go together. I owe you for helping me this morning." She took a step toward me, filling the space in between us and sliding her hand up my chest to cup the back of my neck.
"No need to pay me back." I kept a firm grip on her, not quite sure I could spend the afternoon with a girl I wasn't interested in.
"I want to." She pulled me down and lifted to her toes, pressing her mouth to mine and brushing her tongue across my lips. I opened up and let her in, sucking on her tongue and closing my eyes so that I could imagine her to be Cora. It was horrible, and yet ever cell in my body woke up at the idea of it.
I pulled her closer and ran my hands over her ass, letting my fingers play along the side of her bathing-suit as she groaned softly into my mouth.
"So hot," I whispered against her lips and tugged at the soft curves of her rear to press my budding erection more firmly against her tummy.
"Let's go find somewhere to get lost in each other." She nipped at my lips as I opened my eyes.
I had to force myself not to take a step back. Instead, I dropped down into my seat and reached for her, tugging her into my lap and clasping my hand over her thighs, the other around the back of her neck as I brought her down for another wave of kisses.
My eyes closed, and I was right back there again, the woman in my lap none other than the intelligent, sexy, rich girl that was sure to spike my pulse from afar for the rest of the summer. Every girl could be her. I could do this. No big deal.
"Cora," I mumbled against the girl’s mouth as I dove in deep, greedy in my need to claim her as my own.