Chapter 24
Brody
Intense would be the word.
I let my mind wander back to the day before as I laid out on the boat and let the sun beat down on me. Fourth of July was finally here, and the whole town was buzzing about it. I could not have cared less. It was just an opportunity to see Cora again, and one that would let me remain under the guise of just looking for a good time with my friends.
The way she enjoyed herself on top of me the previous afternoon was fucking hot. I hadn't expected our make-out session to go as far as it did, but I wanted it again...wanted her. Emily and Clay had come and rescued her before I could turn her over and strip her out of her clothes, and much to their dismay, we were both pissy with them over it.
"It's for the better. Denial makes it sweeter." I stretched and glanced over at Daniel who was sitting on the boat beside me, watching me. "What?"
"Do you always talk to yourself when you think no one is watching?" A smirk lifted his lip as he reached up and adjusted his glasses.
"Do you always stare at your friends while they are sunbathing?" I smiled and lifted my hands to cover my face as he splashed me with cold lake water. The other two guys were somewhere on the island taking a piss, but there was no way in hell I was fighting the insane crowd that was gathered there that day. I'd pee off the side of the boat without a thought about it.
"What denial are you talking about? You're the least likely person to accept denial." He stood up and stretched before turning to look out toward the island.
"I've been denied a few times." I sat up and glanced down at my chest to make sure I wasn't getting too burnt.
"Yeah, right." He moved to the driver's seat and started the boat. "Clay and Derek are wading into the water now. We're going to be late picking up the girls, thanks to this insanity. There's no way in hell we'll make it in ten minutes with the number of boats on the lake today."
"Let me drive. I'll make sure we make it." I turned around and gave him a cocky grin. The world almost seemed to be set right by the fact that I didn't have a doubt that Cora wanted me. There didn't need to be any more games between us. Now the only concern I had, and she seemed to share, was whether sleeping together would leave us wanting more of each other or being sated. Something told me that after our afternoon the day before, I'd always want more. It was a weird thought to entertain, and yet I couldn't help it.
"You guys should see how many people have packed themselves on that fucking beach." Clay grunted as he pulled himself up onto the boat.
"I can see from here. I'm not interested in checking it out for myself. It looks horrible." I leaned back and looked up at the sky. "We're gonna get burnt today."
"Seeing that there are no clouds in the sky, it's highly likely." Derek pulled himself up into the boat and walked over, shaking like a dog and covering me in cold water.
I jerked up and turned to give him a look. "Okay, cowboy. It's gonna be on later tonight."
"Oh, yeah? You gonna show me up in front of the girls?" He laughed and dropped down beside me. "Speaking of girls. I saw that pretty blonde you were with the other day. She was looking for you."
"He's not interested. Him and Cora are hooking up." Clay sat down in the other captain’s chair and gave me a glare my dad would be proud of. "Right?"
"Yep. I guess." I shrugged and turned away from them. "I'm not sure what's going on with us, but I know I'm ready to see which tiny bikini she wears today."
Derek laughed and patted my back. "You're not getting sweet on a girl, are you?"
"Me? Hell, no." I glanced over at him. "All you guys have been acting like pussys for the last week. I'm not soon to join you. It's almost concerning. All these hot girls walking around and you guys are hooking up like you're looking to offer up some chick a ring this summer."
"No, I just like Cindy a lot." Derek turned to face the water and ran his fingers through his hair. "It's just a fling, though. A fun summer thing. I'm headed up northern Arizona to take my place with Mom and Dad at the ranch, and she's probably going east."
"And you?" I turned around, yelling above the sound of the wind and waves.
Clay moved closer and yelled back. "Me what?"
"Are you thinking that this thing with Emily is going to go somewhere after the summer?" I pulled my sunshades of my head and put them on.
"I'm hoping so. We're both staying here in Arizona, so it should be too hard. Have you decided if you're staying here or heading up to Seattle?"
I'd been offered a job in Seattle with my uncle's company that was appealing in some ways and not in others. It was a desk job, which sounded like absolute hell, but it would help me save up for a house and prove that I was capable of making good money and being a stable kinda guy to some woman.
A woman like Cora.
"I don't know." I looked out across the lake, grateful that Daniel took a turn driving. He was the most cautious out of all of us. "I have a lot to think about, obviously."
"Emily said that Cora just got out of a nasty relationship, so don't be offering something you can't come through on." Clay got my attention.
"Why are you so focused on me not hurting this girl? What if she hurts me?"
Everyone started laughing, even Daniel. I smirked to play it off, but the fact that they didn't seem to think I had real emotions under my cocky exterior was concerning.
"Anyways, just be careful with her. Be honest if you start to think you're gonna want to see her after today." Clay patted my shoulder and moved to the back of the boat. "The sun should be setting in the next forty minutes. Let's get the girls and get to the center of the lake to drop our anchors. It's going to be packed, but they're saying that it's the best place to see the fireworks show from."
I ignored him and got up, walking to the back of the boat as we pulled up to the dock. All four girls were standing on the pier, laughing about something. Their arms were full of what looked like snacks and drinks, and I couldn't help but hope that one of them would have considered the fact that we were idiots and hadn't eaten lunch yet.
Cora's eyes met mine, and I smiled. Where most girls would shy away from acknowledging the heat between us, she seemed to be perfectly comfortable with it. I hoped like hell that she would let me take her back to the cabin after the fireworks and finish what we started the day before. I hadn't stopped thinking about her since she left me hard and needy when she left me to join her friends for a girl's only night out.
"You look beautiful." I smiled at her as we pulled up. "All of you do. You want to hang out with a band of bad boys all evening and see if you can make good men out of us?"
They chuckled, and Emily reached for Clay's hand. "Something tells me that there is little to no hope for any of you."
"Hey." Daniel got up and lifted his hands to the side. "Not even me?"
Cora smiled and reached for me, sliding down my body as she got into the boat and moved toward Daniel.
"Maybe you, Dan, but only you." She glanced over her shoulder. "The rest of these guys are lost causes."
He smirked and sat back down. "That's good with me, then. Just making sure you guys didn't label me as you do them. I'm only guilty by association."
I rolled my eyes. "In most courts of law, that would be more than enough."
Dedra moved up behind Daniel and leaned over, kissing his cheek as they started in on their conversation. I made my way to the front to get around all of our friends and find the one person I wanted to spend the evening with.
Cora.
"Help me get all this stuff laid out on the deck and we can make everyone a sandwich, unless you guys already ate?" She was bent over, working to get stuff out of one of the bags. Her shorts were short and her bikini top tiny, letting plenty of her breasts show.
I reached down and tugged her up as she put a Cheeto in her mouth. She gave a little yelp as I wrapped my arms around her and leaned down, kissing her softly twice.
"I expect you to come give me a kiss or something when we see each other. I'm jealous that these other girls are trained so well." I kissed her again and licked at my lips. "Mmmm, cheesy."
"Yes, you are." She smiled and ran her hands up my back. "I didn't realize you wanted attention."
"I'm a needy kinda guy. I always want attention." I leaned down and kissed her again, taking my time until the catcalls at the back of the boat caused me to pull back. "Shut up, guys."
"They're just jealous." She pulled away from me and turned back to the food. "Did you eat lunch?"
"Nope, and I think I might love you for the simple fact that you brought food. I'm fucking starving." I leaned over and made a quick sandwich for myself.
"We all are." Derek moved up with Cindy beside him and muscled me out of the way to make one, too. I didn't mind so much seeing that my new spot a little bit farther back gave me a great view of Cora's long legs and shapely ass.
She turned and lifted her eyebrow at me. "Are you checking me out?"
"Girl, I've stripped you already and was working on making you my dessert." I smirked as her cheeks colored and Cindy giggled.
"You're not right, you know that?" She picked up a bag of chips and walked to the back of the boat, bumping me with her shoulder as she did. "Come with me."
"There's nothing I'd rather do." I spun on my heel and walked to the back, stopping only to grab two beers for us. I sat down next to her and offered her one as I shoved more of my sandwich in my mouth and tried to talk around it. "You like beer?"
"I love it." She reached out and wiped the side of my mouth before popping the top on her beer and taking a long drink.
I couldn't help but stare at her for a few seconds, a little surprised at how comfortable she was around me after we'd made a mess of each other the day before. I leaned over and kissed her cheek before pressing my lips to her ear.
"Let's watch the action and then go create some of our own. You wanna?"
"We'll see." She smirked and nibbled at her sandwich. "What have you guys been up to today? You're all looking pretty burnt."
Maybe was better than no. I'd learned that a long time ago. "We've been out here dicking around with the other million people on the water. Waiting on you guys while you were shopping. How much shopping do you girls do? Doesn't it get old?"
"No." Emily sat down beside Dedra and smiled over at me. "We went over to the other side of the lake where the strip center was. It's pretty over there. We should have a picnic next week or something when the Fourth of July people have finally cleared out."
"Sounds like fun to me. I have this new baked bean recipe I want to try, anyways. Maybe you guys could grill burgers for us that day." Cindy licked at her fingers and glanced over at Derek, who was watching her like a hawk.
I laughed and shoved the rest of my sandwich into my mouth before popping the top on my beer and drinking deeply. They were definitely more than a fling. Hell, everyone on the boat seemed to be settling into a relationship. Even me.
Me? Fuck. Weird.
"You look like you just saw a ghost. What's up?" Cora's voice pulled me from my thoughts and I turned and shrugged.
"Just thinking about that fucking alligator we saw the other night. That thing could have bitten off my dick, and then what?"
Everyone started laughing, and I couldn't help but smile.
Clay shook his head. "Then the men of Lake Havasu could rest easier. The hottest guy on the whole damn property would be out of commission."
I gave him a smile. "Are you calling me good looking?"
"I am." Cora moved closer and ran her hand over my back in slow circles. "And, I'm the one that should count. At least for the next little bit."
"Next little bit? You're already thinking about leaving me, aren't you?" I offered up a sad face, only to get popped in the chest.
"She's decided to go back home in two weeks. Mom and Dad won, but they always do, right?" Emily huffed and glanced over at Cora. "Makes life easier."
"Yeah, I guess." She pulled her hand from me and tossed her sandwich over the edge of the boat. "Two weeks is still a long time, though. I'm glad for whatever I get out here with you guys."
I laid back, trying to ignore the fact that two weeks didn't sound like nearly long enough with the stunning girl next to me. Everything inside of me wanted to beg her to stay, but it was silly.
Besides, the chances of me wanting something long-term with her after the chase was over was slim to none. It felt like she might be different, like this time would prove to be the time, but then again nothing, worked out in my life as planned. This wouldn't, either.
Better enjoy it while I can.