Chapter Eight
Cora
"Damn. Really, guys?" I glanced around at my friends as anger burned through me.
"What?" Dedra turned her attention to me, but seemed to have to force herself to do it.
"I didn't want him to know my name." I ran my fingers through my hair and settled back in my seat. "I hate guys like him. He reminds me of Brandon through and through."
"Because he's as hot as sin?" Emily glanced over at me. "Maybe you should go for the nerdy type this time. I'm thinking Brody needs a girl like me to teach him a lesson."
Dedra snorted. "You? I'm thinking me."
"I'd let him in my bed for the night for sure." Cindy turned and shrugged. "What? He's wicked hot. I bet his chest and abs are chiseled out. I love that. It's fun to let your tongue-”
"Okay. Thank you very much." I lifted my hand and shook my head. "None of you are allowed near Brody. He's probably the town whore. He's got it written all over him. I've run into him twice since getting here, and each time he's with a new woman."
"Maybe he's just not found the right one?" Emily asked and gave me a pleading look.
"No, he's a whore." I moved back as our burgers were delivered. It took everything inside of me not to look around for him. His dark blue shirt fit him beautifully and accentuated his green eyes and blond hair. As much as I wanted to not be interested, I couldn't help the way my body reacted to his attention. He wasn't getting anything from me. Not my attention, my time, or my lusty thoughts.
Yeah, right.
"Do you think he has friends that look like him?" Dedra stood up and looked around, showing her lack of shame.
"Sit down. Jeez." I tugged her back down and picked up my burger. "What's wrong with you guys? You know that type of guy is everywhere. Are you seriously interested in a one-night stand?"
Cindy smirked. "With him? Yes."
"Me, too." Emily popped a French fry into her mouth as she wagged her eyebrows.
I turned to look at Dedra, pleading with her with my expression. "Come on, D."
"Oh, hell no," she shook her head.
"Finally. Someone with sense in their head." I took a deep bite of my burger as she continued.
"No, I meant oh hell no to that look you were giving me. I'd be one hundred percent in on this guy. I'd spread these legs open wide and give it all up to him." She awarded me with a cheeky grin as I groaned and chewed my mouthful.
The waitress appeared a few minutes later and started to clean the table off.
"Hey, I know this is weird," I reached out and touched her arm. "But, do you know that really good-looking guy in the center of the room? Dark blue shirt, blond hair, impossibly hot?"
"Now she says he's hot." Emily scoffed.
I ignored her, keeping my attention on the waitress as she glanced around.
"I think you're talking about Brody." She smiled down at me.
"Yes, that's him." I glanced around at my friends like 'see I told you so'. "Is he by chance the town whore?"
"Cora. Shit." Dedra laughed and leaned back in her chair.
"Town whore? No. He's the son of a senator. He doesn't live here from what I understand." She shrugged. "Those guys with him are his bodyguards."
I stood up, not willing to believe the line of shit this girl was giving us. "Really?"
He glanced up and smiled, waving at me like we were old friends. I lifted my eyebrow and shook my head before sitting back down. What an asshole. Lying to this poor girl.
"That's what he said." She shrugged. "Can I get you anything else before you go?"
"Just our check." I picked up a pickle off my plate and popped it in my mouth as my friends started to talk about how hot Brody was again.
"You guys should have seen him this morning with his shirt off." Emily giggled. "I pulled my shirt off in hopes of getting his attention."
I gave her a quick glare and hated how badly I wanted to reach out and smack her. What was wrong with me? Why was I trying to protect everyone from this handsome playboy? Half the reason we decided on one last trip before starting our jobs in various places across the country was to have one last fling.
Someone needed a fling with Brody. All of my friends wanted it to be them, but I couldn't see them surviving him.
"What are you thinking about?" Emily poked me.
"Nothing," I grumbled and glanced back up at the server.
"Sorry, girls. Your tab has been picked up by Brody." She smiled and shrugged. "Enjoy your night."
"What? No." I stood back up and turned toward him as him and his bodyguards stood up. I mouthed, “no,” but he ignored me, blew me a kiss and turned to walk out.
"Hey. It's okay." Cindy stood up and touched my arm. "What's up with you? Did something happen that you're not telling us about?"
"What? No." I pushed her hand away and grabbed my purse. "I don't want him paying for our dinner."
"Oh, fuck," Emily muttered, moving up beside me as I moved through the crowd.
"Hey." I caught up with them about the time we got outside. The three guys with him turned before he did, giving me a quick visual on what had to be his closest friends. We had the brain, the brawn, and the cowboy. Of course, Brody would need to be the cocky playboy. Typical. "Hey, Brody."
He turned and slipped his hands into his pockets as my friends moved up around me. "Ladies. You want a ride to the party? We got Clay's truck. It would be fun to pile in the back and get to know each other, no?"
"No," I barked as my friends all yelled yes.
They started toward the truck, leaving me standing there. I wasn't getting in the truck with him. It wasn't happening.
"Come on, Cora. Don't be odd man out." Brody turned to me as he helped my friends climb in the truck. "You can ride shotgun. Sit in my lap?"
"Fuck that." I shrugged and turned to walk toward town. I was fine not having a ride. It was a short walk, and it would prove a point.
What? That you're being a prick?
A deep growl resounded behind me followed by shoes hitting the pavement.
"Come on. Don't be like that." Brody moved up beside me. "I'm not going to bite."
"Really? You look like a piranha to me." I glanced over at him, hating how insanely good looking he was. That I couldn't be attracted to someone for their personality first and then their looks were aggravating.
"Do I really?" He nipped at the air rapidly, looking ridiculous as we walked up a steep hill side by side.
I couldn't help but smile.
"Stop it." I swatted at him, hitting him in the chest, and realizing how firm he was. Great.
"Come on, Cora. You don't even know me. Stop acting like you do." He reached out and grabbed my hand, jerking me back before I walked into oncoming traffic.
I pulled my hand from his and let out a soft sigh. "I know plenty of guys like you. You get used to recognizing them when they're all you've dated."
"Awww, come on now. I'm a new face and a new opportunity to have a little bit of fun." He started across the road, keeping his hands to himself, which surprised me.
"Your definition of fun doesn't match up to mine, at all." I kept my eyes on the people in front of us, not willing to give him an inch.
"I highly doubt that." He touched the small of my back as we hopped up on onto the sidewalk across the street. It felt silly to slap him away, and within a second, his hand was off of me.
The wind picked up and blew my hair about as his cologne drove into me, leaving my heart racing.
No. He's a total asshole. A user. Just like Brandon.
That thought alone doused any desire I had completely.
He cleared his throat. "I can see you're not going to make this easy."
We stopped across the street from the mansion, waiting on the light to turn.
"Make what easy?" I glanced over at him. "Please do explain yourself."
He smirked. "Make getting to know you easy."
"You don't need to know me, Brody. I'm not your type of girl, nor are any of my friends. We respect ourselves more than that." I shrugged and darted out through the traffic, hoping to lose him. I wasn't interested in conversing with him for another minute. I was strong in my resolve, but even I had a breaking point. If he batted his damn eyelashes at me once, I would melt like butter.
He was far too sexy to chance it. I just prayed that my friends would find his friends complete duds. The last thing I needed was my girls wanting to hang out with his guys. That would leave me with one thing to do: get to know him.
*
"What the fuck was that all about?" Emily got in my face as I stood by the drink table in the center of the large living room as the party raged around me.
"I don't want anything to do with him, Emily. Is there some reason that you guys don't understand just how much Brandon hurt me? He was a slut and a half, and this guy is no different." I tried to keep my tone even, calm. There was no reason to feed into her anger.
"I get that, but leaving and walking over here by yourself was dangerous. I tried to find you, but didn't see you after you took off. You scared me." Her eyes filled with tears. "Don't do that again. Got it?"
"Okay. I'm sorry." I reached out and pulled her into a hug. "Don't be mad at me. I just don't need this guy in my life. Not even for a summer fling."
She pulled back and wiped at her tears. I needed to be more cognizant of her feelings. They'd lost her little sister a few years back in a sporting event and never found her.
"Alright. I get it. Just don't run off again. You're the only family I really claim." She gave me a tight smile and glanced around. "Brody might be a player, but I'm not so sure the rest of his friends are. They seem really nice. I'd let Clay take me out sometime, but I'm not sure he's the kind to ask. He's quiet."
"I thought you liked Brody, that you were the woman to teach him a lesson or two?" I chuckled, forcing myself to relax a little. The party was supposed to be fun. Brody wanting my attention wasn't going to change that. He was like every other man in the world: ignore him long enough and he would simply go away.
"He's got eyes only for you, sister." She poured herself a glass of punch. "We sure this stuff isn't spiked with drugs?"
"Nope." I downed mine and glanced around, spotting Dedra and Cindy talking to Brody's friends. He was nowhere to be seen, and though a little part of me felt guilty for being such a class-A bitch to him, it was better that way. "Come over here and introduce me to Clay. I want to make sure I'm good with him before you let him sweep you off your feet."
I lifted my eyebrow as she rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right. I'm not looking for anything long-term. Life is about to change drastically for most of us."
"Not you." I rubbed her back as we walked toward the group.
Dedra turned and put her arm over my shoulders, tugging me against her and smiling down at me.
"Did you let that big bad hottie run you off?" She smirked.
"I sure did." I extended my hand to the shortest guy in the group, assuming he was Clay by the way Emily moved over toward him. "I'm Cora."
"I'm Clay. This is Daniel and Derek. Forgive us for being friends with Brody. It's an age-old issue, but we love the guy, nevertheless. He's like the black sheep of the group." Clay chuckled and shrugged as the other guys smirked.
"Nice to meet you." I shook Derek's hand and then Daniels. "I'm uber sensitive to bullshit, so forgive me for running from his lines. I've heard them all before."
"So has half the country, but he's a good guy." Daniel spoke up as he adjusted his glasses. "I'm going to go get some fresh air. You wanna come? We can bash Brody together."
I laughed and nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good."
Daniel was a good foot taller than me and beanpole thin. Not at all the kind of guy I'd have given a second look to, but he was cute in his own way. His messy brown hair and spattering of freckles across his cheeks and nose made him adorable.
"Where are you from?" He smiled as we walked out on the patio and moved to the only corner that wasn't occupied.
I leaned against the railing and smiled over at him. "From just up the road. I just graduated from Arizona State."
"Oh, nice. Me, too." He glanced out at the yard and grew silent. He wasn't at all like his friend, Brody. Looked like I was going to have to carry the conversation if we were going to have one.
"Are you staying here after the summer or heading off to a new adventure?" I lifted my punch to my lips and took a long drink. Maybe coming out on the porch with this guy wasn't a good idea, after all.
"I'll be starting pre-med at Harvard in the fall. I just wanted to get my undergrad near home." He shrugged. "All those guys back there are my buddies from high school. We decided to go to college together, and honestly, it was the best decision I could have made. I'm a better man because of them."
Brody's voice caused my pulse to spike. "That's sweet, buddy. We feel the same about you, too."
The sexy frat boy moved up on the other side of me and leaned against the rails, breathing in deeply.
"You're like a roach." I turned my face toward him. "I just can't get rid of you."
"Awww, come on, Cora. No need to smash my ego." He licked at his lips subtly as his eyes moved around my face. He was almost too close. I could hear him breathing, smell the mint on his breath, see the promise of something wickedly insane in his eyes.
"Smash your ego? Who in the world would have a hammer that large?" I glanced over at Daniel as my body warmed and my nipples tightened thanks to Brody's attention. "Nice to meet you, Daniel. See you around."
I turned and walked back toward the house, shaking my hips just a tad bit more than I would usually.
Just because I wasn't going to bite the hook didn't mean I didn't want to tug on it a little.