Chapter 5
The next afternoon, Riley surveyed Megan and Lorna discreetly. They were both suffering from massive hangovers, which was no surprise. They both also had massive hickeys on their necks and thighs, also not a surprise. They were clutching heavily spiked drinks, their hangover cures, as they lay by the pool.
“I’m fucking bored, Riley,” Megan complained. “Lorna and I talked it over, and we wanna go to Miami.”
Riley bit her lip, fully aware that it was a carefully disguised invitation.
“Seriously, that rapper Pro Bono has a yacht off the coast, and he invited us,” Lorna confirmed. “Who says no to an invitation like that?”
“Pro Bono?” Riley asked, somehow managing to keep a straight face.
“Yeah. He’s awesome and super sexy. He even said he might let us dance in his new video.”
“Plus, like I said, it’s boring here,” Megan chimed in. “It’s sooo boring. Even the clubs are lame. No one who matters would ever come to a place like this.”
Riley’s eyes darted over to Gray, who was shaking up cocktails behind the bar. “You guys go ahead. I think I’ll stay here.”
Lorna groaned. “I was afraid you would say that, but whatever. I mean, we don’t want to run out on you, but c’mon, Rile.”
“Oh, I get it. I know I’m pretty boring, so I sorta fit right in here.” She meant every word she said, and it was awesome as far as she was concerned. Even if she had a wild streak, there was no way she was going to let it play out on a yacht with some asshole who called himself Pro Boner or whatever. What kind of person uses an idiotic name like that anyway? Really, she was glad they were going. The bodyguards had bounced that morning, as her father promised, and once Megan and Lorna were gone she would be alone, free to do as she pleased. Now, if I can just get up the guts to do anything more than just play with myself on the balcony, she thought, staring at Gray again. That memory brought heat to her face. She felt a little ashamed, but she also felt oddly freed by that unusual act. If she was capable of that, she had to wonder what else she was capable of. She had no idea, but she was ready to find out.
“Well, we can take the plane out and send it back,” Lorna chimed in, breaking Riley from her thoughts.
“No, that’s okay,” Riley said. “I’ll just book a commercial flight. Go on. I’ll be fine here.”
“You sure you’re not mad at us?” Megan asked. “I mean, we want to hang out with you and all, but… Well, we also agreed that we had no idea what it’s like here. It’s so quiet, and even after partying our butts off last night, we figure that’s not gonna get much better either. I’m just sayin’ we had to work hard to have a good time.”
“Sooo hard,” Lorna added. “Those guys were, like… I don’t know. They were just too laidback once we got to the club.”
Riley knew exactly what she meant by that: They probably didn’t have any hardcore drugs or famous friends, and that thought almost had her rolling her eyes. “It’s okay. Go on and have fun. I’ll see you back in the city.”
Megan stood. “Alrighty then. Come on, Lorna. We’ve gotta pack and call the pilot, then get the heck outta Dodge.”
The relief on their faces was clear, but Riley felt the same sort of exhaustion she always felt around them. They were her friends, at least to some degree, but they didn’t really care about her as a person. As they walked away, giggling and swaying their hips in a very exaggerated fashion, Riley just sat in the lounge chair, letting the sun rest against her skin, bringing her blood to the surface. She checked the time, then sprayed on another level of sunblock. The vacation was already bad enough in some ways; the last thing she needed was a bout of ugly sun-burn for a souvenir to remember the occasion.
She casually turned her attention back to the bar. Gray was hard at work, and she noticed that he was wearing nothing more than a pair of brightly colored board shorts. He was golden brown and so hot, both literally and figuratively. Little beads of sweat dotted his skin, and she actually licked her lips as she gawked at his glistening, sweat-dappled flesh. She wondered what it would be like to lick him all over, to actually taste his body.
That thought had her squirming in her seat. She was thirsty, but she didn’t want alcohol. She was afraid that if she drank too much, she would lose control of herself, and was pretty sure that wouldn’t be a good thing.
Or maybe it would, she pondered, staring again at Gray. Maybe I should get gut-ripping, mind-numbing drunk so I’d have the guts to hit on him. Then again, maybe I’d be so sloppy that I’d make an all-out idiot of myself, she thought, remembering the way her friends stumbled back to their rooms.
The sun began to rise higher in the sky, bringing flesh-melting heat with it, and she sought shelter beneath an umbrella, still watching Gray. When a server appeared by her chair, she made a quick decision. “No thanks. I’ll go to the bar myself,” she said politely.
She stood and quickly wrapped a bright red sarong around her frame. As she headed for the bar she thought of a thousand things to say, but she forgot each and every one of them. She just stood there, dumbfounded, feeling stupid and awkward as Gray mixed a few drinks and winked at the girls who had ordered them.
“What can I get ya?” he asked, walking over to where she stood.
She said nothing.
“What do you need?” he repeated, an eyebrow raised.
“How about…you?” she blurted, surprising herself as much as she surprised him. Her face instantly went hot, and she could not believe that thought had so carelessly tumbled out. “Just kidding,” she mumbled and added quickly, “Just a diet soda.”
He smiled coyly, nodded, and walked to rack of glasses. He pulled one down, layered in some ice, filled it with diet soda, then slid it over to her. His adorable grin faded quickly, and switched to a bored expression.
Riley tapped a foot, trying to contain her annoyance as he turned away and gave another girl a long wink and a slow, sexy smile. Damn it. Here I am, and he’s just ignoring me. What now? As soon as he turned around. Riley put what she hoped was a sexy smile on her face. “Um, thanks for the pizza last night,” she murmured.
“No problem,” he said, then walked away without another word.
What the hell? Is this even the same guy, or does he have an evil twin or something? He seemed so different from the guy who squished into the booth with her the night before that she couldn’t think of what to say or do. She blinked a few times, then asked, “Uh, would you like to go to dinner with me?”
He slung a towel across one of his strong, muscled, perfectly glistening shoulders. “Sorry. I already have plans.”
Yeah, I bet—probably with that skanky brunette sticking that pouty lip and her boobs out at you from the pool. Good for you. I hope you catch an STD! she secretly raged. “Oh, okay. Just thought I’d ask.” Her eyes dropped as her faced burned with embarrassment. It had taken her a lot of courage to even ask, and he’d shot her down in less than a second. Halfway there, she realized she’d left her drink on the bar.
Instead of going to the pool, she changed direction and headed to her room instead. She knew she was acting like a spoiled brat, as she had no claim on him, but she didn’t care. She had gone out of her way to make an effort, and he insisted on acting like the giant asshole she had assumed him to be when she first met him. “Absolutely uncalled for!” she seethed as she made her way out to the balcony. He was a Jekyll and Hyde. Jekyll by day at work, maybe Hyde when he got off. She wasn’t interested.
She wandered back into her lonely room and plopped down on the sofa. She texted Megan to see if she and Lorna had already left; she received a quick response that said they were already in the air, winging their way toward Miami, then onward to the Bahamas. Well, so much for dancing on Pro Bono’s yacht, she thought.
Her anger was stupid and pointless, and she knew it, but still the frustration lingered. Was she jealous? Impossible! She also didn’t understand what was wrong with Gray. He’d morphed into an absolute asshole overnight. Maybe he wanted more than pizza, she reasoned, but that’s no damn excuse! I thought women were supposed to be the moody ones.
Puzzled and angry, she headed for the shower, hoping to cool her temper and figure out what to do next on her suddenly very lonely-looking vacation.