“It wasn’t a dance!” I said emphatically. “I slipped and my foot flew out from under me and shot into the air. I lost my balance and fell backward.”

“The next time you go out you might want to wear, uh, more layers,” Lily said tactfully.

“That high kick didn’t leave a whole lot to the imagination,” Jess added.

“Oh my God,” Braden said, burying his face in his hands.

“Oh shit,” Drew said with a laugh and winced. Adam and Mark completely lost it. To his credit, Cameron managed to contain himself, although I could see that it was difficult.

“Thanks for sharing, girls,” I said in a deadly tone of voice, feeling my face turn Harvard crimson and accidentally stabbing my hand with a fork. Luckily, it didn’t break the skin.

“Braden didn’t love seeing crazy stalker girl again,” Adam noted, wiping tears from his eyes. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she were the one who was following you.”

“No, the guy following me didn’t have boobs like watermelons,” I pointed out.

“Are you really sure there’s somebody following you?” Mark asked. “I mean, you saw somebody outside in a crowd at night who may have been looking at you and you saw somebody for a couple of seconds on a busy sidewalk. Other than that it’s just weird feelings you’ve been having. And there’s a lot of power behind suggestion when it comes to this stuff, as we all know.”

“I’m not sure,” I admitted with a sigh. “Maybe Felicity did leave the notes for whatever reason and when I said someone was following me for real it just freaked her out. Maybe this really is nothing.”

“Well, she might be easy to freak out right now,” Jess said. “She’s probably got a lot on her mind lately with her mom being busted for running sex parties and all.”

“Oh, I heard something about that,” Adam offered. “Looks like all three of your friends are going to get off, no pun intended, with a slap on the wrist. Probation deals and misdemeanor charges all around, even for the Main Line Madame.”

“I knew it,” Braden said cynically. “In another year nobody will even remember it.”

“I would think that Cole’s political career might be somewhat shortened though,” I said.

“He’s got business investments on the side. I’m sure he’ll be able to survive,” Cam put in. “In fact, they all do, I think. I heard them discussing it at the fundraiser before Marla got expelled.”

“If she had business investments why was she a call girl?” I asked.

“Who knows?” Braden said scathingly. “Probably because she can never have enough money. If Cole also had an inheritance, she would probably be after him.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

After lunch we all headed toward our rooms to get ready to hang out by the swimming pool. Braden looked yummy in his swimsuit. More importantly, though, he looked relaxed and content. We didn’t make it downstairs immediately.

“Braden, you’re looking mighty happy lately,” Mark said knowingly when we eventually arrived down at the pool.

“I am happy,” he said, giving me a warm look and lightly brushing a thumb over my lips. In fact, my lips had just made him very happy.

I grabbed his hand and kissed it and then went off to join Lily who was enjoying the water. She and I hung out together and chatted and eventually Drew came in and joined us. He spent some time joking around with us for a little while and then went off to swim a couple of laps. I glanced up at Braden and smiled.

He and Adam were involved in some kind of animated discussion. The two of them really did make a nice contrast aesthetically. Braden was all blonde beach boy and Adam was all tall dark and handsome. Not that I was looking, but he was built pretty nicely too. He was about six two himself and he obviously worked out. I wouldn’t blame Lily for being attracted to him, and something told me that deep down she was.

“So what was that with Adam earlier?” I asked her quietly, returning my attention to her.

“What was what?” she asked innocently.

“Him saying that if he helped you research, your books would be authentic? That almost sounded like an offer.” She looked away and turned a little red.

“It sounded like his usual brand of arrogance to me,” she said dismissively. She wasn’t going to admit it. Either that or she didn’t realize that the feeling was probably mutual.

“Where does all this animosity between you two come from anyway? I know that you grew up together but did he pull your braids or steal your bike or something?”

“No!” She laughed. “Although he did lock me in the boys’ bathroom once. He just used to tease me, along with a bunch of other girls. And then we all got older and they eventually started giggling and flirting when he did it. I, on the other hand, eventually started giving it right back to him. He just doesn’t know what to do with a woman who doesn’t worship the ground he walks on.”

“Well, I could see how that might be disconcerting for him.” Privately I thought that it could also be rather intriguing for him which may have been why it was disconcerting.

“There was one incident that really seemed to escalate things. I accidentally walked in on him making out with, and feeling up, Shari Edelstein at his Bar Mitzvah.”

“Who?”

“Shari was the popular girl who all the guys wanted. When I walked in and caught them together in the stairwell, she slapped him. Apparently, he recovered. It didn’t stop him from being lowered from the ceiling in the Las Vegas style review he put on at the party.”

“Oh my God!” I laughed. “You’re kidding me, right?”

“He sang ‘I Did It My Way.’ Complete with showgirls!”

“You know, I could see Adam doing that.”

I looked around more carefully at the others. Mark, Cam and Jess seemed to be engrossed in some funny conversation while giving Bruno lots of love and tossing his ball to him. Braden was still talking to Adam while occasionally watching me with what looked like a combination of amusement, affection, and lust. Adam, in turn, frequently stole glances at Lily, who was looking very good in her hot pink bikini. Wait – did she say showgirls?

Eventually the rest of them decided to join us in the pool and Drew and Braden set up a net so that we could play water volleyball. Let’s just say none of us is ready for serious water volleyball competition. It quickly became a contact sport, the way we played it.