The room was filled with laughter and clapping as the heaping pile of flailing muscles shiftedacross the floor. And because he was being a good sport, I could tell Carter was only halfheartedly fighting back by the time they finally pinned him.
“Hmmm,” Jules muttered with a roll of her eyes. “Dinner and a show.”
Sloane hummed in agreement.
“Come on, guys.” Carter complained with an amused chuckle as the sound of fabric ripped. “Really?”
They hauled him up a moment later, and Cade was already howling with laughter as I clapped a hand over my mouth. Stretched over Carter’s broad frame was a way too tightbikini t-shirt. One of those vacation shirts with a slender woman’s torso, big boobs, clad in a hot pink triangle bikini.
“That’s one ugly broad!” One of my father’s friends, Richard, shouted.
Carter shook his head with an amused laugh, the tips of his ears burning an adorable shade of pink. When his eyes met mine across the room, there was something soft and almost pleading in them. I bit my lip, concealing a grin, and circled my finger in the air. His chest shook with silent laughter as he appeased me, lifting his arms out. He did a slow spin for the room, and the peanut gallery erupted in approval, clapping, whistling, and just generally making Carter blush.
As I looked around the room, everything felt right. Everyone who was supposed to be here was. The sounds of my friends and family’s laughter, the smells of spiced desserts, and reheated leftovers filled the air, and I didn’t know if anything could be more perfect or more comforting.
I honestly couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt this way. I’d had all these huge dreams and aspirations for college, and it hadn’t been long before I’d realized it was all just a big pipe dream. Not only was I beginning to doubt myself more and more, and overthink things, but part of me wondered if I was even cut out to be an artist. None of my work was all that groundbreaking, anyway.
Not to mention, the dream of a normal college experience was long gone. Part of me wasn’t even entirely sure why I waspursuing my master’s degree, not when I just desperately wanted to get the hell out of there. My grandiose plans of living in the college dorms, of making new friends—it couldn’t have been further from my reality.
Apparently, it was never in the cards for me, because I was a socialite from Briar Rose, and all people saw was a chance to make a quick buck off of me. I was the girl the paparazzi would pay an arm and a leg for a photo of,especially a nude.A harsh reality I’d learned the very first week I’d showered in the communal dorm bathrooms.
The last several years had been incredibly lonely, but nobody in this room knew. It didn’t matter though; after graduation, I’d come back to Briar Rose and forget all about college. This was my home, and these were the people who loved me, and I couldn’t wait to come home for good.
I blinked, realizing the game had long been over, and I’d gotten stuck with an oversized dog calendar that featured a different dog pooping every month. I chuckled, I’d probably give it to River, she’d get a kick out of it,though I doubted her mom would.
Snacking on some of Liam’s leftover smoked turkey, I looked out over the sea of heads crammed into the theater room, realizing I was going to have to sit on the floor.
Before I could make it to the front, River’s tiny voice chirped at me. “Sara, I saved you a seat.”
My gaze swung across the dark room as the projector flickered with previews, and I was simultaneously filled with dread and anticipation when I found her. She was sitting with her new best friend, Carter, and I realized I couldn’t very well turn down a five-year-old, so I reluctantly headed their way.
“Here.” River patted the crack between the two cushions on the loveseat.
“Why don’t you sit in the middle since you’re smaller?” I suggested, feeling Carter’s gaze on me.
She didn’t bother looking up at me as she continued sorting her collection of candy. “Then I’d have to move all my stuff.” She said simply.
Great, the kid had airtight logic, not to mention, it looked like she’d pillaged every candy dish across the house like she was trick-or-treating.
I avoided the unwrapped chocolates—each with a single bite taken out of them—and reluctantly squeezed innext to Carter.
As I sank into the cushion, I panicked, realizing there were way too many points of contact with his muscled arm, and I quickly attempted to lean forward, but Carter’s calloused fingers slipped around the nape of my neck, halting me. “Stay.” He murmured, “I’ll get it.”
I nodded wordlessly, instantly unable to get my voice to work as he reached out a long arm and grabbed a fuzzy blanket from the basket in front of us.
When he settled back in and tossed the blanket over the two of us—making sure I had enough of it—I could have sworn he shifted even closer.
Either way, there was no avoiding it. There were about a million points of contact between our bodies, and every single one of them made me feel like I was about to combust.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t focus on the movie. Couldn’t even tell you what was on if my life depended on it.
I was finally pulled out of my strange trance when Carter threw his head back and barked a rich, throaty laugh. I smiled to myself as River looked at Carter for a beat too long and then burst into her own fit of laughter. She definitely hadn’t caught the adult innuendo her new friend was laughing at, but it was cute all the same.
He kind of felt like my new friend, too. Or at least, we were finding a brand new rhythm today. I dared a glance outof the corner of my eye and nearly jumped out of my skin when Liam suddenly appeared.
The movie flickered against his tanned skin in the darkness. “Sorry, kiddo, you’re gonna have to sit in my lap. All the seats are gone.” River made a pouty face but collected her candy into her pockets before Liam lifted her and settled in next to me—shoving meeven furtheronto Carter.
So I sat there, squished like the cream filling between the broad-shouldered sandwich of my brother and his best friend, while my heart threatened to beat straight through my chest. Carter didn’t seem rattled at all. Nope, perfectly at ease. He slipped an arm over the back of the couch—to give his shoulders more room because we were so crammed. Right?
