“Not you.” I glance from her to Kamryn. “Keith and Brylee. I want the world to see Keith and I have put everything in the past, and we’re at a point in our lives where we couldn’t care less who the other is fucking.”
“Must you be so crude?” Reese mock gags.
“She’s always been that way,” Kam is more than happy to offer. “She’s the queen of crude—and rude—and attitude.”
“You’re pretty rude yourself.” I sweep a makeup brush over my cheeks. “You two keep ganging up on me, and you’ll both be down a sister.”
We head on out to the party, into the heavy crowd that has amassed around the lake, the smell of beer and barbeque thick in the air. It’s bitter cold, you can see your breath in front of your face, and the weather calls for rain before morning. The music is loud. The people are drunk. The cackle of skanks lights up the night like some primal mating call.
It’s the perfect night to commit a crime. So many suspects.
Poor Keith.
I almost feel sorry for him.
We meetup with Caleb and Brylee at the base of the Nicholson’s cabin. Something about this crowd, the catcalls, the errant laughter, the faintest smell of weed makes this feel like a summer get together. Like one of those old-school summers where I’d sneak off to the south side of the lake and fall into the arms of a beautiful boy. I offer a radiant smile to Caleb as I fall into the arms of that beautiful boy—who has turned into a drop dead gorgeous man.
“Can I talk to you for a minute?” Brylee looks slightly peeved.
Damn. I thought for sure she’d be on board.
“What’s up?” I ask, pulling her around the backside of the oversized party tent. A bird darts out of a nearby branch giving a lusty cry as it spreads its wings wide in the sky. Red tail hawk. My father used to love to point those out. My heart warms because he just might do so again. It’s nice knowing he could be back in my life for good.
“Are you and Caleb together for real?”
“Yes. We are. Believe me, I’m not that good a liar. I really have to like someone to shove my tongue down their throat. Why?”
She shrugs giving a careful look past my shoulder. “I saw him with Zoey.”
My heart pinches. “He’s her boss. I’m sure they’re together much more than I care to know.” Mental note: get Zoey’s blonde-self fired.ReplaceZoey’s blonde-self. Have way more hot office sex with Caleb. Get a damn lock for his door.
I cringe at the thought of my father walking in on us. What a mess.
“I don’t know.” She gives an impatient shake to her hair. “They were down at the lake the other night, and she wasn’t exactly wearing business attire.” She gives a slow nod, leaving me to fill in the blanks. “All that girl had on was the sand on the bottom of her feet.”
Shit.
I glance back at the crowd amassing down by the lake. The old me would have gone psycho bitch and had Caleb’s balls in a jar by midnight. The new me realizes that what Brylee saw was most likely some stupid misunderstanding—a comedy of errors, bad timing. Hell, Caleb was probably just trying to save her drunk ass from drowning in the lake.
“Trust me, Bry, I don’t even need to ask if he was touching her. And if he was, I’m sure it was innocent. I’ve got that boy right here.” I touch my chest. “And that’s exactly where he has me. I’m not going to let Zoey and her stupid antics ruin anything between us.” I shuttle her back toward Caleb and now Keith, too. “Let’s get this party started, shall we?”
And just like that I evict the very naked picture that Brylee painted right out of my head.
For now.
I lunge at Caleb and land heavy in his arms once again.
“What’s that grin for?” He rumbles in my ear, slow and sultry.
“I was just thinking we should sneak off at some point and head south.”
“Our spot?”
“That’s right. I think it’s high time we christened it with our bodies.”
“I like the sound of that.” He covers my lips with his.
“All right.” Keith comes up alongside us with Brylee on his arm. “Just because we’re not together, doesn’t mean I like seeing you with other guys. You mind?”
