“No, not yet. Let me try what you’re drinking.” With that, he leans down and covers my lips with his. His tongue delves inside my mouth, and before I can react, he pulls away and looks thoughtful. “Mmm, yum, something with pineapple juice. You know what they say about pineapple juice. I think we should all have one.” He winks at me, and I just blink, still blown away by the fact that he tasted me. My hand drifts up to my lips, and I press my fingers against them. That wasn’t horrible.
“Tori? Are you okay?” He loses his mischievous grin and looks worried. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. Xavier says I’m going to get into trouble one day. I’ll behave myself from now on, I promise.” It’s the most serious I’ve seen him since we met.
Shaking off my shock, I think of a quick comeback to get myself back on even footing with him. I don’t want to seem vulnerable to someone I just met. It’s too soon for him to see behind the curtain to the truth. I shove the carton of pineapple juice at him. “Here, take this, and I’ll grab the vodka, glasses, and ice. I’m sure Xavier will thank me later.”
He grabs it, startled by my abrupt action, and it takes his brain a moment to compute what I said because the naughty grin comes back and he winks. “Or maybe it will be me thanking you.”
Shaking my head, I go back into the bar. Tristan doesn’t walk outside with the juice though, following me instead. When we go through the lounge area to get to the bar, he looks around appreciatively. “This is really nice, Tori. Your mom has great taste.”
I stumble and recover quickly, but he doesn’t miss it.
“Fuck, did I put my foot in my mouth again?” He groans, and I can’t help the snort that escapes me.
“Yup, but it’s okay. My mom passed away not long after I was born.”
“So, what, it’s just you, Gio, and your father?” he probes.
Usually I would be annoyed, but he’s got that whole goofy Labrador thing going for him at the moment, so I answer. “Nope, there’s Penelope too. She’s our stepmom.” It’s only then that it occurs to me how dangerous Tristan really is. He has this way of worming his way under your skin, and you find yourself opening up when you never have before. I’m going to have to be careful around him, but maybe now I can try to worm some personal info out of him in return.
“What about you? Xavier mentioned something about your guardian. Is that your parent?” I step behind the bar, and in the mirror that sits behind the bottles, I can see Tristan. The change in his expression is nothing short of astounding. Gone is the easy-going flirt, and in his place is something harder and slightly frightening, which reminds me a little of how Gio is sometimes.
By the time I whirl around, that look has been replaced by his affable, mischievous grin. “Wow, Tori, your dad really has a great collection of whiskey,” he comments, changing the subject, and between that and the look, I decide to let things go. Maybe he’ll feel more comfortable opening up to Gio when they get to know each other a little.
I empty the ice machine into an ice bucket. It will fill back up automatically, and then I’ll grab more when we need it. I pass the bucket to Tristan to carry with his juice while I grab four more glasses and pick up the bottle of vodka. “Come on, let’s go for a swim.”
His body relaxes minutely, but I still see the change in him, and I know I’ve made the right choice.
Outside, the others are already in the pool, and Gio has connected his phone to the Bluetooth speaker system.
“Woo-hoo, Tori, good thinking. I need a drink.” Gio swims over to the edge but wrinkles his nose when he sees the vodka. “Vodka? Really? Why not whiskey?”
I flip him off. “Because I’m picking and I felt like vodka and juice. I’m sure Casey will appreciate vodka and juice more than the whiskey.” Gio spins to look at her, raising an eyebrow in question, and she smiles shyly and nods.
“I really like vodka and juice.”
“Let me get you one.” Gio lifts himself out of the pool, and I watch as Casey tries to hide her interest but doesn’t succeed in fooling anyone.
Turning away so she doesn’t see my smile, I place everything down on the outdoor table as Tristan does the same. Pretty soon, we all have a drink in hand. The other four are busy chatting about college courses, so I head inside, leaving them to it. I don’t want any of them to see how jealous I am that they are all getting along so well, and that they will be their own little tribe and I will be all on my own. I call in an order for pizza and then head upstairs to raid my stash. The alcohol just isn’t cutting it, and I need something else to get me out of my head.
My room is still suffering from the aftermath of what happened, except for the bloody sheets which I put in the washer. Luckily Gio has been too busy to want to come into my room, otherwise he’d find the test strip next to the bottle and the lube and strap-on in my bathroom. There would be no chance of explaining away any of that without having to tell him the truth. Grabbing a joint, I sit out on my balcony in view of the pool party, albeit a much smaller one than the last time. I light it and take a deep drag, holding it until it becomes too much before blowing it out. The pungent smell of weed fills my senses, as does the flavor on my taste buds. I should have brought my drink with me to wash out my mouth. I know there’s a couple of unopened premixed drinks in my fridge. Stacey had only actually needed the one to do what she did. I should have thrown them out, but I haven’t had a chance to yet. One of them will do for now, so with a sigh, I get to my feet.
When I enter my room, the figure I find there has me gasping. When my eyes adjust to the bright light, I recognize Xavier with the rape test kit in his hand. I steel myself, waiting for the questions, but he doesn’t say anything as he puts them back down next to the bottle.
“Are you okay?” he asks quietly, and I know he doesn’t mean right at this very moment. It’s his way of wanting to know if I want to talk about it. And yeah, maybe it would be easier to talk to a complete stranger, but I’m still absolutely furious as well as mortified about what happened. How will he or anyone else look at me if they find out I was raped by my female best friend? All my extensive martial arts training was completely overridden because I trusted someone I shouldn’t have. No, I’ve definitely learned my lesson, and trust will be in short supply from here on out. So while it’s nice to have a superficial friendship with these new people, I won’t be sharing anything of value, anything that could be used against me in the future, so I plaster on a smile.
“Peachy,” I tell him before moving to my mini fridge and pulling out the drink I wanted. It’s a Long Island iced tea thing, but it’s the only option, so I offer him one. He shrugs and nods, so I pass it to him. I go back out onto my balcony and take a seat without waiting for him, once more grabbing my smoke. Inhaling deeply, I hold it in again, waiting for that feeling to wash over me. Just as I breathe out, I feel him join me in the other chair.
“Are you super strict because you’re in training or would you like some?” I ask, offering him the weed, but he shakes his head.
“No, I’m good. I’ll stick to this, thanks.” He waves his bottle, and I shrug.
“Coolio, all the more for me.” I giggle a little. Coolio? What the fuck?
We sit in silence for a little longer. It’s comfortable, and I don’t feel the need to fill the quietness with words, but then I remember that Tristan kissed me, sort of, and the guilt starts to eat away at my insides.
“Tristan kissed me,” I blurt out, unable to stop the words from spilling from my mouth. “I’m so sorry.” I can’t even look at him, but I feel the weight of his gaze on me.
“Did you like it?” he questions quietly, not giving me the response I thought he would. I mean, I know he said they like to invite people to play, but I assumed they talked about it first, and I’d all but admitted I was gay.
