His question made me laugh. Charley was known for her never-ending lists of activities. One Christmas, she had what movies, what snacks, and even what gifts to open mapped out.
“Nothing besides getting tipsy and convincing Lexi she’s hot. Wanna be my wingman to get her laid? It’s been years. Years, Will. She needs the dick bad.”
God. If the sand started sinking with me in it, I wouldn’t be mad. Not even a little.
“Wait, what?” He opened his eyes, the perfect blue color, and stared at me hard. “Why is that the plan?”
Oh my god. His attention was all on me, and my entire body burned the longer the silence went on. I shifted my weight on the towel, crossing my feet at the ankles, and took a long sip of my own margarita to gather my thoughts. My best friend used the quiet to answer for me.
“Because,” Charley said, moving onto her elbows and looking over at me. “This chick spends too much time behind a computer, so having a fling while in Florida for the holiday would be perfect. Any one of these chumps would be lucky to get to motorboat you.”
“You talk about my boobs too much,” I said, avoiding Will’s pointed gaze as my entire body blushed redder than my hair. “It’s a problem.”
“They’re nice boobs. A girl can compliment her best friend’s rack. Come on, Will, doesn’t Lexi have nice tits?”
I was going to kill her. With my bare hands.
Will was polite enough not to react by saying anything ridiculous or untrue. He’d always been kind to me. His sharp inhale was the only sign he heard the question, and I focused on the waves crashing in rather than his lack of response. I felt a sinking in my chest and a prickle across my skin the longer the silence went on. This was humiliating.
He dated supermodels half my size. His face was on a billboard in the city—multiple billboards. His boob list had to be a mile long, and my extra-large ones were nothing special. There was no way.
What felt like six hours was in fact thirty seconds before he said, “Yeah, they’re tempting.”
“See? I’m right,” Charley said, relaxing back onto her towel and closing her eyes. “Ah, this is heaven. Fuck, I needed this. I might live here.”
Tempting.
What did that mean? Tempting as in he thought about them? About me?
Or like, tempting, but not for me? My heart thumped hard in my ears as my brain tried to rationalize his comment.
Oh my god, did it even matter?
“So, Little Lexi wants to get laid,” Will said, his voice holding the right amount of affection and teasing to it. I chanced a look at him. His signature smirk had his lips curving up on one side as his eyes sparkled with amusement. “This should be fun.”
“Fun? How is this fun?” I said, undoing my messy bun and letting my long and wavy hair cover my back, as if I could hide my rolls. When his gaze dropped to my chest, my skin tingled like an electric current ran through my veins. “I’m mortified.”
“Why? Sex is normal. Healthy.” He ran a hand over his face and arched one brow in challenge. “You have a string of bad dates or something?”
“More like Ashton mindfucked her five years ago.”
“Wow, Charley, laying it all out in the open, huh?” I said, covering my face with my hands for a second of self-pity. My stomach bottomed out that Will knew my embarrassing insecurities.
“Oh shit, I’m sorry.” She sat up and frowned, which looked out of place on her because the girl was always happy—until Derick, but that would pass. “Will, go away.”
“Fuck that,” he said, reaching over to put a hand on my shoulder and squeeze. His touch was warm and rough, and my entire body flushed with heat.
God, his hand was huge.
He spoke in a deep, low voice. “Sorry, Lex. I knew we disliked the guy, but I thought he was a dumbass college kid.”
“He was. Is. He is a dumbass college kid. I just… let him dictate how I felt about myself.”
“Well, he’s an idiot,” he said, keeping his large and warm hand on my arm. He rubbed his calloused fingers over my skin for a few seconds before he let go, and I swore my body was going to catch fire. He opened a can of beer with the other and held it up. “Okay, ladies. We’re drinking to forget Derick, for me to avoid the latest tabloid scandal, and to…?” he trailed off, letting me answer.
“For me to get some confidence back.”
“Here, here,” Charley said, tipping her can back and chugging. “Let the next seven days cleanse our souls.”
