She gives me a critical once over, pulling the fabric here, tightening it there, before stepping back to examine her work. "You look fucking hot!" she says, a gleam in her eye.
I look down for a second before squeezing my eyes closed. "Are you sure you didn't give me lingerie?" I ask, because, wow. And I don't mean that in a good way. Quinn grabs my shoulders and turns me to face the mirror. I open one eye and gasp.
"Holy fu—"
"I know. Right?" She grins. "This one used to be my favorite but since I got these done," she points at her chest, " it doesn't fit anymore. It looks great on you though, so you can keep it.”
Keep it? I'm not sure it's even legal to wear. Not in public, at least. What I thought was a sleek black one piece is really lingerie pretending to be a swimsuit. The front has a plunging neckline that goes down past my navel, exposing the top of my crotch—thank god I got waxed last week. Holding the two sides in place is a series of crisscross ties that lace up the entire front until they reach my neck, where they tie like a halter top in the back. The material over my boobs barely covers my nipples, so I have an insane amount of cleavage, and the back is virtually nonexistent. My entire back is on display and half my ass hangs out of the teeny tiny bottoms, giving me a persistent wedgie.
"Stop adjusting everything," Quinn chides, smacking my hand away as she tugs my bottoms up, not down, exposing even more of my ass. "It's supposed to be like this."
I gawk at her. “I'm almost naked. Actually, I think this is more provocative than being naked."
Her smile is wide. "I know, right? Now let's go get wasted! It's Friday night and you've been here a week already. It's time to let loose. I promise we have stuff that works on shifters, so no excuses."
Before I can object, she is literally dragging me out of the bathroom. "Quinn. Stop."
Does she? Of course not. And who would have guessed that my five-foot-four sorority witch was this strong. We're back at the door and not giving me any time to prepare myself, she swings it wide open and shouts, "Time for Jell-O shots, bitches!"
The girls outside laugh and cheer, and then with all the confidence in the world, Quinn heads for the table where said Jell-O shots are lined up in a rainbow of colors that glitter and swirl with magic. Several of my sorority sisters move to follow her, everyone barely dressed in a multitude of swim attire.
I get a few heated stares from some of the guys and ignore them as I head for an empty chair by the pool where I spot some sunscreen. I'm black haired, bright eyed, and so pale despite being half Chinese that my friend KeAnna jokes that instead of tanning, I turn translucent.
A joke, obviously, but she isn't far off. I was cursed with zero melanin, so the sun and I have never exactly been friends. Growing up, in the summer I would tell Zheng he was born selfish since he stole it all from our mom before I even had a chance. So unfair. A few hours outdoors and he turns a golden color that makes him look like a modern-day East-Asian Apollo. Meanwhile, I go from white to pink to red in a matter of minutes if I don't slather myself at least in SPF80.
After squirting some sunscreen in my hands, I massage it into my arms and legs when a shadow falls over me, blocking out some of the harsh rays from the sun.
"Want me to get your back?" A masculine voice asks, and I turn to find Deacon behind me, a luminescent purple drink in hand and a hesitant smile on his face.
"Oh, hey. What are you doing here?" I ask, and lift a hand over my eyes to see him better. He's wearing black swim shorts and no shirt, and has on mirrored sunglasses so I can't make out his eyes. His rune tattoos stand out against his skin, and for some strange reason I have the urge to trace them. An urge I definitely do not act on.
"I'm in Alpha Ze,” he tells me. “Fae are supposed to mix and mingle too.”
"Ah, it all makes sense now."
He tilts his head to the side. "What does?"
"That cocky charismatic charm of yours that you're able to flip on and off whenever you like. I thought it might be a Fae thing, but it’s really a frat thing. Nice chatting this week, by the way. Coffee was great," I tell him and he grimaces. After we ran into each other I thought, I don't know, that we'd actually try the whole friend thing, but I guess when he realized he'd be stuck in the friend zone he didn't want to waste his time. Or maybe he decided shifters weren’t really for him and he’d rather stick to his own kind. Not that I can blame him there. I prefer the company of my own kind too when given the choice.
What bothered me though, was we never talked after that day and in class, he wouldn't even look at me. If he wanted me to get the hint, I heard him loud and clear. I just wish he wasn't such an asshole about it. I don't understand why guys can't just be friends with a girl. Why does it always have to be something else?
"About that..." He rubs the back of his neck and is silent for a beat before dropping down on the lounge beside me.
91
Meiying
Deacon massages his throat and I get the feeling he's working his way up to telling me something I’m not going to like to hear. When the seconds turn into minutes, I shift my focus back to applying my sunscreen. Seriously, if I don't, I will fry. Not even shifter genes keep me safe from that, which is a bit ridiculous if you ask me. I mean, I’ll heal just fine, but something about sunburnt skin makes me itch like ants are crawling all over me, and if I can avoid that unpleasant sensation, I will.
"I didn't mean to ghost you."
I put a little lotion on two fingers and massage it through the crisscross ties running down the front of the suit. I look ridiculous doing it, but a girl has to do what a girl has to do.
"So why did you?" I ask. My feelings aren’t hurt by it, to be honest. I have plenty of friends and I’m not actively searching for more. I guess I mostly just find it annoying. I don’t get why guys only see value in women if there's a chance of them getting laid. It’s bullshit if you ask me. The Pack doesn’t work like that and I’ve never been able to wrap my head around why other factions do.
“Look, I don’t want to cause drama and shit.”
I wait. I don’t know what he’s looking for from me, but I’m not going to help him out here. He approached me, so if this is going to be an issue—him talking to me—he’s just as welcome to walk away.
