by Nikki Paris
I grabbed Clara’s hot pink suitcase and dug around until I found a bottle of sunscreen. I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about Skylar in the shower. That quickly turned into a fantasy of me in the shower with Skylar. I pictured her wet, naked body rubbing up against my wet, naked body, and groaned a little. Skylar made me crazy. I honestly couldn’t wait for this wedding trip to be over so I could get back to my life and get away from sexy, untouchable Skylar.
I sank onto the bed and leaned forward, resting my head in my hands. I couldn’t stop thinking about her tits.
“Derrick?”
I looked up to see Clara standing in the doorway, smiling at me. “You okay? How long does it take to find sunscreen?” She laughed and crossed the room to sit next to me.
“Oh, sorry.” I held up the bottle. “I just got really tired all of a sudden.”
“Hmm, well, maybe we should take a nap before the parties tonight.” Clara gave me a flirty smile and rubbed my shoulders. I didn’t need to feel guilty about seeing Skylar naked. It was purely accidental, and it wasn’t like I’d touched her.
“Yeah. A nap sounds great.” I kicked my shoes off and stood to close the door. I heard the water turn off in the bathroom, and my cock stirred. I was turned on by Skylar getting out of the shower. God, I was an asshole.
I collapsed next to Clara on the bed and closed my eyes. She leaned over and started kissing me. She wanted to have sex, but I felt like too much of an asshole. “Babe, I actually am exhausted. Can we have a raincheck on this?”
Clara pulled away, looking slightly hurt. “Um. Yeah. No problem. I’m just going to go back downstairs.” She picked up her bottle of sunscreen and walked out. Great. I’d just pissed off my girlfriend.
Clara left the bedroom door open, so five minutes later when Skylar walked out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel, I had a clear view. Fuck. Me. She didn’t turn to look at me, just walked into her bedroom and closed the door. I imagined following her inside and locking the door behind me. Next, in my fantasy, Skylar dropped her towel and slowly ran her hands down her gorgeous naked body. Then, she slid a finger into her pussy and locked eyes with me while she made herself come.
I groaned and sat up in bed. I needed to take a cold shower or go for a run or something. I’d just turned down sex with my hot girlfriend, to fantasize about Skylar fucking herself while I watched. There was something wrong with me.
◆◆◆
Four hours later, the girls kicked the guys out of the cabin. I was grateful to get away from Clara, who was mad at me and Skylar, who was making me crazy. I followed Blake, Kai, and Jayden down to the clearing where Blake’s bachelor party would be held. I got busy setting up wood in the fire pit and tried to tune out the sexual comments being thrown around about my little sister.
Then I heard Kai say, “I’m gonna go for it with Skylar tonight.”
My blood boiled, and I gripped the box of matches tight enough to crush it.
Blake laughed. “Man, when are you going to give that up? You’ve asked her out at least a hundred times over the last ten years. If it hasn’t happened yet, it’s not going to happen.”
I suddenly really liked Blake. He was a cool guy.
Kai groaned. “I know, but she’s so hot!”
Jayden piped up. “Right? Her ass blows my mind!”
I rolled my eyes. Jayden was barely legal.
Kai sank onto a fallen log. “And her tits are unreal. And her lips… Fuck, I bet she’s good at blow—”
“Hey!” I snapped at Kai. “Don’t talk about her like that.”
Kai raised his eyebrows at me. “Sorry. I didn’t know you were a prude. Is that why Ember dumped you?”
Wow. Kai seemed all quiet and calm, but he was secretly a little asshole. I laughed. “Yeah, I guess your sister didn’t like being respected or something.”
Kai glared at me.
Blake looked back and forth between Kai and me. “Okay, so, I think the other guys will be here in about a half hour.” Kai had invited a few of their other friends to come get drunk with us. How did I always end up babysitting Maci’s friends?
“ Do we have enough booze for everyone?” Blake asked.
“Oh, I forgot to grab the Fireball!” Jayden face-palmed.
I stood quickly. “I’ll get it.” I needed a breather. Kai had thoroughly pissed me off. “The fire’s ready to go. If someone wants to light it.” I headed back up the dirt path toward the cabin just as the sun started to set. When I reached the porch, I could hear lots of loud, female voices and giggling. The ladies were already drunk.
I was about to open the door when I heard Bri say, “Okay, okay, on the count of three, everyone say who has the best looking dick. Ready?” Her speech slurred. “One, two, three!”
“Blake!”
“Derrick!”
“Owen!”
“Mark!”
“Derrick!”
Holy shit. Two people had said my name.
I heard Clara’s voice. “What the hell, Skylar?”
Skylar laughed, and her speech slurred like crazy. She was trashed. “Oh my God! I’m just messing with you!” She laughed again. “Sorry, bad joke! Mine is Chet. Ugh. I need some air! Give me like five minutes, ladies.”
Suddenly the front door flew open, and I was face to face with Skylar. “Ohmygod. It’s Derrick’s dick!” She stumbled into me and giggled. “Mmm. You smell good.” Skylar kissed my cheek and then started walking away.
“Uh, Skylar? Where are you going? It’s getting dark out…” I watched her wobbling down the path and had this crazy desire to go after her and keep her safe.
Skylar giggled again. “I’m just getting some fresh air, Derrick. And you know what else? I haven’t had a good fuck for a while. Think any of those guys at the bachelor party would fuck me tonight?”
“Skylar, don’t be stupid.” I narrowed my eyes at her.
“Oh, shut up, Derrick.” Skylar rolled her eyes and disappeared from view.
I shook my head and pulled the front door open. If Skylar wasn’t back by the time I got the whiskey, I’d go look for her. I walked into the living room and was met by an angry stare from Clara. I smiled at her and then motioned for Maci to join me in the kitchen.
Maci followed me and leaned on the countertop. “Why are you here?” she asked.
“We forgot some stuff.” I grabbed the whiskey and then asked, “Is Skylar okay? How much has she had to drink?”
Maci shrugged. “Like a bottle of wine and a few shots.”
I raised my eyebrows. “A whole bottle?”
“Uh, yeah. Don’t judge. We’re supposed to get trashed!” Maci giggled.
“But we only left you guys like an hour ago! She drank that much in an hour, and then you just let her walk out into the dark woods by herself? Shit, Maci.” I left the bottle of whiskey on the counter and rushed out the front door.
It was completely dark now. “Skylar?” I called out and headed down the path. My heart pounded in my chest. “Skylar?” No answer. Where would she go? I rolled my eyes. She said she wanted a good fuck. Maybe she was at the bachelor party. There were a few too many willing guys, there. Would they see how trashed she was and respect her?
I jogged down the path and reached the clearing. No Skylar, just a bunch of half-drunk dudes sitting around a fire. Shit. Where did she go? I turned and headed back toward the cabin.
“Derrick!” Blake called after me. “Where’s the Fireball, man?”
I didn’t answer. I was getting worried about Skylar. There was no way she would have reached the lake by now. It was a mile long hike. Shit. What if she was at the lake? Would drunk Skylar try to go swimming? I reached a fork in the path. One side led to the lake. The other way led to the old tire swing.
A memory of cute little Skylar sitting in the tire swing flashed through my mind. She had her long brown hair in a braid, and she smiled at me with a mouth full of braces. I’d found her crying there a few times, too. We’d had some good chats abo
ut life while I sat under the tree and let her tell me why she was crying.
My instincts told me I’d find her in the tire swing tonight. I jogged down the path and turned on the flashlight on my phone. I held up the light and saw Skylar’s long, sexy legs sticking out from the middle of the tire swing. I let out a sigh of relief and hurried over to her.
Skylar was hanging upside-down, with her hair dangling to brush the grass as she swayed.
“Skylar,” I sighed. “You scared me. You shouldn’t be out here, drunk and alone.”
Skylar giggled. “You’re sweet, Derrick.” She sat up and held onto the rope above the tire. “I can take care of myself, though.”
I grinned at her. “I know you can.” I put my hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay?”
Skylar laughed out loud again. “No. I’m not. Remember when I was thirteen, and you found me crying here? And I told you I loved a boy that would never really want me? And then you said, ‘well, he’s a dumbass, then.’”
I smiled. “Yeah. I was just thinking about that. That’s how I found you.”
“Well, guess what, Derrick?” Her big blue eyes bore into mine.
“What’s that, Skylar?”
“I still love him, and he still doesn’t want me.” Tears welled up in her eyes, and I desperately wanted to hold her.
“Well, then he’s still a dumbass.”
Skylar let go of the rope to wipe her tears and almost fell out of the swing. I caught her shoulders, laughing, and said, “Let’s get you back to the cabin. I don’t want you to fall and hurt your pretty little head, kid.” I slid my arm around her waist and led her back up the path to the cabin. I loved the way her body felt next to mine. I loved her smell and the way she sighed and rolled her eyes but leaned into me anyway.
When we reached the porch, she flung her arms around my neck. “You’re a dumbass, Derrick.”
I laughed. “Why do you have to call me names, Skylar? Why can’t we be nice to each other?”
She shook her head and leaned into me. Her lips were only an inch away from mine. “You don’t get it, do you?”
I swallowed, with my heart racing out of control. “I don’t get what?”
Skylar groaned. “You’re a dumbass, Derrick!” Then she grabbed my face and kissed me, just once. She walked back into the cabin without looking back.
24
Derrick
The next morning, I sat at the table with Clara, Maci, and Blake for breakfast. I was the first one up that day, or maybe I’d never even fallen asleep. I felt like I’d been up all night trying to figure out why Skylar had kissed me, and if I needed to tell Clara about it. Drunken kisses weren’t the same as sober kisses. Skylar probably didn’t even remember doing it, and telling Clara would just cause drama.
“Good morning, Skylar.” Maci grinned at Skylar as she came downstairs and sat at the table.
“Morning.” Skylar yawned and poured a cup of coffee.
Maci and Blake both grinned at her like idiots. Blake cleared his throat. “I heard you had an exciting night with Kai.”
I stiffened, and suddenly I was all ears.
Skylar rolled her big blue eyes. “I’m going to murder that little asshole.” She stood with her coffee and marched back out of the kitchen.
Clara looked back and forth between Maci and Blake. “What just happened?” she laughed. “Did Skylar and Kai hook up?”
“Oh yeah!” Blake laughed.
Clara laughed, too. “Aw! They’re so cute together! Hasn’t he been in love with her since high school?” Clara slid her hand up my thigh and leaned her head on my shoulder.
“Yeah.” Blake nodded. “Poor guy. She’s just never been even a tiny bit interested. I don’t know what changed last night.”
“Well, I think that’s adorable. Don’t you, babe?” Clara smiled at me and kissed my cheek.
I stood up quickly. “I don’t feel so great right now. I think I’m going to take a walk.”
Maci shot me a knowing look.
“Oh, babe, what’s wrong?” Clara gazed up at me with worry in her dark brown eyes.
“It’s my stomach. I think I had too much whiskey last night.” It wasn’t a complete lie. I did feel sick to my stomach, but it was from jealousy, not alcohol.
Everyone at the table groaned in agreement. “I’ll be back in a few,” I said and slipped out the front door of our family cabin. Skylar and Kai? Hell no. I headed up the wooded path that led to the lake, feeling like I wanted to punch something.
Then I saw her standing there, a little further up the path, and my heart raced. She must have slipped out the back door when she left the kitchen table. God, Skylar was beautiful. I admired the curves of her gorgeous body, still remembering exactly how her skin felt against mine. When I approached her, I knew she heard me, but she didn’t look up.
I stood at her side and fought the urge to pull her into my arms. I clenched my fists and asked, “Did you seriously sleep with him, Skylar?” I was livid thinking about Kai’s hands all over her body. I couldn’t even let my mind picture his dick in her pussy. It made me see red.
She let out a dry laugh. “I don’t see how that’s any of your business. I’m sure you slept with your pretty little blonde girlfriend last night, too, Derrick.” Skylar kept walking along the path, not stopping for me to catch up. The wind whipped her dark shiny hair around, making it billow out like a cape behind her. It made her look like a fucking Goddess, and that’s exactly what she was.
I raced after her and caught her hand. “It’s my business because you’re like family and… and I want the best for you! And he’s not the best!” The answer sounded weak, even as it left my lips.
Skylar whipped around and stared at me with pure hatred. “I’m like family, huh? You want the best for me, huh? Why don’t you just fucking stay away from me then?” Her voice shook, and I swore I saw tears forming in the corners of her gorgeous eyes. “My life is great when you’re not in it!” She shoved me and walked away again.
“Skylar!” I yelled after her. The question burst from my lips before I could stop it. “Why did you leave? Why did you leave that night after we slept together?”
She turned slowly and gazed at me with pure confusion. “You told me we would never work. You told me not to fall in love with you.” She covered her face with both hands. When she pulled them away to look at me again, the anger was back. “God, you’re so stupid, Derrick! I was in love with you for twelve damn years! I’ve lived for twelve years with a broken heart! Every time I’m away from you, I think I’m over it, and then I see you again, and you steal my heart again, and then you break it again! It just goes around and around, and I can’t take it anymore!” Her gorgeous face was twisted in fury as she yelled, “Just stay away!” Skylar took off up the path again at lightning speed.
Skylar was in love with me? My heart lurched. I thought she was this sexy enigma that just liked to tease me and mess with me. I thought she was never mine to keep. I thought Maci was wrong. “Skylar!” I yelled after her. “Skylar, I didn’t know!” She didn’t turn around.
What would I have done if she had? Kissed her? Fucked her? Told her I loved her, too? I had a girlfriend. Guilt rushed in like a tidal wave when I thought of Clara. We’d been together for eight months. I’d brought her to my sister’s wedding. Clara was sweet and smart and gorgeous, but she didn’t even come close to making me feel the way Skylar did. Clara was a place holder for the girl that I never thought I could have.
Shit.
I turned around and headed back to the cabin, not knowing what to do next. Skylar loved me. Well, she used to love me. Could I make her love me again? And what the hell was I supposed to do about Clara? I knew I had to break up with her. But should I do it now, two days before my sister’s wedding? Wouldn’t that make me an asshole if I ripped her heart out and sent her driving down the mountain, alone? Or would it make me more of an asshole to fake it through the whole wedding, desperately wanting another woman, and then dump h
er after?
When I reached the cabin, Kai was coming out of the front door. “Hey, man. Have you seen Skylar?” he asked.
I fought the urge to punch him. “Nope.” I lied.
“Shit. I was drunk last night, and I lied and told Blake that I slept with her. He just said she was so pissed.” Kai ran his hands through his hair.
“You, uh, you lied? So you didn’t sleep with her?” My heart raced.
“No! I knocked on her door in the middle of the night, and she told me to get lost!”
Relief washed over me, and clarity filled my mind. I needed to break up with Clara now. Then I needed to find Skylar because I fucking loved her, and she loved me, too.
“Sorry, man.” I slid past Kai and walked through the front door. Blake, Maci, Jayden, Bri, and Trinity all sat at the table. “Did Clara go upstairs?” I asked.
Maci nodded and called after me as I headed up the stairs. “Skylar didn’t sleep with him. We were misinformed -- just wanted to pass that along.” She had that knowing look in her eyes again. Maci knew I loved Skylar, just like she knew Skylar loved me.
“Cool.” I pretended to be disinterested and walked toward mine and Clara’s room. I opened the door to find her sitting on the bed in sexy lingerie. Shit.
“Derrick,” she looked up at me. “We haven’t slept together once since we got here. It feels like you’re avoiding me, and I don’t normally get all insecure, but something’s off.” She stood and closed the door. “So let’s talk this through and have sex, or have sex and then talk it through. I’m good either way.”
Clara leaned in to kiss me, and I froze. She backed away, giving me a confused look. “What is it, babe?”
I ran my hands through my hair and shook my head. “You’re right that something’s off.” I glanced at Clara’s pink lace bra and panties. “Maybe you should get dressed first.”
Clara gaped at me. “Are you breaking up with me?”
I stared at the floor and then looked back up to meet the hurt in Clara’s eyes. I was stupid to think that she’d be able to distract me from the red-hot attraction I felt for Skylar. “Yeah,” I almost whispered.
