Game Changer

by Amelia Whitmore

  I slipped it on and then a batwing sleeve cover-up.

  "Okay, I'm ready."

  Kira turned around and rolled her eyes.

  "You suck. I was so excited for you to finally flaunt your rocking body," she pouted.

  "What body?”

  She grumbled something about Aiden changing that, but I couldn't be sure what she said.

  Aiden met us in the hallway, looking disappointed by my attire. "You're wearing that to the beach?"

  I smacked his arm. "Yes, I am,” daring him to argue.

  He didn’t argue, instead just grabbed my hand, walking us to the beach. He was dressed deliciously in board shorts and a tight t-shirt. The sunglasses he wore made him look dangerous and sexy.

  Everyone seemed to arrive at about the same time. All of the girls made a line on the beach and lay down, preparing themselves to tan. I looked at my options -- I could either bask in the sun like a little Barbie doll and play the part of the perfect little bridesmaid, or I could throw the football around with the guys. I opted for the second.

  I pulled my cover-up off and was immediately met by whistles. I felt like I might die of embarrassment, but it was too late now. They had all already seen my body so I might as well just go with it, but it wasn’t easy.

  I waited a moment before turning around. Aiden's mouth was gaping open and his eyes were looking up and down my body.

  "Oh God," I groaned and tried to put my cover-up back on. Aiden quickly came up to me and snatched the dress from my hands, deciding that playing keep away was a good idea.

  All of the guys got into it and finally, I stopped trying to get it back. Kirk was the only one who hadn't taken part, so I looked at him and winked.

  "Would you mind helping me with my lotion? I can't quite reach my back."

  He grinned at me, knowing what I was getting at and started caressing my back, then moved to my arms. By then we had Aiden's attention. When Kirk started rubbing lotion into my neck, I moaned theatrically, telling him how great he was with his hands.

  I laughed loudly when Aiden shouted that it was time to play the game.

  "Thanks Kirk."

  "No, thank you," he said pervishly. I rolled my eyes. I couldn't believe their reactions to me. It was like nothing I'd ever experienced before. Normally I felt like the outcast, the big freak compared to the tiny little girls around me. But these guys were acting like I was a supermodel or something.

  Every time Aiden threw the ball to Kirk, it was a bit harder and faster than it needed to be. Eventually it ended up being more like a battle between the two and I finally had to break it off.

  I called out 'time' and walked up to Aiden, placing one hand on his chest and whispering to him. "What's this about?"

  "What's what about?" He asked as if he didn’t know what I was talking about.

  The look I gave him made him fess up.

  "He was all over you Emily. It goes against the bro code, and since he's one of my best friends, it makes it even worse."

  I rolled my eyes. "He wasn't all over me Aiden. If he was, you'd have known it. No bro code was broken, so you can stop acting like a child."

  I got up on my tip toes, kissing his lips softly. It seemed like something I was supposed to do, remind him that he was the only one I actually liked, and the only guy I really wanted to be with. I started to pull away, but he brought me back in for one more kiss before we resumed the game.

  After a while, the group headed out to lunch at a small café just down the beach from where we had been all morning.

  Before Aiden could reach me so that we could walk together, one of the bridesmaids, Erica’s old sorority sister named Darcy, started up a conversation with him and they ended up walking together. I honestly didn't think anything of it, yet somehow subconsciously I knew that something wasn’t right.

  Ethan entertained me by hefting me over his shoulder and running to the front of the group. "ETHAN, PUT ME DOWN!!!" I screeched.

  "What's wrong Emi?" He asked, chuckling, as if he didn’t know why I was so upset with him.

  "If you don't put me down in three seconds, you'll regret it." I warned. He sighed and set me on my feet. "You ruin everything," he pouted. “You never let me have any fun.”

  "Oh yeah, I’m the bad guy here.”

  When we got inside, I sat between Kira and Ethan with my mother and father taking the two free seats on either side of them.

  It felt just like old times, before everybody moved away. We started telling embarrassing stories about each other. Luckily, I was a fairly mellow child, so other than an obsession with jumping out of trees, they had nothing on me.

  After lunch we all began our journey back to the hotel. It wasn’t far so we all just walked. Ross accompanied me for the first part of the trip. Of the three guys, not including Aiden, Ross was probably the most laid back of the bunch. He was also really funny. His witty sense of humor had me laughing the entire time.

  I felt like I was being watched, so I looked around and noticed that Aiden was staring at us.

  Darcy's hand was rubbing his chest, and she was giggling about something. He looked miserable. I motioned with my head for Ross to look and we took a moment to laugh at his predicament.

  Ross chuckled. "Go save the poor guy."

  I grinned and walked their way. As I got closer, I overheard Darcy telling Aiden about how much she just loved "to watch you guys with the ball".

  I held back my laughter and put an excited smile on my face.

  "Baby, I've missed talking to you so much today," I exclaimed before jumping into his arms and attacking his mouth with mine.

  I pulled back and smiled at Darcy. "Thank you so much for keeping him company for me, he hates it so much when I have to leave his side to discuss wedding plans with everyone else."

  She glared at me like I was the devil and walked away, clearly pissed off.

  Chapter 4

  "Wow, you're really hot when you're jealous." Aiden said playfully as he set me back down on my feet.

  "Yeah, well you're adorable when you're miserable."

  I started walking faster and he tugged on my arm, forcing me to slow down and fall in step with him.

  "Don't be like that."

  I stopped walking and just glared at him, pretending to be irritated.

  "Then don't be mean, especially after I helped you out."

  "I'll tell you what," he said as his arms wrapped around my waist. "You can help me out like that whenever you want to."

  I laughed and heard him chuckle in my right ear.

  "You're such a dork," I said while trying to keep a straight face.

  He placed a soft kiss at the base of my neck.

  When I looked to my left, I couldn't help but notice Erica giving us a dirty look.

  I rolled my eyes. Seriously? At nineteen, older sisters don't need to be so judgmental. I’m an adult, why does she care who I spend my time with? Instead of getting upset about it though, I chose to just ignore her.

  "Do you want to go out with me tonight? I don't think Kane and Erica have anything planned."

  "Like a date?" I asked warily. Was I ready for a date with Aiden?

  "Yeah, like a date, Emily. The thing that boys and girls do when they like each other."

  I bit my cheek. It wasn't that I didn't want to go on a date with him, but somehow it seemed like more of a commitment than just kissing on him. I definitely wasn't ready for a commitment with Aiden; I'd only known him for, well, less than twenty-four hours!

  "What about a double date?" I offered instead.

  "Sure," he agreed reluctantly. "But with who?"

  I thought about it for a moment when I noticed just how close Ethan and Kira were walking. Ethan's arm was thrown around her shoulder in a friendly gesture.

  "Ethan and Kira."

  "I thought they were just friends?"

  I nodded towards them. "Apparently they didn’t get that memo."

  "Ahh, so you're one of those kinds of people? You ha
ve to meddle in everyone’s business."

  I could practically feel his smirk.

  "No, I don't meddle. I simply have a sixth sense."

  He started laughing.

  "I'm serious!"

  "I'm sure you are."

  Back at the hotel, Kira and I made our way up to our room. I was supposed to ask her and Aiden would ask Ethan.

  "So Kira, what do you have planned for this evening?"

  She eyed me warily. "Nothing that I’m aware of.” She looked at the printed out itinerary Erica gave each of us when we arrived in Cancún. “Says tonight is a free night.”

  I grinned. "That's great. You can come on a double date with me and Aiden then."

  "Wait, what the hell do you mean double date?"

  "Well, Aiden asked me out on a date, but I don't necessarily want to go alone. I realize it sounds stupid, but I feel like that would be too much too soon."

  Her shoulders sagged.

  "Please Kira? You know I wouldn't normally put you in this situation, but I need you."

  She sighed. "Fine. Who's my date?"

  I held back my whoop of excitement. "Ethan hopefully." I spoke quickly in hopes she would just move on.

  She shook her head in disbelief. "Ethan? Really?"

  She looked at me like I was an idiot. I shrugged and nodded. "Well yeah, I mean you guys have been flirting ever since we got here."

  She was about to protest but I cut her off. "Don't even deny it. You've known me forever, so you also know that I don't just throw things like this around. Nothing has to go further than tonight unless you want it that way. It'll be more like the four of us just hanging out together, like we've been doing the entire time on the trip."

  She couldn't argue with me so she took a deep breath and nodded. "Fine. I’ll go but you seriously owe me one for this."

  I squealed and jumped up to hug her.

  "I have to go tell them." I said before running out the door to their room, knocking obnoxiously until they answered. As soon as the knob twisted, I pushed it open and welcomed myself into their room. "So are you coming?" I asked Ethan.

  "That's a very personal question Emm Emm, and to be quite honest, I'm uncomfortable telling my sister about my masturbating habits."

  I groaned and smacked the back of his head as he chuckled. "But to answer your question, I am, if Kira wants to. It's up to her."

  I smiled. "How very decent of you Ethan. She said yes, so get your ass ready."

  I walked towards the door and kissed Aiden's cheek. He'd been standing near it, watching our encounter.

  "See you in an hour and a half, okay?" I didn't wait for an answer as I let myself out.

  Back in my room, I grinned at Kira. "He said that he wanted to as long as it was okay with you. Who knew my brother could be so sweet?"

  I caught her subtle blush, but I didn’t say anything, pretending instead not to notice.

  I looked through my bags, trying to figure out what to wear. Kira pulled out a strapless dress that hugged her body and reached mid-thigh. I sighed, wishing I could pull something like that off.

  Being as tall as I was, if I bought a short dress it would be indecent. Most clothes are made for girls who are average height, not for girls like me. So to me a short dress exposes far too much of my legs and more often than not, my ass cheeks as well.

  I didn't really know where we would end up, so I decided to go with a mixture of casual yet dressy, with a short pair of khaki shorts and a silk tank top. I straightened my hair, and then started to apply my makeup. I didn’t normally wear a lot of makeup but tonight I wanted to look pretty.

  "You look gorgeous doll." Kira said from where she was leaning against the door, watching me put on the little make up I had brought with me. I scoffed. "Right, with you standing by my side, nobody will notice." I winked at her so she'd know I was only teasing.

  "Yeah, well, I'd literally kill for your curves. It's a shame you don't show them off more. Although I must admit, I’m proud of what you’ve been wearing on this trip. I don’t know what has come over you, but good for you. If only you’d be like this at home."

  I grinned.

  "I wanted to try something different and I figured that there was basically zero chance of running into somebody I knew in Cancún, so what would it hurt? Okay, other than my family and they don't count."

  She shook her head. "I don't get you sometimes."

  I chuckled. "That's just the wonder that is me."

  She rolled her eyes and we grabbed our purses and headed out the door.

  I knocked a few times on the guys door and soon enough, they stepped out together, looking more handsome than I'd ever seen either of them look, which was saying something.

  "Hey gorgeous," Aiden said, stepping by my side "You look amazing tonight. Well you always do, but especially tonight."

  I looked down and raised an eyebrow. "You're easy to impress, aren't you?"

  Aiden leaned down and kissed my cheek. I blushed and turned away.

  "How does Kira look, Ethan?"

  He eyed up and down. "Fucking sexy."

  I laughed and so did Aiden and Kira. "Well thanks Ethan, I guess you look kinda nice too."

  Ethan started pouting. "Only kinda? Come on Kira, I got all dressed up for you, you could at least throw me a bone."

  I shut my eyes and shook my head, preparing myself for Kira's next comment.

  "Or you could throw me one later tonight."

  I sighed. I knew that was coming. "You people are pigs," I muttered.

  They laughed and held hands as we headed down the hall.

  I looked up at Aiden. "I told you they liked each other."

  He smiled. "Do I get to give you a reward for being right?"

  I giggled and went up on my tippy toes to kiss his cheek. “Behave yourself Mister or I might have to spank you.”

  “Well, that’s not much of a discouragement from my bad behavior.”

  Ethan and Kira turned and gave us curious looks when Aiden and I busted out laughing.

  “You guys are weird,” Ethan said.

  But I didn’t care. I was enjoying my time with Aiden. I liked being with him. It was more than just that he was incredibly good looking, it was also that I was comfortable with him in a way that I had never been with any other man before.

  We made our way to one of the hotel’s seven restaurants. Tonight we would be dining at La Vista. The sign on the door said they were known for their savor cuisine. I wasn’t exactly sure what that meant but I figured if nothing else I could always just order a salad. What restaurant didn’t have a salad or two to pick from on the menu?

  I sat down and reminded myself to eat carefully. I wasn’t exactly a slob but silk wasn't all that stain retardant, so I needed to go slow and make sure I didn’t ruin my brand new shirt the first time I had gotten to wear it.

  Aiden took the chair next to me and put his hand on my knee. Kira blushed, so I could only assume that Ethan had done the same to her. Then again, knowing my perv of a brother, he probably put his hand on her upper thigh

  The food ended up being delicious and everything went well. There wasn’t a lull in the conversation the entire time and before I knew it, dinner was over. After dinner, Kira and Ethan decided to go back to his room to watch a movie, and Aiden and I took a walk on the beach.

  "So, do you regret coming on a date with me?" He asked.

  "Of course I don't regret it. I just want to be careful. I don't know you all that well. I mean, I don't know if you can tell or not, but I'm not usually like this. You're the first guy I've kissed that I wasn't in a relationship with, so I just feel the need to watch myself around you."

  "And why's that?"

  "Well, the person I am back in Texas, isn't the person I feel like being when I'm here with you. For some reason when I’m around you I just seem to lose myself. I do things I wouldn’t normally do in a million years.”

  "That's good though. I have the feeling if you were the same person, I wo
uldn't be able to do this."

  I waited for him to continue, but he didn't. Instead he turned me to him and cupped my face in his large hands, leaning down to kiss me. His tongue brushed against my bottom lip and I opened my mouth for him. My arms wrapped around his neck and he held my waist as he pulled me in so close that our torsos were touching. When he gently nibbled on my lip, a soft moan escaped my lips.

  Before things could go much further though, Aiden pulled back.

  “We better head back to the hotel. I have an early fitting in the morning.”

  “Of course. I guess it is getting late.”

  When we got to our rooms, Aiden turned to me, pulling me into him with his hands around my waist.

  Before I could say goodnight and pull away his lips came crashing down on mine and sucked the air from my lungs.

  All the gentleness from earlier was gone. The way his lips moved over mine was rough and incredibly minblowing. Even when I needed to pull away to breathe, I couldn’t make myself do it.

  I don’t know how long our kiss lasted but before long the door to my room opened and Kira cleared her throat. “Okay guys, you’ve been out here long enough.”

  "Yes mother," I said sarcastically, before turning back to Aiden. "I'll see you tomorrow."

  He leaned down and kissed me on my forehead before I walked into my room. I changed into my pajamas and crawled into bed.

  "So?" Kira trailed off.

  "So what?" I asked, not sure what she was getting at.

  "That was pretty hot." I could clearly see her grinning like the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland.

  "Would have been hotter if you hadn't interrupted us," I grumbled, turning onto my back, refusing to look at her.

  “I thought you were going to watch a movie with Ethan. What happened to that?”

  “We couldn’t agree on a movie and I was tired so I decided to turn in early. But don’t try and change the subject. That won’t work with me. This is about you and Aiden, not me and Ethan.”

  I sighed.

  "Do you really like him?"