by Claire Adams
"Then sleeping with him is out. You know that, right?" She moved up beside me as she tugged at the strings at the top of her bathing suit top. "Can you tie this for me?"
"Yeah, turn around." I worked on it as I thought through her words. She was right, of course. If things started to progress between me and Easton, then working for the company would be off the table, not that I had a prospect of doing so yet. Relationships never lasted. The last thing in the world that I'd be comfortable with would be working alongside him and hating each other.
"You're awfully quiet." Casey moved away from me and worked to get her sandals on. "What are you thinking about?"
"Lots of things. He's the perfect guy from what I can see, but so was Jackson. It's just crazy how you can be with someone every day and yet not really know them at all." I pulled my bathing suit bottoms over my hips followed by my short shorts. "Does this look too slutty?"
"Not at all. You look like a dancer with those long-ass legs. Almost too hot." Casey sat down on the edge of the bed. "You know that not everyone is like Jackson, right? Not all men cheat."
"I want to assume that, but having just gone through this shit, it's hard to think about trusting anyone." I ran my fingers through my long crimson hair before pulling it into a playfully high ponytail. "I'm just going to stay by myself for a while and see what happens. I don't need to get connected to this guy, Case. He told me that he travels fifty weeks of the year."
"So travel with him." She shrugged as I rolled my eyes at her. "What? It could work."
"It's not that easy, and besides, it's just a spring break fling type thing."
"What if it turns into more?" She got up and picked up her wallet. "It's a possibility, and you know it."
"It's not going to. Honestly. There's nothing to be worried about. I'm not." I pulled my purse strap over my head and fixed it to lay across my chest. I was lying as best I could about being interested in Easton. Just the nice dinner the night before had me itching to see him again. Saying no to his kiss and the so-called tour of his penthouse had been the hardest thing I'd done in a while. Denying myself anything after all of the shit I'd been through seemed like a travesty, but it was to protect the future. My ego wasn't going to handle much more in the way of men shitting on me, so I would avoid them as best I could.
"You ready?" Casey opened the door and smiled. "I have money to burn and bacon to eat."
I laughed and walked out into the hall, tucking away the hope that Easton would call. Casey and I needed a vacation, and this one had all the promise to be great.
We made our way down to the small cafe on the ground floor of the restaurant and got in line behind the other hundred people that had our same idea.
"Smells good." I glanced down to Casey as she picked up a menu.
"Yeah it does. I want us to check into that Thursday night event at Black's Beach that everyone keeps talking about. We can take the rental car if you want. Might be better if we did." She turned her attention back to me.
"Yeah, I'm down with us checking it out. Not sure what the hype is all about, but if it's a bunch of naked people dancing on the beach, I'm out."
"What if it's hot naked guy's night?" She wagged her eyebrows as the elderly gentleman in front of us turned and awarded us a scathing look.
"Don't mind her. Her elevator doesn't go all the way to the top." I touched my head and smiled at the guy as he grunted and turned back around. "No on the naked man conga line."
She laughed and snorted as we moved up in line. "Alright, but I still want to check it out. You should see if Easton is free to go with us. Ohh...you should see if he has a friend, or maybe a twin brother?"
"Two brothers from what I gather, and both of them are younger than him." I shrugged. "There might be some promise there if you're interested."
"I'll need to see pictures of course, but I would sign up mighty fast if they look anything like your boy." She waved at the older guy in front of us as he turned and gave her another look. "Hi gramps."
"Casey." I nodded toward the cashier. "You're up next, mister."
"Thank God," he barked and moved up to order.
Casey shook her head and handed me the menu. "People nowadays. You can hide your attraction to the idea of a hot sweaty body, but we all have it. Period."
"Yep. I'm getting the double bacon stacker. What are you getting?"
"The triple dong sub." Casey crossed her arms over her chest as I let go of a sharp laugh.
"Stop it. What's the matter with you?" I moved up to the counter as the guy in front of us walked off.
"He just reminds me of my dad with all of his damn rules, and that horrible look of disdain that I'm not good enough. That I don't measure up." She shrugged and turned her attention to the cashier. "I'll have the special, but I need ketchup on the side."
"No problem." The girl turned her attention to me. "You, miss?"
"I'll have the same and a double bacon stacker. Add a glass of orange juice for both of us too, please." I pulled out my wallet and extended my card to her.
Her eyes remained on me as if trying to work through how I was going to fit all that food in my stomach. She glanced down and finished ringing us up without another word.
I took our drinks and sat down in the booth Casey had for us. "People will always judge each other, Casey. It's just part of life. You do it, I do it. Everyone does it."
"Yeah, well I hate it. If I want to be a social worker and spend my life giving back to society, but making little to nothing doing it, then it's my damn prerogative." She grabbed her orange juice, spilling a little on the table between us.
"What happened? I assume something went down last night while I was out?" I picked up a napkin and cleaned up the mess.
She let out a long sigh and pressed her hands to her face. "I need a Masters to do what I want to do, and my parents aren't willing to help me pay for it. It's just upsetting. When I have kids, I'm going to support their dreams and aspirations. I'm not going to shit all over them."
"We'll figure out a way to pay for it. We can room together in that little studio apartment off campus that we've talked about a million times. I'll help pay for your tuition, and you can get a part-time job at that little coffee shop you love so much. Besides, you've been drooling after that blonde-haired cashier for two years. What better way to meet him?" I offered her a friendly smile and reached across the table to squeeze her hand.
"We can't live in that studio, or neither of us will meet anyone. Asking the other to leave for the night so we can sleep with someone is ridiculous." She lifted her eyebrow at me.
"We've been doing just that for the last four years. We'll figure it out. If you want this future, then we make it happen. Life's too short to do what's expected of you. No one is going to have to live your life day to day but you. So choose what you love and we'll figure out the rest. Got it?" I squeezed her hand once more before sitting back and taking the plate the server offered me.
"That should be the same for you then, Viv. If you want to be a food critic, then don't settle for anything less." She picked up her napkin. "When is the last time you submitted one of your articles to the newspaper for review?"
She was right, but she always was.
"It's been a while. When we get back, you apply for your Master’s program, and I'll submit the articles from this trip to them. Deal?" I offered her my hand to shake.
"Deal, and if that hottie takes you out again this week, you're at least getting a kiss from him so I can hear about it. Double deal?"
"Double deal, and if we go to this thing on Thursday–”
"I'm getting laid," she butted in and gave me a toothy grin.
"No. We're leaving if it gets too stupid. Promise me."
"I promise, but one of us has to have some wild-ass stories from this week. It's you or me." She took a big bite of her sandwich and nodded. "This is divine."
"We already have stories, and good. Hush so I can enjoy it without you badgering me." I smiled an
d let my eyes move across the three plates that belonged to me. If I was going to force Casey to live her dreams, then it was only fair that I started living mine.
Maybe bumping into Easton wasn't by chance at all. He could help with my career if we became good friends. I resigned myself to texting him after shopping if he hadn't contacted me.
If we kept things on a friend level then I would be good. Besides, not all men were cheating asses, but I'd lay the wager that most were. As good-looking as Easton was, he was teetering toward the dark side, and that was a bet I wasn't willing to take.
Chapter 12
Easton
After wrapping up a few meetings with various hotel managers, I was ready to find Viv and see if she wanted to head to the beach with me. It had been a really long time since I'd wanted to spend time with anyone, but the pretty girl was all I could think about. My dreams the night before had gone far beyond a long fuck in the shower and had moved into marriage and kids...all the things I'd never really contemplated before.
"And you're not now," I grumbled and pulled my phone from my pocket as I headed back to my room. I waited until I got to my room to call her, but the second I did, my heart started to race and nervousness filled my stomach.
"This is Vivian."
"Hey. It's Easton. I'm done with my duties for the day. Just wanted to see where you and Casey were. I thought maybe you might want some company for the afternoon." I pressed my back to the door and closed my eyes, wanting to visualize her as I listened to her voice.
"That would be great. We've just wrapped up our shopping and are almost back to the hotel. You wanna go to the beach with us? We were hoping to swim for a little bit before going out tonight."
"Yeah, that sounds great. I'll change and meet you both in the lobby in fifteen minutes?"
"Sounds good. See you then." She hung up and I couldn't help but appreciate how professional she was. It wasn't a cold, unattached professionalism, but an unassuming nature that still held up appropriate boundaries. She left me in control and quite comfortable.
"Don't let me fall in love with you, beautiful," I murmured before walking to the bedroom and changing into swim trunks and a t-shirt.
I made my way to the lobby and grabbed three beers from the bar before moving back out about the time they walked from the elevator. Where Casey was cute, Vivian was breathtaking. It was the difference between looking at a girl and admiring a woman. Cute had great appeal, but Vivian's beauty had me wrapped up tightly. It was even more attractive because the girl had no clue of her power.
"Hey. I got you guys a beer, though I'm not sure what you like, Casey. Viv here can take it out for you if you don't like it. She's a heavyweight." I handed Vivian one of the beers and leaned in, kissing her cheek before moving back.
"Heavyweight? She's been lying to you. She's the cheapest date in the universe." Casey took the beer, hit it against Viv’s and mine and moved toward the door. "Let's go soak up the sun and find me a man."
"Speaking of..." Vivian glanced at me as she lifted her beer to her lips. "How old are your brothers?"
I chuckled and shook my head. "The middle one is twenty-one and the youngest is nineteen, but they're scoundrels of the worst type. You girls need to find good men who'll treat you right."
"Like you?" Casey asked as she glanced over her shoulder and gave me a flirty look.
"Exactly like me." I pressed my shoulder to Viv's as we walked out into the fray. "Let's go straight. Right here across the street is some of the most beautiful beach in all of Miami."
"Sounds good to me. Lead the way, Case." Vivian took another drink of her beer as I watched her out of the corner of my eye. Her red hair danced about, tickling my arm as I walked beside her.
"Did you sleep good last night? You didn't have any bad dreams from our dark alley event, right?" I glanced over at her, not wanting to let on just how excited I was to be beside her. We were just friends, and if I went over the line, I was pretty damn sure that she wouldn't let it go far, but I wanted more.
"It was okay. I had bad dreams, but more about family shit than the guy in the alley. Sometimes that can be worse, I guess." She chuckled and moved across the street, shifting to walk in front of me as the crowds thickened.
"How long are you guys here for?" I couldn't help but ask.
"Through Saturday morning. We're actually hoping to go to Black's Beach on Thursday night, though. Everyone keeps talking about a big event or something that's going on there." She paused on the other side of the street, and I moved up next to her.
The tank tops she wore left a little of her creamy white midriff showing, but with any luck at all, she would strip down to her bikini once we reached the water. I wanted to lay on the sand and get more acquainted with the view that was sure to steal my thoughts for weeks to come.
"Black's Beach is one of the nude beaches around here. It's relatively new, but I think they're just trying to keep up with San Diego, which has the same thing." I shrugged and stopped to pull off my sandals. "A new club is opening Thursday night. That's the only thing I know of."
"Maybe that's it then. We'd love for you to come with us if you're up for it?" She gave me an innocent look that melted my resolve.
"I should be able to. I just have to take the week day by day thanks to my schedule shifting." I paused by a small open patch of sand and reached for her towel. "Leave your stuff here, and I'll get everything set up. You guys go enjoy the surf."
"I like him more already." Casey pulled off her top and worked herself out of her shorts.
I turned my attention toward the water, not wanting either of them to feel uncomfortable undressing in front of me. I might have nefarious thoughts about my newest obsession, but that didn't mean she needed to be made aware of it.
Vivian turned her back to me and pulled off her tank tops before wiggling out of her shorts quickly, shivering and jogging toward the water.
"You like her?" Casey's question surprised me.
"Yeah. A bit more than I want to talk about actually." I shrugged and tugged my shirt off. Her friend gave me a quick once-over and nodded approvingly.
"She's a good person who's had her heart stomped on too many times. Don't push anything unless you want everything. Got it?" Casey's sweet expression turned hard, and I almost fell in love a little with the girl simply for being ballsy enough to protect Viv. She was a good friend to have.
"I understand." I pointed to Vivian. "She's waving for us to join her. I'll beat you out there?"
"Not happening mister. I might look small, but I pack a punch." Casey turned and took off for the water, hurdling over several people who were laid out sunbathing.
I apologized casually to them as I jogged around the maze of bodies and stopped at the water’s edge, putting my hands on my hips.
Casey was laughing loudly as she pointed at me. "I totally beat you! See? Told you that I was fast."
I couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, you better be. You have ten girls back there with sand in their faces from you doing the high jump over their heads. Looks like I'm going to have to pull out my self-defense moves from the alley the other night to fight them back for you."
"Yeah, Viv told me about that. I'm glad you were there, but don't do that shit again. She's my only friend and if something happens to her, I'll come looking for you." Casey gave me a cocky smirk.
"I do feel properly threatened. Can we have some fun now?" I lifted my hands playfully in the air and turned my gaze back to Vivian.
She chuckled and looked around us, but not before her eyes moved down my chest and rested on the front of my shorts.
I bent my knees to catch her gaze and pointed to my eyes with two of my fingers. "I'm up here, pretty girl. He'll talk to you if you want him to, but I'd rather that be behind closed doors."
Her cheeks turned pink as she swatted at me. "Stop it. I was just wondering if you stuff your pants with a sock."
"Has to be a tube sock, right?" Casey put her hands on her hips, the sm
irk tugging at her lips almost comical. "We should definitely find out."
"I think you should find out, too." I moved out into the water and grabbed Vivian's narrow wrist, pulling her with me. "Come get in the water with me, and I'll let you pet my eel if you promise to be gentle."
"Oh my God. You did not just..." she glanced back as Casey moved up behind us. "He did not.”
"He did. Wicked hot. I wanna pet it." Casey clapped her hands and laughed before wading out into the deeper part of the water with us. I stopped as it covered the top of my trunks and turned to face Viv as Casey moved past us. "I want the results on my desk by ten in the morning!"
"Stop it," Vivian grumbled at her friend before turning a hard stare onto me. There was no way she was bending beneath our combined pressure. She was too much woman for that.
"All yours, Viv. Come test out the theory." I lifted my hands to the side as if inviting her to do what she wanted to me. "Just don't get upset when I say that I told you so."
"There is no way in hell I'm sticking my hand down your shorts." She moved up to almost press her chest to mine. "You're just pulling my chain. If I reached for your cock you would jerk back and run like a girl to the shoreline."
My breath caught in my chest as I lowered my arms, wrapping them around her instead. "Never. I'd groan a little and maybe moan a lot, but that would depend on your skill set."
"It's not happening, handsome." Her eyes moved around my face as her breathing got a little off kilter.
"But you want to. I can see it written all over your face." I chuckled low in my chest, enjoying the expression on her face far more than I should have. She was mortified that I'd called her out.
"I want to!" Casey yelled from just behind us, and we broke up into laughter. I started to push the subject a little more with Vivian, but a scream ripped from her friend, which stole my attention.
Turning, I rushed toward Casey and reached for her. "What's the matter?"
"Something bit me." She jumped toward me, and I caught her, turning and nodding to Viv. "Probably a jellyfish, but let's make sure. We'll get someone to check it out. There's a minute clinic right beside the showers over there."
