“Thanks, man.” Marlo took a swig, screwed the top, then tossed it to Brax, who was still rubbing his chin like he had something physically wrong with him when we all knew he was fine.
I ran a hand over Marlo’s hair, and he turned his icy gaze on me, his impenetrable stare that made me both hot and cold. “It’s time to skinny-dip.”
“Yes!” Jackson was already peeling his shirt over his head.
“Again, it’s four a.m.,” I argued. “We have to be up at seven for breakfast, and everyone gets in at noon!”
“It’s tradition,” was all Marlo said as he stood then offered his hand. “You don’t want to upset the theater gods, do you?”
Groaning, I put my hand in his. “Fine.” I stumbled to my feet.
Marlo just shook his head. “Need a ride?”
I narrowed my eyes.
“On my back SP, not my dick.”
Jackson roared with laughter while Brax grabbed the gummy bears and shoved two in his mouth.
“And there he is, king of poor choices, four hours man,” Jackson shook his head. “You’re going to wake up high still, bonus points if you can get the unicorn to fly!”
“Who needs a unicorn when Red Bull gives you wings?” Brax shouted as he ran from the auditorium straight down to the beach behind it.
Marlo jogged with me on his back like I wasn’t useless dead weight overcome by exhaustion.
And when he set me down on my feet, he even pulled my clothes from my body with effortless ease.
“Done this before huh?” I teased.
“Once or twice.” He shrugged with a smirk.
“Liar.” I got up on my tiptoes. “I’d think by now you could undress me in seconds.”
“Yeah, but a guy likes to take his time, especially with these,” He cupped my breasts through my bra and leered. “Oh, and when I said skinny-dip I meant you keep your bra on, no chance in hell am I letting the guys see you naked.”
I crossed my arms. “Just tell them to turn around.”
“Yeah, because they’re super honest, those guys.” He rolled his eyes. “Fine. Jackson, Brax, get naked, get in the lake and turn around.”
“Is he that dominant in the bedroom too?” Jackson chuckled as he waded in the water, all I saw was bare, white ass.
“Too bright to look away. It’s like the moon but prettier,” Jen pointed out. “All right Marlo, I know you see this one naked, but not me, so hurry along so the girls can play.”
He blew me a kiss, turned and pulled down his jeans.
Jen let out a low whistle. “Praise God, they don’t skip leg day.”
“Amen.” I high fived her as Marlo waded toward the guys.
“Game time!” I said as we both hurriedly pulled off our bras and underwear, set them neatly on the picnic table and ran toward the shore.
The water hit brisk like needles. And then I was underneath, diving toward the finest ass I’d ever seen.
Warm arms pulled me to the surface. “Snorkeling?”
I grinned at Marlo’s smug expression. “Yeah I was looking for a sea snake but all the ones closest to me were so small!”
“That’s it!” Jackson roared splashing toward me.
Marlo, the bastard, let me go, so I was left trying to swim away from someone who should be an Olympic swimmer!
“Jen! HELP!”
Jen jumped onto Jackson’s back, wrapped her legs around him, then somehow meandered herself to the front of him and grinned. “Found one.”
“My eyes!” Brax shouted and then stumbled under water, only to pop up and yell. “I’m fine!”
“He’s high.” Jackson laughed. “And thanks, Jen, for being the only woman strong enough to deal with the monsters below the surface.”
“Monsters.” Brax laughed even harder. “I’m friends with the Monster that’s under my bed!”
And he was singing…
Jackson joined in, his voice going into a falsetto, and then he started rapping.
Of course he did.
I joined Marlo again, holding his hand below water as he slid his arms around me.
“We had a lot of shitty days back in high school,” he whispered across my neck. “But we’ll always have our summer nights.”
“Always,” I agreed with tears of wonder in my eyes as he looked at me like I was born for moments like this with him.
The moment was shattered when Brax started yelling about something touching his leg.
So our swimming was short lived.
But my night?
My night in Marlo’s arms seemed to go on forever.
Just like the smile on my face.
I STRETCHED MY arms over my head while Ray scooted her ass into me, squirming against my body, making me so hot for her that I was already grasping her arm, flipping her onto her back, hovering over her.
Why did we even bother with clothes?
Her eyes were closed, but a brilliant smile dazzled her pretty face. It stunned me into silence, it stupefied, made a guy think about nothing and everything all at once. Like the way the sunshine cast a glow across those perfect lips, or the dusting of freckles across her nose that I wanted to suddenly name like a complete obsessed freak.
She was it for me.
The girl who had shared her ice cream cone when she was ten.
The girl who looked at my Nikes with the holes and said cool, I wish I had holes in my shoes, bet you could store things in them that way.
The girl who told me that it was okay to be tall that she wished she was tall too.
I squeezed my eyes shut against the onslaught of memory after memory of her laugh when we were kids.
Of the way she snuck me into her bedroom at night so I could watch cartoons in her bed.
And then the one night when she said I couldn’t come over anymore.
That I was a boy.
She was a girl.
The lipstick.
The expensive clothes.
And the very distinctive change in her laughter. It used to be open amusement at the world whenever I was with her.
And then it was directed at me.
Not with me.
At me.
“Hey.” Ray cupped my face with her hands. “I don’t like it when you close your eyes.”
“Why?” I wondered out loud.
“Because…” She swallowed slowly; I followed the motion with my eyes, drinking her in. “You’ve never hidden yourself, I’m not even sure you’re capable of it. When I see your eyes, I know everything’s going to be okay, because I see your love.”
I shook my head and captured her lips between mine just as someone sniffed and then said. “That was so beautiful!”
I jumped away from Ray and pulled the duvet to my hips to keep the familiar voice and body attached from seeing my growing erection. “Mom!”
“Nya!” Ray’s wide eyes darted to mine as she very slowly pulled a pillow in front of her, like that was going to make the situation better, I swear I could still see nipples through the damn feathers.
“Oh!” My mom burst into tears.
“Mom?” I reached out to her.
She ran into my arms and hugged me, while I was still next to a semi-naked Ray, in bed, seconds away from ripping her clothes off with my teeth.
Awkward did not even begin to cover it.
“I’m so proud of you!” She pulled away and wiped under her eyes, she’d always been pretty, this tiny little Ukranian thing that had both bark and bite, but enough love to consume a person whole. “I knew you would finally see what I see.”
“So you’re… happy?” I squinted.
She slapped me on the shoulder.
“Ouch!”
“You have many muscles, you’ll survive.” She sniffed and then her gaze was completely on Ray. “I just knew this was meant to be, I’ve known for so long. I didn’t mean to intrude, but I was searching for Marlo and someone named Jackson said you guys were up here studying…”
Jackson was dying tonigh
t.
“Yeah…” Ray’s laugh lacked humor. “Human anatomy, it’s uh… for our role?”
“Did you tell her you got an A?” Mom just had to ask, I could tell she was ready to start bragging because she got that took on her face, the very one I knew in my gut that Ray had never gotten from a parent, making my stomach clench yet again.
“It shows.” Ray winked at me.
“Hilarious,” I said under my breath while she started giggling.
Mom kept staring like she was afraid it wasn’t real.
No, it’s real Mom, I’m really naked with a girl. It finally happened.
I cleared my throat.
“Oh!” Mom clapped her hands together. “Yes, sorry, I was just going to drop this off for good luck for you both tonight, then I’ll be on my way. Now Ray, I remembered that you used to always sneak his chocolate when I wasn’t looking, and he always preferred the vanilla your parents had for you, so I made the cake with two different layers. Break a leg!” She leaned in and kissed me on the forehead then kissed Ray on the cheek. “Beautiful girl.”
Ray’s eyes filled with tears. “Love you, Nya.”
“Oh, I love you too, both of you!” And then she leveled me with a glare. “Get her pregnant, and your father will stop speaking to you, young man.”
I felt my entire body heat. “We’re being…” I made a motion with my hands then looked to Ray for help.
“Surprise, you’re going to be a grandma!” she shouted with laughter.
I grabbed the pillow and slammed it over her face just in time for my mom to recover and then join in the laughter. She set the pretty blue cake on the desk next to us and then shook her head. “See? Perfect for each other!”
The screen door slammed behind her, leaving me hovering over Ray with a pillow. “Give up!”
“NEVER!” she shouted, flailing her arms and legs, giving me a vision of her skin. I dropped the pillow, reached over for the cake, and swiped my finger across the frosting. “Mmmm, that chocolate tastes… incredible.”
She gasped. “Monster!”
I winked and shot her a wicked grin. “I’ll just eat your half.”
She dipped her fingers into the vanilla part, not at all softly, mangling the frosting until it was half on her fingers half dangling over the clean mattress. She sucked one finger.
I gulped.
Another finger while she moaned.
And then she took her pointer finger and swiped it across my mouth, and captured my lips, sucking them dry, licking the sugar from the frosting and then returning that heated tongue to the corner of my mouth like she missed a spot.
My chest heaved. “I know she just dropped off the cake for us to eat, but it sort of feels like she just gave us a shiny new sex toy.”
“I’ll never look at cake the same again.” Ray agreed, and then eyed the cake at about the same time I eyed it and wondered what it would be like to lick it from her thighs.
“We have at least an hour,” I pointed out, already pulling her shorts from her body and her shirt from her head.
“At least!” She agreed, kissing me between clothes flying.
And then I was dipping my fingers in the frosting and drawing them down her thighs, following the dizzy blue trails with my tongue.
And she was bucking against me.
“I’m marking you,” I said in a husky voice. “Drawing my name all over you, hope you don’t think that’s too caveman, but a guy gets nervous when a girl this pretty lets him see her naked.”
Ray’s eyebrows arched as she dipped her fingertips into the frosting and then wrote in giant blue letters across my chest, “RAY.”
“I like your name by my heart.” I bit back a curse as she licked the R, then traced the A with her tongue and sucked her way down the Y. “I think I may like your tongue there even more than your name.”
“I just like you.” She kissed me again.
“HEY!” Jackson’s voice neared. “I’m closing my eyes because I don’t want to have to unsee some shit, but a few of the agents got here early and want to know where to set up.” He opened the screen door with a hand over his eyes. “So, if you guys could stop all the laughing and what sounds like God knows what and…” He sniffed. “Hey, you have cake?”
Ray nodded to me just as we both grabbed a handful and slammed it against his chest, she was barely able to hold the blanket against her chest, and I didn’t give two shits that I was naked.
In true Jackson form, he just nodded like he was expecting it, and then with one hand still over his eyes, reached down to his chest and took a chunk of cake off and ate it. “God, I love your mom’s cake.”
“He’s impossible.” Ray sighed.
Jackson flashed a smile to her. “All the compliments.”
We both rolled our eyes as I turned him around and shoved him toward the door. “We’ll be down in five minutes.”
“Six,” Ray coughed.
“And a half,” I added for good measure.
“One day you’ll get there!” Jackson called back.
He didn’t see me flip him off.
Or the heated way Ray’s stare devoured me as she dropped the blanket and crooked her sticky fingers at me.
Yeah, better make that seven, some things were meant to be savored.
“DON’T BE NERVOUS.” Jen massaged my shoulders. “You guys got this, okay? Just let the chemistry speak for itself, and everything’s going to be totally fine. Amazing even.” She nodded at least five more times, cracked her knuckles, and then flashed me a forced smile.
I gave her a weak grimace. “What don’t I know?”
“Nothing.” She shook her head. “It’s just… the expectation is around fifty industry professionals.”
“And?”
“One hundred and twenty-five flew out. No idea why or how, other than we told everyone there was a change of casting at the last minute because of sickness. A few flew in from LA on the red-eye and there were a few others in New York that made the drive out.”
“Fantastic,” I said with clenched teeth. “And now I’m nervous.”
“You’re going to be great.” She grinned wide. “I know it’s overwhelming, but remember, they’re here just as much for the campers as they are the staff members. It’s why we join in on all of the big numbers.”
“Right.” I exhaled a sigh.
“Five minutes to curtain!” Brax called.
I locked eyes with Marlo across the stage. Jackson was massaging his shoulders, when he suddenly stepped back and slapped his ass.
I rolled my eyes about the same time Marlo mouthed. “Save me!”
And then I was calm.
All it took was Marlo and I was calm.
“I’ll be right back,” Jen whispered and then grabbed her walkie. “Go for J-Wow?”
I laughed at her nickname for herself over the coms while Jackson’s voice boomed on the other end. “Juicy J has everything ready for a perfect performance.”
“You look great, Ray,” a deep voice sounded behind me.
Shivers of awareness and danger flashed through my body like I’d just been electrocuted. Slowly I turned.
And there he was.
In all his glory.
Deacon Tanningtom.
The blood drained from my face as he slowly eyed me from head to toe. “You’ll be a great Baby, baby.”
“Don’t call me that,” I said through clenched teeth.
He just rolled his eyes. “Look I think there’s been a misunderstanding between us. Why don’t we drive into the city after your performance? Have a drink? I’ll put you and your friends up wherever you want to celebrate.”
“Celebrate?”
“Signing with me of course.” He shrugged. “I still think we’re a perfect fit.”
“I don’t.” I shook my head no. “I refuse to work with someone who would blackball me to the entire industry just because I refused to suck his dick for a favor!”
I didn’t realize I was yelling.
>
Just like I didn’t realize that my mic was hot.
His eyes bulged. “Listen, you bitch! You came on to me!”
“You locked your door!” I would not cry. He was the offending party. I was a victim. “You said you would sign me, but I had to get on my knees!”
“Bullshit! Are you trying to ruin me?”
“How many girls have you done that to?” I didn’t know why I felt strong. I didn’t know why I wasn’t cowering, feeling worthless and alone. And then I saw Marlo running toward us across the stage.
And before I could do anything else, Marlo had Deacon by the collar and threw him onto the middle of the stage. “You sick fuck!”
“I hope you don’t mind getting sued before your career even starts Mr. Brandon!”
“Fuck. You.” Marlo snarled. “I’m sure all it will take is one woman coming forward and you’re done. Oh look, we already have a willing woman.” He held out his hand to me. “Did he sexually harass you with plans for representation if and only if you went through with his demands?”
I found my voice and stared down at the man on the ground bleeding. “Yes. He did.”
The crowd gasped.
Marlo shrugged and then motioned to Brax with two fingers. “Call the police.”
“What!” Deacon jumped to his feet, “You have no proof, you have no—”
A punch came out of nowhere.
I stumbled back in shock when my father shook his fist like the punch stung more than he’d thought it would. His eyes filled with tears and then he looked away and said under his breath. “I’ll take care of this.”
That was all he said.
I’ll take care of this.
I’ll take care of this.
And then he shook his head again and said. “I’ll take care of this… so you don’t have to.”
My jaw dropped.
Marlo held out his hand to my dad.
And my dad stared at it.
Stared at it longer than what was comfortable for everyone in the audience watching, and for me to experience.
And then he took it and pulled Marlo in for a hug.
“Thank you,” Dad said through clenched teeth. “Thank you for being her… thank you.”
My dad wasn’t a small man, he bent over and pulled Deacon to his feet and then escorted him toward the back of the audience while everyone stared at us with stunned expressions.
Summer Nights Page 9
