by Helen Cooper
“Cody, go and get Sally,” TJ said and I saw my brother look over at him, sigh slightly and then head out to the lake to get Sally. I frowned slightly as I watched my brother just walking away. I heard Troy let out a deep sigh of relief as Cody walked away and he turned to me and whispered, “What’s the plan for tonight?”
“What?” I asked, my voice louder than I would have hoped.
“Who are you?” Barbie turned to Troy, looking pleasantly surprised to see another good-looking man in the mix. Maybe she was hoping for a foursome? Ho! I immediately felt guilty about my thoughts and tried to tell myself that she was a perfectly nice girl and that I was just jealous because she had arrived with TJ. Though I knew that what I was feeling stemmed from more than just jealousy. And while I didn’t like women to call other women hoes because I felt the term was offensive, I just couldn’t stop myself from thinking that about her.
“Hi, I’m Troy. Who are you?” Troy said, his eyes widening in that way that guy’s eyes always did when they saw a completely hot chick and got super excited as if they thought they had a chance with her. I glared at him for being so eager and I knew it was irrational to feel so pissed because I didn’t know him or really care to.
“Barbie.”
“Perfect name for someone like you.”
“Oh?” she asked, looking up at him with a questioning look. I started grinning as I thought that perhaps Troy was on my side. Maybe he could see Barbie for what she really was, even if TJ and Cody were both blinded to her true self.
“You’re as gorgeous as a doll,” he said, practically salivating as he spoke. “And what doll is prettier than Barbie?”
“True.” She giggled and pushed her breasts out. “I think I’m going to like you, Troy.” She grabbed his arm. “Come inside with me and let me get you a drink.”
“Okay,” he said eagerly and then paused and looked at me. “Is that okay? We can talk about tonight later.”
“Uh huh,” I said, feeling pissed. Even my fake boyfriend was leaving me for Barbie. I looked over at TJ to see if he was laughing at me, but his eyes were focused on Barbie, and he looked annoyed. And that hurt me even more. At least he could have given me a look of compassion. Here I was, standing like some loser, while my ‘boyfriend’ left me alone.
“See you in a second, my love,” Troy cried back at me as he walked into the house, his mind obviously off of me.
“So, I guess Troy is real.” TJ walked closer to me and his eyes searched mine. “I owe you an apology.”
“Yeah, you do,” I said and I felt proud of myself for not technically lying. I didn’t confirm that Troy was real, and TJ owed me an apology for many different things, so me saying he owed me an apology wasn’t really lying.
“So you find him attractive?” TJ’s eyes narrowed.
“What do you think?” I shook my head at him. “That’s a stupid question.”
“Why is it stupid?” He looked at me with a raised eyebrow.
“Why would I date someone I wasn’t attracted to?” I bit down on my lower lip. Okay, I was definitely furthering the lie now. There was no technical glitch getting me out of this lie. I was basically confirming that Troy and I were dating. Ugh, I was going to kill Sally.
“Hold on, Cody is calling me,” TJ said as he pulled out his ringing phone. “Hello?” he said as he opened his phone, his eyes not leaving my face. “Okay.” He nodded as he spoke and I watched as his tongue darted out of his mouth to moisten his lips. I looked away from his lips and up to his eyes. “Yeah, I can tell Barbie.” He paused as he waited for Cody to say something else. “Yeah, I’ll keep an eye out.” He winked at me then and laughed slightly. “I’ll talk to Mila.” He nodded at something else that Cody was saying and I wondered what he was agreeing to talk to me about. “Yeah, okay. See you soon,” he said and he hung up. “So, Cody and Sally are going to walk to the store.”
“The store?” I frowned, though I was slightly happy for Sally as she was getting some alone time with him.
“Not in town, the one on the lake,” he said with a smile. “Let’s go inside and tell our better halves.”
“Yeah,” I said weakly and followed him into the house. I watched as he walked to the kitchen and I called out, “I’m going to go to my room. Tell Sally to come and get me when she gets back,” I said as I hurried down the corridor. I didn’t want TJ to convince me to go to the kitchen with him. I knew that only a hot mess could result from me being in the kitchen with just Troy, Barbie and TJ. And I was not ready to lose it. Not yet, anyways. There was plenty of time left in the weekend for that to happen.
***
I walked inside my room and sat on the bed, waiting. I was hoping that Sally would come and find me in the bedroom as soon as she got back so that she could tell me what the hell was going on. I had a feeling Cody would bring Troy up and the fact that he’d arrived already. I knew she was most probably feeling bad that she’d caught me unawares. I was feeling pretty pissed off, but I knew I’d forgive her. I just had to figure out exactly what was going on first. Sally wasn’t a malicious person and I knew that, under other circumstances, I might have quite enjoyed the fact that she was trying to help me out. Only these circumstances were not the best. Imagine if my fake boyfriend ran off with my nemesis? Ugh, how embarrassing would that be?
I could hear the sounds of laughing from outside the room: deep male laughter, and Barbie’s high-pitched squeaking. I wondered if it was Troy or TJ who was amusing her. I felt irritated at the possibility of both. I felt that they were both betraying me in some way that was completely obvious to me, but would have been hard to explain to anyone else. I lay back on the bed and grabbed my phone and texted Sally.
What’s the deal with Troy? Why didn’t you tell me? I hit send quickly and waited for Sally to respond. I saw the initial dots showing that she was typing and stared at the screen, waiting for her answer. But then the dots disappeared and no response came and I started feeling annoyed. Why wasn’t she responding? Ugh! I just wanted to know exactly what she’d told Troy. What was his plan? I turned my phone to my Kindle and opened it, to try and distract myself from my annoyance. I opened it to the book I was currently reading, a romantic suspense called Sloth by Ella James. It was a real page turner, so I knew it would keep my mind occupied while I waited for Sally to return.
A bang on the door about an hour later woke me up and I realized that I’d fallen asleep.
“Sally, come in,” I said groggily as I sat up. I hated having afternoon naps because they always made me feel even more tired than I might have been before.
“It’s TJ,” he said as he opened the door, and I could see his eyes flying to me in the bed as I stretched my arms. “Late night?” He winked at me.
“Haha,” I said and rolled my eyes at him. “You were with me when I went to bed, so obviously you know it wasn’t that late.”
“I wasn’t quite with you.” He licked his lips as he walked towards me. “If I’d been with you, it would have been a much later night. And you would have been a lot more tired.” He paused for a few seconds and then continued. “From all the working out.”
“Really?” You like to play charades at night?” I said, deliberately misunderstanding him. “I know you have to move your arms around a lot, but I don’t consider that a workout.”
“That’s not the sort of workout I was talking about,” he said as he sat on the bed next to me. “I was talking about the sort of workout that had you on top of me, bouncing—”
“TJ Walker,” I almost screamed as my face went a bright red. “What the hell do you think you’re saying? You’re so inappropriate.”
“I was going to say that you were on top of me, bouncing around as we wrestled on the floor, like we used to do when we were younger.”
“We have wrestled twice in our lives.” I shook my head, my face still red as I remembered the last time we’d wrestled. It had been all innocent at first as we’d rolled around on the floor, and then he’d pinned my a
rms up above my head and straddled my waist. Everything had been innocent enough until I’d started wiggling around on the floor against him and then I’d felt something hard against my belly. We’d both frozen for a second and his legs had clenched around me, pushing his hardness against me for a few seconds too long. I had stared up at him, not understanding the funny feelings that had been passing through me and I’d grabbed his back and pulled him closer to me. That had seemed to frighten him and then he had jumped up off of me and pulled me off of the ground roughly, keeping me at arm’s length.
“I know. That’s a pity, isn’t it?” he said, his voice almost purring at me. “I’d love to have you pinned down right now, begging me for your release.”
“Begging you for my release?” I laughed. “I could get away from you quite easily.” I scoffed at him. “You’re not that strong.” I looked at his muscles and tried not to imagine how easily he could keep me on the ground.
“That wasn’t the sort of release I was talking about,” he said softly, running a finger down my cheek and brushing my lips.
“Oh,” I gasped as I connected the dots.
“Though I suppose your new man is doing that job now.”
“What job?” I asked, frowning, my heart racing. He was sitting too close to me. I couldn’t concentrate. I wanted to grab him and pull him towards me. I wanted to touch his chest, squeeze his biceps, suck on his finger—and other things.
“The job of keeping you satisfied.”
“Oh,” I said, blushing again, and I jumped up. TJ jumped up as well and I took a few steps back. Why was he winding me up? I didn’t understand why he was flirting with me if he had Barbie. I wondered what he would do if I took him up on his offer and went a step further. What if I then took charge? Would he be surprised? I knew he saw me as little innocent Mila. How would he feel if I pushed him down on the bed and jumped on top of him? Would he let me take control, or would he roll me over and hold me down and take control?
“So does he?” TJ said, his voice gruff as he took another step towards me. I took another step back, feeling like my body was about to explode.
“Does he what?” I asked, staring at his chest as it moved his shirt back and forth.
“Does he satisfy you in bed?”
“TJ,” I gasped, shaking my head as he grabbed my waist and pulled me towards him.
“Mila,” he said, mocking me, his eyes darkening as he looked down at me. “I can, you know.”
“You can what?” I said, swallowing hard.
“I can satisfy all of your needs.” His hands grabbed my ass and he squeezed gently. My body froze as I looked up at him.
“Oh, yeah?” I said softly, finally finding my voice in my shock.
“Yeah.” He nodded again, and he moved his face towards mine. “I can satisfy needs you didn’t even know you had.” He leaned down and blew in my right ear, and I felt a finger sliding between my legs, rubbing me lightly. My whole body thudded and stilled as I felt his finger sliding back out. I was shocked that he’d touched me in such an intimate way that my bikini bottoms grew wet immediately. I waited to see what he was going to do next, but then there was a knock at the door.
“Mila, you in there?” Sally came bounding into the room and I jumped away from TJ. “We’re back.” She grinned at me, looking happy. “Oh hi, TJ,” she said and then smiled at me. “I got us some wine. Let’s have some with lunch,” she said and walked towards the door, seemingly oblivious to the fact that she had just interrupted something that could have been very hot.
“Saved by the bell,” TJ whispered behind me as we walked out of the bedroom, and I felt him tapping my ass lightly. I didn’t respond as I walked out, but all I could think about was the heaviness between my legs from where he’d touched me, and the wonder of what would have happened next if we hadn’t been interrupted.
***
“It’s funny how much you love this place,” Sally said to me as we grabbed some glasses of wine in the kitchen.
“Why do you say that?” I asked her curiously, looking out the window at the lush green grass and tall trees, wanting to tell her what had just happened with TJ, and wanting to ask her what the hell was going on with Troy but not knowing which one to start with.
“Because you’re a city girl, but you love the country.” She smiled at me as she took a sip of the red wine she’d just gotten at the grocery store. “Most people either love the city or the country. Not both.”
“You know how much I love the city.” I grinned at her. “But this is my home. This is the place I come to for tranquility and nature. When I come here, I really feel close to God and humanity. I look out at the blue sky and I listen to the birds and I think, wow. This is so amazing. So beautiful. So perfect. This is what I imagine Heaven is like.”
“And that has nothing to do with TJ being here as well?” She grinned and raised an eyebrow at me.
“Whatever.” I laughed and took a big gulp of wine and then sighed slightly. “Of course, TJ is a major part of what I love about coming here. I feel especially connected to him when I’m here.” I made a face. “And, Sally—oh, my God.” I lowered my voice and looked around to make sure nobody was paying attention to us. “I think TJ might be interested. Just now—in the bedroom—he touched me and I think he wanted to take things a step further.” She looked back at me excitedly, her brown eyes eager to hear more.
“Oh, my God, he totally loves you,” Sally said, her voice rising with her excitement. “I need to tell you what happened with Cody as well on the car ride; but, first finish telling me what happened with you and TJ. How and where did he touch you and what are you going to do next?”
“Wait, I thought you guys were walking?” I said with a small frown.
“He decided to drive instead.” She grinned. “Thank God, as I wasn’t really looking forward to walking. Now, tell me, what are you going to do about TJ?”
“I’m going to go for it,” I said with a grin. “Maybe I do have a real shot, though that could all be in my head and just in my dreams, I suppose.”
“What’s just in your dreams, dorky?” TJ walked into the kitchen, followed by Cody, and I froze. How much had he heard?
“She was saying that she’d love to be able to go on Chopped, the TV show,” Sally said quickly as I stood there in silence, my mouth unable to work as I tried to think of something to say. Thank God that Sally was quick on her feet.
“You?” Cody looked at me with a surprised expression. “Isn’t that a cooking show?”
“Yes,” I said and frowned at him.
“You want to go on a cooking show?” He laughed and shook his head as he walked to the fridge. “Want a beer, TJ?”
“Yeah, pass me a Blue Moon.”
“Blue Moon?” Cody made a face. “Bud Light’s where it’s at.”
“Bud Light?” TJ laughed. “No, thanks.”
“So, what are we going to do tonight?” Sally said, her eyes gazing at Cody in a way that told everyone in the room that she was interested. I felt slightly embarrassed for her being so obvious, but I didn’t want to hurt her feelings by saying that. And maybe Cody really had given her a sign when they went to the grocery store that he really was interested. Maybe both of us were going to get lucky this weekend.
“Maybe we can shoot some pool at the bar?” Cody said and shrugged. I studied his face to see if I could tell if he was interested in her, but I couldn’t read anything from his expression. Was it possible that Cody wasn’t reading the signs that Sally was putting out? Was my brother that clueless? And was it possible that Sally was reading his signs incorrectly?
“I don’t think anyone wants to drive.” TJ shook his head. “And I’m not letting anyone drink and drive.”
“Yeah, true,” Cody agreed. “What else is there?”
“What is everyone up to?” Barbie walked into the kitchen wearing a skimpy bikini. “Are you guys finally ready to eat?” she said, sounding a bit miffed. My eyes widened as I took in her small w
aist and big boobs. Her bikini was small and white and her boobs were almost popping out of the top. She must have been cold as well because her nipples were poking out like small pebbles for everyone to see. I watched as she swung her hips towards the fridge, and I could hear Sally gasping along with me as we stared at her naked, perfect, cellulite-free ass. And we saw all of her ass, as she was wearing a thong bottom.
I looked over at Sally and she mouthed the word ‘slut’ to me and I grinned. Why was Barbie wearing a bikini with a thong bottom, and why did she have to have such a perfect body? Once again I felt slightly insecure in her presence. I looked over to see if TJ was ogling her but noticed that he was staring at me with a peculiar expression on his face. I gazed into his eyes and he raised an eyebrow at me as his lips twisted up at the side. I wanted to ask him what he was thinking, but didn’t dare. He was most probably thinking that Sally and I were jealous of Barbie and her perfect body. Though maybe he was also thinking about the inappropriate way he had just touched me and the fact that I hadn’t hit his hand away immediately. I blushed as I thought about the feeling of his finger rubbing me briefly and firmly on my bud, awakening all my sexual desires.
“Not yet” Cody said, his voice husky. “We’re just trying to decide what to do tonight first?” I looked over at him because his voice sounded strange, but I almost gagged when I saw his tongue practically hanging out of his mouth as he stared at Barbie and her big boobs.
“I have an idea,” she said with a small smile as she walked over to him with some grapes in her hand.
“Oh?” Cody said, his eyes moving down to her waist and then back up to her bust as she ate the grapes and jiggled around. My eyes narrowed as I realized that her boobs were brushing against his arm. Ho!
“Why don’t we play truth or dare tonight?” she said and we all watched as she sucked another grape into her mouth like some sort of vacuum.
“Truth or dare?” Sally said, her voice pained, the light gone from her eyes. “I don’t think so.”
