by JL Paul
Tori brushed my hand off her arm, her face flushed, her tone haughty. “He won’t care if it’s me. It’s fine.”
Pushing past me, she darted up the few steps and disappeared into the house.
Her words sliced my heart like it was a hunk of deli meat on a meat slicer. I chanced a quick glance to gauge how Morgan was doing but she appeared off in space as was usual for her lately.
I shrugged at Irelyn, adjusting the mask on my face to make sure it was perfect, and made my way to the drink coolers. Grabbing a beer, I glanced around at the new faces. I recognized a couple guys that did the sound board for the band at Rusty’s but the guy talking to Spencer was someone I'd never before met - although he did look a little familiar.
A tight blue t-shirt stretched across his well-defined chest while his blond, spiky hair reflected the sun. When he turned my way, his green eyes sparkled as they darted up and down my body.
I had to meet this guy. Maybe he’d take my mind off Collin.
I stepped toward Spencer but Irelyn snatched my arm. “What are you doing?” she hissed.
“Going to talk to Spencer and meet his friend,” I said. I raised a brow at her. What – did she want to hog all the gorgeous guys?
“That’s Owen and he’s not very nice,” she said.
Owen - right. I'd heard Spencer talk about him several times and, if I remembered correctly, he'd attended the little party Spencer had thrown at his place last year. I might have met him that night but I couldn't be sure. The thing I remembered most about that party was Irelyn falling down the stairs and having to be taken to the hospital by ambulance.
Snorting, I glanced at her. “Is that what you’re worried about? I can handle him.” Shaking her hand off, I approached the guys peeking at the charcoal in the grill. “Hey, Spence. Who’s your friend? I don’t think I've met him.”
“This is Owen,” Spencer said, peering at me curiously. “Haven’t I ever introduced you to him before?”
“Yes, I think so,” Owen said as his eyes traveled very deliberately up and down my body. “Briefly, at Spencer's birthday party last year. How I could I ever forget someone like you?”
I rolled my eyes as I clutched Spencer’s upper arm. “Like you’d know what to do with me if you ever had the chance.”
Laughing, Spencer pecked my cheek. “She’ll tear you up, dude.”
“Great. I love a challenge,” Owen leered.
I knew his type at once. I’d seen it plenty of times with the pretty boys from high school – the ones that were good looking and knew it. They’d play around with a girl – get what they wanted out of her and throw her away when they grew bored. And they thought they were it – that everyone wanted to be like them and that no one would ever tell them no.
“I eat worms like you for breakfast,” I said, narrowing my eyes.
“Oh,” he said as his lips curled into a lecherous grin. “I like how that sounds. Maybe you can get your little friend, Irelyn, to join us.”
I laughed as Lucas glared and took a step toward him. “I told you to stay away from her,” he growled.
Owen held up his hands, chuckling. “Just getting a rise out of you, man, that’s all. Perhaps the little shy one will join us instead.”
“How about not," I said in a near growl. I glanced over my shoulder at Morgan, standing close to Irelyn. "How about you keep the hell away from both of them?"
“That's fine, baby,” Owen said, advancing on me, his handsome face drawn into a look of lust and arrogance. “You want me for yourself. You want Owen to teach you a thing or two?”
I shook my head in disgust. “Thanks but no thanks. I’ve learned all I need to know in life from better men than you – and worse.”
Just then Collin appeared on the porch, Tori clutching the back of his t-shirt. His eyes were dark and full of raging anger. It startled me to see him look that way – he was usually so laid back.
He padded down the steps with his lips pressed together so tightly, they were turning white. Tori kept hold of him as they joined the group.
“Who're you hitting on now, Owen?” Collin asked, a hint of anger in his voice.
Owen either didn’t hear or just ignored it. He nodded at me. “This lovely young lady but I think I’ve met my match.”
A touch of pride flickered in Collin’s eyes as he glanced at me. But the darkness returned when his eyes fell on Owen. “Yeah, well, I think you’re right. She does have taste.”
I laughed, my heart rejoicing. The moment would have been so much better if Tori didn’t have a death grip on Collin’s arm.
I waved toward the grill, my tone bored. “I’ll leave you boys to your …whatever. I know how you like to compare things: who has the fastest car; who can build the best fire; who has the biggest…steak.”
With a wink, I walked away, hurrying toward Irelyn and Morgan.
“He’s an idiot,” Irelyn said.
“He’s an arrogant prick,” I agreed. “He needs to be put in his place.” I glanced at Morgan who was staring at the pack of guys. And Tori. Spencer was whispering something in Collin’s ear and Morgan’s eyes were glued on the two of them. Or maybe on Tori standing so close to Collin – I couldn’t tell which. My heart ached for her and I had an irresistible urge to go punch Owen and ‘accidentally’ knock Tori off of Collin with my backswing. Childish? Yes. Immature? Absolutely. Satisfying? Without a doubt!
Collin finally deemed the steaks ready to grill and before long, a delicious aroma floated in the air. I shook Morgan out of her stupor by suggesting that she help me select music to play in the CD player in the garage. Lucas and Spencer had dragged the rather large speakers near the door so the music would filter out into the yard.
“Morg, what’s the matter?” I asked as we flipped through the collection of CDs. “Aren’t you having a good time?”
“Yes,” she said as she dodged my eyes and picked up a Coldplay CD. “Play this one next, please.”
“Sure,” I said as I took it from her. “Morg, I’m worried about you. You haven’t been acting like yourself lately. Talk to me, please.”
“Nothing is wrong, Bailey,” she snipped.
Taken aback, I could only blink stupidly at her. She had the most even temper out of all of us.
“Fine,” I mumbled. “But you know that both Irelyn and I are here for you – you know, if anything is wrong.”
She nodded her bent head and picked through the CDs. “Thanks. I appreciate that.”
After we ate, we sat around drinking, talking, and listening to music. It would have been perfect and relaxing if it wasn’t for the fact that Tori shadowed Collin like a two year-old following her mommy and the fact that Spencer hardly noticed I was there.
Throw in Morgan’s mopey mood and we had one hell of a party.
Good times.
I was trying to figure out if Spencer was pissed at me for what I said to his friend or if he was just tired of acting like I hadn’t hurt him when I'd ended things. Either way, he was definitely avoiding me.
I was tempted to just say something – just stand up and blurt out the truth about what the hell was going on around here. I wanted to yell at Collin that Morgan liked him and he was hurting her.
I wanted to scream at Spencer that if he was upset with me then he needed to let me know so we could hash it out.
I wanted to chastise Irelyn and Lucas for being so disgustingly happy that they made the rest of us miserable. Okay, so maybe not miserable, per se, but envious at the very least.
Maybe it would piss a few people off but at least they’d show some life and maybe work things out.
But as I pondered this, I wondered would I scream out the biggest truth? Would I stand in the middle of my friends and admit that I’d slept with Collin and it had been the best and worst night of my life? Would I tell them that I was finally in love with someone but that someone regretted sleeping with me and in fact had taken an extended guilt trip over the whole matter?
What would Sp
encer say to that? And Morgan?
The only person showing any real life at the party was Owen. I thought for sure the idiot would leave when the sound guys had but no, he stuck around. He kept leering at Irelyn and Morgan like they were pieces of succulent meat hanging in a meat market window and he hadn’t eaten for months. If Lucas didn’t do something about it – I would have to soon.
Right around nine that evening, when the sky should have been dark, fireworks lit up night as everyone in the neighborhood tried to outdo everyone else.
Collin lit a fire in the fire pit and we all scooted our chairs in a circle to watch the show. I maneuvered my chair as close to Owen as possible. Someone needed to keep an eye on him.
After the fireworks died down, our party continued. It seemed the more alcohol consumed, the more people wanted to talk. Especially Lucas.
“Hey, bro,” Lucas said, his eyes twinkling in the fire light. “Grab that bottle of mescal. Let’s finish it off.”
Collin’s eyes whipped around to me, brimming with horror. Smiling, I gave him a shrug. “Get it, Collin. Let’s see if I can drink the other Newton brother under the table.”
Collin’s face relaxed and his answering smile was grateful. But Tori was still too close to him for my liking.
“Lucas, I swear if you drink that stuff and puke all over the apartment, you’re cleaning it up,” Irelyn threatened.
Lucas kissed her softly. “You know you’ll take care of me, love.”
“Aren’t they sickening,” Owen whispered as he bent his head close to my ear. “She needs a good, hard lay by a real man.”
“So that doesn’t mean you, right?” I said as I pushed his head away from me.
He chuckled as he reached out to stroke my cheek. “Want to find out?”
I batted his hand away. “Not particularly. I do have some standards.”
"That's all right," he said, his lips stretching into a creepy grin. "Maybe I'll take a shot at Morgan. Those shy, innocent types really get my blood pumping."
Rolling my eyes, I moved closer. "Morgan has too much class for the likes of you."
“Bailey,” Collin called, stilling my heart. “I don’t remember where you put the bottle. Come help me find it.”
I lifted a nonchalant shoulder at Owen as I got up to follow Collin into the house. As soon as we reached the kitchen, he spun and grabbed my shoulders.
“Stay away from him, Bailey,” he warned, his voice low and his eyes narrowed. “He’s bad news.”
Sure, he can dictate my love life while he has a girl hanging on his arm all day – a girl waiting for him to rejoin her.
Sighing, I twisted out of his hold and opened the cupboard above his head. Rolling to my toes, I fumbled around until I found the bottle. I shook it in front of him, making the little worm dance, then opened it. I took a long swig and winced before handing it to him.
He eyed me curiously as a slow smile graced his face. My heart warmed and it wasn’t from the liquor. He took a drink and grimaced. “This shit is nasty.”
“Yes, it is,” I agreed. I grabbed his shirt, yanked him closer, pressed a hard kiss on his mouth, then took the bottle from his hand. He was frozen – stunned.
I pecked his lips again. “And I can take care of myself.”
Turning on my heels, I bounded down the stairs, to the yard, and handed Lucas the bottle.
Chapter 7
I settled in the lifeguard chair, adjusted my sunglasses, and watched as the kids splashed each other with as much racket as they could muster. It was mostly younger children with their parents in the mornings – the older kids didn’t show up until the afternoons and I was usually done with my shift by then.
The Fourth of July party had been a total flop – in my humble opinion. No one else was brave enough to admit it. But it didn’t matter, really. It was over and done with and time to focus on what to do next.
As I sat in my chair I did wonder what to do next – and not with parties or get-togethers. I wondered what to do about the Tori-Collin-Morgan love triangle.
I probably should have thrown myself into the equation but I didn’t think I really factored in there. I didn’t stand a chance with him – not with Morgan crushing on him.
Another nagging little worry decided to join the rest of the mess in my head and that was Owen's remarks about Morgan. Was he all talk or did he actually think he could get Morgan to go out with him - or any other nasty thing he had in mind? I didn't think it was possible as according to Irelyn, Morgan was in love with Collin.
But what if she got desperate? What if she decided to try to make Collin jealous?
I shuddered at the thought.
My first impulse was to talk to Spencer but he seemed to be drifting farther and farther away from me. It bugged me - hurt, too - because he said we’d always be friends. And he'd broken up with me before - it's not like it was the first time this had happened.
Maybe it just wasn’t possible for us to be friends. Maybe we were the type to either be on or off - nothing in between. Maybe he was really into me and I'd tossed him aside like yesterday’s garbage.
Everything began spinning and twirling inside my head to the point where I wanted to climb down from my chair, sprint to the end of the diving board, scream ‘what the hell is going on?’ and jump.
Of course that was a terrible idea for not only would it not solve anything but it would most likely get me fired and possibly committed in the local mental institute.
With a yawn, I shifted in the chair, trying to get more comfortable. It would have been so easy to doze as my eyes were hidden by my sunglasses, but I was actually serious about the responsibility of my job. What if a little kid fell in the deep end and no one noticed? I would not be the one to let something that horrible happen. Ever.
As my short shift approached the end, someone came to visit me – nearly shocking the hell out of me.
“What are you doing here?” I asked. “How’d you get in?”
“Morgan let me in,” Collin grinned as his eyes quickly grazed my bare legs. Smugness raided my heart. “She was on her way out.”
“Oh,” I said, trying to think of something clever to say but my mind refused to help. His presence was affecting everything. “I see.”
His grin turned into a smirk as he glanced at his watch. “How much longer are you on duty?”
“About a half an hour,” I said as I turned my gaze from him to watch a little boy toddle near the edge of the pool. I started to get out of my chair to direct him to the kiddie section but his mother got to him first. I sat back down and raised a brow at Collin. “Don’t you have to work?”
“I went in this morning but the boss let me leave early,” he said mysteriously. “Hey, I have something for you. Do you mind if I hang out here and wait?”
I lifted my glasses from my eyes to glare suspiciously at him. “What is it Collin? I swear if it’s mescal I’m going to tie weights to your body and throw you in this pool.”
He laughed, his entire face lighting up. “No, I promise.”
I nodded and jammed my glasses back on my face.
He slipped off his shoes and socks and sank to the edge of the pool, dipping his feet in the water. “So, if I fell in, you’d have to save me?”
I snorted and held back my smile. “No. I’d let you sink and have the maintenance guy fish your dead body off the bottom.”
His eyes grew as he gaped at me, mouth wide open. When my smile escaped, he relaxed and laughed.
“You’d rescue me,” he said with confidence. “You know you’re dying to do the mouth-to-mouth thing on me.”
My heart froze along with my face as it was my turn to gawk. “And I thought Lucas was the arrogant one. What happened?”
Collin kept his eyes on the water as he shrugged. “Maybe I’m tired of being the good twin.”
My heart skipped a beat as I stared at the top of his head. “Collin?”
He jumped to his feet, pulled his shirt over his head, and wink
ed at me. “Sure hope I don’t drown.”
Bending his knees, he dove beautifully into the pool. I watched as he swam the width and surfaced on the other side. Water flowed effortlessly down his chest as he pushed his wet hair back. My heart could hardly take it and nearly jumped in the pool after him.
He heaved his body on the edge on the opposite side of me and leaned back, propping his body with his arms. He winked at me and nearly finished my heart.
Why did Morgan have to love him?
My relief came only a few minutes late and I was finally able to climb off the chair. Collin had stuck around, goofing off in the pool while he waited for me.
“Done?” he asked when I stood beside him. He’d been watching a couple middle school kids show off their newly found swimming skills.
“Yes,” I said with a grin. “Want to go get drunk?”
He removed my sunglasses as he edged closer. My heart thumped wildly.
“You look hot today, Bailey,” he whispered, indeed raising my body temperature. He touched my cheek, a smirk lurking in the corners of his mouth. “Very hot. Let’s cool you off.”
He pushed me into the pool before I had a chance to recover from his touch. Shrieking, I cursed him when I surfaced but couldn’t find him anywhere until his head popped up closer to mine.
“You’re dead, Newton,” I threatened but it did no good – he just smiled.
“Come on, Bailey,” he said as he hands gripped my waist under the water. “Just having a little fun. It is hot, you know.”
I wound my arms around his neck and pressed closer. A smug smile filled my lips when I caught his eyes darting down to check out my breasts that I had smashed into his chest. Yes, Collin Newton was indeed a boob man.
“I forgive you,” I whispered as I inched my face closer to his.
His pupils dilated as I grew nearer. I brushed my lips very lightly on the corner of his mouth and, grinning, I hoisted my body up and forced his head underwater, very effectively dunking him. I swam to the side and hopped out before he could exact revenge.
He climbed out after me and I cringed.
“We’re even,” I declared.
He approached me slowly and when he was close enough, he spit a stream of pool water in my face.
