#Selfie

by Cambria Hebert

  #Selfie

  The Hashtag Series #4

  It’s all about the #selfie.

  She was the one girl I never wanted.

  Until I had her.

  One night.

  One mistake.

  Something we both wanted to forget.

  I got rid of the proof. The one piece of evidence that could remind us both.

  At least I thought I did.

  When it shows up on the school Buzzfeed, rumors fly. Friendships are tested and the feels get real.

  I don’t do relationships. I don’t open my heart.

  Especially for a girl everyone knows I hate.

  What happens during spring break stays in spring break.

  Until it follows you home.

  #SELFIE

  The Hashtag Series #4

  by Cambria Hebert

  #SELFIE Copyright © 2015 CAMBRIA HEBERT

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form without written permission except for the use of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Published by: Cambria Hebert Books, LLC

  http://www.cambriahebert.com

  Interior design and typesetting by Sharon Kay

  of Amber Leaf Publishing

  Cover design by MAE I DESIGN

  Edited by Cassie McCown & There for You Editing

  Copyright 2015 by Cambria Hebert

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead,

  business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

  eBook ISBN: 978-1-938857-71-3

  Table of Contents

  Contents:

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-One

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Ominous Epilogue

  Author’s Note

  #Selfie

  Chapter One

  Braeden

  Ass was everywhere.

  Round ass, perky ass, ass you wanted to grab, and ass you wanted to smack.

  I guess you could say I was an ass man.

  And there was definitely no better place to partake in the view than on a beach where the ladies liked to strut their stuff in tiny bikinis.

  There were some ladies that probably needed more coverage than a teeny bikini, but I still looked. Ass was ass. I wasn’t about to discriminate.

  Besides, confidence was sexy, too.

  Even with all the eye candy on display, my eyes kept wandering back to one particular booty. Every time it happened, my teeth clenched and I mentally told myself I was a fucking moron and I’d better get my head on right before I did something I would regret.

  To help distract myself from the ass that just wouldn’t quit and my wandering eyes that didn’t want to listen to my brain, I drank beer.

  It’s not like I had to be anywhere other than right where I was.

  The sand. The surf. The sun and my family. Nothing else I needed.

  Except maybe the ass I kept eyeing to grow warts and a tail so I’d quit looking.

  Yeah, I said I didn’t discriminate, but even a guy like me had standards.

  “You okay, man?” Romeo asked from my left. We were chilling in some beach chairs in the sand.

  I glanced his way. “Do I not look okay to you?”

  He smirked. “You’re looking a little buzzed.”

  “All hail Corona!” I said and held up my bottle.

  Romeo laughed. Down by the water, Rimmel shrieked, and we both watched as she ran from the surf as it crashed against the shore.

  “How’s she doing after everything?” I asked, still watching her. Missy and Ivy were in the water with Trent, who was trying to teach them how to surf.

  I gave the guy credit. He had way more patience than me. Rim wasn’t surfing or swimming. In fact, she hadn’t even gotten her toes wet. Not that I could blame her for the aversion she had to water.

  “She’s hanging in,” Romeo answered and took a sip of his beer. “This week’s been good for her. No drama.”

  The reason we were all even here enjoying this fine Florida beach for spring break was because Romeo wanted to give Rimmel something besides all the drama they’d been plagued with since they got together.

  I mean, seriously. The two could fill an entire season of some old lady’s favorite soap opera with all the shit they’d been through.

  “Hey, man. If I haven’t said it, thanks for inviting me. And for paying for our sweet-ass house on the sand.” I jerked my thumb over my shoulder toward the beach house Romeo rented for the week.

  He shrugged. “We’re family.” He pulled his eyes away from Rim and glanced at me. I could feel his stare even through his shades. “Which is why I know something is up. There a reason you’re already buzzed and it’s just past lunchtime?”

  “Should I start calling you Mom?” I asked but averted my gaze.

  “You know I could give two shits if you want to drink. Hell, I got a beer in my hand. It’s spring break. But I know you. What’s up?”

  I muttered a curse under my breath. “It’s nothing.”

  “I could call Rimmel over here to badger it out of you,” he threatened.

  I groaned. She would too. Good God, she’d be like a damn dog with a bone. I had a weak spot for my little sis. She’d drag it out of me.

  I couldn’t let that happen.

  Shit would hit the fan.

  “Fuck no.” I groaned. “Look, I got some stuff on my mind is all. Nothing I care to say out loud. I’ll handle it.”

  Romeo was silent a moment. “I can respect that,” he said. “You know I got your back, right? Just say the word.”

  “Yeah, I know.” And I did. Romeo wasn’t just my best friend. It was like he said. We were family.

  Rimmel came walking up the sand, and I could almost hear Rome’s pulse spike in reaction. I didn’t even need to look to know he was taking in the way she looked in her bathing suit—which was not a bikini, thank God. Sisters and bikinis did not mix.

  Setting his beer in the sand, Romeo held out his arm. Rimmel climbed into his lap and threw her feet over the side. Sand from her toes fell all over my arm.

  “You need more sunscreen,” she told me.

  I grunted. “I’m working on my tan.”

  “If you get any tanner, people will mistake you
for an Indian,” she joked.

  “Find any good shells?” Romeo asked, drawing her attention away from my tan.

  “No, the tide’s coming in. I need to get up early tomorrow. The best ones are found in the morning. If someone would let me out of bed.”

  Romeo grinned. “I’ll let you up early tomorrow, if you go to bed early tonight. You do need your rest.”

  “We both know you ain’t letting that girl get any rest,” I quipped.

  Rimmel laughed and nudged me with her sandy feet. “How about it, B? Want to hunt for shells with me in the morning?”

  “I love ya, but hells no. I ain’t getting up that early. I’m working on a hangover.” I held up my beer.

  “Beer’s gross.” She pulled a face.

  “Better than Smurf Balls,” I countered.

  Romeo held out his fist and we pounded it out.

  “I’ll go seashell hunting with you tomorrow, baby,” Romeo said.

  Behind my sunglasses, I rolled my eyes. Rome was totally whipped. I’d never seen him like this before with anyone. Rimmel totally changed him, and if I were honest, she sort of changed me, too. Not that I was whipped, but I wasn’t totally appalled by the fact Rome was, and that was something. If anything, sometimes I felt a pang of jealousy for the easy way the pair seemed to connect. I’d never had that kind of relationship with a woman before.

  Not that I wanted one.

  Trent came jogging up and snatched his towel off a nearby chair. After he’d rubbed it over his wet hair, it stuck out everywhere. Reaching into the cooler, he grabbed a beer.

  “How’s surfing going?” Rimmel asked.

  “Those women would have a better chance at getting eaten by a shark than actually standing up on that board in this century,” he muttered, but then he grinned. “It’s pretty damn entertaining.”

  “How’s it going with Missy?” Rimmel asked slyly.

  The fact that Romeo invited Trent to take off some of the pressure of Missy and me ending up in the same room alone all the time was sort of a relief. I liked Missy a lot, but there was no future there. There never would be.

  “She’s a cool girl.” Trent shrugged.

  I knew what that meant. There probably wasn’t a future with him and Missy either.

  Rim didn’t seem to understand what I did, because she said, “Do you like her?”

  Romeo and I laughed. Trent joined in.

  “What?” she said innocently.

  Romeo rubbed her back. “You can’t just ask a guy if he likes a woman.”

  “Well, why not?” she demanded.

  “Because guys don’t sit around and talk about their feelings like a bunch of girls,” I told her.

  Rimmel rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”

  Grinning, Trent took a pull on his beer. He gazed down at the waves where Missy and Ivy were still playing around with the surfboard.

  “What’s Ivy’s deal?” he asked.

  I shifted my gaze to him.

  “Ivy?” Rimmel asked. I heard the interest in her tone.

  “Yeah. She seeing anyone?” Trent replied.

  I drank some beer; it was getting warm and tasted like piss.

  “No, she’s not. She hasn’t been dating very much,” Rim answered, but from the sound of her voice, I knew there was more to it.

  I grunted. “She probably can’t find a guy wanting to deal with all that maintenance.”

  Rimmel kicked me gently.

  “Ah, one of those chicks, huh?” Trent murmured.

  “I don’t know,” Romeo jumped in. “She’s been pretty chill lately. Different than she used to be.”

  Trent glanced back down to the water. I followed his gaze.

  The girls were towing the surfboard out of the water and laughing at whatever they were talking about. Both Missy and Ivy were wearing bikinis, and both of them were sporting nice golden tans from all the time we’d been spending out here.

  I averted my eyes and stood. “The beer needs more ice. I’m gonna go grab some.” I picked up the cooler. “You guys want anything?”

  “Water,” Rim said.

  I nodded. “Water for my sis.”

  The girls approached and dropped the board in the sand. “That thing weighs about a hundred pounds!” Ivy remarked and grabbed a towel to start toweling off her body.

  I couldn’t help but notice the way the water drops glistened on her sun-kissed skin and the way her red bikini hugged all the right curves.

  I turned away and started for the house.

  I definitely needed another beer.

  Chapter Two

  Ivy

  Spring break at the beach sure beat spending it at home with my brothers, my parents, and the rest of my family who all dropped in constantly and liked to ask a million questions about everything.

  I loved my big family, but sometimes it was nice to avoid all the questions.

  Especially when I spent half of my sophomore year at Alpha U making choices I wished I hadn’t. The last thing I felt like doing was answering questions I had no intention of answering honestly.

  But that didn’t matter.

  Those things were over.

  My eyes were open, a big part in thanks to Rimmel.

  She helped me realize it was okay to be exactly who I was. I didn’t have to try so hard to be the person I thought everyone wanted me to be. She also taught me when the right guy came along, he would like me for me.

  And if he didn’t… he wasn’t worth it anyway.

  Seemed like this was a lesson I should have learned in high school, not as a sophomore in college, but maybe I was a late bloomer.

  Okay, I wasn’t a late bloomer. I just got a taste of freedom since coming to Alpha U, and now that I wasn’t constantly surrounded by family who watched my every move, I had more room to try things out.

  And I tried lots of things.

  Most of which I regretted.

  But no more.

  I wasn’t going to be the girl who partied and drank too much. I wasn’t going to sleep with random guys, thinking it might lead me to Mr. Right. And I certainly wasn’t going to get so drunk that some psycho could take advantage of me to hurt people I cared about.

  I closed my eyes against the thought.

  It made me feel dirty even now, months later.

  It seemed it didn’t matter how much I tried to distance myself from it or tried to forget. There was no forgetting I’d slept with Zach.

  Actually, I didn’t remember much about the actual sex. I just remembered coming back to my dorm with him, some foreplay, and waking up naked when Rimmel came home the next day.

  God, I’d been mortified when I fully woke up and realized what happened. I even tried to tell myself we hadn’t actually slept together, that maybe he left before it got that far. But I couldn’t deny it very long.

  I felt the evidence between my legs the second I got up.

  I shuddered and tried to cut off my thoughts.

  But they were persistent.

  I don’t know what was worse: the fact I slept with Zach or the fact we hadn’t used a condom.

  God.

  Could I respect myself any less?

  And then to find out he’d used me to hurt Rimmel, one of my best friends?

  There wasn’t enough soap in Wal-Mart to make me feel clean again.

  So I vowed to lay off the alcohol. I would still drink—I was still in college after all—but never enough to let myself get to that point again. Never enough to not know what I was doing.

  If only I could forget. If only I could wipe away the fact I let him touch me.

  The sound of the sliding glass doors behind me broke into my thoughts, and I glanced over my shoulder. My body tensed when I saw who it was, and I rolled my eyes.

  “What do you want?”

  “Just coming to make sure you aren’t burning my dinner,” Braeden quipped as he came closer.

  I was standing in front of the grill, the scent of charcoal and hamburgers filling the breez
y air around us.

  “I know how to use a grill,” I snapped.

  “But you don’t know how I like my meat,” he goaded, stopping just behind me. I felt his breath as he leaned in, right beside my ear. “Pink in the middle.”

  My tongue slid over my teeth. “You smell like a brewery.” I spun and shoved him away. “It’s gross.”

  He stumbled back a step but didn’t go any further. He wasn’t wearing a shirt. He was all tan muscle and low-riding board shorts.

  It was totally annoying.

  I turned back to the grill and lifted the lid to check the burgers.

  I felt him behind me again, peering over my shoulder. “They look done.”

  “They need a few more minutes,” I argued.

  He made a rude noise and reached around me to grab the spatula out of my hand. I moved it away before he could.

  “Look,” he growled, and reached even farther around me, so much that I could feel the solid wall of his wide chest against my back. Gently, he wrapped his hand around the handle of the utensil, just above where mine was. I told myself the sizzle I felt was because my skin was so close to the open flame.

  I started to jerk back, but he tightened his grip and stepped closer.

  “You need a lesson,” he murmured.

  I was totally surrounded by him.

  God, had he always been this big? He towered over me, around me. The way he held his arm, it was almost like it was wrapped around me as well. I was practically encircled by him. I couldn’t go back because he was there. I couldn’t run forward because the hot grill was there. All I could do was stand there.

  And feel him.

  He moved the edge of the spatula and sliced into the center of one of the burgers. “See? Perfection.”

  “I can’t see anything,” I grumped. To be honest, I wasn’t even looking at what he was showing me. I couldn’t concentrate.

  I should have just agreed.

  His other arm came around me so I was completely enveloped in him. If I leaned my head back, it would rest in that hollow place between his neck and shoulder. I imagined what it would feel like, how safe that would feel.