I woke up with Charlotte rubbing my shoulder. "It's almost seven, she whispered. "I thought you might want to eat something before we start getting ready."
I rolled over and looked at her, feeling totally out of it.
"Are you okay?" she asked, inspecting my face with a worried expression.
I nodded and tried to smile. My face felt dry and painful like it could crack under the pressure of my smile. I must not have slept that long, because my eyes and cheeks still stung from crying.
"Are you crying?"
"I was just taking a nap," I said squinting as if I was having a hard time waking up. I managed a tiny half-smile to assure her I was fine.
"You look like you're crying," she said. "Are you sure you're okay?"
I nodded.
"I wanted to see if you would help me with my hair," she said. "I found a look I want to go for on Instagram. I took a screenshot of it."
"Definitely," I said, sleepily. "Did you bring it up with you?"
"No, it's downstairs. I figured you'd want to come down and get something to eat anyway. Are you wearing that dress you bought the other day?"
I nodded.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
I nodded again.
"Just sleepy."
"I know you're lying," she said, "but I'm not gonna push you to talk about anything you don't want to."
I gave her a sad smile. "I'm not really used to taking about my feelings," I said. "It's a hazard of only having a dad and brother in the house, I guess."
"Is it about a guy?" she asked.
I shrugged.
"It's not Jackson, is it? Did he do something to you?"
For a second, I didn't even know who she was talking about when she said the name Jackson. I shook my head. "No."
"An old boyfriend?" she asked.
I attempted another smile that I'm sure looked as pitiful as I felt. "Something like that."
She stared at me for several long seconds before patting my leg. "Well I think you should forget all about that guy," she said in an optimistic tone. "It's his loss if he missed out on you."
I nodded to let her know I was thankful for the kind words. "And, little did he know, you'd come on vacation and have a rich, eligible bachelor hitting on you and taking you for horseback rides on the beach. We'll get you all dressed up, and I'll take a picture of you and Jackson tonight to post on your Instagram. He'll be so jealous."
I took a deep breath, and stretched toward the ceiling. I knew I had to shake it off and get on with my life, and I certainly couldn’t tell Charlotte it was her cousin we were trying to make jealous.
"I'm gonna take a shower," I said even though I had already taken one. "I'll come down in a few minutes to grab a bite to eat for dinner before we get started on our hair. Am I doing Mia's, too?"
"Yeah, and probably Evan's. He took his braids out and he said he wanted you to make sure his man-bun was on point."
I smiled and stretched again. "All right I'll be down in a few."
I took a second shower, this time letting cool water hit my swollen face. I felt and looked better when I got done.
Cody was nowhere to be found when I went downstairs. A lot of the family was gathered down there, but he and Ryan were not among them, and I didn't ask where they were. They offered me different things to eat, but I just made a fold-over sandwich from what was in the fridge and choked down a few bites of it before throwing the last bite in the trash.
Diane was delighted that Evan was accompanying us to the party. I knew she still had hopes that something would happen between us even though she never said as much.
Charlotte and Mia came upstairs and we all got dressed on the third floor. My dress was a short, sheer peasant style shirt-dress. It was shorter than anything else I owned. I told them I was reluctant about wearing it, but they said I was being silly since some people would be in swimsuits.
I was in charge of everyone's hair, and we all helped each other with makeup. We took more than an hour getting ready, and by the time we were done, we were fit to be seen anywhere.
Mia was ready first, so she went downstairs before us. Charlotte and I met her down there right when it was time for us to leave. Mia and Evan were in the kitchen, and she had a huge scowl on her face.
"What's the matter?" Charlotte asked as we came in there.
"You girls look gooood!" Evan said, ignoring Charlotte's question to Mia.
"Apparently I don't look good," Mia said angrily.
"Don't let him bother you," Evan said. "He's been like that all afternoon."
"Who?" Charlotte asked.
"Cody!" Mia said, still scowling when she said his name.
"What'd he do?"
"I asked him if I looked good for the party, and he almost bit my head off. He told me to try not to be too much of a slut! Can you believe he said that?"
Charlotte's jaw fell open. "You look amazing," she said. "What's wrong with him?"
"Do I look slutty in this?" Mia asked, looking down at her dress.
"It has nothing to do with you, Mia," Evan said. "He's been in a bad mood all day. Don't worry about it." Evan smiled as he looked at all three of us. "You ladies ready?" he asked.
"Don't get into any trouble," Dan said as he and Christy came into the kitchen from the living room.
"Yeah, you guys need to stick together," Christy said.
"We're probably not gonna stick together, Mom," Evan said, teasing her.
"Be good, Evan. No getting into trouble."
We left out the back door to walk to the party, so we had to say goodbye to the ones who were out on the deck. Willow reminded us that they were about to start a bonfire in case we got bored at the party and wanted to come back, and Ryan announced again that she'd be eating lots of smores. Cody was sitting out there, but he didn't even look at us. I had put a great deal of effort into getting dressed just so I could make him jealous, and he didn't even see me. I wanted to cry right then and there, but I held back.
"I don't know what Cody's problem is," Mia said, once we got out onto the beach. "He's acting like a big butthole."
"One of Paige's ex-boyfriends is acting like a butthole, too," Charlotte said, surprising me. "We're gonna take tons of pictures to show him how much fun we're having tonight."
"I'll take a picture with you right now," Evan said. He came up behind me as we walked, and put his arms around my shoulders as if we were a happy couple posing for a photo. "We can even kiss if you want to."
"Hang on, let me get my phone," Charlotte said, digging in her clutch as she came to stand in front of Evan and me.
"It's okay, I said, shaking my head, but trying to smile as I shifted out of his grasp. "It's really not like that. I don't have anybody to make jealous."
Charlotte stuck out her lip like she was sad she missed the picture. "You two look so cute together," she said.
"I'm just licking my wounds right now," I said, hoping she'd drop it.
"What happened?" Mia asked as we started walking again.
I sighed. "I was sort of just catching a few little feelings for someone who didn't feel the same way, that's all."
"Who?" Evan asked.
"She might not want to say," Charlotte said.
"Is it Cody?" Mia asked.
I couldn't bear to confirm or deny it. I didn't respond. I just walked several paces in silence.
"Does he know?" Mia asked.
I nodded one time but otherwise remained silent as we walked.
"Wait… Cody's the guy we're trying to make jealous?" Charlotte asked.
"I'm not trying to make anyone jealous," I said, trying to smile and appear somewhat upbeat. "That was your plan, remember?"
"I stand by that plan," she said. "I still think he doesn't know what he's missing, even if he is my own cousin. Jackson's really into you."
"No," Mia said. "She can't just settle for Jackson. Not if it's Cody she really wants."
"Two people have to want each other for it
to work out," I said.
"Maybe he does want you," Mia said. "Maybe that's why he was being such a big jerk."
"He was being a big jerk today," Evan said.
"Something was definitely bothering him," Charlotte added.
I sighed. "I don't really want to talk about it," I said. "He said it was best for us to keep our distance, and I have to respect that."
Chapter 17
There were at least twenty party-guests standing near the bonfire on the beach when we got there, but none of them were people we knew. We only stood there for a few seconds before deciding to head toward the house.
We had to walk down a long pier to get to the property, which was guarded by a gate. A bouncer-type guy was at the gate checking the guest list and handing out wristbands for those who were on it. We were listed as Mia, Paige, and Charlotte plus brothers, and he gave us all wristbands and pushed a remote to let us inside.
We continued on the pier through an area thick with shrubs and palm trees before it opened up to the back of Travis's property. We all gasped when we saw the place. It was gorgeous. He had spared no expense in setting up for the party, either. White lights were strung overhead and around trees. There was an enormous swimming pool that was glowing with multi-colored lights. Five or six girls were already in their swimsuits, but most of the others (fifty or so people) were standing around in their street clothes.
Travis approached the second he noticed us crossing the yard. "What's up!" he said, smiling from ear to ear. "Who'd you ladies bring with you?"
"This is my brother, Evan," Mia said.
The two guys shook hands and exchanged nods and smiles.
"Did you have any trouble finding the place from the beach?" he asked.
"The bonfire gave it away," Mia said. "And Paige had already been over here earlier today. Jackson showed her where to go."
"I forgot about that," Travis said. "He said he took you around on his horse." He paused and looked over his shoulder. "He should be around here somewhere." He smiled at us. "And I'll have to introduce you to my friends visiting from Australia."
"Yep," Charlotte said. "Let's just get straight to that."
Mia and I laughed at her, and Travis smiled, knowing (and obviously approving) of her intentions.
"There's a bar by the pool," he said. "And everything's pretty self explanatory in the house. The rooms that are off limits have the doors locked, so make yourself at home anywhere else."
"I'm gonna grab a drink," Evan said. I followed his gaze to see that he was staring at a group of girls who were standing next to the bar.
"I'll take you ladies to meet the Australians," Travis said.
Evan left, saying he'd catch up to us in a while, and we took off with Travis. "I know Jackson's gonna be looking for you," he said as we walked.
"That's okay. He probably has his hands full with all the girls who are already here," Mia said.
I glanced at her curiously, but she wasn't looking at me. I wondered what she meant by that.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Charlotte asked, reading my mind.
"Nothing," Mia said. "It just looks like there's a lot more girls here than guys."
"That's because the guys are in the house watching the weigh-ins for the fights tomorrow night.
"Sounds barbaric," Charlotte said.
"It's gonna be brutal," Travis said. "It's that guy from New Zealand with all the hype. The Australians know him a little, so they're all pumped about it."
"Why didn't they just go to the fight?" Charlotte asked.
"Because it's in London. They can see it better from my couch, anyway."
"I heard about that fight," Mia said. "I think my dad and brothers want to watch it."
"Me too," I said. "I heard about it, I mean. Seth loves all that stuff."
"You guys are welcome to come back tomorrow night," he said. "It'll just be us, but it should be pretty fun."
Just as he said that, he opened the back door. It was hard to appreciate the extravagance of it because there were 20 or 30 people standing around, and my eyes were drawn to them, but the house was beautiful. I knew it would be amazing, but I wasn't quite prepared for how big it was. The living area was at least twice the size of Diane's, and there was a DJ, standing on the far side of it, already hard at work. Rap music had been playing outside, but it was louder in the house. It filled the air, and everyone standing around in small groups nodded to the beat.
"They're in here," he yelled over the music. He motioned with a flick of the head for us to follow him, and we did. We walked down a hallway before coming to a room that was locked. It had a keypad on the outside. He pushed a sequence of numbers and the door popped open on it's own.
"Top secret area?" Charlotte asked.
Travis turned to her with a smile and wink.
The room was mostly dark, only lit by the gigantic television screen that nearly took up a whole wall. It seriously looked like a screen from a movie theater. I didn't even know such a thing existed for residential use. Lush couches lined the other three walls and a few oversized chairs sat spread out in the middle of the floor.
"This looks like my brother's theater," Charlotte said. Travis glanced at her curiously but decided not to ask. Jackson was in the room along with six or eight other guys. Sam Thorne and three other blond guys from Australia were among them. Their fighter was about to do his weigh-in, so we all watched that process before introductions were made.
Charlotte gravitated toward Sam, Travis and Mia gravitated toward each other, and Jackson gravitated toward me. He made sure to notice my dress and hair, complimenting me on both. He looked nice, so I returned the compliment before telling him how much fun I had riding his horse. He loved finding out that it was my first time to ride a horse, and that set us off on a whole conversation about firsts.
I told him this trip was my first exposure to the ocean, and he marveled at how sheltered I had been. He wasn't mean about it or anything, but he just couldn't believe that I had never seen the ocean, ridden a horse, and still hadn't been on an airplane.
"I'm going to have to fly you somewhere," he said at one point during our conversation.
It sounded glamorous, and I wanted to make him tell me when and where, but the heartache I experienced earlier was still nagging at me, and I found it difficult to relax and be happy.
We all stayed in the theater room for a while before venturing out. Travis said he had neglected his hosting duties long enough, so he and Mia left a few minutes before the rest of us. By the time Jackson and I made our way out there, more people had arrived. The music was loud, and the living room was beginning to take on the appearance of a club.
Jackson saw some people he wanted to talk to, and asked me if I would come along, but I declined. I spotted Evan, and told Jackson I was going to let him catch up with his friends while I checked on Mia's brother.
Of course, Evan had made new friends already, and he introduced me to everyone. They were having a conversation about party tricks, and I happened to have one up my sleeve for just such an occasion.
"You might want to look away if you have a weak stomach," I warned before I did it. Of course no one looked away—they never did. I had about ten pairs of eyes on me, waiting to see what I would do.
I took the pointer finger of my left hand and stretched it back where the tip of it touched right at my wrist area. I got my usual cries of pain as everyone watched and then proceeded to try it themselves. No one even got close. No one ever did. I had never met anyone else who could do it. One time, I met a girl who said her cousin could do it, but I had never seen it happen in person.
"I think I'm double jointed," I said when someone asked me how in the world I'd learned to do it. "I used to be able to do it with this hand too, but I'm not quite as flexible in that one anymore."
Everyone was still talking about it and other party tricks when Jackson came to stand next to me. "What's the commotion?" he asked. He rested his hand on the small of my
back when he came to stand beside me, and I shifted. I pretended it was to show him my finger trick, but really it was because it felt wrong, especially when I was all torn up over Cody. I thought I would be able to flirt with Jackson intentionally just to get back at Cody, but it wasn't turning out like that. It just felt wrong.
"You wanna head outside?" Jackson asked, smiling at me.
"Actually I need to steal her for a few minutes if that's all right," Evan said. "I needed to ask her advice about something."
Jackson gave Evan a slightly awkward look as if he wasn't exactly sure what that meant. "Sure," he said, more like a question than a statement.
"Thanks," Evan said, smiling. He stepped forward and put his arm around my shoulder. "I'll see you guys in a bit," he said, mostly to the girls in the group. They appeared slightly disappointed but smiled and nodded.
"Advice?" I asked as we walked to the back yard.
"Where'd you guys go?" he asked. "I tried to text Mia and Charlotte, but they didn't answer. I didn't think we'd be out here in time."
"In time for what?"
"For me to get your advice," he said. "Where are Mia and Charlotte?"
"They're fine. We were in one of the locked rooms watching some guys get ready for a fight."
He glanced at me with a questioning expression.
"On TV," I clarified. "It was the weigh-in's or something."
He nodded.
"Were are we going?" I asked.
"I thought we could check out the bonfire," he said, glancing at his watch.
"And you need my advice about something?"
"Not really. I just saw that you didn't care about having that guy's hands on you, so I figured I'd help you escape."
I laughed and slowed to a stop. We were on the trail by the time he said that, and I didn't want him to leave his new friends for my sake. "I don't need rescuing," I said, smiling. "I'm not afraid to tell Jackson to leave me alone if I want him to."
He tugged on my arm. "I wanted to check out the fire anyway," he said. "There was a cute little beach baby out there when we came up. I want to see if I can talk to her."
"I guess we can go, as long as it's not for me," I said as we walked. "I'm fine hanging out with Jackson."
Meet Me in Myrtle Beach (Hunt Family Book 1) Page 12
