Chapter 8
EIGHT
HARPER
He’s still fucking that skank, Courtney Swan. The lying bastard! White-hot jealousy punched me in the gut.
I was finding it difficult to concentrate on what Cash was saying as we left the pool together.
He helped me out of the water with his hand on the bottom of my back, and my spine felt like it would snap; it was so stiff.
My bad shoulder was also aching. I had no idea what I was doing, attempting to flirt, possibly?
I glanced back in Phoenix’s direction, where he still stood propping up the bar with Courtney. Their conversation looked intense at first, and now they appeared to be doing shots together. I felt like the dumbest girl on the planet. My heart was breaking all over again.
As usual, the girl was dressed like she was charging for it.
Court was wearing denim cut-offs that appeared to be making their way up her asshole and a blue tee over a red bikini.
The first time I met her was at a beach party the previous year.
Courtney had been wearing a similar pair of shorts, but a white T-shirt that said I fuck on the first date.
No surprise that I had sized the bitch up from day one.
“Shall I grab us a couple of beers?” Cash said, misunderstanding why I was looking towards the bar area. I caught the towel Molly threw at me and wrapped it around my body, now feeling self-conscious.
“I'd better check with the boss. Do I want a drink from the bar, Hudson?” I snarked as I plonked my ass on the lounger beside him and Mols.
The big man himself released a long, loud snore. He had his sunglasses on, so I couldn’t see his eyes. Molly was sitting on the edge of his lounger with a huge grin on her face. “Hud’s napping.”
“I can hear that. You’re keeping him up too late, Mols,” I replied with a saucy look.
She grinned, peeked over at her sleeping boyfriend, and then lifted her chin towards Cash.
Whilst shielding her eyes from the sun, she said. “I think that’s a yes from Hudson. Thank you, Cash. Harper will have a rum and Coke, and I’ll have a beer, please. Any brand, I’m not choosy.”
“Yeah, I can see that by the knucklehead you’re dating,” Cash chuckled, playfully disrespecting his friend.
I watched his muscles flex as he dried his face on his towel and then grabbed his phone.
“Back in a sec.” He then turned towards the pool and bellowed out to Josh, Michael, and Verity, who all had drinks.
Verity was sitting on the poolside, paddling her legs, and the boys were in the water. “You guys good?” The boys answered by giving him a thumbs-up.
“Save me a space, beautiful,” Cash then said, motioning towards the area on the lounger I was sitting on. I smiled.
As Cash left, I checked out his butt cheeks in the navy, still-damp boardshorts he wore. That was one fine tushy, but it wasn’t as nice as Phoenix’s ass. I then turned back to Molly with a raised eyebrow. “You’re drinking?”
She’d removed her dress and was sitting in her bikini with Hudson out of it on the bed.
“Why not. We need to celebrate.”
I was puzzled. “We do?”
“Yes. Phoenix was watching you flirting with Cash. Even from the other side of the pool, I could see the vein in his temple throbbing,” she explained with a giddy look.
Molly was so sweet with her match-making attempts, but I wasn’t on board at that moment, considering Nix was getting wasted with another girl that very second. He was probably doing it to get me jealous after my display in the pool with Cash. Unfortunately for my sanity, it was working.
Another loud snore came from her side. “How do you sleep next to that?”
She turned and glanced lovingly at her comatose boyfriend. “You get used to it. And we don’t get to do a lot of sleeping.”
“Nice,” I said, feeling awkward. Where girl-talk about sex was concerned, I was out of practice.
“I’m surprised Hudson can sleep when there are so many half-naked guys around.
Shouldn’t he be watching you, so you don’t stray?
” I chuckled, taking off the towel and tugging on my shorts.
I turned to glance up at the bar. Cash and Phoenix were now standing together, their heads bowed, deep in conversation.
Molly ignored my comment. “Hey, don’t put them back on. You look hot, don’t you want Nix to see the goods up close?”
I shrugged, fastening my top button. “I don’t know Mols. He’s been standing, talking to Courtney for the last fifteen minutes. Sloppy seconds and all that. Don’t forget he slept with her straight after he kissed me.”
“What the actual fuck,” came Hudson’s voice as he pushed up into a sitting position and yanked his sunglasses off. Those dark eyes of his drilled into me.
Of all the times to wake up.
“Brutal kissed you?”
“You’re such a faker,” Molly said, slapping him on the arm.
I cut in before he could reply, holding up a hand. “It was a mistake, he thought I was someone else,” I mumbled, no longer bothered that the cat was out of the bag.
“Shit, they’re coming over,” I gasped, watching Phoenix and Cash walking along together, holding our drinks between them. They didn’t look that thrilled. I wondered where Courtney had gone. If she joined us, I was going home.
“OK. Act natural,” Molly said, doing the opposite by grabbing her cell phone and pretending to text when the screen was still black.
“As opposed to what?” I whispered, suddenly nervous.
“Women and their bullshit,” Hudson said under his breath. He then slid his thick thighs from the bed to the floor without kicking his girl.
“I am not saying I agree with the shit going on between you, but for what it’s worth. Nix didn’t screw Courtney that night.”
“What?” I questioned.
“They passed out in Micah’s bedroom. End of. I doubt he would have gotten it up anyway with the amount of liquor he’d sunk.” Oh, he’d gotten it up all right. I still remember how it felt against my stomach.
“Too much information, Hudson,” Molly scolded, batting him on the knee.
I wasn’t sure whether what Hudson had shared made me feel better or not.
Molly gave me a smug look. “See.”
I was getting tired of these guys playing cupid. “Look, I don’t care. He can do whatever and whoever he wants.”
I was lying through my teeth, of course.
“What’s that baby girl?” Phoenix said as his thick thighs appeared beside me. I looked up as he towered over the lounger I was sitting on.
“Rum and Coke?”
I side-eyed Hudson as Phoenix lowered the glass so I could reach it. Hud slowly shook his head in disapproval and cracked his knuckles.
“Thanks.”
“Move up,” Nix instructed with a flick of his head. I shuffled further up the lounger as he lowered his huge body to take a seat next to me, half of him sitting on Cash’s stuff.
“Hey, that’s my seat fucker,” Cash huffed, passing Molly her drink.
“Not anymore.”
“Could you at least get your fat ass off my shit?”
Phoenix chuckled and leaned towards me so Cash could tug his now crumpled tee and towel out from beneath Nix’s butt cheeks. “Less of the fat ass, jerkoff.”
I peered down my nose at him as his face came close to my breasts. I could smell the tequila on him.
I jerked backwards. “I think he’s done,” I said, placing my hand on his shoulder and pushing him back into position.
I could hardly think straight with Hudson, Molly, and Phoenix all staring at me. Cash grimaced as he glanced between the two of us.
Shit. Somebody speak, say something! My eyes met Molly’s, and she must have read the message there. “So, you boys ready for the next game of the season?”
As Cash started to reply, Phoenix ran his hand up and down my bare thigh.
“You need sunscreen on. You know you burn easily.” The way his fingers felt against my skin was heaven, and if we’d been alone, I would have closed my eyes and enjoyed it.
But that was the problem, we weren’t alone, and Phoenix was being way too obvious.
You could tell Cash was distracted by Phoenix’s actions as his brow was creased and he kept glancing at us.
Hudson was clearly trying to ignore us, making the most effort I had ever seen him make with his friend. He was saying something about drills, but I couldn’t concentrate. Nix was far too close.
My drink sloshed onto my hand as Phoenix nudged me with his shoulder. “Spin around. I’ll do your back. What factor did you bring?”
“What?” I croaked, placing my drink on the small table between the bed we were on and Hudson’s. I lifted my fingers to my lips; they were sticky from the spillage, but Nix caught my wrist. I almost flipped out as he drew my hand close to his face. “Here, let me.”
My mouth dropped open as he took one of my fingers into his mouth and sucked off the liquid. Everything went quiet as Cash stopped what he was saying mid-flow. My nipples hardened against my bikini top. Shit, his tongue felt good.
Everyone watched as Nix took each of my digits between his lips one by one and licked off the alcohol. It should have been the most erotic thing ever, but with an audience, I was horrified. I gave myself a mental slap and tried to pull away, but his grip tightened.
“Stop being weird,” I whispered, making a face.
“You love it,” he volleyed back with a wink.
“What the fuck, bro?” Cash said, taking a step back. Molly cleared her throat, and Hudson released an elongated sigh with a here we go expression.
“What?” Nix replied, ignoring Cash and allowing me to tug my hand free. “You don’t want sticky fingers, do you?” He then glanced up at the other man. “What’s your problem?”
Tension between the two men heightened. “Isn’t that against the rules, bro?”
“Isn’t what against the rules?”
The two burly boys started to trade scowls.
“You, dicking your sister,” Cash huffed, clearly put out by what he’d witnessed. The party was still going on all around us, but all I could focus on was the looming threat of trouble.
Phoenix didn’t like Cash’s tone or words and pushed to his feet. My eyes darted to Molly’s and then Hudson’s, but he was texting; hopefully, calling for backup.