Chapter 9 Miles
Miles
Ican’t get the image out of my head—the way Georgia’s tits bounced as she rode Emmett. But honestly, it’s not the image that has me stuck on the thought, it’s the fact that it happened at all.
That’s a problem.
I swallow hard, shaking my head as I reach for a box of Cheerios. I mean, obviously, Brody is pissed enough to kick her out of the kitchen for a solid day. Normally, I might say that he’s just giving her a well-deserved break, but this is anything but that.
I set the Cheerios on the counter and grab a bowl, spoon, and the milk from the fridge. I haven’t slept great, mostly because of whatever the fuck all this tension is on the yacht.
Everyone is losing their goddamn minds.
Georgia has no idea what she’s getting into with Emmett, and Emmett should know better than to toy with someone as young as her. She might be twenty-five, but Emmett has been a playboy for the same amount of time that she’s been alive.
That’s a bad combo.
The last thing I want is for her to get hurt, and it’s already apparent that the tension with Brody is running high for whatever reason. If he finds out what she and Emmett did…
That could be really bad.
“Morning,” a voice breaks my thoughts, and I turn to see Georgia, in a yellow T-shirt dress. Her red bikini string hangs out of the top, and I’m pretty sure every one of us has noticed how delicious she looks in it.
But unlike Emmett, I actually contain some amount of self-control.
“You look lost in thought,” Georgia presses, grabbing herself a bowl. “Are you okay?”
I purse my lips, considering what I should or should not say to her. “Yeah, I just didn’t sleep that great last night.”
She frowns. “Oh… I’m sorry. Does it have something to do with the case you’re working on?”
I shake my head as I pour the milk into my bowl. “Not really. There are some complications with it, though. Just a corporate mess. I’ve learned to work through them. It’s part of the job, unfortunately.”
She nods as I hand her the milk. “Well, I’m still sorry nonetheless. That can’t be fun to have to work through.”
“It’s not,” I say, and then pause as she stabs her spoon into her cereal bowl and lifts it up off the counter. “Where’s Emmett?”
She pauses, narrowing her eyes. “I don’t… I don’t know.”
“Yeah,” I hesitate, trying to push away the frustration from my chest. “You don’t have to pretend like something didn’t happen last night between the two of you. I’m aware.”
That gets her attention, and her eyes grow wide, clearly caught red-handed. “Um… I… I would assume…”
“He’s in your room? His room?” I try to keep my tone even, but it’s difficult with the way she’s playing coy. It doesn’t matter how fucking beautiful she is; she needs to be warned.
“I get what you’re saying, but it’s not that big of a deal.” She blows me off, and then tries to step around me.
I step in her way. “Georgia, you need to understand that you’re playing with fire. I’m not oblivious to what’s going on. I’m more than aware of the way both of the guys look at you—and I don’t know what you have going on with Brody—but I do know what I saw last night with you and Emmett.”
She swallows hard. “I think I’m old enough to know what I’m doing.”
“I beg to differ,” I shoot back at her, shaking my head. “You don’t know the kind of man Emmett is. He’ll fuck you, and then he will break your heart a million times over. He’s not the kind of guy who sticks around.”
Georgia’s eyes bounce between mine. “Well… he might be, but who’s to say I’m not like that, too.”
I make a face. “I know you’re not. If it were my guess, I’d say you’ve never even had casual sex, have you?”
She glares at me. “It’s really none of your business, Miles.”
“No, I suppose not,” I step to the side, so she can slip past me and make her way out to the main deck. “I guess you’re just out to thoroughly enjoy the rest of the month on this yacht, huh?” I immediately regret the way my tone comes across, but Georgia only lets out a dry laugh.
“Maybe you need to get out more, Miles.” She picks up her spoon and takes a bite of her breakfast. “You don’t have to worry about me.”
I linger there, realizing that she saw right through my shit. I am worried about her. And maybe a little jealous, too. Who wouldn’t be? Emmett and Brody have always been the kind of guys who get whatever the fuck they want, when they want it.
And me? I’m the sidelined, nerdy guy.
It’s always been that way.
“You want to eat breakfast with me?” Georgia offers, shrugging her shoulders. “Then you can make sure neither of your friends come and steal my innocence.”
“Good morning,” Emmett’s voice booms through the lounge, interrupting the moment with Georgia. He walks up to me, clapping his hand on my shoulder. “You two good? You both look a little tense.” He lets out a chuckle and then whistles his way to the cabinet to get his own breakfast.
I chew the inside of my cheek, the jealousy returning, and shake my head. “You know, I have a lot of work to do. I’ll leave you two fuck buddies to do your thing. The last thing I want is to be part of the drama.”
And that’s mostly true.
I shove the attraction I feel for Georgia down and carry my bowl of cereal in the opposite direction, heading out to the bow. It might be the place that she and Emmett fucked, but at least I don’t have to watch them interact and flirt over fucking Cheerios.
Why is this bothering me so much?
I mean, I know that I have some feelings for Georgia, but most guys would, given her looks mixed with her sweet personality. She’s a real catch, but she needs to be with someone closer to her age.
And Robert is going to murder Emmett.
“Hey,” Brody’s voice cuts into my quiet thoughts, and I shift to see him with his bagel. “Why aren’t you on the main deck with Emmett and Georgia?”
I cock a brow at him. “Why aren’t you on the main deck with them?”
He grumbles something incoherent and plops down beside me. “I think it’s probably best that I avoid them like the plague.”
“Emmett or Georgia?” I try to keep my voice nonchalant, feeling out the situation. I know what happened between Emmett and Georgia, but I have no idea what’s going on with Brody.
“The latter,” he says, taking a bite of his breakfast. “I let myself get a little caught up in her. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“You weren’t thinking, probably,” I chuckle, trying to make light as I cast my eyes out over the ocean. “So, what happened?”
Brody gives me a look. “I think you can probably imagine. I just let things go too far the night of the storm, and you know, I realize that it’s entirely inappropriate, so you don’t have to chide me.”
Good god, this is a mess. Talk about a love triangle.
Brody sighs, probably misinterpreting my incredulous look. “I know I’m punishing her for my mistake. I’m the older one; I should’ve stopped it before it ever got too far. I know that.”
“Yeah…” My voice trails off.
“And I see that Emmett has kind of been there to make her feel better. I’m grateful for that.”
I nearly choke on my Cheerios. “Yeah, I’m sure he’s been making her feel better…”
“He just has that kind of personality,” Brody grimaces. “I sulk and get cold. I hate being such an asshole.”
“For sure,” I have no idea what I should be saying right now, but I know that this conversation is not something I was prepared for. I knew there was an issue between Brody and Georgia, but not an all the way kind of issue.
“What should I do?” Brody’s question catches me off guard. He’s not usually the type of guy who asks for advice, especially not from me. No one likes my legal takes. “I really fucked up, but I can’t stop thinking about her.”
Yeah, I’m pretty sure Emmett can’t stop thinking about her either.
But I highly doubt it’s a good idea to relay that information right now—or maybe ever. I have no idea. I just want to survive this yacht trip in one piece now.
“Miles?” Brody pushes me a little harder.
“Yeah?” I turn to him, forcing myself to shrug.
“You’re not saying much.”
“Well,” I huff, blowing out a sharp breath. “I don’t really know what you want me to say. You’re falling for Robert’s daughter, and you took things too far. Now, you’re being a total dickhead to her. I’m not sure that’s something I have any advice for. You know how Robert is.”
“He’s going to fucking murder me if he finds out.”
I nod, thinking about the damage he might do to Emmett as well. That would be a wild fight to watch. “Maybe you should just shove those feelings deep down in your chest. I think they call it suppression in therapy.” That’s what I’m going to do with all this shitshow.
“Yeah… I guess.” He tosses the rest of his bagel out into the ocean. “I just hate the way I’ve treated her. That’s not who I am.”
“So be nicer,” I say. “It doesn’t take much effort to be nice to someone like Georgia.”
“That’s true,” he chuckles, standing to his feet. He reaches down and squeezes my shoulder. “You’re a solid dude, Miles. I really appreciate you and Emmett. You’ve always been here for me.”
“Yeah, uh-huh,” I stare down at my Cheerios, which are now a nasty, soggy mess. I curl my lips in disgust as Brody makes his way back into the main cabin area. I breathe out a sigh of relief as he’s gone, the tension slipping from my shoulders.
So… Brody fucked Georgia. Then he punished her for it.
So, Emmett fucked Georgia to probably make her feel better.
Now, Emmett and Georgia are happy fucking each other, but Brody has no idea they’re partaking in such activities.
I nod my head as I put it all together, and then cringe. With some men, this might not really be an issue. Some guys like to share, and think it’s a whole lot of fun, but Brody?
No fucking way.
He’s one of the most jealous men I’ve ever met, and if he figures out that Emmett is sleeping with Georgia now, this yacht might literally be sunk to the bottom of the ocean.
And I do not want to be the catalyst of that disaster.
No matter how beautiful and attractive I find Georgia, I do not think I will be crossing any lines or anything that could be considered a line.
“Yep,” I say to myself, as I finish my Cheerios. “I think I’ll be spending the day in my room.”
Because this is a clusterfuck.