Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty One
Landon
I’m relieved that I’ve hardly seen a showrunner or assistant all day.
Where the hell do they all stay anyway? Clearly, they aren’t living here.
This place is huge, and there are some hallways that have been deemed off-limits, but it’s not like it could house over a dozen extra people.
Maybe they have trailers out in the woods behind the house somewhere, or there’s another house down the road.
Though road is a stretch of the word. I’ve explored the perimeter of this place a little, and I haven’t found a single trail or road in any direction.
We haven’t been told explicitly that we can’t explore. It’s more like it’s implied. I figure as long as I don’t go too far, or at least don’t get caught, then what’s the harm really?
The day has been really nice actually. After yesterday’s insane storm, I wasn’t sure what the weather would be today.
Just as fast as it came, though, it disappeared, and it was back to harsh sunshine and not a cloud in sight.
Now that the sun is setting, the temperature has cooled off enough that we’re actually slipping into the hot tub.
Technically, it was Courtney’s idea, but given our new strategy of selling this love story, where she goes, I go.
She used to drive me up the fucking wall, but I guess I’m getting used to her quirks.
Like how she can’t finish everything on her plate, she has to leave one bite, even if she’s still hungry.
Or how she gets out of the shower dripping wet even while wrapped in a towel.
Soaks my fucking socks every time, so I’ve taken the precaution of waiting to put socks on until I’m in the hallway.
Kenzie and Calvin are also in the hot tub, and while the girls talk about hair or something, Calvin and I are discussing things that are truly important in life. Like whether Trevor Michaels will retire from the Seattle Crusaders or go on for one more season.
“As far as QBs go, there are plenty with a lot more talent who are a hell of a lot younger,” I say with a shrug.
“Dude, he’s gone to the Super Bowl and won, seven times. There isn’t a rookie out there that can touch him,” Calvin disagrees.
“True, but you can’t deny since he got married and started pumping out a million kids, his focus just isn’t what it used to be.”
Calvin nods as he settles further back into the hot tub. “True, but with a wife like that, how can you blame him, right?”
I laugh and we fist-bump before Kenzie clears her throat. We both glance over to see the girls staring at us with unimpressed expressions.
“What? Your dad is a huge football fan, I know you know who Trevor Michaels is, and his wife,” Calvin defends with his hands in the air.
“I do. I don’t like my man looking at other women, though,” she says as her eyes roam over him.
“It was before we even met, babe.”
“So?” Kenzie throws back.
Calvin lets out a deep sigh. “You’re right. That’s on me, I should have known you were out here waiting for me.”
For a moment, I’m shocked because they can’t be for real, right? Then I see a playful smirk at the corner of Kenzie’s mouth and realize she’s just fucking with him.
“Better.” She smiles, lifting her head a little higher as Calvin kisses her shoulder affectionately like the simp he is.
At least he’s a happy simp. If it works, it works.
“Are you into football?” I ask Courtney.
She shrugs. “I mean, I live in Crusaders country. The entire city practically shuts down on game day, but I’ve never been a die-hard fan or anything. Little too busy—”
She stops abruptly, her casual smile dropping in an instant before she looks out towards the swaying trees and clears her throat.
I don’t pry, it’s not who I am, but something about the way she’s so guarded tells me there’s way more to her than she lets on.
She tries to front this rock-hard exterior, like she doesn’t let anything or anyone bother her, but I see straight through it.
She’s broken inside, or at least she was.
Something inside me is itching to crack her shell open and figure out how all of her little broken pieces fit together.
When Courtney looks back at me, I realize I’ve been staring at her like a fucking creep.
Looking away abruptly, I find Kenzie and Calvin full-on making out before he pulls her into his lap.
She grinds against him, and they both moan before he stands them up.
She wraps her legs around his waist, and Calvin climbs out of the hot tub and carries her somewhere a little more private.
“Bye!” Courtney waves dramatically as I do the same.
“Have fun, kids.”
Courtney and I both chuckle before looking at each other. Slowly, her smile softens, and once again, I find myself lost in how complex her eyes are. Little flecks of green and gold shine in them with just the right amount of light. Light molten chocolate melted over jewels.
“Who’s Lily?”
The question comes out before I even think about it. So much for not prying. It’s been in the back of my mind ever since she slipped up, though, and part of me is curious if she’ll answer at all.
She looks taken aback at first, and then her expression turns conflicted. I watch as her gaze moves to the bubbling water and she appears to almost get lost in it. I don’t rush her or push for more. Instead, I wait quietly.
When she lifts her gaze back up, there’s a rawness like I’ve never seen splashed across her face.
“M-my sister,” she says, her voice slightly raspy, like the words were difficult to choke out.
I nod and don’t plan to ask anything else when she offers up more information.
“She’s fifteen.”
I nod. “So, basically, she’s a little shit?”
Courtney lets out a slightly amused laugh as she shakes her head. “No, quite the opposite. She’s… she’s a really, really good kid.”
There’s sadness in her tone, and understanding dawns on me. “So, are your parents in the picture at all, or is it just you two?”
Her brows pull together in confusion. “Wait, how did you know—”
“I’ve lived in enough foster homes to know what it looks like when someone got the shit end of the stick in the parental department. You talk about her like she’s your kid, not your sister.”
Courtney tilts her head to the side. “Ah, foster kid, huh?”
Shit. I said that part out loud, didn’t I? Well, no going back now.
I shrug and don’t elaborate.
“It’s all coming into focus,” she says. “The ‘bad boy from the wrong side of the tracks’ vibe you give off. How you came in here perfectly content to be the loner. How you nonstop picked fights with me when I did nothing—”
“Yeah, gonna have to disagree on that last one,” I scoff.
She shakes her head and smirks like she doesn’t care what I have to say.
She’s looking at me like she finally understands my whole life story.
She doesn’t have a clue, though. I’m not sure why it doesn’t piss me off more that she’s assuming.
Normally, when anyone even attempts to assume anything about me, I want to knock their teeth in.
Maybe it’s because with her, I can’t sense any ill intention. Yet, at least.
“So, if she’s fifteen and you’re her guardian, I’m assuming, where is she at while you’re in paradise?” I ask, more than ready to get the spotlight off me.
She’s more receptive to the topic change than I expect, further complicating the puzzle that is Courtney… Shit, I guess I don’t even know her last name.
“Staying with a friend once she’s done with her rehab, which I can’t check up on because they won’t let us contact the outside world,” she says, shaking her head.
Again, I don’t push, and Courtney seems to do well with that.
“She’s sick. Has been since she was a baby. Dad split, Mom offed herself and since then it’s been just us,” she says with a matter-of-fact shrug, like nothing could change it, so why harp on it.
I don’t respond; I don’t move a muscle or even breathe. I can see how close she is to the edge of falling apart or shutting down completely. So I wait patiently, in the hope she’ll continue.
“Lily was born perfect. I remember looking at her in that hospital bed thinking that nothing could ever compare to her. She was flawless… except for the tumor growing on her liver.”
I do my best not to react as she continues.
“She was only two days old when she had her first surgery. She hit her tenth surgery by her third birthday, and now that she’s fifteen… fuck, I’ve honestly lost track. Every time she beats a cancer, a new one hits her, more aggressive and stronger than the last.”
Courtney swallows roughly, looking down for a moment as she seemingly chokes back tears.
“It’s called Von Hippel-Lindau disease, or VHL if you’re a normal person.
” She laughs bitterly. “Basically, it’s a genetic condition that causes tumors to grow in your body spontaneously.
Not all tumors are malignant with VHL patients.
For some reason, though, about seventy percent of Lily’s have been so far. ”
Fuck. I hate that for her. For both of them.
“She got a stem-cell transplant before I left, and they said after her body has a little time to recover, they can push into PT. It’s one step closer to getting her home and out of that damn hospital.”
Courtney doesn’t say anything more, and I don’t ask a single question. I know well enough that each piece of information is gifted, not earned. Each broken, jagged piece of her that she’s vulnerable enough to share is something to be protected, and cherished.
“That about cover everything you want to know?” she asks, her tone holding a fiery bite that I know first-hand is a defense tactic to distract me from her emotional state.
“No,” I answer simply.
She lets out a disbelieving scoff before I continue.
“Thank you, though.”
Her face pulls up into something like a sneer. “For what?”
“For telling me. I know you may not believe me, but your secrets will live and die with me.”
Something passes across her face, relief mixed with gratitude as she dips her head. “You know, for some reason, I believe you.”
I nod. I like that.
Movement catches my eye from a little way away, and I spot Noah playing ping-pong with Connor. His eyes aren’t on the game, though. They’re on us. A thought crosses my mind, and I can’t control my smirk.
“We’ve got an audience, Court.”
Irritation instantly fills her features. “I told you I fucking hate that name.”
“I know. Shut up and crawl into my lap,” I reply.
She goes to turn her head to where I’m looking, but I grab her hips and drag her into my lap. She gasps in surprise as her hands brace on the edge of the hot tub either side of my head.
“What the hell are you doing?” she demands.
“You don’t follow directions very well. Listen carefully and kiss me.”
“What? Why?”
“Because Noah is watching us like a desperate loser who just realized what he used to have.”
Something in her shifts at that, and she casually rolls her neck to the side like she’s stretching so she can glance his way. When she turns to face me, revenge is heavy in her features, and she smirks.
“That fucker never had me.”
“Attagirl.” I grin as she leans down, cupping my face in her hands before she brings her lips to mine.
They’re soft at first, gentle. But all it takes is one swipe of my tongue against the seam of her mouth to have her opening up for me.
A soft moan escapes her, and I place one hand on her ass, dragging her against me as my other hand tangles in her hair.
I wind my fist around her curls and yank sharply, earning a needy moan from her as she arches into me.
I take full advantage of it, running my lips up and down her neck as her hips begin gyrating against me.
Christ.
My eyes flick over to the ping-pong table, where Connor is now holding Noah back.
He’s staring at us with wide eyes like he’s going to run over here and…
do what? Pull us apart? Fight me? Good fucking luck.
I’ve got at least twenty pounds of muscle on the guy, and honestly, I’ve been itching to let a little aggression out.
Only ways to do that are to fight or fuck.
If I’m honest, though, right now, I’m leaning towards the latter.
Moving my attention back to the needy woman in my lap, I pull her head back down to me. Her pussy grinds against my cock, and I don’t try to hide how hard she’s got me, tilting my hips up to meet her every move.
Her hands move to my shoulders, her nails digging into my skin in a way that has me biting back a moan of my own. Our tongues tangle, and suddenly, I don’t give a fuck about putting on a show. I just want more of this. More of her.
I tease the edge of her bathing-suit bottoms with my fingers before tugging them to the side.
I wait for a moment to see if she’ll push me away, but when she doesn’t, I let them drift against her skin.
She gasps into my mouth when I trace the outline of her pussy.
As soon as I push two fingers inside, though, she can’t hold it in, and she lets out a moan that can probably be heard across the entire island.
I begin pumping my fingers in and out of her, hidden beneath the water around us, and her body begins to shake and shudder. At this point, I’m not sure if she’s riding my hand or I’m finger-fucking her. I think it’s both, and I’m fucking loving how needy she is for it. For me.
I feel her pussy beginning to spasm around my fingers already, and I push a little deeper before rubbing against her G-spot. Courtney gasps before burying her head into my neck.
“Oh my God! Oh fuck! Fuck! FUCKKK!” she screams into my skin.
I don’t slow my rhythm or lose pace for a moment, forcing her to take every ounce of pleasure possible.
When she has nothing left, she collapses into my arms, letting out ragged breaths for several moments before she slowly lifts her head.
Our eyes meet, and I can’t help but move my gaze from her eyes to her mouth before she pushes away gently, floating on her back, as if I didn’t just make her see stars.
Shifting in my seat, I do my best to ignore my rock-hard cock. Fuck, I swear I’ve never been this hard in my entire life.
Where the fuck did that come from?