Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
Cam parked their mountain bikes in a bike rack kept inside the equipment shed. “Shower?”
Yes, please, if your shower is large enough for us both. Nolan wiped a hand over his sweat-beaded forehead and made sure those words did not escape. “I could certainly use one.”
“I can use the shower in the security office while you use mine.”
“You have a shower in your office?” Nolan asked.
“Yes, from when Dylan lived in it. The twins sure didn’t skimp when they added the two residential wings onto the original family farmhouse. The bathroom is pure luxury and I swear the shower can fit a half dozen people.”
“That plan works for me.” Nolan wasn’t sure that Cam would pick up on the double entendre.
But really, even a hose would work to rinse off the dust and sweat. However, if he wanted to find someone to play with later, he really needed a good scrub. He didn’t want to turn off any potential partner with musty balls or smelly armpits.
“I’ll go back to the cabin with you and grab a change of clothes. Once you’re done cleaning up, meet me at my office and we’ll head to the lodge for breakfast.”
“You need to work today, right?”
“After we eat, I’ll catch up on a few things, including checking in on my staff, but I’ll take the afternoon off.
Or at least be on call, just in case I’m needed.
You can explore the property some more while I’m tied up.
Feel free to use the pool and attached hot tub.
Take a mud bath at the spa or schedule a massage.
You can go on a trail ride or take one of the ATVs out. Do whatever your heart desires.”
I desire you.
“How about some yoga?” Nolan asked once they rounded the corner of the equipment shed and he spotted about a dozen people in the distance, twisting themselves into all sorts of poses on spread out mats near Nirvana, the resort’s spa.
Instead of continuing on back toward his cabin, Cam paused and stared toward the group. Finding Cam’s reaction strange, Nolan glanced over at the group again to see if he could spot the issue. “Is something wrong?”
Cam shook his head. “Nothing.”
That was when Nolan realized that the head of security wasn’t checking out the whole class, but only the instructor; a very attractive, slim redhead.
Hmm. She could have potential in his search for a sex partner. No key exchange needed. “Bet she’s flexible.”
“She is,” Cam murmured.
Nolan’s head spun toward him. “You’ve been with her?” If so, there went his potential hookup.
“Once.”
Damn it. “Why only once? Is she psycho or something?” He knew from experience that redheads could be super fiery.
Cam shrugged one shoulder. “No, we just haven’t had the opportunity for a repeat.”
“But you’d like to,” Nolan guessed.
Cam turned his dark brown eyes toward Nolan. “Absolutely. I had a good time. I assume she did, too.” His brow furrowed as he seemed to consider his own words.
“Did you want to head over there to remind her that you exist?” Nolan teased. “I can be your wing man.”
Cam’s eyes flicked back to the instructor, now sitting cross-legged at the front of the group while the rest of the class was sprawled out on their mats on their backs.
Were they sleeping? Weird.
Nolan knew nothing about yoga. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to learn anything about it, either.
“I can introduce you, if you’d like. It looks like they’re just finishing up.”
“By taking a nap?”
Cam chuckled. “It’s called…shit, it had some weird name, but basically it’s the Corpse pose and ends a session.”
“Are you saying yoga is so intense that you die at the end?” Nolan joked.
“Basically. From a distance, most poses look easy, but holding those poses is more difficult than you think. You also need good balance.”
“You’ve tried it?”
“Once.”
“So you could hook up with the instructor?” Nolan guessed.
A smile crossed Cam’s face. “You know me too well.”
Not as well as he wanted to know him, unfortunately.
Cam tipped his head toward the group, now slowly rising from the ground and rolling up their mats. “C’mon, let’s go say hello.”
“I guess the sex must have been good for you to head in that direction instead of running away and hiding.”
Cam’s dark eyes flicked to him as they walked toward Nirvana. “Definitely. I like that she’s independent and she’s…”
“She’s?” Nolan prodded. “She’s what?”
“Gorgeous.”
It was obvious that wasn’t what Cam was originally going to say. Now Nolan was curious about the woman. Did she have some kind of crazy kink? Did Cam?
What was Nolan’s longtime friend into? What secrets had he been hiding? Whatever it was, he couldn’t hold it against Cam since Nolan was holding on to a secret himself.
When they got to the redhead, she had just finished collecting the rolled-up mats and was setting them on a wheeled cart as her class wandered away. All looking very relaxed, of course.
Her smile was huge and her blue eyes sparkled like topaz gems when she straightened and spotted Cam. “Hey, stranger.”
“Hey,” Cam returned the greeting. “Sorry, didn’t mean to be a stranger.” He turned to Nolan. “Hope, this is Nolan Young, I worked with him at PSP. Nolan, this is Hope Reed, she’s the resident yoga instructor.”
“Wow, it has to be illegal for two men as handsome as you both to be in the same spot. That’s not fair to the rest of the men.”
Nolan chuckled and tried not to be obvious about checking her out in her tight yoga pants and sports bra as he extended his hand. The woman was certainly in shape. “Hello, Hope. Nice to meet you.”
Hope placed her hand in his and shot him a warm, welcoming smile. “Nice to meet you, Nolan. Are you still a trooper?”
Nolan shook his head. “No, I recently retired. That’s given me some time to come up here and check out Cam’s new gig.”
“He’s popular around here,” Hope said with laughter in her voice. She winked at Cam.
No way. Cam didn’t just blush, did he? He must really like this woman.
That sucked for Nolan because, of course, the two people he could see himself having sex with were already interested in each other.
He didn’t want to cause any drama between himself and Cam. Especially not over a woman. Luckily, he still had four more nights to find someone else. He might even find someone tonight at the event, whether he participated in the key exchange or not.
“How long are you here, Nolan?” Hope asked him.
“Four more nights.”
“Nice. Did Cam give you the nickel tour?”
“He did. This place is certainly impressive.”
“Did anything catch your attention?”
Nolan wasn’t sure how to answer that weighted question.
“Do you plan on coming to the mixer tonight?” Cam asked her, saving Nolan from answering.
“I wasn’t invited,” she answered.
“You don’t need an official invite. You know you’re a part of the Double D family.”
One of her dark red eyebrows lifted. “Are you going?”
“Yes. I figured Nolan would enjoy it.”
“How about you?” Hope asked Cam.
He tipped his head as he regarded her. “I will if you’re there.”
Oh yeah, Nolan’s friend was definitely interested in the yoga instructor.
“You should come,” Cam insisted. “It won’t be the same without you.”
Now it was Hope’s turn to have pink cheeks. “I don’t have any plans tonight so maybe I’ll stop by. Is it themed?”
“Flashback to the 70s. They’re even going to have an optional key party.”
Hope squinted at Cam. “Key party?”
“It was popular with swingers back in the day. You throw your keys into a bowl, then you hookup with the person whose key you pulled. They’re going to use the keycards from the rooms instead of actual keys,” Cam explained.
“I don’t have a keycard.”
“You don’t need one.”
Did Cam add a wink onto that? He sure did.
“Oh,” Hope breathed and winked back.
While Nolan liked that Hope was both bold and beautiful, the fact Cam and Hope were flirting with each other confirmed that his friend was straight.
Unfortunately.
The key exchange was sounding better and better for him.
“Well, we need to go clean up after our bike ride. Sorry if we’ve seared your nostrils.”
Hope laughed softly. “You haven’t. You two smell like the outdoors.”
Cam finished with, “Anyway, I hope we see you tonight.”
“I second that,” Nolan added.
“I’ll think about it. If I do, I need to find a groovy outfit to wear.”
“We look forward to seeing that,” Nolan threw over his shoulder as he and Cam turned to head back to the cabin.
Hell, she’d probably look stunning wearing a black garbage bag.
The dimly lit space vibrated around them with both sexual tension and bass-heavy disco music. Mirrored disco balls spun from the ceiling, reflecting colorful lights all over The Mane Event Hall and its occupants. The floor was packed with people moving and grooving to 70s tunes.
The DJ on stage wore a huge afro wig, oversized rose-colored glasses, and a one-piece multi-colored jumpsuit with a deep V neckline showing off a thick gold chain and hairy chest. The current vinyl he was spinning was Boogie Wonderland by Earth Wind and Fire, and anyone who knew the words was singing along.
Nolan shadowed Cam as he worked his way through a crowd full of guests and employees wearing various wigs, as well as huge hoop earrings, platform shoes, and even flared pants.
One man even showed up dressed like Hugh Hefner, with the robe, pipe and all.
The atmosphere was fun, with people dancing, singing, and laughing, most likely a bit tipsy from the spiked punch.
When they paused in front of a stretch of tables full of food typical of that decade, Nolan snagged a pig-in-a-blanket and popped it into his mouth. The spread also consisted of cheese fondue, Jell-o molds, and ambrosia salad.
“Do you think any of these people actually lived through the 70s?” Nolan asked Cam. “I mean, most of the attendees don’t seem old enough.”
Cam chuckled. “I’m sure some did. You should’ve seen the 80s party we had a few weeks ago. The guests wore the craziest outfits. The music was great, though.”
Cam nodded to one of his security guards when they crossed paths.
“Ah, yes, the 80s,” Nolan murmured. “Teased, over-sprayed hair, leg warmers, and jelly shoes.”
“I actually saw some of that,” Cam said on a laugh. “I worked the event that night but it was still fun and made for great people-watching.” He pointed to a large bowl. “There you go. If you want to throw your keycard in there.”
He had to write his initials with marker on the blank card Cam got him since he didn’t have a room number.
He tossed it in the bowl and crossed his fingers for the best. He really didn’t care if it was a man or woman, or even a couple, who chose him. He only hoped there was some sort of spark between them.
Unfortunately, he never asked who was supposed to pull the key.
He had no idea how the resort’s version worked since his research showed that the original key parties were made up of couples.
One half of the couple threw their car key into the bowl and the other chose a key.
Nolan didn’t have a partner to swap out.
Whatever. He’d go with the flow.
An elbow to the ribs had him turning toward Cam to see Hope making her way over to them. She was dressed in a hot-pink jumpsuit that showed off some cleavage, wore wedge sandals, had a large, fake daisy pinned in her teased hair, and oversized gold hoop earrings hung from her earlobes.
While the outfit was crazy at first glance, she managed to look smoking hot in it.
“Where’d you get that outfit?” Cam asked as she joined them.
With a smile, she showed it off by turning in a circle, and once she stopped, she popped out a hip. “Not from my closet, that’s for sure. I asked my neighbor. She was in her 20s during that decade and she hasn’t thrown away anything.”
“It looks great on you,” Nolan told her.
She turned her smile toward him. “Thanks! You should’ve seen her face when I stopped by her house on my way here. She was thrilled I fit in it.”
“You certainly do,” Cam murmured, eyeing her up and down.
“Have either of you hit the dance floor yet? I’m loving this music!”
“No, we just got here a few minutes ago.”
“Well, then what are we waiting for, guys?” She walked backwards and crooked a finger at them. “Let’s go boogie!”
Then she turned and disappeared on the dance floor.
Cam and him shared a look.
“Do you dance?” Nolan asked Cam.
“How hard can it be?” Cam responded with a grin.
It can get pretty hard if I have to watch you moving to the music.