7 - Jocelyn
~ 7 ~
JOCELYN
The bikini was small — very small for someone with my unusually tall frame. It still fit, although barely. And it still covered all the necessary parts, while keeping my underwear neatly folded and dry.
“Get in here already,” shouted Bishop. “And do that dive thing you used to do.”
I ran happily across the tile and launched myself into the air, bending at the waist as I did. I touched my toes at the very apex of my dive, then snapped my body back until it was nearly vertical.
Then I slipped beneath the water, with barely a ripple.
When I surfaced again, all three men were clapping.
“Where’d you learn that? ” asked Andre.
“I took diving lessons when I was nine,” I explained. “This was after I told my father I hated competitive swimming.”
“Ah, so you broke his heart,” Andre smiled.
“Twice,” I shrugged. “Turned out I hated competitive diving, too.”
I dipped under again and launched myself the entire length of the pool, enjoying the warmth of the water and the soothing blue light. I waited until I was far from the others before surfacing again. Floating on my back, basking in the moonlight, I extended my arms and stared upward through the center of the beautiful atrium.
For the first time in long weeks, I felt totally at peace.
The sky was calm, clear, totally serene. On the very fringes of my peripheral vision I could make out the shadow of distant mountaintops, framing a vast, open expanse of brilliant night sky.
My serenity was interrupted, of course, by Bishop and Kayden splashing me in the face.
“Do you really wanna die here?” I threatened them both.
“Maybe,” shrugged Kayden. “There are a lot worse places than this.”
Looking around, I had to agree. Between the mansion, the pool, and the surrounding landscape, it really was paradise.
“This place is really all yours?” I asked them skeptically. “C’mon. For real.”
Andre floated in, closing their little circle around me. In unison, they nodded.
“What the hell kind of dinner party is this, then?” I asked. Staring at the three sets of sculpted shoulders poking out of the water, I laughed absurdly. “Are you throwing a bachelorette party?”
I expected a trio of grins. Instead, they took turns looking at each other.
“It’s a very special dinner party,” Bishop said at last. “Hosted by some… high-level people.”
“So like a celebrity!?” I grinned, suddenly excited. “Is it a big celebrity?”
They floated around me silently, without an answer.
“Tom Cruise?” I pressed. “Beyoncé?”
“No, it’s not like that at all.”
I squinted. “A political party, then?”
Churning their big arms to stay afloat, they eventually shook their heads. It was obvious they were somewhat uncomfortable, though.
“Fine,” I sighed dramatically. “Can you at least tell me when this party is?”
“Yes,” said Bishop. “We’re not cooking for almost a week.”
“A week!” I cried in disbelief. “And they let you have this place until then?”
“Well, we have to get all set up,” said Kayden. “Go out to the markets, source the proteins and the rest of the produce. That’s where we were when we got Jase’s call.”
“So you figured you’d torture me,” I smirked, “with how amazing this place is?”
The two of them shrugged. “Since when have we skipped out on an opportunity to torture you?”
This time I splashed them, and soon they were chasing me across the pool. For the better part of the next hour we swam and played, laughing about old times. Kayden, Bishop and I had history between us. There were a whole lot of ‘do you remember whens,’ and ‘whatever happened tos.’ Yet Andre, for his sheer size and intimidating presence, had a distinct warmth about him that made him fit right in. His voice was deep and resonant, and when he talked his words sounded coated in honey. His smile was so friendly, it made me forget what I was about to say. And he was so damned amazing-looking, it tied my tongue in knots.
In just minutes, it felt like I’d also known him forever.
We ended up in the deep end, kicking our feet, the boys and I floating together again. Their legs brushed my legs, and the touch was electric. Hands and fingers occasionally grazed my hips or thighs, and I said nothing about it.
Fuck, Jocelyn.
I was in deep, and I knew it. All night long I’d been debating whether sleeping with one of my brother’s gorgeous best friends would be worth the eventual nuclear fallout. Halfway through the evening, I’d decided that yeah, it probably was. Maybe Jason would find out, or maybe he wouldn’t. Either way, I was through worrying about what other people thought. For once in my life, it was time to do something for myself.
The only question was, which one?
And then of course, there was Andre. Falling into bed with a big beautiful stranger like him would be so simple and effortless it was almost stupid not to do it. It would also solve the Kayden and Bishop jealousy dilemma; a problem that would almost certainly arise with whomever I didn’t pick.
Like the others, Andre had been flirting with me heavily all night. But I was just as afraid of choosing him, for fear of making the other two both jealous.
I had too much of a good thing. Too many obstacles, between me and a well-deserved—
“So which one of our beds are you sharing tonight?”
The question dropped like another honey-coated trap from Andre’s perfectly-formed mouth. It was so blunt, so straight to the point, it left me momentarily breathless.
“Who said I was sharing?” I replied coyly. “You said there were a dozen bedrooms.”
“There are,” he shot back. “But only three that actually matter.”
My eyes shifted to Kayden, and then Bishop. Instead of sharing my surprise, they looked like co-conspirators in whatever was about to go down.
“We were thinking we should have another contest,” said Andre. “Since I missed the first one.”
We. There was that word again.
“But I’m not hungry,” I protested.
“Oh, you’re hungry,” Bishop murmured, his voice low and mischievous. “We’re all hungry.”
The pool’s light slowly glided from blue to violet, casting us all into deeper shadows. It happened silently, save for the gentle sound of water lapping against our bodies.
“What kind of contest?” I found myself asking.
Kayden lifted his hand from the water, clutching something in his fist. It took me a second to realize what it was.
The blindfold.
“Do you trust us, Josie?”
I swallowed hard, forcing away the lump in my throat. Somehow, I managed to nod.
“Good. Now turn around.”
I rotated slowly in the water, giving him my back. Two arms went around me, Kayden’s warm body spooning into me from behind as he tied the damp fabric around my already wet head. For a moment something thick and heavy brushed against my bikini-covered ass. But it was far too brief to enjoy it.
“Winner takes you to bed,” he whispered wickedly, his lips pressed against my ear. “Agreed?”
My God, my heart was pounding! I had no idea how I’d gotten here, or what was coming next. But deep down inside, I knew I was all in.
“No jealousy, then?” I had to ask. “No hating on me, or judging me, or telling Jaso—”
“No,” Bishop interrupted with a reassuring murmur. “None of that. We promise.”
Hot shivers bolted through me, lighting up every last nerve ending in my body. Long seconds ticked by. Eventually, I nodded.
“Okay.”
I floated tantalizingly between them in warm oblivion, utterly blind, my other senses once again heightened. But it was only for a moment. A pair of hands seized me by the waist, spun me around, and then pulled me in.
A split-second later, a hot, questing mouth was closing itself over mine.