14. Leo
Chapter fourteen
Leo
Present Day
“Idon’t want to be a chicken. I don’t want to be a duck. So kiss my butt.”
Yeah, I actually said that.
Loudly.
While flapping my hands like beaks and shaking my ass at the whole beach with the charisma of a camp counselor on espresso.
Laughter erupted from our crew. Tessa doubled over, Miles groaned, and even Logan cracked a smile.
Who knew that Cherise was a damn competitive track star? There I was frolicking to the beach, thinking it was a sure win. After all, I gave myself a tactical head start. Until I saw a blur of bronze skin and bouncing curls fly past me.
“Cheater!” I yelled, sprinting after her.
She beat me by a fucking mile.
By the time I got to the shoreline, she was already knee deep in the water, laughing at the obliteration of my self-esteem.
So, I held up my end of the bargain like any gentleman should, and I did it with pride.
Cherise was struggling to breathe from laughing so hard.
I grinned and launched a splash of water right at her.
Her scream cut through the air. “Oh no, you did not just get my hair wet!”
Instant regret hit me straight in the chest. “Wait… I didn’t mean—”
Too late.
She bolted at me. Pure vengeance in her eyes. I turned to run, but she pounced, tackling me with a triumphant yell. We tumbled into the shallow waves, both of us breathless and laughing as saltwater crashed around us.
Cherise landed on top of me, curls soaked, eyes wild, her legs tangled with mine in the sand.
The rest of the world went quiet.
Her hands rested against my chest. My hands… didn’t move. Couldn’t.
The sun hit her just right. She looked breathtakingly beautiful. For a moment, I didn’t give a damn about Derrick. I wished this were real. I wished that she were mine.
“Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!” Tessa’s chant snapped the moment in half.
Miles joined in. Then Grace. Freaking Logan. The whole beach was in on it now.
Cherise didn’t move. Her eyes stayed on mine. “We don’t have to do this,” she whispered.
“Would it look bad if we don’t?” She sighed quiet and hesitant. “Probably. But I’d understand. This is weird, you know, with me being your brother’s ex and—”
I kissed her.
Mid-sentence. Mid overthinking.
Her body tensed, but only for a second.
Then she melted into me.
The world slipped away. The crashing waves. The distant cheers. All I felt was the soft press of her glossed lips. Her hand slid around the back of my head. Her nails then grazed the base of my neck and sent a shiver through me.
The kiss deepened. My hands found her waist, anchoring her against me as the tide rolled in.
“Get a room!” Savannah’s voice cut through the noise.
I pulled back breathless and stunned. I could tell Cherise was, too.
Maybe it was for the crowd. Maybe it was just the act.
But damn… if that was fake, Cherise deserved an Oscar.
Cherise stood first, water sliding off her curves in a way that absolutely did not help my brain come back online. She held out a hand. “Come on, Loverboy. You’re embarrassing us.”
I grabbed her hand and stood, brushing my thumb over her knuckles, but to my surprise… she didn’t pull away.
Grace beelined straight toward us, eyes dancing between both of us.
“Okay, maid of honor,” she said, linking her arm through Cherise’s. “What chaos do you have planned for us today?”
Cherise flipped her wet curls and smirked. “Hope you brought your sea legs.”
Uh-oh. What now?
“Um,” I said, tapping her on the shoulder. “Why do we need sea legs, Cherise?” I asked, begrudgingly.
“Because we’re going…” she paused for a dramatic effect, “snorkeling!”
***
The next thing I knew, we were bouncing across the water on a boat that smelled vaguely of sunscreen and engine oil. I sat in the back with a towel around my neck. Still damp. Still dazed. Cherise was up front, laughing with Grace and Chelsea, her curls blowing in the wind like a goddess.
My lips still tingled.
That kiss was nothing short of amazing. Something I had only dreamed of for years. It was even better than any of my wildest dreams—and trust me, I’d had plenty. Did she feel it, too? That spark when our lips touched? It definitely didn’t feel like she was pretending to me.
“Alright, folks!” the guide shouted. “Snorkel gear is under your seats. Masks, fins, snorkels—make sure everything fits snug, and listen closely. This is important. Do not skip instructions or you’ll end up choking on your own panic.”
I nodded. Totally listening. Definitely.
I was not listening.
I was too busy watching Cherise adjust her bikini bottoms and pull her snorkel mask up onto her forehead, her shoulders flexing.
The way she had to hop a little to slide her fins on, the soft bounce of her chest with every movement.
I dragged a hand down my face, trying not to imagine pulling her against me right here on this boat.
Yeah. Instructions were the furthest thing from my mind.
“When you get in the water,” the guide was saying, “ease yourself off the side and—”
“Leo, what the hell are you doing?!” Cherise called out.
I turned.
I was halfway over the edge of the boat, one fin on, the other barely hanging off my foot. Mask crooked, snorkel not even in my mouth.
“You’re not jumping in like that,” Cherise snapped, grabbing my arm and yanking me back. “Sit down, put both fins on, then slide in. You look like you’re about to belly flop and die.”
“Oh.” I looked down at my situation. “Cool, cool, cool. Good note.”
Chelsea laughed. “He’s gonna be that guy in the Yelp review.”
Grace chimed in, “Came for the fish, stayed for the near-death experience.”
“Let’s not kill off my boyfriend before we even make it to the wedding,” Cherise said, reaching over and fixing my mask.
I knew she was pretending, but dammit… boyfriend sounded really freaking good coming from her lips.
A dramatic huff came from Savannah’s direction. “I’m not getting in,” Savannah announced, dramatically removing her goggles. “This face is beat for the gods. I’m not about to look like a smudged-up sea monster for Instagram.”
“Then why even put the snorkel gear on?” Cherise asked.
“Pictures, obviously,” Savannah snapped, flipping her hair as she adjusted her bathing suit top for maximum cleavage.
Chelsea tapped Cherise and whispered, “Watch this.”
Then… Splash!
Chelsea launched herself off the side of the boat with a cannonball that would have made Poseidon jealous.
A tsunami level wave of salty vengeance barreled directly onto Savannah, soaking her perfectly contoured face. She screamed, frantically wiping her eyes as she flipped the camera on her phone to assess the damage.
“I look like a damn raccoon!” she wailed.
Cherise threw a wink at Chelsea, and Chelsea gave a bow in the water.
Snorkeling was… something else.
Below the surface, weightless, and out of my depth in more ways than one.
The ocean wrapped around us, a surreal dream. Deep blues and shimmering sunbeams sliced through the surface above. Schools of neon colored fish darted past us in coordinated chaos. Coral bloomed beneath our flippers. It was all so magnificent.
Cherise floated beside me. Her curls flowing in the current. Her eyes widened as a sea turtle passed between us and she pointed with the expression of a kid seeing fireworks for the first time.
My chest ached. Somehow, in the middle of all this aquatic masterpiece, I was falling for her all over again. Something that took years to get over was slowly creeping back no matter how hard I tried to bury it deep.
We hovered near a reef, her hand brushing mine, weightless but electric.
When we finally resurfaced, gasping and grinning, I pulled off my mask and glanced at Cherise.
She looked radiant. Eyes wide, a smile stretched across her face.
That smile did something to me. To be the one who made her feel that kind of peace?
That kind of joy? Hell, I’d dive to the bottom of the ocean every damn day just to see it again.
“Wow,” she breathed, wiping water from her lashes. “I wish I could stay down there forever.”
“Same,” I said, still catching my breath. “Definitely something I wanted to scratch off my bucket list, that was amazing.”
“Did you see that sea turtle?” she asked, eyes lit up.
“Did I?” I grinned. “You know I had to do Nemo proud and say dude.”
She snorted. “You are such a nerd.”
“Yeah, but I’m your nerd, right?” I asked, heart racing as I tossed it out casually, testing the waters. I cleared my throat. “While we're here, I mean.”
She didn’t answer, but her smile deepened, and her fingers found mine under the water.
That was more than enough.
The rest of the day passed in a blissful blur of sun and saltwater. We danced like idiots on the boat deck and laughed until our cheeks hurt. Cherise had a glow about her as if the ocean air had rinsed away all the stress she’d been carrying over this trip being a disaster.
After dinner, everyone peeled off one by one. Grace dragged Logan away for a moonlit walk. Chelsea claimed she needed to “wash the sea off her aura,” and Savannah announced she had to Facetime her esthetician because the salt had altered her pores.
We said our goodbyes to the rest of the bridal party and made our way back to our room.
***
Cherise came out of the bathroom with damp curls and a peach-colored silk pajama set. “I still can’t believe you’re choosing to sleep on that glorified prison cot just for my comfort.”
“It’s the gentleman in me,” I said, patting my chest with mock nobility. “It won’t sit right in my heart to watch you sleep on a fold-out mattress.”
Cherise rolled her eyes, but a smile tugged at her lips.
I flopped down on the pull-out, and the second my ass hit the mattress—
CRASH!
The bed let out a screech and collapsed inward, trapping me inside like a mousetrap. My entire body sank, my limbs flailing in slow motion. “Leo!” Cherise gasped, bolting upright. “Oh my God, are you okay?!”
From the pit of the sunken mattress, I lifted one finger into the air. “I think... I might actually have a case to sue now.”
She burst out laughing, crawling across the bed and helping me out. “I’m ok, just bruised my ego,” I said.
“This is why we can’t have nice things. I told your ass you were too big for that pull-out.”
“It’s fine,” I said, grabbing a pillow and the toppled blanket. “We’re good. I’ll just make a little pallet on the floor. Old school. Like at Grandma’s house when the cousins visited.”
“Leo,” she warned. “Absolutely not. You’re not sleeping on the floor. This bed is the size of Texas. We can share. Now get your ass in this bed.”
I stilled. “Are you sure?”
She flopped back onto the pillow. “As long as I don’t get poked in the back mid-dream, we’re golden.”
My brain exploded and was currently oozing out of my ears. I was about to climb into the same bed as Cherise Monet. The same girl I used to fantasize about in AP Chemistry. The same girl who used to date my twin brother.
Now we were sharing a bed. No divider. No rules other than not poking her with the massive boner I knew I was about to have, and absolutely no clue what the hell I was supposed to do with my arms.
I slipped under the covers, every nerve ending on high alert. Her scent of coconut and honey wrapped around me. A trap pulling me in. Cherise didn’t say a word. Just flipped onto her side, facing away, her voluptuous ass now tempting me.
Behave yourself, I told my body.
But my dick whispered, Good luck with that.