Chapter 3
CHAPTER 3
I stand in the middle of our hotel room, blinking. What just happened?
Echo kissed me. Like a lover.
It blew away every notion I had about her. About us.
Heaving a breath, I stumble back to the bed and sink down. Now what do I do…especially about the fact I’m aching to kiss her again?
The better question is, what happens if you do…and you turn out exactly like your father? You’ll break her heart, and you won’t have a best friend anymore .
That can’t happen.
But she’s out there alone, probably confused. She kissed me to demonstrate how ridiculous the notion of us in bed together is…but instead she proved we have blow-the-top-off-my-head, make-my-cock-bust-out-my-zipper chemistry.
I said it before, but it bears repeating. Holy shit.
My first instinct is to charge after her. Then my brain kicks in. If I drag her back to our room now, I doubt there will be much talking. Before I see her, I have to cool down. I have to think without my body throbbing.
Sitting isn’t working. I stand. I pace. But no, my lips still burn. My heart pounds. My blood sears me as it races to my cock.
It would be easy to take her sweetness, but she wants things I can’t give her. Love. Devotion. Forever.
But Xavian wasn’t going to give her those things, either. He hasn’t suddenly decided he’s head-over-heels with her in the last week. So why did she choose him?
I need to know. And before I find Echo and figure out how we proceed given the fact I can still taste her lips against mine, I have to find out what X is really thinking.
Where the fuck do you think she went? She’s not hanging out at the bar by herself with a tear-stained face …
Oh, shit. What if she’s already in Xavian’s bed? What if she’s fucking him?
With a curse, I grab my key from the nightstand, then dash out my door. X’s room is just down the hall. I don’t see a light on under the door. He’s got to be roaming the hotel grounds since nothing else is within walking distance.
Then I hear a woman moan. Not like she’s upset or hurt. But like she’s halfway to orgasm.
Seriously, X already has her naked and aroused? Is he inside her, too?
Rage takes over.
I bang my fist against his door. “Open up, you son of a bitch. Right now!”
Nothing—at first. Finally, I hear whispers, then scrambling. A light comes on. Then X inches the door open, wearing a pair of hastily donned basketball shorts and a layer of sweat. “What the fuck, dude?”
“You tell me.” This is one time I’m happier to be bigger and taller than my pal. I reach over his head and shove the door wide, slamming it against the wall while I charge inside. “I told you not to touch Echo, and what did you do?”
But it’s not my bestie sitting on the rumpled bed, holding the sheet up to her flushed, naked body. Just like I predicted earlier when X first got lei’d, he’s now getting laid again.
“Shit. I’m sorry.” I look away from her, feeling ridiculous. Echo isn’t the kind of girl to go straight from kissing me to getting naked with someone else. I need to calm the fuck down.
I’m never a hot-head. I don’t like impulsivity. I definitely hate stupidity. Tonight, I’ve been all of those.
“Happy?” X snaps.
“No, I’m embarrassed. I’m not thinking straight. Echo and I had a fight about last night. She slammed out. I assumed she’d come to you, and when I heard a woman moan…”
“She’s missing?”
“No. She’s got to be around.” Doesn’t she? She couldn’t take a plane home at midnight.
“But you don’t know where she is?”
Admitting the truth sucks, but lying doesn’t help. “No.”
“Fuck.”
“It’s fine.” I try to convince myself of that. “I’m sure if I look around I’ll find her. Don’t worry. Um…as you were.”
I race out of the room like my ass is on fire and start looking around. There’s nowhere in the hallway for her to have gone. There are no lounges or common seating areas on this floor. So I head to the bank of elevators and rush down to the lobby. She’s not sitting in any of the plush chairs designed for guests to wait. Like I thought, she’s not in the bar. She’s not near the taxi stand, which is empty both of cabs and attendants.
Where the fuck did she go? I turn. The sweeping expanse of the moon over the vast blue Pacific gives me an idea.
But when I run down the multiple layers of stairs to the beach, it’s empty. All the chaises have been stacked beside a little stand. The sign indicates that check-out for towels and umbrellas will begin tomorrow at eight a.m.
Pushing down my panic, I dash back up the stairs. Where would Echo go when she’s upset?
I scan the resort critically. To the left of one of the many swimming pools, I spot a garden area with a sign for a nature walk. And I’m off.
A little bridge leads to a koi pond. Beyond that, a stone path sends me into a lush forest of palms and flowers, subtly lit by the landscape lights and the huge moon. I continue winding down the empty walkway. A sitting area. Another pond. A few discreet information signs about the foliage. Finally, the path ends near a cluster of cabanas around a smaller, adults-only pool that suddenly springs up like an oasis.
There, on the far side, I spot a figure in the fetal position silhouetted against the moon. Her hair and her curves tell me that’s Echo.
I bite back the urge to call her name. I don’t want to wake anyone, but I especially won’t risk her running away.
What the hell are you going to say?
No clue.
Cautiously, I approach the blue-draped cabana and kneel beside her. Tears stain her face. Her mascara runs. Her eyes look lost and confused.
That expression rips at me.
She sits up, blinking and flinching like she thinks I’m going to berate her.
“Hey.” I brush a curl from her cheek and tuck it behind her ear. “Let’s talk.”
Echo looks down before her gaze bounces back up with a too-bright smile. “I’ll make this quick and painless. I messed up and I’m really sorry. I was drinking all day and I did more of it at dinner. It was stupid and irresponsible. I said and did things I shouldn’t have. I’ll be sober the rest of the week and go back to being your only slightly crazy friend.”
She wasn’t trashed, and that isn’t why she kissed me. But confronting her won’t help. “I’m not mad. I’m not blaming you, either. You don’t need to apologize or spend the rest of the week punishing yourself. But I think we should discuss the reason you plan to lose your virginity and why you picked Xavian.” Because I’m definitely not ready to dissect our kiss. “We both know he and his wandering dick will make you miserable.”
“I’d rather not talk about it. Can you give me some time alone?”
So she can feel guiltier? So she can put more distance between us?
On the other hand, when Echo is upset she often wants to think alone. What kind of friend would I be if I refused to give her space when she needs it?
Besides, wouldn’t it be better for your sanity if she wasn’t so close?
“Why don’t you go to the room? Text me when you’re ready, and I’ll come up. We’ll talk then, if you want.”
She shakes her head. “You go. I’m going to stay here a bit longer.”
I’d rather she didn’t, but I can’t dictate to her. “You have your key?”
“In my pocket.”
“All right.” With a sigh, I stand.
She sends me a bland, thoroughly fake smile. “I’ll see you in a bit.”
Then she lies back, turning away from me.
She’s shutting me out. That bothers me—a lot. I force myself to walk away, but I can’t leave her alone and upset.
On the far edge of the pool, butting up against the garden, is a seating area. I slip into the shadows and sink into the chair in the darkest corner. I wait. And I watch.
She curls into the fetal position again. Her shoulders shake. And I feel fucking helpless, watching her misery. What makes everything worse is, I’m not totally sure why she’s so upset. She knows I’m not mad.
Maybe she realizes what you knew the instant she put her mouth on yours.
That kiss changed everything.
It doesn’t have to, does it?
Seriously? When was the last time you felt a pull half that strong to any woman?
Never.
Fuck. We’re friends. Just friends. Best friends. And it’s been awesome. She’s honestly one of the most important people in my life. Why would I risk fucking that up when my father’s cheating gene makes up half my DNA?
Or is Gramma Liddy right, that I’m nothing like him?
My thoughts turn in circles. I drift off, then start awake suddenly. I’m not sure how much time has passed, but the dark is inkier now. The moon is brighter. Even the random people I heard sloshing in the hot tub on the other side of the hedges earlier are gone. Except for the distant crashing of waves, the grounds are silent.
Thankfully, Echo is still huddled in the cabana. She’s sprawled out on her stomach now, using her arm as a pillow, fast asleep.
Yeah, it’s probably not a good idea to share a bed with her tonight, but I won’t leave her here. And we both need rest.
Slowly, I approach Echo, roll her to the edge of the padded dais, then I lift her against my chest. She curls closer to me, her head nestling trustingly against my shoulder.
That does something to me.
Fuck, this night has been long and confusing.
Slowly, I carry her up the stairs and back to the lobby. One of the cleaning crew darts ahead of me to call the elevator. I thank him with a nod, then head into the car. Two minutes later, I reach our door. Xavian is coming up the other side of the hall.
“You found her. Thank God. What happened?” he whispers, glancing at Echo with concern. “Is she all right?”
“Long story.” And I don’t really want to tell him. What happened between Echo and me is our secret. If she wants him to know, fine. But I’m not spilling. “Can you reach in my pocket and swipe the key?”
“Sure.” He does, then he opens the door.
“Thanks.”
He follows me inside, rushing to the bed to yank back the blankets. On soft sheets, I lay Echo down and cover her. She stirs, then rolls to her stomach again, out cold.
She sleeps like that, trustingly exposing her back to the world like she doesn’t have a care. But the furrow that settles between her brows, even in slumber, tells me she’s still unsettled.
Because she didn’t like the kiss? Or because she liked it too much?
Shaking off the question, I cover her, then motion him into the adjoining sitting room, closing the bedroom door behind me. “Look, you said you were going to back away from Echo. Fucking do it.”
He shakes his head. “She and I talked again, and I’ve been giving it more thought. E asked me for a favor. I don’t have any reason to say no. I hear you about her possibly getting attached, but she seems clear that it’s a completely unromantic arrangement. And I’d rather take the chance that she changes her mind than have her hit up some other asshole who either doesn’t care about her or bumbles his way through sex.”
X has valid points, but… “I don’t understand why she’s suddenly so insistent about tossing away her V-card.”
My friend shrugs. “None of my business. She asked me to help out. As a friend, I said yes. I don’t see the problem. But if you want to dig for her motive, go for it. I’m going back to bed.”
“Alone?”
Xavian scoffs like I’ve got to be kidding. So he’s going to nail Ms. Hawaii again before he nails Echo?
Over my dead body.
Sleep was a long time coming.
After Xavian took off, I stripped down to my boxers and settled next to Echo in bed. Well, first I cursed a blue streak at my pal for going back on his promise not to touch her, then I slid onto the mattress. The king-size bed should have been plenty big for us both. Not with her so close. I tried to drift off, but Echo’s scent was in every breath I took. Her body filled my stare, especially where her short skirt lay precariously, barely covering her ass and exposing a hint of her thin lace panties.
With a groan, I turned away, hard as fuck.
No way was I masturbating in the shower to thoughts of my best friend. So I tossed and turned, finally dropping off around five a.m.
Prying my eyes open now, I stare at the clock. Quarter after noon? I jerk upright. How the hell did I sleep so late?
The other side of the bed is empty. The sheets are cold. Echo has been gone for hours.
Fuck. I scramble for my phone.
Where are you? I text.
The message goes unread.
Lying here won’t help me find her—or get the answers to my burning questions. Did she sleep? Is she still upset? What is she thinking? What is she doing?
After charging out of bed, I rake a brush across my teeth and my fingers through my hair, throw on the first pair of shorts and tank I find in my suitcase, then grab my phone—texting Xavian as I leave the room.
Seen Echo this morning?
No reply.
Goddamn it. I hope like hell she hasn’t done something rash.
In the hallway, I see Xavian’s door propped open by the housekeeper. When I poke my head in, the maid is making his bed and tidying his room. No sign of X.
No matter how many times I press the button to call the elevator, it doesn’t come faster. Finally, I reach the lobby and bound down the stairs, scanning the pools on either side of me. Honeymooners? Check. Parents with little ones? Those, too. Teenagers hang out, and retirees look damn glad their days of keeping up with kids are over.
But I don’t see either X or Echo.
Retracing the garden path I trekked last night, I search the adults-only pool. But it’s so well hidden, the sucker is virtually empty. A senior citizen in a swim cap glares, silently warning me not to interfere with his laps.
Crossing back to the expansive lawn, I scan every visible inch of the property, including the balconies where brunchgoers are feasting. Nothing.
Next, I scramble to the walkway and down the steps, avoiding a screaming passel of kids and a pair of lovers holding hands while eye-fucking. Past a riot of tropical flowers, I reach the end of the cement path and zip my stare over the resort guests hanging out at the hotel’s private beach to the soundtrack of someone’s too loud radio blasting Nelly’s “Hot in Herre.”
No sloppy bun or ugly yellow one-piece, which is all Echo has ever worn since her swim team days in the tenth grade. Maybe she’s in the water. Maybe she’s avoiding me. Or maybe she’s with Xavian, who’s “comforting” her.
He fucking better not be.
Then a woman’s ass in a two-sizes-too-small orange bikini snags my attention. This isn’t just any ass. Holy Kim-Kardashian booty. Every golden inch of it is wide and round and juicy perched on top of a teeny, tiny waist. I shouldn’t be distracted when I’m looking for Echo, but this might be the most epic backside I’ve ever laid eyes on. I’d like to lay a lot more than my eyes on it. She’s also got curvy thighs that make me want to run my tongue down one side before I settle my mouth between them.
A glance warns me I’m not the only guy fixated on her long, loose braid swinging from one lush hip to the other, swishing against her pert ass with every slow, barefoot step she takes across the warm sand.
Wait. She moves like… Holy shit. No. That can’t be. But this woman is the right height. She has the same shade of caramel brown hair. I know Echo said she’d bought some bikinis…but that can’t be the body she’s been hiding under ankle-length skirts, too-big shirts, and comfortable sandals.
Right?
Xavian pops up from the ocean and starts chasing her. A giggle sounds above a crashing wave, and before the woman even turns her head, the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach warns me that the bikini babe with the most fuckable, bootylicious ass I’ve ever seen is my best friend.
She looks over her shoulder at X with a grin, then tosses her head back when he wraps his arms around her and tickles her ribs.
Yep. It’s Echo. Fuck.
And just like Nelly says, it’s getting hot up in this joint. Holy shit.
I slept beside her last night? Without once touching her? Yep. And I’ve somehow looked past her without actually seeing her for years.
She turns a mock glare at Xavian before laughing again and poking him in the abs. He retaliates by lifting her into his arms and heading straight for the surf. She squirms and protests. He murmurs something, his green eyes glued to her, his face way too close.
I see red.
“Echo!”
Xavian whips the two of them around. Her smile melts in to a guilty expression as he sets her on her feet. Then I get a good look at the rest of her.
What’s left of my composure disappears.
Never mind the cleavage her new and much briefer dresses have been flashing me. This bikini top is nothing more than two nanoscopic triangles, held together by a flimsy string. The swells of her breasts and a mind-boggling amount of side-boob fill my vision. The thin, damp fabric clings. Her hard nipples jut. Water drips down her sun-kissed ribs, licking over the ripe curve of her hips like a lover. I feel an instant, blinding urge to wrap my palms around them and clutch them tight as I sink my cock inside her, hold myself deep, and ruin her for every other man.
Stop thinking like that about your best friend .
But why be less than honest? The desire to strip off that bikini and coax her under me is blinding. Shocking. And undeniable.
“Hayes,” she manages finally. “We were just, um…hanging out until you woke up.”
Slowly, I close the distance between us. I don’t mean to stare, but I can’t tear my gaze from her. This is the funny, tender, romantic goofball I’ve been sharing movies, special occasions, and my deepest thoughts with?
How did I not see Echo?
And now that I have, I can’t unsee her.
I swallow. “You okay?”
A blip of embarrassment tells me she knows I’m asking about last night. “Yeah. You seemed dead to the world when I woke up just after nine, so I let you sleep. X and I had some breakfast and we came out here to catch rays. Want to, um, join us?”
Her voice says she’s hesitant to invite me. Because she’s still upset about last night? Or because she’s noticed the hungry way I’m looking at her?
I have to get my shit together so we can talk, but I don’t know what to say. Everything between us has been a mess since we arrived. I promised her a good time in paradise. That won’t be in Xavian’s bed, so I have to keep her busy and make sure she finds other ways to enjoy her week on Maui.
“Dude?” X nudges my shoulder, then head-bobs Echo’s way.
She asked me a question. Right. “Sure. Thanks.”
A trembling smile curls up her lips. “Come on. Let’s find an extra chaise.”
They lead me to a pair of lounges, each claimed by a beach towel, Xavian’s snorkeling gear, and the gauzy dress Echo wore to dinner last night.
Xavian confiscates an empty chaise and drags it closer to them, then grabs his gear and heads for the water. “Guys have been hitting on E all morning, and I didn’t want to leave her alone to check out the fish. But now you’re here. I’ll be back.”
And…what? Obviously, I won’t let another guy approach her. I’ll tear the head off the first dude who tries. But with Echo wearing those three teeny scraps of fabric that barely cover the essentials, how does X think I’ll be able to resist her myself?
I have to. Echo is my friend, and she’s not the sort to come with benefits.
“You okay?” I ask once we’re alone.
She bites her lip. Her smile says she’s soldiering on. I try not to let my gaze stray below her chin. I definitely don’t let myself stare at her more-than-a-handful breasts.
But it doesn’t matter. They’re burned into my retinas.
“I’m fine. I made too much out of last night. I was tired and worried and a little intoxicated. I really am sorry. It won’t happen again.” She holds up her arms and tries to grin. “See? Hands to myself.”
“Don’t keep apologizing.” Especially because my less-than-platonic thoughts make me feel like an asshole. “Like I told you, I’m not mad.”
“But what I did… It was over the line and?—”
“Stop worrying about it and have fun.” If she can forget how incendiary our kiss was and go back to normal, I need to try to do the same.
She sends me a grateful smile. “Sure.”
We take a quick jaunt into the not-quite-warm water. It’s easier to forget how much her bikini doesn’t cover when she’s submerged, but when she rises from the ocean like a goddess…I watch a droplet run from her collarbones, then disappear into her tiny top, and swallow.
I have to hide in the water until I get control of my embarrassingly unruly cock.
Then a crashing wave sneaks up behind her and knocks her over. Quickly, I swim over to help her up. “You okay, shortcake?”
Echo nods, teeth chattering as she crosses her arms over her chest, making her breasts nearly bulge from her top. “Just a little colder than I thought. The sun will warm me up. I’m going to lay out.”
“I’ll come with you.” Maybe I can close my eyes and pretend she’s wearing one of her usual sacks with granny flowers.
As we trek up the beach, I catch sight of a couple eating sandwiches, and my stomach starts to rumble.
“Mind telling me where you found those?” I ask as we pass.
Unfortunately, the guy points up beyond the pool closest to the hotel, and I can just make out a tiki-style stand the resort set up for hungry guests. “It’s good, but the line is long. Be prepared.”
Even though we should be an hour or two past the lunch rush, he’s right. “Thanks.”
“Go ahead,” Echo says as soon as we reach our chaises.
I don’t want to leave her here alone, so I scan the beach for Xavian. No sign of him.
“It’ll wait.”
She frowns. “Don’t be silly. You’re hungry. I’ll just chill on my lounger and catch some sun. I’ll be here when you get back.”
My stomach rumbles again. “You sure?”
“Totally.” She settles onto her back and closes her eyes, seemingly unaware of the water drops caressing her as they make love to her golden skin.
My mouth goes dry.
“Want anything?”
“Bottle of water.”
“Sure. I’ll be back.” But I can’t find the will to leave. I gape. I can’t keep my fucking stare off her.
I’m getting hard again. And if she opens her eyes, there’s no way she won’t see that.
Stop being a lech .
She cracks an eye open. “Something wrong?”
“Nope. I’m, um…making sure I’ve got my room key.”
And now you’re a liar, too?
With a sigh, I look around for Xavian one more time. He’s nowhere. I sigh.
The hike up to the stand takes forever. Darting around playing kids and resort employees delivering drinks poolside isn’t easy. And like the thirty-something guy on the beach warned, the line is long. Thankfully, it moves. And fifteen minutes later, I have a turkey on wheat with swiss and spinach, along with a bag of chips and two bottles of water.
Juggling the food, I trudge back to the beach. As soon as I hit the sand, I glance toward my bestie. But I can’t see her anymore. She’s been swallowed up by a wall of testosterone.
Are you fucking kidding me?
At least a half dozen guys crowd around Echo, all gawking and drooling, trying to chat her up.
Xavian wasn’t lying when he said he couldn’t leave her alone on the beach.
Wearing that bikini, what did you expect?
“C’mon, baby. What’s your name?” calls one.
Another curls his hand along the side of the lounger, hovering too close. “How long are you here?”
A guy eye-fucking her creeps in. “Did you come with anyone?”
That’s my cue.
“She came with me. Get lost.” I wedge in between a hulk who’s the size of a pro football player and a dude who’s got the surfer-bro thing down, complete with a long-bang flip.
Echo sits up as I lower myself to the chaise beside hers. “Here’s your water…sweetheart.”
She flashes her dimple at me as she takes the bottle from my hand. “Thanks…babe.”
With a chorus of groans and grumbles, her horde of boy-toy wannabes wander away.
“Holy shit,” I mutter once we’re alone. “I wasn’t gone twenty minutes.”
With a shrug, she perches a pair of round, wire-rimmed sunglasses on her nose and stares at me over the top. “About thirty seconds after you left they started coming over. Xavian shooed them away once. I don’t know what they want.”
Can she seriously put on that bikini, look in a mirror, and still say that with a straight face?
Maybe she doesn’t understand. Has she been wearing her baggy-saggies and flown under the radar of every guy on campus—me included—for so long that she doesn’t realize how sexy she is? It’s a shock to me, so maybe it’s even a shock to her.
“They want you.”
She frowns. “Not sure why, but whatever. So what did you get?”
“Turkey and swiss.” I take a bite, and we talk about dinner, the honeymoon couple a few loungers down who are getting awfully serious with their PDA for a semi-public beach, and the sublime Hawaiian weather.
After I’m done eating, I spray on some sunscreen Echo brought in her oversize beach bag, then ease back to my chaise. At least since I’ve returned, the dudes have backed off from my bestie. But I still see them staring. I wish they would fuck off.
But they won’t. Neither will Xavian; he’s made that clear. And Echo seems determined to lose her virginity this week. Hell, if I hadn’t intervened, she would have already spent a night in X’s bed…and probably regretted it. She didn’t ask me to save her from herself, but shouldn’t a good friend do that?
Hell yeah.
But where does that leave me?
Making hard decisions.
Everything boils down to this: Who should be Echo’s first, Xavian? Some other asshole? Or me?