Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Courtney
We haven’t had much opportunity to explore the place. The inside a little, but besides the pool area, I hadn’t thought much about outside. The place is huge. Stairs on either side of the house, both leading to different-level patios with countless pieces of cushy furniture, lights and décor.
Facing the water is an outdoor free-weight gym, along with a few treadmills and ellipticals. There’s an outdoor bar as well as a fully equipped outdoor kitchen. This place is like a tropical playground for adults. Almost anything that you could want or think of is here.
Noah leads us towards a swinging bench, the rope wrapped in ivy and the bench covered in fluffy white cushions. He takes a seat first, and I sit beside him, acutely aware of the fact that he still has my hand hostage in his large palm.
His eyes meet mine, and I look up at him from beneath my eyelashes.
“Hi,” I say.
He smiles. “Hi.”
We both laugh at our complete awkwardness before he settles back into the bench with ease and gently begins swinging us.
“How are you feeling?” he asks.
“Good. I mean, this is all… a lot. Definitely not what my day-to-day life usually looks like.”
He tilts his head curiously, his smile never leaving his face. “What does your day-to-day life look like?”
“Work, work and more work,” I say with a bitter laugh.
I notice a cameraman coming up the stairs but try not to act like I see him. Being documented 24/7 for the foreseeable future is going to be a fucking adjustment.
“What about you?” I ask.
“I work a lot too, for a music label out of Nashville.”
“Oh God, you’re one of those country music fans, aren’t you?” I moan. “Well, it was nice knowing you,” I say, moving to stand up.
Noah laughs, pulling me back down as I chuckle.
“Hold on, don’t judge me too harshly. It’s just a job.”
“So you’re saying you don’t enjoy listening to music where someone’s dog ran away, their truck broke down and their wife left them all while carrying a heavy banjo rift?” I ask with a raised eyebrow.
He gives me a cheesy grin and shakes his head. “You know, all the songs aren’t like that.”
“I knew it,” I say with a faux disappointed sigh.
“Okay, Miss Music Critic. What do you like to listen to?”
“Well, I’m from Seattle, so it would be a crime if I didn’t say Seattle grunge.”
He lets out a laugh. “You? Really?”
I tilt my head in curiosity as I lean forward. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing. It’s just not what I would have guessed.”
I shrug. “Well, you know what they say about assuming.”
Noah watches me for a moment before shaking his head and looking up to the sky.
“What?” I ask.
He’s still laughing when his eyes come back to me. “You’re gonna give me shit again, aren’t you?”
My mouth drops in offense, and I smack his chest. “You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t secretly love it.”
“Mmmm,” he says, smiling. “I think I would love anything you give me.”
His words make my stomach flip again. God. I don’t think I’ll get used to that.
“Yeah?” I ask, my typical confident exterior wavering slightly.
“I mean, why else would I have kissed you during the game?” he asks.
I nod. “You did have a lot of options.”
His eyes hold mine as he reaches over and brushes a piece of hair out of my face. “It wasn’t a hard decision.”
I hate that I’m blushing right now, but I can also tell there’s no stopping it. I’m probably as red as a fucking tomato, and given how bright the light behind that camera is, all of America will be able to agree.
I’m about to speak when there’s a soft throat clear from beside us, and we both look to see Savannah there. Her tits are thrust even further out than they were before, if that’s even possible, and she gives Noah a sweet smile.
“Sorry, can I borrow you for a bit?”
“Sure,” he says before turning to me with what looks like a hint of disappointment in his eyes. “I’ll see you soon?”
I nod as he stands and Savannah takes full advantage of looping her arm through the crook of his elbow. He turns back to me and does a small eye roll away from the camera, but it makes me laugh, and I definitely don’t try to hold that in.
Pushing to my feet, I look around the backyard to see most everyone is paired up chatting. I also see a pitcher of something fruity and fresh at the outdoor bar and decide to grab a drink.
I know in the rules they said hard alcohol wouldn’t be available freely on-site, so this must be a special-occasion thing or maybe a mocktail.
When I reach the bar, I pour myself a glass and take a sip. Yep, definitely a mocktail. That’s unfortunate. I wouldn’t say no to a drink to take the edge off right now.
“Driest fucking bar I’ve ever seen,” a deep voice rumbles from beside me.
I startle slightly before turning to see Landon.
“Yeah, more than a little disappointed about that,” I agree.
He makes a grumbling sound as he lifts a water to his mouth.
“I’m Courtney.”
Landon’s eyes flick to me before looking back out at the rest of the backyard. “I know.”
“You do? I just figured since you were an ass and basically walked past me earlier, you probably didn’t catch my name,” I say before I can stop myself.
Whoops. That was bitchier than I intended.
Landon’s eyebrows lift in surprise as he turns to me, but that’s the only indication he heard me. His face is practically blank, expressionless, and for some reason it really gets under my skin.
“What? Did you run out of words for the day? Or is this part of a whole mysterious-bad-boy schtick to charm the pants off all the ladies?”
His eyes rake over me carefully, methodically. It doesn’t feel sexual, more calculated. “Trust me, I don’t need a schtick.”
I scoff. Is he good-looking? Absolutely. But I’m huge on personality, and so far, his is the most off-putting in the entire place. And I feel like that says a lot because I can already tell some of these guys are grade-A douchebags.
“Whatever helps you sleep at night, dude,” I say, shaking my head.
He pushes away from the bar and takes a few steps towards me. I attempt to move away, but the bar hits my ass, and suddenly I’m caged in as he lowers his face to mine. My heart rate picks up for a moment as I search his face, trying to find… I don’t fucking know, anything.
“So, are you saying that if I bent you over this bar right here and now, you wouldn’t be begging for more?” he asks, his fingers grazing my hip in the barest of touches.
My breathing is now ragged, and I try to form a rational thought as I slowly shake my head. “N-o.”
I clear my throat, forcing myself to stand a little taller. “No,” I say with a lot more confidence.
His eyes rake over me for a moment before he takes a step away and sips his water.
“You’re a shit liar, you know that? Your nostrils flare when you lie. Happened in the game too. My guess, that story you told was a bunch of shit. I mean, you definitely don’t look the type to have men clambering to get in bed with you.”
Hurt stings inside me at his words, but I try not to show it.
“Well, you’re the one that was just talking about bending me over,” I point out.
His lips twitch into a smirk as his eyes bore into mine. “That was called acting, Court. Maybe you need a few lessons.”
With that, he’s gone, sauntering off towards a group of girls who immediately abandon the guys they were chatting with to shower him with attention.
What the actual fuck?
I’m raging. Who the fuck does that guy think he is? He can’t just talk to me like that. It’s not like his opinion means shit to me, but to be so brazen, so harsh? Fuck him. Not literally. I don’t want to fuck him.
Right.
Yeah, no. Absolutely not.
Shit, I need to get laid. By literally anyone.
As long as it’s not Landon.
My gaze roams around the area, and though it’s only day one, I can categorize almost every person into a friend or enemy.
Not that I came here to make either, but it’s very apparent that some are destined to be on one side or another, and Mr. Fuckboy Landon gets to claim the top spot on the enemy list.