Chapter 26
THE OTHER SIDE
Winter
Two hours, several orgasms, and zero unpacking later, our group chat starts blowing up. The girls want to swim. While BJ grabs swim trunks from his place, I dump my duffle in search of a bathing suit.
Quinn’s already returned from teaching—he coaches a special-needs boys’ hockey team. River’s working until close this evening, so he probably won’t be home until sometime after ten, but he’s aware a few people are coming over.
When they say a few friends, I assume they’re being literal. But by eight thirty, there must be twenty people in the backyard, and more keep trickling in. Most of them appear to be friends with Quinn, and based on their T-shirts, they play for the school team.
Along with the slew of hot guys, which Rose is super excited about, comes an equal number of girls in swimsuit coverups and bikinis.
Everyone is drinking from red plastic cups or travel mugs.
There’s a huge sign on the fence by the gate that reads NO GLASS BY THE POOL.
There’s also a sign on the hot tub cover that reads CLOSED BECAUSE SOMEONE PEED IN HERE.
In addition, padlocks keep it securely closed.
Clearly they have some experience with backyard parties.
BJ is on the other side of the pool, talking to a group of people. No less than five girls have stopped to hug him. It’s annoying.
“How often does this happen?” I motion to all the people in bathing suits milling around.
“Maverick used to throw parties all the time.” Lovey twists her hair around her finger. “But mostly at the beginning of the year, before they shut the pool down and hockey season was in full swing.”
“Although, he’d still throw the occasional midsemester party,” Lacey adds. “Except last year. After the first month or so, he was all business. I can’t believe none of us realized what was going on.”
“You mean the part where he was trying to get Lavender and Kody to deal with their feelings or the fact that he was secretly dating his professor?” Lovey asks.
“I still can’t believe Clover was his professor. Or that Maverick is only twenty-two. Or that she’s eight years older than him,” I mutter.
“They fit, though,” Rose says.
“Agree.” I sip my drink. It’s some extra-sugary cooler that’s bound to give me a headache. “What’s this about Kody and Lavender, though?”
“That is a long, angsty story. But at the beginning of last year, Lavender and Kody were not on the best terms,” Lovey says.
“Mostly because Kody thought he was bad for her,” Lacey adds.
“But really, they’ve been meant for each other since Kody could say her name.
They were adorable with each other as kids.
He was in love with her right from the start.
” Lovey sighs and then smiles. “Anyway, Mav knew they needed a push, so he helped force them to deal with their shit. And now they’re totally in love. It’s the sweetest.”
“Except for the duct-tape thing, that’s not sweet.
” BJ appears out of nowhere. He’s shirtless, wearing a pair of blue board shorts and slides.
I let my gaze travel over all that ink. Despite having sex all over my new bedroom, I’m already thinking about the end of the night and how much I’m looking forward to another beard ride.
It’s grown back over the past few weeks, and his hair is longer again, pulled back with a baby blue spiral tie.
“What duct-tape thing?” Rose asks.
“Huh?” BJ turns to me. “How’s your drink? You need a refill?”
I pull the lid off and check the contents. “I’m still good, but thanks.”
“What about the rest of you? Need anything?”
“We’re good for now,” Lovey and Lacey say in tandem.
“Same, same.” Rose gives him a thumbs-up.
He grabs the armrests of the lounge chair and leans down to kiss me. “I can’t wait to get you back into bed.”
“Give the PDA a break, BJ.” Rose beans him on the side of the head with an ice cube.
He fires the bird in her direction. “Let me know if you need me for anything.”
“I’m good, but thanks.” I push on his chest, and he joins Quinn and a group of guys.
A minute later, a pair of definitely-not-sober girls flounce over. They look polished and color-coordinated. And like maybe their outfits intentionally match.
“Quinn said this is your house now. We were like, so sad that Mav wasn’t coming back this year because he threw the best parties. But like, this is so great.”
“So great,” her friend echoes. “Are you guys like, identical twins?”
Lovey and Lacey nod in unison. I imagine that question must get old, and annoying. It’s pretty fucking obvious they’re identical twins.
“That’s so cool,” the girl on the right says.
“So cool,” her friend agrees.
They turn to me. “I can’t believe BJ kissed you,” one of them says. “In public. That’s like, my dream.”
Her friend sighs. “Mine too.”
“Uh…” I glance at Lovey, but she and Lacey are busy exchanging looks.
“Props, girl, for jumping on that early.”
They giggle and stare at me, like they’re waiting for something.
When I don’t respond, the chattier of the two pipes up again. “Are you like, for sure, for sure hooking up tonight?”
“I need to go to the bathroom. Winter, come with me.” Lovey hops out of her chair and pulls me out of mine. She pauses to address the girls. “And the answer is yes. BJ is out of bounds.”
“Out of bounds?” The girls wear matching confused expressions.
“Off-limits. Unavailable.”
“Right. Okay. That’s what we thought, but we figured we’d check, just in case.”
Lovey rolls her eyes and drags me along with her, skirting around the side of the house because the sliding door is locked to keep randoms out.
“What the hell was that about?” I glance over my shoulder at the girls, now talking to Lacey and Rose, who look unimpressed about being left with them. “And why did they sound like Valley girl cutouts? They’re like stock characters out of a bad nineties’ movie.”
Lovey stops at a side door I didn’t know existed and punches in a code. When we enter, to the right is a small bathroom. She flicks on the light and pulls me in.
“Why didn’t I know this was here?”
“It’s the emergency bathroom.”
“What are we doing?”
“Escaping the bunnies for a few minutes.”
“I know there are hockey groupies, but there are figure-skater groupies too?”
“Sort of?” Lovey tugs at the end of her ponytail.
“For four years, this house was where all Maverick, Quinn, and Kody’s hockey buddies hung out.
The girls who chase the players are still going to show up for a while, and River’s football friends are a whole different story.
But I don’t know if we need to worry about them since River is on the fence about playing this year.
” She waves a hand in the air. “BJ is like, honorary hockey, I guess? I don’t know, but he’s friendly and flirty, and you’ve seen him. ”
“He’s hot and looks like a bad boy with all the tattoos.” And he has a peen piercing.
“Yeah. He’s a bit of an anomaly. He’s this tattooed, bearded—unless he has a competition—figure skater.
It all sort of contradicts itself, you know?
And these girls, some of them are nice, but others are status chasers.
Sleeping with these guys is some weird rite of passage.
It’s fucked up. But that’s how it is. They come around at the beginning of the year a lot. We ignore them, for the most part.”
“So I should ignore the fact that these girls are all over BJ?” We don’t have a label, but we also don’t fit in the fuck-buddy category.
“Not exactly. Sometimes you need to fight fire with fire.”
“What does that mean?”
“Those girls curate themselves for parties like these. They’re peacocks.
You’re stunning, and you have this rockin’ body.
I’m so jealous of your ass, it’s not even funny.
” She holds up a hand when I start to interrupt her.
“My ass is nice, but yours is like…” She does jazz hands and sings, “Ahhhhhh.”
“What are you suggesting? Do I need to put on makeup? There’s no way I’m getting those fake eyelash things. They don’t mix with hockey.” At least I don’t think they do. And I have no interest in finding out. I’m a mascara and eyeliner girl. That isn’t going to change.
Lovey shakes her head. “You don’t need makeup, but your bathing suit is a little…understated.”
It’s a boy-shorts-and-black-top combo. It was the first bathing suit I found, hence the one I threw on. “You mean it’s not sexy enough.”
“Don’t get me wrong; you look hot. But we can up your game a little.”
“Do I want to play this game?” I genuinely have no idea.
“I love BJ. He’s my best friend. But he can be a bit clueless when it comes to managing relationships.”
I don’t know that I have any more experience than he does. “So that’s a yes? I do want to play this game?”
“I think he would benefit from a dose of his own medicine.”
“Okay?” It comes out sounding like a question. I hold up a hand. “Wait. Is this a best-friend-sticking-up-for-her-best-friend test? Am I failing it?”
Lovey laughs. “It’s not a test, and you’re not failing. Let’s just try a different suit and see what happens.”
I nod, and she opens the bathroom door. Lacey and Rose are standing on the other side.
“We’re staging an intervention.” Rose holds up two scraps of fabric and a makeup bag.
“It’s like we’re telepathically communicating.” Lovey presses her hand to her chest. “I was just telling Winter we needed a wardrobe change.”
Rose smiles at me. “We also talked about how we needed to take you bathing-suit shopping this week because this black number, while very practical, isn’t doing the body you’re rocking justice.”
“You were talking about my bathing suit?”
“Lacey and I were actually talking about how awesome your legs are, and then we got on the topic of bathing suits and how you make a completely functional suit look hot and how we needed to expand your bathing-suit game. Which we’re doing right now, so BJ can get an actual clue.
These fucking girls need to move along.”