Chapter 26 #2
Rose tosses the bikini at me and pulls Lovey out of the bathroom. “Change into that. When you’re done, let me know so I can give you dramatic eyes.” She holds up her makeup case, then shuts the door in my face.
I stare at the scraps of fabric. There really isn’t much to this bikini.
Still… A lot of girls have been hugging BJ.
And doing the hair-flip-giggle shit. I shuck off my shorts and pull on the pale pink bottoms. I’m grateful that they’re held together by more than a string at each hip, but the crisscross half-inch bands leave a lot of skin exposed.
The top covers most of my boobs, but also gives me cleavage, which I don’t have a ton of. I gotta give it to Rose—this is an infinitely sexier suit than the one I was wearing. And my entire ass isn’t on display, so that’s a bonus. I’ll call this an acceptable compromise.
I open the door.
“Fuck, yeah. I’m a goddamn magician.” Rose does jazz hands by her crotch.
“This is perfect. Lavender would be so proud,” Lacey says.
“I miss her,” Lovey sighs. “But you’re right. She would be damn proud.”
I clear my throat. “I have one thing I want to say before we move forward with this questionable plan.”
“It’s a rock-star plan, not a questionable one, but feel free to voice your concerns.” Rose makes a go-on motion.
“We’re all acknowledging that I’m basically asking for people to look at my body in an objectifying way?”
The three of them exchange looks.
“We’re weaponizing your assets,” Rose says.
“BJ is out there shirtless, all his pretty muscles and tattoos on display. This is no different. And before you go defending your previous bathing-suit choice, or coming at me with more female empowerment, do-I-want-to-succumb-to-the-patriarchy nonsense, let me ask you this: Do you feel sexy?”
“Uh, yes?”
“Seriously, when you see yourself in the mirror, do you think: ‘I worked hard to have an ass that’s the envy of all my friends. As a strong, independent woman who believes in equity and freedom of self-expression, do I like the way I look in this hot-as-fuck bikini?’” She pauses.
“The answer to that should be yes. And, yes, we’re all acknowledging that you’re showing off the goods.
One day our boobs aren’t going to hold themselves up anymore.
We should give them a chance to be appreciated for their outstanding ability to defy gravity. ”
“Great speech, Rose. I vote you president of the bikini association,” Lovey says. “Can we get Winter’s eyes done so we can get back out there?” She thumbs over her shoulder.
All three of them cram themselves into the bathroom with me, and five minutes later I’m wearing dramatic eyeliner that’s apparently water- and smear-proof and clear mascara. Rose undoes my braid, setting my hair free in kinky waves. She props a fist on her hip and shakes her head.
“What?”
“You’re fucking gorgeous. Let’s go turn some heads, ladies.” She snaps her fingers, and we file out of the bathroom, our slides slapping an out-of-sync beat on the concrete.
“I feel ridiculous,” I mutter to Lovey.
“You don’t look ridiculous,” she replies. “Let’s consider this an experiment in cisgender straight male behavior.”
We return to the pool, stopping at the cooler to refill our drinks. Our previous chairs have been taken by a new group of girls, two of whom hugged BJ earlier.
“Poolside, ladies.” Rose sashays like she’s strutting the runway. We all plunk our butts down on the edge of the pool, in the middle so we have the best view and are less likely to get hit by cannonball spray.
“Incoming, eleven o’clock.” Lovey nudges Lacey with her elbow.
“Ah, shit. Who invited him?” Lacey grumbles.
“Hey, Lovey, Lacey, my favorite twins! How’s it going? We miss you over at Kappa Pi!” A beefy dude with dark blond hair comes wading over, a smile on his face. He’s drunk, based on the way he struggles to maintain a straight trajectory.
“Hey, Cooper. I’m sure whoever replaces us this year will keep you more than entertained.” Lacey inspects her nails.
“It’s a couple of freshmen in the engineering program. Those girls aren’t much for a party, but we might be able to do a little corrupting.”
“It is your favorite pastime,” Lacey says with a stiff smile.
He turns to me and Rose. “Hey, I’m Cooper, and you are?”
“I’m Winter, and this is Rose.”
Rose waves and takes a sip from her drink, looking anywhere but at the beefy guy.
“I haven’t seen either of you around before. You freshmen?”
“Sophomore. I’m a transfer,” Rose says, like she’s bored and he’s the reason.
“Same.” I take another sip of my overly sweet cooler. I make a mental note to drink a bunch of water and take ibuprofen before bed.
“Oh yeah?” His attention returns to me. “Transfer from where?”
Two more guys join him. There’s another round of introductions.
I forget their names two seconds later. They look like dude-bros—thick, like they spend a lot of time at the gym doing bench presses and not much else.
They all have gelled hair and straight teeth.
If I run into them on campus, there’s a good chance I won’t be able to tell one from the other.
“Winter plays hockey for Hawking,” Lovey offers.
“Really?” One of the new guys looks me over. “I play rugby.”
“Mm, that’s a rough sport.”
“I like it rough.” He winks.
“Oh my God.” Rose is in the middle of a sip, and she cough-chokes.
I pat her back, and she coughs into her elbow. “Sorry. Went down the wrong way.”
I glance to the right, where BJ is standing with Quinn and a couple of girls.
One of the girls is fully focused on Quinn, but his attention is on us.
The other one is touching BJ’s arm, probably asking about his tattoos.
I smirk when I remember how I drove him crazy by tracing the one on his hip with my tongue earlier this afternoon.
BJ’s eyes flare when they find me, and his gaze flicks back and forth between me and the guys.
He abandons Quinn and the girls and heads for the pool.
He steps off the edge, barely making a splash. He wades across the pool, skirts around the dude-bros, and makes a beeline for me.
“Mission fucking accomplished,” Rose mutters, having recovered from her coughing fit.
“Hey, hey. You disappeared for a while. Where’d you go?” One side of BJ’s mouth curves up in a knowing smile. He sets his drink behind me, then settles his hands on my knees and uses his hip to nudge his way between my thighs.
The guys who were chatting us up see someone else they know and move on.
“I changed and got a refill.” I’m going for nonchalant, but fighting a grin. Mostly I find this whole thing somewhere between funny, because it’s transparent, and irritating, because it’s effective.
BJ bites his lip, hands sliding up my thighs. “When’d you get this bikini? I haven’t seen it before.”
“It’s mine,” Rose says.
“Maybe don’t give it back.” BJ doesn’t break eye contact with me.
“We’re going shopping this week,” Lacey tells him.
“Excellent news. I look forward to the fashion show.”
“Okay, job well done, girls.” Rose clinks her travel mug against Lovey’s over my head, and Lacey holds hers up in acknowledgment. “Let’s leave these two to the poolside foreplay.”
I purse my lips as BJ’s grin widens, and the three of them get to their feet and abandon me. The dude-bros call after them, but they wave them off.
“Did I just fall into a trap?” BJ brushes my hair over my shoulders, skimming my arms with his fingertips.
“It was more of an experiment than a trap.”