My eyes burn with tears. “Is it open to me?”
“I want it to be.”
His answer thrills me. I smile as his arm drapes around my body, pulling me close. I absorb his warmth, while his shallow breaths coax me to sleep.
Who’s yelling? I stir in Battle’s arms. The voices lower, but they’re still present. I reach over and check the time on my phone. It’s four in the damn morning and people are … are … Oh, my God.
Battle chuckles. “They woke you up, too?”
“Is that—”
“Yep, they’ve been at it for over an hour.”
“Ew.” I mock shiver, pulling the covers higher.
“They’re just gettin’ ramped up.” Battle laughs.
“Again … ew.”
Marty and Austin performing horizontal acrobatics isn’t something I want to hear, much less visualize. The moaning continues, and when I hear Austin scream out, “Yeah, you like it when I spank you,” I burst into laughter. But then, Marty yells back, “Yes, oh God, spank me,” followed by Battle shouting, “Yeah, get some, A,” and I break into hysterics. Marty and Austin, however, fall completely silent.
“That shut em’ up,” Battle says proudly. Only it doesn’t last long as Marty’s cries not to stop fill the air.
There’s no way I can go back to sleep listening to the two of them, not to mention how incredibly awkward it makes things for me and Battle. I groan, burying my head under my pillow, trying to ignore the embarrassment I feel about being turned on.
A moment later, the sound of ocean waves fills the air, drowning out the sound of porn from the other side of the door. I pop my head out from under the pillow, glancing over to Battle’s phone where the sound emits from.
“What is that?” I ask, giggling from the image of my rugged cowboy, being lured to sleep with pretty ocean sounds.
“It’s an App I bought on the last trip when I got stuck bunkin’ with Scoot—snores like a damn grizzly bear. Rachel told me about it.” I tense, wanting the mattress to swallow me as jealousy flares up. I don’t want to feel it, but his effortless slip of the tongue makes it hard to ignore. His having been with other women isn’t a secret, but I don’t particularly want to know their names. I stay quiet, and roll to my side away from him. “Faye.”
“Yes,” I respond without moving.
“Rachel’s Coop’s girlfriend.”
I smile, feeling instantly relieved and roll over. “The complicated one?” I ask, peering up at him from my pillow.
“That’s putting it mildly,” he laughs. Those two go together like blondes and brains.” I pinch him and he squirms away, adding, “No offense.”
“Cooper with other girls might be the real problem.”
“Ah, let me tell ya, Rachel’s no saint, either.”
“It’s complicated,” we say at the same time and laugh.
Battle and I mill around the bedroom getting ready, mostly to kill time until we hear voices, in an attempt to open the door without forever being scarred by the image of Marty and Austin doing what we heard last night. Thankfully, they’re both clothed when we exit our room. Marty’s made a huge breakfast and coffee.
I pour a cup, peeking at her from the corner of my eye. The smile stretching her face shows blissful satisfaction, but it fades quickly when Battle teases her about checking her ass for palm prints.
She glares at him, with a sly curl of her lips. “Envious, McCoy?”
Battle laughs without answering. I sip my coffee, wondering. Is he envious? Does he want a woman who likes spankings? Do I like spankings? I shake the thoughts from my head. I’m being ridiculous. Battle and I aren’t even kissing, let alone engaging in any physical activities that would lead to spankings. I blush. Oh, my God. I think I might like it if he spanked me.
I’m mid sip when I hear a female giggle before I see the brunette that was all over Cooper last night. She lightly stumbles into the kitchen wearing one of Cooper’s t-shirts, and her boots. Mascara stains her eyes like a raccoon. Her hair looks as though a bird moved in. She hugs a ball of clothes to her chest. Without making eye contact, she glances around, and her skin flushes.
“The walk of shame is that way, darlin’,” Austin says, pointing to the door. Everyone laughs, except for me. As desperate as I thought she was last night, she looks down-right pitiful this morning. I felt that “walk of shame” the morning after I slept with Battle, and I remember the humiliation. The difference is at least Battle had enough integrity to take me home. Well, technically I took him home, but he treated me with decency.
“Wait here,” I tell her, right before she opens the door. She turns around. “What’s your name?”