California Nights (Rich Boys of California Duet 1)

I still could not believe she turned me down.

I should forget her, move on. Just text Jen or one of the other eager girls I knew. There were plenty around.

But they weren’t her. Not as hot. Not as sweet. Not as smart or true to themselves or special.

Not even close.

Nev was one of a kind. Her looks were a part of it but it was more than that. She had an innocence, a purity that drew me like a moth to a flame.

It was the same thing that had made her push me away last night. I was sure of it. She wanted me too, no matter what she said.

Now I just needed to convince her of it too.

Matt let out a low whistle and I looked up.

“What?”

“New girl. Unbefuckinglievable.”

Of course. He was looking at Nevada as she walked by with a cart full of clean towels. Awesome.

We’d talked about girls before. Or women. Matt gave me a ranking of who were the horniest housewives at the club, the most desperate. And he’d rate the ones he’d bagged.

So far he’d been keeping himself real busy.

But now he was looking at Nev like she was just another conquest. As usual, she looked insanely hot no matter what she wore. This outfit was no exception. She was wearing white tennis shorts and a pale green polo shirt, the club colors. I’d never noticed how cute the club uniform was before.

Fucking A.

The girl made the outfit look so good, she could be in a magazine.

“Forget it. It’s not going to happen.”

Matt’s head swiveled towards me. I better nip this shit in the bud right quick. He was clearly after her.

“Jesus, she looks good enough to eat. You know her?”

“Yeah.”

I gave him a steady gaze that said ‘keep off the motherfucking grass.’

“How well?”

“Well enough to say she’s not up for grabs.”

Matt stared at me, a slow smile spreading over his face.

“Yeah, right. You are so not the relationship type dude.”

“And you are?”

He shrugged.

“With the right girl, maybe.”

“Well, she’s not it. She’s a nice girl, don’t fuck with her.”

He laughed. Matt was clearly not taking me seriously. And then I caught the predatory look in his eyes. I’d just made Nev even more appealing to him by staking my claim. I knew in my gut this guy was going to cause trouble.

“Hey man, I do what I want. Ready for next match?”

I shook my head.

“Nah I’m not in the mood. See ya.”

I went into the club lobby to sign up for the tournament and take myself off the schedule for lessons with Matt. Fuck him. I’d win without the club champs help. He’d look like a dick and his lessons would get less valuable. If he stayed away from Nev maybe I’d relent. For now though, he was the fucking enemy.

I went home to shower and change. Then I went right fucking back to the club.

I had to keep my eyes on the prize.

Chapter Sixteen

Nevada

I carried a fresh stack of towels over to the pool area, trying to ignore the feeling that I looked like an idiot. A pack of screaming children ran past me, ignoring me completely. I felt something sodden hit my thigh and glanced down.

Ice cream.

Chocolate ice cream.

On my white shorts.

Fantastic.

I sighed deeply and continued to the pool area to drop off the towels. I stopped in my tracks.

Clayton was lounging right next to the towel station. I would have to walk right past him to get to it. He wasn’t alone though. That Jen girl was sitting next to him, along with a couple of his asshole friends.

My mother always said you could judge someone by the company they keep.

This day couldn’t possibly get any better.

I took a deep breath and walked quickly along the edge of the pool.

“Hey Nev.”

I glanced at him over my shoulder.

“No fraternizing, Mr. Westfield.”

He laughed and let his eyes slide over my ass. Deliberately. Very deliberately.

“Rules are made to be broken.”

I bit back an angry retort but the truth was I was entertained by him. I felt stimulated. I felt alive.

Damn him.

“Would you like a towel, Mr. Westfield?”

He grinned at me and leaned back, his chest gleaming in the sun.

“Yes, I would.”

I handed him one, even though my instinct was to drop it on his head.

If only to cover the arrogant smirk on his face.

His perfect, handsome, beautiful face.

Ugh.

He grinned and draped it over his groin. Then he slipped his hand underneath it and grabbed.

“Perfect timing, Nev. Wouldn’t want to scare the children.”

My mouth opened and I stared at him. I couldn’t help it. The implication that I’d given him a boner was obvious. I wondered for a moment if he meant it.

Not that it mattered.

Right?

“You have some crap on your shorts.”

I turned and looked at the blond girl sitting next to Clay.

Jen. Perfect. She was one of the worst offenders when it came to being queen bitch back to me and Frannie in high school.