I nod, turning to look into Darrius’ eyes. I don’t understand why those guys bother him so much. The Cove Angels have no rivals in the state and very few worthy opponents at a national level.
Then it hits me; this isn’t completely sport related. Darrius is so jealous of their success with women, that he keeps warning me off them.
My heart swells in my chest at the thought that maybe he’s telling me to stay away from them because he likes me. The scent of his cologne and his arm wrapped around me and the shot of vodka I just did probably contribute in accelerating my heart rate too.
Darrius pours us two more shots. “Bottoms up, birthday girl!” He chuckles, downing his shot and then pouring more.
The vodka warms me up from the inside and also gives me some clarity.
Darrius finally likes me the same way I like him. Kiara is right, I need to make my move if I want to get out of the friend zone.
A loud burst of cheers pulls me out of my own thoughts and my eyes go back to the pool table, where the blond guy is kissing one of the girls and several people are cheering him for winning the match.
His deep, confident voice carries over here as he grabs a bottle one of the three girls passes him. “Come on everyone! Let’s get this fucking party started! Line up for body shots!”
A small crowd hollers in excitement as the guy lifts the girl that was on his lap earlier onto the pool table and pours some of the content of the bottle on her stomach.
He then lowers his head, licking the girl’s stomach right about where her navel should be.
I watch intently, unable to take my eyes away from the sensual scene in front of me.
“Fucking loser!” Darrius mutters, grabbing my hand and dragging me away, toward the beach.
We pass a group of people that look vaguely familiar but I don’t really pay much attention to them. My hand enclosed in Darrius’ much larger one is short circuiting my brain and all I can think about is that we’ll be alone once we leave the backyard.
We walk onto the soft sand for a few minutes, still holding hands. The tension in his shoulder eases off gradually as we leave the party behind us.
Darrius lowers himself onto a flat rock, where the music and the noise of the party no longer reach us; the only noise is the lazy drawl of the sea kissing the shore in slow, lazy waves and the whisper of the wind that carries the scent of the ocean all the way to us.
We no longer have our solo cups, so Darrius drinks his next shot directly from the bottle, offering it to me straight after.
I drink a big sip, thinking that I have this shot thing down; I don’t feel drunk, like ... at all.
“So birthday girl,” he says, bumping my shoulder with his and offering me that conspiratorial smile he’s reserved only for me since we were kids. “What are your plans for the summer? This is your last summer of complete freedom before college, you need to make it count.”
I smile back at him. “I decided to go to Bridgeport rather than Princeton.”
His smile widens. “Really? I thought Princeton was your dream.”
I shrug. “Hm, yeah it was but I really thought about it when I was accepted and the idea of going and really going are two different things. I don’t know, first off I didn’t want to leave Mom.” And you, I think but don’t dare say it out loud.
I know, I know.
Kiara would say that I’m a fucking coward but sue me, I’m on a date with Darrius, alone with him on the beach and I don’t want to screw this up.
He takes another sip from the bottle, offering it to me again. “Just Mom?” he asks with a flirty smile that makes it hard to think straight.
“Well, no. All my friends are here and New York sounded exciting in theory, but when it became a true possibility, I thought about the long winters, the snow and how far away I’d be from home. I’m a California girl through and through. Plus, I’m going to be working at the Angels HQ for the summer and I hope Mom will turn my internship into a permanent position after I’m done with school.”
Darrius opens the bottle again. “I’ll fucking drink to that! It’s great that you’re staying and working with us.” He lowers his voice as I take the bottle from him with trembling hands. “I would’ve missed you, all the way on the other side of the country.”
I drink again and the vodka isn’t the only thing warming my insides. “I would’ve missed you too, D,” I whisper.
“So does that mean you don’t want to be a writer anymore?” he asks, sounding genuinely interested in what I want to do with my future.
“I still do.” I shrug. “But the Angels have always been my legacy, even though I don’t dive or jump. Mom is going to train me to handle social media and all the press aspects of the business, so there’s going to be writing involved and creating content. I can write the great American novel on the side.”
He nods. “That sounds great. You’ve always been so smart. Let’s drink to our careers, we’ll win the World Championship together.”
He drinks again and then, rather than passing me the bottle, he tips it to my lips, poring vodka straight into my mouth.
I didn’t expect such a large shot, so some of the booze trickles down my chin and I start giggling uncontrollably.
Ok so, maybe I can’t hold my liquor as well as I thought I did five minutes ago.
Darrius chuckles as he swipes his thumb over my bottom lip. “You’re funny, Len. You should see yourself. I never thought good girl Lenley DeLaurent would be a sloppy drunk.”
I giggle again, slapping his arm as he tries to pour more vodka into my mouth. “I’m not drunk, jerk!”
The movement causes me to lose my balance on the rock and I begin falling backward.
“Careful, Len!” Darrius grabs my biceps to steady me.