Jameson tilts his head, to look into my eyes from his much taller stature. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to sneak up on you,” he says, and then his voice dips into a worried rumble. “Are you ok? You look a little ... flushed.”
I’m probably blushing right now, embarrassed that he caught me looking like a complete mess and gawking at his best friend. “Huh, I—I walked here from my house and I didn’t realize how far it really was walking on the beach.”
Jameson’s eyes widen at my admission. “Fuck, did you walk all the way here from your house at the hottest time of the day? You could’ve fainted, Lenley.”
He sounds more worried than angry but his words do nothing to help me feel less nervous.
“I know. I’m sorry, I wanted to talk to you guys in person and I didn’t think it was that far.”
His tone softens, his gray eyes flashing silver under the sun. “Ok, but next time, if you want to come over and you don’t want to drive,” he says, “Text us and one of us will come to pick you up. You seriously look like you’re about to pass out.”
That doesn’t help me feel any less stupid and embarrassed. I probably look even worse than I thought.
“Do you want a bottle of water?” Jameson asks.
“Hey, Lenley!”
Channing appears on one side of me, rivulets of water cascading down his ripped chest and abs as he runs a hand through his wet hair, spraying some of the excess water on me.
“Dude!” Jameson scolds him. “What the fuck? Watch it, you’re getting Lenley all wet.”
Channing reacts to his best friend’s words with a grin full of pure mischief. “What can I say? Getting pretty girls wet is one of my many talents.”
Oh. He doesn’t mean it literally I realize as his intense green eyes skim down my body in a hot perusal. Or maybe he does mean it literally, just not the kind of wet I immediately thought about.
I know I’m right when Jameson snorts, rolling his eyes at his friend’s innuendo. “Damn, Chan, if I didn’t know that you aren’t a fucking douche, the shit you say when you open your mouth without thinking would definitely work against you. Way to make Lenley feel immediately uncomfortable, you asshole!”
Channing is instantly repentant, lowering his gaze and rubbing the back of his neck, clearly embarrassed. “Shit! I’m sorry, Len. I’m a smart-ass, I say shit like this all the time, but I promise I mean nothing bad by it.”
I nod, unsure about why he’s apologizing. I mean, if we were to agree to what they proposed last night, he’d have to get me wet, right?
Unless they changed their mind about it?
Now I feel confused and worried that they said that stuff about helping me get revenge for the way Darrius treated me just to cheer me up last night. “I—It’s ok, Channing. I know you were joking.”
Channing winks at me, lowering his head to whisper into my ear. “I didn’t mean to offend you, but I wasn’t really joking. I’m always serious when I’m talking about my skills.”
And what do you know? He’s actually got some impressive skills.
His low, deep voice reverberates through me, causing me to throb exactly where he was referring to when he mentioned “getting wet.”
The full-length patio door of the living room slides open and Peyton walks out of the house; he walks toward us in a pair of red swimming shorts that hang so low on his hips that they show a hint of that defined V of muscles that points down, right to his—
I look at Channing for a second, mentally blaming him for causing my mind to go straight into the gutter.
Or maybe it’s the memory of last night, of the way he lifted me into his arms, carrying me out of the water; of how he said that Darrius must be crazy not to feel attracted to me; of the feeling of his lips on mine, of how hot his tongue made me feel when it slid against mine again and again as Peyton gave me my first kiss.
“Hey guys!” he says, coming to a stop next to me. “When were you going to tell me that Lenley was here?” Then he looks at my sweaty, flushed face and asks me if I’m all right.
“I’m fine, Peyton, thank you. I would love some water though. I walked here from my house and I didn’t realize how hot it was today.”
He immediately turns to his best friends. “Seriously guys, what the fuck is wrong with you? Why you didn’t offer Lenley some water?”
Jameson shrugs. “We were about to, she just got here.”
Peyton tucks a strand of limp, sweaty hair behind my ear. “Come on, Lenley, let’s go inside. We’ll get you some water and it’s much cooler in there.”
I’m ushered into a spacious, tastefully furnished living room that I vaguely remember from the only time I was in this house about a year ago. Back then, the room was crowded with people dancing and drinking and I barely noticed the modern looking dark leather couches and the huge flat screen TV that dominates an entire wall.
Peyton offers me a bottle of water and once we’re all sitting around the two couches with water or soda, he smiles. “It’s nice to see you.”
My nerves get the best of me again, suddenly questioning why I’m here, just in case last night they weren’t serious when they offered me that deal.
“I’m here because—” I suddenly don’t feel as confident about this as I felt last night on the beach. What if they really didn’t mean it?
These guys are drop dead gorgeous and they could have any girl they want.
In fact they do have every girl they want, that’s how they got that nickname, The Heartbreakers.
Peyton puts me out of my misery. “Are you here with an answer? Do you want our help showing Darrius Penn what a huge mistake he made by turning you down?”
I look at them, each man has his eyes fixed onto me; Peyton’s dark blue eyes, Channing’s green ones and Jameson’s grays.
I know that if I say yes to this, there’s no way back for me and Darrius. I mostly want to piss him off and show him that there are men who find me attractive; because at this point I don’t think that even if I learned everything there is to know about sex, he’d come begging me for a chance. Not after I’ve been in bed with his sworn enemies.
But by waiting for Darrius to notice me my entire life, I have no experience. I have no idea what to do with a man; that’s why Peyton’s offer is appealing. It’ll help me make up for lost time and if—when—I find the one, he won’t think that I’m an inexperienced loser.
“Yeah,” I say, twisting my hands in my lap. “I want your help.” I explain what happened today at the Angels Headquarters.
“Damn, that Penn is such a slimy asshole!” Peyton comments.
“How could he date your best friend, knowing that you have feelings for him? He could’ve chosen any girl in town, not one of your besties.” Channing agrees.
Jameson is on the same page. “And expect you to have to see them together at work everyday? It looks like he enjoys hurting you, Lenley. And I’m not just saying that because he’s our competitor. You can have respect for a rival, but he’s a fucking douche bag. So helping you show him what a mistake he made will be very fun.”
Channing winks at me. “And when he realizes what he could’ve had ... you’re going to tell him that he isn’t good enough for you.”
I nod, encouraged by their enthusiasm.