Channing
PENN’S NEW GIRLFRIENDlands in the turquoise water of the pool with a huge splash and a loud shriek; she bumps into one of those giant floating donuts, causing it to capsize and throwing the girl on it in the water too.
A few people in that general area get splashed and as I hear the first complaints about not diving from the designated diving boards, I grab Lenley’s hand and drag her away from the bar.
We walk through a landscaped area with flowers and cabanas and I stop only when we round the corner to the changing huts area.
“Channing,” she gasps, setting those huge green eyes on me, “What are you doing here? What just happened? I—”
“I was a little ahead of you in the line at the bar and when I heard the shit your friend said to you, I acted on instinct.”
Her eyes widen in surprise. “Oh.”
I squeeze her hand, wishing I was better at comforting her. “I’m sorry, maybe I shouldn’t have gotten involved but ... what a fucking bitch! I promise you, Len, I normally don’t push girls around, I’m not a bully. It’s just that the way she was talking to you after she betrayed you and started dating the guy you liked behind your back, really rubbed me wrong.”
My heart is beating fast in my chest, waiting for her reaction.
She rises on the tips of her toes and touches her lips to mine; it’s a quick and soft peck and it’s over before I have the chance to deepen the kiss. But I feel that fucking kiss everywhere and I want a lot more.
“Well fuck.” I chuckle. “If that’s what I get for pushing someone into a pool, give me a list of the people who ever crossed you and I’m going to take care of them in exchange for more kisses.”
Lenley giggles and the sound of her laugh does nothing to calm my heart. “I’ll let you know. I mean, Darrius obviously, but we’re all taking care of him with our deal, right?”
I nod. “That motherfucker will be sorry about hurting you. And we’ll mess with his head so much, he’s going to lose at State, Nationals and Worlds.”
She quiets down at my mention of winning against the Cove Angels. I know it’s her father’s legacy, so I tread carefully. “I know the Angels are your team, but I hope you can put the rivalry between Angels and Devils to the side when it comes to our friendship.”
Her response surprises me. “Yeah, it’s my papà’s team. But while I want to keep his legacy alive, I think in sports the best men should win. I’ve never questioned Darrius being the Angels’ captain, he’s always wanted to fly and his dad was my papà’s second in command, so I guess he’s always had an advantage. But after how he treated me, if the Angels lose, I’ll be sad just for my mom. Darrius has lost my support.”
I understand the way she feels; for being her best friend, Penn treated her like shit.
Lenley interprets my silence the wrong way. “It isn’t just because he didn’t reciprocate my feelings, Chan. I would’ve been hurt about being rejected no matter what, but how could he start dating one of my best friends?”
I think that Penn and Kiara deserve each other, but I don’t say it out loud, not wanting to make Lenley feel worse than she already does; with friends like those, who needs enemies, right?
“I’ve always known that Penn is a stupid dipshit, Len, but his loss is definitely my gain.” All of a sudden, I don’t want Lenley to go back to whatever she was doing before the confrontation with her friend. “Hey, I was thinking, do you want to grab something to eat and maybe catch a movie?”
Her eyes light up and her smile causes blood to rush away from my brain and head south as my eyes skim down her petite but deliciously soft body in her red bikini.
“That sounds fun, but—” There’s hesitation in her voice. “I was here with my bestie, she drove us here ... I guess I could let Sarah know, she was busy chasing her crush anyway. Let me text her and get changed back into my clothes and I’ll meet you here in fifteen minutes?”
I nod, excited to have some one-on-one time with her. “Sure. I need to get changed too.”
She beams at me. “It’s a date!”
Is it? I wonder, staring at her perfect ass as she runs into one of the wooden changing huts.
Nah, we don’t do dates. I don’t do dates.
I mean, don’t get me wrong, I hate that stupid nickname the press has given me and my friends, The Heartbreakers, but it fits us in the way that we don’t do girlfriends, we don’t get tangled in useless love stories and suffocating relationships; we train hard, compete hard and play even harder.
We definitely don’t date, we hook up.
Yup, I nod to myself. That’s what Lenley is, a fun, hot, challenging, season long hookup. We’ll have fun, get our rocks off and clean up our image, ready to show Penn and the world that the Cove Devils are a force to be reckoned with.
By the end of the World Championships, Penn will regret ever crossing us and hurting his best friend.