“I wasn’t. Just checking a few emails.” I sat up in my seat. “What was all that about?”
“All of what?”
“The laughing. The invitation to hang out at the beach…”
“Oh, with Kandy?” Kelly waved a hand, like it was a simple work of nature. But I knew Kandy. She wasn’t simple. She was complicated as fuck. “We had a really good time at the mall. I got her to open up a lot with me. I’m telling you, a shopping spree will win over any girl’s heart.” She winked and stood up. “Remember that.”
“You really going to the beach with them?” I asked when she started to walk away.
She shrugged and pressed her lips. “Sure. Why not?”
Don’t be too obvious, I reminded myself. “Just asking.”
She turned and faced me. “Don’t worry, Quinton. I’ve got this. We’re bonding, and I like it. I won’t push too much. I promise.”
I nodded and forced a smile, but that wasn’t what I was worried about. Someone with a personality like Kandy’s would befriend a woman I talked to, just to get under my skin. She tested my patience and my boundaries constantly. I should have known it would come to this. Kandy wasn’t a dumb girl. She knew how to play her cards right, and knew exactly how to get to me.
Not even twenty minutes later, Kandy came back downstairs with Frankie behind her. She had on a sheer white cover-up over a pink bikini. The cover-up was pointless. I could see every fucking thing and seeing it made me want to tell her to go back upstairs and put something less revealing on.
Boys would look.
Men would look.
I didn’t want anyone looking at what was mine.
In that moment, though, I grasped the full concept. If I hadn’t known Kandy, I would have assumed she was a little older than eighteen. My guess would have been twenty-one or twenty-two. With tits that voluptuous, thighs that thick, and an ass that round, it occurred to me that maybe I’d missed what she’d been trying to show me all along. Her full figure had been hidden beneath her clothes, but without them…I could really see her.
She was a woman now.
Young. Ripe. Ready.
And though she had a free spirit and a wild heart, she knew exactly what she wanted…
Me.
25
KANDY
I’d spent two hours on the beach with Frankie, Mom, and Kelly. Surprisingly, it wasn’t so bad. Mom didn’t nag me about my bathing suit. In fact, she said she loved it, even though it was a little more risqué, hence the reason I wore the cover-up on the way out of the house. I didn’t need Dad catching sight and demanding that I change.
After shutting off the shower, I turned and looked toward the balcony where Cane’s room was. I could feel him watching me again as I showered off.
There was no sign of Kelly. Only him. His eyes weren’t hot and hungry this time, though. They were narrowed and curious.
I tried to ignore the way my belly fluttered as I grabbed my things and went inside, heading straight to my floor where I saw Frankie crossing the room with damp hair. She’d gone in about twenty minutes before all of us. Her period started. Fucking sucked.
After I hit the real shower, I got dressed. Apparently we were going out for dinner on Cane again. I put on a white jumpsuit, paired with rose gold bangles and my favorite rose gold necklace with a white feather at the end of it. Frankie was still getting ready, so I decided to go downstairs for something to drink, and that’s when I spotted Cane at the counter.
He had one elbow resting on the marble countertop, his phone in hand as he scrolled through it. I looked around for Kelly but didn’t see a sign of her. For some reason, after Kelly’s story at the mall, I felt bad for going after him so much. I know that made me wishy-washy, but it was true. The guilt always got me. I was an over-thinker. I assumed the worst about everything.
She loved him. I could tell. She loved him so much it hurt, just like me, and she knew he didn’t feel the same. That was already heartbreaking enough. I was certain the last thing she wanted to see was Cane all over an eighteen-year-old girl. In a way, we were kind of in the same boat.
I stepped past him and opened the fridge, pulling out a bottle of water. I cracked it open and took a few gulps, avoiding his eyes. I was about to make my way to the living room, but his voice stopped me mid-step.
“So now that you’ve become best friends with Kelly, I don’t exist to you anymore?” His voice was low, but clear enough for me to hear.
I turned to face him, tilting my head. “What makes you say that?” I played dumb.