Ritual - Palm South University

“She’s got this sweet little angel thing going for her at the office,” Ashlei says, shaking her head before she sips on the bright pink straw sticking out of her tumbler. “But I know better. She’s got an agenda, I just don’t know what it is.”

“And besides, I taught him everything he knows. So really, if she’s falling for his lines, she’s falling for me, technically.”

“She’s not even that good at her job.” Another lie from Ashlei.

“Whatever, I don’t care, he’s just a fuck buddy and a free ride, anyway.” Another lie from me.

We both fall silent, sipping our drinks angrily and swimming in our petty pool. After another stretch of me trying to ignore Kade and his “unsuspecting hottie” but always finding myself staring at them again, I stand, ditching my cover up on my chair.

“You know, maybe I’ll go over there just to make him squirm a little.”

“Good idea,” Ashlei says, standing. “I think I’ll go hang out with our perfect little intern, get better acquainted.”

“Not that we care about either of them,” I remind us both.

“No, of course not,” Ashlei agrees, and then we storm off in the sand in opposite directions.

I don’t realize it’s a terrible idea, inserting myself into a situation that clearly makes me itchy, until I’m standing right in front of Kade with a fake smile on my lips. He doesn’t even notice me at first, which pisses me off, but luckily, I’m patient, and I stand there next to one of his fraternity brothers, blending in until he sees me.

When he does, one eyebrow arches high up into his hairline, and a stupid smirk spreads on his dumb face. “Hey there, J-Love.”

Hey there? I’m going to murder him.

“Hey, yourself,” I say, still wearing the fake smile. “Nice costume.”

Kade is dressed in bright red, flashy shorts that cut off down past his knees and hug him right under where that deep V cuts from his abdomen to the promise land. Around that waist, he’s got a giant, heavyweight champion belt, and the way it pairs with the tattoos sprawled out over his entire body, he looks like a younger, hotter version of John Cena — if there even is such a thing.

“Thanks,” he says, flexing his biceps, which makes me roll my eyes and wonder why I care that he’s hanging all over someone else.

“I absolutely love yours,” the unfortunately beautiful girl on his arm says, leaning forward to touch one of the curls in my hair without asking. “Pin-up, right? My dad loves pin-ups… he has calendars and posters and old tin containers and all kinds of stuff with pin-ups on them.”

Ashlei, Skyler, Cassie, and I decided the pin-up idea together. My costume is a one-piece, black-and-white striped, with a cut out where my stomach and back are, the top and bottom connected only by scrappy fabric over my ribs and hips. The top has a zipper down the front of the cleavage, too, which is conveniently zipped low right now, boosting up my tits.

“Thanks, sweetie,” I say, smiling at her even though it’s killing me to watch her thread her arm through Kade’s and draw a fingernail up and down his toned forearm. At first, I thought she was clueless, but the way she’s holding onto him and smiling back at me with possession in her eyes tells me she sees me as a threat.

And she should.

I somehow manage to check myself before I can be a bitch, thanks to my feminist side reminding me that I should lift women up, not tear them down — even if I’m jealous of them. But I’m done playing games.

She has something I want, and I’m not leaving without it.

“Kade,” I say, turning my attention back to him with my smile still in place. “Can I steal you for a second?”

He shrugs, oblivious, whispering something in his unsuspecting victim’s ear before she giggles and runs her hand over his chest, slick with tanning oil. “Hurry back,” she says, and then she grabs his junk over his shorts, right there in front of everyone, outlining the thick shaft that I had inside me just days ago.

I turn before rage can seethe through me, not checking to see if Kade is following, because I know he knows better than not to. I just stalk toward one of the tents set up for shade reprieve, and when I step inside it, I thank Adam and his fraternity brothers for being smart enough to put fans with water spritzers inside each one of them.

It feels like heaven.

I sigh, turning just as Kade joins me in the tent. It’s a large one, with space for at least a couple dozen people, but most everyone is out in the sun or on a boat. There’s a couple making out on one of the couches in the corner, but I snap at them and point to the tent flap, and without a word, they exit.