Addicted

"I agree." Dedra walked up on my other side. "Daniel and I are going to get a bite to eat tomorrow after I go to church, but it's just going to be a friendly date. Getting involved with anyone right now would be stupid, you know? A fling would be fun, but I think I need to keep it to that."

"Not me. Clay is exactly the kind of man I've been looking for most of my adult life." Emily skipped out in front of us in her short shorts and tank top and spinning around, which was so far out of character for her that I stopped in the middle of the road to watch her.

"Dear Lord...she's in love." I glanced at my other two friends as we cracked up laughing.

She turned to face us and put her hands on her hips. "Alright...keep it up!"

"We will." Dedra laughed and pulled me toward the boat. "Come on. You slept through most of the afternoon. Let's enjoy what's left of the sunlight."

I jogged down to the dock with them and moved to the front of the boat to lay out while someone else drove us around. The wind and waves stole my thoughts, and a few minutes later, all thoughts of Brody's rejection or my parents' demanding personas was all but gone.

"Hey. There's the guy's red boat." Emily sat down next to me, forcing me to sit up and scoot over.

I blinked a few times and let out a yawn as I turned to see Brody in the boat with a pretty blonde in his lap.

"Is he..." I scrambled to my feet to try to get a better view of him. Was he making out with the girl? No, surely not. "Move closer."

"What? Why?" Cindy stood up and turned toward the island. "Oh, shit."

"Move closer to their boat,” I barked and moved to the edge of our boat, standing on railing. I had to extend my arms to keep my balance, and though I probably looked like a dork, I could not have cared less. I needed to see if he had already moved onto his next victim. Where it would hurt like crazy, it would be a good thing, too. It would force me to abandon the what-if game playing in my head.

We got close enough for me to see the blonde in his lap, and they were laughing, but not making out from what I could tell. Obviously, I'd missed that part. He glanced my way and his eyes widened.

"Good day for boating." I smiled and tilted my head to the side.

He stood, almost dropping the poor tramp on the floor. "Hey. Cora. How are you?"

"I've never been better. Where is the rest of the group? We were thinking about skinny dipping tonight." I pulled my glasses off my face and kept my expression friendly. "I see you're busy, but can you give them the message? We just wanted to have a bit of risqué fun before the big event on Monday night."

"Skinny dipping?" The girl beside him moved up to his side and put her arm around him. "I wanna go."

He ignored her. "I'll be there. We'll all be there. What time?"

"Around ten? Bring your friend, too." I waved at her. "I'm Cora. Brody's little sister."

His expression turned sour as he shook his head. "Alright. Keep it up."

"Seems you have no problem keeping it up yourself." I chuckled as if we were old friends. "See you later, playboy."

I turned and dropped down into the seat beneath me as my heart contracted painfully.

"What the fuck was that?" Dedra turned to me, whispering roughly.

"I don't know." I shrugged. "But you guys have to go skinny dipping now."

"So do you." Emily pressed her arms to her legs as she leaned toward me. "And, you know he's coming now."

"No, he's not." I glanced up at her. "And no, I don't. I'm not going anywhere near him."

"Then, he wins." Cindy pulled off her hat and started the boat.

"Fuck. Fine." I glanced back over my shoulder to watch him watching me intently. "He's not winning. I'll go."

"Of course, you'll go." Dedra patted my leg. "It was your damn idea, anyway. Crazy girl."

Chapter 20

Brody