“Just stay out of it,” Nick said quietly to Darren then they exchanged a look.
“What does that mean? Why did you make that sound?” I asked Darren then turned to Nick. “What did you mean by stay out of it?”
Darren sighed, “I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“Whose turn is it?” Nick asked, trying to lighten the mood again.
“It’s me this time,” Chrissy said with a smile.
“Hit us with it, Chrissy!” Darren said and reached for his glass.
“I’ve never been in love,” Chrissy said cheerfully.
I leaned forward and grabbed my glass. I threw the alcohol back and slammed the glass down on the table. I looked around at everyone else, expecting the guys to be doing the same, but everyone else was just sitting still.
“None of you have ever been in love?” I asked in disbelief.
They all shook their heads at me.
“Wow! That’s just sad. All that sex and no love,” I shook my head at them. “What’s the point?”
Chrissy suddenly broke into sobs, filling the room with the sound of her crying. Nick and Darren both froze in place, not sure what to do next.
“Chrissy, baby, are you okay?” I crawled around the coffee table and over to where she was sitting. “What’s wrong?”
“He’s never going to leave her, is he? I’m just kidding myself by thinking that he’s going to leave her for me.” Chrissy whimpered to me through her tears.
I rubbed her back and tried to comfort her. “You know you deserve better than him, right? That’s why you’re not in love with him. You just said you’ve never been in love.”
Chrissy just sobbed some more and fell back against the floor.
Darren sighed loudly, “Game over, I guess. As soon as someone starts crying it’s time to stop the game.”
“Is she going to be okay?” Nick asked with a concerned voice.
I nodded, “I think so. I think she’s probably just tired and kind of drunk. I think I should take her up to her bed.” I stood up and tried to pull Chrissy up off the floor, but she wasn’t doing much to help me.
“I’ll take her,” Nick got up from the couch and walked around to where Chrissy and I were. With little effort, he scooped her up and carried her away and up the stairs.
I sat back down on the couch and threw my head back against the back of the couch. Darren plopped down next to me.
He turned to me with a smile. “You’re not like other girls, at least not the girls I’m used to meeting.”
“I’m not hooking up with you, either, Darren.”
He laughed, “I know that, Cami. If you were going to hook up with anyone then you and Nick wouldn’t be hanging out down here with us tonight.”
I smiled at Darren and spoke confidently. “That’s not going to happen and he knows that.”
“You’re not that type of girl, I know.” Darren smiled at me. “He’s a great guy, though.”
“I know,” I nodded and stared straight ahead of me.
“He saved my ass at work last week.” Darren leaned forward and poured another shot of tequila. “I made a huge mistake and nearly cost the company a billion dollar client. I don’t know how he did it, but he somehow managed to fix it all before it cost us the client.”
“Is that why you’re here?”
“My dad told me to get out of town for a few days so he wouldn’t kill me. Nick volunteered to come with me, though I think he came to chaperone me more than anything.”
“So you’re here on punishment and he’s your prison guard?” I smiled and looked at Darren.
He laughed and nodded. “It’s too bad you’re not that kind of girl, because you could do a lot worse than hooking up with Nick.”
I smiled, “You’re quite the wingman, aren’t you?”
He laughed again, “I swear he knows nothing of this conversation.”
“Well, it’s not going to happen.”
“I know. You’re not that kind of girl. You’re one of the good ones.” Darren smiled at me.
I grinned, “I’m not that good.”
“I think I’d like to hear some more about the not so good things you’ve done.” Nick’s voice reached us before we could see him. He walked around the couch and sat down in the chair across from us. “Let’s start with that French maid outfit, shall we?” He grinned at me.
I laughed, “It was a birthday gift! I swear!”
“For who? You or him?” Nick asked with a grin.
“I don’t think it matters, we all know who really got the gift that night!” Darren joined in with a chuckle.
“Alright boys, I’m also not the kind of girl who sits up alone with two drunken men. I’m going to bed. I’ll see you in the morning.” I stood up from the couch and picked up my empty shot glass. “Try not to get too drunk, don’t leave the house, and keep it down, okay?”
“Yes ma’am,” Nick and Darren said in unison.
I put my shot glass on the bar and headed up to my room. It didn’t take me long to fall asleep, even though I’d taken a nap earlier. With my arm tucked under my pillow, I slept comfortably in my big bed.
11.
Since my room didn’t have a clock, I had no idea what time it was when I was awakened by a soft, but persistent knock on my door. At first, I thought it was something outside, but the longer it went on the more I realized it was someone at my door.
I got up from the bed and stumbled to the door, nearly tripping over my suitcase on the way. I opened the door slowly, not sure of who or what would be on the other side.
“Did I wake you?” Nick said with a smile.
“What time is it?”
He looked down at his bare wrist as if he was reading a watch. “Three or four o’clock, I think.”
“You can tell that by looking at your arm?” I said sarcastically.
Nick smiled, “Can I come in?”
I raised an eyebrow at him, “I don’t think so, Nick.”
His face fell, “Why not?”
“Because you’re drunk and because I’m not stupid,” I answered with a shake of my head.
“I promise I won’t try anything, I just want to talk to you.” He smiled persuasively at me. Then he leaned forward and said with a grin, “Besides, it’s not like we haven’t slept together before.”
“What do you want, Nick?” I asked him with a cocked eyebrow.
“I just want to talk, I swear.”
“Talk out here, Nick. What do you want?” I asked again.
He sighed and a wave of tequila hit me in the face.
“I just wanted to say that your ex-boyfriend, what was his name again?” he looked to the side like he was trying hard to remember something.
“Jack.” I helped him out.
His face lit up, “Right, Jack. I just wanted to say that your ex-boyfriend, Jack, was a fool. He was a fool for letting you go.” Nick stumbled on his words and even slurred a few, but continued. “I wouldn’t let you go. I would give you anything you wanted, even if I was scared out of my wits. I would fight against everything in me, just to make you happy and give you what you want.”
My heart skipped and my pulse raced. I took a quick deep breath and exhaled loudly.
“That’s all I wanted to say,” he took a step back from my door.
I watched him walk away, knowing that I should have said something, but was unable to make myself speak. Just like I had earlier in the day, I could feel myself struggling with the decision to give in. Yes, I’d felt ashamed of myself for almost kissing him earlier, but that shame was nothing in comparison to the thrill it gave me. The almost kiss with Nick earlier that day, was more exciting than anything I’d ever experienced with another man.
I saw Nick close the door to his bedroom and disappear from my view. I leaned my head against the frame of my door and exhaled loudly again. My heart and pulse were still racing and I could feel myself being pulled to his door. Despite my apparent physical need for him, my head took over and pulled me back to my own bed.
It took longer to fall asleep the second time, but eventually I did. I didn’t sleep peacefully, though, and tossed and turned until the sunlight streaming through my window pulled me out of bed. I dressed slowly and walked quietly down the stairs towards the kitchen. Chrissy was at the table, dressed in a bikini top and very short denim shorts. I couldn’t see who she was talking to, but I could tell that there was someone else in the kitchen with her.
“Good morning, sunshine!” Chrissy greeted me with a smile. “We’ve been waiting for you to get up! Go back up and put your suit on, it’s a beautiful day and we’re going to spend it on the beach!”
Before I could ask who ‘we’ was, a strange man appeared at the table next to her and handed her a glass of juice. He gave her the glass then turned to me.
“Hi,” the stranger said with a smile. “I’m Todd.” He held his hand out to me.
I smiled and shot Chrissy a look, “Hi Todd. I’m Cami.”
“It’s great to meet you, Cami. This is Mike.” He pointed at the other strange man who had appeared at the table after him. “We were just about to head down to the beach.”
Mike smiled at me, “Why don’t you go back and put your suit on so you can join us.”
Behind the guys’ backs, Chrissy was waving her hand in front of her face and mouthing the words ‘he’s so hot’ to me.
“I don’t know,” I said hesitantly. I felt like I should find Nick and talk about what he said last night, but I didn’t want Chrissy to know what had happened.
“Oh wait! I forgot to tell you something,” Chrissy tapped herself on the forehead like she always did when she remembered something important. “I saw Nick heading out to the beach earlier, and he said he needed to clear his head so he was going to be out on the waves all day.”
Blushing, I said quickly, “Um, okay, I don’t know why I’m supposed to know that.”
Chrissy eyed me, and my reddened cheeks, suspiciously then said, “Great, so go get changed so we can enjoy this beautiful day on the beach!”
After I changed and came back downstairs, the four of us headed down to the beach. We found a spot near the house and camped out. Mike turned out to be a nice guy. He and Todd both lived in the area. He talked to me while Chrissy and Todd played in the water. We didn’t have the same playful and easy banter that Nick and I shared, but he was definitely easy to talk to.
When Chrissy tired of playing in the water, she suggested a game of beach volleyball. Knowing my propensity for injury, I tried to wiggle out of the game, but Mike insisted that he would do all the work for our team. Hesitant, I stood across the net from Chrissy and Todd and just tried to stay out of Mike’s way. The plan worked until it was my turn to serve. Never having been taught how to do it, I dropped the ball three times before Mike finally came to my aid.