Fireworks: A Holiday Bad Boy Romance (10 page)

Chapter 11

Brody

"You guys want burgers for lunch
again?" Clay walked into the living room and crossed his arms over his
chest.

I glanced up from playing a game on my
phone and shrugged. "Whatever is easiest."

"Burgers it is." Daniel got up
and rolled his shoulders. "Come on, buddy. You know you're the best at
grilling."

He tapped my foot and stepped over my
extended legs.

"I think Clay should have to cook
seeing that he's the only one that got laid last night." I smirked and
pulled my legs down before standing up and tossing my phone onto the couch
behind me. Something about Clay sleeping with Cora's best friend left me
feeling far more jealous than I should. The sexy waitress from the burger hut
had been a fun lay that afternoon, but I was left wanting more than she
provided. Typical disappointment. I was starting to think that swearing off sex
until I found the right girl might actually be a good idea.

I'd never say it out loud in a million
years to my friends, but entertaining the thought kept my emotions on an
even-kilter.

"Just call me grill master." I
popped Clay in the chest as I walked to the kitchen.

Derek was on the phone, the smile on his
face wide and a little cheesy. I couldn't help but eavesdrop.

"Naw, you don't have to do that. I
mean, if you want to, I'll eat that shit up, but..." he chuckled and
glanced over at me. His expression hardened just a little as the smile slipped
from his lips. "I'll see you tonight, alright? We're all looking forward
to it." He put the phone down and smirked. "What? She's making me a
dessert."

"Who?" I picked up the plate of
raw burger patties and grabbed a spatula. "Come open the door, big
guy."

"Cindy." He moved up beside me
and opened the door.

"The girl with red hair from Friday
night?" I walked out, trying to ignore the new wave of jealousy that
washed over me.

"Yeah. She's gonna be a chef. Open
her own restaurant and such." He held the door and walked out languidly
beside me before dropping down into my favorite lawn chair.

"Nice. Is she willing to share this
dessert, or is it just for you?" I chuckled and started up the grill as
Daniel walked out onto the patio.

"Are you guys talking about a real
dessert or sharing a girl in bed? You know that never goes over well for you,
Brody." He adjusted his glasses and handed me the salt shaker. "Don't
forget to season the meat."

"Thanks, buddy." I sat the
burgers and salt down, ignoring his comment as Derek stepped in to give him
hell. The serenity of the water across the road from us called to me, and I
tried to access the calm I needed so badly, but found myself stuck in my angst.

Going over to Cora's that night was sure
to be a disaster, and part of me wanted to chicken out and just let the rest of
the guys go without me. I could find someone to hang out with, and taking the
boat out by myself wouldn't be a bad idea, either.

"You not with us anymore, bro?"
Clay patted my back as I opened the grill and started to lay out the burgers.

"Hmmm?" I glanced over at him.
"Sorry, I was reliving the quickie I had with our lovely waitress from the
burger barn."

"It's called Jaspers, and her name
was Lisa." Daniel chuckled and moved up beside me. "The water looks
great. We should just invite the girls to come over and spend the evening on
the boat."

"Speaking of..." I bent down to
turn up the heat a little. "I'm thinking I'll just let you guys go
tonight. I'm not much for cock-blocking, and seeing that I'm the sexiest among
us…"

I laughed as the two of them started
pushing at me playfully.

"Emily's only got eyes for me, buddy.
You lost your chance with that hot little number." Clay smiled, his eyes
lighting up in a way that I hadn't seen in a long time. Maybe this chick was
more than a quick roll in the sheets for him. Good. He was the long-term kinda
guy.

"She is a pretty girl." I
glanced over at Daniel. "And you? You going for the lovely leader of the
pack?"

"Cora? Heavens no." Daniel
pulled his glasses from his face and started to clean them with his t-shirt.
"I honestly think I might try to grab Dedra's attention. My parents were
rather against me dating a black girl, but I just don't feel the same. She's
beautiful, isn't she?"

"Very." I internally sighed with
relief. It looked like Cora would be playing odd-man out with me. Good. She
wasn't interested, or was working hard to hide it, and I was fighting against
the need to get in her face and make my point. I wasn't the guy that had her
turning her nose up at men for life, though I'd most certainly been that guy
for a few girls in my time.

"Besides, I'm pretty sure the sexy
brunette that keeps denying you only wants the attention of one man." Derek
let out a chuckle from behind us.

I turned and lifted my eyebrow at him.
"Did you see her with someone in town yesterday?"

"Nope." He pulled his hat from
his face. "I've only seen a few girls in my time get pissy so fast, and
having three sisters, I'm telling you that she's interested. She's pissy
because she doesn't want to be interested in you."

"Interested in me? No. I don't
believe it." I turned back to the grill and nodded as a large gaggle of
barely-clad women walked in front of the house, stopping to turn our way. I
pulled my t-shirt off and winked at one of them as they started with their
cat-calls.

"We're taken men," Clay called
out to them, shrugged and puffing out his bottom lip.

"They're taken." I motioned
toward my friends before lifting my watch to my face. "I'm free...well,
look at that...for the rest of the night."

"Nope, you're not." Daniel
blocked my view and tilted his head to the side. "Why don't you just try a
different approach? Not all girls are into the 'drop your panties and let me
use you for an afternoon' attack, right?"

"What?" I rolled my eyes and
flipped the burgers. "I'm not having this conversation, guys. Cora is one
girl with a bitchy attitude and a great rack. Big fucking deal. I'm not
interested. It's plain and simple."

"Oh, you're interested for
sure." Derek laughed, and the other guys joined in.

I nodded. "Alright. I'm telling you
that I'm not, but whatever."

"He's getting sensitive. Leave him
be." Daniel pushed at Clay. "He's just flesh and blood like the rest
of us."

"Nope." I looked over my
shoulder as I flipped them off. "I'm boners and attitude. Nothing more,
nothing less."

"Dumb. Just ask the girl out, Brody.
Shit." Clay dropped down in a chair beside the grill.

"Dude. I'm not interested. I'd fuck
her, yeah, but I'd fuck a lot of these girls. Shut up about it already,
shit." I turned back to the grill, hating how close they were coming to my
thoughts. I wanted to ask her out, to work on getting to know her a little, but
the truth of the matter was simple. It couldn't have much to do with her. I
wasn't that deep of a guy. It was the challenge of getting her to relent, to
break down and submit to me. Once I'd reached my goal and won the prize, I
would move on. That wouldn't work too well if she didn't hold up all summer.

My friends seemed to be interested in her
friends, which meant that I was stuck with the possibility of seeing her for
the next few months. Using her and walking away would only leave everyone pissy
with me. I wasn't about that life. No thanks.

She wasn't worth that.

And yet, I was nervous as hell about going
to hang out with them later that night. There was no way to talk myself out of
trying to get her attention, even though I knew it was damning from the start.

"How was Emily?" Daniel asked.

"She was everything a woman should
be. Soft, sweet, and moaned like a kitten in heat. It was amazing." Clay
moved up beside me and took the spatula from my hand. "Go get a beer,
dude. You need it."

I licked at my lips and turned without
another word. Weariness rolled over me, but I shoved it away. I wasn't letting
this girl get under my skin. It was my last summer of freedom before having to
make some hard decisions. More school or a job that didn't pay enough to cover
the bills?

My kinesiology degree was fun as hell and
becoming a coach was all I'd ever wanted, but there was no way to get a high-paying
job without working like a grunt for little to no pay for years to do it.

The cool air in the house wrapped around
me as I walked in and moved to the fridge, my thoughts moving about in
different directions.

I'd been straightforward with Daniel a few
days before about not caring too much about my career, but I understood quite
well that any woman that might consider something with me for the long-term
would want stability.

"Long-term? Dear God, please shut
up," I mumbled at myself and pulled a beer from the fridge.

Clay was standing at the entrance to the
kitchen with his hands on his hips, staring at me with a knowing look on his
face.

"Damn, dude." I lifted the beer
to my lips, drinking down half of it before continuing. "You scared the shit
out of me. I'm not thinking that your new fling would be too happy with you
watching me that intently. Might confuse the poor girl."

"What's up with you?" He walked
to the fridge, nudging me with his shoulder. "You've been off more than
usual."

"It's nothing, man." I shrugged
and leaned against the counter.

"That's a fucking lie. You don't want
to talk about it, cool, but don't think we don't notice." He turned to me
as he popped the top on his beer.

"I can't come, alright?" I
crossed my arms over my chest, feeling a little too exposed and yet knowing
that Clay would keep nudging the truth from me until I spilled.

"Come where?" He took a sip of
his beer as his expression softened.

"No, dude. I can't come. Like all
this sex I've had over the last few years has left me, I don't know,
numb." I shrugged and finished the beer before dropping it into the
trashcan.

"Jack off, Brody." He stayed
still, but watched me intently.

"I do, thank you very much.
Still...nothing." I shrugged and let out a long sigh. "It's fucked
up, alright? I'll see someone about it when we get back home."

"Yeah, you need to." He ran his
fingers through his hair. "Are you shitting me? Because I know you like
fucking around. You not coming sounds like one of your fucked up-”

"I can't come alright?
Seriously." I brushed my fingers by my lips as the thought of Cora rushed
past my mind. "I think I've objectified women too much. It's lost the
thrill of what it should be."

"How long?"

"Since I came?" I glanced over
at him as Derek walked into the house.

"Oh, shit. Count me out of this
conversation." The big cowboy turned and walked back out of the house,
causing me to smile.

"I did the other night because I
thought about Cora, but before then? It's been a long time. Too long to think
about." I shrugged and got out another beer. "Maybe something is
wrong with me."

"Yeah, or maybe you're growing
up." Clay reached over and patted my chest. "Try pulling back a
little and waiting for a woman worth stripping for. Not all of them are worthy
of that, bro."

"No? Could have fooled me." I
winked and walked back toward the porch, tired of the conversation. I was the
alpha dick of the group that used women and slept around, no matter where we
went or what we did. It was my spot on the team, my designated position. We
laughed over my escapades and joked about my sexual prowess all the time. It
was who I was.

I walked back out to the grill and took
the spatula from Daniel's hand to start pulling the burgers off the grill.

"What should I wear tonight? I'm not
sure if I should go for my swim suit and a t-shirt or maybe some khaki's and a
polo?" Daniel turned his attention toward me. "I want to wear
something that says I'm cool and laid back, but that I'm also mildly interested
in looking good."

I chuckled. "Wear whatever you want
to, Dan. Just be yourself, dude. You'll be fine."

"Wear the khaki's." Clay moved
up beside me. "Not all of us have your confidence, Brody."

"I wish I could bottle it up and sell
it. I'd be rich and you guys would be broke mother fuckers." I smirked and
moved back, trying to avoid their playful pushing again.

"Right. And, I'm the one that woke up
with a pretty girl in my bed this morning." Clay took the burgers from me.
"Maybe the tides are turning."

"Maybe so," I mumbled and
glanced back at the lake. I was going over to Cora's with my friends, but I'd
have to be on-guard. Something told me that the chase was going to thrill me
beyond anything I'd encountered this far. I wanted it bad.

Wanted her bad. Maybe too bad...