Page 116 of Bridesmaid for Hire
“I said keep your voice down.”
“Huh?”
Growing irritated, she takes one step closer and that’s all I need. I grab her by the wrist and pull her down into the water with me. “There, now I can hear you.”
“Oh my God,” she says as she swats at my chest. “You’re an idiot.”
But I wrap her legs around my waist and pull her against my body so we’re floating together.
“Seems like you’re the idiot because you’re the one who fell for it.” I draw my hands up her back, playing with the straps of her bathing suit.
“Don’t you even think about it,” she says, pointing her finger at me.
“Think about what?” I ask as I run my finger under one of the straps.
“We’re in public. If you remove this bathing suit, I’m going to make sure you continue to embarrass yourself in front of the Hoppers.”
“Babe, I don’t need your help with that, I’m perfectly fine at destroying my reputation all on my own.”
“Babe?” she asks with a lifted brow.
“Do you not enjoy that nickname?”
“I don’t think it’s a nickname you use for me.”
I slowly spin us around in the water. We’re in our own little part of the island. It seems like all of the couples have gone off together and, yes, I’m counting Hardy and Hudson as a couple too.
“Why not?” I ask. “You’re my girlfriend. I think I have all the right to call you babe.”
She plants her hand on my chest. “I’m yourfakegirlfriend.”
“But I thought we discussed it this morning—there was nothing fake about last night.”
“Oh my God, Brody.” She rolls her eyes, but I find it fascinating that she doesn’t push me away. Yeah, I might feel a little loopy, but fuck, are my worries gone. I throw caution to the wind and plow forward.
“How long have you wanted to do that with me?”
“What?” she asks, her brow knitting together above her cute nose. “I haven’t wanted to do anything.”
“Liar,” I say as I slip my hands under the straps of her bathing suit. “Just tell me the truth.”
“There’s no truth to tell.”
“Fine,” I say. “I’ll go first. The first time I met you at your parents’ house during Thanksgiving break with Gary, I thought you were pretty.”
Her eyes search mine. “Really?”
I nod. “Really fucking pretty, but too young for me. Then I saw you at your twenty-first birthday party and I don’t know…well, you were older, for one, but there was something about how carefree you were that night that really jumpstarted my crush.”
“Stop, no, you didn’t.”
She tries to push away, but I stop her, keeping my grip around her firm. “Yeah, I did. And then at Gary’s wedding, when I saw you walk down the aisle in your bridesmaid dress, I knew I was fucked, a goner. I knew there was no way I’d be able to avoid you.”
“Well, you did a good job pushing me away,” she says, glancing toward the shore behind me.
“Because if I didn’t, Gary would have had my balls. I already shouldn’t have kissed you. He told me to stay away, but I couldn’t help myself and when things grew more intense, I knew I had to stop. And I did.”
“So…you pulled away that night because of Gary?” Annoyance flashes through her eyes.
