No Regrets (14 page)

“Again?”

His face flames red. “Yeah, he and I got into it when I saw him at your apartment a while back. He knew how I felt about you and I thought he was making a move.”

I shake my head. “Nope, just using me to further his disgusting affair with Lisa.”

“I made it pretty clear you were hands off. No wonder he told you not to tell me.”

“I’m sorry I lied.”

“You were being a friend and technically he didn’t know we were together,” he says. “But seriously, thank god I don’t have to really fight him over you, not that I wouldn’t, but I’m pretty sure he would win.”

“He’s got pretty big muscles,” I agree.

“Hey!” His lips form the most adorable pout. “I have muscles.”

I run my hand over his leg. “So there’s one more thing. I may have agreed to go to a Fourth of July party with Tate and pretend to be his fake date.”

His eyebrows knit together. “Why would you agree to that?”

I explain how Lisa’s husband threatened me earlier in the day.  Henry’s eyes blank for a second and I get a good idea what he looks like when he’s angry. “I think I should play it off one more night and then we’ll just settle this once and for all. He can’t hurt me or you now that I’ve told you. Tate and Lisa will have to be on their own.”

“I can deal with
one more night, but I’m probably going to go to that party too.”

“Please do. You can keep me from maki
ng an ass out of myself again. Oh, by the way, did you see the photos Shelly posted of us on Instagram?”

He nods. “Those were pretty hot.”

“You think so?”

“I know so,” he says, his hands reaching for the
exposed skin on my legs. We’re halfway tangled up in the booth. “Want to get out of here?”

This is what I love about Henry. He’s carefree and easy. He loves and he’s loyal. I search for the tattoo on his arm. Pressing my lips to the words
, I follow him out of the bar and into the night.

Chapter Thirteen

I hear the music and crowd before we even get to the house and wh
en we do, my jaw drops at the scene in front of me. Tate’s fraternity brothers may be a bunch of knuckleheads, but they sure know how to throw a party.  Red, white, and blue banners hang from the face of the house. The front yard is covered in picnic tables and piled with food. Several guys, pledges I assume, man the grills and kegs line the porch. Girls in bikinis and shirtless guys are everywhere. Tate’s in the middle of everything, looking every bit the Greek God.

“You said there’s a pool?” I ask Tate, who told me to dress for swimming. “I don’t remember there being a pool last time.”

“Wait until you see it,” he says with a killer grin.  He takes my hand and drags me around the side of the house.  The backyard is covered in sand, obviously brought in by the truckload and there’s a huge above ground pool surrounded by wood decking. Coeds sunbathe on blue and white lounge chairs. “The pool is only waist deep, but that’s sort of just so we can see the girl’s tit’s and stuff.”

“This is sort of amazing,” I s
ay, trying to absorb everything and intentionally ignoring his gross comment.

“Isn’t it?”

The sun is starting to set, which is good for the heat. Henry and I worked the day shift at the pool, and because of the holiday, we closed early. Tate’s been here all day and from his slurring voice he’s had quite a bit to drink. His hand inches down my back. I move it and say, “Can we set some parameters?”

“Sure.” He settles his hands on his hips.

“Kissing on the cheek only. No lips. Also, no butt or boob grabs. You can hug me or wrap your arm around my shoulder or waist.”

“All right. Anything else?”

“I’m not drinking or smoking anything. Nothing. Don’t even offer,” I tell him. Then, because I’m tired of the games, I add, “Oh, and Henry will be here in about thirty minutes. He knows everything.”

Tate’s eyes widen and he shifts his feet.
“Everything?”

“
Everything,” I confirm. “Oh, and we’re dating.”

He takes that in stride, nodding his head a little, maybe doing a little relationship math in his head. The bathroom breaks, cleaning the pump room…
Tate may be a chucklehead but he’s not stupid. “How pissed is he?”

“You know Henry, he takes everything pretty easily.”

“Not when it comes to you,” he says, rubbing his jaw. “So, tonight. We’ll just present like close friends. Enough to keep Lisa’s husband and all the available ladies off my jock.”

“Your jock?”

He gives me a lazy grin and cups his junk. “Everybody wants up on this.”

“Gross.”

“Everyone except you, of course. Seriously though, her husband has been all over me. He’s sent some private investigator around. Asking the brothers about me, taking photos. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s around here today. No way I’d be able to pick him out in this size crowd.” He tosses an arm around my shoulder and we walk into the throng of people. Tate stops at a bar set up in the yard. “This is Zadie. She’s with me,” he says to the bartender. “She only gets non-alcoholic drinks. Got it?”

“Got it,” the guy says, pouring me a red colored drink out of a pitcher.
He hands it over and I sniff it. The bartender assures me by saying, “Virgin.”

We take our drinks and I ask the question
I’ve been holding on to. “So you think Eric’s investigator is taking photos?”

“Lisa thinks he’s trying to build a case against her.”

“Are you sure all this is necessary? It seems a little extreme. “

“She’s filing for divorce tomorrow. After that we’ll have more freedom.”

“Good,” I say. I take a deep breath. “Okay, since this is the last day for all this and I decided to go out with a bang. You can never say I didn’t do anything for you.”

“What are you talking about?
”

“I bought something I think you’ll like and maybe will help the cause,” I tell him.  “Well, it’s a little bit for you and a little bit for Henry. I saw it in the store and just had to buy it.” I lift my sundress over my head revealing the new swimsuit I bought. Tate’s eyes pop wide open and he burst into laughter.

I look down at the revealing suit, black material with gold strings and adjust the straps. A gold marijuana leaf had been applied to the fabric covering my breasts and one over my pelvis. My skin has turned a warm brown over the last couple of weeks, which sets off the suit nicely. I figured Tate would love the fact I’m posing as his date in a skimpy bikini, while Henry would dig the design. Well, he’ll dig the skimpiness too, but for this party he’ll have to look and not touch.

“Damn,” Tate says, his eyes glued to my chest. That is until he’s sent sprawling to the side. “Fuck!”

Henry appears in the space where Tate had been standing. His eyes skim over every inch of exposed skin. He licks his lips and his fists tense near his sides. I can’t tell if it’s to keep from punching Tate or to keep his hands off of me. “Damn. Yeah, this isn’t going to work.”

“What the hell, dude?
” Tate asks, scrambling to his feet.

“This. No way you’re getting anywhere near Zadie in that bikini.” The hint of possessiveness in his voice makes my stomach flip.

I take a step forward. “Look, we already went over the ground rules. Tate’s going to behave. I say we just have a good day and once this is over, it’s over.” I lower my voice. “No one is going to touch me but you. I promise.”

Henry’s jaw tenses but he nods. He drops his towel and shirt on the chair next to mine before
announcing he needs a drink. He wanders off. I lie back on my own lounge chair and stretch out.  A pledge walks over to Tate with some sort of fraternity business. They walk off together and I close my eyes in an attempt to gain some peace. One positive of my summer of being around noisy kids has given me the ability to shut out a lot of the noise around the pool. I’ve successfully zoned out, until I feel cold dripping water across my abdomen.

“Ahh!” I shout, sitting up. I open my eyes and find Jackson standing above me in board shorts hung loose around his hips. Water rolls down his chest.
He holds a blue party cup in his hands.

“Long time
, no see,” he says with his charming smile. This guy must give Tate a run for his money.

“
Jackson,” I say. “How are you?”

“Better, now.”

I ignore his flirting and search for Henry. I spot him talking to Charlie and Shelly near the volley ball court. 

“You need a drink?”
Jackson asks, sitting in Henry’s chair. He leans back and places his cup on the ground next to mine, making himself comfortable. “Food? Pool supervision? Suntan lotion on your back?”

“I’m good. Thanks.”

“You’re a bit of an enigma.” He tilts his head in my direction.

“How’s that?” I wonder.

“Winning over Tate for the summer. He’s usually hard to pin down.”

“Tate and I go way back, maybe that made it easier.”

“Maybe,” he muses. His hair dries quickly in the heat and I can see the loose, blond curls starting to appear over his ears. His eyes narrow and he leans forward. “Don’t move,” he says quietly. I freeze and he places his hand on my neck. I think he’s going to kiss me but he only rubs his thumb over my skin. “Mosquito. These bastards are vicious.”

Jackson
pulls back and I touch my cheek. “Thanks.”

A long shadow crosses over the two of us and I look up. Henry’s returned with two cups. From the look of the beer foam at the top, both are for him. Whatever he needs to get through this day. “Hey,” he says. “You’re in my seat, Jackson.”

“Nice of you to crash, Henry,” he says. “I guess we’re not good enough to be your brothers anymore but good enough to drink our beer.”

“
Sounds about right,” Henry says, unaffected.

“
I was just checking on Zadie to see that she’s being attended to.” He has the thickest southern drawl that I find disturbingly appealing. The expression on Henry’s face suggests he’s not impressed.

“I’ll keep her company until Tate gets back,” he says.
There’s an underlining tension between them but Jackson just nods and walks off. Two seconds later he’s jumped into the pool, splashing some girls.

“Are you
friends?” I ask.

“Not really. Not anymore, at least.
We pledged together. He couldn’t understand why I left the fraternity. Admittedly, it’s a bit of a social blunder for me to be here. I did walk away. But Tate’s got enough pull that if he says it’s cool for me to be here then no one will really question it.” His eyes roam down my body. “Good thing I showed up. No way I’m letting you out of my sight in that thing.”

We stare a
t one another, the energy building. I may need to jump in the pool and cool off myself.

Dammit.

I reach for my drink and turn away, taking a big gulp. “Don’t look at me like that,” I say, keeping my eyes anywhere but on him. Shrieks from the pool catch my attention and I see a couple of girls in a chicken fight. They could be straight out of a porno.

“Like what?” he asks innocently.

“It’s like a bad movie.”

He takes a sip of his beer. “It’s college and it’s fun. Relax and enjoy yourself.”

“When I do that I tend to make a mess of things. Like the superhero party.” He doesn’t know about Elton and the video and I’m not about to take this as the opportunity to tell him.

“Do you think Neal Cassidy or Hunter S. Thompson worried about what people thought about them? They spent half their lives in a drug addled haze and called it life experience.”

“
I’m not saying I don’t appreciate their work, but I’d rather not have to be an addict to be successful.”

“I’m not suggesting you turn into an addict, Pip. I just think you need to chill out and see where life takes you.”

“Things are different now, with video and photos everywhere. I don’t like being exposed like that.”

“Don’t you think they would have been cool with the exposure
? They documented everything else? Then they fictionalized it—working the story with their own twist.”

It’s a weird argument—or discussion
, and I’m torn in my views. Thankfully a hulking shadow casts over the two of us, interrupting our conversation. “Hey, man.”

Tate sits at the edge of my
seat and I nurse the drink he brought me earlier. It’s sickly sweet but I’m thirsty. It’s so hot I’m beginning to feel a little light-headed. The girls chicken-fighting in the pool squeal, and we all look over. One of their tops has fallen off and she’s making a big show about covering herself.

“Seriously?” I ask. “This is how we’re spending our night off?”

“We can see the fireworks from downtown from here,” Henry offers.

“Fireworks?”

“Yep, it’s right after the wet T-shirt contest,” Tate chimes in.

“You’re kidding.”

Henry shakes his head and Tate doesn’t even pretend he’s not into it. “See those sprinklers over the deck? The girls stand underneath and water comes out. Jackson organizes it.”

“Big surprise.”

“You should totally enter. The girl I came with last year won.” Tate lifts his eyebrows suggestively.

“Yeah, I don’t think so.”

“You’re not naked or anything, just in frat shirt over your bikini. You’d win.” He glances at Henry. “Right?”

My boyfriend reluctantly nods. “Yeah, you’d win. Hands down.”

I’m disturbed at how flattering that sounds, since it’s obviously so disgusting and offensive. “You’ll have to pick another ringer, I guess, because there’s no chance in hell.”

They fall into some fraternity gossip and I leave to ge
t another drink. I’m hit on by no less than three guys as I walk through the crowd and again, I find myself confused by the attention. Maybe it’s the girl to guy ratio or something. Then again, this suit in this environment begs for attention, and that brings out conflicted emotions of anxiety and excitement. Maybe I can push past this fear once and for all. I can be part of the crowd. I’m not doing anything these other girls aren’t doing as well.

At the bar I find Shelly, clad in a red, white
, and blue suit. “Hey girl,” she says, giving me a hug. “Love your suit.”

“It’s kind of a joke,” I explain.

“For your man. I get it. He loves weed and he loves you. Two punches,” she tells the bartender.

“I’m not drinking,” I say.

She looks at me like I have three heads.

“Not tonight. I just need to keep my head level and lately I’ve made some stupid choices. Like those photos you took. God
, I looked like a whore.”

“Why
, because you’re making out with your boyfriend? That’s not being a whore. You two are in love. It’s sort of inspiring.”

“Pictures of Henry’s hands on my ass while I dry hump him in front of a room of people isn’t inspiring.”

“It was erotic.”