In Plain Sight (9 page)

I watch Colby walk away, the muscles in his back tightening as he lowers himself into the hot tub. I’m not exactly sure how this popular crowd does things in regards to flirting, but that was fun.

Mindy keeps her arm around my shoulders, even as she talks to another guy who looks like he’s had too many beers and too much sun this Spring Break. When he leaves, she turns to me.

“So, are you totally free from wherever it is you came from?”

“Huh?” I ask. Although I’ve turned down the beers that have been offered to me, I kind of wish I was drunk right now, that way all of my stupid questions would at least be justified.

“Free from guys,” she says, giving me a sultry look. “There’s not some long term boyfriend back at home thinking you’re waiting for him or anything?”

I laugh. “Nope. Definitely not.”

“Excellent! Let’s find you a man. As my girls can confirm,” she says, gesturing to the two other M’s, “I am an excellent match maker.”

“Excellent is purely her opinion,” one of the M’s says. It’s the curvy Latina girl with the short hair, and I’m pretty sure her name is Maria. I accidently forgot the other girl’s name, but she’s been so quiet that you can’t really blame me.

“Oh hush,” Mindy tells Maria. To me, she says, “You tell me what type of guy you want, and I’ll make it happen.”

Maria just scoffs, folds her hands over her chest and looks away. She’s clearly pissed, but Mindy doesn’t even register it.

“Well, if we’re talking guys,” I say, trying to be bold for once in my life. “Colby isn’t too bad.”

I glance over at him. He’s looking right at me, steam rising from the hot tub. He makes a “come here” motion with his finger and it sends a chill down my spine.

“Eh . . .” Mindy says, waving at some girls as they walk by and say hello to her. “Colby is all right, I guess.”

“Oh, wait.” A knot twists up in my stomach as I realize what’s probably going on here. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize. Did you two date?”

She shakes her head. “Nope, he’s not my type.”

I lift an eyebrow. “He’s totally hot. What exactly is your type?”

She motions for me to follow her and we slowly walk around the large pool.

“I like older guys. Mid-twenties, thirty. Unfortunately, most of them won’t even touch a seventeen-year-old, so I’m choosing to stay single until college, and then it’s open season on some mature older guys.”

She wiggles her eyebrows and it makes me laugh. “Hey, whatever makes you happy, I guess.”

“I’m just so over high school guys,” she says. “I want someone who lives on their own, without parents getting in the way and stuff. I want someone mature.”

A guy holds out a shot glass and Mindy takes it, downing the liquor in just one gulp. I’m kind of surprised that no one cares that I’m not drinking. I guess years of watching TV has had me conditioned to think I’d be ridiculed for turning down alcohol.

But maybe being with the exclusive M’s has certain privileges, like the right to do whatever you want.

“I think it’d be hot to date a single dad,” Mindy says, blowing a kiss at someone from across the pool. “Your step-dad Landon is
so
freaking hot.”

“Eww,” I say, shoving her in the arm. She laughs. This conversation is definitely not going in the direction I’d prefer. I decide to bring it back around to the important topic.

“If you’re serious about setting me up, I vote Colby,” I say.

Her lips slide to the side of her mouth. “Let me tell you about Colby. Me and him are pretty close, actually. I’ve known him my whole life.”

“So what’s wrong with him?”

“Nothing. Not really. He’s just . . . He’s kind of obsessed with trying to be someone besides his brother. He’s always compared to him, especially when it comes to girls. Greg had this reputation of being some kind of sex god, and I know Colby gets a lot of shit for it because he doesn’t date as much as Greg did.”

She tosses her long hair over her shoulder, the blue tips catching the light from the string of patio lights above. “If you
really
like him, I’d support it. But you’re new and you’re totally hot and you could get any guy. So I say you take your time.”

“You’re different than I thought you’d be.”

Shit. The words are out of my mouth before I realize what I’d just said. Shit, shit, shit.

Mindy quirks an eyebrow. “What do you mean by that?”

What I meant was that I’d spent four months seeing her and her posse of M’s prance around the school like the royalty that they are, and I figured they’d all be bitches with their own agendas. And yet here she is, being a real friend to me, not at all like what I’d expected. But I can’t tell her that, or my cover will be blown.

I shrug and gaze off at the pool as if there’s something super interesting going on in there. “Just . . . first impressions from this morning I guess.”

“Yeah, sorry about the exuberant wine basket,” she says, waving a hand. “My mom goes a little crazy welcoming people. But I swear to you, I’m a nice person.”

Not to the losers in school
, I think.

Mindy continues. “We’re all nice, except maybe Maria, who I think is kinda pissed that I invited a new girl into our group, but she can get the hell over it. She’s been so moody lately, it’s annoying. I keep telling her to get the hell over herself but it doesn’t really work.” She rolls her eyes. “Anyhow—”

But I don’t hear what she says next. These two huge guys get in a shoving fight and suddenly I’m knocked into so hard it takes the breath out of my lungs. I go flying, and I trip over my own feet. There’s a splash and then another one, and I’m sinking into the cold water.

So much for my hair looking nice
, I think as I flounder around, my feet touching the bottom of the pool. I push myself up and gasp for breath as soon as I resurface.

Someone whistles.

That’s when I realize my top fell off.

I drop low, burying my top half under the water, but there’s lights in the pool and it feels like everything is glowing too much. In the distance, I hear Mindy bitch at one of the guys who started the shoving fight, calling him a fucking clumsy oaf.

Some of the drunk guys whistle and cat call in my direction. I look around frantically for my bikini top, but there’s too many people in the pool and too much commotion going on for me to find it.

Tears flood my eyes.

“Hey, new girl!” I look over to find a chubby guy with short brown hair holding up my pink bikini top with one finger. He gives me a creepy grin. “Show me them boobies again, and you’ll get this back.”

I am frozen. I can’t find a single thing to say, and all I can do is wish I wasn’t here. Anywhere but here.

I try to look for Mindy, but there’s so many people, partying, dancing, drinking. I can’t find her.

Someone appears next to me in the pool. I’m shoved behind him, my chest pressed against his back, his hand protectively holding me against him to shield me from prying eyes.

Wet, dirty blonde hair makes me realize it’s Colby.

“Alright, dickhead,” he says. “Toss it over or I kick your ass.”

“You’re no fun, Jensen.” The chubby guy tosses it and Colby catches it in the hand that’s not holding onto me. Then he walks backward, until I’m caught between him and the large rocks of the built in waterfall of the pool. It’s about as private as we can get since there’s so many people around. Colby hands me the bikini top over his shoulder.

“Thanks,” I mumble, and I take it, dipping below the water to put it on. But it’s a string bikini that knots around my back and neck, and unfortunately, Mom helped me tie the first knot around my back.

When it’s fastened around my neck, I turn toward Colby.

“Um . . . could you maybe . . . help?”

He turns around to face me, his eyes closed. “Can I look?”

“Yeah,” I say. I’m holding the triangle pieces over my boobs. “Could you tie it around my back, please?”

“Sure thing,” he says. From this close, he’s even cuter. My heart is pounding like crazy, and this time it’s not because I just embarrassed the hell out of myself in public. I turn around and pull my hair over my shoulder.

Colby’s fingers take the strings and tie them. He moves slowly, his skin like fire when it touches mine. He’s so close, I could just lean back and be pressed against his chest. The urge to do that is overwhelming.

“Okay, I think you’re good,” he says. 

If my life were a movie, maybe I would turn around and kiss him. Instead, I say, “Thanks.”

He grins, his face hovering just inches from mine. “Anytime.”

It’s not very often that I want to kick someone’s ass, but Robbie Carter sends my anger through the roof. It is not okay to taunt a girl with her own bathing suit top. And every other prick who laughs along with him is now on my shit list.

“Don’t worry about that jackass,” I say once Maddie’s bathing suit is now back in place.

I can still feel the way her bare chest fit against my back, and I try really hard to shove those thoughts to the back of my mind. It’s not every day you feel a girl’s boobs before you’ve even taken her on a date.

“Thanks for helping me,” Maddie says. Her pink hair is a lot darker when it’s wet, and she’s somehow even cuter with mascara running down her cheeks.

Our eyes meet, and it makes my stomach seize up. She is so beautiful, and the words are on the top of my tongue. I probably shouldn’t say it, shouldn’t admit how weak she makes me.

Maybe I should talk to Mindy about her, get a feel for if I could ever have a chance with someone like Maddie. I know she’s well off, and now she moved here and slipped seamlessly into the most popular group of girls in school.

Even as a former football star, that makes her out of my league.

But I still want to try.

“You okay?” she asks, reaching a hand out of the water and touching my cheek. My skin warms beneath her touch and I can’t help but grin.

“I’m perfect,” I say. Her lips curve up, and for a little while it’s almost like we’re the only two people on earth. But in reality, we’re stuck surrounded by idiots, and about fifty guys who would all hit on her if given the chance.

I don’t want anyone to have the chance. I want her to be mine.

“Let’s go for a walk,” I say.

She grins. “Sounds fun.”

Then she turns, grabs the edge of the pool, and lifts herself out. I don’t know if she means to put her incredibly sexy ass in my face or not, but I’m liking the view regardless.

I climb out and grab us both a towel from the stack of freshly laundered towels courtesy of Mindy’s maid. They’re huge and plush and I’ve taken more than one of these things home with me in the past.

Mindy’s bartender stands behind a stone bar on the back patio. He offers Maddie a drink but she politely shakes her head. “No, thanks.”

As much as I could use another beer to deal with how nervous this girl makes me, I follow her lead and decline a drink as well.

“You can drink if you want to,” she says, looking back at me as we weave through a group of people.

“Nah, I’m good.”

She considers this for a moment and then gives me a soft smile, tugging her towel closer around her. “So, where are we walking?”

I point toward the back yard. “There’s a garden at the back of the property. It’s nice at night.”

Mindy’s mom loves exotic gardens and has employed more than enough sexy gardeners over the years I’ve known her. Mindy and I always speculate that there’s something going on between her mom and the gardeners, but we’ve never actually found evidence. One thing is for sure though; the garden is really nice. It has a paved walkway and little twinkle lights glowing everywhere.

“Oooh,” Maddie says as we approach the glow at the front of the garden. Luckily, no one else is here since they’d all rather congregate at the pool. “This is kind of romantic.”

“Romantic?” I say, putting a hand to my chest. “Are you trying to seduce me?”

I expect her to laugh or maybe pretend to gag or something.

Instead she wraps her hand around my arm and leans in, her wet air on my shoulder. “Maybe,” she says, gazing up at the starry night sky. Then she lets go. “Maybe I’m still figuring it out.”

It was only a few seconds, but my arm aches with the desire to touch her again. We turn around the corner where rose bushes fill the air with a fragrant scent. I try to sound confident. “What can I do to convince you?”

She stops walking. Tugs the towel around her shoulders and gazes up at me. “Why do you like me?”

“Is that a trick question?”

Okay, I probably shouldn’t have said that, but it’s the first thing I thought of.

She makes this noncommittal little shrug. “I just want to know.”

“Well . . .” I begin. Maybe I’m just a shitbag controlled by his manhood, but the fact that she’s so beautiful is the first answer that comes to mind. I know an answer like that will make me look shallow, so I take my time, trying to think of the perfect words to use.

Maddie frowns and looks at the fitness tracker watch on her wrist. “Shit,” she says, eyes wide with fear. “I need to get my phone.”

“Everything okay?”

“I don’t know,” she says, dropping the towel to the sidewalk as she takes off running toward the house.

I pick up her towel and jog along behind her. She goes inside, which is cold as hell when you’re soaking wet, and grabs a small purse from the chaise lounge that’s filled with purses.

“My mom texted me SOS,” she says, frantically digging through her bag until she pulls out a cell phone. “I missed two calls from her earlier, but I didn’t think it was anything important, ya know?” She shakes her head and chuckles sarcastically. “And here I thought my step-dad was dumb for getting me this silly waterproof watch thing.”

“Let’s go somewhere quieter,” I say, pointing toward the front door. Even though most of the party goers are outside, there’s still loud music pumping through the Carmichael’s sound system.

I open the front door for her and we step into the warm night air. “Um, I can go if you want,” I say, realizing I’m being a little too forward by sticking around.

“It’s okay.” She fumbles with her phone, frowning as she tries to work the unlock screen.

“Mom?” she says as soon as the call connects. She listens for a second and then says, “I’ll be right there.”

“Everything okay?” I ask.

She peers up at me, her face glowing from the porch light. She has a little freckle near her hairline, and her lips are still a little sparkly from her lip gloss, even though the rest of her makeup has washed away. Doesn’t matter—she’s beautiful without it.

“My little sister is sick,” she says, gripping her phone tightly in her hands. “She’s asking for me, because—well, she needs me.” Maddie looks up to the sky and then back at me. “My mom used to work a lot, and so I always had to take care of Starla when she got sick.”

“Want me to take you home?” I say, realizing a little too late that I walked here and don’t have my car.

She shakes her head. “I’m just two houses over. I’ll be fine.”

Two houses over? As in, she lives in Shady Heights?

Shit. It feels like all of the air has been knocked out of my lungs. Of course she lives in Shady Heights.
Of course.
I already knew she was too good for me, and now here I am letting all of that go to shit as I flirt with her.

I swallow, and she touches my arm. “What’s wrong?”

I force my frown into a smile. “Nothing. Just uh, just making sure you’re okay.” I run a hand through my hair, which is all wet, so it doesn’t work as smoothly as I was expecting.

“Want me to walk you home? Make sure you get there safely?”

She glances toward the right, where I’m guessing her house is. “Yes.”

We’re halfway down Mindy’s driveway when I realize how badly I’ve dug myself into a hole. Here I am totally falling for this girl when she is entirely too good for me. She’ll figure it out soon enough. She’ll want more, a guy who can give her the things she’s used to. Fancy dates, expensive gifts. That’s why Mindy was being so coy earlier today. Mindy knows better than to set me up with her new friend. She’s like a sister to me, of course, but that doesn’t change the fact that I am falling for a girl I’ll never be able to have.

As we walk, Mindy tells me about her little sisters. One is almost five and one is two. I try not to listen too closely, because every detail I know about this girl is one more way I’ll hurt when she ditches me.

Maybe that’s the kind of thing Josh was talking about earlier. We’re too young for real relationships, and everything we do now is just a big build up to a future heartbreak.

Hell, I can already feel my heart ripping in half, and all Mindy has given me is that drop dead gorgeous smile.