"I don't mind so much. None of them were cooking." She yawned and giggled. "Stop it, Clay."
"Hey, I'm on the phone still. No grossing me out." I got up and walked to the kitchen, hating how badly I wanted to ask her if Brody was there.
"Sorry. What are we doing today? The guys want to get together tonight, I think."
"We're going to lunch and shopping. We'll talk about all that jazz when we see you. Be here by noon." I got a glass from the counter and turned to find Cindy watching me.
"Alright. See you soon."
I dropped the call and sat the phone down. "What?"
"You know what." She put her hands on her hips. "You like him."
"Daniel? He's alright, but I'm not attracted to him. He's too studious." I shrugged and walked to the fridge, pulling out a gallon of orange juice and pouring me a glass.
"Okay. We've been friends for forever and you're going to stand here and lie to my face?" I could hear the hurt in her voice. She was my most sensitive friend by far.
"Fine. I don't like him at all, but I'm insanely attracted to him. Okay?" I turned to face her and lifted my juice to my lips. "The fact that he took his cousin home on Friday is still bothering me. But..." I shook my head to stop her from getting excited, which was exactly where she was headed. "He's a user. I'm not getting involved."
"Not even for a night?" She leaned against the kitchen counter.
"What? No. Who would survive that? He would be that dude." I took another drink of my orange juice and staved off the images that continued to push through my mind's eye. I couldn't stop myself from seeing the way he looked on the dock a few mornings before. I'd licked water from his abs ten times in my mind over the last day.
"What dude?" She pulled a few things from the fridge as she turned her attention back on me.
"The guy you compare everyone to." I sighed and sat my juice down. "He's a playboy, Cindy. That means he's probably a terrific lay. Not many guys care to be a great lay. So then, for the rest of my life, I'm going to be settling for the okay lay when I've had the terrific one?"
"You should hear how ridiculous you sound." She laughed and turned toward the stove. "I look at it like the opportunity to have a terrific lay. I've been with a lot of guys. Good or bad, in between, and I'm telling you, the terrific ones in the sack were worth every ounce of heartache afterward."
"I doubt that." I grabbed a banana and walked to the front door. "I'm going to sit out on the porch for a little while. Come get me if you need me."
"You still want breakfast, right?"
"Yeah, if you're cooking it, but if not, no worries, really." I opened the door and walked out to the patio. The sun was shining in the far end of the sky, and boats were already covering a large portion of the lake. A part of me wanted to get the keys to ours and disappear for a few hours. I wasn't on summer vacation to fall in love. It wasn't part of the plan. Though, there was a slight chance that it would happen, if it did, Brody was exactly the type of guy it would happen with.
He was a Brandon, and for that reason alone, I was going to fight like hell to ignore his advances.
Now, I just had to stay sober enough around him not to make any advances of my own.
Easy. Sort of.
*
"Let's go." Dedra shook my shoulder, pulling me from the sleepy state I sat in on the porch after breakfast. After eating more than I should have, I'd gone back outside to rest and think through all the reasons why liking Daniel rather than Brody would be a better option for me. The chances of anything physically happening between us were out, since he wasn't at all my time. And the best part? If Brody thought his friend was interested in me, then there was no way he was dick enough to step in Daniel's way. Right?
"Where are we going?" I shaded my eyes as I glanced up at Dedra, half expecting to find her still in her Sunday best.
"Shopping. Emily and Cindy are already in the car. Get up, missy." She readjusted her sunglasses and pulled off her hat.
"Alright. I'm coming." I sat up and let out a long yawn before walking to the house to find some sandals. My shorts and t-shirt were cute enough to keep up with my friends’ clothing choices for the day, and seeing that I was working to repel most men rather than draw them in, I was good. I'd dress up as soon as I found a good reason that wasn't Brody.
"Hey, sleepyhead." Emily reached over and squeezed my arm as I got into the driver’s seat.
"Hey." I rolled my shoulders. "How was spending the night with Clay? Were the other guys good to you?"
"Just ask." She gave me a sideways glance as Cindy chuckled in the backseat.
Dedra got in as I started in on them.