Page 21 of Role Play

Chapter Seventeen

Jane

I walkedout onto the deck. Aidan was already in the hot tub, which was a little disappointing because it meant I missed seeing him in his swim trunks. He, on the other hand, looked quite appreciatively at the sight of me in my bikini.

"I think pink is my new favorite color," he said as I climbed into the hot tub. The cool ocean breeze was the perfect setting for a steamy, frothy soak and having an extremely hot man in the spa didn't hurt either.

"I'm glad you like it. I rarely wear pink but this suit just screamed buy me when I saw it on the rack. That and the fact that it was fifty percent off."

I sat on the seat across from him. Instantly, he moved his big foot between mine. "I've got plenty of room on this seat next to me."

"It's kind of hot to sit close."

"I think hot is the point of a hot tub."

"Good point." I lifted my face to the sun. It was just beginning to sink in the sky. "It's so beautiful out here." I squeezed his foot between mine. "I suppose you appreciate nice things more when you haven't always had them. It must feel sort of unreal for you after a rough childhood."

"It does." He took a drink from his beer. "Of course, there was that near miss of mega stardom back when the guys and I had the garage band."

I laughed. "You had a band? How cool. I didn't know you were musical. What instrument do you play?"

"First, it was only cool in our minds. And I'm not musical. I'll sing to the radio on our way home, and you can judge for yourself. I played drums, but it was more like beating them than actually pounding out a coherent beat. But Chase was our lead singer, and we figured with the town heart throb as our front man, we were destined for the big time. Chase's musical talent is just one step above mine. But our hometown groupies, the girls who came to watch us practice, didn't mind that the music sucked. They just watched the lead singer with starry eyes and tone deaf ears."

"I wish I could see a picture of you guys practicing. Did your parents ever take any?"

His laugh was more of a dry snort. "Not my parents. If there are any pictures of me as a kid it's because I happened to be standing near a kid whose parents took pictures."

It was hard to hear how crummy his childhood was, but he never looked angry or sad about it. He said it as if that was just the way it was and that there was no use thinking about it.

I rubbed my palms over the frothy bubbles on the surface. A warm mist hovered over the top of the water mixing with the cool coastal air. "Tell me a little more about your partners. I'm curious about your band mates. You mentioned Chase was the town heart throb. I'm finding that hard to imagine as I look across the bubbles at my extremely dreamy hot tub partner. Chase must be amazing."

"He thinks so, that's for sure. But he's a good guy. He naturally fit the position as face of the Plaything company. He does PR and meets with investors and suppliers. He can charm a toad out from under a toadstool. That's what our sixth grade teacher used to say. His girlfriend, Macy, owns a bakery in town called Sweet Spot."

"Oh yes. One of the women I work with at Bulk Mart ordered her wedding cake from that bakery. It was beautiful and delicious. By the way, my tyrannical manager left an angry voicemail about me calling in sick today. I guess I'll hear an earful tomorrow."

"She can't fire you for being sick."

"I know but she can make my life miserable." I lifted my arms out of the water and waved them around. "But this has all been worth a day of playing hookie. So what about the other guys?"

Aidan leaned his head back against the edge of the hot tub. "Trey is the business guy. He keeps things in order. His girlfriend, Georgie, is a journalist. She's even won some awards. She's a lot of fun. And then there's Zane. He was the one guy who everyone expected to make it out of our crummy little town. He was destined for college on a full scholarship, but—" He drank some beer as if the story was hard to tell. "There was some family trouble with his stepdad and his schoolwork and scholarship fell apart. He's our marketing maniac, and he's great at it. He's dating the youngest heiress of the Bonneville fortune. Raini is wild and beautiful and just the right amount of challenge for Zane."

"All of their girlfriends sound so incredible. I don't think I ever want to meet them. I feel like such a nothing in comparison."

"Bullshit." He floated over and sat next to me. "You're just as incredible, and soon you'll be a box office sensation."

I laughed. "One call back does not mean box office sensation, trust me."

He reached for my hand underwater and laced his big fingers between mine. "What about you? Where did you grow up?"

"No place of note. I'm from the middle of nowhere, a little town called Sheffield. But I was the senior class vice president and president of the drama club. Of course there were only a hundred people in my high school so that's not saying much. The town does have its own supermarket and bank. In fact, my mom manages the bank, so if my big break doesn't come soon, I can always go back there and be a teller."

He reached behind my back and lifted me onto his lap. "Not a chance. Your break will come. And I think you'll like Georgie, Macy and Raini. I know they'll like you. Which reminds me, we've been invited for a day on the Plaything One in a few weeks. It's Trey's yacht. You can meet them all then."

"A yacht? I don't have clothes for a yacht." I felt the string on my bikini top come undone and next thing I knew I was topless.

"This easily removed pink bikini is the only thing you'll need."

He spun me to face him. I straddled his lap and lifted my breasts above the surface of the water.

"Hmm," he said as he rubbed his thumb over my nipple. "I think it's time to head back inside. This hot tub is getting just a little too hot."

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