Page 85 of Bagging the Blueliner
While I’d watched my best friends get paired off these past few years, it hadn’t come easy for any of them. Sometimes, it had been an all-out war to get what they wanted. We would create teams, breaking off into groups to brainstorm. Naturally, us girls were a force and far too cunning for the guys to beat us. By now, they knew better than to bet against us.
There simply hadn’t been a need for teams when it came to my relationship with Cal. If anything, we would be a combined team against my dad. That would be our ultimate obstacle—getting his approval, if and when we ever decided to tell him.
Settling back on the tanning pad, relishing the heat of the sun in the dead of winter, I shot back, “How about Team Mind Your Own Business?”
He scoffed. “Where was that team when Amy was sneaking into my room in the middle of the night?”
“Poor Liam,” I taunted. “Getting sucked off in his sleep by his hot wife. Can you hear how ridiculous it sounds that you’re complaining?”
Three sets of shocked eyes met mine.
Jaxon breathed out, “Whoa, hadn’t heard that one before.”
Liam’s jaw was set so tight I feared he might break a tooth. “You’re a bad influence.”
I rolled my eyes. “I believe the words you are looking for are ‘thank you.’ You got the girl. Let it go.”
Jaxon tilted his beer bottle in Cal’s direction. “Congrats, man. I think it’s fair to say you got the only one where what you see is what you get.”
“No kidding,” Cal muttered, shaking his head in my direction.
I blew him a kiss. Life with me would never be boring. That I could promise him.
Docking in Jamaica, we sat eating breakfast on the covered dining portion of the deck. Amy and Liam were notably absent yet again. They’d missed dinner last night, too.
I felt bad for Amy. She was struggling in the early days of her pregnancy and, so far, wasn’t able to enjoy our vacation. I wondered if they would make it on our waterfall hike this afternoon. It seemed doubtful.
Out of nowhere, Natalie gagged, running inside. Uh oh. This vacation was going sideways quickly.
Cal spooned a bite of cottage cheese into his mouth, muttering, “What’s her deal?”
I kicked him under the table, signaling for him to drop it. Looking at me, he caught my drift, and his blue eyes widened.
Jaxon was oblivious to our interaction, explaining, “Nat can’t stand to watch people eating cottage cheese. Something about it being chunky like vomit.” Wrinkling his nose as he peered at Cal’s bowl, he said, “Maybe she’s got a point. I better go check on her.”
Leaving us alone at the table, Cal craned his neck to double-check that he was gone before holding up two fingers and asking in shock, “Both of them?”
I shrugged. “Lucy, too, in case you missed that announcement.”
He ran a hand down his face. “Jesus. What’s in the water?”
“Just be glad you’re the only one who dodged that bullet.”
“No kidding. The guys have no clue?”
“No, and officially, neither do you.” I pointed my finger at him in warning. “You only have inner circle intel because you caught me at the pharmacy. So, keep that in mind, and keep your mouth shut.”
“Poor bastards,” Cal muttered, shaking his head.
“Oh, you have no idea. Natalie went into very graphic detail about all the ways she was going to make Jaxon pay. It wasn’t pretty.”
“I’m learning there’s much more than meets the eye with your friends.”
I winked. “Admit it. You love me.”
The words flew out of my mouth without thinking. I’d said them the other day, too, during his freak-out session, but they were only a figure of speech then. Jumping immediately into damage control, I rushed out, “You know what I mean.”
The silence stretched between us, and I began to sweat. I may have just fucked up the good thing we had going. We’d already taken a giant step this weekend, brokering exclusivity and dishing out labels—anything more could send him running for the hills.
