Page 41 of Caleb
“It’s fine, Caleb,” she says, seemingly mortified. “It was just water.” The shirtless guy in pineapple print swimming trunks stares at me with a confused look on his face and a frown in place.
“I’m sorry, sir. I need you to pour another one while I watch.”
“You are serious?” the boy asks in a thick French accent.
“Dead,” I reply with a nod, trying my best to keep my gestures blank.
He snorts and stalks away, clearly annoyed, toward the makeshift bar area they installed on the terrace. I follow him and watch him fill the cup with water. He’s looking at me like I’m demented. And I am. The last thing I need is for Red to be roofied, so I’d rather be safe than sorry. I’d rather have these guys know she’s not here alone and that I’m watching their every move.
“Tu verre d’eau,” the guy says with what I assume is his most charming smile, handing over the glass of water to Red and looking at me from the corner of his eye.
“Merci.” She brings the cup to her lips and takes a sip.
Merfuckingci, indeed.
Nodding once at Red, I proceed to excuse myself. She nods back, and I disappear to my shaded spot in the distance, where Aaron joins me a few minutes later.
After I brief Aaron on the pool situation, we move to small talk, but our eyes are glued to Red and her surroundings. We can’t miss a beat. It only takes one second for someone to slip something into her drink. And it’s not like I had to convince Aaron to join me on the ridiculously vigilant bodyguard train.
She looks a bit more relaxed than when we arrived half an hour ago, though. The French boy with an attitude keeps making conversation and smiling at her. I wouldn’t say she looks interested in him as much as simply … entertained?
Noelle’s laughter booms from across the pool, making me almost pull a neck muscle from how fast I turned to look at her. I’m sure she’s already high from the pot, andblunt guyis pulling her closer to him by the waist. She seems unbothered and moves to wrap her legs around the guy’s waist and her arms around his neck. He drops a kiss on her cheek that trails down the side of her neck. I pull at my shirt’s collar. Again.
“That’s Noelle, right?” Aaron angles his head at the pool.
“It is.”
“Hmm.” He quickly snaps his attention back to Red, who’s still talking to the same guy.
I can’t make myself look away from Noelle, even if I know perfectly well that I shouldn’t care about her pool recreational activities. I keep telling myself how staring her way is mostly about wanting to make sure she’s not taken advantage of. But I can’t lie to myself and pretend like her presence is not any less than magnetic.
More guests have arrived, and there are over twenty people inside the pool, all sipping on drinks and having a good time. Noelle becomes aware of the undeniable fact that I’ve been staring at her, and a few seconds later of her leveling my gaze, she shoots me with a little smirk and leans in to kiss the guy she’s with inside the pool. Her hands move to his wet hair as he deepens the kiss and pins her against the nearest pool wall.
This girl is taunting me. She knows I’m watching her.
Aaron elbows me gently on the arm, trying to catch my attention.
“I’m sorry, what?” I shake my head and try to get Noelle out of my head. This is madness.
“I said stop drooling over that blonde girl. You’re too fucking obvious.”
“I’m not drooling,” I snap back. “The guy gave her pot, and I’m just checking to see if she’s okay.”
“Right,” he says with a laugh. “She’s nineteen, you know?”
Thank fuck.
“How do you know?” I do my best to conceal my gestures because even if the thought of her being nineteen is tempting, I’ve already decided not to act on it. What if Red found out? It would be too awkward.
“Thank Ambassador Murphy and his acute apprehensiveness.” He lifts a brow. “He asked me to be thorough about where this party was going to be held and everyone who lived there.”
“Mmm.” I shrug, feigning indifference.
“Not that you find that interesting, right?” Aaron laughs, and it makes me chuckle because he knows me too well.
“Shut the fuck up.”
“Got you safe and in one piece,” I say to Red as I walk her up the stairs toward the front door. “Despite all the drugs going around the place.” She must have enjoyed herself because it’s a bit past twenty-hundred hours, which means we stayed somewhere around six hours at that party.
