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“Ew!” I exclaim. “You put on a random person’s shorts?”
I eye the blue shorts that seem a bit too large for him with a newfound disgust.
“It’s not like we traded boxer briefs,” he says flatly, then claps his hands together. “Now lay down and let me pour tequila in your belly button.”
I step back from him. “Okay, you and Alessio need to calm down. Adam’s right, your competitiveness is going to get you punched in the face.”
He pouts. “Come on, Faye. Take one for the team.”
“If she’s on any team,” Kellan says, reappearing with a tray of shots, “it’s mine.”
“What? Why your team?” Dylan asks.
Kellan sets the tray of shots down on the little table between the lounge chairs. “Because I know her better.” He tugs on my ponytail, and I swat his hand away.
“No. I’ve known her longer, therefore better,” Dylan defends himself, and Kellan and I immediately lock eyes as I bite my lip.
Images flash through my mind: Kellan and me naked, tangled between the sheets, his hands everywhere . . .
No, Dylan, you most certainly do not.
“Either way,” Kellan says, recovering quicker than me, “she’s Team Kellan, right Faye?”
When he flashes that white smile at me, I melt. All I can do is nod.
“Yes!” he exclaims, taking my hand. “You’re the best, Fayanna. Shot?”
The smell of tequila hits me, and my stomach hurts. “No thanks.” Why are they always drinking tequila or beer? There are so many drinks that are equally good, and they always go straight for the gross beer or the powerful tequila. After last night, I’m staying away from the drinks, for a few hours at least.
“So, are you going to help me win?” Kellan says to me, quieter this time, and again, all I can do is nod. When he’s looking at me like that, with a spark in his eyes and the corners of his lips turned up, gazing at me like he can seeme, it’s almost impossible to form words.
“Perfect! I needbody shot. You wanna do it off me or the other way around?”
Now that I realize what I agreed to, I’m sure I’m giving off a deer-in-the-headlights vibe. I’d be fine with this any day of the week, but not while my brother is two feet away, his glare drilling holes in my head.
“Kellan . . .” I start, but then drift off. Yesterday I turned Kellan down for a stupiddancebecause I was scared of Adam and look how that turned out. Plus, why am I so concerned about what Adam thinks? He obviously doesn’t care about me and never will. I shouldn’t have to stop my fun because I’m worried about Adam, who is more of an annoyed babysitter than a big brother anyway.
“Fuck it,” I say, lying down on the lounge chair and lifting my shirt to just below my bikini top.
“Yes!” Kellan pumps his fist in the air, picking up a shot from the tray beside me.
“Are you serious?” Adam asks, sitting up straighter in his chair on the other side of the table.
“Faye! Don’t do this to me!” Dylan whines. “I’ll be out two hundred bucks, and that’s American dollars, so it’ll be even more in Canadian!” But under the put-out facade his eyes are wide.
He shoots me a look, his eyes flicking from Adam to me with purpose, like he’s asking if I’m sure I want to do this right in front of Adam.
I’m done ruining my could-be relationship with Kellan because I’m so concerned about what my brother thinks. Besides, it’s an innocent body shot at a party; it’s not like we’re dry-humping all over the place. He can’t be that mad at something so little and for fun.
Without getting up, I pluck the lime from the tray beside me. “Shouldn’t have made the bet then,” I tell Dylan to let him know it’s all good, then smile at Kellan. “Ready.”
Holding the lime wedge by its peel between my lips, I give him a thumbs-up and settle into the lounge chair. Kellan laughs, his fun-loving energy contagious, and the butterflies escape my stomach and erupt all over my body. He pours the shot onto my stomach over my belly button, then leans over and sucks it up, his tongue tickling but feeling heavenly at the same time as he licks up to my sternum. I giggle, willing my cheeks not to heat. Kellan slowly moves up toward my face, his body hovering above mine, and all the laughter drains from my body as my heart speeds up. Using his teeth only, he plucks the lime from my mouth, his lips coming so close to my own but still so far. As I lick lime juice from my lips, we lock eyes. His are swirling with emotions that I can’t exactly place, but they’re so intense I can’t look away. He’s not really touching me, but I still feel him everywhere, still feel the heat his body is emitting.
He’s so close he must be able to sense my heart beating out of my chest.Does he feel the same way I do? Does he know howmuch he affects me?
“Damn it! I can’t believe Kellan’s going to win four hundred American bucks,” Dylan groans, breaking the spell Kellan and I are under.
Kellan shakes his head and I blink a couple of times, trying to come back to reality. He stands stiffly, pulling the lime out of his mouth and holding out a hand to help me up; if he hadn’t, I’m sure my knees would’ve buckled. I catch Dylan’s eye and mouth,Thank you. I have no idea what we must have looked like, gazing into each other’s eyes, our faces inches from each other . . . Dylan winks.
