Or, in other words, an exit strategy.
I’d always been a “no relationship” kind of guy. Everyone knew that. It wasn’t that I ruled them out completely, but I didn’t go there unless I really wanted to go there. Something fucking bizarre had happened between Friday night and this morning, because I knew I wanted to go there with Andrea. I couldn’t put a finger on what exactly had happened to cause that and I wasn’t sure why it was even Andrea. Why not Brooke or Mandie? Or Lea? Never once had they made me want to slam my face into a wall, and Andrea had brought me to the edge of crazy many times over.
Shit. I knew enough, to be honest. Andrea gave as good as she got. She was smart, and when she wasn’t pissing me off, she was funny. And there were moments she could be the sweetest thing, and not just when she was falling asleep. None of that was news, but why now?
I honestly didn’t have an answer for that.
“Holy crap,” Andrea breathed, staring up at the cabin as she walked up the steps to the wrap-around porch. “How did you guys end up with this place?”
I stepped aside as she stopped beside me. Looking at the wide wrought-iron entry door and the floor-to-ceiling window across the front, the cedar log cabin was a McMansion. Big enough for more than just the four of us, an entire soccer team could be housed comfortably in this place, but I was glad I wasn’t going to have to fight a shit-ton of guys for Andrea’s attention this week.
“My mom knows the owner,” Kyler answered, shoving the key in the door. His mom ran a hugely successful bar restoration company, which afforded some hellish contacts. “So, we lucked out with this.”
“I’ll say.” Andrea grinned as she glanced at me. I expected to be on the receiving end of one of her death glares, but the grin had reached her eyes, warming them. “I cannot wait to see what the inside looks like.”
Kyler pushed open the doors and a rush of cold air greeted us. Letting Andrea head in before me earned me an arched look, which I returned with a grin. She shook her head as she crossed the threshold.
She came to a complete stop, and I nearly plowed into her back—definitely not in the fun way either.
“Sorry,” she mumbled, stepping to the right. An awed look crossed her pretty face as she took in the high ceilings and the exposed rafters, the huge fans and skylights above the sitting room. I couldn’t believe, with the kind of money she came from, that this was the first extremely nice home she’d seen.
I’d have bet she grew up in something like this.
“It’s beautiful.” She turned that grin to Sydney. “Wow.”
“And you haven’t seen the rest. Kyler’s mom sent us pictures of it. There’s a living room on the other side of the kitchen, then a sunroom. Five bedrooms upstairs—three of them have their own bathrooms.”
“And there’s a media room in the basement, fully loaded,” Kyler added.
That caught my attention.
We crossed into a room I wasn’t sure had a purpose other than to look nice. With its white wicker furniture and thick cushions in pristine condition, I would bet money no one had ever used it. The stairs leading up were to the left, just outside the kitchen, and Jesus, the kitchen was bigger than my mom’s kitchen and living room back at home.
Andrea stared at the stainless-steel vent hanging from the ceiling above the gas grilltop stove. “I’m going to make this kitchen my bitch.”
Sitting the luggage down, I pushed my sunglasses up. “You can cook?”
She shot me a long look. “Yes. I can do things other than drinking my weight in liquor.”
Normally I would’ve fired back with something equally biting, but I managed not to. I deserved an award. “So what are you going to make me for dinner, then?”
“Ha!” she laughed, sitting the groceries on the counter. “Keep wishing for that. Never going to happen.”
Sydney grinned as she joined Andrea, helping her unload the groceries. “That sucks for you, Tanner, because Andrea can really cook.”
“Yep.” She shoved a large pack of ground beef in the fridge. “Yep. I can.”
Leaning against the counter, near the sink, Kyler grabbed a water bottle from the stash his girl was trying to put in the fridge. “Her lasagna is banging.”
I frowned. “You’ve eaten her lasagna?”
Kyler flipped the water bottle in his hand. “Yes, sir.”
“That’s fucked up,” I muttered, oddly…jealous.
Andrea giggled as she looked at me over her shoulder. “Maybe you should’ve been nicer to me, huh?” She turned back, picking up the case of beer and shoving it onto the bottom shelf of the fridge. “Then you’d be all up and familiar with my lasagna.”
“That’s not what I want to be all up in,” I said under my breath.
She stiffened. “What?”
“Nothing. Just clearing my throat.” I ignored Kyler’s wide-eyed gaze as I picked up the luggage. “But guess what? I have your stuff and I’m going to pick your room for you.”
She whipped around, arms at her side. “You are not picking my room.”
“Oh, yes I am.” I took a step back and waited as Sydney and Kyler exchanged looks.
Andrea’s eyes narrowed.
Our gazes locked, and then I wheeled around, heading for the stairs, not even attempting to keep the grin off my face when I heard her curse. I was acting like a fourteenyear-old boy desperate for attention. And I was—desperate for her attention, that is. Like a kid with a new toy, I didn’t want to share her with Kyler and Sydney. A second later, she was right behind me. “I’m picking my room,” she insisted.
“So, you say.” I climbed the steep stairs at a rapid clip.
She groaned. “You’re a tool. And your legs are too long. And you walk too fast.”
I laughed as I reached the landing. When I glanced down, Andrea was still several steps below me. “It’s not my fault your legs are short.”
“My legs are not short.” She finally joined me at the top, her cheeks flushed pink. “Your legs are just abnormally long. You have freak legs.”
“You know what they say about long legs…”
Her eyes rolled. “They do not say that about long legs.”
“They do in my world.” I stopped at the first door and elbowed it open, revealing a massive room with a bed big enough for the four of us to sleep comfortably in. Across from the bed, a huge-ass TV hung from the ceiling. “I think this must be the master.”
“Let’s leave that for Syd and Kyler.” Andrea closed the door, and then strutted forward, opening the next door. I didn’t see it, but she huffed and then closed the door. The same with the next, and I guessed the third time was a charm, because she squealed as she pushed the door open. “This is mine.”
My brows rose as I followed her, and I had to give it to her. She had good taste. The bed was large, not as big as the master, but nice. The room was rustic—exposed beams in the ceiling, the wood-paneled walls painted grey.
She skipped into the room, placing a purse the size of a baby on a chair situated in the corner. Then she headed straight for a large white door. Thrusting it open, she clapped her hands together. “Oh my God. This bathroom. I could live in it.”
Setting her suitcase on an old wooden trunk by the door, I dropped my duffel on the floor with a thunk and followed her over to the bathroom. “Damn.” I leaned against the doorframe. “You could sleep in that tub.”
“I could! I just might.” She turned and looked up at me, smiling widely.
Something tugged in my chest, causing me to straighten as she whirled back around to the bathroom. “It’s a claw-foot tub. I’ve never actually used one of them before or seen one this big. It’s kind of…romantic,” she said wistfully.
I said nothing as she opened another door. “Oh, this bathroom must share with these two bedrooms.” Closing the door, she brushed past me, back into the bedroom. The peachy scent trailed after her, like a lure. “This place is really nice. Kyler’s mom has good taste.”
“Yeah.
” I watched her walk over to a standing mirror, and of course, that meant I watched the way the snug jeans hugged her shapely ass. Andrea definitely was not lacking in that department either.
Shaking my head, I turned and walked around the bench placed in front of the bed. I glanced at her. She raised her brows. I power-bombed the bed and stretched out across the center. I only had to wait maybe three seconds before Andrea responded.
“What are you doing?”
“Getting comfy.” I folded my arms under my head as she froze in front of a dresser. “This bed is nice.”
“And it’s my bed.”
“No, it’s not. It belongs to whoever owns the house,” I pointed out gamely.
“No shit, Sherlock, thanks for clarifying.” She glanced at the open door and then whiskey-colored eyes met mine. “Thanks for carrying my luggage up.”
I winked. “You’re welcome.”
Interestingly, she sucked her bottom lip in between her teeth for a moment. “That was kind of me saying nicely it’s time for you to get the hell out of my room.”
“I know.”
Both brows flew up. “And you’re still here.”
“I am.”
She took a step forward and then stopped. “Don’t you have anything to do? Like go explore the rest of the house? Snapchat pictures of your dick to random chicks? Annoy someone else?”
“Not really.” I paused. Needless to say, I’d never sent anyone pictures of my cock, but now I kind of wanted to send one to her. “Guess what?”
She eyed me as she shuffled closer to the bed. “You’re a total chicken butt.”
Chuckling, I rolled onto my side, facing her. “That was pretty lame.”
“It was.” She shrugged, moving closer. “I’m not ashamed. I excel at being lame.”
“Nah, that’s not what you excel at.”
A frown creased her face. “If you say drinking is what I excel at, I won’t be responsible for my actions.”
“You excel at distracting me and driving me crazy. Not necessarily in a bad way. Sometimes, but not always,” I admitted. Her eyes widened, and nothing that I was saying was a lie. “You also excel at being beautiful.”
Her lips parted. “You…” She shook her head. “…are still not getting laid.”
I laughed, but then my gaze dipped over the pale blue tank top she wore. The way her full breasts stretched the material snagged my attention. With great effort, I lifted my gaze. “I’m picking the room next door.”
Color pinked her cheeks. “Of course you are.”
“I think it’s awesome we’ll be sharing a bathroom. We can bond.” I smiled at her, the kind of smile that drew girls from across the bar like bears to honey. “I think we need to bond.”
“I…I don’t agree,” she quipped, and I realized my smile wasn’t working on her. Figured.
“Yes, you do.”
She folded her arms, and the swell above her top increased. Shit. I needed to stop staring at her breasts. “There are other bedrooms with their own bathrooms.”
“I like that one.”
“You haven’t even seen the other bedroom, Tanner.”
I grinned. “I know I’ll like it.”
Clearly exasperated, she stared at me and gave a quick shake of her head. Curls bounced everywhere. A moment passed. “What are you up to?”
“Nothing.” I patted the spot next to me. “Come here.”
One dark auburn brow rose. “Why?”
“Because I want to ask you something.”
“And you can’t ask me while I’m standing here?” She shifted her weight.
Sticking out my lower lip, I patted the bed again. “I can’t. I need you here, close to me. It’s the only way that it can be.”
“You are ridiculous.” Her voice was soft.
“Maybe.”
A long moment stretched out between us and then with a heavy, obviously annoyed sigh, she walked to the bed and sat by my legs. “Happy now?”
“Nope.” Reaching out, I grabbed her arm and tugged her down beside me before she could do anything. “Now I’m happy.”
Part of me expected Andrea to pull away and bounce off the bed, but she did neither, and I took that as a positive sign. When her pink lips parted on a soft inhale, the need to taste those lips punched through me hard—a real kiss, not one she’d forget. It shocked me, the power behind that desire. I didn’t get it, but I didn’t want to question it in that moment. She was close. She smelled damn good. And we weren’t at each other’s throats.
“What did you want to tell me?” she asked.
My gaze followed the shape of her lips. “I didn’t want to tell you anything. I wanted to ask you something.”
The corners of her lips twitched as if she were fighting a smile. “What did you want to ask me?”
Our faces were inches apart when I looked up. “What are you making me for dinner?”
Andrea blinked and then she laughed—loudly and deeply, an infectious and rich laugh that warmed my skin. “I’m going to make these hamburgers I saw on Kitchen Nightmares. They used minced onions, breadcrumbs, and more. They’re really good.”
Ah, fuck me, another thing that was cute. She got recipes off of a reality TV show. “I’ll grill them.”
“You might have to fight Kyler for control of the grill.”
“I can take him.” Her top slipped down her arm, revealing the pale blue strap of her bra. I reached between us, slipping my finger under the edge of her tank top. As I drew it back up her shoulder, the backs of my fingers glided over her skin, causing her chest to rise with a deep breath.
Her eyes widened, and I swallowed a groan when the tip of her tongue darted out, wetting her lower lip. Neither of us spoke as I straightened her top. Emboldened by the lack of protest, I trailed my hand down her arm, reveling in the feel of her skin. I stopped where her hand rested on her hip.
“What…what are you doing, Tanner?” she asked again.
Such an important question, but truth was, I really didn’t know, because it wasn’t about what I was doing right that second. It was more than that, and as I’d realized earlier, something had shifted between Friday and today, and I really wasn’t sure what the fuck that meant or why or any of that.
So I smacked her ass.
Seemed legit.
A shriek squeaked out of her as she jerked into a sitting position. The cutest damn glare fixed over her features. There it was again, the word cute. “You mother—”
“No, Andy, I’ll be a father one day. I’m a boy. You’re a girl.” Rolling off the bed, I hopped to my feet and cast a grin in her direction. “But right now, I’m going to go check out this pool I haven’t seen yet.”
For a moment she didn’t move or speak, and I wasn’t sure she was even breathing, but then she flopped onto her back. Raising one arm, she extended her middle finger.
I laughed.
Chapter 6
Andrea
The hamburgers were chilling in the fridge, gussied up and ready to go on the grill later, and I’d taken my time getting them set. Everyone was out in the pool, and I was hovering in the kitchen, wasting time watching the local news on TV, and the only thing I discovered was that someone had spray-painted a mustache on some statue in some town I’d never heard of.
Breaking news around these parts.
I moved to the kitchen door, nursing a bottle of hard lemonade. From my vantage point, I could see everyone. The deck connected to the pool in a very interesting design, with a wide bridge connecting the main deck to the pool deck, which was at a lower level since the pool was an in-ground one. Having grown up with a rather large pool in the backyard, landscaped to mimic a rocky beach, I knew the owners had to have paid a pretty penny just for the deck and pool.
Syd and Kyler were on one side of the pool, trying to drown each other, or at least that was how it appeared to me. My gaze drifted to the left, and I swore under my breath.
Tanner.
Dammit.
My lips parted. There might’ve been drool forming, but I honestly didn’t think anyone would blame me for that.
Tanner currently looked like he was posing for a photo for one of those “hot guys” Tumblr pages, especially the one with the kittens. God, I loved the hot guys and kittens Tumblr page. Whoever came up with that page deserved an award—a lifetime achievement award.
His arms were braced behind him on the side of the pool. Muscles bunched in his shoulders, and his biceps were flexed. My gaze traveled over his broad, defined chest and the tightly packed abs that rested underwater. His head was thrown back against the ledge of the pool, face tipped up, and the sun kissed his cheeks and well-formed lips. He was grinning, a private smile that made me feel like he knew I was hiding in here, watching him like some kind of lovesick girl.
But I wasn’t lovesick.
And I was hiding.
Before I made the hamburgers, I’d changed into my bathing suit and had slipped my clothes back on over it. Why in the world I had thought it would be a good idea to wear a two-piece was beyond me. For some dumb-ass reason, I had reasoned that because it was black, it was slimming. Which was stupid, because honest to God there was truly no such thing as a slimming bathing suit no matter what the advertisements claimed.
At the moment, Syd hauled herself out of the pool, her hair glossy and black and her body… I sighed. She was a tiny girl, and she looked perfect in a bikini, completely at ease. I should’ve packed a one-piece, but I didn’t think I owned one.
Clutching the bottle to my chest, I glanced at Tanner. He hadn’t moved, and I felt like one of those cartoons where the character’s tongue rolls out of its mouth. Both guys out there blew the hotness charts, but Tanner…he’d always caught my eye.
And I’d never caught his, until now.
What the hell was he up to? His behavior in the car? In the bedroom earlier? Yeah, it was weird that he’d come over last night to apologize and make sure we weren’t going to ruin the trip for Kyler and Syd, but his impromptu visit hadn’t prepared me for the way he was acting. And I seriously doubted “behaving ourselves” meant hooking up.