"Coat?" Dedra laughed. "It's burning up out here."
"Not to me." I pulled my legs up and wrapped my arms around them as I looked over at Clay. "Is that okay? I know it's a lot of trouble, but I'd be grateful."
"It's no trouble, at all." Clay's expression softened as he got up and moved back.
"A coat?" Dedra nudged me in the side. "Really?"
Brody moved back and walked toward Daniel as I turned to Dee. "No, silly. I want time with him at the house."
"At the-” Her eyes widened a little. "Oh. Oh, yeah. We gotta get your coat. And tomorrow, I better get every juicy detail of that adventure."
I laughed, unable to help myself.
My friends had no modesty at all, and I loved them for it. I turned and stood up, stretching as I let my eyes move across the lake. There were a zillion boats. Getting back to the shore was going to be a huge pain in the ass; swimming back over there would have been easier, but far too dangerous. Besides, Brody hadn't been kidding. The size of that alligator a few nights back left me not willing to stick a toe in the water anymore, much less dive in headfirst in the dark.
"This should be tricky, but we'll get back over there," Daniel called out. "Just get around the side of the boat, guys, and help me make sure we don't get too close to anyone."
"Turn on the trolling motor and take it slow." Clay moved up beside Daniel as he glanced around. "Why aren't these people moving? It seems like everyone would be headed to the beach or somewhere."
"Maybe there is another round of fireworks?" Cindy asked.
"I don't know, but we can watch them from the beach." Brody moved up beside me at the front and glanced to his right. "Let's go before it starts. That'll just piss people off."
"True," I mumbled and watched for Daniel getting the boat too close to anyone off my side. We made it back to the dock about 20 minutes later when it should have taken two. I almost felt bad being so high maintenance, which wasn't me, at all. Funny enough, no one seemed to mind too much.
We made our way to the back of the boat, and the boys got off first before helping each of us get up to the dock. I smiled at Derek, who pulled me up with ease.
"Thanks."
"Anytime, pretty girl." He winked and moved toward Cindy.
"Alright, so are we walking to the beach now?" Emily wrapped an arm around my shoulder.
"We are, but Brody and Cora are going to grab her coat. Just text us when you head that way so we can flag you down. I'm sure it's insane over there." Dedra reached out and tugged at a few strands of my hair.
"You bet." I extended my hand to Brody. "You okay going with me? If not, I can catch up in a little while."
"Are you fucking kidding me? Some guy will swoop you up and then where will I be? Ninth-wheel? No thanks." He took my hand and pulled me close to him as we started walking back to the cabin. The laughter behind us left me feeling light and happy.
"You know it takes compliance on my part for some guy to 'swoop me up,' right?" I smiled over at him, wondering why the hell I wasn't nervous. Being with him was almost calming all of a sudden. Like the situation between us the afternoon before had opened up the door to just relax.
"This is true, and we know how 'compliant' you are where guys are concerned." He smirked.
"I'm good if I find the right one, but you know how rare that is." We turned to the right and walked down the hill to my cabin as another fireworks show started in the distance. "Oh, hell. You were right. There's another show."
"You wanna
go over there and we can hook up later? It's not like we're in a hurry." He stopped and pulled me against him, locking me to his front with the strength of his arms.
"No, I've seen a million fireworks like this. I wanna see yours, instead." I lifted to my toes and kissed him hard.
He leaned down and dove into the kiss as his hands his over my sides and gripped my hips. He pulled back and closed his eyes as his forehead touched mine. "You’re such a good kisser. So thorough."
"Just imagine what else I'm good at." I nipped at his lips and pulled out of his hold. "Come on. We'll watch the fireworks from the house if want to see them."
"I could not care less." He moved up beside me with a smile on his face. It faltered a little, and I could see indecision run across his handsome features.
Oh, great. Is he about to play nice guy again?