I turned and walked down the hall, stopping outside Derek's door to listen. No fucking way I was going in if they were still getting it on. A soft whine caught my attention, and I pressed my ear to the door to hear the sounds of lust pouring from the other side of it.
"Shit, fuck that," I mumbled and walked back to the front as my cock twitched in my swim trunks. I was used to having sex a few times a week at minimum and quite a bit more than that when I went on vacation. The situation with Cora had changed that drastically, yet I still felt myself needing her, wanting her time and attention.
"What's up?" Clay glanced up as I closed their door.
"They're still fucking. I'm not going in there. No matter the size of the stick I drew." I rolled my eyes and grabbed one side of the cooler as Clay got the other.
"I'll leave him a note and he can text us later." Daniel walked back toward the house as I let my eyes move across the beautiful scene before us. The lake was a dark blue, and the brilliant green pine trees almost hovered over the edge of it.
"I love it out here. My dream house would be tucked into those large pines over there." I pointed before taking another drink of my beer as we wrestled the cooler down toward the dock.
"I couldn't agree more." Clay stopped at the edge of the pier and sat the cooler down. "Let's grab some lunchmeat and bread so that we're not starving later."
"Alright." I ran my fingers through my hair and walked back toward the house with him.
"Did you decide on whether you're going up north after this summer yet?" He gave me a sideways glance.
"No, I think it's going to really depend on what happens by the end of the summer. If I'm still single and not tied down to the thought of being with one girl, then I'm headed out of here. If by chance someone steals my heart…”
"Steals your heart?" Clay laughed and patted my back. "Where the fuck is my best friend? What have you done with him?"
I rolled my eyes. "You know what I mean. Don't throw that shit at me, either. You know you and Emily are talking long-term stuff and you barely know each other."
He nodded. "Yeah, we are. We just fit, you know? It's an amazing feeling."
"I can't imagine." I opened the door as Daniel walked back out.
"We ready?" He took his glasses off and started to clean them.
"Yeah, just grabbing food." I walked into the house and let out a sigh. My eyes moved to the darkened hall, and I couldn't help but wish it were me and Cora wrapped up in my bed together. Desire raced through me, but I shoved it back down. I was going to go over there in the morning if she hadn't called or come over first. There was too much between us that I wanted to explore to let things fall silent. Did she want that? For me to leave her be and let things just fizzle out?
"Have you talked to Cora about the possibility of you leaving here after the summer?" Clay's voice behind me jolted me. I'd assumed he's stayed out on the porch with Daniel.
"What? No." I smirked. "We've barely started talking. It's really not that serious yet. I like her. A lot. A lot more than any other woman I've been interested in the past, but that doesn't mean that she feels the same way." I grabbed a few things from the fridge and shrugged. "She's probably just looking for a fun fling over the summer, and with her leaving in the next week, if that's all she wanted, then it'll be time for me to move on."
He rolled his eyes. "You're not moving on. Stop talking that psycho-babble-bullshit to yourself and ask her out."
"I have asked her out." I grabbed the bread and tossed it to him. "We've been on two dates, and both were a load of fun."
He rolled his eyes and walked to the door. "That's not what I meant and you know it."
"Right." I closed the door behind me, juggling the meat, cheese, and mustard while Daniel stood aside quietly. "I don't want to force anything on her, Clay. She's got a lot of baggage from the last guy she was with, and I found out on Tuesday that Tinsley was the girl that was fucking him when she walked in on them."
Clay jerked around. "Our Tinsley? Your fucking sister?"
"Yeah." I shook my head. "Unbelievable, right? I swear that girl's going to hell for lying and doing it really, really well."
"Damn. All those years of making sure not to look her way because she seemed so innocent and-”
"Hey." I glanced over at him, cutting him off. "She's still my little sister. Watch it."
Daniel laughed and took the cheese and mustard from me. "You guys are so easily duped. Your sister's been as active as you are all these years, Brody. Anyone with half a brain would know that."
"Oh yeah, doctor Dan?" I pushed at his shoulder as we stopped by the cooler. "What else have we missed? You know... us idiots."
He turned to face us, and I swear he aged 10 years in front of my eyes.
"For one, you need to stop waiting on Cora to come over here. Someone who's been cheated on isn't just fighting the sadness of losing someone they loved. They're battling the idea that they aren't good enough for anyone. I'm not sure how the fuck the girl every decided to let her guard down with you. You're the biggest whore we know."