As the guys got ready, I slipped out the front door and made my way to the pool by myself. We’d talked a little last night and agreed it was best if I wasn’t seen coming or going from here. That was easier to do at night with the cover of darkness, but no one was around this morning. Good thing I was an early riser.
I’d just gotten settled on a lounge chair by the pool when I heard footsteps behind me. “Need some help with your sunblock?” It was Jessie.
Kincade was a step behind him. “It’s my turn to do that.”
Jessie grinned at his old friend. “You can do my back if you’d like.”
Kincade rolled his eyes. “Not the same.”
“I’ll do your back,” I offered, my gaze going back and forth between all three of them.
Jessie’s eyes gleamed. “Now you’re talking.”
I ended up rubbing sunblock over all their backs, and it was as much fun as snuggling with them in bed. I didn’t have that much experience with men, but the guys I dated definitely hadn’t had smooth backs rippled with muscles. It was fun to trace the contours of those muscles while I smoothed the lotion in everywhere I could reach, plus a few places I probably shouldn’t have. My finger accidentally slid under the waistband of Jessie’s swim trunks a time or two. By a rare coincidence, it happened with Kincade, too. I wasn’t quite ready to do that with Brock. He still seemed very quiet and stoic this morning.
After a lightning-fast game of rock, paper, and scissors between Jessie and Kincade, the latter ended up rubbing lotion on my back, and it felt amazing. Finally, we were all oiled up and ready to get in the water, but no one moved.
Curious, I looked around to see them all staring at Jessie. “Have you got the thing?” Brock asked him a bit gruffly.
Jessie reached under the beach towel he’d brought and pulled out a flat box. It was about the length of both my hands put together. “This is for you,” he said.
Surprised, I took it from him. “What’s this?” I shook it, but nothing moved inside.
Kincade rolled his eyes. “I think if we all put our heads together, we might be able to come up with some way to find out.”
I punched his arm, trying not to wince at the solid muscle in his bicep. “It’s too early for sarcasm.”
“Never too early,” he countered.
“Go on, open it,” Jessie said.
Feeling a little self-conscious, I slid the lid off the little box. Inside was a triangle of bright turquoise fabric. I lifted it gently out of the box, and ribbons of the fabric trailed underneath it.
It was a bikini.
A string bikini.
“Wow,” I said, stalling for time as my mind began to panic. Surely they didn’t think I could wear something like this? It would support my breasts about as much as dental floss would—if I even fit in it in the first place. “This is very nice of you, but—”
“No buts,” Brock said, a little sharply.
Kincade rushed in. “What he means is, no pressure. It’s yours to do whatever you’d like with. To wear it. To put it back in the box and bury it in the bottom of your suitcase. To use as a dust rag. You can do whatever you’d like with it.”
That made me feel better though my stomach felt jumpy, and I was glad I hadn’t had breakfast yet. “Where did you get this?” It seemed unlikely that any of them traveled around with an extra bikini.
“Yesterday, when we got the ill-fated rolling bed, we asked if we could check out the gift shop, or what was left of it,” Jessie explained.
“It’s open?”
Jessie shook his head no, but Kincade looked smug. “It was for us.”
I gave a half smile at that. It was pretty clear that money opened doors for these guys that remained closed for the rest of us. “Thank you for getting this for me. It’s beautiful.” Both the top and the bottom looked large enough for me to tie in place, but there was no way it would give me enough support or cover all the places it was supposed to.
“We thought that color would look good on you,” Jessie said.
His smile made me sad. “I really do appreciate it, but I just…” I trailed off and sighed, holding the bikini top up. “These kinds of things weren’t made for people my size. I’d burst right out of it.”
Kincade shot me a crooked smile. “That’s the point of a bikini. It’s designed to have women spill out of it. I’m guessing it was designed by a man.”
I grinned at that, but I still felt like I was letting them down. If they’d given something like this to the Annas, they’d probably already have it on and be modeling it for them.