“We gotta make sure you know how to surf.”
15
SARA
Lights beamed up from the bottom of the indoor pool on the twelfth floor. There was a blue tint to the long stretch of a room, and the tranquil reflection of water glittered on the stone walls, making them look as if they were slow dancing. Luxuriously white chaise lounges lined the edges of the pool, flickering candles centered on the low tables beside them.
It was all for us.
But as beautiful as it was, Julian and I were stiff and silent as Turner, drunk and swaying, led us into the space.
Floating ominously in the middle of the water was a surfboard – bright white with my name painted in pink cursive over the top. He’d spelled it “Sarah” with an h, but I said nothing. I wasn’t pleased about what he wanted me to do, and neither at all was Julian, but I couldn’t let it show.
Not with Turner holding the entire trip over our heads.
“Couldn’t possibly commit to a date for the trip till I knew Sara had the basics down,” he said, seeming to enjoy whatever disbelief had struck both Julian and my face. “Besides, you can’t possibly say no when I went to such great lengths to make this a nice night. Right?”
He didn’t actually wait or care for an answer. From roasting us like pigs on the roof to providing swimsuits, since he knew we wouldn’t bring our own, it was clear Turner had long planned to get me in the pool and to get Julian to play the game his way for once. The moment he stepped away to say hi to the girls Carter brought in, Julian turned his back on him to face me.
“He’s trying to see how much he can get me to do for free before committing to the trip,” he said. Both his expression and his voice were neutral, but his eyes were livid. The pool water glimmered in his intense stare. “And, obviously, he wants to see you in a swimsuit.”
“I figured as much,” I said under my breath as I held the bag of bikinis Turner gave me. It felt as if I was his puppet tonight, but for fear of getting Julian more worked up than he was, I played it down. “It’s not a big deal, Julian. We’ll take a swim, we’ll pretend to party for him, and then we’ll set a date for the trip. If humoring Turner gets us to Biarritz and connects you with his advisors, it’s worth it. At least then you won’t have to deal with trying to talk to him or Carter about business they clearly don’t know how to discuss.”
Julian eyed me. For the first time since meeting the Roths tonight, I detected a real smile on his lips.
“What?” I whispered, the hard t sound bouncing off the walls of the quiet room. Julian dropped his voice.
“That was oddly arousing.”
“What was?”
“You taking control. I can only imagine how good you look on top.”
I smiled despite my blushing. “We can find out tonight. That is, if you’re interested.”
“I think you know at this point that I’m interested, Sara,” Julian murmured, his eyes scintillating. “Whether I want to be or not.”
My smile wavered. “You had to add that last part?”
“Why shouldn’t I?”
“I don’t know. Because it hurt,” I said truthfully.
“You know what it’s like to have rules,” Julian said, unapologetic. “You should know how it feels to break them.”
“It’s felt nothing but good for me so far,” I murmured as I saw Turner coming back. “But I take it you regret what’s happened between us.”
He had exactly two seconds to respond, but he didn’t use them. And soon enough, Turner came back to ask what we were doing. From there, we went in opposite directions to ch
ange in the locker rooms.
Not a single drop of water sounded in the stone and marble locker room.
It was completely still and quiet, and somehow even quieter as I stood alone by the empty glass and marble showers, staring numbly into the mirror.
I noted vaguely that I actually liked this simple black bikini, but despite my eyes on my reflection, I wasn’t really looking at myself anymore. I had finished changing five, maybe ten minutes ago, but I didn’t move. I was daring someone to come in here and get me. If not, maybe I’d stay here forever. I needed to reflect, anyway. To understand how I’d even gotten to this point.
Gathering my dark hair over my shoulder, I moved my eyes across my reflection, trying to recognize even a part of myself. No dice. My familiarity with myself had faded completely since the last time I’d been here less than three weeks ago.