“Wow, this is beautiful.”
“We have some spare swimsuits upstairs. Want to go swimming?”
I nod, and Posie motions to the stairs. We head to the second level, and she brings me into one of the spare bedrooms. It’s decorated in shades of gray and black that flow throughout the room. The window looks out into the wooded backyard. I walk over to it, my eyes glancing at the blue water of the pool, tinged with orange as it glistens under the evening sun. The sunset is a vibrant red, and it leaves the forest in the back, looking unnerving.
Posie heads to the dresser, opening the top drawer. “We came swimming here a lot over the last few months, and our stuff just started accumulating.” She tosses me a black swimsuit, and I catch it against my chest, nodding at her.
Her eyebrows lower. “Hey, is something wrong?” she asks. “How was dinner with your parents? I guess now that I think of it, you weren’t really there for long.”
I shake my head, walking over to the queen bed in the center of the room, sitting on the edge of the black comforter. “It was bad, Posie. My dad said he’s going to cut off my inheritance.”
Her eyes widen, her jaw slackening. “What?” she whisper-shouts, taking a step toward me. “Can they fucking do that? You’re already older than eighteen. Isn’t it legally yours?”
I shake my head, letting out a small laugh. “I think he can do whatever he wants to with his money. And even if that were the case, it’s my fucking father, Posie. My dad can do whatever he wants to do, just because he feels like it.”
She shakes her head, her brown hair shifting over her shoulders, her eyes faraway. “That’s fucked up. What are you going to do?”
I stand up, turning toward the window. Reign and Kyler sit outside at the table. Kyler is rolling up a blunt, and as if he can sense my stare, Reign looks up at me, his eyes blank.
I’ll uncover every secret.
I run my hands up and down my arms as a shiver works through me. The way Reign watches me, it’s so much different from anything I’ve ever experienced in my life. As if he’ll destroy me and piece me back together.
I wonder what’s going on in his head. If he feels this raging electricity. If he can feel how a simple touch, a simple kiss, is like a bomb is going off between us. He doesn’t seem to want to get in between his friends, yet he cares so little as to kiss me.
Does he feel anything, or is this just a game to him?
What is it that I feel?
He’s always been my weakness, and I so easily want to fall into him again, yet keep as far away from him as possible.
I watch as his eyes disconnect from mine, and he turns toward Kyler, grabbing the blunt from his fingers and lighting it up.
Posie pulls her shirt over her head, dressing into her own peach-colored bikini. I do the same, pulling on the black bikini as she goes to the en suite bathroom to grab a few pool towels. “Come on, Archer keeps the water super warm, and it’s the best time to swim.”
I grab the towel she extends to me, holding it against my chest as we walk toward the door.
Here goes nothing.
We head downstairs, and I see Archer and Creed playing Call of Duty on the Xbox, both of them leaning forward on the couches with their headsets on. They don’t hear us or see us as they shout at the TV screen. Vienna lays next to Creed, her head tucked near his lap as she scrolls through her phone.
As Posie opens the door, Vienna perks up, lifting her head to look at us. “You guys going swimming?”
I nod at her. “Want to come?”
She glances out at the setting sun, wrinkling her nose. “Maybe later. I’m waiting for them to get done with their game so we can order food.”
“Let us know when you order so we can get something, too,” Posie says as she steps outside.
Vienna lays back down. “Will do.”
The sunset is beautiful, painting the patio in a reddish hue. The beauty is different here than it is in Montana. Though I hated it there, there’s something about the mountains and trees, the crisp blue water. It’s magical.
Though there’s nothing like Hellcrest Heights.
“You coming?” Posie asks, snapping me from my thoughts. I turn toward her, nodding as and I head toward a chair. I set my towel down on the foot of the cushioned chair and turn toward the pool.
“Jesus, you’re pale, Lakyn.” Eloise laughs, stepping outside. Her bare feet are silent as she walks across the patio and heads toward the guys. She plops between the two of them, settling in closely as she peels the blunt from Kyler’s fingers.