“This place is boring,” Maddy announced, tossing a pillow onto the floor with a thud.
“I disagree with you,” I said.
We’d spent the last two hours playing silly games and lounging on the deck. The sunset was breathtaking—a blend of fiery orange and soft pink streaks fading into the darkening blue of the sky. The ocean mirrored the colors, with waves glinting gold as they slapped rhythmically against the shore, a soothing counterpoint to the lazy hum of the evening.
“Why?” Maddy stretched her arms wide, leaning back into her chair.
“I dunno. This is nice,” I said, gesturing toward the horizon.
“Whatever. This is boring to me.”
I threw my hands up in mock defeat and reached into my pocket for my lighter to light the cigarette between my fingers. I wouldn’t usually smoke on a day like this because I felt good— I had passed the preliminary round for the competition. But Caleb was already puffing away, and somehow, it felt fitting to join him. I flicked the lighter, the small flame catching the cigarette tip with a faint sizzle.
“What do you suggest we do?” Roger asked, leaning over and snagging the lighter from my hand to light his smoke.
“How’s skinny-dipping for a start?” Maddy grinned mischievously.
“You’re one crazy chick, ain’t you?” Theo said, laughing. He was sitting next to Charlotte, his arm draped casually over the back of her chair. They’d been flirting all day—little jokes, lingering looks, and easy smiles.
“Why? You hate crazy chicks?”
“No, I was just saying,” Theo replied, his laughter trailing off as he glanced at her again.
“Who wants to join me?” Maddy asked, her eyes scanning each of us.
“Me,” Roger said eagerly, raising both hands like an excited kid who got offered candy.
“I definitely won’t be left out of the fun,” Caleb added, stubbing out his cigarette in the ashtray and chuckling.
“I guess I don’t want to miss out, either,” I said, though my anticipation had less to do with the idea of swimming and more with whether Charlotte would join us. I took another drag and exhaled slowly, forcing the thought out. That was dangerous territory.
“Would you be joining?” Theo asked Charlotte.
“I’m good here,” she replied, shaking her head.
“That means I won’t be joining since—”
“No, no. You should if you want to.”
“So only you’ll be here and just watch?” Roger asked.
Charlotte nodded, her expression calm but resolute.
“Let’s find something else. We can’t leave you behind,” Caleb suggested.
“Nah, I’m good. I’ll just watch the sunset, and you guys, also keep reading my novel,” she said, motioning to the book on the small table beside her.
“And leave you alone while we go have fun? Ain’t no way that’s happening,” Maddy declared, her fingers tapping against her lips as her gaze wandered in thought. “How about we play Never Have I Ever?”
“Seriously, there’s no way I can stop you guys from—”
“No, Char, we can’t leave you behind,” Maddy interrupted, her hands planted firmly on her hips.
“I support her,” Theo added quickly.
“I support her, too,” Caleb and I said simultaneously.
Thank God Charlotte had turned down skinny-dipping. The thought of seeing her naked was a temptation I didn’t want to deal with.
“I really wanted to see Maddy’s tits,” Roger said, smirking, “but I guess I’ll join everyone and say I support the notion.”
“That’s very blunt, Ro.”
Caleb threw the cap of his water bottle at him, but Roger just laughed.
“Nope, it’s fine. I can handle a little dirty-talking,” Maddy said, waving it off.
“See, Caleb? She’s a big girl and can handle the big, bad me,” Roger teased, pulling a not-so-surprised Maddy onto his lap.
“We need more women here,” Caleb muttered under his breath to me.
Maybe he was right. A random fling with a random woman sounded like exactly what I needed. Perhaps that was what it would take to stop noticing every little thing about Charlotte—the way her hair caught the sunlight, her laugh sounded like it belonged in a melody, and her presence seemed to shift the air around her.
“Good thing I picked up this Never Have I Ever deck from Amazon because I had a feeling we’d need it,” Maddy said, rising from Roger’s lap to fetch the cards and two bottles of whiskey. She returned, dropping into his lap like she’d never left.
“Are those cards any good? Most of the ones from Amazon are lame,” Caleb said, raising a skeptical eyebrow.
“I promise you, these are the real deal.” Maddy stood up again, stepping into the circle’s center, her hands firmly planted on her hips.
“Alright, everyone. Like every game, this one comes with non-negotiable rules.”
“This is starting to get interesting,” Roger shouted, a smirk on his lips.
“You mean spicy,” I corrected, chuckling under my breath.
I shouldn’t have liked where this was heading, but I did. I wanted to see how much Charlotte was willing to reveal—how much the game would coax out of her. She had that innocent look, the kind that mothers admired, the type of girl who aced her tests, had no boyfriend until she was twenty-one, the type that siblings resented for being too perfect.
And perfection was nonsense. A facade that hid reality. Maybe that’s why I wanted to see her crack. To prove to myself that Charlotte Brown wasn’t untouchably perfect. Or at least, that was the excuse I allowed myself to believe.
“And what are those rules?” Charlotte asked, leaning forward, her feet planted firmly on the floor.
Despite better judgment, my eyes strayed, trailing down to her long, toned legs. God, she had the kind of legs that could make any man pause. And I was pausing, struggling to keep my composure because I was a leg guy.
“Honesty is everything. You either did it or didn’t, and you tell the truth. Rule two: have a ‘fuck me’ attitude. Whatever happens here stays here and goes no further.”
“I like the sound of that,” Roger said, shooting a playful wink at her.
“I don’t plan on keeping it here, though. I plan on seeing whatever happens through if it does happen,” Theo said, eyes bright with hope and charm as he looked at Charlotte like she was a fairy tale come to life.
The thought of Theo and Charlotte together filled my mouth with a strange, bitter taste. Her attraction was getting out of hand, and I needed to distract myself, text Amanda, or find someone else to hook up with—anything to clear my head.
“Come on, bro. For the record, whatever happens here stays here,” Caleb said before turning to Charlotte. “I just talked to your sister, and she begged me to ensure you loosen up. So, I’m making it my mission tonight.”
“Mine too,” Maddy chimed in.
Charlotte smiled at them, her eyes warm. “Don’t worry, I’m good.”
“Great! Remember what we talked about before coming here? Boys, action—”
Charlotte sprang up and clamped a hand over Maddison’s mouth, laughing. “Gosh, sometimes I wonder who has a bigger mouth, you or Jessica.”
Maddy pointed at herself dramatically, prompting Roger to chime in, “Yo, I don’t usually like girls who talk too much, but I think I’ll make an exception for you.”
She freed herself from Charlotte’s grip, giving Roger a playful flick of her head. “What? I haven’t even started yet, and you already like my mouth. Wait till you hear how dirty my mouth can be.”
Roger leaned forward, eyes sparkling with interest. “Oh, we’ll see how much I like it then.”
Caleb nudged me, his voice low. “These two are going to make this summer interesting.”
“Yeah, interesting tends to lead to messiness in situations like this. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”
“Loosen up, bro. Nothing like messy; we are just having fun.” He patted my shoulders again, a grin spreading across his face as if he knew what he was suggesting.
Loosening up sounded the perfect way to forget the weight pressing down on me. The depression that had been gnawing at me for too long. However, loosening up could only mean trouble, especially when the only person I wanted to loosen up with was Charlotte Brown.