I: Bastards and Beach Bums (Delia)
“Holy shit! Do you see the meat on that boy?” My best friend Marnie's high, whiny voice cuts through the beach party's racket.
She's so loud and desperate I expect the gorilla in the speedo she's been eye-fucking for the last ten minutes to skip fetching our drinks and drag her behind the rocks for some alone time. It won't take much for him to throw her over his shoulder and carry her off – exactly what the excitement lining her face says she wants.
“Delia, did you see –“
“I saw,” I say, draining the last dregs of my water bottle. “Believe me, I couldn't miss him. He's like the oldest dude here.”
Her smile quirks. “Oh, come on. You're never jealous. Don't tell me you're pissed that I poached him first with a little flirting? We'll be down to geeks and dad bods by the time you make a move.”
Laughing, she shakes her hips, causing her beauty queen body to bounce. I don't know how she tolerates those skimpy, skin-tight bikinis. Not that one wouldn't feel awfully nice right now in the California sun.
“It's okay, Marnie. Really. He's a good pick. Not really my style, you know.”
It's not just the overgrown body builder with the tangerine skin I'm talking about.
I stare down at my tank top and shorts. I've probably got the most conservative beachwear here – same as always. Sometimes, I think everybody else enjoys these parties on dad's private stretch of beach way more than I do.
Sometimes? Okay, make that all the time.
She throws her head back and laughs louder, slapping me on the shoulder. “Oh, girl. Just what the hell is your style, anyway?”
I shrug, and she leans in closer. “Kyle told me you two never fucked. Jesus, lady, you're about to start your senior year and you're still a virgin. Don't tell me you're going to be the only one in our circle to walk off campus with a fancy degree in hand and your cherry intact.”
I wrinkle my nose. Marnie acts like a crazed lioness when she gets a few drinks in her, and I make a mental note to slip away once she's had a few more, maybe got her arms around her latest hottie.
“I'm going to get you laid, you know. I've made it my personal mission.” She wags her finger at me and flips her blonde hair with the pink highlights back. “I know you brought a bikini. Go slip into it, show off your sexy, and maybe I'll ask big boy if he's got a friend when I'm done with him.”
The smile she's wearing makes her look like a shark. Shaking my head, I fold my arms, one more reminder that I'm overdressed, even though I feel like I'm half-naked out here.
“Jesus, no. I told you, I'm just here to get some sun and a nice buzz. Oh, and remind me to flip Kyle the bird next semester for talking about crap he really shouldn't.”
Trouble is, the idiot I'd broken up with a month ago was supposed to be the one. We lasted a few months, longer than my other boyfriends, and I'd actually been getting a little impatient about jumping his bones. He'd been the first man in awhile I could imagine going to bed with – until the day he sat me down and came out with the nasty, kinky stuff he wanted me to do.
I'm no stranger to weird, overpowering sex. I crave it. Heck, I've read all about it in those books about billionaires with dirty mouths and a love for handcuffs and spankings.
All the crap Kyle wanted? Picture the opposite.
I wasn't ready to tie him up and slap him across the face while he called me mama. Not in this lifetime. Not with anyone.
Seriously, why the hell is it so hard to find a normal man with a body like an Adonis on campus? Do the guys with an alpha bone in their bodies still exist outside romance novels?#p#分页标题#e#
“Aw, c'mon,” Marnie whined. “We need to do lunch so you can dish right back. I'm sure it wasn't all one-sided, and I'd love to hear what the little rat was really up to.”
I open my mouth to try to change the subject, and then I see Mr. Tangerine coming back, two martinis and a beer in his hands. Thank God.
“Here you go, ladies,” he says, pushing one martini into my hand and flashing me a wink.
Ugh. Some of these beach bums have the balls to try for two girls at once, and there's no way I'm falling for it. I nod, then turn my attention to Marnie as she gives me the look, as if to say watch this.
“Damn, what kinda beer is that?” she asks, closing the tiny distance between her and Tangerine Man, a quick, jerky movement that causes her to crash her martini glass rim right into his thick chest. “Oh, shit! I'm so sorry.”
Every bone in my body wants me to roll my eyes. The beach bum laughs, wipes the booze off his pecs, and then pulls her into him.
“You know I'm gonna make you lick that off, right?” He growls it softly into her ear, but it's loud enough for me to overhear.