Tagged & Ashed(13)

My eyes are poised on the beautiful girl standing high on the patio stairs as she engages in idle conversation, never looking toward me. She can’t be that immune to me.

I don’t know how I missed it coming on, but I’m suddenly tipping forward as my shin slams into something hard. I flail my arms like an absolute idiot as I crash and splash into the concrete fountain, which is spewing a shower of sheer humiliation.

Fucking shit.

The cold water bites at me as the faces on the coins at the bottom of the fountain ridicule me with their smiles. I jerk my face free from the knee-high water that has managed to thoroughly drench me in front of the whole damn party.

As the laughter roars free, I play it off by taking a bow, and join in by laughing as well - though I’d rather find a place to hide for the rest of the weekend.

My eyes fall on the dark-haired, spellbinding beauty that sent me to my moment of defeat, and she lets her giggles free while shaking her head.

Great.

There goes everything else I had going for me. She’s fucking impossible, and I just need to move on before I lose every bit of my confidence - a feat I never thought possible before this night.

“Tag, what’s wrong with you tonight, bro?” Wren chuckles as I try wringing my shirt out.

My eyes glance back up at the girl who gives me a playful wink before returning to her previous conversation that was only briefly interrupted by my embarrassing flop.

“I wish I fucking knew,” I gripe under my breath while slipping off the drenched jacket. “Obviously, I need to go change now. See you when the fireworks start up.”

Wren continues his taunting laughter as I head up the steps where my pretty little distraction is still engaged in meaningless conversation. Rene runs up to me before I top the steps, a small giggle exuding from her throat.

“Tag, what happened?”

I couldn't walk and gawk at the same time.

“A fountain jumped out in front of me. I gotta get changed.”



***

Ashiara



It’s obvious Rene has a bigger crush on Tag than she does on Billy. For some odd reason, I feel a little pang of jealously as she flirts with him. He doesn’t seem to reciprocate, thankfully.

“Well, come find us for the fireworks,” Rene says as Billy walks up behind her, his eyes narrowing at Tag.

“Sure,” Tag says as his eyes find mine.

I smile as I see the water still dripping heavily from him.

“Tag Masters, you better not leak puddles all over my floors,” Melanie playfully chimes in.

“I’ll strip down in the foyer, if you like,” he jokes, offering her a wink.

Melanie laughs, shaking her head as she does so. I don’t mean to, but I blush. I’m hoping the night sky is enough to shadow my red tale.

He walks away, water trailing him to show all of his leaking humiliation, but I commend him for handling it with such grace. If I had crashed into a fountain in front of everyone, I would have gone home.

“So, dear,” Melanie murmurs softly while tugging me away from her group of friends. “What do you think about Tag?”

The daring devil in her eyes isn’t lost on me. I don’t know how, but she has seen the lust teeming inside me.

“I think he’s hot, but not really my type. Besides, I’m with Billy.”

She gives me a condescending glare accompanied by a knowing grin, before shaking her head.

“Puh-lease. You had me fooled for maybe ten minutes. Tops. It’s rather obvious now what my son was up to. That girl is never going to love him,” she sighs while glancing over at the duo. “She wants Tag, but he’s not into her. She’ll never give up though.”

Can’t say I blame her.

It’s taking all my strength not to chase after him. I’m just smart enough to see a disastrous end without dealing with the heartbreak firsthand.

“Ah,” I murmur softly, trying not to squirm.

“If you ask me, I’d say Tag is rather taken with you. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen him act like such a fool because of a girl. I’ve certainly never seen him clumsy enough to fall into the fountain that's ten-feet wide with an eight-foot mermaid in the middle. It’s like he didn’t even see it.”

My laughter falls through my lips before I cover my mouth with my hand to muffle the roar. She joins me with a more ladylike giggle, and then we both look toward the house where Tag has already disappeared inside.

I shiver a little as the nighttime ocean breeze reminds me I’m underdressed, and she rubs my arm with her hand.

“Go grab a blanket before the fireworks. It’ll only get chillier,” she prompts before turning back to her group of old croons.

I head toward the house, and smile when I see the several drips of water the maids are grumbling about as they dry the marble floor. Walking around them, I head up the stairs, trying to suppress my laughter as I stumble, feeling slightly tipsy.