I can only pray we make it through the wedding without our secret coming out, and me not fucking up again—or her pissing me off…which, knowing Raven, I’m going to need all the luck I can fucking get.
“So, Raven is flying in today,” Taylor says with the unasked question in his tone as we sit by the pool, sipping on our beers, while I watch the two girls he brought over earlier float around the pool.
Dangling my beer between my index and middle finger, I bring the cool glass up to my lips, taking a long pull as I try to ignore the thought of Raven being in San Francisco. Setting the beer down, I nonchalantly glance at him and answer, “Yup, she is. My dad sent me a text earlier saying she’ll be meeting us at Gary Danko for dinner. That’s going to be one awkward dinner.”
Taylor is the only person besides Raven and Tessa who knows what happened between us when Raven was home for break. He thinks my hook-up with her is like any other quick, meaningless fuck I’ve had in my lifetime. If he knew I actually have feelings for Raven, beyond wanting to pound my dick inside her, he’d flip his shit. He already gave me the third degree as soon as I told him about how badly we fucked up. Especially after I got a call from my father the same day Raven flew back to Long Beach telling me he proposed to Vivian.
At first, she refused to come home for the wedding. She claimed she had summer plans with friends already and wouldn’t make it back here, but Vivian obviously somehow found a way to persuade her, because she’s flying in today.
I’m dreading dinner tonight, because we haven’t spoken since she left San Francisco. I was so pissed off over everything at the time that I refused to talk to her when she tried to smooth things over before she left. Now I wish I would’ve tried, because she’s not just some girl I can ignore, and then move on with my life. She’s now a permanent fixture, with our parents getting married. We have to find a way to move past all the shit from before and start anew for everyone’s sake. Because I know if we act weird around each other, my dad and Vivien will suspect something.
We barely spoke to each other around them anyways. As they see it, we can’t stand each other, so at least it won’t be too hard to play it cool around them. I just need to make sure Raven doesn’t take it beyond that and try to avoid me completely, making them suspicious of us.
“Isn’t this the first time you two will be seeing each other since—well, you know?” I don’t know why Taylor is choosing now to have this conversation. We should be in the pool flirting the barely-there bikinis off of these chicks, not sitting here talking about Raven.
Lacing my hands behind my head, I sit back and keep my eyes locked on the brunette, who’s taking her top off and flashing me a come-hither grin as she tosses it onto the tiles beside the pool. “It is. I probably should’ve called or texted her earlier in the week to try to smooth shit out before she got here, but I’ve been preoccupied with other things. I’m not too worried. The last thing she’s going to do is cause a scene and make Vivian or my dad suspicious of us. If all goes well, these next two weeks will fly by and she’ll go back to Long Beach, and then I can continue on with my life the way I like it—Raven and drama-free.”
Taylor bursts out laughing and sprays beer everywhere like a dumbass. Coughing, he wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. “Dude! You’re fucked. There’s no way in hell something catastrophic isn’t going to go down while she’s back. I’m going to pop some popcorn, sit back, and wait for the show to start. She’s a fucking firecracker, that one. The two of you butting heads, even more so now since you boned her, is only going to make that fiery redhead exponentially lethal.”
Standing, I walk around the table, lean my palms against the cool glass, and bring my face close to Taylor. “Fuck. You. Douchebag. Laugh it up. While you sit here waiting for shit to hit the fan, I’m going to join those hot ass women in the pool. I’m done talking about Raven. I will make sure she gets the message loud and clear that I’m not going to play games. I fucked her and moved on. I’m not going to sit back and let one mistake ruin my life here. If our parents found out, the goddamn world as we know it would implode. You best be on your best behavior too. No egging her on when she’s around, or I’ll make sure your ass chokes on your fucking popcorn.”
Taylor just sits back, shaking his head with a cocky grin on his face before grabbing his beer and downing it.
I can only pray to God, Buddha, or whoever the fuck else people pray to these days, that what happened between us stays just that—between us. And let’s hope I can keep my dick in my pants this time, when it comes to Raven.
My stomach is in knots as I sit at the table across from my dad and Vivian. I’m already buzzing from the beers I had back at the house, and now I’m on my second glass of red wine since I sat down. Raven supposedly called her mother and said she was stuck in traffic, but would be here soon. I can’t help but wonder if she’s actually sitting comfy at her father’s house and has no plans on showing up at all.
I mean, I wouldn’t put it past her. I know I’m the last person she wants to see, and she thinks she’s the last person I want to see. When the reality of it is I’m all over the place. I’m still angry, but I also find my body getting worked up over the idea of seeing her again.
“So, Linc, have you decided if you’ll be bringing a special lady to Napa Valley with you for the wedding?” Vivian asks, with her bright red lips spreading into a sincere smile.
I’ve found it hard to be around her these last few months, because when I look at her, I see Raven. In the beginning, I couldn’t wrap my head around why my father ended up with her. He has been known to only date girls only a few years older than me since my parents’ divorced. But now, after falling under Raven’s spell, I can see how my dad fell in love with her.
I hate how things work out sometimes. Why couldn’t we have hooked up any other time over these last few years? We had to find out we had off-the-charts chemistry in the bedroom after our parents got together? Now it doesn’t matter how I feel, or felt, about Raven, because in a matter of two weeks, we’ll officially be ‘family’.
It’s like one big fucked up joke, with everyone laughing but her and me.
Straightening in my seat, I adjust my tie before forcing my attention to the happy couple across from me. “As of now, I’m still flying solo. But the way I see it, that leaves me with my options open for the wedding. Who knows? Maybe I’ll find my plus-one at the wedding and bring her with me to the reception.” I laugh as I flash them both a sly grin. My father narrows his eyes while Vivian laughs it off, waving her hand in the air at me.
“You are just a little Casanova. I don’t doubt you’ll find a beautiful girl to keep you company, Lincoln.” God, I hate when she calls me by my full name. No one but my grandmother calls me Lincoln. “With your father’s looks, it’s no surprise you’re always hard at work fighting off the ladies.”
That makes me choke on my wine. Grabbing my napkin from my lap, I dab my mouth, wiping away the drops of red liquid from my lips, catching them before they make it onto my dress shirt. I’m about to open my mouth to speak, but the words get caught in my throat as I lift my eyes and discover Raven making her way toward us through the busy restaurant.
Holy mother of all things that make my dick hard. She looks like a freaking goddess, and my dick is screaming to drag her into the bathroom, lift up that floral print dress she’s wearing, and do all kinds of dirty things to her sweet, sweet, sinful body.
I nonchalantly adjust myself in my slacks as she smiles sweetly towards our table. I should know that smile isn’t for me, because as soon as her eyes land on me, it falls from her lips and a small scowl replaces it. But as quickly as it appeared, it’s gone again as her picture perfect, happy-go-lucky grin is plastered back on her face.
Gripping my wine glass, I tip the rest of the contents into my mouth, downing it in one gulp. Like the good waiter Andre is, he returns right by my side, filling my glass once again. I slipped him a hundred when I was first seated and let him know to keep the alcohol flowing until my ass leaves this place. If it was my choice, I’d be downing something a hell of a lot stronger, but of course my dad insists we drink wine when out to dinner.
So far, so good…that is, until Raven slides into her seat directly beside me. I’m immediately assaulted with her intoxicating perfume as it invades my senses. God, she smells so damn good. I feel like a freak as I fight the urge to lean toward her and breathe in deeply.
“I’m so glad you finally made it, sweetie. I was getting nervous you’d end up missing dinner,” Vivian says, reaching across the table, resting her hand on top of Raven’s for a few seconds before bringing it back to her wine glass. “Now that you’re here, let’s order. I know I’m famished, as probably both Matt and Linc here too.”
Raven forces a smile as she turns her head towards me, and then back to our parents. “I had a late lunch with Dad this afternoon, so I’m not too hungry. I think I’m just going to order the chicken salad,” she says, glancing at the menu before setting it back down on the table and bringing her attention back to her mother.