Fireworks: A Holiday Bad Boy Romance (11 page)

Chapter 12

Cora

Emily hadn't done me any favors by telling
me that Brody was asking about me. It was silly and childish, but the thought
of bringing a player to his knees caused my blood to race with excitement. I
didn't want to hurt him, but the thought of bending his enormous ego a little
was rather enticing.

"What are you thinking about? You
look like you're planning someone's doom." Emily chuckled and moved up
beside me in the kitchen as I washed my hands.

All the snacks for the small get-together
that evening were done and in the fridge. Cindy was taking a quick shower, and
Dedra was headed back from town with beer and a few more bottles of wine for
us.

"No, I was just thinking about my
future." I lied with ease. "I think you're right about standing up to
my parents."

"Good. Make sure I'm there when it
happens?" She snorted and let out a yelp as a knock resounded on the door
behind us. "They're here. Do I look okay?"

I turned and smiled. "You looked
great, as always. I love the skinny jeans and that blue top. It's much better
than anything in your suitcase."

"I feel ridiculous." She walked
to the door. "You sure?"

"Yes. Let them in." I dried my
hands and turned to look out at the lake through the window just above the
sink. Some part of me hoped that Brody would forgo the evening and instead
spend it with his
cousin
or one of
her friends. But a bigger part of me prayed like hell that he would be there to
tease me, to make me feel something. And boy was he good at that.

A smile touched my lips at the sound of
Clay's voice.

"Don't you look incredible?" He
spoke, and Emily giggled. It was out of character for her, so much so that I
turned to make sure he wasn't tickling her.

Brody walked in and stopped just inside
the door as our eyes met. He lifted a six-pack of beer and gave me a cocky
smile. "I come in peace?"

"I doubt that." I dropped the
towel and walked toward them, turning my attention to Daniel. "Hey,
you."

"Hi, Cora. You look beautiful."
Daniel touched the side of his glasses and blushed slightly, causing me to
smile. He wasn't going to be anything other than a good friend, but it was cute
watching him get flustered.

I took the beer from Brody and turned to
face him. "I hear from Emily that you're the grill master."

"Among other things, yeah." He
winked and moved past me toward the kitchen. "I brought some brats because
the guys wanted them. Whatcha got in mind for dinner?"

The serenity of his persona washed over
me, and I realized how much I enjoyed confident people. His cockiness was a bit
annoying at times, but mainly because it reminded me too much of my own.

He opened the fridge and leaned over, his
navy shorts pulling tight on the perfect swell of his ass. My body warmed, my
cheeks flushing and stomach contracting.

He might be a player, but he was the perfect
guy for the job. I'd yet to see anyone better looking in Lake Havasu.

"Are you checking out my butt?"
He glanced over his shoulder and lifted his eyebrow.

"Nope. I was seeing if we had
mustard." I leaned across his back and plucked it from the door. "Good
to know. I enjoy eating my weenies with mustard."

He chuckled and moved back. "Seems
like a useful bit of information."

"Oh Lord," Clay mumbled and
walked into the kitchen. He stopped beside me and smiled at me. "How are
you, Cora? We missed you at breakfast yesterday. Emily is quite the cook."

"Where's Dedra?" Derek walked
into the kitchen and pulled his cowboy hat from his head. "And
Cindy?"

"I'm here!" Cindy walked in and
smiled at everyone before turning her attention to me. "Did you get everything
done?"

"Yep." I moved away from the
fridge, trying hard not to notice how good Brody's cologne smelled. I turned to
Derek as Daniel moved up beside him. "Dedra ran into town. You guys keep
an eye out for her to make sure she doesn't need help.”

"What's she got?" Daniel asked.

"Drinks for tonight." I glanced
over at Clay as Emily moved up beside him and wrapped her arms around his
middle. Longing rolled through me. It had been far too long since I'd let
someone hold me. "I hear you're quite the cook. How come you never cook
for us?"

Emily chuckled, and I couldn't help but
feel the weight of Brody's stare on me. I ignored it, though every part of me
wanted to turn and give him my attention. Gorgeous wouldn't do him justice, not
in the slightest, but looks weren't everything.

"Because I cook for you." Cindy
bumped me with her hip, catching me off guard. I took a few steps forward to
catch my balance and had to reach up to press my hands against Brody's chest
before crashing into him.

The look on his face was far different
from anything I'd seen Friday night. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good." I pulled my
hands down and turned toward the front door, grateful to hear the slam of a car
door. "There's Dedra. Let's help her out."

I started to follow the guys out, but was
stopped by someone tugging me backward. Brody.

"Hey, I'm sorry about Friday."
He shrugged. "I'm not sure how to be anything other than the alpha asshole
of this group."

"You are who you are." I
shrugged and turned away from him, ignoring the soft sigh I heard leave him.

It would be far too easy to sink into him
and let him make me feel like a princess for the night, but the sun would soon
rise. He was the kind of asshole that would sneak out before the morning came
and wouldn't look back. With a whole summer with him beside me thanks to Emily
and Clay starting something, it wasn't happening. I'd come to Lake Havasu to
have fun, nothing else. Brody would prove to be just that, but only for a
night.

Everyone had the liquor in their arms, plus
a few bags of extra goodies that Dedra picked up, too, by the time I got out
there. I held the door for Brody, but didn't find him behind me.

"It's busy in town. I think everyone
is getting excited for the Fourth of July coming up soon. The firework stands
are packed with people and explosives." Dedra blew a hair out of her face
as I reached for the bags in her hands.

"Are we doing fireworks?" Emily
asked, moving up beside me as I turned and walked back into the house.

I started to respond, but realized she was
talking to Clay.

"We can do anything you want to
do." He smiled down at her as I passed by.

"Are you promising the girl the
world?" Brody gave a crooked smile as he opened the door for all of us.

I moved in without giving him a glance and
walked to the kitchen to find Derek and Cindy laughing about something. The
smile on her pretty face caused one to lift on my own. I wanted her happy, but
wasn't so sure this band of guys were the ones to make that happen. Derek
seemed nice, but anyone willing to put up with a guy like Brody meant they, too,
objectified women—or maybe I was once again overthinking it.

"What's the plan for tonight?"
Daniel walked into the kitchen and sat two large bags down. "You girls
want us to go grab a movie to watch?"

"Cora and I can go get
something." Brody glanced over at me. "It's just a couple of blocks
up the road. Come on; I've seen you looking out that window several times in
the last ten minutes. You want to get outside."

Everyone was watching me, and for that
reason alone, I nodded and grabbed my purse from the counter. "Yeah,
sure."

The mumbles that resounded behind us were
almost comical, but I would have been a fool to think the tension between me
and Brody was only felt by the two of us. I waited until we got outside to turn
and glance his way.

"You sure a senator's son should go
anywhere without his bodyguards?" I smirked as he gave me a look.

"Are you always so full of piss and
vinegar?" He reached out and grabbed my arm just before I ran into a pole.

"Fuck." I jerked back and
pressed my hand to my chest. "Yes, I am, and thanks...I think."

He laughed. "You think? You're
welcome, I guess."

I tried to ignore how cute the slight
dimple in his left cheek was as he rolled his eyes at me. "You're not like
any of the girls I've met, Miss Thing."

"Miss Thing?" I moved around the
pole, trying to avoid being too close to him.

"Yep." He gave me a sideways
glance as he ran his fingers through his blond hair.

"How am I so different? Is it because
I don't melt the minute you look my way? You've known me for three days and
have yet to see me naked? Different like that?" I stopped at the cross
street and looked to my left and right.

"It's to your right. Tucked away
right here." He took my elbow and turned us, ignoring my question.
"What kind of movie do you girls like?"

"Chick flicks, mysteries, porn."
I shrugged and walked beside him as I kept my eyes ahead of me. I'd almost
embarrassed the hell out of myself by running into a pole in front of him. The
last thing I needed was to owe him something for saving my ass again. He'd done
it twice already.

"Hmm...porn sounds fun. It's been
years since I've seen one. I bet money with the cinematography and stuff that
they're pretty awesome nowadays."

"Do you really expect me to believe
that you haven't seen a porn recently?" I shook my head, unable to pull
myself back from being a complete ass.
What
the fuck was I doing?
This wasn't me. My need to protect myself was working
overtime.

"No need to watch one on TV when you
live it every night, right?" He gave me a “fuck you, too,” smirk and held
the door open. "Pick out whatever you want and I'll get it. The guys won't
let me live it down if I don't, not that any of that should be your
concern."

He walked down the aisle farthest from me,
and my stomach dropped. I owed him an apology. I hadn't acted this shitty since
I was a teenager with raging hormones. Following him down the horror aisle, I
picked up
Friday the 13th
and turned
it over.

"I've seen this one lots of times,
but it's always a good scary date-night movie." I glanced up, thinking he
might have given me a smile or a shitty comment over me calling the evening a
date-night. Nothing. "Okay, so let's get it."

"Yep. And let's get this." He
handed me
The Notebook
and walked
toward the front, not giving me a second glance.

"Really? I'm not sure your friends
would be too hip on a sappy love story."

"It's far more than that." He
glanced over his shoulder as he pulled his wallet out. "Not that I'd know.
I was too busy making out the ten thousand times I've seen it, but the opening
scene is pretty good. Hooks you right away."

The sarcasm in his voice was hard to
swallow. He was pissed that I was being so judgmental, and I could understand
it all too clearly. I hated being judged for anything and by anyone. Nothing
felt more condemning. He might deserve it, but it wasn't my place to give it.

The cute blonde cashier’s face lit up as
Brody walked just in front of me.

"Hey, you. Where were you?" She
pushed at his chest as her smile lifted to her eyes. "You push me in the
lake and disappear. What are you, ten?"

He chuckled. "Naw. I like the
courtship to go slow, and you were...aggressive that day. Just figured I'd cool
you off a little."

I stopped beside him, having half the mind
to reach over and wrap my arm around his back like he meant something to me.

Her eyes moved over toward me as she
picked up the movies and started to scan them. Her cute smile faltered, and
some part of me loved it.

"Who...who's this?" She said
like I wasn't there.

Brody glanced down at me and back to her.
"Oh, this is my sister, Kelly. She's here for a few days, and we're
hanging out tonight, but I should be done around eleven if you're off by
then?"

"Yeah. I will be." The girl
extended her hand to me. "Hi, Kelly. I'm Tanya."

I shook her hand as warmth coated my chest
and rose up my cheeks. Had the cock beside me really just called me his sister?

"Nice to meet you." I took the
movies from her and walked to the door as Brody finished making his plans for
the night. Asshole. He was exactly the guy I thought him to be. That I would
even began to feel bad over my thoughts was sickening.

"Alright. One chick-flick and one
scary movie for those in the group with someone to cuddle up to." He put
his wallet in his pocket and glanced over at me. "You want me to carry
those?"

"Nope. Your little sister has
it." I kept my voice flat.

"Little? You definitely look older
than me." He chuckled and moved back as I swatted at him.

"You're a pig, you know that?" I
gave him a sideways glance before turning back toward the house.