Fireworks: A Holiday Bad Boy Romance (3 page)

"Yep." All three of my friends
yelled in tandem.

"Well, I guess I should change
that." I walked toward the bedroom as they all started to laugh. I joined
them before yelling back behind me. "Naw, it's not my style. Fuck 'em
all."

Chapter 3

Cora

"Finally!" Cindy walked out onto
the porch as I pulled my bag out of the back of the car. Her red hair was the
color of copper, and her freckles only added to a false sense of innocence that
fit her personality well.

"Hey. You guys need a hand?"
Dedra walked out beside her as she tugged her hair into a ponytail. Her mixed
heritage left her skin a beautiful mocha and her hair black and silky to the
touch.

"No. We just have our bags." I
lugged Emily's out first and then mine. After a quick glance around, I pulled
my bag toward the quaint log cabin we'd rented and laughed as Cindy bounded
down the stairs and almost knocked me off my feet with a huge hug.

"Summer has finally started!"
She moved back and turned to Emily, giving her a hug, as well. "How are
you? How was the funeral?"

"It was good." Emily tugged at
her suitcase, forcing it up the stairs as she grunted and grumbled.

"Where are the hot guys Dedra said
you already found? We could use their help with these bags." I laughed and
pulled mine up the stairs, as well, wondering why the hell I hadn't packed
several small suitcases instead of one huge one.

"Let me help." Dedra moved in
beside me and pressed her shoulder to mine as we gave it one good heave, almost
falling over backwards with our efforts.

"Hot guys? Please. They're all too
busy working on their tans to care too much about helping anyone out."
Cindy opened the door and smiled. "I made cookies."

"Why am I not surprised to hear that?
You're always baking something, and yet you still look like a model." I
tugged at the front of her t-shirt before walking into the house.

The open floor plan had the living room,
kitchen, and dining room all visible from the front door. The delicious scent
of chocolate and sugar wrapped around me, and I breathed in deeply.

"Hey it's hot out here. Move it on
inside." Emily pushed at my bag.

"Oh, right." I laughed and moved
into the coolness of the house. "I love it. I was hoping it would look
just like it did in the pictures."

"And, it does." Cindy moved up
beside me. "Plus, the lake is gorgeous. We've been lying out and boating
for a couple weeks, trying to relax. I would say it's your turn to do the same,
but we're bored out of our minds, so..."

"So, we're supposed to have brought
the party with us?" Emily rolled her eyes as she walked toward the back of
the house. "We sharing rooms?"

"No, Miss Good Times," I called
after her. "We each have a room to ourselves. You know, in case you want
to bring a boy home and give him your V-card."

"Very funny." Emily didn't turn
to face me, but the tone of her voice told me that she knew I was just teasing
her. She'd slept with as many guys as I had, which wasn't many.

"What did you get at the grocery
store?" I left my bag by the front door, not at all concerned with where I
would be sleeping at night. For the chance of a long summer with my friends by
the lake, I'd gladly sleep in the bathtub if needed.

"I didn't get up there. They're
having a sale today for some festival in town, and I must have stopped at three
little dress stands. I got a few new things. You want to see?" Cindy
stopped at the opening to the kitchen as I walked in and grabbed a few warm
cookies.

"Absolutely." I groaned in
delight over the cookie. "Are these from scratch?"

"Did you really just ask her
that?" Dedra moved closer and snagged the other half of the cookie from my
hand. "You know you're talking to a fully degreed chef."

I smirked. "How could I forget? I'm
quite jealous."

"Me, too." Dedra leaned against
the counter and let out a long sigh. "I finally found a basketball court
to play hoops at. You wanna go check it out with me later today when you get
settled?"

Though I was tired as hell, there was no
way I was denying her. "Of course, though getting my ass handed to me by
the captain of our basketball team does not sound like fun."

"Was the captain." She pursed
her lips and shrugged. "I don't know what I am now. It's weird not
belonging anymore."

"What? You'll always belong. That's
silly." I popped the rest of my cookie in my mouth and ran my hands over
her upper arms. "And besides, now it's your turn to teach young girls how
to be great team players and leaders like you were, D. Like you are."

"I guess you're right. It's just such
a hard transition." She took a shaky breath. "I thought I was going
to spend my life playing ball, but I guess not. Having to grow up and tuck that
dream away has been the hardest thing I've ever done. Even beyond losing my dad
when I was little."

"I get that." I squeezed her
shoulders one more time and picked up two cookies, giving her one. "My
dreams aren't worthy of focusing on, either, at least not from my father's
perspective."

"Don't get me started on your
dad." She narrowed her warm brown eyes at me.

Cindy's voice startled me. "Okay.
Check it out."

She twirled around in place, showing off
the pretty, blue summer dress that fit her thin, model-like body beautifully.
She was almost completely flat-chested, and yet with all of the other great
attributes she had to show off, she was nothing less than stunning.

"Wow. I'm not standing next to you
wearing that thing. Not ever." I smirked as she turned around once more.

"I love it. I bet you could wear it,
Cora. We're about the same size. Well, except for your boobs." She ran her
hands over hers and let out a growl. "Damn genetics."

"Is she complaining again about
eating everything in sight and still being thin?" Emily walked into the
kitchen and smirked. "Seems like such a problem to have."

I clapped my hands. "Alright. Are we
going to get groceries before we settle in? I'd rather get that out of the
way."

Dedra glanced over at Cindy. "I
thought you got groceries this morning while I was cleaning the whole
house."

Cindy's cheeks turned pink, making her
even prettier. "Sorry. I got dresses?"

I laughed. "And, you have no room to
talk. Cleaning doesn't including shoving shit under the beds and in the
closets."

Cindy glanced at Dedra and gasped
dramatically. "You didn't!"

"I did." Dedra shrugged before
turning and darting down the hall. Cindy ran after her, the two of them
laughing as her blue dress danced around her.

"I need this." Emily picked up a
cookie. "I swear I'm turning into a statue. A cold, unfeeling, solid
form."

"No. Not you." I moved in behind
her and squeezed her shoulders, massaging her neck as I glanced out the large
window that sat over the sink in the kitchen. "We'll change that. You just
have to stop defining the tight lines around your life."

"How do I do that?" She let out
a huff and shoved the cookie in her mouth. "How do I get out of this shell—and
don't you dare say something about my clothes."

I laughed and released her. "Fine,
but when you're ready to start living a little, come talk to me without borders
erected all around you. No walls. No protection. Just you, and I'll help."

"Whatever. Why are you a business
major again? I still think you'd make a great counselor." She turned to
face me as she licked at her fingers.

"That is
not
on the approved list of career choices, Cora Beatrix
Ross." I shook my finger at her like my father had done to me a million
times.

"So dumb." She turned back to
the window and leaned toward it. "Look at all those half-naked people.
Ugh."

I laughed and worked my hair into a messy
bun that the wind would ruin in a matter of seconds. "Come on. Call
shotgun or Dedra will and you'll be pissy about it."

"Shotgun!" Emily yelled as she
walked to the hallway with her hands cupped over her mouth.

"Really?" Dedra walked out.
"You know I've been waiting to ride shotgun in that new Beamer."

"You'll get your chance. I might even
let you drive it." I picked up the keys and wagged my eyebrows at her.

"No, you won't. Not if you're
smart." Cindy grabbed a large straw hat and put it on her head. No one should
be able to pull off something so gaudy, but she was doing it beautifully.

"Don't start with me again."
Dedra gave Cindy a warning look.

"Oh, this sounds interesting." Emily
opened the door and smiled. "What happened?"

"Dedra almost wrecked the boat
because of some beautiful chocolate man that was half naked lying out on his
peer two days ago." Cindy shook her head and walked out on the deck.

"Beautiful chocolate man?" I
walked out after her and laughed deep in my chest.

Serenity wrapped around me due to the
beautiful scene before me. The lake was vast, and the dark blue water almost
seemed to sparkle right along the surface. The sun sat at the top of the sky,
and the tall trees all around us rustled with the force of the wind. I closed
my eyes and breathed in deeply, not hearing the response to my question. I
didn't care about anything for the moment but finding my center and trying to
release the last four years to the past.

"Hey, you can meditate or do that
yoga mess later. I'm hungry." Emily bumped her shoulder against mine,
pulling me out of my mini-moment.

"Always about you." I winked as
she gave me a look. She was the most giving person I knew. If any of us were
selfish, it was me. I was raised to be and had worked hard to get over it, but
it lingered—a lot.

"Tell me about the boat." Emily
opened her door, directing her question at Cindy and Dedra.

"It's a small speedboat," Dedra
started.

I got in and started the car, almost
pulling out as a group of bikers rode just behind us. I slammed on the brakes,
let out a yelp and jerked around, causing my friends to do the same.

"Damn." I shook my head and let
the car roll back slowly.

"Yeah, those bikers are
everywhere." Cindy patted my shoulder from the backseat. "Just be
careful and we'll be fine. You can actually rent a bike at the lodge if you
want. Might be fun one day?"

"Absolutely." Emily turned in
her seat. "And, is the boat nice or a piece of shit they just threw in
thinking we wouldn't use it?"

"It's nice." Dedra responded.
"It's not a yacht, but it will comfortably fit all of us, and the thing is
like a speeding bullet if you want it to be."

"Which you do," Cindy added.

"I like fast cars, fast men, and fast
food. What can I say?" Dedra laughed, and we all joined her.

"Is the grocery store on the other
side of town? I didn't see it when we were driving in." I stopped at the
stop sign at the end of our street and glanced around, surprised by how many
people were already on the lake.

Cindy leaned up into the front seat as Emily
turned back around. "Yeah. Just take a left up here at the main light and
it's on your left about a mile down. It's not like the big grocery stores we're
used to, but it'll work."

"What do you guys want for
dinner?" I asked and followed her directions, trying hard not to let my
eyes wander to the half-dressed guys walking around everywhere.

It had been three months since I'd been on
a date, flirted, anything. After dating Brandon for two years and being cheated
on, I was done with guys. Or I thought I was.

"Let's make something delicious for
your first night here." Cindy offered as she sat back next to Dedra.
"Maybe pasta and salad?"

"Yeah, and let's get a bottle or two
of wine and some more stuff for Cindy to make her cookies with." Dedra
leaned into the front seat and pointed to the left. "It's right there.
It's easy to miss."

"Oh, hell. I would have missed
that." I pulled into the center lane and put on my blinker, waiting for a
large group of bikini-wearing girls to cross the street. "This place is
busy."

"Oh, yeah. It's the best summer hang
out for almost everyone in the state." Emily glanced over at me. "If
we can't find some fun here, we need to see a specialist."

I pulled into the parking lot and turned
the car off, chuckling at my best friend. "Do they have people who
specialize in having fun?"

"Watch it." She popped me in the
arm before getting out of the car.

I got out and walked to the back, suddenly
feeling overdressed in my jeans and t-shirt. Cindy was still in her beach-dress
and Dedra was sporting a pair of tight shorts and a tank top. I was suddenly
itching to get into my swimsuit and get out in the sun.

"We'll grab the cold stuff,"
Cindy slid her arm into Emily's. "You and D get the wine and bread?"

"And the pasta," Emily added
before the two of them turned and walked off, chattering about something.

"Are we thinking red wine?" I
asked before getting a small shopping cart.