Page 11

Chapter 11

Too Hot To Handle

ZARA

“ C lasses don’t start until next Monday, but cheerleading tryouts are on Friday afternoon. I’m on a cheerleading scholarship, but two of my friends are trying out. If I remember well, you’re quite athletic. Why don’t you come too? I know the coach, and I can put in a good word for you. It would be so much fun if you were on the team too!”

Heather is talking a thousand miles a second, and I’m struggling to keep up.

I’m usually good at multitasking, but I can’t keep up with her and keep breathing at the same time.

“Uh, that sounds great,” I manage to get in edge-wise, while finally untangling myself from her hug. “But cheerleading isn’t my thing. I’m not huge in team sports. I think it’s my attention span that’s lacking.”

“Aww,” Heather pouts. “But you have such a great energy. You’d be perfect.”

My ass hits the padding of the lounger again, as I rub my arms to get some feeling back into them. I think Heather’s talents are wasted in cheer. She’s crazy strong. She would be perfect for wrestling. “Sorry,” I hate to disappoint her. “I’m just new in town, and I think I might give myself freshman year to figure things out. Then I’ll probably have a better idea of what kind of extracurricular I want to try my hand at.”

Heather’s smile doesn’t falter. “It’s understandable. You’ve been to boarding school in Connecticut, right? Your mom told my mom, and my mom told me. They asked me to make sure you didn’t feel lonely here, and I admit I was a little nervous. You know? What if we hated each other at first sight, or something? But I’m so excited it’s you!”

Heather was very nice to me two years ago, so I’m actually happy to already have a girlfriend. “Yeah, it’s so good to see you.” I say honestly.

Her smile widens. “Oh, wait. It’s fine if you don’t like cheerleading. I understand that isn’t for everyone. But you have to rush Zeta Theta Beta with me. It’s the best sorority on campus. And the Zetas often end up dating guys from the hockey team, because they’re affiliated with Gamma Delta Tau, which is the team’s fraternity. It will be so much fun to rush together. I convinced my friend Angela to rush with me, but to be honest, I don’t know if she’s Zeta material. You would be absolutely perfect, though. I mean, I’m a legacy, so they have to let me rush, but I know a few Zetas from high school and I can talk to them and make sure they talk you up with the president.”

I’m not sure sororities are for me either, but I feel bad shooting down two of Heather’s ideas.

“Heath,” Ares intervenes while I’m still looking for the right words to let her down gently. “Just give Zara a second to get her bearings. She literally arrived in Star Cove yesterday. From what I gathered, she had no idea her mom was engaged to our dad, either. The fact that we’ve all met before is great, but it’s been a while. And Zara has been on the East Coast all this time. Just let her settle in before you steamroll her into being your BFF.”

Ares’s tone is kind, and I appreciate his help.

“Yeah,” I smile gratefully at him. “Just give me a second. I’m excited to hang out with you, too. Let’s just?—”

“Of course.” Heather interrupts me. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude. I just get too excited sometimes and I kinda get carried away.” Her words are directed at me, but she glares at Ares the entire time. “It’s just awesome to see you again.”

I nod. “It’s awesome to see you, too.”

“You barely even got here and you’re already having a good influence on the Hunter guys.”

Ares’s lips are tight as he looks at his neighbor. “What’s that supposed to mean, Heath?”

Her glare fades, but there’s hurt in her tone. “I don’t know. These days, it takes getting a speeding ticket to get to talk to you. I don’t think I saw you come home once since last Easter.”

A muscle pops in Ares’s perfect jaw. “I’m busy, Heather. It’s called having a job. You should try that sometime.”

He walks away.

In two long strides, he’s almost with his feet in the water.

“I was talking to you!” Heather screams, upset. “Ares and I used to be good friends. Now he can barely stand to be in the same room with me for five minutes before he walks away. Did you see the way he just talked to me?”

Her question seems directed at Chance.

“So this is how it is.” Heather’s tone is bitter. “You’re going to let him pretend I don’t exist, or treat me like shit.”

A look passes between Chance and Lev, but neither of them utters one single word.

“I’m talking to you, Chance. Are you seriously going to ignore me?”

Chance jumps out of the way when she touches his biceps, as if her touch burned him. “What do you want me to do, Heather? I can’t force him to hang out with you. I can barely get him to hang out with us.”

Heather’s voice breaks, her eyes shiny with unshed tears. “I thought we were friends. I’ve known you guys my entire life, and now I don’t know what I’ve done wrong. Why do you and Ares hate me?”

Chance’s expression softens, but he takes a step back when Heather tries to lean in for a hug. “We don’t hate you, Heather. Things are different now. We don’t even know what our new normal is yet. It has nothing to do with you. You just have to be patient or accept it, and move on.”

A tear slides down Heather’s face. “You’re lying. If what you say was true, you would have invited me to hang out with you this morning. Instead, no one told me about Zara. And I had to find out you were spending the day on the beach by spying on you from my window.”

Chance recoils at her accusation, as if he had been slapped. “You’re taking this too personally, Heath. Dad and Kelly were supposed to be here, but they had to work. We were as surprised as you were when we saw Zara. It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours. Just give us a second to think about calling you.”

She stops crying, but isn’t completely appeased. “I want to believe you, Chance. So if what you say is true, you won’t mind if I stay, right?”

Lev intervenes, acting as peacemaker. “Of course. Look, I brought a frisbee. Why don’t we throw it around?”

I nod, showing way more enthusiasm than I really feel. “That sounds fun. Let’s play.”

CHANCE

Lev is a fucking life saver.

When a girl starts crying, I fucking freeze. Especially when I feel responsible for her tears, at least in part.

Heather is right. We’ve known each other forever, and she’s been a part of our family since I can remember.

When my mom got sick and Dad was taking her to the hospital for treatment, her parents stepped in.

Kirk and Diane were always like substitute parents to me and my brothers. Back then, they tried to disguise the nights there as fun sleepovers. I guess I was too young to understand the truth, but I knew something was wrong because Atlas and Ares looked sad despite the pillow forts, the bedtime stories and the late night popcorn and movies if it wasn’t a school night.

Heather was always there, running around with us. She climbed trees; she came snorkeling and looking for treasure on the beach. She wanted her turn riding our dirt bikes.

When she and Atlas began dating, it felt natural. My brother was sure she was the one, and I’ve always thought that one day she would be my sister, not only in name.

Since that day at the racetrack, things have changed. The only thing that I suddenly had in common with Heather was the huge loss. When I saw her, I was always reminded of Atlas.

I think Ares might have been feeling the same way, because he distanced himself from her even before he started pulling away from me and Dad.

It’s unfair, I know that. To Heather, holding onto us is a way to keep Atlas’s memory alive; to us, seeing her is just another reminder that we can never have our brother back.

That isn’t the only reason I’ve been avoiding her, though.

There was a moment last year when I thought that maybe Heather was right; that holding onto each other might be a way to cope with our common loss. We got closer for a while and we made a mistake I’m not proud of. She thought that Atlas would have wanted to see us finding comfort in each other.

I felt like I betrayed my brother twice. Once by not taking his offer to race in his place that day, and a second time by sleeping with his girlfriend.

Lev is the only one who knows.

He thinks that I have to quit feeling guilty. He says that I’m not going to bring my brother back by beating myself up, thinking it should have been me on that bike that day; and that, while sleeping with Heather isn’t the healthiest coping mechanism, if I don’t have romantic feelings for her, it isn’t a betrayal.

On a rational level, I know he’s right. Atlas is dead. It sounds horrible in its finality, but my brother is gone and Heather should be free to move on.

But that isn’t the way it feels deep down. I tried to be mature about this and I admitted to her that I didn’t sleep with her for the right reasons. I love Heather like a friend, almost like the sister she never got to become. I love her as my brother’s girlfriend, not as someone I would ever see myself with in a non platonic way.

She said she understood. But I saw the sadness in her eyes. I see the disappointment every time we see each other. It feels as if she’s waiting for me to change my mind. I know that will never happen, so I’ve been putting distance between us.

Maybe it’s just temporary. Until the pain of Atlas’s loss feels less raw, like the therapist Dad hired keeps promising will happen. But it’s been two years, and that scar is still raw, still bleeding.

I wish I could find a way to get back to just being Heather’s childhood friend and next-door neighbor, but right now things feel awkward between us. Maybe things will start changing when she gets a boyfriend. It would be a sign that at least one of us is starting to live again.

“Chance, catch!”

The frisbee comes flying my way and I catch it with ease. I throw it back at Zara, who throws it at Heather.

This is good. Playing on the beach is a great distraction, just as I was hoping.

Ares must feel the same way, because he joins us when he comes out of the water.

We play for a while, running on the soft sand and laughing at each other’s fumbles. It feels good to do something that keeps our minds off all of our worries.

It isn’t just the grief. College is starting soon, and that’s a huge change for all of us. Ares is the only one who decided to forgo getting a degree.

There’s also the wedding. I didn’t realize how anxious I was about the idea of Kelly’s daughter moving in with us. But not only wasn't my new stepsister a stranger, it’s Zara.

Two years ago, she took my breath away when she raced on the back of my bike; now she’s the breath of fresh air I didn’t know I needed. It doesn’t hurt that she’s gotten even more beautiful than I remember her.

“Ha, sucker.” She giggles, as she intercepts the frisbee I thought I had in the bag.

“I wouldn’t be so smug,” I grin. “You’ll have to throw it again, and I’m right here.”

Her green eyes light up with a hint of mischief, and rather than throwing the frisbee, she takes off with it.

We all give chase, laughing and stealing the frisbee from each other.

“Oof,” Zara gasps as I tackle her into the sand.

Fuck, her skin is so soft. “Are you ok?” I ask, offering her my hand to help her get back to her feet.

“I’m fine,” she beams, accepting my hand.

A spark of electricity travels up my arm when our fingers connect. The smile fades from my lips as I look at hers. They’re so soft, and I have to fight the urge to kiss her in front of everyone.

I almost went to her room last night to continue what Dad interrupted in the Country Club’s garden. But it was late, and Zara kept yawning during the short ride back home. I remembered that she had just flown in from the East Coast, so to her body clock it was three hours later.

“Is anyone else thirsty?” I ask, knowing full well what I’m thirsty for.

“Yeah,” Ares agrees. “I could eat too. Brunch was just two hours ago, but I was still tired and I didn’t eat much. I wouldn’t mind a snack with the leftovers.”

Heather nods. “I’m hungry too. Mind if I join?”

“Kelly had enough food for an army. We ate all the hot food, but there are still pastries and fruit. Which we should have put away, but we left on the table.”

He says the last bit in a semi-accusing tone. He’s right. Our housekeeper is supposed to come today, but Dad and Kelly would be annoyed that we left everything out for her to clean up.

“Are you hungry, Zara?” I ask.

“Hmm, I wouldn’t say no to another chocolate croissant. But I have sand everywhere,” she says, wiping at her stomach and thighs. “I don’t want to track it into the house, or Mom will be annoyed before we’ve been back to living together for a full twenty-four hours. Maybe I should go wash it off in the sea, but I’m going to pick up more coming out of the water. Is there an outdoor faucet or something?”

I have a solution to her problem. “We have an outdoor shower, just behind the cabana. Let me show you. Guys, you get going,” I say to the others, who have already started walking back into the house. “We’ll be right behind you.”

The shower is surrounded by a semicircular tiled wall that shields it from view of the house; a frosted glass, saloon style set of doors offers privacy without completely blocking the view of the beach.

“There are toiletries in there and hot water. Let me show you how to work it. It’s one of those spa thingies that you need an engineering degree to figure out until you get used to it.”

In reality, it’s not that complicated. Some of the aromatherapy functions and massage jets do take a second to figure out, but a straightforward shower doesn’t require much of an explanation.

“Here you go,” I say, stepping into the shower and turning the water on.

“Do you need to clean up, too?” Zara asks, looking at me from under the rainfall jets.

“Not really,” I admit. “I just wanted to be alone with you. But if you don’t want me here, I can leave.”

I almost expect her to tell me to go, but she smiles. “I was hoping to be alone with you too, Chance.”

It’s all I need to hear. My lips find hers as I hold her face with my hands. She parts for me, warm, soft, inviting. I kiss her hard, my tongue caressing hers, my hands traveling down her shoulders as I push her against the tiled wall of the shower.

Zara doesn’t shy away from me. She gives as good as she gets. She matches every stroke of my tongue, every graze of my teeth. Her delicate hands feel their way down my chest, causing goosebumps to scatter in their wake. I’m obsessed with her. Her beauty, her mouth, her sexy body in this red bikini.

“This ok?” I check, pulling slightly on the strings tied behind her neck.

I want her so badly, I can barely fucking breathe; but I would never rush her, or try to take something she doesn’t want to give.

She nods, her teeth scraping on her bottom lip. Her pupils are blown, her chest is heaving and she’s so hot I almost can’t take it.

I give that red string a final pull, and her bikini top falls down, revealing the most perfect pair of tits I’ve ever seen.

My mouth leaves hers and I rain down open-mouthed kisses down the swell of her tits, feeling their weight in my hands.

“Oh.” She closes her eyes when I tease her hard nipple with the pad of my thumb.

I repeat the move, pinching it between my fingers when she moans her approval.

I close my mouth over one of the pebbled peaks, swirling my tongue around it.

“That feels good, Chance.”

The sounds of my name on her lips is the hottest thing I’ve ever heard. I need to hear it again. I want her to beg me for more.

I tease her again, sucking and scraping my teeth over her nipples, alternating between them.

“You taste so good, baby.” I press her further against the wall, pulling on the second string that keeps her bikini top hanging down her chest. “That looked good on you, but it looks even better on the floor.” I chuckle when the sopping wet garment lands on the shower floor in a sodden heap.

The feeling of her wet skin against mine goes straight to my cock, and I grind my hips. “Zara, can you feel what you do to me?”

Her hand sneaks between us and she rubs my hard-on through the fabric of my swimming trunks. “You do the same to me. You make me so wet.”

“And here I was thinking it was the shower,” I chuckle, running a finger on her lower stomach, along the band of her bikini bottoms.

She laughs at my lame joke. “You know what I mean.”

I know exactly what she means, but all my blood has migrated south and all I can think is that I want more. I need more.

When I followed her into the shower, I didn’t really have a plan other than kissing her again. Now that we’re here, with very little separating our bodies, I want everything she’s willing to give.

“Zara, I want to make you come. Will you let me?”

I see a flicker of doubt in the green depths of her eyes, and I think I might have fucked up. Maybe I pushed her too far.

Her answer surprises me. “Only if I can make you come too.”

Sweet Jesus. My cock throbs in response, clearly on board with the idea.

I’m dying to pick her up and fuck her against the wall of the shower floor, with the warm water falling down on us.

There should be condoms in the small shower cabinet by the control panel. The twins used to keep it stocked in case one of them wanted to get their freak on during one of the epic beach parties they were known for throwing. I’ve taken advantage of that supply a few times myself once I was old enough to be allowed at those parties.

Lev and I continued the party tradition once Ares stopped even showing up at the house. We’ve had our own parties, inviting the hockey team and the rest of our friends, and I always made sure the cabinet was stocked up.

I’m dying to feel Zara’s pussy wrapped around my cock, to hear her not only moan, but scream my name; protection isn’t a problem, but I hesitate.

I might have thought about her many times since the first time we met, and I’m fucking ecstatic that fate made our paths cross again. But the truth is that we barely know each other. She clearly wants me too, but all we’ve shared are a few kisses. This would be our first time together, and I don’t want it to be a quickie against the shower wall. I want to make sure she has fun too, because I might not know her that well, but I want to change that. I want to be able to take my time to learn what she likes. And I can’t do that out here where there’s the risk of getting caught. This is a private beach, owned by the HOA, that presides over all the houses perched on this hill. So anyone taking a walk on the beach could see us, just like Heather saw us come outside earlier.

As if summoned by my own thoughts, someone’s voice makes us jump.

“Hey, how long does it take to hose off some sand?”