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Raelyn bit her lip anxiously and looked to Brandi for support.

Thankfully, Brandi recognized the look and said calmly, "Rae's just a bit nervous about the possibility of her friendship with Quinn going somewhere else.

Which is perfectly understandable. He's, ya know, Quinn Casey. The ladies sort of love him-"

"And he doesn't seem to do relationships, and I can't just have a fling with my best friend!

" Raelyn finished, feeling now like she might hyperventilate.

"And if he hasn't noticed me by now, why would he today?

I mean, we've known each other since we were seven!

Seven! And just a few months ago, my stupid brain decides that I don't want him to look at me like that anymore.

What if he still just sees the girl who, like, forced him to be her friend?

Or the girl who played baseball with him like one of the boys?

Oh my God!" Raelyn gasped, dramatically putting her hands to her face, "What if he thinks of me as a little sister? !"

Brandi put her hands on Raelyn's shoulders and backed her up, forcing her to sit down on the bed.

"Rae-Rae, breathe. This is Quinn Casey we're talking about.

I'm sure he sees that you are very much a woman.

A hot one. But if he does see you like some kid or just his best friend who can hang with the boys," she grabbed the blue bathing suit and held it up, "I assure you, he will no longer feel that way after seeing you in this. "

It was about a quarter after one when Chris pulled his Impala into the DeRoses' driveway with Quinn, Jett, and Chris's little brother Tyler in tow.

Shutting the front passenger door behind him, Quinn looked around and couldn't help noticing there were more cars parked in the driveway than there had been at most of the previous end of summer parties.

Camille and her friends wouldn't be there; she'd moved into her first college apartment at Northwood University three weeks prior.

Quinn gave the three boys behind him a suspicious glance, which Chris and Tyler pretended not to notice, while Jett gave an unconvincing shrug and gestured toward the door.

Quinn glared but forged on and through the front door.

Through the kitchen and out the back door to the patio, he shook his head as he saw the various banners hung up around the tables of food.

One read "Happy Birthday, Quinn!," another "Congratulations!

," and another was a picture of the Arizona State mascot.

"Okay, I see your face, but you can't complain," Rae's voice floated to his ears from behind the table topped with presents- seriously?

Presents? "Because we combined parties and we didn't go out of our way because you know we have an end of summer bash every year anyway. So really, we did nothing extra."

"Nothing?" Quinn asked skeptically, eyes still roaming the tables of food, the ASU colors of maroon and gold on all the decorations, the banner that clearly said his name on it, and back to the gift table.

"Nope," Rae said. "So, you can stop thinking so highly of yourself. You're not that special." She gave him a playful nudge with her hip.

Finally, Quinn tore his gaze away from the decorations and looked down at Rae standing next to him. He blinked and took a step back. He blinked again and swept his eyes across her from head to toe .

Quinn had seen Rae in a swimsuit before. He'd gone to her swim meets, he'd spent countless hours in her family's pool and hot tub with her, but she'd never looked like this. He was used to her sporty swimsuits. Even the two-pieces she wore were athletic-looking.

This was most definitely a bikini. A girly one.

It was strapless and the front cinched together, making the shape of her breasts more pronounced.

And then the bottoms. Holy shit. High on the sides, and he could tell even from this angle that when she turned around there would be a lot of cheek showing.

He couldn't stop staring. His eyes were glued to her, and he was suddenly aware that he needed to move or sit down or adjust himself before it became very obvious what he was thinking.

"Is that…" he began, willing his eyes to look away, or at least at her face, but they wouldn't. He cleared his throat, "Is that a new…? I've never seen that on you before."

“Do you like it?” She spun in a circle and smiled up at him. “Wasn’t sure if I could pull it off.”

Pull it off...Well, shit. Now I'm picturing Rae taking that bikini off in front of me. This is good.

“Yeah-” Quinn choked out, then cleared his throat again. “Yeah, Rae...it looks...really good.”

Rae shrugged. "It was a special occasion. Thought I'd try it out."

"I can see your ass," Jett piped in from behind Rae. Quinn glared at him, and Jett simply shrugged. "It's a nice ass. Good work, Rae." Jett clapped her on her shoulder and walked toward one of the food tables.

Jett and Rae are friends and he can act like that around her. I should be able to do the same.

Holy shit, man, stop being so awkward. And look at her face!

Rae smiled as she turned back around after watching Jett walk away. Her eyes landed somewhere beyond Quinn, and he turned to see what had caught her attention. Several guys from the baseball team and some that Quinn played football with were congregated on the pool deck behind them .

That explains the bikini.

Quinn's chest deflated with disappointment.

Rae had never worn anything like that for him, but he supposed if the entire baseball team and half the football team were coming to this party, it made sense that she'd act differently.

She wouldn't flaunt her insane body for him.

He was just Quinn. Just her friend, who clearly had no business trying to be anything else.

He bit his lip and looked down at his feet before meeting Rae's eyes again.

He gave a nod, one he was sure translated that he got the memo and went to greet the guys.

He was sure Rae would be following him over to show off, but when he looked over his shoulder, she was standing next to Brandi Davis and talking, gesturing in Quinn's, or likely, the boys' direction.

"Case!" Luke Williams clapped his hand into Quinn's and they gave each other a standard bro hug-slash-back-pat. Luke had white-blonde hair that contrasted with his deep summer tanned skin, making him look like a California surfer dude. He was tall and lean-muscled and was one of the pitchers on the T.C. West baseball team. Luke’s focus was trained over Quinn's shoulder.

"Dang, Case, your girl's looking good over there. "

The possessive monster in Quinn's chest stirred.

Partially at the recognition that Luke had called Rae his girl.

That's what he had always wanted, after all.

But also because he knew that little outfit Rae was sporting was doing its job.

How many of these guys would comment about how hot she was looking?

How many of them knew that she was his and they would do best to keep their mitts to themselves?

"Oh yeah, she's showin' it off," Quinn grumbled.

"You guys still aren't together?" Luke asked, eyebrows raised. "What the hell, man? Go get her. Ain't nobody wanna step on your territory after what you did to Liam."

"What do you mean?" Quinn greeted a few others who'd come up and gave their general greetings, smacking him on the back or on his butt like they would before a game .

"I mean, Rae hasn't had a boyfriend since you sent Liam Hamilton to the ground in one punch," Luke explained. "I don't think that's a coincidence. I know I wouldn't go there; I don't care how fine she is."

Quinn couldn't help proudly puffing up a little and mentally giving himself a pat on the back for apparently sending out some sort of message to the other guys in school: Mess with her? You're messin' with me.

"Boys," Charlie DeRose's voice cut through the chatter. He put a hand on Quinn's back, "Happy end-of-summer-birthday-congratulations-surprise!"

Quinn laughed and gave Charlie a hug. "You know you didn't have to do this."

"Oh, I know. But you know my family- any chance to throw a party," said Charlie, his eyes sweeping the pool deck and patio. Quinn saw his expression change to one of alarm. "Quinn, what the hell is my daughter wearing?"

Quinn followed Charlie’s gaze to where Raelyn stood next to the pool, talking to some of her girl friends. She was turned sideways and it nearly looked like she was wearing a thong with how much cheek was showing.

"That's some good work you did there, Mr. DeRose," one of the guys joked.

"Good genes," another added. "You should be proud."

Charlie glared at the boys, but his face could hardly ever look mean. Exasperation crossed his face as he shook his head and gestured toward Quinn, "I don't really need details, but I'm assuming that's some sort of birthday present for you?"

"What?" Quinn went still. Why would he think that? Am I missing something?

Charlie shrugged. "Better you than some of the other idiots she's brought over."

Quinn laughed awkwardly, briefly took his hat off his head to run a hand over his hair and turned to check Rae out again from across the patio. "Uh, thanks, Mr. DeRose. "

Okay, so, obviously Rae was not his just because everyone seemed to think he'd claimed her by beating the shit out of her last boyfriend, but he didn't mind being able to pretend for the moment.

Another group of guys walked out of the house and greeted Quinn and the others.

After the fifth comment about how great Rae looked in that bathing suit, the possessive instinct he'd been fighting kicked in.

He let out a heavy sigh and grabbed one of the many pool towels off a nearby lounge chair.

He unfolded it with the flick of his wrist and, sneaking up behind Rae, wrapped the towel around her shoulders.