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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHEETAH

“ T his is fucking nuts. We’re way too high.”

Kam lets out a laugh. “Don’t be a pussy cat, kitten.”

Odean lets out a big laugh. “God, I love you Kamryn. Marry me.”

She smiles at him, looking gorgeous in her pink and white striped bikini. “I’m not the marrying type, Odean, but if I were, you’d be number one on my list.”

Odean grins and elbows me. “You hear that, mon? The queen is picking me to be her king.”

“It’s because you’re an enabler.” I look down at the waterfall. We must be thirty-five feet in the air. I thought this was going to be ten feet up. “I’m pretty sure making this jump is an act of unnecessary danger, against both our contracts.”

Kam shrugs. “Suit yourself. I’m jumping.” She turns to Odean. “If my top falls off, will you help me?”

Odean nods enthusiastically .

I sigh. “Is there anything I can say right now to change your mind?”

“Hmm. That you’ll cancel our flight tonight so we can stay here instead of going to Amityville.”

I’m silent. I believe she’ll eventually regret it if she doesn’t go. She needs to be there.

“Cheetah, grab those elephant-sized balls of yours, and let’s do this together.” She holds out her hand in invitation of me taking it.

I simply stare at the craziest woman on the planet.

She sighs. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

I answer, “My doctor told me to watch what I eat.”

She cracks a smile before whining, “Come on, kitten. Let’s do this. I really want to do this with you.” She playfully pouts. “I’ve been waiting for this since the day you invited me. Please .”

She reaches her hand out for mine again and this time I take it as I grab my balls with my other hand and begin praying in Spanish.

She pulls me until our toes dangle over the rocky ledge. “Uno, dos—”

Before she gets to tres, she pulls me and we’re flying through the air. Not really flying. More like plummeting to a certain death.

We’re both screaming. I might be screaming louder and at a higher pitch.

With a loud smack, our feet break through the surface and our bodies are immediately pulled under the water. We sink down a few feet before it’s time to swim back up to the surface. I try to pull her with me, but she lets go of my hand.

The water is clear, so I open my eyes. She’s looking at me as she sinks toward the bottom, making no attempt to move toward the surface. It must be at least fifteen feet down.

I quickly kick my arms and legs as I swim to her, grab her waist, and pull her with me to the surface until we both break through and audibly gasp for air.

With labored breaths, I eventually breathe out, “What were you trying to do?”

With an equally labored breath, she responds, “I wanted to touch the bottom, cockblocker. Now we have to do it again.”

“Fuck. No.”

Yep, we do it again.

KAMRYN

We’re in the rental car with Cheetah driving because I probably would have driven in the opposite direction. My anxiety skyrockets when I see the sign for my hometown approach. My breathing becomes labored. What the fuck am I doing here?

Bailey and Daddy. I’m here for them.

Cheetah turns to me. “Do you want to go see your father, or do you want to go straight to the hotel?”

“Go to the hotel. I told you, I’m not stepping foot in that house. Let’s see if Bailey and Tanner want to go out. It’s New Year’s Eve for fuck’s sake. We need to party.”

“We’re here for a funeral.”

“Whatever. It’s not like it’s a normal, sad funeral. It’s a celebration. I already signed my dad up for Tinder. He’s gotten a few hits. He’s a good-looking guy.”

He shakes his head. “He’s burying his wife of nearly thirty years tomorrow.”

“Meh. It’s a party. And parties have music. I started a playlist for this one.” I click on my music app and hold up my phone as the song “Another One Bites the Dust” plays, followed by “Ding Dong the Witch is Dead.”

He shakes his head again before cracking a smile. “What’s the worst thing you can do at a funeral?”

Now he’s talking my language. “What?”

“The corpse.”

I let out a laugh. “That’s a good one. At my funeral, I want Bailey to send everyone a text from my phone that reads OMG it’s dark in here .”

He chuckles. “You’re deranged.”

I smile. “Thank you.”

We pull into the hotel, drop our bags in our suite, and then head straight to Bailey’s room. Tanner informs us that she’s been at my father’s house for a few hours, but a minute later, I feel her comforting arms wrap around me from behind. She whispers into my back, “Thanks for coming.”

I close my eyes. God, I missed her. I turn around and hug her back, taking in her familiar, comforting scent. I mumble into her, “I’m here for you and Daddy, not her.”

She nods into my neck. “I know. I’m still happy you’re here. I missed you.”

“I missed you too. How’s Daddy?”

Bailey lifts her head and looks me in the eyes. “He’s surprisingly calm. He’s all business about it. It’s weird.”

Well duh. “He’s probably relieved to be rid of the witch.”

We chat about our father for a bit and then about my trip. At some point, Bailey yawns and stretches her arms. “I’m beat. I’m headed to bed.”

I place my hands on my hips. “What? It’s New Year’s Eve. Let’s go party. We can celebrate the new year and the end of an error.”

“An era?” she asks.

“An error. Beverly Hart’s existence was an error of grand proportions. ”

She reminds me to behave tomorrow before she shoves us out of her suite and tells us not to stay out too late.

Once we’re in the hallway, I turn my head to Cheetah. “They’re probably gonna stay up and fuck all night.”

He nods. “Totally. We should do the same. Let’s see who gets the first noise complaint. We can bring in the new year with a bang. Literally.”

I look at my watch. “Tempting. We can still do that, but it’s New Year’s Eve. Let’s go get a drink or two first. I know it’s not the big party we were planning to attend in Jamaica, but let’s have a little fun. The locals here are morons. We can fuck with them.”

He takes me into his arms. “We can get drinks, we can go streaking, or we can get into bed and eat ice cream. Know that I’m here for you, and I’m up for whatever puts a smile on your pretty face.”

“What if it were to make me smile if I let you fuck me in the ass on my mother’s grave tomorrow?”

He sucks in a breath. “I read a dark romance once where they did something like that. It was shockingly hot, but I’m not sure I’m into it in real life. Fucking your ass I’ll happily do again though.”

I bite my lip. “Hmm. It’s kind of a fitting send-off for my mother. A little sodomy funeral foreplay before the big goodbye. Drinks first, ass later.”

He squeezes my behind. “Deal. Where should we go?”

My shoulders fall. “There’s only one bar in this shithole town. It’s called Fisherman’s Reef.”

He raises an unimpressed eyebrow. “So unoriginal.”

I nod. “Right? I haven’t lived here in over ten years. Hopefully I won’t see anyone I know.”

An hour later, we’re two beers in and slow dancing to the beat of the same old jukebox that was here when I was a kid. Bailey and I used to love slipping quarters in and making our selections. I don’t think the music in it has changed since then.

My father used to bring Bailey and me to eat here every month when we were little kids. He told our mother that he needed one date a month with his little girls. It was sacred time away from her when the three of us were temporarily free of the black cloud we lived under. It was consistent from the time we were five or six through high school graduation.

We’d have dinner, and then our father’s friends would come for a game of poker. For years, Bailey and I simply watched them while messing with the jukebox. That was when I learned to count cards. I have no clue how I did it, but I just started a system, and it worked for me. I taught Bailey how to do the same. She’s not quite as proficient at it as me, but she’s an amazing poker player.

At some point, I started whispering in his ear when to go all in and when to fold. I was always right. When we were roughly eight or nine, his friends indulged us by letting Bailey and I play a few hands. At first, we’d sandbag until the stakes got higher. Then we’d take those grown men for every dime they brought until they stopped letting us play.

Bailey and I hustled many high school and college boys out of their paychecks. Since our family came from very little, this was how Bailey and I made some of our living expenses in college.

While looking at the jukebox offerings, I selected the theme song from Titanic in honor of my sister, which we’re dancing to now. We’ve watched that movie no less than a thousand times.

Cheetah runs his hands up and down my back as we put on a little dirty dancing show for the local nimrods. He asks, “Are you going to behave at the funeral tomorrow?”

“No.”

“Why not? Can’t you just pay your final respects?”

“As I’ve said before, respect is earned. Beverly Hart was a piece of shit. She’s burning in hell right now, and I want to celebrate that fact.”

He nods. “I know you said she was a terrible mother, an alcoholic, and did all kinds of bad shit, but why do you hate her more than Bailey does? What happened to you specifically that didn’t happen to her?”

I’m not in the mood for an inquisition. I look up at him. “Why do you care?”

He stops dancing but continues to keep ahold of me. “Kamryn, in case it’s not clear, I care about you. A lot.”

I shake my head. “I very specifically told you not to fall for me. I’ll never truly be what I was this past week with your family. I was your fake fiancée, Cruz. It will never be real.”

He sighs. “Humor me as some random guy who will someday be one of your many nameless and faceless bedfellows. What happened to you that didn’t happen to Bailey? Does it have something to do with the fact that you don’t sleep well?”

My eyes widen. How does he see me better than anyone else?

Despite my attempt to hold them back, tears immediately blur my vision. Why am I suddenly so emotional? It’s unlike me. I’ve learned to mask my pain throughout the years. It’s probably this damn town making the emotions all bubble at the surface.

He immediately notices and grabs my hand, pulling me out the front door and around the corner until we’re out of sight of any intruding eyes.

He rubs his hand along my face. “Baby, talk to me. Let me in. Let me take some of the pain. I see you, Kamryn Hart. You bottle things up. You don’t always have to play the tough guy. Sometimes it helps to unload. You can trust me. I promise. I’ll never betray your confidence, no matter where we end up.”

“I…I’ve never talked about it before.”

“Not even with Bailey?”

I shake my head and croak out, “I don’t want her to know. Then she’ll be as fucked as me.”

“Know what? ”

I don’t know why, but for the first time in my entire life, I unload what I heard that night in the production studio and what I’m confident it meant. How it made me irrevocably hate my mother. How that moment basically ended my childhood. How it’s made me so protective of my sister that it’s become nearly debilitating.

He holds me and lets me cry into his chest. I haven’t sobbed about that night in over a decade. I can’t believe how good it feels to both tell someone and to emote over it. It’s like some of the toxicity is leaving me.

We must stand out there for over half an hour. He simply consoles me and whispers assurances to me. Obviously my sister has always been a bit of a caretaker to me, but that’s different. Cheetah is giving me support that I’ve never considered letting anyone give me.

I eventually pull my head away and look into his face for some reaction. “Do you believe me? Do you think I’m crazy?”

He lovingly rubs my tears from my face. “I think you’re the strongest person I’ve ever met. You’re amazing, Kamryn Hart. Don’t ever consider otherwise.”

“Everyone thinks I have a screw loose, me included.”

“I don’t agree. I think you’re perfect just the way you are.”

I wipe a few of my tears, not wanting to ruin his New Year’s Eve more than I already have. “We should go inside.”

“We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.”

“I don’t want to be sad. I want to be happy. The ball is going to drop soon.”

He winks at me. “I’d rather watch your pants drop.”

I giggle as I clear away the last of my tears and grab his hand. “Let’s go back inside. It’s almost midnight. I might make you go down on me at midnight in the middle of the bar. I haven’t called in your debt to me yet today.”

CHEETAH

That was a big moment for Kamryn. I understand her damage a lot better now. I certainly understand her constant need to protect Bailey. I used to think it was overbearing, but now I think it’s endearing. I’m also better grasping her deep-rooted hatred for her mother. It’s hard to imagine a mother acting like hers. I’m suddenly feeling grateful for my over-intrusive mother who does it because she loves and cares about me so much.

I send her a quick text to wish her a happy new year and to tell her how much I love and appreciate her.

Before Kam’s moment outside, she and I were having a pretty chill night. We’ve had a few drinks, a few laughs, and a few dances. There were two men at the bar earlier who Kam apparently hustled in poker when she was just a kid. That doesn’t surprise me in the least. They were happy to see her but didn’t mention her mother’s passing. I wonder if it’s because they don’t know she passed or know how Kam feels about her. I suspect it’s the latter.

As soon as we walk back into the bar, Kam stops short. An attractive blonde woman’s eyes widen when she turns from her seat at the bar and sees us walk in. “Kamryn Hart. Wow. I never thought I’d see you back in this town.”

Kam swallows. “Dakota Briggs. I’m here against my will. My mother died. I’m only in town out of respect for my father and sister.”

Dakota gives a knowing nod. I guess she knew Kam’s mom. “I’d say I’m sorry for your loss, but I’m guessing those aren’t the words you want to hear right now.”

Kam shakes her head before threading her fingers through mine. “Dak, this is my…fiancé, Cruz Gonzales.”

And…I’m back to being her fiancé.

Dak. I remember hearing that name. Ahh. Kamryn’s high school sweetheart. The one who broke her heart. I guess I always assumed it was a man, but it most definitely is not.

I mumble into Kam’s ear, “This will cost you oral every day for a year.”

The corner of her mouth raises slightly as she gives me a subtle nod.

Dakota briefly acknowledges me and then points to a brunette who could be Kam’s doppelg?nger, albeit not nearly as attractive as Kam. “This is my wife, Kelly.”

Kam holds out her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Kelly.”

Kelly nods as she shakes Kam’s hand. “You as well, Kamryn. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Dakota gives me a once-over before turning back to Kam. “I’m not surprised you ended up with a man. I’m pretty sure I told you that would happen.”

Kam squeezes my hand hard before plastering on a big, fake smile. “Cruz is confident enough in our relationship to allow me to be me. It’s a refreshing change. Anyway, we were just about to grab a drink before celebrating the new year. Have a good night.”

We walk to a corner booth, and Kam takes a few deep, long breaths before sitting and hiding in the corner. In the six months I’ve known Kamryn Hart, I’ve never once seen her cower from anything or anyone. This town is opening wounds for her.

I slide into the same side as her so I’m shielding her from anyone possibly seeing her break down. “Are you okay?”

Her chest moves up and down at a rapid pace. “This is why I didn’t want to come back here. So much baggage. It’s overwhelming.” She runs her fingers through her hair. “I’m so sorry. I’m fucking up your New Year’s Eve.”

I shake my head. “You know, I’m not feeling this place.” I look at my watch. “If we leave now, we can ring in the new year in that huge jacuzzi tub in our suite. That’s way more appealing to me. ”

She looks up at me. “But you’re a party guy.”

“Your naked body next to my naked body sounds like a party to me.”

Thirty minutes later, Kam is laughing hysterically. “Do it again. Do it again.”

I’m standing naked outside of the jacuzzi tub while she’s in it. I have a cowboy hat hanging on my dick as I flex it up and down. For some reason, she’s wildly amused by it, and I’m happy to do anything that makes her laugh after such an emotional night for her.

“Last time, then I’m getting in.”

I flex my dick, and the hat moves up and then down. She starts cackling again. I have no idea why this is so funny to her.

I leap into the tub of bubbles, sinking down into the warm water. I then pull her legs until they surround me, and our chests are flush together. “My dick is very strong. I can’t believe you didn’t realize that men have to work out that muscle like they do all others.”

She wraps her soft, wet hand around it. “That explains a lot, though I still don’t think it’s true.”

I chuckle. “It’s true for me.”

She runs her thumb over my tip. “Do you know why a penis has a hole at the tip?”

“Umm, so I can pee and come.”

She shakes her head. “Nope. It’s so a man can be open-minded.”

I smile. “That pretty head of yours is full of useful information. What’s going on in it right now?”

She twists her lips. “Hmm. I was regretting not peeing in the Glistening Waters. ”

“Why is that?”

“Would it have glowed? I want my pee to glow.”

“I’ve known some guys who had that issue, but it had nothing to do with Glistening Waters, and it wasn’t a good thing.”

She giggles. “No doubt. I can only imagine how many women baseball players get to bang. How crazy are road trips for you guys? We have strict curfews and bed checks. We can’t party at all. I feel like you guys are partying all night.”

“We don’t have hall monitors. We technically have curfews, but it’s mostly self-enforced. No one checks. It’s split into groups. The younger, single guys like to party and bang all kinds of women, and the older, married guys might have a drink or two before they go to their rooms to have phone sex with their wives.”

“You single guys must have POD.”

“What’s that?”

“Pussy on demand.”

I let out a laugh. “Something like that. I guess I fall in the middle. I can no longer party all night and play the next day like the young guys, but I’ve never had anyone worth running back to my room for phone sex with.”

“So you watch porn and jerk off?”

“I turn on porn to fuck with whoever my roommate is. I’ve been pigeonholed into a certain character, and I just play into it.” I squeeze her ass. “None of them are as hot as you anyway. You’ve forever ruined all porn for me.”

She rolls her eyes. “Umm hmm.”

I rub my thumb across her plush lower lip. “Feeling more relaxed now?”

She simply nods as her eyes momentarily drift closed.

I ask, “Will you tell me what upset you earlier with your ex?”

She aimlessly traces the veins on my arms and quietly admits, “She broke my heart. It’s a tale as old as time. I loved her, and she shattered me. It was bad enough to make me swear off love forever.”

“Did it have something to do with your sexuality?” Dakota made that comment about it figuring Kam would end up with a man.

She nods. “It did. She said I’d always have this desire for a man, and she could never compete with that. She’s only into women and didn’t understand my attraction to both. She also accused me of only wanting a woman because it pissed my mother off. Honestly, I think bisexual people are the most misunderstood of all.”

I rub circles on her hips with my fingertips. “How so?”

“We accept attraction to the opposite sex, and even though some ignorant assholes are morally opposed, we generally accept attraction to the same sex. But an attraction to both? No one gets it. I’m always asked a million questions that my heterosexual and homosexual friends and teammates never get. It’s baffling to people. I don’t know why.”

I’ve never thought of it that way, but she’s right. People don’t question as much when you’re attracted to one sex or the other. It’s both that throw them off kilter. I’m as guilty as everyone else.

I look her in the eyes. “I’m sorry if my jokes and comments about your sexuality have ever offended or hurt you.”

She shakes her head. “They don’t. They’re funny. They’re half the reason I was attracted to you.”

“They are?”

She nods. “Yep. Your sense of humor, Cruz. It’s my absolute favorite thing about you.”

It suddenly occurs to me that we must have hit midnight. I look over at my phone and see that it’s a few minutes past. “It’s a new year. We didn’t ring it in, though your hand is still on my dick, so I won’t complain.”

She looks down and giggles. “I suppose it is.” She looks back up and brings her lips close to mine. “Happy New Year, Cruz.”

Just before I kiss her, I whisper, “Happy New Year, Kamryn.”