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Page 30 of Privilege

Chapter Twenty-Six

Dane

I don’t say much for the rest of the afternoon or the evening, but I don’t have to. Cara is a squealing, giggling, delightfully charming mess. Her nose is sunburned and her bun is messy and flopped over to one side. Rich can’t keep his eyes off her, and neither can I.

Rich is running on adrenaline. He has too much energy and keeps moving around, constantly getting up and down.

It reminds me of how he used to be after a water polo match.

Cara complains about her sore muscles and settles her head onto my lap, while Rich becomes the designated Cabana Boy, constantly getting us drinks.

I asked the staff not to come in here. I’m not sure why, since I’m sure half of them got an eye full of us on the sunbed anyway. But I want them both to myself. Don’t want to worry about anyone questioning the lingering stares and wandering hands.

Maybe I can convince them to live here forever.

I frown, thinking about Cara working a job on top of her studies, taking classes in the summer because she can’t afford cost of living on top of her tuition all at once.

Fucking Rich. God love him but he’s so stupid. He probably asked her if he could cover it. And she definitely would have said no.

I make a mental note to find out who we know that works in the registrar’s office.

Tuition isn’t your problem anymore, babygirl.

She’ll be pissed, but I’ll make sure she gets over it .

I ignore the sinking sensation in my belly as I mull over what happens at the end of this summer and try to refocus on the slurred conversation; Rich and Cara are arguing over which of their friends would be most likely to fall overboard.

“This is a stupid argument,” I say.

She pouts. “You’re no fun.”

I roll my eyes. “He played water polo. There’s got to be max twenty brain cells shared between that entire team.”

She turns over so she’s on her stomach and rests her cheek on my thigh. “Did you know those guys too?”

I gesture between me and Rich. “We grew up around the same people. You know we’re kind of related, right?”

She snorts. “I am aware of that, yes.”

Rich cocks an eyebrow. “Are you, though?”

“It’s not blood. Calm down,” she says.

She throws a pillow at Rich and he laughs, my heart inflating to roughly the size of a hot air balloon. He looks—no he is— so happy. The kind of real happy I’ve always wanted for him. The kind I was always afraid Jamie and Evelyn would hoover out of him.

Rich catches my eye. “Why have you always hated those guys so much?”

“Because they’re idiots,” I say without hesitation .

“Well yeah,” Rich says, scratching his head, “but I mean, do you like any of my friends?”

I shrug. “Cara’s alright.”

He punches me in the arm and she chuckles, wisps of her hair tickling my legs.

I didn’t know her before, and she doesn’t exactly scream ‘damaged’ or ‘trauma’, so maybe she’s always been this happy.

But I’d like to think I’m part of it. That the now-permanent pink tinge to her cheeks has something to do with me.

Has something to do with us.

We fit, the three of us. I can fucking feel it. It’s a little messy— okay very messy— but it works. I’m not sure how to have this conversation, especially so hot on the heels of no conversation at all for so long with my brother, but it’s hovering in the room like a fourth to our throuple.

“So what’s the plan, exactly?” The nervous flutter becomes a nervous bomb.

Rich is rummaging behind the bar counter for more margarita ingredients. “Dunno,” he says. “I can’t drive. Can we sleep here?”

“Oooooooh I’d love to sleep here tonight!” Cara says .

My dick kicks like a mule in response. Rich grins and turns on the blender, green slush slopping up over the sides and all over the bartop. He scowls at it, like it should have known better, and I smile wryly at him.

“You need the lid, dude,” I shout. He’s wasted.

He nods at me and sticks it on but the damage is done, margarita spray coating his chest.

I want to lick you clean.

But he’s already wiped his chest with a tea towel and is stumbling back over with three glasses full to the rim, little cocktail umbrellas tucked behind his ears.

He’s the first to pass out, head in Cara’s lap, her head still in mine. We watch him quietly for a while, until she shifts a bit so we can see each other better.

“I don’t know what the plan is, Dane. But we aren’t going anywhere.” Her voice is soft. Serious. She understood what I was asking them.

“You’re going back to school,” I murmur. “Both of you.”

“We’ll figure it out. You’re quite rich, you know. I don’t feel like travel affordability will be an issue.”

I hesitate. “You’ll want me to come?”

She rolls her eyes. “Dane. Come on. ”

I could do that. I could get a place out there, something with an ocean view. I try to ignore the voice saying, That’s not the plan, though, is it?

I scrub my hand down my face. “Let’s see how the rest of the summer plays out.”

You’d never be lucky enough to have that.

She takes my hand. “I want you to come, Dane. And so does Rich. He’s better. With you. Complete, somehow. I could never put my finger on what was missing before, because I didn’t know you.”

I lean my head back on the couch and stare up at the ceiling. “That is very much your loss.”

She gently slides out from under Rich, pivots around and crawls gently onto my lap so she’s straddling me, arms wrapped around my neck. She buries her face in my shoulder, squeezing me tight.

“We’ll figure everything out. Okay?”

I kiss the top of her head absently, lost in thought.

Her body relaxes into mine, her breath warm on my skin. I try to focus on the sensations, on the weight of her, on the smell of her that is permanently altering my brain chemistry.

“One of these days, you’ll trust me enough to tell me what you’re doing in Montauk,” she sighs.

And for one moment, just one second, I let myself believe that maybe I can.

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