ious food, and the weather is perfect. While watching a group playing chicken in the pool, I catch a f

greeting, hap

e Noah bamboozled me into my current living situati

hat's a deci

s for days. "Sorry, I'm late. I was hoping to get here a little earlier,

ips seem to be good. I've only met Olivia's parents a handful of times, but from everything she tells m

ve my hand toward the pool. "You've b

et a better view. "Looks like a ho

aked football players that originally brought us together, and we've been best friends ever since. I s

takes a moment to appreciate the man

s-out-guns-ou

it's goo

ally settled

summer. We've spoken and gotten together a handful of times since

w she doesn't mind the job, but it's a lot to juggle with her course load. "I wish you could have visited me in California during the break. I

f the summer with my mother. It was the compromise we struck before Mom agreed to let me live with my aunt and unc

e to turn my head to know who she's staring at. Part of me had hoped that Olivia w

eats her the same way he treats me, which is like a little sister who needs shepherding and protecti

ley prances around in front of the football team in a teeny-tiny bikini that lea

trunk. I've made my peace with the ever-present possibility that my breasts

the dice and t

she wasn't such a bitch. She's one of those girls who likes to dole out back

ng that Noah will come to his senses and dum

say about love b

entioned that it was d

mpliments of Aunt Marnie. The sun shines brightly with hardly any clouds in the sky, and we've s

out to be a

someone wasn't here, constantly snagging my attention when I least exp

it, his muscular arms and

errupting my thoughts, "or did Carter ma

rk my gaze from him and shoot Olivia a sou

ention he's garnering this afternoon. His body is even more finely chiseled

sed on him. "I know you two

ly. My anger is directed more at myself than him. It pisses me

re psychologically scarring than I want to admit. Otherwise, why wou

ween you two." She slides her sunglasses down her nose and peers at me over th

making a few vomiting noises. "Ewww. I just threw up i

protest too much." Hum

eyes even though she can't see m

" A deep male v