Twisted (18 page)

After I slipped on my hot pink flip-flops and put on my
shades, I checked out my reflection in the mirror.  "Oh yeah ladies.  I'm
ready," I said.

WE
FOLLOWED THE WOODEN plank path that travels right down by the private beach. 
It was a short enough nature walk, the canopy of trees providing enough shade
to make it comfortable, despite the hot sun and rising humidity.  A warm breeze
graced us with its presence, but my chest was already damp with sweat.

The path directed us out onto the beach and it wrapped back
around into the surrounding forest.  We stepped onto the sand and I became bizarrely
excited.  Girl time!  I so needed it.

"I want to take off my sandals so bad, to feel the sand
in my toes," I said.   I wanted to, but the afternoon sun was so hot, I
was sure the sand would be scalding.

"Oh, me too," Maddie said excitedly.  She flipped
off her sandals and bent over to pick them up.  After two steps, she started
hopping up and down.  "It burns!"

Aliah and I laughed, as she hopped on one foot trying to put
her other sandal back on.  It didn't take long for our girly exchange to get
the attention of the mass of guests dispersed on the beach.  It was a perfect
day for the beach, and the collection of empty towels told me just how inviting
those gentle waves were to the lot.

"What do you say we move closer to the water?" I
asked, scouting out the perfect spot.

Aliah ignored me and leisurely strolled farther down the
beach, keeping her distance from the water.  "This is the spot," she
said.  She lifted her shades, motioned her eyes toward the two shirtless studs
playing Frisbee not far away, and then lowered them, satisfied that she got her
point across.

"What about Hunter?  Aren’t you supposed to be in love?”
I teased.

"Hey.  If Hunter wants to play the indecision card, so
will I," she snapped.  "At least from here I can get a good look at
their bods without them knowing."  She smiled at me and tossed her towel
down, scattering the hot sand.

I laid mine out next to hers, fumbled with my button, and
shimmied my faded shorts to the sand.  As I tossed them in my bag, Maddie
adjusted the one and only umbrella chair for herself.  Most of the guests were back
to their own business, except for the two guys Aliah had set her eyes on.  And
they were not at all secretive about their gawking.  I ignored them, as I
tousled my hair and slathered on some tanning oil, but I also didn’t mind the
extra attention.  What can I say?  My white bikini was demanding it.

Amused, I watched out of the corner of my eye, my dark black
shades concealing my eyes, as the men tried to continue with their Frisbee game
without removing their eyes from us.  I lied down next to Aliah and propped
myself up on my elbows, a wicked smile lurking on my lips.

"What are you smiling at?" Aliah asked.

"Oh, just concocting master plans over here.  Who
knows?  We'll see."  I shrugged my shoulders in an effort to seem careless,
but I was stirring the pot and she knew it.

"Uh, oh!  That means trouble," Maddie said,
duplicating Aliah’s thoughts.

"Don't worry it doesn't involve you.  It may involve
Aliah though," I said smiling.  "Oh, and maybe those two guys over
there."  I leaned over to Aliah and lifted my sunglasses to flash a
dramatic wink.

A little bit of harmless flirting would never hurt anyone.  If
anything, I enjoyed causing men a little distress.  Edwin included.  It’s his
own fault really, since he always feels the need to compete with other men for
my attention.  So what if I help to spark his anger.  He’s so hot when he's
angry.  A mental image of just how hot Edwin got when he was angry only
encouraged me to move ahead with my devious scheme.

"I love it!" Aliah cheered in support. 
"Egg-celent."  She tapped her fingers together like Mr. Burns on The
Simpsons and smiled wickedly.  Aliah loved getting me into trouble almost as
much as she loved causing it herself.

Smiling, on a deep intake of warm air, I took a second to
appreciate the beach, a quarter mile of scenic lake shoreline.  So refreshing. 
So relaxing.  The flat blue sky set the scene for a flawless, peaceful day.  I rested
my head on my towel to soak up the golden, hot rays, as Maddie and Aliah
babbled about random girl things.  I lifted my hair from the back of my neck
and closed my eyes.  My arms were stretched behind my head, knees slightly bent,
in a time perfected position to catch the best light and a seamless tan.  I was
so comfy, until…

"Heads up!" a man called out, breaking me from my
relaxation.

As the dirt flew onto my towel, I reacted exactly as I always
did when I got startled: I screamed like a school girl.  I swiftly sat up and
turned away from the handsome, tanned man, crashing into the sand next to me. 
His body was glistening with sweat and now entirely covered in sand.  After
catching the Frisbee, that was right on course to hit me in the face, he rested
back in the sand, but his impressive muscles were no less defined.

“Nice catch,” I said sarcastically, though I truly was
impressed.  The troublemaker in me kicked into high gear before I could stop
her and, once my plan went into full swing, there was no turning back.  Turning
too girly to be true, I stood from my towel paying careful attention to my
curves, with my hand on my chest in shock.  The men always ate that up.  Time
to exploit my target.  While I brushed the sand from my skimpy white bikini, I
raised my eyebrows at him, silently demanding an apology.

And right on cue: "Sorry about that…"

"…Abigail," I finished.

"Abigail.  Wow that's a beautiful name."  He
paused, locking his narrow chestnut eyes on me.  "I really didn't mean for
all that to happen.  It's my buddy… he's such a klutz sometimes... I... uh,"
he stuttered, and then stopped and smiled.  He didn't look like the nervous
type, giving off a very capable vibe, but I returned a smile just the same.

From a distance this guy looked like a total hottie, and up
close was no exception.  His abs were chiseled to perfection, his thick muscles
carved sharply around his hips.  He had bulky shoulders and a light dusting of
hair over his manly chest.  The entire core of his body glistened with sweat in
an incredibly sexy way.  He tried to wipe off some of the sand with his hand, as
he fumbled with his words, but it wasn't working. 
Damn this man is sexy.

Dropping the girly act, "Here let me help you."  I
shook out my towel and stepped toward him to dust off some of the sand.  He
lifted his hulking arms up, and every muscle in his body tightened, as I slowly
ran my towel over his washboard abs.  Holy hell, this is hot.  I should so not
be doing this right now.

My new bracelet jingled on my wrist as a well-timed reminder
that I’m not single anymore.  It was too late to retreat now.  The man had
already lowered his arms, turned around, and was waiting for me to brush the
sand from his bulky back.  Each muscle tensed beneath my touch, and his ass was
out of this world.  Not that I checked it.

"I appreciate that," he said, glancing at me over
his shoulder.  His eyes were so warm and kind, and hot.

I nodded and smiled sweetly in response to his striking smile
and kind heart.

"Honestly.  It sure beats being seen with my buddy
groping me over there," he added, pointing to his
klutzy
friend.

Is that what I was doing?  Groping?

"Again, I apologize," he said.

"That's really not necessary," I replied. 
"You totally saved me."  I smiled at Aliah subtly, but kept his eyes
on me for her entertainment.  I held my stomach tight and arched my back to
accentuate my curves, as I lightly brushed the sand from my white string
bikini.  He was trying to be polite but, nevertheless, I caught his eyes drifting
over my body.

"Yeah.  No thanks to my buddy," he finally
admitted.  "He's really the one that owes you an apology."

Aliah cocked an intrigued brow and I knew what she was
thinking.  "Maybe he should come on over then," Aliah whispered to me
naughtily.

"His fault?" Maddie interrupted.  "It looked
pretty damn intentional to me."

I flashed Maddie the look of death, suggesting that she shut
her big mouth, but subtlety was never her thing.

"What?" she squawked.

I turned back to my hero and smiled at him, then patiently
waited for him to invite his friend over.  No intro seemed forthcoming, so I
took things into my own hands.  "And what do they call you?" 
You
sexy freak of nature. 
I continued to ignore Maddie as the other cutie
jogged toward us.

"Tanner.  Tanner Bradshaw."  He reached for my hand
and gave it a friendly shake.  "And this is my friend Jay."  He
pointed at his friend, who was less bulky than Tanner, but built with long,
sleek muscles, he was still very attractive.  Jay lifted his hand for a
pleasant wave and a nod.

"This is Abigail," Tanner explained, as he unhooked
his shirt from his shorts and covered his amazing body.

"Wow.  Abigail.  That's a beautiful name," Jay
said.

Tanner looked to the sand and chuckled realizing that I must
get that a lot.  Aliah rolled her eyes and cleared her throat, quietly
requesting a proper introduction.

"Thanks," I replied modestly.  "Oh and this is
my friend Ally.  And Maddie," I added pointing to Maddison, who rolled her
eyes on cue.

"My pleasure," Jay said with a wave to Maddie, then
took Aliah's dainty hand for a shake.

"The pleasure is all mine," Aliah replied.

Jay seemed a bit uncomfortable with Aliah's directness. 
"Okay then.  I was actually coming to see if any of you ladies wanted to
play a game of beach volleyball.  You up for it?”  It was rather obvious that Jay
was taking full advantage of the instigated opportunity.

Aliah shook her head no. 
So much for her making Hunter
jealous.
  I should probably stop while I'm ahead too.  I shrugged my
shoulders with indecision.  Oh, but I love to play.

"I see you have a volleyball there.  You must know how
to play," Tanner challenged.

I glanced at Aliah and she shook her head again, suggesting I
lie. 
Never.
  "Yeah.  I play," I confessed.  "Maddie,
what do you think?"

"Oh it's on," she cheered.  "You’re going
down."

To refrain from smiling was futile.  "I'll take it
that's a yes," I said, then let out a giggle.  No more playing the
girly-girl, time to kick some seriously sexy ass.

"I'm a good spectator," Aliah offered.  She hopped
up and threw her towel over her shoulder.

Leaving my stuff where it was, I picked up my ball and headed
toward the net after Tanner.

He turned back and flashed me his dangerously sexy smile. 
"Two on two then?" he asked.

"Girls against boys, so we can show them who's
boss!" Maddie shouted, jogging to catch up.

"Actually I was hoping we could split up.  That way
Abigail can play with me," Tanner said.  Where was his modesty now?

"Actually, that's not a bad idea.  I wanted big mouth on
my team anyway," Jay teased.  "She seems pretty frisky.  I'd bet
she's good for a win."

"The name's Maddie.  Get it right," she growled.

"Yes ma'am,"  Jay saluted her, incredibly sarcastic,
but loving it.

"Oh, yeah, I see we'll get along just fine," Maddie
said smiling.

"You're mine," he replied, pointing at her.

She couldn't help but widen her smile.  Maybe this would work
out after all.  With Maddie off Hunter's back, Aliah could swoop in for the
kill.

"I guess you're with me then," Tanner said softly,
too soft for a man of his size.  He smiled, all shyness resurfacing.  But even
that was hot.

Needing to break my ridiculous fascination for this man, I
tore my eyes from his arms. 
"Let's do this," I shouted.  "I have to warn you though:
I'm pretty competitive, so you better not suck."

Tanner pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it aside. 
"I'm game," he said confidently.

I nearly gasped when I saw his core, disturbed by my carnal attraction
to him.  He was total man candy.  Aliah couldn't seem to pick up her jaw from
the ground either.  The man is ripped.  Tanner reached his hand out and, after
giving him a tag, I forced myself to look away from his tanned flesh, suddenly
feeling incredibly guilty.

I dug my toes deep into the hot sand and then tip-toed to the
back of the sandy court and exposed my bug eyes to Aliah.  “
Oh. My. Gawd,”
 I mouthed to her secretively.

“I know,”
she mouthed back, amused.

I looped around when I found the mark.  "You
ready?" I called to Jay and Maddie.

“Bring it on beoch,” Maddie chimed.

When Jay waved in acknowledgement, I threw the ball high in
the air.  I jumped and hit the ball hard and fast.  Time seemed to stand still.

"Ace!" I hollered, as it hit the ground right in
between Jay and Maddie.  Neither of them had even moved their feet, frozen like
statues.