Whiskey and Scotch

Chapter 32

"Hey guys, we're back!" Bobby said as we walked into the lounge. "And we've brought snacks!"

"Yay!" Chelsea cheered. "It felt like you were gone for hours!"

"Finally," Blake sneered. "Did you get my nachos?"

Bobby turned to me with a frown. "Did you pick up the nachos?"

"I thought you were getting them," I replied, looking at him with wide eyes. "Bobby, don't tell me you forgot."

He smiled sheepishly, giving me a wink that the others couldn't see. "Oops, sorry."

"Ugh," Blake rolled her eyes. "I knew I should have gone."

"What did you get?"

"We got chocolate, crisps, fruit..."

"Nice!"

Bobby shivered.

"Why are you guys soaked?" Gary asked. "I thought you had an umbrella?"

"Oh, well, uh..." Bobby rubbed the back of his neck as he looked at me with his eyebrows raised.

"We were just splashing around in the puddles outside," I smiled. "It was fun!"

"Ugh, gross," Elisa wrinkled her nose.

"I thought you said you didn't like rain, Bobby," Lottie tilted her head as she looked at him curiously.

"I don't! Josie made me do it—"

"Hey!"

"—and now I'm cold and wet, so I'm gonna go put some dry clothes on before I freeze to death."

He handed his grocery bag to Henrik, who immediately started digging into it and pulling out the chocolate.

"Score! Thanks, guys!"

Blake huffed and mumbled to herself at the sight of the chocolate.

Sorry, not sorry!

"Why don't we just start with the crisps and chocolate and I'll put this fruit in the kitchen for later?" I asked, receiving nods of assent from the others.

I followed Bobby out of the room and into the bedroom. He went to his cupboard to find some dry clothes, while I headed out the back door to the kitchen. I pulled the groceries out of the bag, putting the strawberries and cream in the refrigerator and leaving the pineapple on the counter.

When I went back inside, the bedroom was empty. I left the room and climbed the stairs to the dressing room, stopping by the bathroom to pick up a clean towel. The shower was running, and I could faintly hear Bobby humming. I smiled, wrapping the towel around myself as I pulled myself up onto the counter. I bit my lip as I looked at the frosted glass of the shower, my eyes tracing the outline of his naked body, wondering—

What the hell, Josie?

I slid off the counter and rushed around the corner into the dressing room, thankful nobody was around to see how pink my face was. I quickly toweled off and changed into a dry bikini, tossing my wet clothing into the laundry hamper. The lounge was air-conditioned, so I pulled on a cropped hoodie and shorts over my swimsuit, then sat down at the vanity to blow-dry my hair. As I sat there, feeling the hot air on my skin, I thought about Bobby, and our kiss – and what it all meant.

I don't like him. I can't. Can I?

I had felt something during that kiss. I had looked at him in a way I never had before. It was nothing like the instant, intense chemistry I'd had with Lucas. Nor was it like the casual, comfortable feelings I'd had with Henrik. This was deeper somehow, and it scared me.