Relaxing back against the cushion on my chair, I stared out towards the sea. Even now sat at one of the local beach restaurants, my mind was still far away.
Despite myself, I kept replaying what had happened between Nathan and me in the water over and over. Not the bit where I faked drowning to scare him or the part where he stole my bikini top; it was the part that came after. The part where he touched me and looked at me with those beautiful soft eyes of his before leaning in and-
"Sophie?" a voice said abruptly.
"Hmm," I said as I sharply turned my head towards Nathan.
He nodded his head over to the finely dressed waiter, who had come to the table without me even realizing it. "What would you like to order?" Nathan asked softly.
"Oh right," I said with a stupid laugh as I glanced down at the menu. "Erm...I guess I'll have the fish and chips," I said, pointing to the first recognizable thing I saw on the menu.
"Excellent, we'll have your orders with you shortly," the waiter explained politely before turning on his feet to leave.
As soon as he was gone, Nathan cleared his throat and leaned forward in his seat. "Hey, are you alright? You've been awfully quiet since erm...since-"
Since you almost kissed me.
"-since we got back from the beach," he finished.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," I mumbled half-heartedly. "I'm a little tired, that's all," I said as I gave him a weak smile. His eyes narrowed slightly, clearly not believing me, but he didn't say anything to push me further.
Suddenly, our little staring match was interrupted by the crisp sound of someone clearing their throat. We both looked up in surprise, and I found myself staring into the taunting eyes of Nathan's brother, Noah.
Nathan stiffened in the chair beside me as though being in his mere presence unnerved him. And I could hardly blame him - I had known his piece of shit brother for barely twenty-four hours, and I already hated him.
"Mind if I sit?" he asked smoothly, a small smile playing on his lips. Before either one of us could respond, he stole a chair from the empty table beside us before tucking himself under our table.
The two of us glared at him in silence.
"So..," he drawled.
"Who the fuck told you that you could sit here?" Nathan spat, getting straight to the point.
Noah chuckled as though he hadn't been insulted. "I didn't know I needed an invitation to sit with my little brother," he mused.
Nathan did nothing but silently scowl at him, and I didn't miss the way his fingers wrapped around his knife as though he was contemplating driving it through Noah's head.
Deciding this was good enough of a time as any to jump in, I cleared my throat. "Look, Noah, no offense, but we're kinda trying to have a peaceful lunch, so would you kindly...er...how do I phrase this," I trailed off as I waved my hand around for inspiration.
"Oh right, got it. Kindly fuck off," I said bluntly with a small little smile on my face.
Nathan let out a loud snort which he poorly tried to cover up with a cough which further drove home my satisfaction.
Noah's smile was instantly wiped off his face, and he glowered at the two of us. His expression soon dripped back into a relaxed one, and he eyed me carefully. "Hmm, so you're a feisty one, are you?"
I wrinkled my nose at the phrase, the word reminding me of a hyperactive Chihuahua. "Are you trying to get me to hate you, on purpose or something?" I scoffed.
He shook his head with a chuckle. "Quite the opposite, Sophie. I've actually taken a very, special liking to you," he said. The intensity of his gaze softened and sparkled with a surprising kind of warmth. It took me aback for a second before I realized it was a trap. He was a finely tuned player, and he knew exactly what he was doing.
"Well, she doesn't like you, so fuck off," Nathan interrupted rudely.
Noah turned to face him and snickered. "Oh, how cute, my little baby brother is getting all protective over his little crushy-wushy," Noah cooed with a patronizing little pout.
"I'm not jealous. I just don't like you perving all over, Sophie," Nathan snapped.
"Oh, really?" Noah snickered as his eyes lit with mischief. "Well, in that case, I'm sure you won't mind if I take Sophie out on a date tomorrow. You like amusement parks, right?" he asked as he turned my way.
Noah's eyes once again softened in that well-rehearsed and manipulative kind of manner. I almost felt sorry for him. He had no idea that the fly he was trying to weave into his web was actually a spider herself. Heck, I had practically invented the softened-eyed I-can-do-no-harm expression. I mean, god, only knows how many times I've used it to get myself a free drink.
"No," I said bluntly, with a rude snort.
Noah visibly recoiled, and blinked, then blinked once more as though his brain couldn't compute the idea of rejection. "No, as in you don't like amusement parks?" he questioned slowly.
I crossed my arms and snickered. "No, as in I don't want to go with you."
From my peripheral vision, I saw Nathan's shoulders start to shake as he tried not to piss himself with silent laughter.
Noah continued to stare at me, his eyes slowly wandering my face as though I was speaking another language. "And why not?" he asked slowly.
"Because Nathan already asked me," I shrugged.
Nathan stopped cackling and whipped his head my way. "I did?" he questioned in confusion. I sent him a silent death look indicating that he should work with me and not be an idiot.
Nathan, finally clocking on to my plan, vigorously nodded his head. "Oh right, yes, I remember now, I did," he said, a smirk pulling to his face.
Nathan rested his elbows on the table and leaned forward. "What was it you were saying yesterday, Noah? Some bull-shit about me not being about to get Sophie, I do believe?" Nathan said smoothly with a cocky expression on his face.
Noah stared between the two of us in silence, still likely suffering from the shock of his rejection.
His jaw tightened, and he stood up abruptly from his seat. "Enjoy your little pity date, Nathan," he spat before he turned on his feet and left.
Once he was gone, I turned to Nathan in excitement. I expected him to be looking smug, but he wasn't. If his fallen smile or deadened eyes were anything to go by, I suspected his brother's words had wormed their way past his defences yet again.
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It was around half eight, after dinner when I heard a double knock on the guest room door. Chucking my phone down onto the bed with a groan, I threw my covers off and swung myself out of bed. I had been tucked up in a little comfortable ball underneath my covers, so to say I was pissed at the intrusion would be putting it lightly.
Pulling open the door, I was met with the sight of Nathan stood in the entryway to my door. I focused in on his eyes which sparkled suspiciously with a mixture of excitement and mischief. Remembering I had promised that I would allow him into my room in exchange for my bikini top, I rolled my eyes and reluctantly widened the door for him so that he could enter.
He wasted no time and immediately barged his way past me before settling himself in the armchair across from my bed like it was his rightful privilege. I let the door close behind him before diving onto my bed belly first and rolling to face his direction.
"So, is this the point where we gossip about boys and paint each other's nails red," I joked as I looked him up and down in amusement.
A tiny smile broke through his lips, but then he twitched it back down again, not letting it fully take over. "Funnily enough, Sophie. I didn't come here for a slumber party," he said flatly.
"Aww boo, you're so boring. I was looking forward to comparing bra sizes and having pillow fights in our undies," I teased.
Again, he fought a smile and continued. "As fun as that sounds, I came here for a very different reason," he explained with a chirp little smile.
"Which is?" I probed impatiently.
"To put Noah in his place," he said simply. "The stupid dick clearly wants you, so I'm going to show him exactly why he can't have you," he said, his smile growing more prominent with every word.
"And how exactly are you going to do that?" I snorted.
Nathan ignored my question and stood up from the chair before weirdly walking over to my window. I furrowed my brows as he opened the latches and pulled the window open wide before turning back to face me with a smile.
"His room's right next door, there's thin walls, and now the windows open. So, my plan is simple – I'm going to make him listen as we fuck," he stated matter of factly with a little evil chuckle.
My heart legitimately stopped, and I scrambled to a sitting position like I had been struck by lightning. Opening and closing my mouth repeatedly like a deranged lunatic, I stared at Nathan feeling too shocked even to speak.
"You want..I...we have..to...WHAT!" I finally managed to spit out. "What the hell, Nathan! I'm not fucking you just so your brother can hear," I whisper shouted.
Nathan snorted and shook his head at me with a faint smile. "No, relax. I don't want you to actually sleep with me. All I want is to make it sound as though we are," he explained.
I paused and slowly pondered over his words. "Ohhhh," I dragged out dramatically. "You want us to fake it," I said, his words slowly starting to make sense.
"Yes, you idiot. What do you think I am, crazy?" he snorted.
I paused. "Well, I mean-"
He sent a warning glare my way as though daring me to finish my sentence.
Nathan flopped down onto the bed beside me."Okay, anyway, here's your script," he said as he fished a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it over to me.
I raised an eyebrow. "I have a script?" I laughed as I looked him up and down in amusement.
"Yes, now read it," he ordered.
I rolled my eyes at his bossiness and reluctantly unfolded the piece of paper. As my eyes wandered down the list, my mouth dropped further and further open, shocked to the core at the kind of things he wanted me to say.
"Hell, to the fucking no. Uh-uh, I am not saying that," I said as I rapidly folded the piece of paper back up before slamming it back against his chest.
"I thought you'd need extra bargaining," he said with a long sigh as he pulled something else out of his pocket. My eyes lit up when I saw he had a packet of skittles, and I immediately reached out to snatch them away from him like the greedy bitch I was.
He lifted them out of reach. "Nuh-uh-uh," he tuttered. "You only get them when you say what's on the list. For every phrase you say, you get five," he said as he waved the bag tauntingly around in my face.
I probably should have been offended that he was using the same kind of treat reinforcement technique that you might use on a misbehaving puppy, but what can I say, it was working. I slowly picked the list back up again and then stole another glance at the skittles.
Then slowly, I nodded my head. "Okay, fine, we've got a deal."
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Author's note:
Hope you enjoyed chapter forty and thanks for reading.
Come prepared for next chapter, things get very interesting..
Next Update: Friday (6-8 PM - UK time)