"Wow," a man commented. He was in a suit and loosening the knot on his tie as he entered the room. "I didn't know you'd arranged this kind of entertainment, Gray'."
I froze like a deer in headlights.
Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit.
There were five men, including Grayson, and they were all dressed like they'd come straight from the office. I recognized Mark immediately and, honestly; it was worse to have him see me in the bikini than it was the others. The three strangers would just laugh off this incident and move on. Mark had asked me out on a date and given me his number. He wasn't likely to forget that he'd seen me in such a state of undress.
I opened and closed my mouth a couple of times, wondering if I should address the group or Grayson directly. Not so cruel as to leave me petrified and half-naked in the middle of the living room in front of his colleagues, Grayson moved to the couch and gathered up the blanket. He held it out to me, wary of getting too close, and I wrapped it around my body awkwardly. As long as I was covered, I didn't care about being neat.
I couldn't tell Grayson that I thought he'd be coming home alone, otherwise, they'd all know that I'd worn the bikini for his benefit. Instead, I said, "I forgot to take a towel out with me."
God, I hoped none of them went into the yard otherwise they'd find my discarded towel and know it was a lie.
"I told you I had company coming tonight," he said.
"You didn't," I hissed at him. Heat rose in my cheeks. Jesus, I just wanted the ground to open and swallow me whole. "All you said was that you were coming home tonight."
Grayson pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked his messages. His eyes widened. "Shit. The second message didn't send."
My gaze slid to the four men who were still waiting on an explanation. "Why are they here?"
"Game night," Grayson said. "It's my turn to host. We just drink beers, and maybe play poker. Sorry, it would've saved a lot of trouble if I just called."
"So..." another man I didn't know interjected. "She's not a stripper?"
My fingers clenched around the blanket. What an ass! I didn't have an issue with women doing whatever they wanted for a career, but to call me a stripper in my own home was going way too far!
"Shut the fuck up, Craig," Grayson shot back at him. "She's my friend's kid. This is his house. I'm just looking out for her this summer."
"Ohhh, babysitting." Craig grinned. "Is it past your bedtime, sweetheart? Want one of us to read you a story."
"Careful," Mark warned the man. "Grayson can have you fired if you upset his friends."
Craig took the warning to heart and looked sheepish. Good. I knew what he'd implied by saying that he wanted to read me a bedtime story and I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of rising to the bait. I hadn't been thrilled at the idea of seeing them all there but thank God for Mark. At least he knew our relationship with regard to his connection to my father and could back up any lies Grayson made about us not sleeping together.
"Have you had dinner?" Grayson asked.
I knew it was the question someone might pose if they were concerned about a kid in their care, but I couldn't help but hear something more. It was probably just my wishful thinking that he'd consider me more than a casual sexual partner. I mean, we both agreed we'd only be together until the end of summer and that we'd be exclusive. That was the extent of our relationship. It was more than I'd ever dreamed I had with Grayson. I needed to remind myself not to get greedy.
"Not yet. I didn't notice the time, I guess."
"I'll order extra and shoot you a message when it gets here. You've got studying to do tonight anyway, right?"
"Yeah," I lied. Okay, I didn't lie. I had studying to do; I just had no intention of looking at it. "I'll stay out of your way. Just clean up after yourselves and use coasters. I'm gonna grab some snacks before I head up, otherwise, you'll shove them all in your stupid faces."
I clutched my phone and the blanket tightly as I left the room for the kitchen. I figured I might as well play up the part of the bratty kid. Besides, Grayson would totally take my snacks if I didn't rescue them from the pantry before I disappeared to my bedroom. He wasn't about to change the habit of a lifetime just because we were sleeping together. I had half a mind to take all the beer, too, just to spite his friends. The only thing that stopped me was the idea that one of them might come looking for them and I didn't want any of those guys to come near my room. Well, except Grayson, but not while he had company.
There were piles of reusable eco-totes under the counter and, given I didn't have a free hand to carry all my junk food upstairs, I figured it was better to load up one of those than to leave the blanket behind, and just hope that none of his pervert friends came to watch me while I walked up the stairs. I pulled bags of chips from the pantry, a box of snack cakes, and some dried fruit. I couldn't imagine I'd get through half of it, but at least it was there if I wanted. I turned to the fridge, an untidy mess of magnets, reminders, receipts, and contact numbers Dad had left for Grayson, and chewed on my lower lip. I knew there were leftovers inside, but they wouldn't taste great cold.
"Need a hand?" Mark asked.
I jumped. I hadn't heard him enter the kitchen. He must have been light on his feet. That, or I was too focused on filling my stomach to notice his arrival. I cleared my throat and steeled my nerves. If I was too jumpy then they'd all know something was wrong. I'd managed to keep my cool at Grayson's office. I could do it at home, too.
"I got it." I opened the fridge and removed some water and soda. "Shouldn't you be setting up poker or whatever it is you guys said you're doing?"
"They can manage without me." Mark was handsome as ever. Charming to a fault. It was strange not to be remotely attracted to him. "I said I'd grab some beer but, honestly, I wanted to greet you properly. I'd say it's nice to see you, but I figured that'd be creepy given you're in a bikini."
I couldn't help but smile. "Maybe a little."
Mark pushed his hands into his pockets and shrugged. "Also, I hoped you'd have called me by now, you know?"
"Oh... I've been busy. Studying and junk," I said evasively. "Summer's not much of a break when you're at college."
Mark's gaze flicked downward. It wasn't a long, lurid appraisal of my body, thus didn't feel invasive. Maybe he wondered how I had time to swim but hadn't found five minutes to shoot him a message. "I guess I can understand that. I was a student once."
"Can't have been that long ago."
I was relieved that he didn't seem all that mad about it. It wasn't like I'd told him that I'd call so no promises had been broken, but it still wasn't a nice feeling to know that you'd been indirectly turned down after shooting your shot. Had Mark been heartbroken, I might have pitied him, but he didn't seem the type to get so caught up over a girl. I mean, he was an adult, not a bratty kid like Trey. There had to be more important things on Mark's mind than just taking me out to dinner.
The silence between us began to feel awkward. I finished loading up my bag and said, "Beer's in the fridge. Don't touch any of Dad's whiskey or he'll freak."
"Noted." Mark smiled. "You sure you don't need a hand?"
"I got it."
As it happened, I didn't have it, if the it to which I referred was a grip on the floor.
In a twisted example of history repeating itself, I turned from the counter and my foot skidded out from under me. If I'd dried off properly outside instead of trying to seduce Grayson, I wouldn't have dripped water all over the tile. Even my sandals were no match for the puddle that'd accumulated while I'd chatted to Mark.
Thankfully, he was as quick to react as Grayson had been during my leaving party.
Mark lunged forwards and wrapped his arms around me. Rather than catching me from behind, our chests pressed together, and the blanket hit the floor in a tangle around my feet. Eyes wide, I breathed hard in panic and grasped his shoulders for stability. I couldn't help but notice how different it felt to be in his arms compared to Grayson. Mark was toned, and strong, and if I'd met him first then he might well have set my heart aflame. Like Trey, he was too young and inexperienced to hold a candle to Grayson. The feeling of his hands against my skin didn't make my heart flutter, nor did I feel a single urge to kiss him, or to do anything else with Mark for that matter.
"Careful, beautiful," he laughed softly. "I'm worth falling for, but I'd hate to cause you an injury on the way down."
Someone cleared their throat pointedly. Grayson watched us with his arms folded across his broad chest. Anger flashed across his face. I scrabbled to free myself from Mark's arms without slipping on the tile a second time.
"Weren't you going to your room?" Grayson asked.
I put my phone into the tote bag and pulled it onto my shoulder. I wasn't going to waste time gathering up the blanket. There was no point when both men present had seen and held me while in a bikini. And I wasn't about to get any more humiliated than I was already. I couldn't bring myself to thank Mark or explain myself to Grayson. The former probably thought that I was interested in him again, and the latter was mad that another man had his hands all over me.
The moment I'd gathered my things, I bowed my head and hurried away. I took more care on the stairs because I didn't want to slip on them and break my ankle. That was certainly the sort of thing that'd make Dad come home early from England. My heart hammered inside my chest and didn't settle until I was in my bedroom and the door was closed securely behind me.
I let out a long sigh, dropped the bag, and leaned my head back against the door. I should've known that my evening wouldn't go as planned, but I hadn't expected it to be such an unmitigated disaster.
Honestly, every time I was in a bikini something went wrong.
I was starting to think my swimwear was cursed.
Any temptation I'd had to sneak downstairs and join in on game night evaporated when I heard the noise the men were making.
After my shower, I'd changed into sweatpants and a tank-style tee, tied up my hair and put on a makeover show to pass the time. I could've called Jenny but if she knew I had a group of single businessmen in my living room she'd have broken the speed limit getting to my house to crash their party. Besides, I had other things to occupy my time. Namely, tearing up pictures of Trey. I'd finally found the courage to drag the box of his things from the closet and had begun to sort through the junk. Most of it I would still need to ship back to him, but a few items were shared, and I sorted them into piles of keep, trash, and return. Several of the photographs were of us on vacations, and many were of better times with our friends. I didn't want to destroy the memories, but I didn't want to see his stupid face whenever I looked back over them. A few well-placed rips and cuts soon removed him from the equation, and if I just so happened to also rip his head into pieces while defacing the pictures, then that was just a happy by-product of my little arts and crafts project.
Time wore on and the group grew louder with each passing moment. I kept turning the sound up on my television to drown them out until, eventually, I gave up on the entire endeavor and put my headphones on instead. Their raucous laughter seemed to fill every corner of the building. Thank God I had my own bathroom and had gathered snacks so I wouldn't need to venture downstairs and suffer them at full volume. Maybe there was a downside to having a serious relationship with Grayson; dealing with his colleagues whenever he needed to host them. Maybe I'd have to go out on those nights.
Not that I thought we were anywhere close to having a relationship.
It was just something to keep in mind.
Three hours into my isolation, I remembered that Grayson had said he'd send a message when the food arrived so I could get some. I checked my phone and found nothing. Either the men had given up on the idea of ordering in, or he'd been too engrossed in the game to summon me.
I took off my headphones and surveyed my snack empire. I didn't need to get anything else to eat. Not if I ever wanted to get back into my bikini, anyway. Still, something warm wouldn't have been unwelcome, and I wanted another bottle of water.
I stretched my arms above my head and slid off the bed lazily. If I'd cared what the men thought of me, I might have changed into something more flattering. Given they thought I was just some brat Grayson was babysitting, it felt like more effort than it was worth.
I was halfway across the room when someone knocked on the door. Not bothering to check who it was, because Grayson was the only person who'd bother coming to find me, I opened it without question.
In hindsight, this was a mistake, because in doing so I made my evening a thousand times worse than it was already.