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  “It’s Louis Vuitton. But, Ty.” I touched his forearm and his eyes…well eye…looked up at me. The other blue eye was buried beneath a curtain of hair until he flicked it back.

  “Yeah?”

  “I’m not like them.”

  “Them?”

  “My family. A lot of wealthy people. That stuff has never mattered to me.”

  His finger jetted toward the luggage, and I nodded to the one nearing him. After heaving it up and sliding it my way, both his eyes found mine.

  “I know, Tess.” He winked. A two-hour plane trip. That’s all it took for me to realize I didn’t want any of that stuff to matter any more. I liked his Vans.

  My second suitcase followed, and when he lifted that one, his eyes bugged. “What the hell is in this one?”

  “Shoes and stuff.” I grinned.

  “Your credibility just took a nose dive.”

  With solid possession of both suitcases, he nodded toward Henry.

  “You’re chariot awaits, sweet Princeton princess.”

  “Henry, lead the way. Ty here is taking us to the ‘hood.”

  Twenty minutes later we rolled to a stop in front of a cute little house. Two people stood outside as if waiting for us…or at least him.

  “Don’t mind them. I texted. Told them to come out so they could meet you.”

  “Is it your family?” I asked.

  The car stopped.

  “Close enough,” he said opening the door.

  Him opening the car door made me snicker. The thought that he didn’t wait for Henry...

  “This is her,” he said. “Our summer visitor. Our groupie. She’d heard of the band back in Massachusetts and wanted to come see us.”

  The guy and girl laughed as I simply shook my head, amused by Ty’s lie.

  “Hi.” I waved at both of them.

  “Tess. This is Rachel.” I stepped forward extending my hand. She hesitatingly shook it. Odd.

  “Hi, Tess.”

  “This is Dirk.”

  Dirk was a mini replica of my new friend. Skinny. A little grungy. Shaggy hair. Vans! I extended my hand again.

  “Nice to meet you guys.” He shook it.

  “Where’s Bodhi?” Ty asked.

  Bodhi? Rachel tipped her head toward the porch and my eyes followed. In etiquette class, we had learned to mask emotion, to maintain a poker face, but as my mouth fell wide and my eyes narrowed to focus in a little better, my breath hitched a bit in my chest. The man’s penetrating brown eyes concentrated completely on me.

  “Bodhi, this is Tess,” Ty introduced loudly.

  “Hey,” I squeaked with a weak little wave then my manners kicked in and clearly his didn’t. So I darted toward him to greet him appropriately. As I approached the porch a pebble wedged between my toes and my sandal and I shook it trying to get it out. God, it hurt. I hobbled up the steps extending my hand.

  “Nice to meet you,” I said.

  “Nice ride.” The harsh baritone in his voice made my skin warm but he didn’t say nice to meet you back.

  “Yeah.” What was one to say to the engaging words of ‘nice ride?’

  When he shook my hand I jerked away quicker than I should have though I have no idea why.

  I hadn’t seen many guys in a baseball cap, but I liked it on him— and then as if reading my mind, he flipped it backward. He tipped a shaker bottle of something to his lips then spun back around. “We need to practice. Let’s go.”

  Wow. Bodhi was just the opposite of the rest of them. He was tall, well-built and sexy as hell…but not a bit nice. In fact, a little scary. I walked back to Ty.

  “Ignore him.” Ty patted my shoulder. “So. I gave you my number. Text me and I’ll come pick you up. You can come hang with us.”

  “OK. When?”

  “Hell. Anytime. Seriously. We sometimes surf in the morning. We play four bars a week, but you can come along. Text me.”

  Truth be told, I wanted to stay here and experience this carefree, somewhat irresponsible approach to life. But Elle would be waiting, so I nodded and slid back into the back seat.

  The trio standing in the yard waved. I sneaked a glance toward the porch as we pulled away. Bodhi leaned sexily against the doorframe. My eyes locked in on his gaze…I think. It was hard to tell. Slowly he lifted whatever he was drinking and tipped it toward me. Unsure of what that meant or what response to give, I turned and focused out the front window. Welcome to California.

  Chapter 2—Tessa ~ Not at 37,000 feet

  The quiet ride to Elle’s left me feeling oddly alone, which was weird because I was always alone. It was only a ten-minute drive from Ty’s, but the distance and lonely silence swallowed me whole. As I stared out at the beautiful sun melting into the Pacific, a slow smile spread over my face as my thoughts drifted back to Ty’s question and answer game. I couldn’t recall the last time anyone had given me that type of attention. He made me feel…special.

  The enormous gates to Aunt Diana’s place opened, and then closed behind us after we drove through. I spotted Elle instantly, waving from the top of the stairs leading up to the stone house. For the first time since I boarded the plane, I glanced down at my khaki shorts and button up blouse...ugh…one of our casual school uniforms. Fingering the tiny pearls around my neck, I irritatingly took them off. Elle looked…hot…in her tiny jean shorts and tank. Her tan legs sprouted out from the shorts, long and lean. Ty must have thought I looked stiff as a board, and I couldn’t even imagine what a guy like Bodhi thought of me.

  Henry parked at the base of the stairs, and Elle pattered down the stairs so quickly I barely made it out before I was in her arms.

  “Tess!” she squealed. “Oh my God! You look so good. Damn. It’s only been two years, but you look fan-fucking-tastic.”

  “Watch your mouth, Elle. A lady doesn’t speak that way,” Aunt Diana corrected, scaling the stone stairs with the utmost grace and poise.

  Out of precaution, I straightened my back and held my shoulders higher.

  “I don’t see a lady anywhere, so all is good,” Elle smart mouthed back.

  Aunt Di’s icy glare didn’t go unnoticed by me.

  “She’s right you know, I so see my brother in you,” Aunt Di said as she turned to me. “You’re breathtaking, Tess. Simply breathtaking. Your mounds of hair and flawless skin.”

  “Looks to me like she needs to get her ass in the sun. She’s pale as shit!”

  Aunt Di spun around with her finger up. “Enough with the language, Ellerie Hope. Do you understand me?”

  The exaggerated eye roll and flip of her hair would have gotten me nearly back handed by my father—not in an abusive way—in a don’t disrespect me way.

  “Let’s go!” Elle shouted and grabbed my hand, dragging me up the stairs as fast as her tan, tall kickass legs could go. “Your clothes suck. I can’t take you out if you look like that. Tell me you brought better clothes.”

  “I did.” I think. Catching my breath from the 25 steps, I pointed. “They are back down there in the trunk.”

  “You can borrow mine. We’re gonna go down to the beach first. We have two and a half months and we’re not wasting a single day. Bitch, we have it all. Money. Looks. And guys.”

  Guys? As we wound our way through her sprawling home, it was clear she was on a mission.

  “Wait, what happened with Jaxson?”

  Her beautiful blonde hair spun around whipping me in the face.

  “That name is never to be mentioned in this house again. DICK! Major dick who thought it might be fun to stick his somewhere else!”

  My mouth formed an O as she spoke, and she gave me a larger-than-life nod.

  “I know, right! Who wants to cheat on this?” Her tongue darted out resembling something close to Miley Cyrus. “JK.”

  Elle always made me laugh. Her ‘jk’ or just kidding comment was maybe a little true. But for the most part, she loved herself just as much as everyone else did.

  “Hey. Wait.” I stopped as
she threw open her closet doors.

  Her pretty brown eyes zoned in on me, and her lashes batted beautifully waiting for my words.

  “I met a guy…guys. They seem pretty cool.”

  “Do tell!”

  The entire time she was talking, her hands pulled clothing from hangers and accessories from drawers until a pile of perfectly color coordinated clothing options spread out like a rainbow in front of me.

  “Stop!” I exclaimed, laughing at her obvious enthusiasm for dressing me. “This is fine.” I grabbed a black and white ensemble from the top of the heap.

  “That works. But you have to wear these Tory Burch boots.”

  “Those are adorable.” I slid one on—perfect fit.

  “The guys you met. Tell me.”

  Unbuttoning my blouse, I said, “Well, I met him on the plane. He wore Vans.” As my lip pulled up in disgust, a pillow smacked me in the face.

  “You bitchy, rich snob. Vans are cool! You East coast freaks.”

  This time the pillow met her face.

  “Seriously? Vans are cool here?”

  “Tess! They are cool everywhere. You live in a bubble at your girls’ school. And the boys you do see wear penny loafers and shit. Do something with your hair and let’s go.”

  I thought my hair looked fine.

  Forty-five minutes later, Elle was introducing me to her friends Collin, Matt and Ben who had just finished a game of sand volleyball.

  “So, you’re Tessa?” Collin asked taking a noisy gulp from a bottle of water.

  “Tess, but yes?” I asked, cocking a brow at the grotesquely bulky guy. Steroid usage came to mind every time his muscles would twitch.

  “Elle never shuts up about you.”

  “That’s cause she and I are the shit when we’re together,” Elle laughed.

  Draping my arm around her shoulders, I tugged her in to me and shouted, “That’s right, we are sisters from a different mister!”

  All three guys shook their heads and laughed at us.

  “Head to our place. We’ll do showers then we can head down to Lynch’s,” Ben commanded.

  “Do you have what I asked for?” Elle asked squinting from the sun.

  Ben tapped the end of her nose. “Have I ever let you down, Elle?” Ben was adorable with curly blond hair and blue eyes…but those blues never left Elle.

  As we jumped into her Saab convertible, I asked, “What did you ask him for and what’s the story between you and Ben?”

  “Ben is off limits so don’t even think about it. And you’ll see when we get there.”

  The boys’ house was small and totally looked like a bachelor pad. A USC Trojans flag draped over the front porch where three lawn chairs sat. And behind them on the porch was an Oregon Ducks flag.

  “How old are these guys?”

  Elle smiled as she parked. “They think you’re 18 so don’t say anything. Ben is 20; Collin and Matt are both 21. You’ll meet some other guys later.”

  “Game on now!” Matt shouted, bursting through the screen door and stopping me in my tracks. Ben and Collin followed close behind.

  Each grabbed a lawn chair off the porch while Ben retrieved one from the Jeep. Collin nabbed two cans of beer from a cooler.

  “We’re going to the deck. Quick game of beer darts.” Ben winked at Elle.

  “What’s the bet?” she asked.

  “Tess,” he laughed and jogged around to the back of the house.

  An appalling gasp escaped my lips before I could squelch it like I’d been taught. Elle smiled.

  “Relax. They’re just going to compete over who’s going to fuck you.”

  “ELLE! Shut up!”

  A wicked laugh crawled out her throat. “I’m kidding. Sort of.”

  She only took four steps before I latched onto her arms and pulled her to a stop. “Seriously. I don’t even know them.”

  She wound her lavish blond mane in her hands to keep it off her neck. “Tess. Lighten up! You’re here to have fun. You’ve been cooped up in that all girls school too long. Let go a little! This is what you’re here for. Live it up before…well, you know.”

  What she said was truth.

  “I’m not sure if I’m ready for…that.”

  Still smirking, she broke free of my clawing grasp. “Just because these dumbshits want to drink themselves into oblivion doesn’t mean you have to do anything.”

  “I think I like the Vans wearing guy better.”

  “Text him. Tell him to get his ass over here, or better yet, meet us at Lynch’s.”

  Before I could pull out my phone, Elle had disappeared behind the house to see who held my fate in his hands.

  So Mr. Laguna. You really want to be my friend?

  By the time I wandered around to the back deck, Collin was chugging a beer that Matt had hit right on the top with a dart.

  “Collin’s winning.” Ben winked.

  “I am not a prize in this bet. Besides, my friend, Ty, might be coming over.”

  Ben’s blue eyes widened. “Ty Glynn?”

  I shrugged. “Never got his last name. Nailed him at 37,000 feet and now he wants to meet up again. It was that good.”

  Elle giggled, and Ben just stared at me. I maintained my well-earned A+ poker face. My phone chimed.

  Is this Tess my mess from Mass?

  I smiled.

  Indeed it is. Want to hang? Not happy at the moment.

  So there is some truth to money doesn’t buy happiness then huh Princeton? :)

  “Ty?” Ben questioned, causing me to glance up from my phone. His was at his ear. “Get your ass out back, now.”

  Was he talking to my Ty?

  “What the hell?” someone yelled from behind us, and Elle and I both spun around.

  Oh my God! Ty was standing next to the hot tub on the deck next door with both hands stretched out to his side. Dusk had settled in and it was hard to see, but he still wore the same damn grungy clothes.

  “Ty!” I shouted, shocked to see him standing right in front of me.

  While my mouth was talking to Ty, my eyes were irresistibly drawn to the door behind him as Bodhi strolled out onto the deck throwing up a peace sign to the other guys.

  “So did you seriously nail this girl at 37,000 feet today?” Ben yelled, jetting his thumb toward me.

  Blood abandoned every part of my body and rushed to my face as my knees bordered on buckling. Matt and Collin both stopped chugging their beers and stared at Ty. Even Bodhi looked away from me to catch Ty’s response.

  Ty’s confused look was answer enough, and Ben’s eyes narrowed in on me as both Bodhi and Ty made their way across their yard. Was this a joke? These guys were back door neighbors? How small could this world be?

  “Did you want to get nailed at 37,000 feet?” Ty asked with the wickedest smile I’d seen on him yet.

  My eyes sheepishly turned back to Ty.

  “I was joking. Who knew you were a genie and could appear out of nowhere?”

  I couldn’t bring myself to look any of my new “friends” in the eyes so I admired the awesome Tory Burch boots on my feet. I was way overdressed for a backyard party.

  “How do you know Elle?” Ty asked.

  “She’s my cousin.”

  Ty laughed. “Wow. Small world. You remember Bodhi?”

  “Yeah. Hey,” I said, braving a quick glance in his direction.

  Bodhi offered only a simple nod but his dark brown eyes zoned in on mine. Everything inside of me told me to look away, but I didn’t. I couldn’t. That damn baseball cap was still in place.

  “You know Elle?” I asked. Bodhi was by far the hottest guy standing here, and if Elle did know him, I wanted to know why she wasn’t jockeying for his affection.

  “For years,” Elle said and walked over to Matt and Collin.

  My eyes fell, breaking the connection, but not before I took quick inventory of what he wore. Yellow T-shirt, jeans and Sperrys. Atta boy. I bit my lip to hide my smile.

  “You kno
w what a new member to the group means?” Matt asked, crumpling a beer can in his hands.

  “I never!” Elle shouted.

  “Which means Bodhi has to drink,” Ty laughed.

  As I walked over to where the rest of them stood, I wondered what ‘I never’ meant and why Bodhi had to drink.

  Chapter 3—Tessa~ I never…

  Still feeling a bit lost and uncertain of the group dynamic, I gingerly grabbed a beer and sat down at the table with the rest of the group. Ben stood and smiled at me.

  “Tess. In your honor.” He placed his hand over his heart. “We are playing a damn drinking game because this started when Matt, Collin and I were 16. It’s a get to know you of sorts. A bit juvenile but fun. We go around the circle and take turns saying something we’ve never done. For example: I’ve never had a period. Clearly I haven’t. But you, Elle and the rest of these vaginas sitting here would have to drink.”

  “Fuck you, dickhead,” Collin laughed. “It’s easy, Tess. You drink if you’ve done it. You don’t if you haven’t. You’ll catch on.”

  “So why is it a big deal for Bodhi to drink?” I asked, trying not bring undue attention to my interest in him.

  Ty patted Bodhi’s back. “Bodhi here is a bit of freak when it comes to alcohol. This is usually the only time he drinks anything other than his protein shakes. And that’s only because we guilt his healthy, athletic ass.”

  “Would someone just go,” Elle demanded. “She’s fucking smarter than all of you dumbasses combined. She’ll get it.”

  “Fine. I’ve never been named Elle and been a bitch,” Matt said laughing, which was followed by all of them laughing.

  Her middle finger waved around the table as she took a gulp of her beer.

  Ty was next. “I’ve never gone to an all girls school.” A slow, shit eating grin crossed his face. No one picked up their beer, not even Elle. Six sets of amused eyes focused on me. So I drank. The beer was bitter, and a shudder rippled through me.

  “I’ve never lived in Massachusetts.” Collin said.

  I drank again. The theme was clear—get Tess drunk! I was nervous.