Chapter 284

Getting the girls back onto the boats without them soaking themselves took three trips after I stripped down again. I carried each one cradled high on my chest, both of them laughing and teasing me with their fingers in my hair, and then one last trip with the picnic basket. When I finally pulled myself up out of the water I was greeted by Cattie, dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a tight band tour t-shirt that made it obvious she wasn’t wearing a bra underneath, who hugged me tightly, uncaring about getting wet.

“Did you have a good time?” she asked.

“I did,” I said, hugging her tightly and groaning softly at the feel of her voluptuous chest pressing against me. “Next time you should come too.”

“I’d love to,” she grinned and kissed my cheek.

Quickly Becca was pulled away by Wanda into the Singles’ Boat, while Cattie and Terra both pulled Cassidy into the Couples Boat, and I could tell they were both about to get grilled for details on the date. That left me on the porch, dripping wet and holding my dry clothes in my hands.

“Hey there, sailor,” Heels said, looking down at me from up on the top deck of the Couples Boat.

“Hey,” I said. “How was dinner?”

“Pretty good, all things considered. You should come on up here for a second,” she said, then pulled away from the railing without waiting for my answer.

I followed her with a little frown. Heels and I hadn’t exactly become good friends on the trip, though we’d had a couple of quick conversations that cut to the core of what we were talking about. Leaving my clothes next to the sliding door into the boat, I climbed the stairs and found Heels sitting in one of the deck chairs, looking at the last glimmers of the sunset. I went over to her and took the seat beside her. She was wearing a short-sleeved crop top and black leggings, her warm brown stomach bare as she stretched like a cat.

“What’s up?” I asked as I sat down.

“I just figured I should check to make sure you aren’t some sort of a hypnotist or something,” she said with a smirk.

“No swinging watches here,” I said. “But I don’t blame you for asking.”

“Well, that’s good at least,” she said.

“If I was a hypnotist, wouldn’t being alone with me be a bad idea?” I asked.

“Only if I believe in hypnotism,” she smirked. “But for real, I do think we need to talk.”

“I’m all ears.”

She looked up at the sky, which was quickly deepening to dark blues and black above us. “I know we talked about Wanda already, but you should know that you are lining yourself up to be an absolute fucking awful person if you don’t tread really fucking lightly.”

“I know,” I sighed. “Wanda-”

“I don’t mean just with Wanda,” she said. “I mean with most of the girls who have decided to get attached to you.” She brought her gaze down from the sky to me, her brown eyes boring into me a little. “And I don’t even just mean the girls who were in relationships. Look, I’m not the most friendly person - I get that. I’ve got a bit of a resting bitch face at times, and I don’t go out of my way to try and be bubbly or friendly. But I’ve also been in the background for a lot of this trip and heard a lot of conversations. I’m not going to tell anyone’s secrets, but this stuff that’s going on ... they aren’t just flings, Robbie. You’re playing with people’s real hearts and emotions.”