“Well, no, I just, I don’t like public displays,” she sputtered, almost going under. This from the girl who was almost arrested for public nudity when she was found under the bleachers at a football game freshman year at Berkeley.

“Oh, come on, what’s the big deal?” Simon chimed in, and I looked at him gratefully.

“Nothing, it’s just—” she said again, and Neil interrupted.

“Oh, come here, Tiny,” he exclaimed and pulled her over. They stared at each other for a second, and then Neil swept her hair out of her face.

He smiled, and she leaned in. I heard Sophia inhale at the same time Ryan did, and we all watched as Mimi kissed Neil.

And it was weird.

They broke away, and Mimi swam back over to her side. Next to Ryan. All was quiet for a moment. Simon and I looked at each other, not sure what to do next. We’d been outsmarted. And I got pissed when I got outsmarted. I began to burn. The fact that I was drunk had nothing at all to do with my overreaction.

“Okay, I guess it’s my turn. Hmmm…Ryan, truth or dare?” Neil started, and I stood up, splashing everyone around me as I did.

“No, no, no! That’s not what was supposed to happen!” I yelled, stamping my foot, losing my balance and going under in the process. Simon’s strong hands brought me back to the surface, and I continued my alcohol-induced tirade. Flashes of lightning, now much closer, blazed across the sky.

“You were not supposed to let her kiss him!” I sputtered, spitting out water and pointing at Ryan and then at Mimi. I whirled on Sophia. “And you were supposed to get mad at her!”

“Why would I get mad at Mimi? For kissing her boyfriend?” Sophia mumbled, taking a sudden interest in her fingernails.

“Argh!” I screamed and turned back to Mimi.

“Mimi, are you even remotely interested in Neil?” I challenged, hands on my hips as I steamed into the night air.

“Neil is exactly what I’ve always wanted in a man. He is my type to a T,” she countered robotically, flinching when Ryan looked at her with hurt in his eyes.

“Blah, blah, blah, have you fucked Neil yet?” I screeched, pointing wildly as I tend to do when I drink.

“Okay, Caroline, you’ve made your point,” Simon soothed, trying to get me to sit back down.

“What point? What are you two talking about?” Sophia asked, leaning forward.

“Oh, please, the four of you are ridiculous! I don’t care what you all think you want on paper. In reality, you’re doing it all wrong!” I answered, smacking the top of the water for emphasis. Why weren’t they getting it? I don’t know when I’d gotten so riled up, but in the last sixty seconds or so, I’d become blazing mad.

“Are you kidding?” Mimi cried, jumping to her feet in the hot tub, which kept the water at about the same level.

“Mimi, come on! Anyone with eyes can see the way you and Ryan feel about each other! Why the hell are you wasting time on anyone else?” I pushed.

Simon pulled me back onto his lap and attempted to quiet me.

“Okay, this has gone far enough,” Neil said, starting to get out of the tub.

“No, no! Neil, look at Sophia. Can’t you see she is totally into you? Why the hell are you all so thick? Seriously? Are Simon and I the only ones that can see clearly here?” I yelled once more, bringing Simon into the conversation whether he wanted it or not.

Neil looked at Ryan, and then at Simon.

“Dude!” Neil exclaimed.

“Dude,” Simon answered, gesturing toward Sophia, who stood up like she was going to say something. Neil put his hand on her shoulder, and she stopped and sat back down. Neil nodded at Ryan.

“Dude?” he asked, and Ryan nodded back. Neil took a deep breath and looked at Sophia.

“Sophia, truth or dare?” Neil asked.

“We are not playing any more—” I tried to yell, but Simon took that moment to place his hand over my mouth.

“All clear over here,” Simon announced as he pinned me to his lap more securely with his other hand on my waist. Thunder rolled in, blanketing the scene with an ominous air.

“Sophia?” Neil asked again. She was quiet, and not looking in the direction of Mimi and Ryan.

“Dare,” she whispered and closed her eyes.

Alcohol made everything much more dramatic.

“I dare you to kiss me,” Neil said, and all you could hear was the occasional loon over the lake. The loons in the tub were finally quiet. We all watched as Sophia turned to Neil and placed a hand on the back of his head, pulling him toward her. She kissed him, slowly but surely, and it went on for days. I smiled into Simon’s hand, and he patted my stomach, which made me giddy.

When they finally broke apart, Sophia was laughing into Neil’s mouth, and he answered with his giant, goofy man-giggle.

“Well, it’s about freaking time,” Simon said, releasing my mouth.

“Mimi, I—” Sophia began, turning toward Mimi and finding an empty hot tub.

Mimi and Ryan were gone. I caught just the edge of Ryan’s towel headed into the pool house—with a slippery wet companion on his arm.

“Well, then, I guess we’ll call it a night.” Sophia sighed, grabbing Neil by the hand.

“’Night.” I giggled as she walked into the house with Neil in tow. They cuddled close, already a picture in the making. I looked at the pool house, and noticed no lights had come on yet. They probably would not be coming on in the near future.

“Well, that was a fine bit of matchmaking, although your bull-in-a-china-shop delivery left a lot to be desired.” Simon chuckled, letting his head rest against my back. I was still perched on his lap. His hand had left my mouth, and it was now drifting south, while his other hand remained tightly on my waist.

“Yes, I usually leave a lot to be desired,” I observed wryly, not wanting to leave this exquisite spot, but knowing I needed to—and soon. Simon was quiet behind me, and I started to move off his lap.

“You leave everything to be desired, Caroline,” he said softly, and I froze. It was quiet for another moment, both of us not moving, but still moving toward each other.

Without looking back, I let out a tiny laugh. “You know, I never really got that phrase. Does that mean I am desirable or—” His fingers began to trace tiny circles on my skin. “You know exactly what it means,” he breathed into my ear. The air crackled around us, the tension as well as the actual weather. More tiny circles. In the end, it was the tiny circles that finally broke me.

I lost all control. I turned quickly, catching him off guard as I wrapped my legs around his waist and threw caution, and my harem mantra, to the wind. I sunk my hands into his hair, luxuriating in the feel of wet silk around my fingertips as I pulled him toward me.

“Why did you kiss me that night at the party?” I asked, my mouth mere inches from his. Once he realized I was driving this bus, he responded by pressing his hips into mine, bringing us closer together than we’d ever been.

“Why did you kiss me?” he asked, running his hands up and down my back, settling into the space where his hands spanned my waist exactly

—thumbs in front, fingers in back—and pressed me into him further.

“Because I had to,” I answered honestly, remembering how I’d reacted instinctively, kissing him when I’d wanted to do anything but. “Why did you kiss me?” I asked again.

“Because I had to,” he said, the smirk returning. Luckily I didn’t see the smirk for too long. Because I’d finally discovered the secret of the ages.

How do you make Wall banger stop smirking? You kiss him.

Chapter Thirteen

THE SKY OPENED UP, pelting us with chilly rain, which mixed with the heat around us, and between us. I looked at Simon underneath me, warm and wet, and there was nothing in the world I wanted more than his lips against mine. So even though every single cowbel in my head was ringing out the alarm, I centered myself, wrapped my legs tighter around his waist, and gazed directly into his eyes.