Part 4 (2/2)

”What do I need to wear to this place? Is it at his house? What?” I asked Winter as I stood in front of my walk in closet with my phone tucked between my shoulder and face.

”He lives on the lake. So shorts and a t-s.h.i.+rt. Bring your bathing suit. It's hotter than h.e.l.l out; I bet we could swim if we wanted to. He's actually pretty close to you. About thirty minutes or so. You know, I've never asked before, but why the h.e.l.l do you live so far away from the station?” Winter asked.

I grimaced. That was a sore subject when it came to my brother. He wanted me to be closer to him, but I found a house that I could afford, absolutely adored, and bought it; even though I'd never seen it in person. It was about three quarters of an hour away from the station, but I didn't mind.

My brother, who thought he was my keeper, wanted me closer to him. I, however, did exactly what I intended to do, and that was not to have my nosy brother breathing down my neck. That was one of the main reasons I'd left Wyoming. I was tired of my parents doing the very thing Luke was trying to do; even after six months of living there.

”This house was too good to pa.s.s up. And it had a pool.” I hedged.

Winter sighed over the phone. ”You're right. I'd kill for a pool. I'll be there in about an hour. I'm just about to leave. Wear those cute little shorts you got at Cavender's the other day. And a tank top. The one with the fringe and beads.”

My mouth curved into a smile. If that didn't illicit a reaction out of the man, then I might as well move the heck on. I wasn't saying I looked awesome or anything, but the thing was, I couldn't change what I looked like; or, at least, I didn't want to. I had muscular legs and arms due to my job and all the heavy lifting I did, but the roundness of my tummy spoke of my love of snack cakes and powdered donuts.

I could work short shorts though. My b.o.o.bs were nothing to sneeze at either; the fringed top Winter spoke of really could accentuate those particular a.s.sets.

”Okay. I'll wear those. Boots or flip flops?” I asked into the phone, as I dug into my closet for the bag I'd tossed there the week before.

”Boots. Make sure you put some lotion on those ashy legs. And maybe shave.” Winter suggested.

She wasn't lying there. I hadn't had time to do that since the day I'd met Sebastian nearly two weeks ago. Yes, I know, gross. ”Okay, see you in a few.”

We hung up, and I rushed through my shower, shaved my legs, lathered my body up with my favorite lotion, and s.h.i.+mmied into my clothes.

The shorts were on the shorter side than what I'd like, but they'd do for my purpose. The top was a pretty teal color, and the beads around the low cut neck of the halter top were s.h.i.+mmery black. I'd fallen in love with the top as soon as I'd seen it; and, even better, it'd been on sale.

I made it to the front door with my bathing suit, towel, and purse with only seconds to spare. Winter blared her horn, signaling she was there, and I barreled out of the door, only managing to lock one lock with the excitement of seeing Sebastian again.

”Wow, you can nearly see your panties in those shorts!” Winter exclaimed as I slammed the door.

”Yeah, if I were wearing any, that is.” I teased.

Winter laughed, and I did the same. I knew better than to go without underwear. I also knew better than to wear dirty underwear.

You wouldn't believe how disgusting our job could be sometimes. Let's just say that there would never be a time that I would found myself without panties. No matter what.

”You're such a liar. Now, put the address into the GPS. I'm gonna get lost without it.” Winter instructed.

Thirty-six minutes and two wrong turns later, we were pulling up to freakin paradise. No, really. It was named 'Paradise.' Or the street was anyway. It was really off the beaten path, too. If it weren't for the GPS and s.h.i.+loh's instructions on how to get there, we'd have been beyond lost.

”Holy s.h.i.+t. This house is awesome.” I breathed, as Winter found a spot off the side of the driveway.

It was what you would call magnificent. It reminded me a lot of my parents' home. The only thing different was the lakeside view.

Sebastian's house sat in a flat field at the top of a hill. You could see the lake down the hill from his home. The house was one story with stone finis.h.i.+ng. The porch wrapped around the entire length of the house. Further down the hill was where the party must be being held. He had a large gazebo type thing with a dock that led about thirty feet into the lake with another large floating deck.

”How the h.e.l.l does a firefighter afford this place?” I wondered aloud.

”s.h.i.+loh said he was single and didn't have a place when he was in the Marines. When he moved back, he stayed in a rental property that their father owned. He bought this place about a year ago.” Winter said as she shut the truck off and opened her door.

That hadn't been what I was expecting explanation wise. I imagined that he was a criminal that led a double life as a firefighter. In his off time, he pedaled flesh and had a t.i.tty bar he laundered money out of.

Willing the b.u.t.terflies that were a.s.saulting my tummy to stop fluttering so G.o.dd.a.m.ned bad, I opened the door and hopped down. Sadly, my sense of balance was off, as always, and I landed awkwardly. I threw my hand out, managing to stop myself before I did a face dive by planting my hand on top of a sharp rock. The hand that caught me split open, and I knew instantly that I'd done something bad.

”Son of a b.i.t.c.h.” I growled as I lifted my hand to survey the damage.

The cut wasn't too bad, but it was already bleeding. ”d.a.m.n. p.i.s.s. s.h.i.+t. h.e.l.l.”

”Jesus, what the h.e.l.l?” Winter asked once she reached my side of the car.

”Cut myself. You got any napkins in there?” I asked, gesturing towards Winter's ma.s.sive purse.

”I've got a pad.” Winter smiled widely.

I hung my head, but accepted the pad with an extended hand. Winter laughed as I unwrapped it, wiped the blood that had run down my hand, and then placed it over the welling cut before making a fist to put pressure on the wound.

”Well, that's one use for it.” Winter teased, as she grabbed my bag and we walked towards the party.

Although the front door was open, I'd thought it'd be best to make sure it was okay with Sebastian before I just started going through his house looking for bandages.

Then my heart sank in my chest as I finally spotted him among the ma.s.ses.

He was sitting on the gazebo, s.h.i.+rtless, with his black cap sitting firmly atop his head. His chest was bare, revealing the lovely ab muscles I'd been dreaming about for over two weeks. His bottoms were a pair of jeans that were so full of holes, that they might as well be shorts for all the air his legs were getting. Those big beautiful arms of his were lined on the back of the bench.

Then there was the cute girl in a string bikini and knockers the size of Texas.

Sebastian laughed as the girl s.n.a.t.c.hed the hat off his head and sat it firmly on her own, and my hopes for anything more with the man sank to the bottom of the Pacific. Head hanging in devastation, I sh.o.r.ed up my defenses and smiled faintly at Winter who was looking at me closely.

”All right, I'm going to head inside to see if I can find something to get this stopped. If we'd taken the cutla.s.s I could've taken care of it already.” I joked.

”If we'd taken your car, we'd have never made it here.” Winter shot back before I lost sight of her as I made my way into the house.

I bypa.s.sed the open kitchen and family room area, heading to the hallway where I hoped there was a bathroom.

”Can I help you with something, sugar?” I looked over my shoulder to see an older man with one h.e.l.l of a beard coming out of one of the rooms I'd just pa.s.sed.

He was also wearing a leather vest just like the one Sebastian wore.

If I was into older men, I'd totally go for him, but I was currently pining over a man that had a girl stuck to his body, and couldn't fully appreciate the bounty that was before me.

”Uhh, yes, actually. I need a Bandaid and a bathroom.” I explained hesitantly, holding up my hand for him to see the devastation.

”First door on your right, sugar.” He said before he disappeared back down the hallway.

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