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After the make-out session with Caleb, Thad came to pick me up, urging me to grab a swimsuit. I didn't have one. When I mentioned that, he and I went shopping. Now that was interesting. During this outing, he was relaxed and fun—until he got a phone call. Then his gaze grew sharp and his eyebrows lifted as he muttered, "Better him than me," before he ended the call. Now he was all broody, like he had something on his mind.
Searching the round racks while he lounged on sofa next to all the other guys waiting for their girlfriends to finish, I spied a green two-piece I wanted to try. All the others had been overly skimpy since Thad picked them out. This one was not dental floss between my ass cheeks.
"You find anything yet?" he asked, coming over to where I stood.
Rolling my eyes at his bluntness, I lifted the green bikini.
His eyes roamed it and then scanned me. He nodded with an apprehensive gaze. "Okay, go try it on and let me see it this time."
I smirked, not sure why he was in such a mood. I lifted on my toes and kissed his lips, whispering against them, "No."
He swatted my ass when I moved away. "Fi-ne," he growled as he drew the word out. "Go try it on and let's go."
"So sure this is the one?" I asked with one eyebrow lifted.
He waved me on. "Just try it on."
I whirled around. "Whatever you say."
Once in the dressing room, I tried on the suit and liked it a lot. It wasn't something I'd normally go for–
"Juju?"
My head lifted from looking at my full thighs to staring at the dressing room door. "Yeah? Wait, you aren't supposed to be in here!"
He gave another low chuckle. "No one else is in here. I think we're good."
My lips twisted. "What do you need?"
"Suit fit?"
"Yes. It's the one."
"Thank the lights."
"Oh stop. I wasn't that bad."
"We've been here for an hour."
I nodded even though he couldn't see me. "I know! And that's good time."
"Well, fuck me."
"I'll reserve that offer for a later date."
This time he laughed. My cheeks bunched up with warmth that I even got that out of him.
I was halfway dressed when he dropped the bomb.
"Juju, we need to go dress shopping tonight, too."
I paused putting on my pants, asking, "Why? I don't need another one."
"It's for tomorrow. Nox will tell you about it."
I continued getting dressed. "Uh, okay?"
"Good. I'll meet you when you get out."
Weirded out by why he had to come in here to tell me that, I let my worries slide, grabbed the suit, and met him out in front of the dressing room. I guess it was now time to find a dress. But what kind of dress? Was Nox taking me out on a date that required me to dress up? Would one of the dresses Myra had me get work just as fine as any we’d find here?
We walked hand in hand to the dresses, but all the ones I picked out apparently weren’t good enough. I threw up a hand after Thad rejected the little black dress I was holding. I thought little black dresses were supposed to be good for any occasion! “Look, why don’t you just tell me what it’s for? Then I’ll know how dressy it should be.”
“No.”
“Ugh, fine.” I fished out my phone, found Myra’s number, and called her.
“Hello, sweetheart.”
“Hi, Myra. Thad wants me to find a dress to wear, but he won’t let me know what for. Can he talk to you about it?”
“I believe I already know what kind of dress you need, so leave it to me! Now let me talk to your man and give him the details.”
I passed the phone over, super annoyed that something was happening and it involved me, but I hadn’t a clue what it was about. Thad seemed relieved when he hung up the phone and gave it back. “Good. That’s settled. Now let’s get out of this place and do some relaxing. I’m fucking tired and just want to have my time with you.”
My body warmed with his words, and I again wondered where we were going. I knew it involved water, but it was getting late. Should you even swim after dark?
“What the fuck was that whole thing about? You both were being secretive. What if, whatever you all have planned, I don’t want to do it? Have you thought of that?”
Thad paused his stride to the check-out counter and spun toward me. He caught me by the shoulders before I ran into him. Mouth set firm and eyes focused on me, he said, “I know you don’t love me—yet—but if you had the chance, would you, could you love all of us?”
My eyes widened. “Whoa, that’s some heavy shit coming from you. Why bring this up now? We have time to get to know each other. We don’t have to rush into anything, right?”
Judging by his expression, that was not the right answer. I put a hand on the arm that held me. “What’s going on?”
He dropped his hands from my shoulders, my own falling to my side. “I think we totally misjudged this,” he growled as he twisted away from me and drew a hand through his hair.
“Hey-hey.” I tried to reassure him. “Just tell me. I’ll listen.”
He turned back to me. “Okay, let me do this again. What if I found someone else? Could you let me go?”
The light within in me responded to my anger with a sharp, staggering pain piercing my chest. I knew the answer. No. No way in hell could I let him go. “No,” I told him, stepping up to his tall frame and staring at him with narrowed eyes. “The fuck you say.” I denied him with all the fierceness in my soul. “No. You cannot find anyone else.” I jabbed him in the chest with my finger. The light within brightened with my claim. “You’re mine. Cameron’s mine. Justin, Nox, and fuckin’ Caleb—all mine. No take backs. This is it. I don’t give a fuck if you like someone–”
Thad’s hand flew over my mouth as his eyes crinkled at the corners and his lips tilted up. This was so not a fuckin’ laughing matter! He’d just said he might leave me. Fuck no.
He drew me into the women's clothing section and out of sight, trying to calm my struggles. He was going to get an ass beating. I was going to kick him in the balls—no—I was going to suck his dick and leave him hanging. Shit, no. Nevermind. I was going to make him get me off first then–
“Shit! Stop talking about my dick and kicking my balls. I’ll gladly get you off as much as you want, just shut it for a sec, Juju!”
Oh. Did I say all that out loud? I stopped struggling, and he let go of my mouth. I glared at him with my fists at my sides. “Who’s the broad, huh? I want to have a chat with her.”
He was grinning, shaking his head. “If I knew this would be your reaction, I would have had this conversation a long time ago.”
I reared back. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
Thad came in close, but I backed up; he lunged for me and grabbed me around the waist then kissed me. “I’m not going anywhere,” he said against my lips. “Neither are the others. I just had to make sure we’re all on the same page.”
I moved my lips from his and whispered in his ear, “Then what the fuck was that all about?”
He let me down and smacked my ass, taking the swimsuit from me. “Let me pay for this and we can go.” He put up a finger when I went to argue again. “And when we get there, I’ll let you go twenty questions on me, okay?”
I stared at him and relented. “Fuck, fine.”
He grinned. “I think I like you mad.”
I shoved him. “Go.”
***
After the mall experience, Thad drove through a drive-thru for food. Light was fading when we drove onto a dirt road and into the forest. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he was taking me to the middle of the woods to kill me, but I trusted him. Plus, I could shim.
You know what those Lydents say: when the going gets tough, shim. Okay, so they don’t say that, but it’s totally my thing. Using shimming for avoidance. It’s like the ultimate argument ender. Instead of hanging up on the person—like you would when on the phone with them—you’d just shim mid conversation. Like, nope, sorry, not going to listen. Shim. Can you imagine me as a Lydent teenager? I shook my head, snorting at the thought.
Thad shot me a glance. “What was that for?”
“I was thinking of me as a Lydent teen. I don’t think I would have been a good one. I would have seriously gotten into a lot of trouble.”
Thad chuckled. “No doubt.”
When the car stopped, we were at a sign-in booth for a campsite. “What are we doing here?”
Thad reached over and filled out the small form and dropped some cash into the box. “They don’t have cameras here and we can leave the car without anyone worrying about us when we shim. I’m just going to set up a small tent and then we can go where we want.”
I sat back, pretty impressed by his idea. “So, this is your secret spot?”
He shook his head as he drove through to the back of the lot. “Nope. This is just phase one.”
Parking, he went to the back of the truck and grabbed the small tent that would barely fit the two of us and, with his speed talent, had it up in no time. “Grab the bag with the towels and stuff in the back seat.”
I followed his directions and jumped slightly when the car beeped that it was locked.
“Sorry.” Amusement laced his tone, which made me think he wasn’t that sorry. When I was close enough, Thad took the bag from me and opened the flap to the tent. “Get in.”
I did as he asked, and he came in after me, zipping the door up behind us. It was hard to stand up in the small space, especially for him, as he came over and crouched down. “You can take off your clothes here.”
“Gee, thanks.”
He turned around, and I made quick of underdressing as he pulled off his shirt, and instead of turning around, I watched him undress in the darkened shadows.
I quickly donned my suit before he asked if it was okay to turn around.
“Give me a sec.” I spun around to face the tent wall and struggled with the clip in the back of the top part of the bikini.
I felt his fingers there, taking the two frustrating clips from me. “Here let me.”
“I can do it,” I grumbled but let him do it. “I do it all the time.”
His fingers brushed against my back as he chuckled. I shivered. “I should hope not,” he retorted.
He spun me around when he was done and reached out for my hand. “Ready?” he asked with a raised brow, almost daring me to respond to his sexual innuendo.
Feeling a bit awkward being in a tent with a bikini on, I grabbed his hand, trusting him, and ignored his silent dare. “I guess?”
He drew me to his bare chest, folding his arms around me. His head dipped down, and I swear I felt his lips at the crown of my head. “Don’t worry, you’ll have fun.” Then he shimmed us away.