“Is he the one who was hitting on you in front of everyone?” Shauna asks.
“Yeah,” I laugh. “Go on. I’ll stay away from the alcohol.”
“But not Jared?” Darian asks, narrowing his eyes.
“I won’t approach him, but I also won’t be a bitch to him if he comes over to me,” I say. “Don’t trust your friend?”
“Mia… that man would sell his own mother to get laid. Unless he knows they are openly dating someone, he will push the limits,” Declan says, and I laugh.
“That sounds like you two need to be a bit more assertive with how you claim her,” Shauna says as she hooks her arm in mine. “You do not get to tell her who she can and cannot talk to, firstly. Secondly, if you are not willing to call her your girlfriend in front of everyone in this place, she can flirt with whoever the fuck she wants.”
“What she said but less sass,” I say with a smile.
“We are going to go swimming now. Go do your thing, boys.” she smiles.
“That’s a lot of shit-talking for someone who can’t tell us apart,” Declan says with a smirk.
“I don’t need to know your name to beat your ass,twin A,” Shauna retorts. I giggle and pull her along. Declan and Darian smile and shake their heads at us before turning and walking toward some guys.
We get in the shallow end so that we are in the water up to our waist, but we are off to the side, so we are not in anyone’s way.
“I’m surprised that you came with me,” Shauna says.
“I’m trying to make myself be a normal person,” I laugh. “I also find joy in teasing them now.”
“They’re watching us so closely,” she laughs. “I’d like to say it’s controlling but really I think they are just overprotective.”
“Yeah. I could tell that they very much wanted to tell me not to wear a bikini, but they also understand how controlling that would be.”
We enjoy the water for a while before we get out and move to the chairs. Right as we get back to our seats, Jared comes over. “Hello, ladies,” he says.
“Hey, Jared,” I smile. “This is my best friend, Shauna.”
“Nice to meet you,” he says, shaking her hand. “I assume you’re the troublemaker of the two of you?”
“Yes,” I laugh. “You know eventually they’ll get mad at you for being all… you.”
“That or they’ll pull their head out of their ass and actually act like they care about you as much as I think they do,” he says with a smile.
“Is that why you did all that yesterday?” I ask.
“Yeah. They talk about you so much that we all know they’re madly in love with you, but I think they are afraid of someone fucking with you because your parents are married,” he says.
“That’s dumb,” Shauna says. “I say you two just flirt it up because they’re staring you two down right now.”
“Oh, so they can kill their friend?” I ask.
“They wouldn’t kill me. They know all it takes is for them to actually treat you like a girlfriend and I’ll stop,” he says.
“And if they don’t?” I ask with a sweet smile.
“Then I guess I’ll be the one to find out what you feel like first,” he says, and I instantly blush, then giggle.
“Oh, you’re good. They look pissed,” Shauna says.
“Are you trying to get them to break? Because I still don’t know if I’ll survive if they both come after me,” I say.
“And you think you’ll survive if I do?” he asks, raising an eyebrow.