Page 47 of Hot Summer

Brad never returned after his tantrum, and while it was hilarious to witness, even Cas couldn’t deny that there was probably quite the storm waiting for them when they got back to the villa.

Ada slowed and Cas, unwilling to let her fall behind, matched her pace. After a few seconds, she and Ada were a few meters behind everyone else, the sounds of their conversations already getting carried away on the wind.

“I hope it was okay that I recruited you for the dance,” Ada said suddenly. Cas must have visibly blanched, because Ada grimaced. “Or, okay, if it wasn’t, I hope we can make up?”

“No, no, it was okay.” It was more than okay. Cas would be thinking about it for at least the next fifteen years. “You’re a great dancer. Put the rest of us to shame.”

Ada’s cheeks flushed. “Thanks. I was on the dance team at school.”

“I hope you weren’t dancing like that at school.”

Ada laughed softly, the sound subdued. “No. Well, not at official dance team events anyway.”

They were quiet for a beat. Cas had half a mind to leave the Brad situation alone, to let Ada bring it up if she wanted to, but then she was trying to avoid... well, avoiding things.

“Are you going to go talk to him?”

Cas couldn’t decide if it was better for Ada to completely ignore him or for her to squash this then and there. On the one hand, squashing it meant that they might be able to get along somewhat civilly for... however long they had to wait until the next partnering ceremony, but he had also seemed really, really pissed when he’d stalked off.

Ada sighed. “I guess I have to, don’t I?”

“Probably,” Cas said. “It’ll take years off your life, I’m sure, but it seems best to get it over with.”

Ada let out a small laugh, her eyes dipping down toward her shoes. “I don’t feel like I have many years left at this point, so I hope not.”

Cas knocked her elbow lightly against Ada’s. “Come on, you can do it. Go tear him a new arsehole.”

Cas had spent half her life running away from confrontation and now here she was, actively encouraging Ada to go challenge Brad to a fight in the back garden.

Ada groaned—a sad, miserable sound, very reminiscent of a kicked puppy. “Are we sure it has to be me? I bet we could get Femi to tell him. Or Leo. Either of them seem like they’d be up to the job.”

“I’m sure they would be,” Cas agreed. Femi looked like he wanted to rip Brad’s throat out when he stormed off. “But he probably needs to hear it from you.”

“I doubt he’s going to listen.”

“I mean, yeah, I’m sure he’s far too much of a misogynist to hear what you’re actually saying. But that doesn’t mean you don’t deserve to demand that he hear you.”

“No, yeah.”

Ada didn’t move, so Cas stepped forward and flipped the latch, pushing it open just enough that they could slip inside the back gate.

Brad was sitting at the fire pit, head bent, and even though a chill ran down her spine at the sight of him, she tried to smile encouragingly to Ada.

“Go now. And then it’s over.” Ada hummed evasively, and Cas raised her eyebrows. “You can’t avoid it forever.”

“Rich, coming from you,” Ada muttered, and Cas just laughed.

“Yeah. So if I’m telling you you need to go talk to someone, you really have to go talk to them.”

Ada huffed. “Fine.”

Cas grabbed a spot on the pool deck and kept a careful eye on their conversation, but she had to remind herself, again and again as Ada’s gestures grew wilder and angrier, that this was Ada’s situation to handle.

A few of the boys were in the gym area nearby, Femi, Jayden, and Leo all laughing among themselves as they swapped turns on the bench press. They appeared not to notice the conversation happening at the fire pit, but every now and again, Cas saw Femi look up, his eyes studying Brad and Ada, checking to make sure everything was all right.

Cas couldn’t hear what either of them were saying, but she could just make out Brad’s face from her spot by the pool. His expression, at first, was passive, dismissive, but the more Ada talked, the redder he got until he was standing, shouting. Damn near in her face.

“If you hadn’t acted like such a fucking whore, Ada, then I wouldn’t be angry!”

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