Page 77 of Hot Summer

Ada smiled back at Cas over her shoulder as they approached the door, and even though the entire villa was behind them, laughing and cheering them on to what they were probably convinced was going to be a night of raucous sex, in that moment, it was only Ada. Only her smile and the way the fairy lights were reflecting in her gorgeous brown eyes.

“Ready?” Ada pressed her palm to the door, her fingers flexing just the slightest bit, like she was having to stop herself from pushing it open immediately.

Cas nodded, her own smile taking over her face, before she grinned back at everyone following them.

“All right, bye, guys!”

“Bye!”

Femi ran up and grabbed Cas in a hug, squeezing her hard enough that Cas could nearly feel the air pressing out of her lungs.

“Have fun. You deserve it,” he whispered.

When Femi stepped away, a few others stepped forward in turns—Sienna pulled them both into quick hugs, Freddie grabbed Cas and Ada both round the shoulders at once and pulled them in together. It was like they were disappearing from the villa forever, and it made Cas want to laugh and, god, cry all at once.

“You guys act like we’re going off to war,” Ada said, rolling her eyes lightly at them as Freddie released them both, their bodies springing apart.

“Well, I don’t know what you’re going to get up to in there,” Freddie said.

Sienna immediately slapped his chest. “Don’t be gross.”

“Oh no.” The apples of Freddie’s cheeks flushed pink. “I didn’t mean— I meant that, like, they could sneak you out onto a date or something once you’re in there. You could be gone for hours!”

Cas laughed and gestured down at her outfit. “I doubt they’d send us anywhere looking like this.”

It was barely more than the bikinis that she wore on a day-to-day basis, but the outfit she had Femi grab for her tonight felt even more revealing somehow. It was a simple two-piece set, a camisole top with scalloped lace around her breasts and a pair of tiny shorts with lace trim that, as she walked, tended to ride up so her arse cheeks poked out underneath. It wasn’t exactly conservative, especially when compared to some of her bikinis, but it felt daring, wearing this in front of everyone, knowing full well that she’d chosen it with the intention of having Ada find her attractive.

That she’d been putting it on thinking about Ada taking it off her.

She had a few other things tucked away inside the clothes she was holding in her arms, and she was very, very glad that she’d kept those things to herself. She wanted to keep this just for herself. Wanted to keep this just between them.

With a few final goodbyes, Ada finally turned back and pushed the door open. Everyone cheered as they closed the door, and Cas grinned as she heard Sienna start admonishing them all.

“All right, leave them alone.” Leo kept cheering, but then there was a muffled grunt and a scuffling outside the door, and, eventually, everything went silent.

“Wow. It’s so quiet... I never realized how loud they all are.”

Cas turned to find Ada, her arms folded across her middle, cradling her clothes. Her expression was wide with curiosity, her lips parted just slightly as she stared round at the pink and red explosion of a room they were currently standing in.

The walls themselves were white like the rest of the villa, but nearly every inch of wall space was taken up by some piece of furniture or art in shades of red. The wardrobes along the back wall were painted a dark shade of red, the armchair in the corner was red with a light pink accent pillow, the neon sign above it—this one, a pair of lips with a heart-shaped lollipop hanging off the tongue—was red. Every single thing was red.

It was like Christian Grey’s red room, come to life.

The focal point of the room, though, was of course the enormous round bed. It had a plush fabric headboard in the shape of a heart and was covered in a crisp white duvet that was a brilliant shock against the red headboard, the throw pillows, and the matching throw along the edge. There was a bucket of champagne sitting beside it and, surrounded by rose petals, an envelope with a massive heart sticker on the back.

Ada turned to Cas, her eyes wide. “I think they bought every piece of red furniture in Europe and put it in this room.”

Cas laughed. “Without question.”

There was a thick tension in the air, something physical that Cas felt pressing against her chest. She had spent hours, days, weeks with Ada, but this, now...

Cas had been in situations like this dozens of times. In bedrooms with people, the moment rife with potential. In every single one of those scenarios, Cas had known exactly how to behave. Had only felt excitement or anticipation. The thrill of the moment, of having someone’s body on hers, more than enough to satisfy.

Here, though.

Despite how similar this situation felt, there was something very different about it this time. Something real that she hadn’t felt in too many years.

It was vulnerability. That’s what Aisha would have called it.

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