Page 130 of Something So Strong

Wait. No. How are we here already?

Cleo leads the way, tits first, into the hotel’s main foyer.

Letting everyone else enter first, I wait back and see the bellboy’s eyes land on her chest and not move until I cough. He stares straight at me, mortified—poor kid. He’s only male, and Cleo’s tits could be classed as a weapon of mass destruction if used correctly.

“You need to watch it or you’re gonna take someone’s eyes out with those.” Romeo spins towards Cleo and points straight at her nipples with both hands.

Beside me, I sense Kendall’s pace falter, and I watch from the corner of my eye as she looks down at her own chest.

“Lookin’ hot tonight, Ken.” I glare at Romeo, who hadn’t missed when I flung my arm around her shoulders. “Those pants are doing things to me.”

Kendall bats my chest with a bashful giggle, and Romeo swallows the words in his throat. He knows where he went wrong and he needs to learn how to do better.

“My man does not tell a lie.” Jesse’s arm wraps around Kendall’s waist and the three of us follow behind Cleo and Romeo—whose hands are now in his pockets and his head is straight forward. “It’s usually a lot sexier to leave something to the imagination.”

Turning, Cleo’s heels click backward against the marble tiles of the foyer as she gives Jesse a wry grin. But she’s not mad. She knew what she was doing when she picked that dress to wear. And I know she loves Kendall and would never actually try to take Romeo from her.

Doing a little skip so she’s facing forward again, Cleo sidesteps toward Romeo, grabs his forearm, and hugs it to her chest.

His back goes stiff as a board as she stares up at him, but—props to the man—he doesn’t look back down at her and continues to lead the way to 52 Degrees.

“Don’t sweat it.” I hear Jesse whisper. “He’s only got eyes for you.”

“I know—” Kendall gasps, claps her hands over her mouth, and Jesse and I watch her face redden to match her hair in real time. I’m not sure whose decision it was to keep their relationship a secret, but I do know for certain that the longer their denial goes on, the more entertaining it is for me and Jess. “No-no-no! That’s not what I mean,” she insists, waving her hands frantically. “It’s just… Cleo. She’s a little full-on sometimes. That’s all. You know?”

“Whatever you say, hot stuff.” I hold out my hand to her, and when she takes it, I spin her ballroom style so she’s back between me and Jesse again. “But when you’re ready to admit it out loud, I’m all ears.”

Kendall’s head falls into her hands. “Please stop.”

“Nope. I wanna know what he looks like under those clothes. And I trust your details better than Cleo’s.”

“You could just ask me,” Jesse says with such indifference it would be comical if you didn’t understand our relationship.

“Sorry, Pretty Boy, but I don’t trust you either. Platonic friends and all.”

“Why don’t you just wait until the weather is warmer and he’s in the pool?”

Oh Kendall, my Kendall… Sweetheart. “God, you just get cuter by the minute… No, hun, I’m talking lower.”

Jesse shakes his head and pinches the bridge of his nose when I point to my crotch, and Kendall’s eyes nearly pop out of her head. “I’ve seen that too.”

“Showers don’t count. I need to know if he’s a grower or a shower.”

“He’s both.”

“I thought I was your first.”

“My first one on one.”

Kendall rubbernecks between us as Jesse and I volley above her head.

I couldn’t give a fuck what Romeo’s dick looks like, but Kendall’s whole body is turning red, and thinking about Jesse naked is making me too self-indulgent to stop.

“You’re full of surprises, Baby. Was Saxon there too?”

“Sometimes. But because he’s not too good at sharing, it was usually just the two of us… Plus one or two girls.”

Well, fuck me. Turns out my boyfriend is a freak.

---