Page 54 of Scandalous

“E, why you gotta be such a killjoy?” The scowl on Liam’s face looks out of place on his usually carefree face.

“He’s not wrong though,” Drake says, grabbing my hand, causing me to look at him. “We do have rules we follow when it comes to being in public and on social media. Ezra might have gone about it the wrong way.” He shoots the man a glare. “But he’s telling the truth. We agreed upon a list of dos and don’ts to keep us out of trouble. That includes watching who we associate with.”

“Don’t let them lie to you, Ro. The real reason every single one of us, Ezra included, doesn’t want you going naked in public is very simple. If anyone’s going to see your body, it will be us and only us. Understood?” Santi says, eyes full of heat.

I feel myself blush at how serious he looks.

“I’d really rather you not speak for me,” Ezra murmurs, turning his attention back to the phone.

Santi elbows him before turning to whisper at him.

Drake squeezes my thigh. “We should check the weather, and if it’s nice, do something outside again.”

“Yesterday was the most fun I’ve had in a while,” I admit to him quietly.

“Don’t you two worry your pretty little heads. I’ve got this,” Liam speaks up.

“Famous last words.” Santi groans. “Famous last fucking words.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll make a backup plan,” Ezra mutters under his breath but loud enough for us to hear as he pulls out his phone.

“Hey!” Liam says in outrage, slapping his chest.

Thirteen

Ihuff as I hike behind everyone else. It’s been a long day and it’s not even one o’clock in the afternoon. Liam came in and woke me up at five in the morning, bouncing on my bed, telling me it was time to get ready before bounding off to do the same to Santi across the hall.

When we got back to the hotel last night, Aurora took a quick shower then curled up between Santi and Drake on the couch where we all watched a movie. Well, they watched the movie and I watched her.

She fit into our group seamlessly. It was both refreshing and infuriating.

I have a hard time believing that this is all so effortless. The others may be willing to believe the charade she’s putting on, but I know there has to be something she’s hiding. Either she wants to use us for something, or she plans to fuck with our heads before leaving. Either way, one of us needs to be the adult in this situation.

I guess it will have to be me.

So as they all got ready, I tried to listen in. To gauge what her motives are. I mean, it seems like a pipe dream that we would actually all find one girl we like and are willing to share, but for her to want each one of us back? Well, that sounds like a fairy tale.

So when we left the hotel, I made sure to stay close to her, even going as far as sitting next to her in the SUV. Liam demanded to drive since the reservation was in his name, but Santi wrestled the keys away from him. Thank god for small favors because as much as I love Liam, I do not trust him behind the wheel. The man drives like he’s got nine lives.

After a two-hour drive, we arrived in a small town in upstate New York. When we pulled into the first activity, I knew that Liam chose it just to torture me. After three hours of zip-lining down a mountain, my balls ached from the harness and my body was strung tighter than a violin string.

The entire time I watched them all interact and felt like the fifth wheel. They openly teased her and touched her.

She teased you too, though, even with your piss-poor attitude,a little voice in my head reminds me.

I couldn’t give in though. As much as my body seems to crave her, I know how it will turn out. Just like everything else in our lives. Shitty.

The only people we have ever been able to depend on are each other. I don’t see this woman being any different.

Unfortunately, as soon as we were done zip-lining, Aurora saw a sign for a waterfall. The excitement on her face had the other guys agreeing to the hike quickly, much to my dismay.

Her laughter has me looking up to where she’s hiking ahead of us. I watch as she says something to Liam before taking off at a jog, Liam hot on her trail.

“You hanging in there?” Santi smirks as he falls into step next to me.

“He did this to spite me,” I mutter.

Santi throws his head back and laughs. He misses it, but it makes Aurora look back and smile.

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