Page 22 of Fireworks Flame
Simone gasps.
“Wrong,” I say. “First, it was not avow. It was a pact. Second, it wasn’t about you or your sexual allure. It was about youandMac.”
“So, you’re tempted to sleep with Mac, too?” He looks overat a very astonished Mac and nods in a congratulatory way. “Nice.”
“Wait,” Mac says before I can speak. “You’re into me?”
“No,” I say firmly.
He shakes his head, seeming not to have heard me. “I knew this face was going to get me into trouble. I can’t control it, you know. I was justbornwith it.”
“Please,” Phoebe says. “I’ve seen pictures of you with braces and enough dots of acne cream across your forehead that it looked like you were being treated for poison ivy.”
“Well, that didn’t stop Liv from wanting to sleep with me.”
“I do not want to sleep with you!” I inhale deeply and lower my voice. “Phoebe and I were simply agreeing that we’d never do anything to mess up the dynamic of the group, which happens to include—”
“Getting naked with us,” Mac interrupts.
“It’s smart of you,” Deiss says, his lip curling smugly, “to recognize your weakness in the face of such temptation.”
I can see his childish attempt to provoke me and will not rise to it.
Unfortunately, Phoebe either doesn’t see it or is unable to muster the same restraint.
“Please,” she says. “We were just kidding around. You couldn’t tempt us if you tried.”
“You think?” Deiss looks annoyingly amused.
Phoebe’s eyes spark with challenge. “Give it a shot.”
Deiss’s amusement is muted by a flicker of apprehension. “What?”
“You heard me. We’re smart, savvy, gorgeous women. It takes more than a sex-panther makeover”—Phoebe flicks to indicate his newly bare face before turning her attention towardMac—“or a decent set of abs to attract women like us. If you really think you’re so irresistible, let’s see you prove it.”
“You want us to come on to you?” Mac looks delighted by the idea.
“Yes,” Simone says quickly, her eyes darting toward Deiss. “That sounds entertaining. I’m willing to participate. For science.”
I snort indelicately, and everyone’s head turns toward me.
“Is that our van?” I deflect the attention by gesturing to the dinged-up scrap of metal that’s rolled to a stop in front of the lobby door.
“Allow me to get the door for you ladies,” Mac says gallantly.
“Well,” Phoebe says, “that’s Mac’s super suave move, so he’s clearly in. How ’bout you, Lucas?”
Deiss slides an arm over her shoulders and hits her with the full force of his gorgeous mouth. “Sure, I’ll give it a shot.”
I groan loudly, but nobody seems to care.
CHAPTER 8
The boat is single-leveled and covered, with benches lining both sides. The middle is empty, presumably so passengers can race from one side to the other when wildlife appears. There’s been a lot of both racing and wildlife appearances. There’s also been a lot of indiscriminate flirting from the guys. I sayindiscriminatebecause the focus of their attention seems to shift with the sway of the boat, although ithasbeen strictly limited to me, Phoebe, and Simone. Never mind the group of four women who are also on the tour, appear to be single, and are far more likely to yield results. The attention would be annoying if it weren’t so comical.
“You know,” Mac says in a deeper voice I’ve never heard him use before today, “I could probably wrestle that croc.”
“Thatcroc?” I point at the seven-foot crocodile the group of women are frantically photographing. Its slow, predatory approach on us is terrifying, as are the guide’s insistent reminders to keep our hands in the boat.
