Page 64 of Bad Boy Crush
She’d added a concert to the website for Asher Knight and his band Knight Time. They no longer did worldwide tours since Asher had settled down here with his kids and his wife, Gloria, but he performed on occasion. The entire band coming to town was a rare treat. Lou had never seen them live, so she’d been particularly excited to hear the news.
She closed the browser window and revealed her journal file from behind it. She’d written about Sunday night, how they’d spent the day on Ant’s boat eating snacks and swimming. He’d stayed at her place and woke her in the morning with intimate kisses, and then had brought her coffee in bed. She’d never felt more refreshed.
Today they had plans to go to a cookout at Brady and Elliott’s. The menu was pulled chicken, barbecue jackfruit, and potato salad. Lou had offered to bring a dish, so she spent the next hour chopping vegetables and preparing homemade hummus. Since the sky was clear and the day hot, she had also made a batch of sun tea.
She carried over her offerings in a handled canvas bag, crossing the patch of grass separating hers and Elli and Brady’s property. Their dog, Lila, bounded out of the open door, her tail wagging excitedly.
“Hey, pretty girl,” Lou greeted the blond and white pooch.
“Oh, cute top.” Elli followed, her shorts and tank similar to Lou’s, except Lou’s shirt was frilly on the bottom. “I like you in pink.”
“Thanks. I usually wear blue.” She’d jotted that detail into her journal this morning too. The softer, feminine color suited her mood today. After being her own advocate and champion for so long, she finally felt safe enough to shed some of her battle armor.
“Ant will be along in an hour or so. He said to start without him,” Lou said as she walked into the kitchen.
“We’ll have no problem doing that.” Brady was at the kitchen counter shoveling barbecued chicken into his mouth.
Lou set the veggie tray and jug of sun tea on the counter as Elli chastised him for eating “constantly.” Brady argued he was a grown man and needed sustenance. Elli said she should be sustenance enough. Then they made out.
“Your displays of affection used to irk me, but I find them much more tolerable now,” Lou said through a laugh when they finally stopped sucking face.
“Because you’re gettin’ some.” He squeezed Elli’s ass. “I’m going to ice down some beers. If you need me, garage. Lila, come help. There’s an ice cube in your future!” The dog trotted behind him, and then Elliott and Lou were alone in the kitchen.
“Ever since he moved in, the garage has become his sacred domain. Men.” Elli rolled her eyes.
“You two are good together.”
“Yeah, we are.” Her friend pushed a lock of dark hair behind her ear. “I love him. I love it here. I love this house, this lake. I love you.”
“I love you too.” Lou hugged her newest friend. Just last summer she’d been a stranger standing on the beach outside of Lou’s house. Now, Lou couldn’t imagine life without her.
“So, you’ve been giving everyone except me the scoop on you and Ant. I miss one bonfire, and suddenly I know nothing.” Elli lifted her arms in exasperation.
“There is no scoop.”
“May and Lisa say differently.”
“May and Lisa have their own interpretation of the facts.”
“But you and Ant are having sex.”
“Plenty of it.” She wouldn’t deny that. “We’re also friends, like we’ve always been.”
“There was a time not so long ago when you weren’t friends.”
Lou peeled the plastic wrap off the plate of veggies. “We had a strong friendship that survived a bump. That’s not going anywhere. Not again.”
“So, you’re in it for the long haul.” In-love Elliott smiled.
“I don’t know. Who knows? Not me.” Lou laughed uncomfortably. She was unused to fielding questions about her and Ant’s relationship.
“It could happen. What if you two stay together forever?”
Lou dunked a carrot stick into the hummus and waved it as she talked. “I’m not thinking about the future. Ant and I are enjoying our time together, the end.”
“Okay, okay.” Elli held out her hands defensively.
“Sorry. I just… Liam put me through it, you know?” Then she remembered that Elliott did know. She’d dated a real piece of work, a man who’d practically stolen her life from her. When Elli had arrived at the Cove, she didn’t trust anyone. “Of course you know.”