40. Corey

“Corey, you should buy a boat,” Lenny says as we taxi closer to the pier.

“Maybe you should,” Palmer counters.

“With my first paycheck,” Lenny confirms, draining the dregs of his beer. “Are we heading back to Camp after this?”

I woodenly nod, knowing it’s the only way to get Fallon there, though the idea of having them all come has my neck and back muscles straining. I’ve spent the day dodging Kelly’s unabashed efforts to flirt while having a front-row seat to Brent making every damn excuse to talk to and touch Fallon.

I nearly tossed him overboard while we were packing up when Fallon tried to scoot away from him, and he crowded closer to her.

“Hell yes.” Pops nods. “Tell me you guys have food. There was one beer in the fridge when we left, and I’m starving.” He grabs his phone. “Should I text the others?”

“No,” Mila says automatically. “No randos this year.”

Lenny looks affronted. “It was a good time. Plus, our ratio is way off right now. There are too many dudes to chicks.”

“It’s only the soccer team this year,” Aiko says. “Someone insisted on making this year a team event.” Her gaze slides to Kelly and then bypasses to Fallon.

My already raised hackles stand even higher. I’m about to make a scathing comment when Lenny roughly runs his knuckles over Aiko’s hair, messing it up. “God, you’re in a bitchy mood today. Feeling hangry, or has your team poisoned the well? You like us, remember?”

I miss her reply as we pile off the rental boat with our things.

“We’ll follow you,” Pops says to me.

“I’m borrowing Evelyn,” Mila announces before grabbing her hand and hauling her toward my truck, leaving Grey to ride with Hudson because Palmer’s already in my passenger seat.

The moment the doors of my truck are closed, Mila leans forward. “What in the hell was that? Are you the asshole, or is she? I am so damn confused.”

“Yeah. I thought you cleared shit up with Kelly?” Palmer says. “And why didn’t we leave that asshole Brent out in the middle of the ocean?”

“Are you two swingers?” Mila asks. “Because that’s the only rational explanation I can think of for what happened today.”

“We’re not fucking swingers,” I say, fastening my seat belt and starting my truck.

Mila shakes her head. “Are you two together? Is it a secret relationship?”

I run a hand down my face. “No.”

Mila looks at the others before staring at me. “No, you’re not together? Or no, it’s not a secret?” The inflection in her voice reveals her confusion.

“Fallon’s in a horrible position,” Evelyn interjects.

“How do you know?” Mila asks her.

“She came into The Spiced Chai a few weeks ago with someone, and I overheard them talking about Corey. I just didn’t realize they were talking about him at the time.”

“Oh, little bird,” Palmer says. “Keep singing, and I’ll show you where I hid the last of the doughnuts we picked up this morning.”

“I knew there were more!” Mila cries.

“What did they say?” Palmer asks as I take the single road that leads north on the island.

“Did you miss the part where I said overheard? I told her I wouldn’t say anything.” Evelyn leans back. “Besides, we know what’s going on. Kelly and Fallon are friends, and Kelly likes Corey.”

“But Corey doesn’t like Kelly,” Palmer says.

Evelyn releases a heavy sigh. “I don’t know the whole story, but the gist of what I overheard was that Kelly told Fallon that she liked someone, and Fallon encouraged her to pursue him, not knowing it was Corey.”

Palmer splutters and then roars with laughter.

Mila turns venomous eyes on me. “Why are you letting this happen? If you like Fallon, set Kelly straight.”

“I did. I tried,” I fire back. “I told her I like someone else and only want to be friends.”

“Well, maybe you need to say it again and a little louder this time.” Mila folds her arms across her chest.

“You remember how well Emma listened,” Evelyn says, reminding her of the booster’s daughter who liked Grey last year despite believing he was dating Mila.

“Maybe Fallon should be the one telling Kelly,” Palmer says.

“Kelly’s her only friend on the team,” I tell him.

“Only friend? Not to stir the pot, but is there a reason she only has one friend?” Mila asks.

“I take offense,” Evelyn says. “My friend circle has always been small.”

“It’s because she transferred from Westfield,” I interrupt.

Palmer shakes his head. “Can you imagine how badly we’d razz a transfer from Westfield?”

“Especially if they’d single-handedly beat us the previous year.” I looked up the stats and read the sparse articles accrediting Fallon as one of the women to watch in soccer.

“Okay, so just so we’re a hundred percent clear, Kelly is a hard no, and you like Fallon?” Mila asks.

“And Brent’s still an asswipe,” Palmer adds.

Mila sighs. “We should probably invite the randos over,” she says as we pull up to the beach house. “We’re going to need more distractions if you don’t want Kelly up your ass all night.”

“Ready for shit show part deux?” Palmer asks.

I’m not, but it meets me head-on as Lenny whoops and charges up the front steps.

“…wait until you see the inside of Camp,” Kelly tells Fallon.

Fallon glances at me and then at the beach house. “Camp?”

Kelly nods. “That’s what they call this place. Corey owns it. That’s why they’re not staying in town with us.”

Fallon glances at me.

“You didn’t tell her?” Kelly asks with a smile that tells me she’s glad she knows something about me that Fallon doesn’t.

Lenny pounds me on the back and releases another whoop as Kelly leads Fallon inside and starts giving her a tour of the house.

The beach house has always been my place of solace, but within a few hours of returning from the marina, it’s been fully breached. At least forty people have shown up. I haven’t bothered to see who I recognize. Nolan’s paranoid with so many guys from the soccer team here, Lenny’s shitfaced and can be heard from every damn part of the house, Kelly has been stalking me like a fucking cornerback, and my friends are all being obvious as they attempt to intervene between me and Kelly and Fallon and Brent.

I slip out the side door that leads to a level of the deck that remains untouched by the chaos, and my gaze lands on Fallon leaning on the rail, facing the ocean.

She turns and looks over one shoulder as I walk toward her. Uncertainty swims in her blue eyes as she looks between the house and me.

“Hiding?” I stop beside her.

A secret is camouflaged in her smile. “Avoiding confrontation is one of my fatal flaws. What’s your excuse?”

My gaze roves over her face like a caress, soaking in the details I’ve already memorized a dozen times today alone. Her cheeks have a hint of red from too much sun on the boat. “I was looking for you.”

Defeat creases her brow again. “Today was such a mess. I have no idea what to do. I think she really likes you, Corey, and?—”

“It doesn’t matter. I?—”

“Hey! There you are!” Kelly calls, interrupting me before I can assure Fallon of everything I need to—everything I should have when realizing I’m done being in this neutral purgatory.

Fallon shifts away from me before Kelly places herself between us. “What are you guys doing out here?”

“Escaping the chaos for a second,” Fallon tells her.

“Everyone’s ready to go out.” She turns to me. “Mind if we ride with you?”

I’d rather stick a fork in my eye than give Kelly a ride and continue fueling her confusion, but as she wraps her hand around Fallon’s arm, I find myself following them inside, where everyone’s finalizing plans and guzzling the last of their drinks.

“This place has live music,” Pops says as he scrolls through his phone.

Palmer drifts closer to me, raising a brow. I know he’s asking if this is a good idea.

It’s not.

It’s a terrible fucking idea, but if we don’t go, Brent will be with Fallon all night, and I’ll make Nolan’s bad mood look like a preamble.

I nod and turn to Pops. “We’re going to The Leaky Starboard.”

Fallon’s eyes snap to me, and I don’t work to conceal my smirk. I’m taking her back to the bar where we met, back to where she extended the invitation for our one-night stand.