Free Lust - 1 by Robin Wasserman Page A

than five minutes there, but Beth loved it. She said it made her feel like a “real” journalist.
    “No, it’s actual y real y great,” Beth protested, her bright smile so present in her sunny voice that he could almost see it. “Working with Mr. Powel is going to be so much better than last year with Donovan. He actual y wants to listen to my ideas. In fact, you’l never guess …” Adam sighed good-naturedly as Beth began to chatter about her plans for the paper. He hated how busy she always was, but he loved her earnestness, her passion. The way she threw herself into what she loved.
    He grinned—the way she threw herself at him sometimes didn’t hurt either.
    “Anyway, I think we might work through dinner,” she finished apologetical y.
    “What? I thought we were having dinner together,” he complained, annoyed as quickly as, a moment ago, he’d been aroused.
    “I know, I know, I’m sorry—I was just about to cal you and—”
    He stole a glance at the hot tub, where Kane was now flailing his arms wildly as Harper and Kaia struggled to knock him off balance and submerge him under the water. Kaia let loose a laughing shriek as Kane grabbed her wet, squirming body and tossed it away from him with a loud splash. Adam shook his head in exasperation. Kane was basical y beating them off with a stick, and meanwhile Adam was getting stood up by his own girlfriend. It was more than frustrating, it was humiliating. “Beth, we practical y haven’t seen each other al week!”
    “I know.” She lowered her voice into a sexy whisper. “Look, I promise I’l make it up to you. This weekend we’l —oh, wait, hold on.” Adam waited, his annoyance mounting. In the background he could hear distant voices and the familiar melody of Beth’s laughter.
    Final y: “Sorry, Ad—Mr. Powel needs to go over something with me and the sooner we get through this, the sooner I can get out of here.” Adam made a noncommittal sound. It was better, he knew, to say nothing than to voice the bitter thoughts pounding through his brain.
    “So we’re okay then?” she asked, sounding worried.
    And so he gave in, as always unable to resist the sound of her voice.
    “Of course we’re okay. Go show him how bril iant you are.”
    “Thanks!” she chirped. “Talk to you tonight.”
    “Love you,” he told her.
    But she’d already hung up.
    Adam sighed and stuffed the phone into his backpack. Now what?
    He supposed he could go home and sulk, have dinner with his mother—or, more likely, order a pizza with the guilt money his mother had left before leaving on some date with the flavor of the week. Watch TV, wait for a phone cal that might never come.
    Or …
    Kane was once again stretched out in the water, letting the jets pummel his upper back and lazily tipping the last few drops of his drink into his mouth. Harper, looking—he had to admit—total y hot, was flicking water on a squealing Miranda.
    And Kaia was sporting a barely-there white bikini, which, set off against her perfect tan, made her look like a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model. She floated against the side of the Jacuzzi, her chest to the wal and her chin propped up over the edge on her delicate, slender arms. Her hair fanned out behind her, floating atop the water like a cloud of India ink.
    She was staring right at him.
    And that was definitely what his mother’s trashy romance novels dubbed a “come hither” smile.
    Enough was enough. Adam began peeling off his clothes, hoping he wouldn’t have to take too much shit for the cartoon hearts that decorated his boxers (last year’s Valentine’s Day gift from Beth). He could already imagine how good that water was going to feel as he slid in, right between Harper and Kaia.
    So, yeah, he’d been stood up—but was he supposed to complain about getting to spend the evening surrounded by beautiful half-naked women?
    Maybe the whole thing was, in the end, for the best.
    A hot tub, after al , is a terrible thing to