Building Something Hot Page 2

  “Fat chance, Mom!” Briella countered.

  “You never know…”

  “Come on crazy, let’s go get ready for your date tonight,” Briella said to Mila as she pulled her up off the couch.

  Charlee laughed at the girls heading upstairs. When they had disappeared up the stairs, she sat quietly on the sofa, letting herself become acclimated to the new house, the new life. She looked around her house with pride, thinking she was going to enjoy living here, and everything was finally going to be alright.

  As soon as the girls entered the bar, they were met by Kason and a set of shots.

  “It’s about time! I thought I was going to have to start drinking without ya’ll!” Kason said, as he handed them their shots.

  “Easy, Country Boy! Don’t want you to shoot your load too quick now,” Briella joked.

  Kason leaned closer to Briella.“That’s never been a problem for me,” he murmured, his voice husky. His hot breath passing by her ear made Briella’s knees go weak.

  Mila shot Briella a glance as if to say, I told you so. Briella just shook her head.

  Kason’s grin was broad and cocky. “So, when do ya’ll return to the jungle, I mean, New York?”

  “Not soon enough, actually,” Briella laughed. “We’ll be flying out the day after tomorrow. Time to get back to the real world.”

  “So I only have tonight and tomorrow to convince ya’ll to stay?” Kason asked.

  “Yeah, but save your breath. It won’t work. There is no chance in hell of us staying here,” Briella said.

  “Oh, no kidding! I can’t believe it!” Kason yelled, looking at the door. He stepped away from the girls and ran towards someone who had just come into the bar.

  “Must be upset that his new girlfriend won’t stay,” Mila teased Briella. “But seriously, I haven’t heard you tell him about Jameson?”

  “What’s to tell about Jameson, and what difference does it make? It’s not like I will see this guy after tomorrow, anyway. You’re making this out to be a bigger deal than it is,” Briella said. She finished stating her opinion just in time to be joined by Kason and another guy.

  “Mila, this is my long lost best friend, Dexter. He just moved back here from Connecticut,” Kason said as Mila and Dexter shook hands.

  “How rude not to introduce me too! I’m Briella, by the way,” Briella said, and gave a dirty look to Kason as she shook Dexter’s hand.

  “Sorry, I just knew that if I introduced ya to Dexter then he’d have his sights set on you all night,” Kason teased

  Mila leaned over and whispered in Briella’s ear. “I told you so.”

  “Shut up,” Briella whispered back.

  After quite a few drinks, all four seemed to loosen up. Dexter took Mila out on the dance floor to try to teach her how to two-step. Kason asked Briella to dance, but she preferred to wait for a slow song. As luck would have it, the next song was slow, and Kason pulled a reluctant Briella out onto the floor, where Dexter and Mila were already dancing close together.

  When Kason pulled Briella against him, the pleasant shock sailed all the way through her body. She breathed in his scent and felt his muscles rippling underneath her hands. She felt so safe in his arms, like nothing could go wrong in the world.

  Briella tried to shake away the fairy-tale that was playing in her head . What am I thinking? I know nothing about this guy, and he knows nothing about me. Besides, I will be gone the day after tomorrow, and I won’t ever see him again.

  “Well, don’t they look cute,” Dexter said to Mila, pointing out Briella and Kason. “You know, as soon as I walked in here, Kason told me about these amazing girls that I had to meet, but not to get sweet on Briella.” He laughed as he looked down into her eyes.

  “I’m glad you’re not Briella,” he confessed.

  Mila grinned. “I’m glad I’m not Briella either.” She started to lay her head on Dexter’s shoulder, then looked up at him instead. “We’re leaving soon though. We live in New York.”

  Dexter raised an eyebrow. “Oh, they don’t have telephones in New York, or e-mail?”

  “Ha-ha, smart ass. I just don’t want to start something we can’t finish,” Mila said, then rolled her eyes. “Good grief, listen to me. I sound like a helpless little girl. You’d never believe how independent Briella and I are.”

  “Too independent to see where things might go?”

  Mila blinked at him for a moment, then smiled. “Okay, let’s see where things take us. I mean, Briella’s mom would love for us to come and visit her all the time.” She laughed, now blushing hard. “I’m trying not to get ahead of myself, sorry. I tend to ramble when I start drinking.”

  Dexter laughed with her, then put his hand under Mila’s chin, and tilted it up so that he was looking in her eyes. “Like I said, I’m glad you’re not Briella.” And then he leaned down and touched his lips to hers for a long moment. He pulled back and smiled, and Mila laid her head on his shoulder.

  After the song ended, the lights came up in the bar, telling everyone it was closing time. Dexter and Kason escorted the girls out of the bar and they stood in the parking lot, trying to make plans for the next day.

  “Okay, how about lunch? Do you think we could see ya’ll outside of a bar?” Kason asked.

  “Sure Country Boy, that’s fine,” Briella said. “Where do you want to go for lunch? We’ll meet you there.”

  “How ‘bout ya’ll meet us at my house. We’ll go from there. Dress casually. If you have bathing suits, bring them,” Kason decided.

  “I guess so,” Briella agreed, then got Kason’s address and headed home with Mila in a cab.

  The next day, Briella and Mila dressed in shorts and t-shirts over their swimsuits and drove to Kason’s house. When the property came into view, both women stared in a moment of stunned silence. Briella had to admit that the house looked like nothing she had ever seen in person. The property alone must have cost a ton, let alone an architecturally perfect house!

  “No way he owns this,” Briella said. “He must still live with his parents.”

  Mila nodded slowly as they continued up the driveway. “That’s some house,” was all she said.

  Kason and Dexter met the girls out in the driveway. When Mila got out of the car, Dexter took her hand and kissed her cheek. He lingered a bit, and Mila didn’t seem to mind at all.

  Briella gave Kason a hug. “You still live with your parents, Country Boy?”

  “Um, nope. It’s all mine. Sorry to disappoint you. But if ya’ll really want to meet my parents, I can arrange that,” Kason teased and Briella’s face flushed.

  “Come on, let’s head out back,” Dexter spoke up, and led the girls to the backyard and down a path.

  When they got to the end of the path, both girls had another moment of awed silence. In front of them was a crystal clear lake. Off to one side was a table, all set up for a picnic. On the other side of the table there was a dock, with a sizeable boat and two jet skis tethered to it.

  “This is all yours, Country Boy? Did you win the lottery or something?” Briella asked.

  “Actually, my grandparents left me a little bit of money when they passed away, and I’ve been working my ass off since I was nineteen for the rest of it,” Kason explained.

  “Pretty impressive!” Mila said.

  Briella couldn’t say a word. Her face burned crimson red with embarrassment. She had been a little too hasty to assume, and she knew it. Kason was being kind by not calling her out on it.

  “Yeah, and generous too,” Dexter boasted. “Kason is letting me move in with him since I sold my house when I left for Connecticut.”

  “Ah, dang, that ain’t nothing. Ya’ll would be here all the time anyway, might as well let you move in!” Kason teased, as though letting someone move into his house was no big deal at all. “Anyway, let’s eat. I can’t wait to see what I cooked!”

  “You mean what Parker cooked?” Dexter asked.

  “Who’s Parker?” Briella asked, p
retending not to care. Mila looked at her with knowing eyes, seeing right through Briella’s act. Was her friend actually jealous?

  “Um, Parker’s my cook and my maid.” Kason blushed. “It’s not like I try to show that I have money, I just can’t cook for shit and I’m pretty typical about cleaning up after myself.”

  Three of them laughed. Briella took a deep breath. A maid? A cook? All this house and all the things that went along with it? She felt decidedly stupid for having judged Country Boy so quickly.

  “Let’s eat,” Mila said. “I’m starving.”

  Lunch consisted of salad, mushroom chicken over yellow rice, and some kind of French dessert with angel food cake, pudding and strawberries. The four of them dug in and soon the spread was completely decimated. Only crumbs were left when they all sat back and groaned in unison.

  “I’m so full I might pop,” Dexter said, sounding both satisfied and miserable at the same time.

  “No kidding,” Kason agreed.

  Mila laughed. “Wow, that was awesome, Kason. Thanks!”

  “It was really good, Country Boy,” Briella echoed. “I’m stuffed!”

  “I don’t know where you put all that food in such a tight body, Briella,” Kason laughed.

  “Yeah, Briella sure can shovel it in. When I first met her, I used to follow her to the bathroom to see if she puked after she ate, since she never gained any weight,” Mila confessed.

  “Yeah, nice after lunch comment there, Mila!” Briella punched her arm.

  “Sorry!” Mila apologized, giggling.

  “Anyway. It was good, I’ll have to tell Parker ya’ll enjoyed it,” Kason said. “How ‘bout a ride in the boat?”

  “I don’t know if you’ll want to see me in my bathing suit after eating so much damn food!” Briella teased.

  “Hell, yeah I do!” Kason blurted out. “I mean…um…I…”

  Briella gave him a knowing look. “Uh huh.”

  “Okay, let’s go boating!” Dexter yelled and ran toward the boat. The girls laughed and followed him to the dock. Kason hung back for a minute, slapped his forehead for sounding lame, then joined the others at the boat.

  Man alive, please let me get through the rest of this day without saying anything else stupid like that! Kason thought, as he got into the boat and gunned it for the middle of the lake.

  Chapter Four

  Kason and Dexter spent the next hour showing Briella and Mila different sites along the lake. Briella couldn’t help but notice how absolutely beautiful it was on the lake, like a wonderland of nature, and how lucky Kason was to live right beside it.

  The foursome headed back to Kason’s dock and decided to take the jet skis for a spin. Mila and Dexter took the two jet skis out first, leaving Kason and Briella on the shore.

  Briella took off her t-shirt and shorts to get some sun. Kason watched every move she made, and didn’t even bother to hide the moment when his jaw dropped and his eyes widened. . Briella laughed. “Told you I shouldn’t have eaten so much. Do I look like a beached whale or something?”

  “No! Not at all. I just didn’t realize ya’ll were in such good shape,” Kason managed to stammer out.

  “Well, thanks, I think?” Briella laughed.

  After Briella lay down on the beach towel to get some sun, Kason took his shirt off to join her. Briella snuck a look when his head was turned and was impressed by what she saw. He was so different from Jameson. Kason looked good without even trying.

  Briella chided herself as she looked away. Stop thinking of Kason like that. No need to compare them, you’ll be gone tomorrow idiot!

  A few minutes later, Mila and Dexter came roaring back to the beach. Mila was out of breath and completely happy. “That was so cool! It is so much fun to ride these things,” she raved.

  Briella and Kason got up to take their turn on the jet skis. “Have ya’ll ever ridden one of these?” Kason asked Briella.

  Briella nodded. “Yeah, but it was a while ago. I also had someone on the back with me, showing me what to do.”

  “Well, we can either go separate, or I could ride with ya and help you out,” Kason offered.

  “I think I need a little help. I’m not sure a quick refresher course would help me with this thing,” Briella said, as she got on the Jet Ski. Kason hopped on behind her and showed her what all the controls did, where the gas was and where the brake was. After his mini-lesson, they turned and waved to Dexter and Mila on the shore, and took off to the middle of the lake.

  “Hmm, interesting!” Mila said, watching them go

  “So, what’s her story?” Dexter asked.

  “Well, not much of a story. She is a hard worker and super-nice, though you wouldn’t know it by the way she has been acting down here,” Mila said, rolling her eyes as Dexter laughed. “Her mom is her best friend, and it hurts that she’s moved all the way down here. I think she is kind of trying to build this wall around her. I know that she likes it here, but she loves New York, and she is trying to find reasons to hate Texas.”

  “Well…it’s a heavy emotional thing for her, apparently.”

  “Yeah…she already misses her mom so much.”

  “What’s she think of my boy?” Dexter asked.

  “Well, that’s not as much a mystery to me as it is to her,” Mila quipped “I can tell she really likes him, but she’s trying to push him away. She doesn’t want to get attached to anyone here in Texas. She won’t even admit to herself that she likes him, but I can tell. I’ve been her friend for too long.”

  “Yeah, I can tell Kason really likes her too, because he doesn’t know how to act around her. It’s almost like he’s nervous, and he hasn’t been nervous around a girl in years.” Dexter paused, remembering. “He’s been burned before. Some girl basically used him for his money. He thought she really loved him.”

  “Well, Briella has money of her own. Her dad died a couple of years ago and left her a bunch. Her mom is very successful, and she just started running a new business too. Besides, Briella has been making lots of money on her own lately. She is so talented and people are finally recognizing her for that.”

  “So, what about you? How do you feel about Texas?” Dexter asked.

  “Well, it’s definitely different from New York! It’s really pretty, but so laid back. I like all the people I’ve met so far, but we’ll be heading home tomorrow.” Mila sighed. “I don’t know, I guess the place grows on you quickly. So why did you leave here to go to Connecticut?”

  “Work. But I realized how much I disliked it there. People tended to be really snobby. All of the clients I had were loaded, and they never let us forget it. So I came back here. I was pretty homesick too. I missed everyone, and I just wasn’t happy there.”

  They sat in silence for a few minutes after that, thinking about how far New York was from Texas. Then Dexter turned to her and smiled, determined to break the sad pall that had fallen over them.

  “Hey, let’s go swimming!” He pulled Mila to her feet and dragged her toward the lake.

  “Um, I don’t think so,” Mila said, and tried to turn back to their towels.

  Dexter grabbed her waist and picked her up off the ground. He ran into the water and threw her in, with Mila kicking and yelling the whole way. After she had resurfaced with a sputter and laugh, she jumped on Dexter’s shoulders, pushing him underwater.

  They played around in the water until they heard the jet ski pull back up. They looked at each other, both instantly knowing the plan as they raced to grab Kason and Briella.

  Briella was a little less than thrilled about being thrown in the water, or at least she acted that way. It actually felt really good to cool off from the heat, but she was worried that her makeup was running and her hair was matted. She was trying not to be self-conscious around Kason, but she couldn’t help it.

  Kason, on the other hand, looked at Briella and thought he had never seen anyone look more beautiful after being thrown in the lake. He wanted to sweep her into his arms and kiss h
er like he had never kissed another woman. Something about her just made his heart sing.

  But he also knew that anything more was impossible. She had another life that she was going back to tomorrow, and he didn’t have any place in that life. He just had to make the best of the last few hours they had together.

  “Hey, what are ya’ll doing tonight?” Kason asked the girls.

  “Maybe spending some time with my mom since we leave tomorrow,” Briella answered. “Why, what’s up?”

  “Well, I know this place that has karaoke tonight, and I thought it would be fun if we all went,” Kason said.

  “We love karaoke!” Mila proclaimed.

  “Let me call my mom and see what she has planned and I’ll let you know.” Briella went to the car to fetch her cell phone and called her mom. She came back to the group with a shocked look on her face.

  “Well, looks like my mom has a date tonight. She’s actually leaving in a few minutes,” Briella said, giving Mila a strange look.

  “Wow…that was fast,” Mila said softly. “But your mom is so popular and pretty - you knew she would be the talk of the town when she got here.”

  Briella nodded and them seemed to shake it off. “So, I guess we’re all yours tonight, guys. Do with us what you will!” Briella said, throwing her arms wide.

  “Okay, how does this sound…let’s go up to the house so me and Dexter can get ready, then we’ll head to your mom’s so you girls can do the same?” Kason asked.

  “I guess. Mom won’t be home anyway,” Briella said, as they picked up their stuff and cleaned up the beach before heading up to the house.

  Kason led Dexter and the girls to the house, where they entered the back door that led to the kitchen. Kason put the picnic basket on the counter and called for Parker. A few moments later, a woman in her mid-thirties walked into the kitchen wearing a small tank top, jean shorts, and bare feet. She had long brown hair that was pulled up into a high ponytail on top of her head. Her brown eyes sparkled when she saw the four people standing in front of her.