My Fault (Culpable Book 1)

The Hotel Atlantis in the Bahamas was considered one of the best. I’d been twice, and it really was incredible. There was a huge aquarium where you could see sharks, rare fish, and all kinds of sea creatures as you walked down the hall toward the dining room or the casino. Noah was freaking out, and I was happy to know I’d helped her have this experience. We’d reserved two rooms: one for the guys and one for the girls.

We got to the hotel at five in the afternoon. The girls wanted to go straight to the beach. I was dying to see Noah in her bikini, so in thirty minutes, I made sure we were off. The sun was warm, but I wasn’t one to lie down on a towel and soak up rays. I liked to surf, but even if that wasn’t in the cards, I was content to know I’d have something pretty to look at.

Hence my disappointment when we got to our beach chairs and Noah took off her dress. Unlike Jenna, who was wearing a provocative bikini, Noah was wearing a black one-piece. It was hot, sure, but I wanted to see a little more skin, a little more of that soft, flat stomach, that waist…

Jenna and Lion went straight to the water. She jumped on his back, and he threatened to throw her in. I turned to Noah, who was busy putting on sunscreen.

“Are we back in the nineteen fifties, or did you just forget your bikini at home?”

“If you don’t like it, you don’t have to look,” she said, turning away.

I grimaced. It seemed like whatever I did pissed her off.

She lay down and took a book out of her bag. She read all the time at home. I wondered what it was she liked about Thomas Hardy, but I let it go. My literary tastes and hers had nothing in common, that much was obvious. What was it about her that completely changed who I was, how I acted? Was it those sweet, honey-colored eyes that concealed an indomitable character that would cause anyone to buckle and give in? Was it those freckles, which made her look so innocent and sexy at the same time? I didn’t know, but when she looked up from her book, I knew if I didn’t watch out, I’d go as gaga for her as Lion had for Jenna.

“Come into the water with me,” I said, stretching out a hand and snatching away her book.

“Why?”

“I can think of several reasons. We could swim, look for seashells… Why, Freckles, what did you think I was talking about?”

The flushed pink of her face now turned deep red.

“You’re an idiot, and I’m not getting into the water with you. Now give me back my book.” She reached out, and I grabbed her hand and pulled her close.

“You can read when you’re old. Come on.”

She resisted at first, but then I picked her up and carried her down to the water.

“Let me go!” she shouted, kicking and screaming.

I obeyed, throwing her into the water and laughing when she surfaced, gaping like a fish. She came after me, and I spent the next ten minutes dunking her, running off, and cracking up.

The afternoon was uneventful. I realized that if I kept my hands off Noah, she was capable of relaxing and having fun. On the beach, we drank margaritas and enjoyed the crystal-clear water. I fell asleep in my chair, Lion and Jenna disappeared to do who knew what, and an hour later, when I opened my eyes, Noah was gone. I looked all over for her. Then I heard her laugh. I turned to my left, where a group of college guys was playing volleyball. There was Noah in her swimsuit and skimpy shorts jumping and smacking the ball like a pro while all the guys gawked at her. Most of them were tall and in good shape. One of them hugged her and spun her in the air when she scored, and I fumed with jealousy.

Dammit! I stomped over to them. I didn’t know what was going on, but I was pissed. When she saw me and smiled, I froze. She was happy. Blissed out.

“Nick, come play!” she shouted, passing the ball to one of her new friends and running over to me. The sun had darkened her cheeks, and her eyes gleamed. “Did you see me score?” she asked proudly.

I nodded, unsure what to do with the rage that was eating me inside.

“I didn’t know you played volleyball,” I said, realizing as I did so how gruff my voice sounded.

But she ignored it and replied, “I started when I was ten. I told you, I was the captain of my team in Toronto.”

I got a grip on myself and smiled back at her.

“Well, I’m very proud of you, and it’s great that you were so good and all, but we need to go,” I said. I didn’t like all those dudes staring at us, almost salivating over her.

“Come on, Noah,” one of them, the guy who had just hugged her, shouted. I gave him a look that froze him.

“Sorry,” she said, “I didn’t realize how late it was. Let me say goodbye real quick.” I was uncomfortable watching them all talk to her. One even groaned when she said she had to leave. I would have pressed his face into the sand if I didn’t think I’d get in trouble with Noah for it.

When she was back beside me, she said, “That was amazing. It’s been three months since I’ve played. I felt like I was back home, seriously.” I understood then how hard it must have been for her to leave absolutely everything behind to move with her mother: her friends, her school, her boyfriend. “The guys invited us to meet them in the club at the hotel. Supposedly it’s great. We should go.”

I wanted to say absolutely not, that those guys just wanted one thing from her and that I wasn’t about to stand around all night watching them try to get in her pants, but when I saw the happiness on her face, a happiness I hadn’t ever seen before, I couldn’t say no.

“Sure, but we need to grab a shower and have dinner first,” I said. “Jenna and Lion already went back. I talked to them.”

“Cool,” she said.

But cool was the last thing you could call this situation.

When Lion and I met the girls in front of the elevator, it was all I could do not to shove Noah back into her room. Who told her to dress like that? She was bursting out of a white dress with thin straps that crisscrossed in the back. The sight of all that exposed skin couldn’t be good for my health. I had to restrain myself to keep from rubbing her down and taking her to my room where I could stare at her for hours. Her legs, long and graceful, looked even more so in those aquamarine heels.

Who had convinced her to ditch the Converse and jeans? The answer, of course, was right beside her: that goddamn Jenna.