I wanted to puke.
"Why?" he asked in a low voice so that only I could hear.
Why? It was only the urge to punch him in the face that kept me from throwing up. "And the blonde inside?" I was an immature asshole. I knew that and yet, I didn't give a crap in that moment.
"Which one?"
Holy shit. My entire body tensed up.
"Never mind, Dex," I hissed. I didn't want to hiss but it came so naturally, it didn't matter.
"Ritz." The tip of his nose touched my cheek. "Jealous?"
He was out of his mind if I was going to answer that question when he sounded way too pleased.
"Most these girls have been around the Club for a while," he explained like that was a reasonable excuse I'd want to friggin' hear. "It's nothin'."
Nothing. It was nothing.
It probably wasn't. That tiny logical part of me accepted that as the truth, but the other part—the hormonal one—craved castration.
God, I hoped my period wasn't coming sooner than it should.
I didn't need to sit there and stew over the fact that I'd probably be stuck facing women that he'd slept with at these sort of gatherings. I was nauseous. And an idiot. What else would I expect? I needed to get away from the reminder of where Dex's pubic piercing had been, and as I looked down at my lap, where it hadn't been.
Forcing a nod, I came to my feet slowly so that I wouldn't accidentally hit him in the face. It wasn't his fault that he had a history while I practically had a negative one. But wouldn't he at least understand that I wouldn't want to face stuff like that? Even if the girl seemed to hang on to whatever man gave her any attention.
Okay, that was rude. For all I knew she was probably a nice girl that had daddy issues I couldn't hold a flame to. I needed to quit being a jerk.
"I think I'm gonna take a dip for a little bit," I said, averting my gaze to the kids around the oval shaped pool. If I looked at Dex, he'd be able to tell that something was bothering me.
With my luck, he already did.
He grabbed onto my wrist, tugging at it. "Iris." My name came out as a grumble.
I touched the top of his head with my other hand, still unable to look at him. "It's fine. I'll be back."
Dex would make a scene if he wanted, but luckily he didn't. His grip loosened enough until I was able to slip out of it, plate in one hand, my pride wounded and clinging to the other. I threw my trash into the nearest can and went to grab my bag from the pile of stuff on one of the tables closest to the back door.
With my towel in one hand, I made my way to the pool, smiling at some of the women that I recognized with enough enthusiasm that I hopefully didn't look like a raging, jealous bitch in a bad mood.
I needed to calm down.
Chill out.
Relax—
Someone smacked my ass.
I didn't even have to turn around to see the little boy, probably around five, zipping passed me like there was no tomorrow. "Booty!" he shrieked.
I must have stood there for at least a couple minutes digesting the fact that I'd just gotten fondled by a kid who more than likely still peed in his bed at night.
And the laugh that burst out of me kind of hurt.
It was only natural that I took off running after the little turd.
~ * ~ *
"Uncle! Uncle! UNCLE!" Dean wailed at the top of his lungs, thrashing carefully enough not to kick me. Well, kick me again. He'd already got me in the stomach at least three other times but that was the risk you took when you were tickling the crap out of a little kid. Getting smacked and peed on. I'd take a smack over pee any day.
I dug my fingers into his sides even harder. "What'd you say?"
"RIS! Ris is the master!" he gasped.
"Who's the master?" I laughed, tickling him even more.
Dean thrust his head back, his blonde hair going everywhere. "You! You!"
"Are you sure?"
"Yes!" he shrieked.
"All right," I laughed, loosening my grip on his sides.
The poor little guy's face was all red but when he managed to get his breathing somewhat under control, he shot me a big, goofy smile. After chasing him around for a couple of minutes, I'd finally grabbed him and spent the next hour playing with him in the pool. I learned after dunking him in once that apparently, he had an obsession with booties in general.
What the hell do you say to that?
Nothing, that's what.
We'd gone diving for pennies in the shallow end, played Marco Polo with two other girls around his age, and then started the tickling game.
"Again?" he asked, panting.
"Boy, your mom already told you that you needed to get out." I had no clue who his dad was. I didn't even recognize his mom either but the woman kept mouthing out her thanks to me each time she'd walked by to check on Dean.
He blew out a fart. "Okay."
I squeezed his sides before leading him over to the steps. Dean stopped on the lowest one and took a quick look around. There were still about ten other people scattered throughout the pool but he didn't find whatever he was looking for because a second later, he'd thrown his arms around my neck in a hug.
"Can we play again another day?" he asked in a quiet voice.
Oh hell, he was going to make me cry. "Any time you want, buddy."
Dean squeezed me for a split second before dropping his arms. "Okay." He looked around again and took a step back, whispering, "Bye, booty girl." And then he was out of the pool and heading toward his mom while I stood there in water that reached my chest where I kneeled, smirking in his direction.
I needed to find out who was his daddy. I'm sure that would explain a lot.
Finding myself alone for the first time in an hour, I dog-paddled toward the deeper end where there were less people. But there was someone there, sitting at the edge of the pool, cross-legged and with a look on his face that was the child of amusement and affection.
Oh hell.
How could I stay mad at him for things that had been before me? Okay, well, I could if I were a complete jerk but I wasn't. My heart and brain knew that things between us were different and scary. Yet there he was, waiting for me. Brave and sure like always when I happened to run away from him.
"Hi."
"Hi, baby," he greeted me, planting both hands on the edge of the pool.
I clung to the side, holding just my head above the water. "Did you eat?"
He nodded solemnly, touching the tip of his finger to my cheek. "Looked like you were havin' fun."
"I was. Dean's funny."
"Saw him slap your ass." His finger trailed down to outline my jaw. "Think we all saw you runnin' around after him, babe." Dex kept the trail going down the column of my throat. "Everybody heard you two laughin' your asses off."
I gulped.
"Is this thing even a bikini?”
I nodded.
He didn’t look like he believed me. “I like it, a lot. But maybe not so much in front of all these damn perverts.” Dex scowled for a moment. “And fuckin’ Amy walkin’ around tellin’ people you should be lookin’ for a sugar daddy. I thought I was gonna have to beat the shit outta Wheels when he overheard her.”
“Leave that poor man alone. Why are you always getting into fights with him?”
“Always been like that between us.” A deep line formed between his brows. “Why are you defendin’ him? If you saw the way he looks at you, you wouldn’t be thinkin’ he deserves it.”
I couldn’t help but roll my eyes and groan. What a drama queen. “Oh please. I didn’t think you were old enough to need to get your eyes checked.”
Dex’s eyebrows shot up in glorified indignation. So sensitive! As always, he chose to pick up on the least important thing. “You have no fuckin’ clue do you?” Dex licked his bottom lip. “You get me hard as a fuckin’ rock, honey. ‘Specially watchin' you with the kids for so long," he whispered. "Couldn't keep my eyes off you, neither could he."