Chapter 56

I rise, replacing the blanket, and head upstairs to change into my swimwear. ~Get me in the water, now,~ I chant in my head.

Footsteps echo behind me, but I manage to pull on my bikini top before the intruder can catch a glimpse of my bare chest. He’s leaning against his door frame, arms and legs crossed, watching me with an intense gaze. His eyes cut through my skin with a force I’ve never experienced. A slight frown mars his face.

He stands there, shirtless, his body on display in grey shorts, his arms noticeably muscular. He’s wearing a black SnapBack, and I’ve always had a thing for guys in SnapBacks.

We stare at each other as if we’re the only two people in the world. ~What is his problem?~

After a few moments, I stride over to my door, maintaining eye contact, and kick it shut with my foot. I lock it and change into my bottoms.

When I reopen my door, he’s still there, still staring. With my phone and lotion in hand, I grab my own grey baseball hat to match my neon green top and grey bikini bottoms, and descend the stairs.

His footsteps follow closely behind, but I continue walking, refusing to break the silence. He’s trying to make me crack first. But I’m stubborn. I won’t. We haven’t spoken since last night.

Outside, a crowd has gathered around Lauren, camera flashes illuminating her. I feel him behind me, his fingers brushing the small of my back.

My breath hitches for a moment, but I hurry down the steps, reaching for my board. Before I can grab it, he pushes me into the shed, closing the door behind us.

He adjusts his SnapBack, turning it backwards. ~Damn, that’s hot.~ His eyes roam over my body. ~Is he checking me out?~

His tongue darts out to wet his lips. He’s blocking my exit. ~This asshole.~ I take my board and attempt to leave, but he steps in front of me, stopping me.

He takes my board and sets it on the floor of the dusty blue shed. The sound of wood clashing against wood echoes in the small space.

He steps closer, and I step back. He repeats the action, and so do I, until I run out of room and my back hits the wall. Neither of us speaks.

He moves slowly, cornering me. I turn my head, refusing to meet his gaze. I can’t. If I look into his eyes, those eyes that make me weak, I’ll lose all control.

He removes my hat, tossing it to the floor, then bends down to hook his hands around the back of my legs.

Slowly, he lifts me, my back scraping against the wall. It doesn’t hurt, and it won’t leave marks, but I can feel it.

He continues to lift me until he’s standing at his full height, pressing me harder against the wall. My legs instinctively wrap around his waist.

~Traitors.~

My hands ball into fists at my sides, resisting the urge to run them up his chiseled chest and wrap them around his neck.

My breath catches as I feel his breath on my neck, followed by the light brush of his lips. They trace a path up my jawline, his hot breath sending tingles down my spine.

My breathing becomes erratic, my heart pounding. His lips kiss my jaw, then trail down the left side of my neck, the kisses deepening.

Then he’s biting and sucking at my neck. I should stop him, but it feels so good.

Then I feel his hand release me, trailing up my arm. He stops when he’s level with my breast. His fingers lightly skim over the material of my bikini top, causing my nipples to harden.

My breath quickens slightly as his hand continues its teasing journey up my arm. I’m frozen, unable to stop him. I can feel his hardness against me, and I’m wet enough to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool.

He toys with the strap of my top, pulling it down my arm. I’m still facing away from him.

He showers kisses on my shoulder, down to my collarbone, then along the curve of my breast. With a swift, easy move, he pulls back my bikini cup, exposing my breast, and continues his trail of kisses.

Hovering over my nipple, I feel his warm breath on it, then his tongue tracing the perimeter. I release a breathy moan as he takes it into his mouth, sucking on it.

My breathing grows heavier and I close my eyes, leaning my head back against the wall.

Feeling every bit of his mouth on me, he bites and suckles on my breast, his tongue teasing me intermittently. The tingles surge through my body, making me feel hot.

Bang Bang Bang.

“Uncle Knox, can you get my board?” Adam’s innocent voice comes from the other side of the door.

Knox doesn’t remove his mouth from my breast, but I’m wide-eyed, biting down to suppress a moan.

We hear the door handle being jiggled from the outside and I leap off him, fixing my top and picking up my board from the floor.

He walks over to open the door and I see three little kids standing there, looking up at him. Eden sees him and immediately holds her hands up for him to take her, while Adam runs inside to get his board.

“Hi, Alex!” Adam’s voice echoes loudly in the shed, making me wince a little. I smile back at him and hand him his board.

“Hi, sweetheart! Here’s your board.” I look up to see Eden whispering something to Knox, who still has his hat on backward and looks as hot as hell. I’m trying to ignore him, and he’s doing the same.

Bending down, I pick up my hat from the dusty floor, blowing off the old leaves and dust, and slapping it against my leg to remove the rest.

I place it back on my head and weave my way around Knox and Eden, leaving the shed. I have Noah and Adam beside me, laughing about how excited they are to surf in the sea together.

Seeing the flash of cameras in front of me, I look around for another way to get to the water without the hassle of the paparazzi in my face.

Suddenly, a hand grabs my arm and pulls me through the sea of paparazzi. Knox places my hand on his waist and guides me through, while I have Adam and Noah in between us, doing my best to protect them.

He still has Eden in his arms, her head lying in the crook of his neck, shielding her face from the flashes, his hand resting on her head.

“Alex! Alex! Is that you in the picture?” The same question is repeated over and over again as we navigate through the crowd. It feels like we’ve jumped into a shark tank with red meat tied around our waists.

I notice my grip on his waist is tighter, so I loosen it slightly. The cameras are getting uncomfortably close, hitting off my hat.

I let go of Knox to pull my hat over my face, shielding it from them. Where is the ocean?

“Get off her! Now!” I hear the booming sound of his voice in front of me. Seeing a frightened Noah and Adam, I push them forward to walk on, while I hear Eden giggle in his arms.

“Come on, keep walking.” I kiss Adam and Noah on the head to try to distract them. It works, and I keep them walking forward, feeling Knox’s hand on my back, guiding me along from behind.

Finally reaching a space where there aren’t cramped bodies around, I notice that my heart rate is alarmingly high.

I get hugs from Adam and Noah before they run off into the sea, telling me to watch them on their boards. I shut my eyes and pull my hat down lower, taking deep breaths to calm myself down.

There were so many of them.

Once I find myself back to a normal state, I stand in the sand, taking in the view. It’s calm today, and I see Ben out in the sea with Hannah, teaching her to surf.

She’s constantly falling back into the water, and he’s picking her up, laughing at her attempts. I start to walk nearer to the sea, where I can put my board down in the sand.

“Knox? Why are they here screaming at you and Aunt Alex?” Eden asks innocently behind me. I don’t turn around because I don’t want to see or talk to him.

“Well, sweetie, they like her too much and they all want to know her. So they ask questions,” he explains to her in a way she can understand.

He’s always had a soft spot for her. How can he be so sweet after what happened in the shed?

“Why do they ask questions, Aunt Alex?” Eden’s question makes me turn around to face her. I see her poking the side of Knox’s jaw while he pretends to try to bite her hand.

She smiles at him, brushing her curly black hair off her face from the wind.

“Because they’re annoying and nosy people, Eden, that’s why,” I reply, my voice edged with irritation. Knox quickly turns his head to look at me.

I catch his blue eyes and avert my gaze by turning back around to face Andy, who’s making her way over.

“Andy, will you put lotion on my back?” I toss the lotion to her, and she catches it with ease, rubbing the white cream on my back, covering every inch.

I start to rub some on my arms and spray my legs with the Australian Gold lotion, mainly because I’m addicted to the smell of it.

I walk over to where my towel is laid out and start to bend down to lie down comfortably, but I’m interrupted by a group of young teenage girls.

“Um... H-Hi! Could we get a picture with you? If that’s cool?” one of the girls shyly asks me, her brown hair flowing in the wind. She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, trying to see better.

I flash a warm smile at her and nod. “Sure, you guys can.” I move to position myself as they gather around me on each side. Andy readies herself to take the photo.

I glance around to see all the heads tilted to the side, posing with their hands wrapped around each other and resting on their hips at the ends. Each of them has their knees bent and a beaming smile on their face.

I smile at Andy, who is trying to suppress a laugh. She snaps a couple of pictures and hands each of their phones back to them.

“Thank you so much! We all just bought the swimsuit you have on right now! It looks so good!” another girl beams down at her phone, scanning the pictures that were taken.

“Oh, thank you. It’s really comfy and good for surfing. Keeps everything in place, if you know what I mean!” I say, crossing my arms awkwardly.

This is so strange for me, that people know who I am but I have no idea who they are. I almost feel guilty that I don’t know them.

“Haha! Yeah, we getcha! We have to ask though, you probably get this a lot....” she trails off, but I finish her sentence with a knowing smirk, anticipating what she’s about to ask.

Meanwhile, Knox is making his way over to me and Andy, while Kyle stands talking to the group of girls.

“No, we’re not dating. So if you had a prewritten death threat, you can rip it up and chill,” I say in a monotone, smiling at Andy who is laughing at my comment along with the girls.

“No, well that’s good to know, but we were wondering if it’s you in the picture on his Instagram?” I see Knox staring over at us, waiting for me to answer the question.

I know he can hear us talking. I glance at him, noticing his clenched jaw, and his biceps are tense, waiting for me to answer.

“No. No, that’s not me,” I lie. I can’t admit it’s me to the public, they will eat it up. And I can’t admit it because my brother is standing there, eavesdropping on the conversation with Knox.

“That’s probably just another girl of his,” I say, my gaze flicking to Knox before returning to the group of girls standing in front of me.

It was a dig. I threw it, happily. He just used me in that shed a few moments ago. I’m not another notch on his bedpost.

I’m not another girl who hangs off his arm. I’m not another Barbie who sits there giggling while he just drinks. I’m not another girl who he kisses and then fucks. I’m not like any of those girls he’s been with.

That’s why people believe me when I say we’re not together. Why wouldn’t they? I’m not a model with long, silky legs strutting down a runway or an actress seducing him in his next ad campaign.

I’m Alex, plain and simple Alex Jessica Thompson.

“It was nice to meet you! You’re so nice, and pretty,” they wave goodbye to me, heading over to Knox and asking him the same thing they asked me a minute ago.

I can feel his eyes burning a hole through my skull. I begin to lie on the towel with Andy beside me. She gives me a soft, sympathetic smile.

“Don’t give me that, Andy,” I tell her, lying back.

“What did he do now?” I ignore her and lie on the towel with my hands down my side, playing with the sand between my fingers.

“Are you two still not talking to each other?” she asks softly, so only I can hear her.

“I have nothing to say to him,” I try to end the conversation with her about this topic. He can ignore me all he wants. I’m not giving in.