Landlady: A New Adult Romance (Northbridge Nights Book 1) by Jackie Wang Page B

time.
    So I leaned into Cameron and gave him a light peck on the lips.
    We were far enough that the others couldn't hear us. So Cameron
whispered against the shell of my ear, “You taste fantastic.”
    And just like that, my entire body churned with excitement. Even
though my mind screamed, “He's all wrong for you. You've already
given him a chance, and it didn't work out!” I still felt a sizzle
of electricity snake up my spine.
    When I pulled away from Cameron, I noticed that Asher had gone quite
stiff. Paralyzed, even.
    Mike let out a low whistle and Terri giggled.
    “If you two are done with the PDA, let's play a game,” Rose said.
    Later, when we were all playing with a beach ball, Asher excused
himself and left early.
    A tiny flutter of guilt squeezed my chest. Did I take the joke too
far? But then I reminded myself he was a grown man and he could
handle himself. It wasn't my job to babysit his feelings.

CHAPTER 11
    ASHER
    WHAT THE HELL IS wrong with her? What the hell is wrong with me ?
I didn’t know what I hated more right then: the fact she’d just
kissed Cameron in front of me or the fact that I cared.
    She came here as his date. She chose to spend the weekend with
him. I'd known that since this morning. So why the fuck did I
still feel so gutted?
    When they’d decided to play catch with a beach ball, I’d backed
out, saying that I needed to make a call. The truth was, I just
couldn't stand seeing Sierra with Cameron. Especially since she was
wearing that itty-bitty bikini that barely covered her nipples and
left her ass cheeks exposed. That fucking suit left so little to the
imagination, she might as well have been walking around naked. Jesus.
What'd gotten into her?
    Fuck...The water was so cold her nipples were saluting everyone in
the pool. And even though I really didn't want to see it, I caught a
glimpse of Cameron's hard-on for her.
    Did she even know the kind of power she had over men?
    With sudden dread, I realized they'd probably fuck tonight. And once
Cam had had her, he'd probably toss her aside. And I sure as hell
wouldn't be there to pick up the pieces.
    I was not going for my best friend's sloppy seconds. I wasn't that
desperate.
    What pissed me off the most, though, was how she seemed to flaunt it
all in my face. As if she was silently telling me, Look how sexy I
am, too bad you'll never have me. I'm with your best friend.
    Did she really think Cameron was a better man than me? What the hell
could he give her that I couldn't? In fact, Cameron was ten times the
playboy I was. Didn't she know that? I loved my best friend, but it
was no secret he was a shameless womanizer.
    Once I was back in my room, my fingers itched to send her a text. To
ask her what the hell was up between her and Cameron. They couldn't
have been together for long, or she would've told me she was dating
someone when we’d kissed.
    Right?
    Just leave them alone. She's a big girl, she can handle herself. She
doesn't need you sticking your head where it doesn't belong. Stop
acting so pathetic.
    I paced back and forth for a while, tugging at my still-wet hair.
    Fuck, if it was bothering me enough to make me pace around, I
needed to confront her about it. I pulled out my phone.
    ASHER: Tell me what's going on between you and Cameron.
    I knew she wouldn't reply for a while since she was still swimming,
so I sat on the bed and replied to a few work emails, waiting until
she read my message.
    Almost fifteen minutes later, Sierra replied: What do you think is
going on?
    ASHER: No games, Sierra. I'm not in the mood. I need to know, are
you seeing him? Is it serious?
    SIERRA: You jealous or something? I'm not seeing him, and it's not
serious. I'm just having fun. Is that a crime?
    I forced down the lump in my throat. Just having fun? She was doing
this to fucking torture me. But I would never tell her that.
Hell would freeze over before I admitted that I could be so
vulnerable and jealous. I wasn't going to play her stupid,