Against the Odds (Book 2)

♡ Chapter XII ♡

♡Zahair♡

Three Weeks Later

Justus had planned a beach day. Last week, I'd run into him, Major, and Tristen and he'd said something about missing seeing Jada in a bikini. His friends had told him it was creepy, something I agreed with, but apparently, he'd said that to her face and she still accepted the invite so it was none of my business.

I got invited and was told I could bring the few people I knew, but if I was being honest, I only agreed because I knew Red would be here. She hadn't shown up yet, but I preoccupied myself with small talk with those who were then cracked open the book I'd brought with me. It had been on the second top shelf of my bookcase reserved for books I hadn't gotten to yet and I snatched the first one I could get my hands on.

"What's that?" Someone plopped down next to me on my thick blanket, almost on top of me. I looked up at the sky, putting my thumb on the page and closing my book around it.

Cindra's thigh was thrown over me lazily. I knew it was her because I felt the coolness of her charm anklet pressing into my calf. I lifted both my legs until she was forced to shift herself away. Not only that, she was laying on her side, so her tits were damn near hanging in my face. I looked up at her, blinking and confused.

She pouted, her glittery lip gloss twinkling. "What?" She reached up to fist her heavy curls. Her hair was thick and full, complementing those lips and her round face.

I took in a deep breath and replied when I let it out. "I'm reading." I turned back to do just that because it was fairly obvious. Still, she didn't take the hint.

"I didn't ask what you were doing, I asked what it was," she said. She was laying down now, head resting in her palm. I tried scooting over; her proximity and stare making me a little anxious. Not in a good way.

I didn't look at her when I replied. "I figured if I said it out loud you'd get that I don't wanna talk."

"Oh, so that's what we're doing?"

Laughing, I sat up. "Cindra."

She sat up with me, eyeing me with a frown. "What?"

I turned to her, biting the inside of my cheek and poked at the spot with my tongue. I knew what she was doing, to an extent. I didn't know why exactly, but I had a clue. It might have to do with the fact that I wasn't single anymore. I didn't know what it meant, but I'd always noticed she tended to gravitate toward people who were in relationships. Didn't matter their gender or nothing. Whatever it was that made people seem single to her when they weren't was something she needed to take up with a therapist.

For the past few weeks, whenever I'd hung out with her, Shen, and Kaid I felt like she'd been crowding me. She never did that before.

I stared at her, trying to keep the smile off my face because she was out of her damn mind if she thought I was that slow to have not caught on to this little trait of hers. Much less think I'd let her rub up on me without checkin' it.

Cindra didn't look away in embarrassment or even blush—not that I could tell anyway. She stared right back at me, attitude and all.

The part of me that was amused, died. "What's going on?"

She shook her head and her hair bounced. "What are you even saying, Zahair?" She rolled her eyes, tilting her head.

I pursed my lips and gave her that look that said I knew she was bullshitting. "Don't start that. You've been acting really weird around me these past few days. What the hell was that?" I gestured to the blankets.