The last time we’d gone through this, Kira and I had looked at him like he’d lost his mind when he’d asked for our clothes. This time, it wasn’t any less awkward, but at least I’d known to expect it. Once I had my shirt off, I handed it and my purse over to Chris, and waited while Liam shoved his keys, wallet, and phone in my purse and handed over his shirt as well.
“Do you want me to take your shorts, miss?” he asked, and I shook my head.
“No, I’m fine with them. Thank you, though.” I knew every other female at the party wasn’t wearing anything more than her bikini, but I found it weird to walk around some stranger’s house without some kind of cover on. Not that my shorts covered much anyway, but it still made me feel better to have them on.
“There, much better.” RB gestured toward his house and smiled. “Have fun, anything you need, just call it into the kitchen. As always, it’s on the house! I have to go act like a host or something now.”
After our good-byes, I looked at Liam. “That sounded like the exact same speech as last time.”
Liam smiled and pulled me close. “It was, I don’t think he’s realized people have caught on to that—or he just doesn’t care.”
“The latter,” I mumbled.
“Probably. Do you want anything to eat or drink, or do you want to go outside?”
“Outside, please. There’s a lot of cologne and perfume clashing together in here.”
With a loud laugh, Liam pulled me toward the back, and I was quick to regret begging him to take me out. While RB’s house was something in itself to look at and explore, I hated how the other people attending the party had me feeling insecure.
I’d never been insecure until the last time I was here. I couldn’t look at any woman and know for sure that her hair was natural, just like I couldn’t look at them and find a natural chest. Mine wasn’t small, never had been. But my boobs didn’t stay up unnaturally high, looking surgically enhanced like all the other women’s. And while I’d never had a problem with my tattoos—and still didn’t—it was incredibly obvious that I did not fit in here because of them.
The only tattoos I saw on the other women were either little symbols or a word on their wrist, or something to make guys stare at their ass. And there I was with sleeves and more art and words on my chest, sides, back, and legs. I loved my tattoos; it was the other women’s looks as we passed by them that made me want to curl in on myself or leave. It didn’t really help that more often than not, people stopped talking when we walked by. They’d done the same when Kira was with us, but I’d been making myself believe it was because she and I were so identical looking. I’d been wrong.
“I don’t fit in here, Liam,” I whispered as we moved through the crowd.
“And? I don’t either. I wouldn’t want you if you did.”
I sighed, and turned to face him. When he stopped walking and leaned close, I shook my head. “But I’m not them . . . I don’t look like them.”
Liam’s eyebrows rose, and a smile crossed his face. “You don’t look like them? That’s what you’re worried about? Kennedy,” he mumbled as he lowered his head so his mouth was next to my ear. His hand squeezed my hip when he asked, “Have you seen yourself lately? Did you see how all the guys we passed were looking at you? You are easily the sexiest woman here, Moon. Trust me.”
“I don’t care about what the guys were thinking.” I pushed my fist against his stomach, but he didn’t move away. “But the differences between the other girls and me—”
“Are obvious, yeah,” he finished for me. “And I love every fucking one of those differences. Your confidence in yourself and your looks is one of the best things about you; don’t let the shallow people here make you lose that.”
I sighed and leaned away so I could look in his eyes. “If you don’t like them, why do you come here?”
“I’ve known Rob most of my life, but me being here also helps maintain the relationship between our two companies.”
I nodded, and with a deep breath in, I looked around us. There was still a group of women near us staring directly at me as they spoke quietly to each other, and instead of looking away, I raised an eyebrow and waited for them to look down.
“That’s the Kennedy I’ve come to know,” Liam said in amusement. “Let’s grab a drink, walk around the beach for a bit, and then we’ll get out of here. Okay? Rob won’t even notice we’re gone.”
As soon as my margarita and Liam’s bottle of water were brought to us, we took off for one of the paths leading down to the sand, and I couldn’t believe how much easier it was to breathe once we were away from everyone.
After a few minutes walking along the beach, Liam pulled me to a stop and looked at me in confusion. I immediately stopped laughing at what we’d just been talking about and asked, “What?”
“I just don’t understand why you had to get away from all of them to be yourself. I thought you were supposed to be this tough girl who didn’t take shit from anyone. Even your uncle said you couldn’t be around people for long before letting them know what you thought of them.”
I laughed again, and shook my head once before looking up at the mansion. “There were a lot of them, and they all looked the exact same. It was hard walking through that while they were all staring me down.” Before Liam could respond, I said, “It would be like showing up to a black-tie party wearing a cow costume because you thought it was that kind of dressing up.”
Liam laughed loudly and eyed me. “A cow costume? Really, of everything you could have said, you came up with cow costume?”
“Shut up! I used to wear one while we were in college. I’d randomly walk around campus with it on during finals week, and Kira would wear her pig one. It eased the tension on campus and made people laugh.”
Liam was still laughing, but now he was bending over so his hands were on his knees. “You’re comparing tonight to your cow costume at a black tie?”
“Shut up,” I mumbled again, and pushed him so he stumbled backward. “It was really that awkward!”
“I’m just trying to picture you in a cow outfit. Did it have the face and everything?”
I rolled my eyes and started walking away. “Yes, it did. It even had a ribbon with a bell on it.”
“Was it named Bessie?”
I laughed and pushed at his chest, but he caught my wrist and held me close.
“Come on, it’s a fair question.”
“No! She didn’t have a name,” I said through my laughter, and a look of horror crossed his face, making me laugh harder.
“How could you not name her? That’s like not naming your car!”
“Because it was an outfit.”
Liam raised one eyebrow in a look that clearly said he was trying to picture me in the costume, and his eyes traveled down my body for a second before he asked, “Did it have the udders too?”
“Yes, Liam, it had the udders. There was a tail too, if you were wondering.”
“I was, actually. But what I really want to know is if I can call you Bessie when you wear it again.”