I glanced down at myself, then at Farrah and Leona, who were already laying out. It was skimpy for Demi, but she wasn't showing more skin than anyone else was.
My eyes narrowed on Anton as my preoccupied brain finally caught up to what was going on.
He was jealous. Over Demi. Uh uh. Nope. He was a shameless man-whore, and he was not allowed to go there. Not with my too innocent, too sweet friend.
"Hey, beardo," I called to him, already moving away and toward the water. "A word."
He joined me in the surf. We were up to mid-calf in the water, and, mindful of the photographer that still had us in his sights, I threw my arms around Anton's neck, leaning into him.
He gripped my waist lightly with his big hands, very familiar with the routine.
I wondered if he could tell that I was glaring at him through my dark shades. "You know Demi is off-limits, right?"
His mouth twisted like he'd just tasted something sour. "What are you talking about?"
"My friend. Demi," I emphasized.
"She's my friend, too. What about her?"
"She's too innocent for you. She's not a casual girl. You'd break her heart. You know that, right?"
He lowered his shades enough to shoot me a belligerent glance. "I'm well fucking aware."
"I'm not sure you are. You're acting possessive about her. And I saw the way you were looking at her in that bikini."
"I was looking at all of you like that. You just didn't see it. I like bikinis. And skin."
I wasn't buying it. "So we're clear? No messing with Demi?"
"Message received. I get it; you're a mama bear with your friends. How about you give this speech to Mr. Hella Bruh that's pawing her over there?"
I glanced over at Demi and Harry. Anton was exaggerating. Mostly. Harry was just helping her apply sunblock.
"You're only proving my point right now," I pointed out.
"Fine. I'll drop it. I'll try my best to stay away from our sweet Demi from here on out."
I studied him. The way he said it made me wonder if something had already happened between them.
I glanced at Demi, who was indeed getting more and more cozy with Mr. Hella Bruh and decided against it. There was no way she'd be so nonchalant around Anton if that were the case.
That settled, we put on a great show for the cameras, frolicking in the surf, canoodling in the sand.
I'm not sure when it happened, but at some point the day went from faking fun for the cameras to actively enjoying myself.
It was possibly around the time that we broke out the bottles of pre-maid cocktails we'd packed in lieu of a picnic lunch. Who needs food when you can have liquor?
We chatted about nothing and everything as we pretended to lay out to tan, when in actuality we were all sunblocked into oblivion and reapplying every quarter hour. Because wrinkles.
"I was sure that Lacy was going to get killed off in the season finale," Farrah was saying, referring to her recurring role as a biker groupie in Anton's show. She was such a hit that they kept bringing her back. "But I just got the script back, and they're keeping her! They're giving her a bigger role than ever in a story arc that goes into the next season!"
"That's amazing!"
"Congrats!"
"They know their audience!"
"Awesome!"
We all congratulated her and meant it. I personally thought she was brilliant in the role. She was a valley girl and an ex-cheerleader, so it was a testament to her talent that she could pull off the role of a hardened biker chick so perfectly.
"Eventually we'll all be on your show, Anton," Leona joked, though who knew if it was a joke. I myself had made a few appearances, though nothing with a speaking role, mostly I'd been an extra with a lot of close-up body shots. Leona had been cast in a similar way, if less times.
That left only Demi, but even as I had the thought, she said, "I'm actually going to be in it too. My agent called me earlier. That role I was up for, the rival club's daughter. I got it."
I blinked at her. How had I missed this?
We all rushed to congratulate her, and I felt like a dick for having no clue about such huge news.
"That sounds like a big role," Harry said, hugging her. "Wow. That could really turn into something, right?"
"She's already scheduled to have sex with me," Anton said, his tone flat and more than a touch riled.
We all looked at him. Okay, I glared, and Demi blushed and looked everywhere but at him.
"What?" Harry asked him, wide-eyed.
"Our characters have a star-crossed affair. She's going to be on the show quite a bit, from the sound of it. They have lots of story planned for her character."
"You don't sound thrilled about that," Demi almost mumbled the words, not looking at him.
"I just don't think the show is a good fit for you," he said brutally.
For that, we were all glaring at him. "What the hell?" I asked him.
"You can get typecast, doing a show like this," he tried to explain. "I just don't think it fits your image. You should be trying for more family friendly stuff. Like one of those princess live-action flicks. Something like that."