“No way!” Brylee squeals so loud that an entire group of got-the-clappa’s turn to look at us.
“Yes, way.” I motion for her to keep it down.
“So is that how you do it? You pencil it in?” She smears it with sarcasm. “Sex on Friday.” She holds up a finger to say something else, and Neva pops up behind her looking like a zombie.
Shit!
I straighten.
Honest to God, Neva scares the crap out of me, but what scares me even more is Brylee’s inebriated need to repeat what I just said.
“Who’s having sex on Friday?” Neva doesn’t bother to keep her voice down just as Warren comes up behind her. “Oh, let me guess.” She leans in, and I can smell the Jack Daniels on her breath. “You and—”
Double shit!
Without putting much thought into it, I clock her.
The crowd gasps. Neva knocks me to the ground and begins railing away at my face with her fist. I try to bat her off, but Neva sits hard on my stomach and takes the air from my lungs with one severe bounce. She gives my hair a good yank just as I feel her body lifting off mine. Warren plucks her away, but she lands a foot in my eye before I can move.
“Shit!” Ace pulls me up and draws me into him, and my entire body sighs with relief. I wrap my arms around him, burying my throbbing face into his chest.
Neva lets out a scream, and we look over.
Warren hustles her toward us. “You fucking dislocated her jaw.” He cuts me a hard look as if I deliberately did this to piss him off. Little does he know I was just trying to save him from hearing that I was turning my virginity in to Ace come Friday—that all of the money in the world isn’t enough to make me want to lie down for him.
“Let’s see it.” Ace pulls her hair back, exposing a nice split in her lower lip, a jagged line of blood runs clear down to her chin.
Oh, God. In no way did I ever want to hurt her. Okay, so maybe a small part of me did, but never like that.
“I’d better get you to the clinic.” Ace tries to pull her in, but she growls at him as if she were rabid.
If I didn’t know Neva before her walk on the wild side, I might actually be afraid of her—I sort of am anyway.
“Dude.” Warren pulls her back and examines her closely. “She might need stitches. Anything more than a band aid, and they’re going to send you down the hill.” He cringes into her. “I’ll take her. It’ll be faster in my truck.”
“My car is plenty fast.” Ace expands his chest at the thought of being cut off at the vehicular balls by Warren of all people.
“No it’s not.” Warren pushes Neva toward the sidewalk.
“I’ll come with you,” Ace offers.
“It’s a two-seater. We’ll be right back.” He leads her off toward his house, and I can’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. I feel bad for Neva, but with both her and Warren gone, I feel lighter than air.
The music shifts its rhythm back to Coldplay’s Yellow, and I lower my lashes into Ace. “I spent the entire last year listening to this song on repeat.” While dreaming of him, but I leave that last part out. I remember agonizing at the thought of having to spend each day without the possibility of seeing that dark hair, those eyes like polished sapphires.
“This song reminds me of you.” He presses out a sly grin, and his dimples dig in deep.
Joanna Knickerbocker bops up in a pair of pasties she’s trying to pass off as a bathing suit, her round bottom hangs out of her bright pink shorts.
“Ace Waterman,” she purrs into him. Her blonde hair is pulled back into a sleek ponytail, and she actually looks pretty with her face kissed by the sun, her lips glowing a soft peach. “Dance with me!”
My stomach pinches just witnessing the exchange.
“He can’t dance with you,” I say, gurgling a silent laugh while looking right into his eyes. “Because he’s going to dance with me.” I pull him along until we’re buried nine deep in a sea of bodies. Ace slips his hands around my waist. “I was just thinking the other day how we’ve never danced,” I whisper into him.
“Sure we have.” He brushes his lips over my ear, and a dull ache travels all the way down to the most intimate part of me. “Remember the night you loaded my pillow with toothpaste, and I chased you around the cabin?”
I belt out a laugh. “That wasn’t dancing, that was called running for my life.”
“No, it was dancing. We were just moving really fast.” He presses me in by the small of the back, and I catch my breath as his stomach sears over mine. “Do you remember what I said to you that night?”
“What did you say?” I tilt my head back and catch Warren up on the ridge in his truck. The smile glides from my face as he stares me down. He takes off so fast, a trail of dust rises in his wake.
Ace leans in and touches his cheek to mine. “I said I forgave you because one day I’d have you right where I want you.”
My chest heaves for a moment because, for one, Ace remembered, and two, it sounded beautiful coming from his lips.
“And where’s that?” I pull back to take him in, his navy eyes, those deep wells in his cheeks that wink at me in turn. Ace Waterman is perfection.
“Right here.” He leans in and rubs his lips over my ear. “In my arms.”
Ace
The bodies only seem to grow in number as the sun sets.
Kennedy pulled Reese back to the house to ice her face, and I haven’t seen her for a good half hour. I shake my head at the thought of Neva and her damn left hook. I plan on giving her a fucking earful in the morning. I don’t want anybody touching Reese, not Warren and for damn sure not Neva.
Funny how things work. I used to come to these parties just to see Reese, and now, we’re meeting up, stealing kisses on the side.
I groan as I head to the food line. Gavin had me chopping a shitload of walnut this afternoon, and my muscles kill just to move.
Brylee makes her way over just as I’m loading up on tacos. I plan on wolfing them down in record time. According to Neva’s text, she’ll be another couple hours in the E.R., so as soon as Reese comes back I plan on stealing her away to the boathouse for another dance—a private one we can both enjoy.
“Hey, hot stuff.” Brylee snatches a taco from my plate and takes a giant bite.
“Have you seen Reese?” I glance out at the crowd.
“I just talked to her. She’s changing into something that’s guaranteed to drive you insane. You do realize that girl is crazy about you.”
“She’s just having a good time.” I shoulder up to Bry as I continue to pan the crowd. “She specifically signed up for fun, and that’s what I plan on giving her.”
“A little bird told me that you plan on giving her a lot more than fun on Friday.” She bumps her hip into mine, and the rest of my food goes flying.
“Nice.” I toss my plate into the trashcan next to me. “And, yes. Did she sound excited?”
“Hell to the yes. Oh, hon, you don’t even know. This is bigger than prom.” She bats her lashes a ridiculously long time. Brylee straightens out, and her demeanor shifts. “Why don’t you do everyone involved a favor, Waterman…”
I know what she’s going to say, so I look away.
“I don’t want to rock the boat,” I whisper. “If she’s happy like this, then so am I.” The last thing I’m going to do is slam her with my feelings, especially since we were pretty clear about maintaining a friendship right from the beginning.
“So you’re content just being fuck buddies?” She glares into me with her arms folded tight. Brylee knows I hate that term, and to associate it with Reese seems almost blasphemous.
“Don’t say that.” I look around to see if anyone else heard. “What we have is different—it’s special. She just wants to cross that bridge with someone she feels comfortable with, and this is the summer she wants to do it.” I swallow hard. “She recruited me.” I’m not sure that’s an upgrade from fuck buddy, but I like the argument. Maybe, at the end of the day, that’
s all we would have been this summer. “It’s special to the both of us. We’re best friends.” It’s like I can’t keep my mouth from moving while trying to justify the situation.
Brylee tilts into me with a look that suggests I’ve just fed her one line of bullshit too many.
“Reese and I are best friends.” Her hardened stare bears into me. “Should I be fucking her?”
“Yeah, well, she didn’t ask you. Did she?” I scan the crowd for Gavin now. I’ll do just about anything to ditch Brylee and her ball-busting campaign.
“Exactly my point.” She nods while staring me down as if this should mean something.
I’m just about to ask her to sharpen the lines, tell her I’m a guy and can’t read between them when a light tap emits over my shoulder.
I turn to find Reese, and my heart stops. She’s wearing a skintight dress, the exact color of her skin, short as hell with her cleavage blooming in front. Her hair is loose around her face in perfect waves, and her eyes glow like streetlamps in this dull light.
“Remember that marble collection you used to have?” Her tongue licks over the rim of her lips like quicksilver. “I wondered if you still had it. Maybe you could show it to me?”
Brylee groans into us. “Would you two get a room already?” She calls out for Kennedy before dancing off in her direction.
“Sorry. I told her,” she confesses. “Do you hate me?” She tilts her head, and her dark hair fans out on one side like a giant feathered wing.
Reese pulls a smile from me without even trying. “I could never hate you.” And there is no bigger truth.
Reese threads her arm around my waist, and we walk boldly through the crowd like a couple. I wait until we hedge the upper ridge before pulling her in tight.
The lake and the lights from the party glitter down below, and it feels as if we’re on top of the world from this vantage point.
“Marble collection?” I press my lips over her forehead as a dull laugh rails through me.
“I’m serious. When we were kids, Neva and I used to sneak into your room while you were out and touch all your things.” She flirts with her eyes, and my body starts to tremble. I want her so damn bad it hurts.
“All my things, huh? You weren’t allowed in my room.” I give her ribs a quick tickle as we make our way onto the blacked trail that leads to the cabin. I wince when I spot Dad’s car parked next to mine. A part of me wishes he were down the hill, getting his rocks off with all the local MILFs—anything but this.
“Yeah, well, that’s what made it so fun—knowing that we weren’t allowed.” Reese looks up at me from under her lashes, her eyes siren out like stars. “Sometimes it’s the forbidden things that I want the most.” She hikes up on the balls of her feet and kisses me hot over the lips, but her words swirl through my mind like a flying hatchet. Is that the draw? The fact she knows her father—most everyone in Loveless wouldn’t approve? “Anyway”—she rubs her hand over my chest—“I loved the giant blue one you had. It was the exact shade of your eyes.” She looks down a moment. “I used to hold it and stare at it for hours.”
She noticed the shade of my eyes way back when?
“So what you’re really saying is that you want to gouge out my eyes and hold them hostage for hours.” I lean my head over hers as we make our way to the porch.
“That would make me sick and disgusting, and you’re equally sick for thinking it up.” She steals a kiss as we make our way to the porch. “Thanks for making my skin crawl.”
“I’ve got about another dozen scenarios designed to do just that.” I plant a kiss just shy of her lips. “In a good way, of course.”
“Well, then”—she pulls me in as if she’s trying to meld our bodies together—“you’re welcome to make my skin crawl anytime you like.”
I pause just shy of the door and give a sad smile into her. Reese is perfect. She has everything, and her future sparkles like gold, even I can see that. I don’t get what she wants with me, but I’m glad I’m the one holding her right now and not Warren.
“Come here.” I pull her in gently by the cheeks and land my lips over hers. My body shakes, my insides detonate, and I lose it. I plunge my tongue into her mouth in a hungry bout of passion. Maybe I am the forbidden fruit, but at this point, Reese is too, and if all we get is this one quick burst in our lives, I plan on enjoying the hell out of it.
“Take me to the boathouse,” she whispers directly into my ear, and my dick ticks like a bomb.
“That’s the plan.” I skim her cheek with my lips. “But first I need to get something. I’ll be quick.” I turn around and spot Dad heading to his room from the murky screen. “Maybe wait here. I should probably tell him about Neva.”
“Shit.” She covers her mouth.
“It wasn’t your fault.” I brush my thumb over her cheek.
“But it was.” Her forehead breaks out in a series of worry lines, and her mood takes a nosedive.
“Neva is always asking for it. I’m sure you wouldn’t hit her unprovoked. Hang out one second, I’ll be right back.” I land a careful kiss over her lips. “I want to make sure tonight at the boathouse is memorable.”
She pulls me back in by the chin. “What’s the game plan?”
“I’ll give you a hint, it involves strategic body placement.”
Her tongue touches over her lip. “I like the sound of that.”
“I figured you would.” I pull another kiss off her, and my stomach bottoms out just thinking of the ways I plan on loving Reese on the Fourth. “And trust me, you and I will both be winners tonight.”
Her face breaks out in a hotter-than-hell smile with a promise in her eyes. I don’t want to let her down. If a good time is what she wants, that’s what I’m going to give her.
I dart into the house to hunt down Dad and give a brief knock at his door. The sound of mumbling penetrates through the wall, so I walk in. The light from the TV illuminates the room a dull grey while he nurses a beer in bed.
“Neva fell. She hurt her jaw.”
“Aw, shit.” He wipes his face down with his hand. “She out there?” He hops out of bed and jumps into his jeans.
“No. A friend took her to the E.R. to get cleaned up. She should be home any minute.”
“Sounds good.” He fishes his phone off the nightstand. “I’ll see how she’s doing.”
I head to my room and snatch the jar of marbles that have been sitting on the top shelf of my desk for the better part of a decade and blow off a thick layer of dust. The last time I messed with these was the week Mom took off. I spent the rest of that year moping in front of the TV, and, after that, they just sat and rotted. An entire slew of memories rush at me as I head back out to Reese. I give a wry smile. I knew she and Neva used to sneak into my bedroom the second I turned my back.
A quiet rumble of voices emit from the front, and I see Reese standing there looking defensive. I whip open the screen to find Neva and Warren glaring at her.
“Oh, hi.” Reese startles when she sees me. “I was just coming to see if Neva was all right, and they pulled up as soon as I got here.”
Nice save. Still not sure why she feels the need to lie. It’s just Warren. Neva already knows.
“What happened?” I step into my sister, but all I can make out is the giant bag of ice, covering her mouth.
Warren pats her on the shoulder. “She’ll live. Nothing but a bruise.”
“Thank God.” Reese lets out a breath of relief, and her chest expands in that skintight dress of hers.
“Like you care.” Neva bumps into her hard with her shoulder before barreling into the house. Looks like Neva is ready to take their rivalry to a physical level, not that Reese didn’t, but I’m sure it was warranted.
Warren shakes his head after Neva.
I take him in with his lavender Polo—the collar popped out, his plaid shorts, his penny loafers with the penny shiny side up, and I want to deck him for no reason.
“Let’s get out of here.” He
wraps an arm around Reese and starts leading her off the porch.
And, there they go. I place the stupid jar of marbles on the railing as the moonlight prisms through them like a bunch of dying fireflies.
Reese turns around. There’s a look of longing in her eyes, and I’d like to think it’s because she’d rather be with me.
“Um”—she chews on her lip, not budging a single step further—“I’m not really up for Kennedy’s madhouse right now. It’s a little noisy for me.” She never takes her eyes off mine.
“You want to hang out and watch TV?” I offer. “I could put on a movie. We could eat popcorn—maybe play monopoly.” Warren cuts me a death ray of a stare. “You could hang out, too, if you want.” I extend the offer, and my gut flinches. Fuck. Way to bring the awkward to the table.
“Actually I’m having some people over at my place.” Warren nods me in the direction of his house. “Gavin’s there doing his best to get laid. Who knows, you might get lucky, too.”
Reese gives a little wink. “I’m sure there are tons of girls that would practically beg for you to take them. Come with us.”
Take them? Come with us?
A blistering heat rushes through me, and this time it’s because I’m more than a little pissed—only it’s not at Reese—it’s at me for ever thinking we could be anything more than a summer fling.
“Yeah, sounds good.” I pull out my keys as Reese hops willingly into Warren’s truck. I wait until they’re clear down the street before I even start the engine.
Looks like Neva was right all along.
Suddenly it sucks to be “just friends” with Reese Westfield.
I wish the whole world knew how I felt about her.
Hell, I wish Reese knew, and something tells me it wouldn’t really make a difference.
The last time I was at the McCarthy’s house was over two years ago during another similar socially awkward event I got roped into. And, if I remember correctly, the reason I was there that night was also because of Reese. The only reason I’ve ever gone to any of their parties was to see her. There’s something seductive about Reese in her element. She outshines the crystal, her smile sparkles, her entire person gleams. Only seeing her in Warren’s house tonight is going to be about as pleasant as peeling off my skin. She’ll be far from my arms, and it makes my dick and me both want to weep.