Gavin is at the house by the time I get there, and I try not to start beating up the furniture and smashing the windows the way I want. Instead, I toss the canoe into the bushes and stick my face under the garden hose for a solid minute.
“You ready?”
“Not yet.” I turn off the hose and glance back at the north side of the lake where I see three small dots in the same place I left them.
“So how’d it go? She everything your wet dreams promised she’d be?”
“That and then some.” I lean on the Cougar a moment as I set my gaze in her direction.
“So what happened?” Gavin says it measured as if he knows.
“She’s ashamed of him.” Neva’s voice surprises me from the porch. Shit. I didn’t notice her lounging on the bench, and now I’m sorry I ever came home.
“We’re just friends,” I say. “Get it straight.”
“I don’t think you’re just friends.” She sits up and leans over the railing. “I think you’re nothing but her little bitch.”
“Fuck you.” I tuck the canoe under the house and kick the shit out of the tail for sticking out.
“My”—Neva muses—“temper, temper.” She purrs like a cat. “What do you think Warren would do if he ever found out?”
“He’s not finding out because there’s nothing to find out.” I glare at her a moment. “We’re just friends, Neva. Get it through your skull and forget the rest.”
“Let’s get out of here.” Gavin jumps in his truck and revs the engine.
“It’s not right what she’s doing to you.” The whites of her eyes magnify. “Warren has the right to know his girlfriend is a cheat.”
“They’re not together.” I shake my head because a part of me is starting to think they might be.
“Bullshit,” Neva seethes. “Warren says they are.”
“Warren is lost in his own delusions.”
Neva belts out a laugh. “I guess that makes him a lot like you.” She heads into the house and slams the screen.
I guess that would make Warren a lot like me.
I hop in Gavin’s truck, and we take off. I watch as Loveless rises in a plume of dust in our wake. I can’t help but wonder if that’s what Reese and I will have reduced our friendship to in less than two weeks.
Dust.
Gavin keeps us locked inside the redwood forest longer than expected. We don’t get back into Loveless until late Sunday. Reese sent three texts.
I miss you.
My body misses your body.
And, Can we talk? Please call me when you get home. I don’t care how late it is.
Gavin glances over my shoulder. “Nice.”
“I guess.” I text her back. Just got these. On my way home. See you tonight?
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss her, that my dick hasn’t been crying out for her these past few days, that I didn’t desperately want to talk to her and let her know how I really feel.
“You going to tell her?” Gavin nods into the road as if he already knows.
“I want to. I’m just not sure it’s worth losing a friend over.” Deep down inside I feel like I could never lose Reese, never live without her for that matter either.
“You won’t lose her.” He digs his palm into his eye to wipe out the fatigue. “Tell her everything. In the least, tell her you’re going to Yeats. For as much as she’s willing to hide, you’re no saint yourself.”
“Never said I was one.”
Loveless comes up over the horizon, and I glance to my left at Reese’s house. The waterfront is lit up, there’s a makeshift stage, and I can hear the bass from a live band pulsating through the window.
“Looks like there’s a big party tonight.” Gavin twitches his brows. “We’d better hit the shower and get over there. Looks like someone’s getting laid tonight.” He offers up a knuckle bump. “That would be me by the way.” He scans a group of girls in barely-there skirts as they cross the street. “Sweet God up in heaven.” He groans as one of them licks her lips in his direction. “Maybe I’ll skip the shower and jump in the lake. You think one of those girls is in the mood for a skinny dip?”
A silent laugh strums from me. That’s how it all started for Reese and me.
“If I were you, I’d avoid skinny dipping. It could lead to places that really don’t suit you.” Like a borderline commitment, but I leave that last part out. Besides, it suits me just fine. In fact, I’d die to have a commitment with Reese—the real deal.
“Skinny dipping always leads to places I like”—he corrects—“unbelievably tight places that especially please my dick.”
“Nice,” I say as he pulls up to the cabin, and I jump out of the truck. “See you down there. Try not to be such a troll.”
“You’re the troll. I’m the pervert. Keep it straight.”
I salute him with my middle finger as he kicks up the dust in my face with his tires.
Skinny dipping. I wonder if I’d do it all over again. Those hot memories of Reese writhing in my arms come back like a flash fire, and I shake my head.
Hell, yes, I’d do it again.
Every. Single. Time.
After a quick shower, and an even quicker bite, I head down to the north side of the lake as the party rages on into the night. I spot Kennedy with Keith, and Neva hanging out by herself, but no sign of Reese, or worse, Warren.
A pair of cool hands glide over my eyes momentarily. “Boo!” A cute female voice perks in my ear, and I turn to find Brylee with a crooked smile.
“Boo, yourself.” I flat line, panning the crowd once again. “What’s new?”
“You mean, what’s new with Reese.” She jumps in front of me and hops up and down to the music. “You ever plan on having that talk with her?”
“Yup.” Not really, but I know for a fact it’ll get Brylee off my back.
“Great.” Her eyes widen. “You should do it tonight. You know, there’s no time like the present. The present is a gift and all that crap.”
“She’s leaving soon.” I cut a glance up to her balcony, her side yard, the McCarthy’s home, but there’s no sign of Reese or Warren.
“So are you.”
“Things might get awkward if I try to turn this into some emotional battle zone. Sorry but I’m not ruining her summer.” Or mine for that matter.
The band takes a quick break but my eardrums continue to throb in rhythm to their last disaster. A group of girls belt out a simultaneous laugh. I turn in their direction and spot Reese.
The world stops as her eyes latch onto mine. My adrenaline skyrockets, and my heart starts kicking the shit out of me from the inside.
A smile rises on her face as she bolts over.
“Do yourself a favor and tell her tonight.” Brylee ducks into the crowd behind us and disappears from sight.
An older couple crosses my path.
“Excuse me.” The man with greying hair pulls in his wife as they make their way past me, and it’s only then I recognize him as Reese’s dad.
“Ace Waterman?” His wife pulls back a moment and glares into me.
Shit.
“That would be me.” I nod politely at the two of them.
“I didn’t recognize you.” Her father lifts his chin, examining me. “How’s your dad doing? I see him tooling around the lake now and again.”
Tooling around the lake? Funny. Dad refers to it as work.
“He’s doing good. Keeping busy.”
He presses out a quick grimace. “Tell him, Chuck Westfield says hello, would you?” He pauses, looking over my shoulder at the cabin. “In fact, tell him I wouldn’t mind hitting a bucket of balls with him sometime. My treat.”
“What’s going on?” Reese lands beside me, resting her arm over my shoulder as she pants out of breath.
“We’re heading in, sweetie.” He drops a kiss on her forehead. “I’ll have your envelope on your pillow by the time you get upstairs.”
Reese’s eyes glisten with tears as she nods.
/>
Her stepmother leans into her. “Warren is looking for you, love. Rumor has it he has a dozen long stem roses with your name on them.” She gives a quick wink. “Enjoy the night.” They take off for the house, and Reese continues to glare at her stepmother long after she’s gone.
Roses. A girl like Reese deserves roses all year long.
“What are the roses for?” I’m already sorry I asked. It’s probably a housewarming gift and she’ll slap me for even looking in her direction.
She glances down, and I note the silver tiara on her head.
“It’s my birthday.”
Oh shit.
“God, it’s your birthday?” I ask as if she’s contracted some fatal disease before wrapping my arms around her waist to comfort her. My chest pounds wild over hers, and I’m panting because it feels as if Reese were lost, and I found her again.
“Yes.” She looks up from under her lashes and gives a sad smile. “And I was so afraid I wouldn’t see you.” Her eyes drift down to my arms latched around her, and I can feel her body go rigid.
“Sorry.” I drop my arms to my sides. “I got carried away.”
“No, don’t be.” She pulls my hands back around her waist, low to her hips right where I want them to be. “You had it right the first time.”
“Reese.” A tiny smile floats to my lips. It’s her birthday. I’m sure every person here has offered her a hug. I’m sure if she had to she could play it off, but a small part of me wants to believe she has me holding her for an entirely different purpose.
A shadow darkens the overhead light, and I glance up at Warren before doing a double take.
“Enjoying the party?” He jumps down from the retaining wall.
Neither Reese nor I say anything, neither one of us moves.
“I asked if you were enjoying the fucking party?” He slams into my shoulder and knocks me back a good three feet. The band starts up again, and my head starts to throb.
“Warren, stop!”
“I’m not stopping.” He charges at me again. “Was this shit fucking touching you?”
“Relax.” Reese lays her hand over his stomach. “He was just wishing me a happy birthday. Cool it will you?”
Warren takes another step in, and I’m ready to bury my fist in his chest—give him a fucking heart-stopper right here as a gift to Reese and myself.
Reese glances from Warren to me as if she were at a crossroad.
“Here, let’s dance.” She pulls him by the fingers and they disappear into the tangle of bodies.
The crowd moves between us like a busy New York sidewalk, and all memory of the brief exchange with Reese—with Warren—melts away like an illusion.
I glance back at the crowd and find my sister staring at me, so I head over.
“Where’s your boy toy?” I gruff. I’m ready to kick some ass and A.J. is as good a place to start as any.
“Where’s your girl toy?” she counters. “Oh, wait. She’s dancing with her boyfriend. How does it feel to be second rate?”
“I wouldn’t know.”
I head back to cabin because God knows I do know.
And it feels like shit.
11
Loving You, Loving Me
Reese
Some birthday.
Warren slobbers over my neck as the song we’re dancing to throbs to an end.
“So I got a gift for you.” Warren picks his head up as the song comes to a close.
Warren. I scoff at him a second. I would never have even pulled him onto the dance floor if it weren’t for the fact he was about to rip Ace a new one—and that was for sure not the way I wanted to tell Ace I’m in love with him, not with Warren in the front row with his fist at the ready. I made a vow to myself that I’d share my feelings with Ace today even if I had to do it via text message, but he’s back from his trip, and I get to tell him in person. My entire body lights up like a Christmas tree at the prospect.
“A gift?” I feign interest while I scan the crowd for Ace.
“Yeah, I’ll let you sit on me tonight.” He grabs his crotch and shakes it. “I’ll make sure all your birthday wishes come true.”
“No thanks.” I give his shoulder a quick swat as I turn to leave.
“I get it.” He steps in front of me. “You’re still pissed.”
“Yes, I’m still pissed. And, by the way, we have to sit our parents down and tell them we’re not really engaged. In fact, I’m hoping to tell my dad tomorrow. They’re leaving for a trip oversees—”
“I know, Japan.” His jaw clenches. “I work at the office, remember? Look, wait until after the trip. They’ve got a long flight, and they’ve got enough bullshit to deal with. Trust me, they don’t need you adding any drama to it.”
“We can’t wait. They get back on the fifth. We’ll be back at Yeats by then.”
“We’ll do it over the fucking phone.” He shrugs as if it were no big deal. “Besides, that’ll give you another solid week to figure out you’re wrong about this whole thing.” He spots someone off in the crowd and nods over to them. Warren mock shoots me as he steps in their direction. “We’re still engaged. You know you want it. It’s going to be me and you in the end—Westfield and McCarthy just the way it’s supposed to be.” He melts into the crowd, and I shake my head disbelieving. Warren is proving harder to get rid of than head lice.
I pluck out my phone to text Ace, and Neva pops up with her hair teased in a beehive, dark rings circled around her eyes but strangely enough she’s still pretty. It would figure that Neva could pull off the night of the living dead look. She’s always been stunning.
“My brother wanted me to give you a message,” she growls as she pans the crowd behind me. “He said meet him at the boathouse in an hour.”
My mouth opens, but not a word flies out.
“His phone died.” She shrugs before turning to take off.
“Wait.” I pull her back by the elbow, and she’s quick to yank free. “Thank you—for relaying the message.”
“You’re welcome. So I guess, happy birthday. You turned into the happy little slut I always knew you could be.” Neva dives back into the crowd without missing a beat.
I pump a dry smile. The truth is, I miss her. I miss her voice, her hugs—the smell of her perfume. Maybe I’ll add Neva to the queue of people to have a talk with right after Ace, Warren, and Dad. Hopefully each one of them will understand what I have to say.
A body bumps into mine, and I jolt forward.
“Let’s do this, Westfield!” Brylee hooks her arm in mine and starts spinning us in a circle. Her boobs try their hardest to spring free from those eye patches she has them harnessed in.
“Easy.” I glide us to a stop. “I’ve got a date in an hour, and, unlike you, it’s not with the bottom of the toilet.”
“I’m not tanked.” She tries to hold up a finger, and it flails in front of her.
“You will be.”
“So you’re collecting on the big gift in an hour huh?” She grinds her hips into mine.
“It’s more than that. I’m telling him how I feel tonight.”
“Aww!” Brylee clutches onto my neck like we’re slow dancing. “Everything is going to be so much better after that. Just wait and see.” She flops into my chest. “But I was sort of hoping he’d tell you first.” Her fingers fly to her lips.
“Yeah, well. I’m past the dreaming stage and on to reality. Besides, telling him is sort of my birthday gift to myself. I swore no matter what, I’d let him know that my feelings are so much deeper than just friends.” I hike a smile into my cheek because I just sort of verbalized it in front of dozens of people, and it felt damn good. “I love Ace Waterman.” I say it just loud enough for my own ears to hear. I glance around, and no one seems worse for wear. The world is still spinning, and I bet my dad is alive and healthy despite my lovesick proclamation.
“Say it again with some feeling.” Brylee places her hand over my shoulder as we stare out at the crowd.
“I love, Ace Waterman!” It rips from my vocal cords so loud I can practically hear the echo off the water—but not a living soul even blinks in my direction. And, yet, I feel like a Mac truck has been lifted off my chest.
The fact that I love Ace Waterman makes me feel better than I have in years.
I’m ready to own it. And I hope he’ll want to own it, too.
It’s cooler out by the water, quiet and dark away from the party. I hug the shoreline as I make my way to the other side of the lake—the boathouse to be precise. I’ll have to send Gavin a thank you for letting us turn his storage facility into our own private love shack.
I wonder why Ace didn’t come get me himself? And sending Neva of all people? Maybe she offered. I bet it’s her twisted version of an olive branch. She can be weird like that.
Plus, it’s my birthday. I bet Ace wanted to do up the boathouse in balloons and rose petals. He’s thoughtful to a fault. My stomach melts just thinking about how thoughtful he is, especially between the sheets—not that there were any sheets in that tiny tent of ours. My insides burn with the memory of his hands raking over my body, his tongue tracking over the most intimate part of me.
Hot damn. Ace Waterman has the power to dissolve me to a puddle, and he’s not even in the vicinity.
I take the dirt path past the dogwoods and see there’s already a light on in the boathouse. Looks like he is in the vicinity. I trot up and catch him with his back to the window, his head bowed down. He lets out an audible groan, and it’s only then I see a pair of hands strapped to his thighs, a brunette moving her head back and forth over his crotch, loving him in that way that I thought only I was allowed to do.
A sharp sting ignites over me all at once as I stumble from the porch.
“Holy shit,” I hiss.
This can’t be true.
The ground rises to meet me as I run up the dirt hill, past the wandering evergreen forest with its dense thicket. My heart thumps like a series of detonations, my lungs sting from the sharp intake of cool night air as I slip and struggle my way up an embankment. A pair of headlights come over the ridge, and I bump hard into a cold, steel fender.