“I am a fucking genius.” Tegan’s deep voice on the other side of the screen door caught us all by surprise making the three of us jump. No idea how long he’d been standing there listening.
“You’re something,” Rhian countered. “I don’t think I’d go right to genius, though.”
He pulled the screen door open and stepped inside. His presence took up all the air in the room. For me. Laney and Rhian seemed unaffected. “You wanna test that?” he asked his sister.
Her eyes narrowed on him as she thought about it. But then she said, “Not really.”
“Good call.”
“Hey, Rhian, why don’t you help me take the chicken out to Zac so he can get it started?” Laney asked.
“You need me to help you carry chicken?”
Laney turned back to her and cocked her head to the side. “No. I don’t.”
It took Rhian about ten seconds to put that all together in her head. “Oh. Gotcha. Yeah. Let’s go.”
The two of them slid past Tegan and left us alone for what would probably be only moments. Which left him free to come over to me, locking me inside his arms as he rested his hands on the counter behind me. The lower part of my back pushed into the edge of the counter, but I couldn’t have cared less.
“Hey,” he said quietly.
I smiled up at him. “Hey.” But I barely got the word out before his mouth claimed mine.
Tegan’s lips had been sorely missed. We couldn’t see each other every day. Sometimes our shifts didn’t work out. Sometimes, he was on call or even worked overnight at the hospital. But that time apart made moments like this even better.
He lifted his hand until the palm rested against my neck and that swoop between his thumb and index finger cupped my chin, holding me in place as if I’d be the one to pull away. My hands rested on his hips as his tongue licked at my lips. I opened right up for him and welcomed the soft slide of his against mine. A strangled noise got caught in my throat. We were barely touching and I wanted more.
Then Dylan shrieked and Laney laughed and I knew I couldn’t have more. Not right now anyway.
Tegan pulled back but kissed me one last time. “You busy tonight?”
“I have Dylan tonight. Zac picks him up from my parents’ when I have a later shift and he doesn’t. But he’s with me tonight.”
He nodded. “Right. Sorry. I’m trying to learn your schedule.”
That made my heart swell a couple of sizes bigger. I didn’t think a guy had ever tried to learn Zac’s and my parenting schedule before. “No need to apologize. I sometimes forget our schedule.”
“Can we come back in now?” Rhian called through the screen door.
I bit my lips together to try not to laugh out loud, but Tegan dropped another quick kiss to my lips and moved to stand beside me right as the door opened. Rhian and Laney went back to prepping, so I jumped in to help. Tegan only waited a minute before going back outside, but as he slid past me, his hand ran across my lower back, a finger tracing the skin between my tank top and shorts.
“Why do you two do that?” Rhian asked after he was outside.
“Do what?”
“Act like you’re not together. We all know you are.”
“Oh,” I said. That was an easy answer. “Because of Dylan. I don’t want him to get used to someone being around before I know they’re going to be around for a while.”
She furrowed her brows. “You don’t think Tegan will be around for a while.”
I sighed deeply. “I think he is, but I thought the last one was going to and the one before that. I don’t want there to be a revolving door around my kid.”
“Makes perfect sense,” Laney said, more to her than to me. “They have to be careful with their kid.”
“Right,” Rhian muttered.
Once we had everything set up, Zac brought in a plate of bar-b-que chicken and everything looked amazing. I was glad Rhian didn’t give me any more of a hard time than she had. She was being protective of her brother and I got that, but things needed to happen in my timeframe.
The kitchen filled with people as we made our plates. I made a second one for Dylan. Zac was really letting him eat in the pool. There was a chair pulled up next to the pool with Dylan’s drink on it. I guessed that was his table.
Tegan offered to carry my plate for me as I juggled the two and I handed it over happily, dropped Dylan’s off to him, then came back next to Tegan. It was the little things that made me swoon.
“So, I was thinking,” Zac started. “I want to take Dylan to Cedar Point.”
“Seriously?” I asked him.
“Yeah. I think he’s the perfect age for his first trip. It’s just a day trip.”
“He’s too small to ride any of the big rides,” I warned him.
“I know,” he countered. “But they have the kids’ area and some smaller rides he can go on. It’ll be fun.”
I thought about it and decided he was right. “Yeah. I think that sounds good, but I don’t want to miss it.”
“Then come with us,” he said. “We were going to ask you to anyway.”
“We?”
“Laney and me.”
“When? I’ll switch shifts if I’m not off.”
“How about Saturday?”
“That’s perfect,” I told him. “I don’t work Saturday.” Nor would I have any plans with Tegan, given that Saturday was technically part of my weekend with Dylan.
“This’ll be fun,” Laney agreed.
“Are you leaving some people out?” Rhian asked as if we’d forgotten them sitting there. “I like rollercoasters.”
“Come with us,” Laney told her. “We wouldn’t talk about it in front of you if we didn’t want you to come. You can even bring that guy you’re seeing if you want to.”
“Fuck you very much,” Porter told her, making us all chuckle.
I glanced at Tegan. He had continued to eat and not once suggested he should join us as well, given that he knew my feelings on introducing him as my boyfriend to Dylan. I wasn’t ready yet.
I nudged his shoulder. “You should come, too,” I said quietly, though everyone would still hear me. “Assuming you don’t have to work or aren’t on call or whatever.”
“I’m not,” he told me, leaning in closer. “You sure?”
“Yeah, I’m sure. You’re part of the group.”
“Then I’ll go.”
I nodded and smiled at him. We’d all go together, but this would be Tegan’s and my first daytrip together. If this kept up, I’d have to tell Dylan we were together sooner rather than later. My stomach tightened at the idea.
With my track record, anything could happen. Telling Dylan made it real. Thinking about my relationship with Tegan alone could’ve been jinxing the very good thing we had going on.
Chapter Thirteen
We’d decided to meet at Zac and Laney’s at eight Saturday morning. Easy enough for all of them, but I had to make the grueling drive over. It was actually not grueling at all. But getting Dylan and me up and ready in time was a little cumbersome. Luckily, I’d done as much the night before as I could. The kid was bouncing with excitement, but that exuberance had led to it taking a lot longer for him to get ready because he was only half-listening to me. But when it was time to go, he remembered the backpack that had snacks for the car, the sunscreen, and a couple of bottles of water for him.
Still, we weren’t late getting to Zac’s. The entire group, minus Tegan, were waiting out in front of the house. Dylan burst from my car almost before I got it fully stopped.
“Hey,” I called to him after getting out. He came back to me so I could squat down so we’d be on the same eye level. “You never jump out of the car before I say it’s OK. You could’ve really been hurt.”
“Sorry,” he said and I knew he meant it. His excitement had gotten the best of him.
“OK.” I let go of his arms so he could run back over to his dad. “Hey, everybody. Somebody’s excited today.” I pointed
down at my kid.
“I am too,” Rhian agreed. “I haven’t been on a rollercoaster in a long time. Besides the rides at that fair earlier this summer. But like a real rollercoaster.”
Right. The four of them had gone to a butter castle at a fair in Ohio.
Just then, Tegan’s car pulled up to the curb. He got out with a drink tray in one hand and a large iced coffee in the other.
“Here ya go,” he said as he handed me the coffee in his hand.
I looked at it, then at him. “How did you know I like iced caramel macchiatos?”
“I do my research,” he said before giving everyone else one of the coffees from the holder. “Them, I just asked what they wanted.”
After stirring my layered drink, I took a long sip. The cold vanilla mixed with caramel slid right down my throat. The day was starting out warm and would get hotter, so this was exactly what I needed.
“Thank you,” I told him.
One corner of his mouth turned up. “You’re welcome.”
“OK,” I took my attention off of him because I had to. His dark eyes were so intense when he looked at me that it could turn me into jelly. “How are we doing this? Is everyone driving separately? Though that doesn’t make sense.”
“Zac and I are taking my brand-new baby,” Laney said, referring to her new car. She’d only bought it maybe two weeks ago. A red Kia Soul. Nothing extravagant, but she’d said she was used to driving something a little bigger and being able to move things when she needed to. Which she could if she put the backseats down. She’d been worried about buying brand new, but since she wouldn’t have a rent or mortgage payment, she could afford a car payment.
“Can I ride with Dad?” Dylan asked. I stuck my bottom lip out in a pout. Of course, he wanted to ride with Zac. He always did. It wasn’t that I doubted my kid loved me, but he was a boy and wanted to be with his dad.
“It’s OK with me,” Zac told him. “If it’s OK with your mom.”
They both turned to me with hopeful eyes like they seriously considered I might say no. I rolled my eyes and said, “Fine with me. I’ll ride all alone in my sad, quiet little car.”
Zac snorted and ruffled the hair on Dylan’s head.
“Why don’t they ride in Laney’s car?” Rhian started. “And Porter, Tegan, and I ride with you?”
I raised an eyebrow. I would’ve put money on Rhian wanting to ride with Laney.
“So you’re not sad and lonely,” she added with a look I couldn’t place. It was playful for sure, but there was something else.
“That sounds good,” I said after deciding not to worry about the look. “But I will warn you, my backseat is tiny as hell. I’m pretty sure Porter’s legs will need to stick out the window.”
Rhian laughed loudly, but Porter groaned. “We can take mine,” she said. “It’s not huge, but I think we can fold the guys like accordions instead of either of them hanging outside the car.”
“We’ll take mine,” Tegan said instead. “Porter will thank me.”
It was true. Tegan drove a sedan style and while I hadn’t been in the backseat, I had to assume it had more room than either of the other two options.
“Now that that’s settled, let’s get on the road.” Zac took Dylan’s backpack with him and grabbed my little guy’s hand. They walked toward Laney’s car.
The rest of us went to Tegan’s, which was still sitting by the curb. Rhian and Porter climbed into the back while I slid into the passenger seat and Tegan behind the wheel.
Zac pulled Laney’s car out of the driveway and headed to the highway first. Once they were out of sight, Tegan reached across the car, his hand cradling my cheek, then pulled me to him. He kissed me as if there weren’t two people in the backseat of the car and for a few minutes, I forgot too.
“Jesus,” Rhian finally said, which made him bring it to an end. “I really didn’t need to see that.”
“You could take your own car,” he said as he put the car in drive and went the same way as Zac. “I can’t kiss my girl anytime I want like some people, so you’ll have to deal with it.”
“Why is that?” she asked. “Dylan?”
“Yeah,” I answered as Tegan’s hand came to rest on my thigh. It was a simple gesture, a normal one. He just wanted contact while we made our trip. The air conditioning in the car had cooled my skin, but his big hand warmed it. “It was an agreement Zac and I made from the start. No PDA until… ”
“Until what?” Rhian pushed. “Zac and Laney show PDA. Nothing pornographic, but little things.”
“They live together,” I countered.
“Yeah, but they did before.”
“Not at first,” I countered.
“What’s the timeframe for when it’s allowed?”
“When it feels right.” I sighed. While I understood that Rhian was curious and maybe a little protective of her brother, the idea that I had to defend myself in some way, or that I felt like I did, wasn’t sitting right with me.
“Knock it off,” Tegan said, sounding more annoyed than anything else.
“I’m just—”
He cut her off. “No. You don’t get to grill her about that. It’s her call and if I don’t have a problem with it, why would you?”
“You’re my brother.”
“And that means what?”
Rhian sighed in a way that made me believe that if I turned and looked at her, she’d have a pout on her face. “I wanted to know why her kid isn’t allowed to know you’re together.”
“Fuck that,” he said, now a bit of anger in there. “It’s not your business, Rhian. That’s her kid and Zac’s. Nobody else gets an opinion or gets to judge. Just like I don’t get an opinion about Porter liking things shoved in his ass. Nor do I judge.”
“What?” Porter and I shrieked at the same time.
“What did you tell him?” Porter asked her in outrage.
“Nothing. I didn’t—”
Tegan’s grin gave him away and I burst out into a laugh. Rhian stammering, me laughing, Tegan being a troublemaker, but he had ended her inquisition of me and for that, I could’ve kissed him again.
“That is so not cool,” Porter muttered.
The rest of the trip was uneventful. We talked about a lot of things, but nothing heavy and it was only two hours. Laney sent me a text when they arrived and said they’d meet us at the entrance. Unfortunately, we had to park pretty far out and it took a bit for us to get to that entrance. The day was warm but not sweltering. A perfect day for an amusement park.
As we approached, Zac was slathering our kid with sunscreen.
“I brought enough for anyone who wants to use it,” I told them. I’d put some on in the car, so I had a little bit before I needed to reapply. Laney and Rhian both quickly put some on, though.
The guys were all in jeans, which was weird to me. It was hot. Why jeans? While we girls knew what was up and were in varying length of shorts and tank tops. Colored tank tops because we weren’t stupid and knew what would happen on a water ride in white.
We headed for the kids’ area first and rode every ride that Dylan wanted to but seeing these big guys on the tiny rides was hilarious. They didn’t seem to care, though. After doing that, Porter said we should go on some of the big scary rides. Rides our little guy couldn’t do. Not a huge deal. I’d stay back with him and ride more of these little ones or go play some games. Whatever he wanted to do. All I cared about was that his big grin stayed in place all day. He was having so much fun.
“I want to go on that,” Dylan said, pointing to one of the biggest coasters there.
“Uh. No way, dude. You’re not tall enough for those yet,” I explained. “How about you and I hang back?”
“I can stay with him,” Laney offered.
“You don’t have to do that,” I told her. He was my kid, after all.
“Seriously. Dylan and I can go grab a snack then come back here to ride some more.” She leaned in close to me. “You know I hate those rides. Y
ou’d be doing me a favor.”
“If you’re sure.”
“I am,” she said quickly with a nod. She never had liked coasters or big rides in general. For someone so ready for whatever the guys threw at us, her dislike of rides continued to surprise me. We’d jumped off things, but obviously, never anything this big.
“That OK with you Dylan?” I asked him.
“Sure.” He shrugged. When he did that stuff, he looked so much like Zac, it was scary.
“OK. We’ll meet you back here.”
“I’ll stay too,” Zac said as we began walking away.
“No way,” Laney countered. “You love those things. Go. He and I will be A-OK.”
“You sure?” he asked.
“Yes, everyone.” She sounded exasperated. “Laney Douglas is perfectly good with everything she’s agreed to. Go.” She gave him a push.
The five of us walked away and hopped in line for the biggest coaster they had. Surprisingly, it went pretty quickly. I had no intention of riding everything they wanted to because it’d be hours in line. I wasn’t going to do that to Laney but a few would be nice.
As we got strapped in, Rhian and Porter were in front of me, Tegan beside me, and Zac behind us next to a stranger. “You like these rides?” Tegan asked.
“Love them. I haven’t found anything I wouldn’t ride.”
“Hence the reason she has a kid with Zac,” Porter called over his shoulder. Zac chuckled and the guy next to Zac snorted, but Rhian punched Porter in the arm. “What?” he asked.
She jabbed her thumb toward her brother.
“Don’t worry about it, Rhian,” Tegan told her. “I know who she has a kid with and I know how babies are made.”
The car jolted forward and the ride starting meant no one could talk to anyone else. The first big drop took my breath away and the adrenaline rush was exactly what I’d hoped for. The constant pushing and pulling me against the seat with the twists and turns were all amazing. I didn’t understand how anyone could not love these.
We rode two coasters together before I said I wanted to head back to Laney and Dylan. Tegan decided to go with me while the others rode one more that they’d been dying to get on. It being just the two of us meant that he could hold my hand until we were almost back to the kiddie land.
Hard to Say Yes (The Fallout Series Book 3) Page 11