“What do you want, Blake?” I lean against the sink and cross my arms. “If you have something to say, say it.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She shrugs and walks toward the first stall. “I’m just here to use the bathroom. I’m minding my own business with this shit because I want nothing to do with it, Dakota.”
“To do with what?” I push, my heart speeding up. “You made a wrong assumption.”
“Did I though?” She shakes her head. “It doesn’t even matter. I need to focus on getting your brother back so I can’t go pissing him off again. Like I said, I want nothing to do with you and Easton. I’m staying out of it. So… enjoy the race.”
“You’re not getting my brother back,” I say right when she closes the stall door behind her. “Someone else better wants him and eventually he’ll drop your ass for good once he realizes that. So don’t get your hopes up, Blake. You’ve fucked with him for too long. He’s over it.”
The toilet lid slams closed but she doesn’t say anything.
She knows I’m right. Her time with Roman is done and if that is enough to keep her out of my business then I’ll remind her of that every chance I get. Taking a deep breath and exhaling, I walk out of the bathroom and toward the concessions.
I’m at the hotdog stand about to place an order when a hard body presses up against me from behind. “Five hotdogs.” Easton’s breath hits my ear as he leans over me to toss some money down for the guy.
He nods and yells back the order, before taking the cash and ringing it in. When he tries to hand Easton back the change, he shakes it off and steps aside, pulling me with him for the next person to place their order.
“You’re making this hard, Easton. Really. Really. Hard. So stop.” I look behind him to see if anyone is watching us. “You’re supposed to be with my brother.”
He swallows and grabs my hand, pulling me off to the side of the concession building where hopefully no one can see us. “Roman will be fine without me for a few minutes. I couldn’t wait any longer to do this.”
Before I can protest, he grabs the back of my neck and kisses me on the lips, his mouth warm and needy against mine. I allow myself to get lost in the moment for a few seconds too long, before I come to my senses and push him away.
“What the hell?” I look around nervously, barely able to breathe at the idea of us being caught. “Someone could’ve seen us. Blake was just in the bathroom.”
“No one is around, Kota. I saw Blake walk the opposite direction when she came out of the bathroom. I wouldn’t do that to you.” He grabs my waist and pulls me to him until our bodies are flush. “I told your brother I’d help carry the hotdogs and grab a few beers on the way. They’re not leaving those spots until the race ends. They’re too involved.”
“There are eyes everywhere, Easton. I’m sure Ben has noticed you’ve disappeared. I won’t be surprised if he needs to use the bathroom next now that Blake is back.”
“Forget about Ben.” He kisses my forehead and lowers his gaze to mine. “He’s known I’ve wanted you from the very beginning and hasn’t said shit. Let him see us together. I’ll take care of him if I have to.”
“It’s not that easy, Easton. Blake—”
He kisses me on the lips cutting me off, my heart skipping a beat when his tongue sweeps across my lips. “Trust me. Do you trust me?”
I nod. “It’s not you I don’t trust.”
“That’s all I need.”
“Order up!”
I jump at the sound of the guy’s voice, and Easton smiles, before turning around to grab the hotdogs, handing me two of them. “Relax, Kota. I’ll take care of you. I promise. There’s nothing to worry about.”
When we make it back to our seats, everyone is so focused on the race that they barely acknowledge us long enough to retrieve their beers and hotdogs. I guess Easton was right, which makes the rest of the night so much easier to get through.
The last race ended twenty minutes ago, and just like a normal race night, we all stay behind, waiting on everyone else to pile out first. When Ben stands up, I get my hopes up that he’s going to call it a night and take off with the crowd like Blake and Sylvia did moments ago, but instead, he comes toward us, his eyes locked on me.
Easton notices and stands between us, blocking me from Ben’s view. The way he does it so protectively has me dying to wrap my arms around him and kiss him.
“What’s the plan tonight?” Ben mutters, turning to my brother. “We going to the pub or what? The girls are already heading there.”
“What the fuck happened to your eye?” My brother half-laughs. “You piss someone else off too?”
“I don’t want to talk about my fucking face.” Ben pulls his hood up, attempting to shadow it. “What I want to do is get a shot. You guys down or what?”
“Can’t, man.” Stiles takes a step backward and smiles proudly. “I gotta go into the tattoo parlor early and start on a sketch for a client. It’s going to be badass. I can’t be hungover.”
“I have the breakfast shift at the diner, so I’m out too. I need my sleep. Sunday mornings are hell.” Hope looks to me. “You riding home with me or going to the pub?”
“Riding with you.” I stand up and look at my brother, knowing that Easton will most likely end up doing whatever my brother does since they rode together. Please say no.
“Two drinks and I gotta head out.” Roman looks to Easton. “Are you cool with a couple drinks or you want to be dropped off? I’ll make sure this fucker stays ten feet away from you at all times or I’ll kick his ass myself.”
His eyes linger on me for a moment, before turning back to my brother. My heart races, hoping and praying he says no, because Ben and Easton in the same room could end up being bad. Really bad, and I can’t have my brother finding out anything about us if they get into another fight. “Two drinks,” Easton agrees.
My stomach twists into knots as Hope grabs my arm. “Goodnight, boys. Us ladies are off to bed. Don’t have too much fun without us.”
“You sure you can’t come for one drink?” Roman asks Hope. “I’ll buy.”
He smiles at her, and I’m afraid that’s enough to make her cave, but surprisingly she stays strong. “I wish I could, but six a.m. comes way too fast. Next time?”
“Sure, Hope,” he says, sounding a bit disappointed. “I’ll buy you as many as you want.”
“Great. Now can we get the hell out of here?” Ben rolls his eyes and walks off. “I’ll meet you there. I needed a shot like two hours ago.”
“Okay, cool. We’ll be right behind you.” My brother turns to Easton. “You sure you’re cool, man?”
Easton’s jaw flexes as he watches Ben exit the gate. “Nah, I’m cool. He knows his place. Two drinks max.”
Hope pulls my arm. “Okay, let’s go. I need to get to bed ASAP.”
Hope dropped me off hours ago, and since then, I’ve been lying in bed, checking my phone every so often. A part of me hoped I’d hear from Easton after the bar, or that he’d just show up unannounced, even though I told him we couldn’t make him sleeping in my bed a habit. I meant it when I said it, but now, not so much. It’s a habit I definitely want him to make.
Running my hands through my hair, I climb out of bed and go to the bathroom to brush my teeth and clean up for the night. After grabbing a water from the fridge, I head back to my room.
The sight of Easton shirtless when I return, sitting on the floor at the foot of my bed, has my heart pounding as I my gaze rakes over his body.
He looks up at me, hand in hair, when he realizes I’ve come back. Without a word, he stands and strips me down to my bra and panties, before dressing me in the white shirt he wore to the race, and then he pulls me down to the floor to straddle his lap. With his elbows behind him, he looks up at me. “This shirt looks so much better on you, Kota.”
“Does it?” I whisper, my voice shaky from his lips moving across my neck.
“I think everything I own wo
uld look better on you. I’m willing to find out too.” He cups my face with both hands and pulls me in for a kiss, breathing softly against my lips once ours part. “Sorry it took so long. I wanted to come sooner, but I wanted to stay long enough for Ben to leave to make sure he didn’t say anything stupid.”
I shake my head and close my eyes, pressing my forehead against his. “I thought we weren’t going to make this a habit?”
He tilts my chin up until our eyes meet. “I thought I told you we were…” He kisses me again, his mouth causing every ounce of worry to disappear for the moment. “I meant it. Now come here.”
He lays back and pulls me on top of him as we lay in complete silence. I’m not sure for how long. But after a while, his hand running through my hair has my eyes becoming heavy until I can no longer keep them open.
Dakota
SEVEN YEARS AGO…
I’m standing outside the school looking around for Justin when Easton’s truck pulls up and Quinn jumps out the passenger door. She looks around until she spots me and rushes in my direction. A huge smile takes over her face as she throws her arms up, wrapping them around me once we’re close enough. “Happy eighteenth birthday to the prettiest and strongest girl I know.” She kisses me on the cheek before pulling away and aiming her camera at me. “Say cheese!”
I do as she says, but stick out my tongue and throw my middle finger up right before the camera flashes.
“Oh, come on! It’s your birthday. You never let me get pictures of you smiling. Can’t I have one just this once?”
“If I do that then you’re going to expect more,” I tease. “We don’t want to fall into that habit, now do we?”
“We do.” She jumps up beside me and takes a quick selfie of us, her faking a frown for the picture. “Now you’ll have a reminder of how you made your sister feel on your birthday.”
I roll my eyes and laugh, my laughter stopping the moment Easton walks around his truck, wearing the shirt I got him for his birthday last year. I can hardly breathe at the sight of him in it, so I quickly turn away in a panic. “Do you see Justin anywhere?”
Quinn looks around. “Nope. Is he supposed to meet you out here?”
“He usually does, but I haven’t seen or talked to him all day. It’s weird.”
“What’s weird?” Easton grabs the top of my head and kisses it, smiling down at me as he pulls away. “Happy birthday, Kota. I’ll bring your gift over tonight after work.”
“Thank you.” I swallow and try to pretend his lips on my forehead didn’t just shoot electricity through my body. He’s Quinn’s boyfriend now. And Justin is mine. I shouldn’t feel this way anymore. “I haven’t talked to Justin since yesterday morning. He always meets me here after school.”
Easton’s jaw tightens as he looks around, but he doesn’t say anything.
Quinn wraps her arms around my waist and pulls me to her side moments later. “We’re taking you out for ice cream before Easton goes into the shop for a few hours. Daddy needs his help on some old bike.”
“Okay. I’ll just text Justin—”
“Son of a bitch.”
Quinn and I both turn to Easton when he stalks off.
“Where’s he going?” Quinn asks, confused.
“I don’t…” My words catch in my throat when I spot Justin across the schoolyard with his arm around Sylvia Martinez. My heart sinks, and I feel sick to my stomach at the sight of them. Sylvia has had her eye on Justin since we started dating. It’s funny, because she didn’t even notice him before, it seems like.
“That asshole,” Quinn mutters beside me, most likely spotting Justin too. She grabs my arm and takes off walking toward the truck. “Let’s get out of here.”
“No.” I pull my arm from her grip and head toward Justin. “Not until he gets a piece of my mind.”
I’m determined to make Justin pay for screwing me over, but before I can get to him, Easton punches him in the face, sending him down to the dirty ground.
Quinn covers her mouth and my eyes widen, not expecting what just went down.
“If you even look in Kota’s direction again, I’ll fuck you up. I’m always close by. Don’t forget it either.” Easton turns away from Justin, about to walk away but freezes when he sees Quinn and me staring at him. He looks at us, not saying a word before he storms off, jaw flexed.
“Dakota.” Justin jumps to his feet, drawing my attention his way. He touches his lip and winces. “I was going to tell you last night, but with it being your birthd—”
“Save it, asshole.” I turn to Sylvia—the pretty raven-haired cheerleader all the boys in school are into right now. “You can have the jerk. He’s a shitty kisser anyway. Might want to keep a towel around to wipe up the drool he leaves behind.” I turn to Justin’s pathetic ass. “Seek some medical advice or Google how to kiss a fucking girl without drowning them. You ruined my first kiss, and I’ll never get a do-over. Think on that tonight. Hope it makes you proud, Justin.”
With my heart racing, I turn and walk away before Justin can see how I truly feel. He may have never made my heart skip a beat or my pulse race like Easton, but he was my boyfriend of almost two years. He’s my first and only kiss. Not to mention, my only distraction from Quinn and Easton dating. I’m not just hurt, but also screwed. At least having Justin around lessoned the sting of seeing my sister with the boy I’ve loved since I was six.
This sucks. Justin sucks. Everything sucks. This is the worst birthday ever.
Once in Easton’s truck, I can’t bring myself to look at him or my sister. I feel like a fool because of Justin. I let him in, and he dissed me in front of practically the whole school. I’m hurt and embarrassed.
“Are you sure you don’t want us to take you out for ice cream?” Quinn asks once we pull up at the house. “It’ll make you feel better. I promise.”
“I’m not in the mood. Maybe some other day.” I reach for the door handle, about to open it and hop out, but make the mistake of looking to the front of the truck right as Quinn plants a kiss on Easton’s lips. My heart sinks as I jump out and slam the door behind me, without saying bye to Easton.
I can’t right now. Seeing him and my sister together only adds to the sting, making my already fragile heart hurt even more.
Quinn jumps out seconds later and grabs my hand before I can walk to the house. “Come with me. I found this awesome place the other day that I want to show you. You don’t need to go inside and sulk over a boy who was never worth your time and effort. Come on.”
It’s never easy saying no to Quinn, so I follow her to her Jeep and jump inside. The twenty-minute ride to the park is spent with her doing her best to convince me how awesome I am and that I don’t need a boyfriend. I’m thankful for it, because believe it or not, it does make me feel a little better about Justin.
“Look how beautiful it is here.” She smiles and grabs her camera, snapping a few pictures as we make our way through a trail I’ve never taken before. “So many pretty rocks and trees. Not to mention this awesome view.”
I walk to where she’s standing and look down to see what she’s talking about.
“Let’s go down so I can get some pictures.”
“You want to climb a hundred feet down those janky steps, surrounded by a shit ton of rocks?”
She releases her camera, letting it hang around her neck. “Yeah, why not?”
I laugh. “It just doesn’t seem like something you’d do. I mean, you’re scared to ride dirt bikes and four-wheelers, Quinn. But you want to climb all the way down there and then back up again? You do realize we have to climb back up, right?”
She looks over the edge and stiffens up. “Yeah,” she says softly. “I know that.”
“And you want to do it still?” I push, studying her.
“Yes…” She takes a step back, hands shaking. “I don’t know. Maybe a different day. Crap!” She walks away disappointed, and I follow, feeling bad.
“I’m sorry, Quinn. I didn’t mean to change
your mind. I just know you and that’s not something you’d normally do.”
“It’s fine.” She stops to look at me. “I’ve been trying to talk myself into doing it since I discovered it two weeks ago. I just thought having my brave little sister with me would give me the courage. You’ve never been afraid to do anything, and I wish… I wish I could be more like you, Dakota.”
“You’re perfect just the way you are, Quinn. You don’t want to be like me.” A horrible sister who’s in love with your boyfriend. “Here’s a picture for you. Better hurry and grab your camera before I change my mind.”
Her face turns into a grin when I place the top of my hand under my chin and flash her a cheesy smile, allowing her to snap a few pictures. “Okay, now one together. And you better smile.”
She jumps beside me and we both smile, before sticking our tongues out for the second photo and laughing as we make our way back to her Jeep.
I’m sitting in my room, earbuds in, getting lost in music when I look up to see Quinn watching me from the doorway with a saddened look on her face.
Sighing, I pull the earbuds out and look at her as she sits down beside me. “I don’t want to talk about it, Quinn. I told you on the way back from the park that I was fine. You can go home and hang out with Mae without worrying about me.”
“No, I can’t.” She leans her head on my shoulder. “You’re my sister and my best friend. I love you too much not to worry. Plus, I keep picturing Easton punching Justin’s face in. Thought you might want a reminder.”
I smile a little. “It was kind of nice seeing him hit the ground.”
Quinn laughs and begins playing with my hair. “I agree. I never really cared for the jerk anyway. He was always all over you, never giving you any space. He couldn’t keep his hands to himself.” She gets on her knees behind me and starts pulling my hair into a braid. “I’m glad Easton isn’t that way. He has so much respect for me that I can hardly stand it sometimes. I like that I can take things slow with him and not feel pressured.”
Wreck My World Page 21