Jerking her into me, I wrap my arms around her back and slap her lips with a kiss, letting them linger with our warm breaths mixed to create a trail of heat over my skin.
“Ok, you may just have to pay for that joke.”
She squeals and bucks in my arms as I dig my hands into her sides, still grasping her in an unwavering grip.
“Wait a minute…” she laughs, throwing her head back, but I just use that as an excuse to dive in and indulge in more of her soft delectable flesh. “Wait…wait,” she gasps, “I am going to have to pay for that? I thought you owed me six and from my count that was only three.”
Pulling back with a disbelieving grin, I chuckle at her bluntness. “Those three were damn near equivalent to six, actually maybe even nine. Yeah, nine! That was triple the job any home runner like Tristan could manage. I mean come on…” I lean back and look at her. The trace of amusement creases the corners of her mouth. “I not only stopped at each base, but I spent quality time there, played in the damn dirt, polished every damn base and then licked it clean before sliding into home like a pro.”
She cracks up and nods just as I look past her to the beach.
“Ok, ok…you got me…you’re a stud…you totally…”
Her voice trails off as I see Piper sitting in the grass all snuggled up close to the ass-wipe that I guess she’s dating, and then there is the other dude pawing at Abby. Judd and Alyssa sit across the fire, leaning against a huge tree stump, lost in their own world as usual, but my eyes fall back to Piper.
“Come on, let’s go join.” Skylar tugs at my hand and I fly forward, my head jostled as I snicker at her enthusiasm.
We race over and I immediately settle myself beside the two love-birds.
“Hey Evan.” Alyssa leans around Judd with a greeting, round cheeks and bright eyes reflecting the orange and yellow glow of the fire.
“What have you been up to?” Judd turns to look at me, pulling himself away from Alyssa.
I shrug, unable to tell him what is on my mind as Skylar fidgets to get comfortable beside me.
“Not much, I was just checking the breaker boxes at the two end shower houses to make sure they have an available circuit. Those heaters that Dad showed me earlier are by no means brand new. I think he probably picked them up at an auction and they are ancient. I’m going to hook them up but it’s pretty much a waste, and Grandpa should know that. They may have to be replaced by next winter, but whatever. It’s his money.”
“So why are you checking the breaker?”
I clear my throat and subtly glance over to Piper, who is looking right at me. Shit.
Casting my eyes right back to where they were, I go on, “Those older units usually have to run on a larger circuit and I may need to use two.”
Judd nods his head slowly as I start to bounce my crossed feet that are stretched out in front of me. He frowns for a moment, then looks over to her. I’m positive he is reading me like a damn book. It’s not like I’m obvious; I always am where she is concerned. How is it that I can keep cool with everyone, keep emotions from affecting most of my decisions and most definitely not give a damn about drama, except when it comes to her?
“I’ll be back,” Skylar announces as she joins Piper, Alyssa and Abby all running off towards the cabin.
The two other guys jump up and head to the parking lot.
“God, this is driving me crazy,” I erupt as soon as they are far enough away.
“What, Piper?”
“Of course, Piper…who else?” I roll my eyes on a sigh as I pick up a stray twig that escaped the wrath of flames. Tossing it into the fire, I grit my teeth, hoping my frustration has been discarded along with the twig. Nope…no such luck.
Judd snickers, pulling his knees up and resting his forearms over them with his hands clasped between them.
“Well then, talk to her.”
I look at him sarcastically, like he just proposed an all-time dumbass, award-winning suggestion that I knew he would.
“Yeah, right…let me race over and try that so she can tell me to piss off for the hundredth time.”
He spits out another chuckle like this is funny. “Well, have you actually ever tried…I mean really tried?”
“What?!” The question floors me. “Of course I have. Did you not see me at the Halloween party? She went ballistic as soon as I said a word and I won’t even go into the ‘go to hell’ look she gives me in class. Seriously, have you ever seen someone that can give a look that damn hateful.” I sigh, looking at the roaring blaze. “It’s pretty hot, actually,” I quip back to myself more so, raising my brows and cocking my head to the side as I conjure up her glare. Oh yeah, that is pretty hot.
Judd shakes his head and laughs. “Yeah, pissed off looks pretty good on some girls, but a lot of good that’ll do you. You should talk to her…like actually talk to her and maybe try listening instead of trying to glamour her with your quick wit and endless sarcasm.”
Snickering at his evaluation of our run-ins, I notice the women making it back towards the fire armed with packages of hotdogs and the fixings for an old-fashion Boy Scout camp fire.
Watching her, a strange sense of dread creeps over me. I’m unsure of what to expect if we actually do talk. She has every right not to trust me; I wouldn’t trust me if I were her.
“I’ll try,” I pause, studying her face from afar as she walks closer. Damn, was she always this beautiful? “But if she tears me a new one, expect me to drag your sex-addicted ass out of bed to kick it.”
“Oh shit…I’m not agreeing to that, because I’m sure she’ll eat you alive,” Judd jokes and I grin, leaning my head back against my clasped hands.
“That she will.” I smile, but on the inside I’m dying.
Not even Judd knows the whole story. I already betrayed her faith in me; I won’t do it again. It was an act on impulse, but nonetheless, I screwed her over in one single minute, then my brother did the rest.
The rest of the evening carries on pretty smooth with the group in a sort of division; Abby, Piper and their hunks on one side and Alyssa, Judd, me and Skylar on the other. Thankfully, my brother is a no show.
So far the main topic across the fire has been football and makeup. I stay out of both subjects, tormented by playing with Skylar’s thigh and gritting my teeth every time that jerk-off touches Piper’s leg. Her comfort level with his grubby hands bothers me even more, but I’m not sure why. After what I saw this summer, I’m confident she is over any phobias she had with men. That’s bittersweet for me. I in no way want her tortured for the rest of her life, but I thought I was the key to fixing it; she made me feel like I was anyway.
“I’m heading in, unless…” Skylar stands beside me, flirtatiously running her foot over my thigh.
I glance past her, not quite bothered by her public aggression, but curious. Piper stands swiftly, mumbling something to the others before jetting off across the parking lot. She doesn’t once look back or look in my direction, but the way her arms swing at her sides and her feet stomp into the ground as if Mother Nature just pissed her the hell off, tells me that something is definitely under her skin. Dipping my face into a frown, I take a quick look at her “stud”. A bit of anger festers inside of me with the thought that he did something inappropriate or without permission. I’ve sat here all night with them in perfect sight, and although I kept my focus away from her as much as possible, I don’t see how he could have gotten something like that past me.
“Soooo…” Skylar draws out in a questioning tone as if she just asked me something, only I haven’t a clue what.
“Huh?”
“Do you want company?”
I stand up in front of her as everyone else starts to disperse.
With a fleeting look towards the path on the other side of the property, I can no longer see Piper. My mind is distracted with where she went; all I want to do is chase her down and put Judd’s advice to work.
“Ahh, no. I actually need to get to work
super early on the heaters.”
“Oh hey, you want me to join you in the morning?” Judd asks as him and Alyssa make their way around the once blazing fire that has been reduced to a pile of coals.
“Yeah, that’d be nice. Do I need to swing by and get your ass?”
Judd laughs as Skylar continues to stay in front of me, one hand on her hip and the other playing with her hair. I glance around again, over her shoulder, to the light at the shower house and then further down the path. Nothing.
“No please don’t, because I know you won’t knock and I’d like to wake up gracefully instead of to the sound of your mouth.”
Alyssa giggles, hugging herself to him.
“Well you better wake up to the sound of your alarm, because I need you down there at 5am.”
Judd gives a quick salute and takes off.
Skylar crinkles her nose with a goofy little smile, then spins around, deliberately shaking her ass as she walks off.
“Careful! I’m not ashamed to throw you down right here for four, five and six.”
She slowly turns her head with a challenge in her eyes as she waves. Damn…if I wasn’t so determined to put this whole thing between me and Piper behind me, I’d chase her ass back to the cabin and kidnap her for the night.
Once she’s out of sight, and the faded camp fire has dulled to a quiet crackle with the sputter of a few spare moist sprigs of wood, I turn and look back at the shower house. My feet move beneath me hesitantly, as if I am being marched towards my own execution. What I’m going to say gets pushed to the back of my mind as I draw nearer to the dock and see nobody there. Where the hell is she? Knowing for certain that her return would not have escaped me, I amble further down the property, staying on the unlit path. The moon is hidden beneath a cluster of clouds in the sky, but peeks out every few minutes to barely light my way. As the soft, crumbly ground begins to glow, I pick up my pace and look up, secure in my footing.
After walking a good while and searching, a dark shape comes into view that I know all too well; I’ve made it to Grandpa’s boat dock. I don’t have the keys to any of the boats, no fishing supplies or even a jacket, but I still continue in on my quest. This is the only place that I would think she may have gone. I’ve never felt so driven to talk to her. Most of the time, I hold back out of fear of what all she will say to me and how shitty she could make me feel, but not tonight. Judd made a good point. I’ve never just listened when she starts in on her rants. Yeah, I try to talk, but I don’t stop. I keep trying to get a word in to defend myself; to make sense of it.
Stepping onto the dock with a quiet knock of my boot against the wood surface, I stare forward, making out a small silhouette positioned on the edge, looking out to the water. Just as I thought. I take a deep breath and my heart stumbles, completely lost in my memories.
“Catching anything good?”
Sitting quietly with my feet swaying below the edge of the dock, the squeaky voice comes as a surprise. I turn my head, keeping my hands gripped to my fishing pole. Standing above me is the same girl I saw earlier today. Her black hair hangs in a mess over her bony shoulders and pale white skin. A ruffled brown swimsuit hangs around her neck, topped off by blue jean shorts with frayed white strings suspended along the entire circumference of her leg.
“Not much,” I say, looking up through my eyelashes.
“I bet there’s some big fish in there. What all do you do around here?”
Her question strikes me as odd given there is a lake to swim in, boats and jet skis to rent, a beach and docks to jump and fish off of.
“Pretty much this,” I shrug.
“Oh…everyday?”
Now she’s just being silly. “No, I mean, well yeah, I guess I do most days. Me and my brother go out on the boat and fish, but we go swimming too.”
She glances over at the boats with a spark of excitement in her eyes.
“Can I go out on the boat sometime?”
With a cramp sneaking up in my hand, I shift my pole and loosen my grip as I stare at her surprised by her question. Those are Grandpa’s boats, definitely not the ones they rent.
“Those are my grandpas,” I snap out before thinking about it. “He doesn’t let anyone rent these, but there’s ones for rent at the first dock over by The Snack Shack.”
Glancing back to the boat, her shoulders fall and she cocks her lips to one side as if she is biting the inside of her mouth.
“But I could take you out in the boat sometime,” I add, not wanting to hurt her feelings.
This ignites a huge grin as her face springs back to level me with a thankful expression.
“Really? Ok…maybe later today?”
I don’t have much going on, but Grandpa won’t let me take it out after dark. “Ok,” I nudge my shoulders up undecidedly. “But not too late.” I point at her with one hand before bringing it back to my pole.
Her lips curve into a wide grin showing off a mouth full of braces as she sticks her hand out between us. I look up, surprised to see a girl wanting to shake hands.
“I’m Piper, by the way.”
I snap my head back up to her face, a sense of excitement swallowing me up at her introduction. After years of bouncing back and forth from Army base to Army base and then even the last few years since I’ve been settled here, through it all, I’ve never found a friend. I’ve never had one. Sure, I’ve played with the other kids on base and talked to a couple in my class at school, but this…
I look back at her hand and a smile rises over my lips. My heart pounds and my fingers fumble to keep the grip on my pole as I release one hand and take hers in mine. Keeping in mind on how Dad always says that handshakes should be firm and authoritive, I tighten my grip, immediately noticing how soft her skin is compared to mine. With that in mind, I look back at her and move my hand up and down with a slightly less sturdy hold than I would normally have. I bet she’s more fragile than a boy; besides, Dad will never know.
“Hi, I’m Evan.”
Her smile grows and so does mine with the thought of having a fishing buddy or someone to dunk into the lake. She takes a seat as if invited and even though there is a sign on the dock that states this is private property I don’t say a thing. If she hadn’t sat, I would have asked her to.
Staring over at me, I draw my attention back to the lake water and the small colorful bobber that floats along the surface with a peaceful solitude coming over me. Just like that, she becomes my best friend; my only friend; someone whose face I look forward to seeing each summer and every single day she’s out here. If I go out in the boat, she goes out. If I go for a swim, she comes with me. I can’t take a breath without her by my side. Through pretend voyages to sea, made up shark infested waters that we can’t escape and endless nights roasting marshmallows, we play together, smile together, laugh together and never go anywhere apart. We’re inseparable; every single breath she breathes with me.
Glancing to the side where I hold tight to the dock, I see the bright orange sign that under normal light reads ‘Private Property’. The subtle moonlight and dark night has turned it to a blurred black square, but I can still make it out; I know it’s there. My hand squeezes at the rough barn wood post that houses the entrance of the boat dock and I take a deep breath of courage. She doesn’t turn and may not even be aware of my presence, but she will soon enough.
With shaky footsteps, I make a move to get closer to her. About twenty paces separate us and with each footfall, a massive wad of anxiety expands in my stomach and up into my throat, making me wonder if I’ll even be able to speak when I get there. Her head barely turns and I stop; I freeze. She knows I’m here. But then she turns forward again, the silence screaming at me to say something; anything.
“What do you want, Evan?”
The sudden sound of her voice startles me and I swear every frog and insect within twenty miles of this property suddenly hushed or maybe her icy tone blew my hearing to an oblivion.
I open my mouth, but
nothing comes out. Swinging her head around with her hand placed behind her, she glares at me. I can’t even see the features of her face, but I can feel the fierceness in her stare. It’s slicing through me like a rusty old knife with a colossal amount of force at the blade.
“Well?”
Her arms rise over her chest as they always do and I struggle to find something to say. Why the hell didn’t I think this through? Judd said to listen, but I’m no dumbass. I know now is not the time to go silent. My chest rises as I suck in a deep soothing breath then release it, letting all wavering thoughts out with it.
“I thought we could talk,” I throw it out there plain and simple, and prepare to hold on for dear life.
“What!” she blusters, in an outraged tone like this is the first time I’ve said a word to her in the past few years. This is it. This is when I need to keep my mouth shut and listen even though it’s pure instinct for me to speak up.
“Why do you think I would have anything to say to you?” she spits out.
I have no doubt if I could see her in plain sight, her top lip is probably curled up leaving a crease at each side of her nose like it usually did when she was disgusted at something.
I press my lips together to hold my tongue and wait, but she says nothing. Shit…I wasn’t prepared for this. Damn it to hell, did Abby give her the same damn advice or something? Freaking figures.
I muster up a few more civil words, refusing to turn this into a battle of how could you versus I didn’t do it on purpose.
“Piper, I just wanted to sit and talk.” I gulp down my fear of this escalating once again. “…calmly.”
Through the darkness, a quick intake of air catches my attention so I take a step forward, confident that maybe the hurricane has done its damage and moved on. She has to know every single interaction we’ve had this past year has torn into me and deepened the never-healing wound in my soul.
“Evan, just go away.” The bitterness in her tone has faded, leaving a defeated hint of exhaustion from any sort of communication between us.
Breathe With Me (The Breathe Series Book 3) Page 5