by C. A. Harms
Then to my surprise, Corbin raised his hand into the air and slowly, very slowly, Red zoned in on him. “I thought they were Jay’s.” Corbin shrugged and used his hand to nudge me back, handing me my bag he’d been holding. “But knowing that they’re yours makes it all the more funny.”
Was he insane? Corbin, not Red. Why in the hell would he willingly admit to hijacking this gorilla’s cookies?
The bag fell from Red’s hands and hit the floor. He dropped the half-eaten cookie too, then he charged. My eyes, I knew, had to be the size of saucers as he tossed Corbin up and over his shoulder like he was nothing more than a bag of flour then began charging through the house. Everyone hurried after them, laughing and holding their phones out like they were recording the entire thing.
“You must be Palmer?” I looked to the left to see a cute little dark-haired girl. She had the prettiest eyes, with long dark eyelashes that almost looked fake. “I’m Blake.” She held her hand out. “The angry giant is my boyfriend, Eli, known to some as Red.”
She laughed, and I assumed it was a reaction to my eyes widening in surprise.
“Yeah, we are polar opposites.” She pointed toward the direction they had marched off in. “My guess is that by now Corbin is in the pool, or the mud pit.”
“Mud pit?”
“It’s where they wrestle or have wars when they are feeling extra adventurous.” The fact that she seemed so very chill about all that stuff was even more alarming. “Welcome to the jungle, Palmer. We better go check on our boys.”
She grabbed my hand and began dragging me through the house. Once we stepped out into the back yard I blinked rapidly, taking in my surroundings.
Emelie wasn’t joking; this place was a mad house. Guys half-dressed, some wearing only their boxers, stood around in a circle. I couldn’t see what they were looking at, but I assumed it was Corbin and the monster.
“Yes,” someone yelled out, “get ‘em.” Another person yelled and very cautiously I moved toward the crowd. Wiggling my way through the guys I was finally able to see what was taking place. Mud was plastered to the side of Corbin’s face and body; there was hardly a clean spot left on him. Eli was equally muddy, but you could see for sure who had the upper hand.
I would have been alarmed had it not been for the laughter that was falling from Corbin’s lips. Even Eli was smiling at this point. A full-blown mud match was taking place as everyone sat around watching, as if this was a typical Saturday afternoon.
When they decided enough was enough, Eli held out his hand to help Corbin out of the rut his body seemed to be lodged in. Big blobs of mud dripped off him and splatted to the ground. He was a mess.
When he looked up and saw me standing there, he arched a brow and I knew exactly what was running through his mind. “Don’t you dare.”
“What’s wrong, babe?” He stepped closer and I stepped back. “You aren’t afraid of a little mud, are you?”
“Corbin?” I queried in warning, but it did absolutely nothing to tame him.
“I just want to get dirty with you.” He held out his hand and I tried to step back but hit what felt like a brick wall behind me. I looked up to find the gorilla there as he took my bag off my shoulder and passed it to another guy.
Before I had time to run, I was lifted and spun around. My hands slid over the mud that coated Corbin’s back as I tried to wiggle free. Then it was done, over. I was on my back in a muddy mess and Corbin hovered above me.
“I’m going to strangle you.” I tried my very best to keep from laughing, only I couldn’t stop it. The playfulness reminded me so much of the guy in Kentucky. I’d give just about anything to see him smile and laugh, even if it meant I had to roll around in the mud behind a fraternity house while an audience videotaped us.
“You won’t strangle me,” Corbin laughed. “You love me too much.”
My heart thumped harder as I looked up at him. He had dry mud on his forehead, along the side of his face, and down his neck. He looked ridiculous. But he was right, I did love him.
Reaching up, I grabbed the back of his neck and pulled his body down to mine. The weight of him only pressed me further into the mud but I didn’t care. I wanted days like this, days of fun and laughter. Corbin made me feel alive.
“I think you need to take me inside now and clean me up,” I whispered against his lips and he grinned.
“Sounds good to me.” He hooked my waist, lifted my body with his, and I wrapped my legs around his waist. “But first we need to hose off.”
“What?”
Before he could clarify I felt a cold blast of water as someone turned the hose on us. “Ahh!” I screamed and felt Corbin’s body shake with laughter. “That is cold.”
“Don’t worry.” He kissed the corner of my mouth. “I’ll warm you up soon.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Corbin
Lifting Palmer’s wet hair, I twisted it at the base of her neck and laid it over her left shoulder. Stepping up behind her, I placed my hand around her waist, spreading my palm over her lower stomach then kissing along her shoulder.
Palmer arched her neck, leaving herself completely exposed as she pushed her ass back and rubbed against me. We’d been in the shower for so long that our skin had begun to prune. I was thankful for the condom that was tucked into my wallet because I wasn’t sure I would have been able to hold off until we got back to my room.
She parted her legs and I slid my hand lower, slipping my finger inside her. “Mm,” she moaned as she began to shift her hips, seeking out my hand. She was greedy, and I fucking loved every second of it.
I removed my hands and she protested with a displeased groan. But when she felt me nudge her from behind, she shifted her body and leaned over to brace herself on the shower wall.
I took the opportunity to tease her a little more as I grazed the head of my cock over her opening. She tried to push back as I pulled away.
“Corbin…” A needy whisper of my name slayed me. “Please,” she begged, and I moved back toward her.
I entered her slowly and Palmer pushed back, taking what she needed. “Yes,” she panted as she began to move against me and I let her. I watched the space between us as she took me inside, over and over. Gripping her hips tightly in my palms, I began pulling her body back to mine, harder and faster. My toes curled against the tile floor of the shower and my stomach tightened as I tried to hold off for as long as I could. Feeling her body tightening around my cock made it impossible as she slapped at the shoulder wall and began chanting my fucking name.
Together we fell over the ledge and I came so hard, I felt my ledge wobble beneath me.
Neither of us spoke, only remained in the same position as we attempted to regain our strength. It wasn’t until the water began to cool that we parted and decided it was time to get out of the shower.
***
“My parents asked me to come home this weekend for my birthday.” Palmer sat on the end of my bed as she towel-dried her hair. “I prefer we don’t celebrate it, but my mom would have a fit if I told her that. She’s the type that still treats my birthdays like some crazy huge event. Party, guests, and presents, it’s embarrassing, really, but I can’t take her fun away.”
She hadn’t yet asked me to come with her, so I waited for her to continue, hoping she would.
“They planned a dinner at my favorite restaurant and invited entirely too many people.” I nodded. “So, with the risk of being completely humiliated by the end of the night, I was wondering if you’d want to join us? Clayton and Emelie are coming.”
“So this is a pity invite?” I challenged her, and she rolled her eyes.
“No, my parents invited Emelie and Ethan, and you know that Em doesn’t go anywhere without Clay.” When I didn’t respond, only continued to stare at her like I was offended, she tossed my pillow at me. “Will you stop being a dork and answer me?”
“Do you want me there?”
“Yes,” she replied, worrying her lip.
“Are you sure?” She nodded, and I moved in closer, kneeling on the floor in front of her. “Why don’t you look sure?”
“I want you there, or I wouldn’t have asked.” Palmer placed one hand on each of my shoulders and pulled me in closer. Linking her fingers together behind my head she held me in place. “There is just one thing.”
Arching my brow, I waited quietly for her to explain.
“The guy I dated in high school, through my first year of college, will be there.” When I tried to sit back on my heels, she held my body up and close to hers. “Our parents are really close, and they invite them every year.”
“Okay.” Even I picked up on the uncertainty in my voice.
“It was a long time ago and there is nothing there,” she attempted to explain. “I think we held onto it for the benefit of our parents more than for us.”
“Okay.” I said again, trying to hide the fact that I felt like there was a huge lump lodged in my throat.
“Okay?”
“Yeah, okay.” No, it wasn’t okay. “He’ll be there, I’ll be there, but let me just say that I don’t think I’ll be okay with him touching you. Or looking at you for too long.” She smiled. “Fine, it’s not okay, but I’ll deal.”
“Because you’re a good guy.” Pressing her lips to mine, she held me tight.
“I’m not that good of a guy,” I confessed, “because I’m pretty sure that I’ll be mentally beating the shit out of him every chance I get.” She laughed as she tried to kiss me again.
“You are adorable.” Palmer wrapped her legs around my waist and started to pull me toward her as she attempted to lie back on my bed. Every part of me wanted to let things unfold, but I knew it would be a mistake.
I fought against her and she pouted.
“Give me just a few minutes.”
“You’ve never needed a few minutes before.” With a quirk of her brow she released me. Smart ass, but she was my smart ass.
“I just need to secure the door.” I grabbed the chair from my desk and positioned it beneath the handle securely. Using my foot, I ensured it was snug.
“Why don’t you just lock your door?”
“Believe me, locks in this house mean absolutely nothing.” She wrinkled up her forehead and looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “Now help me slide this dresser over.”
She laughed. “You’re joking right?”
“Nope,” I said, grabbing the edge of the dresser and starting to pull it over toward my door. “There isn’t a room in this house that Eli doesn’t have a key to. He uses them every chance he gets, and Blake too. She’s like his fucking clone, I swear, and if they can find a way to hassle and torment, they will. Rule of thumb, never and I do mean never, go to bed without securing your door first. You’ll wake up with a tattoo on your ass or bright pink hair.”
“You’re all insane,” she mumbled, though she stood and began helping me slide the dresser to the side. Once it was where I wanted it, I gripped her waist and lifted her to place her on the dresser top.
Parting her legs, I stepped in between them and slid her forward. “Now, where were we?”
“Right about here.” She reached down and started to push my shorts down over my thighs.
“Yeah.” I tried to slow my breathing but when she gripped my cock and tugged just a little, there was no hope. “That feels right.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Palmer
“You’ve got to be kidding me right now.” I stood in the doorway of my apartment staring out, and the man who the previous night had a full head of hair had nothing but a mohawk.
“At least it’s not pink.” Clayton pushed past his brother, entering the apartment in search of Emelie. He didn’t have to look far because she too stood frozen in place, trying to figure out what in the hell happened to Corbin.
“It’ll grow back.”
“Before this weekend?” I could see it now: my mother would blow a gasket if I showed up to my birthday dinner with a man bearing a mohawk.
“Eli told me he’d get me back.” Corbin was entirely too calm about the situation. “This,” he pointed to his head, “is minimal compared to what he could have done.”
“Look at it this way,” Clayton laughed. “Everyone will be able to tell us apart for sure now.”
“I could before. I didn’t need some crazy screwed up haircut for that.” I lifted my hand and ran it over the spiked hair that felt stiff on top of Corbin’s head. “I think it’s time someone got back at Elijah for all his bullshit.”
“Don’t go poking the grizzly, babe,” Corbin directed with a very serious look. “That shit never ends well.”
“Please.” I turned around and walked into the living room, hearing the door close behind me. “I’m pretty sure half the guys in the house would kill for the chance to get him back for the pranks he’s pulled. I’d have a small army in seconds once I announced it was time to make him pay.”
“Dude, your chick is scary,” Clayton deadpanned. “We thought Blake was a case, but Palmer, she may have her beat.
“There has got to be something.” My mind raced with ideas. “Not this petty shit of dying hair and gluing asses to chairs.”
“Hey,” Clayton interjected, “are you knocking my pranks?”
“No, I’m just saying payback has got to be better.” I looked around the room and found them all watching me closely. “Have you ever seen Home Alone?”
“Who hasn’t?” Emelie laughed.
“Okay I need glue and feathers.” I said, “Oh, and a fan.”
“No way.” Clayton came around the end of the couch and sat down rubbing his hands together. “If we are gonna do this, we’re gonna do it right and we’re going big.”
Excitement raced through me and I could see the hesitation in Corbin’s eyes. “Stop being a baby and get over here.” I patted the space next to me. “We have planning to do.”
He came but there was no doubt about it—he didn’t want to push Eli.
“We have to remember that Blake sleeps with him often,” Clayton added, leaning back on the love seat and placing his arm over Emelie’s shoulders.
“He also sleeps with one eye open and he’s ready to attack instantly. Like he has a sixth sense for threats,” Corbin mumbled as he flopped down at my side. I looked in his direction and again irritation hit me. He looked completely ridiculous.
“We could just chalk it up to a loss and say we’re blessed that he only shaved Corb’s head,” Emelie said with a laugh. “Well, half of it anyway.”
“Easy for you to say, you aren’t dating a stooge.” I heard a “humph” from my left and imagined Corbin pouting. “If he’d shaved Clay’s head, would you be so quick to take the loss?”
Emelie narrowed her eyes at me and that was all the answer I needed. She loved Clayton’s hair almost as much as he did. Corbin could care less it seemed, but all that I could picture in my mind was my mother with wide eyes when she saw Corbin.
We were all silent for a few minutes, as if we were all thinking over our options. Everything had been played and over played. This had to be bigger than the expected retaliations of the past.
“Clay,” Corbin interrupted the silence. “You remember that J-Lube that Hank used when ol’ Marla had a baby?”
Emelie and I looked like two bobbleheads looking back and forth between Clayton and Corbin as they carried on as if we weren’t even there.
“That slimy ass shit was like snot,” Clayton chuckled as he pulled his arm up and over Em, sliding forward on the seat, getting closer to his brother. “We’d have to figure out how to get the powder on him the exact time as the water hits.”
“Wait.” I held out my hands shushing both of them. “First off, who the hell is Marla?”
“Hank’s prized cow.” Corbin said with an arched brow, as if everyone should know already. I stared at him, and I knew my mouth was hanging open. These were the exact moments when I found my head spinning in reference to the gu
y who had somehow burrowed his way into my heart. He left me feeling dizzy in more ways than one. “Hank is the old farmer who lives down the road from my parents. That man takes more pride in his livestock then he ever did in his wife, no joke. I remember one time he threatened to divorce her and leave her with nothing more than the shirt on his back if she so much as referred to his cows as animals. They were his children.”
Again, I was left feeling as though I’d just gotten the worst case of whiplash.
“Hank used to give Marla this stuff called J-Lube during birthing. When you mix it with water, it’s the slickest shit ever.” Corbin was suddenly overly excited for someone who moments ago didn’t even want a part of this.
“This helps us how?”
“Because if we can somehow cover Eli with this while he is in the shower, he’ll drop to the tile and spend a good two hours trying to scrub that stuff off with no luck.”
Clayton high-fived his brother. “Genius.”
Of course, I still wasn’t convinced. “Why would it not come off?”
“Very few know about this substance unless you’re familiar with your local vet supply store. There is only one way to get that slick goo off.” I stared at the guys in silence and was just about to ask them what when simultaneously they said, “Salt.”
It appeared our plan had been set into motion, and I could hardly wait to seek revenge on the man who’d single-handedly made my boyfriend look like some deranged punk rocker.
I grabbed Corbin’s hand and tugged him up off the couch as I started to walk toward the bathroom.
“Geesh, someone is needy.”
“Don’t get too excited.” I rolled my eyes and continued. “We’re just gonna shave the rest of your head and do our best to make you somewhat presentable for this weekend.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Corbin