All the Days After

by Carrie Thorne

  Such polar opposites, Pippa and Asher may not have understood each other as kids, but there was hope for them to figure it out now. She didn’t bring it up today; they were having too nice of a time. Knowing them both well, she could see they just needed to break down a few walls to be good friends again.

  Paul was a good dad; he just didn’t see Asher for who he was. Maybe never had. Although, it sounded like Asher hadn’t made any effort to show him anything worth seeing, in his youth or lately. Which, Sophie regretted, was unfortunate, as she was getting to see so many of his good traits.

  Rays of sunlight filtered through the leafy canopy above, dancing across the babbling creek below. A maple leaf floated downstream, under the log, then continued on its merry way. Sophie leaned her head on Asher’s shoulder, more relaxed than she’d been in ages. He’d definitely picked the right spot for her to decompress.

  “Hang on. Don’t look as I try to stand up; there’s no discreet way to do this in a dress.” Swinging her legs up onto the log, Sophie tried to maintain her decency as she stood.

  “No promises.” He didn’t promise, but she noted he did try to avert his eyes from any potential underwear showage. For a pair trying to avoid anything beyond friendship, flashing him intentionally wouldn’t be prudent. Didn’t stop her from considering it.

  Returning with an armful of sticks and leaves, Sophie sat down on the log, straddling it this time, facing Asher. The dress was a bit high on the thighs in this position, but she managed to keep it PG.

  Laughing with total confusion, Asher flipped his leg across their fallen tree, so he straddled the log facing her. “Did I miss something? Are you part beaver? Bird? Other forest animal building a home?”

  Chuckling, she shook her head, “Didn’t you ever read Winnie the Pooh? It’s a favorite pastime in the Hundred Acre Wood.” She handed him a stick. “On the count of three, drop your stick.”

  Holding their sticks as far upstream as they could reach, they let go on three. Watching the sticks pass beneath them, Sophie cried out with a whoop of delight, “My stick won.”

  “I think that was my stick. Yours was bent more than that.” Laughing at himself, or the silliness of the situation, he was getting into the game.

  Flipping her hair out of the way, she was in full competitive mode now. “Nice try. I totally won that round.” Holding her stick up, he caught her drift and raised his up for comparison so there would be no argument this time.

  The game went on until the last of the sticks, some broken in half to make it last longer, had been tossed in the stream. “You’re going to make some beaver or salmon very happy downstream.”

  Both giggled like silly children as the last of their sticks drifted out of sight. Asher glanced down, suddenly a hotblooded adult, noting that her skirt had hiked up a little further in the excitement of the game. She was just barely covering the important stuff.

  Looking back up, his eyes locked onto hers. Slowly, he grazed his hand up her thigh, teasing the edge of her skirt with his thumbs. Eyes hungry, melting her with the heat behind them, he asked, “This okay?”

  Brain turned to mush, entirely distracted by the feather light contact, Sophie nodded, biting her lower lip as she struggled to steady her breathing, “Yes.”

  He shifted closer to her along the fallen tree, pulling her legs over his to link them together. Both hands now stroking the smooth skin of her legs, teasing along the edge of her dress, he leaned in and lightly touched his lips to hers.

  Pulling back no more than a breath away, his eyes didn’t stray from her lips. “This okay?”

  Sophie reached her hand up and ran her fingers through his tousled hair as she gripped the back of his head to pull him closer. Lips touching in a light kiss, both smiling playfully, she whispered, “Yes.”

  Running her tongue along the crease of his lip, she urged him on. He groaned in response and moved his hands up to her waist, pulling her closer against him. Deeper, more intense, they moved together as the creek murmured beneath them. Hands splayed around her waist, he held her steady as he kissed her, exploring, tasting, experiencing.

  She felt herself slipping irretrievably into uncharted territory. Sensation rocketed through her; her heart thundered like an avalanche in her chest.

  Pulling away before she was ready, equally breathless, he leaned his forehead against hers, his hand moving to her cheek in a soft caress. “The sun’s starting to set. We should probably get back.”

  Hating to see the moment end, but knowing he was right, she agreed. Both rose cautiously on the log, a little less steady than they had been a few moments ago. Sophie held his hand to steady herself, more emotionally than physically.

  Continuing hand-in-hand to the truck, they didn’t say a word. They climbed into the ancient pickup and Asher fired up the engine. Tried, anyway. It didn’t move. He turned the key again. Nothing.

  “Shit. Hang on.” Groaning in frustration, Asher climbed out of the truck.

  Sophie glanced at her phone. Nothing. Out of range. Refusing to sit helplessly, despite having no idea how to fix a car, she joined him and stared cluelessly under the hood.

  Dashing to the truck bed, he grabbed a few tools and started tightening bolts, checking connections. Sophie didn’t know much about engines, but she did know batteries well enough. “Is this supposed to be loose like that?”

  Asher stepped over to her and looked at the wire that should have been attached to the battery she was looking at. He laughed out loud. “Yep, that’s the one. Must have come loose on the bumpy road. I’m a little embarrassed I didn’t think to check the damn battery first. Let’s just blame my wandering imagination.” He flashed her a dashing wink.

  He quickly connected the detached wire and hopped back into the truck. Sophie strolled cheerfully back into the truck. His self-effacing attitude, the pure appreciation without criticism or chauvinistic undermining, was incredibly refreshing. Not that she’d dated too many jerks, but there were enough out there that that she was wary.

  The engine fired right up this time. “Nice one.” He leaned across and pulled Sophie in for a brief, but heated kiss. As he pulled away, he plucked a twig from her hair. “Let’s get back before anyone notices we left together.”

  Sophie sighed, wishing they had more time. “I hate secrets.”

  “Me too. Let’s feel things out and see how it goes? I don’t want to stress Pippa out before the wedding. Let’s not provoke the wasp’s nest of pre-wedding psychosis she’s developed. What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her.” He paused, considering. “I only promised to not have sex with you, and I haven’t broken her trust on that one. Yet.” He flashed a tempting glance her way before turning the truck around in the clearing and getting them back on the road.

  “For now, we can see where this goes, up to but not including sex, so neither of us breaks that promise. Feels like a lie of omission, but I’m willing fudge it a bit.” Whew. Sophie rolled down the window even further to cool her raging sex drive.

  How had this happened so quickly? It had been forever since she’d been so caught up in someone. Never, actually, that had she felt the fire in her belly with a simple look from someone. One easy glance from those whiskey eyes, and her limbs went weak and burned like she’d taken a shot of the smoothest whiskey in the bar.

  They pulled up to the house a short while later. Pippa was just heading into the house with grocery bags full of food and flowers and wine bottles. She briefly took note of the truck pulling in the driveway, but thankfully didn’t stick around to chat.

  Sophie knew her friend’s fear came from losing more than one good friend due to the heartache Asher could cause if things went poorly with Asher. As long as she protected her heart and didn’t ditch Pippa, she was good to go. Right?

  Asher parked quickly and checked Sophie one more time. He pulled another twig from her hair. Running her hands through her hair, she made sure it was the last. “That could make this afternoon look way worse than it was.”


  He grinned smugly and soothed her with a warm chuckle. “Agreed.”

  Sophie reached across and smoothed out his hair where she had dug her hands into it. After climbing out of the truck and making sure it didn’t look like anything had happened, they grabbed the final grocery bags from Pippa’s car and headed into the house. She bit her lip to hide the happy smile that was rapidly becoming uncontainable.

  8

  The front door wide open, Pippa was frantically unloading the groceries she’d just brought in. “Great timing, helpers, you’re here. Now get out of my hair while I make dinner.” Oh boy. Pippa was in full pre-wedding panic, and they still had more than a week to go.

  “Pippa, it’s the rehearsal rehearsal dinner. Remember, the one that’s supposed the be fun and relaxing? Just your closest friends? You get to delegate and tell us all what to do to make the wedding happen without a hitch. Well, there will be people getting hitched… you know what I mean.” Sophie tried not to laugh at her own joke. Pippa was too far gone to appreciate the humor.

  Pippa’s lip extended in full pout, only pausing before diving back into the grocery bags. Yikes, she loved a silly play on words normally. Poor thing was so overwhelmed. “I know. I think I scheduled too much. Too many events and too many details,” her speech rapid and high pitched, she rambled. “I’ve been planning this wedding since I was fourteen.”

  Standing in front of Pippa so she might stop, or at least slow the frantic pacing, Sophie put her hands on her friend’s shoulders to stop the manic movements. “As a teacher, you know that part of planning is knowing when to schedule in breaks and when to delegate. No one will be arriving for another half hour. Why don’t you get started on dinner while I take care of the flowers and get the wine chilling? Then, we can relax while dinner is in the oven.”

  Nodding with the pouty lip still out, Pippa did as she was told. When she disappeared into the pantry to grab a vase for Sophie, Asher issued a quick sigh of relief and a wink. Avoiding any unnecessary risk for getting caught now that the situation was momentarily diffused, he disappeared upstairs.

  ***

  Asher stood back and watched his sister frantically setting and resetting the table. Shifting the flowers between the center of the dining room table to the entry table then back again. He was dizzy just watching. “Pip, it’s just the rehearsal rehearsal dinner. You’ve been working nonstop for an hour.”

  “I know. I can’t help it. Freya just flew in last night and will be jetlagged, so I need to be sure there’s plenty of coffee. Lincoln and Grady have been working long hours to get their law office up and running. You hate crowds. Sophie has been so sweet to put up with me and be at my beck and call. I just… I want everyone to have fun and really get to know each other.”

  He risked stepping closer and took the flowers from her hands. “They looked nice on the table. Everyone will have a great time. You love everyone coming, so why won’t they like each other?”

  “What if someone forgets their swimsuit? I told them we’re hitting the hot tub after dinner.” Having forgotten about the flowers, she was now removing plates from around the table and stacking them back up for a buffet style dinner.

  A single chime echoed from the doorbell and Lincoln popped his head in, with Grady coming in right behind him. Asher gestured a thank god you’re here at Lincoln. Turning back to his sister, he jumped on the opportunity to run away. “Lincoln can help you with the plates, I’m sure.”

  As directed, Lincoln and Grady had stepped up their game a bit and were wearing slacks and button-up shirts. Apparently, this was a “casual” affair. He took the stack of plates from Pippa before she dropped them and handed the stack to Lincoln.

  Whispering discreetly in the ear of his future brother-in-law, he pleaded, “If she’s this crazy for the rehearsal rehearsal dinner, what’s she going to be like at the wedding?”

  Lincoln laughed and took the plates Asher was forcing on him. “I got this.” Lincoln set the plates back around the table and walked over to Pippa. Taking her hands in his, he kissed each and then her forehead. “Love you, Pip. It’s just us.” He dragged her to the kitchen and poured her a tall glass of chardonnay.

  Grateful he was off the hook, Asher turned to the stairs to grab his button-up shirt he’d been strong-armed into wearing tonight. As it was eighty-six degrees out today, he’d changed into khakis but had left the button-up shirt until the last minute. He stopped in his tracks before he made much progress towards the stairs.

  Sophie was coming down wearing a pale blue satin slip dress. In the heels and short dress, her legs somehow looked even longer. The dress hugged every subtle curve brilliantly. The satin looked as slick and smooth as her skin that morning coming out of the shower. Draping in the front, it accented those marvelous breasts.

  She gave him a secret wink as she passed, leaving him with his jaw hanging open. Turning to watch that fine ass as she headed for the dining room, he noticed he wasn’t the only one enjoying the view. Grady looked at her downright licentiously.

  Asher had never even thought that word before, but it fit. Jackass wasn’t subtle about his perusal either. Grady walked right up to Sophie and placed his hand on the small of her back to escort her to the dining room.

  He should have known. She and Grady were perfect for each other. Grady had his shit together, was a decent guy, would treat her well. Asher shook off the jealousy and dashed up to change into the stupid shirt.

  ***

  Sophie couldn’t remember the last time she’d laughed so hard. “Freya, I’m so glad you’re moving back to town. As much as I adore Pippa,” she winked at her best friend, “I could use someone with decent taste in movies around here.”

  Raising her nearly drained second glass of wine, Pippa glared at Sophie playfully. “I like a good cry now and again. Not every movie needs a happy ending.”

  Freya, Sophie’s declared new friend and Pippa’s closest cousin raised her glass in a toast, “Sophie, I promise to watch Captain America movies with you as often as you need me. Pippa, you’re on your own with the tearjerkers.”

  Yeah, she definitely liked Freya already. Taller than she was, wild waves of black hair, piercing blue eyes, and a sharp intellect… but clearly good taste in movies as well. Freya had been studying art throughout Europe for the last few years, so Sophie hadn’t been able to meet her yet. Close in age to Pippa and Asher, the cousins had always been good friends.

  Rising from the table, Pippa managed to hold her laughter long enough to be the boss again. “I really appreciate you guys putting up with my bridezillaness. I had no idea I would have such tendencies–”

  Lincoln coughed into his fist, discreetly muttering, “Bullshit.”

  “Remember that thing you wanted to try on our wedding night? Not going to happen if you keep that attitude.” Pippa winked at her fiancé. “On with my bossiness. Let’s head to the hot tub. We have spare suits if you need them.”

  Grady teased this time as he rose from his chair. “Pippa, you scare me too much for me to ever forget one of your commands.”

  In her bedroom, Sophie quickly put on her favorite one-piece suit, glad she’d remembered to shave her legs and bikini line this morning. She hadn’t been in the pool yet and couldn’t wait to slide in. Despite the fans, the house was just plain hot on days like today.

  Wrapping herself in her towel, she hoped she’d beat the others. No such luck. Grady waited just outside the back door.

  “I was hoping to get one of the good spots in the hot tub before everyone else got out here. I haven’t been here in years, but the times I was over in high school, I discovered the best spot in the tub.” Grady made casual conversation as he put his hand on her back again.

  He kept doing that. It was so possessive, and she didn’t particularly want to be possessed. She supposed it was actually a sweet gesture; it just struck her wrong tonight. Maybe because she wished it was someone else’s hand.

  “Go for it. I’m taking a quick dip in the pool fi
rst.” She crossed her fingers he wouldn’t change his mind and decide to join her for a swim. Without waiting for his response, she silently declared her independence and walked right up to the pool and dove in, swimming half the length of the pool before surfacing again, then swam the rest of the length leisurely.

  When her mother had been alive, she’d been part fish in the local swim club. In high school she’d joined the swim team and had kept up with it through college as well. Yvette couldn’t argue with no-cost school sports, and she appreciated when Sophie wasn’t underfoot.

  Reaching for the far wall, she turned around, debating whether to swim a few laps or just float for a while. Asher strutted out of the house in black board shorts that hung just low enough she could see the narrowing of his low abs. Strutted was the wrong word. His walk was confident, but it lacked the cockiness of a strut.

  He didn’t even pause as he reached the edge of the pool and dove in sleekly, with hardly a splash. Swimming the length of the pool, he surfaced inches in front of her. Grinning with the rush of sensation, he was clearly as at home in the water as she was.

  Rolling her eyes playfully, she swam around him and stopped in the middle of the pool to float and look up at the stars. She could just hear the others in the hot tub, laughing and enjoying themselves. She’d join them in a few, but she couldn’t resist stretching her body in the bathwater-warm pool first.

  Why hadn’t she gotten out here before tonight? It had been too long since she’d loosened up like this. Listening to the Darth Vader sound of her own breathing with her ears just under the surface, she lay perfectly still and stared up at the night sky. A shooting star passed the length of the horizon before burning out, no sign it had ever existed.