When the Dead Come a Knockin'

by B. L. Brunnemer

  “-off.” It was the end of a sentence. He must have started talking quietly, then got louder. Isaac, Ethan, Miles and I all looked at each other puzzled. The twins got to their feet and went to the window behind the couch. They peeked through the blinds.

  “Shit,” Isaac said.

  “Ooohhh, that takes some balls.” Ethan said as he started smiling. His smile got bigger.

  “Swear jar,” Riley chimed.

  “What’s going on?” I asked. Isaac was grinning now too. What the hell? I was about to get up when Asher walked into the family room.

  “Ally, Dylan's outside,” Asher announced. “He wants to talk to you.” I was frozen for a full minute. What the fuck? He couldn’t see me for the last month, but he could come down now? I snorted and shook my head. Yeah, it fucking figured. “If you don’t want to talk to him, I’ll tell him to fuck off.” He offered sweetly already pulling out his wallet and taking out a single. “Hell, Zeke’s already said that to him. But he’s not budging.” I felt myself go calm, this I could handle.

  “No, I’ll tell him myself.” I got up and pulled my wallet out.

  “What are you doing?” Miles asked from his side of the coffee table. I pulled out a bill and dropped it into the swear jar.

  “Just preparing.” I smiled sweetly at them then tucked my wallet into my back pocket as I turned to walk into the foyer.

  “She put in a twenty,” Isaac announced. The boys burst out laughing. I just wanted to get this over with. I saw Zeke standing in the door frame like a huge guard dog. It made me grin as I pulled on my jacket.

  “You sure, Ally girl?” Asher asked as he stepped under the archway to the family room, his face worried.

  I smiled up and him, he was such a sweetheart. I reached up and gripped his chin lightly between my thumb and forefinger.

  “I’ve got this, sweetie,” I assured him. I squeezed his chin once then let go. I walked up to Zeke’s side and touched his arm. He looked down at me, his hard face looking scary for anyone else. His eyes ran over me, becoming a little less stern. He looked like he was debating whether or not to let me talk to Dylan. But it wasn’t his decision to make. “Zeke, I got this.” I told him confidently. He gave a big, deep sigh, sent one last glare out the door then stepped inside the house. He really didn’t like this. My lungs felt tight. I didn’t bother to button up my coat I doubt he’d be here for long anyway. I closed the door behind me then walked out to the middle of the porch to meet him. Bracing myself, I looked up at him. Dylan was a head taller than me. His dark sapphire eyes met mine, and my heart clenched. His strong chin and angled jaw gave him a bit fuller cheeks. It gave him a boyish charm that made my heart race. His brown hair was shorter than it had been last month. Still a little long on top, and sticking up everyone like he’d been running his fingers through it. His athletic frame was wearing a dark blue snow jacket over black jeans. He was still the hottie I met in October.

  “What do you want, Dylan?” I asked calmly as my gut tightened. He stepped closer, so I had to look up at his face. He was probably trying to keep the others from eavesdropping. Fine. I didn’t want this to be public anyway.

  “I need to make something clear to you that, apparently, I didn’t on the phone.” His warm, husky voice rolled through my ears and ran down my spine. It sparked my temper. I didn’t want to feel this way about him, especially now.

  “You made things pretty fucking clear when you hung up on me.” I snapped at him. His warm eyes ran over my face as if he was taking in every detail and committing it to memory. The damn butterflies went crazy, the little traitors. When he was done, his eyes met mine again.

  “No.” He shook his head. “I really didn’t.” Before I could ask what he was talking about his fingers lifted my chin, then his lips were on mine. I had half a heartbeat of shock, then I was kissing him back. The world grew fuzzy as my lips moved against his. My stomach did that low, hard flip, my heart was in my throat. My hands went to his chest, his other hand came to my other cheek as his mouth moved with mine. Warmth spread out from my chest filling me with light until I was sure I had to be glowing. Dylan was kissing me. DYLAN was kissing me. And it was better than I ever imagined. Wait a minute, this was Dylan, the Dylan that hung up on me earlier. I pulled back breaking the kiss. I stepped back a couple steps then looked up at him now thoroughly confused.

  “You hung up on me. You didn’t say a word, you just hung up.” I was still trying to get my thoughts together after that kiss. “And now you kiss me?” I had no idea what the hell was going on. His eyes ran over my face again then came back to my eyes.

  “Lexie, I didn’t hang up on you. I heard you say that you liked me then I was up and out the door before you even finished your sentence.” I felt my heart racing and melting at the same time. It was an odd feeling. “I ran to my truck, climbed in, started it, and that’s when I remembered I still had you on the phone.” He was talking fast like he didn’t think I’d listen to him for long and he wanted to explain everything before that happened. “The last thing I heard was you saying ‘fish or cut bait.’ I repeated it because hearing your voice say that was fucking cute. I was trying to tell you that I was on my way when I hit that nasty corner by my house. I had to drop the phone, or I was going to run off the road. When I finally managed to get the phone off the floor, the call was over. I thought I had told you I was on my way, and you hung up because you knew I was coming down. I didn’t even know you were pissed at me until Asher answered the door and called me an asshole.” I bit the corner of my lower lip. I wanted to believe him, I really did. He came closer, forcing me to look up at him. The butterflies went crazy, my fingers tingled. “I probably should have called back, but I was still wrapping my head around the fact you like me. I thought you didn’t think of me that way.”

  “Why did you think that?” I asked, my voice soft. A small smile crossed his lips. His warm eyes ran over my face.

  “I always started all the flirting.” He explained. One of his hands reached out to take mine. “I wanted to see if you were interested or just joking around.” His thumb started rubbing the center of my palm. My heart raced from his touch. “One of my friends told me to stop flirting to see if you kept flirting.” I closed my eyes, that was the stupidest thing ever.

  “And I never did.” I kept my voice soft hoping Asher wouldn’t hear me.

  “Why didn’t you?” He whispered. He used my hand to pull me closer to him, then he wrapped his other arm around my waist under my coat, his fingers spread wide over the small of my back. It sent those warm tingles up and down my body. The rest of the world disappeared as I took a deep breath of sandalwood then opened my eyes. Those dark eyes immediately found mine.

  “I didn’t expect you to stick around,” I admitted quietly. I was still having trouble believing the guys weren’t going to bail on me. “I’m not exactly everyone’s cup of coffee.” He grinned warmly at me.

  “So, we were both being stupid.” He offered quietly, pulling me closer till I was pressed against him. I reached up to stroke my fingertips along his jaw as I met his eyes again.

  “Looks like,” I admitted quietly. He grinned at me before leaning down, his lips going to my ear.

  “Lexie,” He whispered. “I’ve been crazy about you since we met.” That fuzzy warmth washed through me. “I thought you didn’t want me, and I still couldn’t stop calling you.”

  “I thought you friend-zoned me. And I couldn’t stop talking to you.” I admitted in a whisper.

  “Lexie,” His lips brushing my ear as he spoke. “Wanna be my girlfriend?” I smiled and felt like I could fly. So, naturally, I was a smart-ass.

  “Sure, I’ve got nothing better to do.” I giggled wickedly. He groaned painfully at me. He pulled back only enough to kiss me again. It was a soft, tender kiss that made my heart race. He eased back a little then kissed the corner of my mouth. My skin tingled. His lips brushed my cheek where he kissed me again. He made a path up my jaw, and I let him. I loved every kiss
, every brush of his lips as he trailed soft kisses to my cheekbone.

  “You know, I can’t seem to stop kissing you.” He mumbled between kisses. I melted like an ice cube in the sun. I didn’t really want him to stop. When he kissed his way back to my lips, I was more than ready for another kiss. His lips took mine again, sending my heart racing. I kissed him back eagerly, his lips moved with mine just as much. Dylan was kissing me like he couldn’t get enough of me. I felt the tip of his tongue stroke my bottom lip, sparks ran down my spine. I was about to open my lips when a light began flashing. I growled in frustration. We stopped kissing, I opened my eyes and looked up to see the porch light being turned on and off.

  “They are so dead,” I stated. Dylan smirked down at me and pulled me against him, his arms tightening around me. My cheek rested on his chest as I wrapped my arms around his firm waist under his jacket. He felt really good. I was still not quite so sure this was happening. I going to wake up now, right? No? Good. Dylan's lips rested against my forehead.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t kiss you sooner.” He whispered.

  “What took you so fucking long?” I whispered back. He chuckled quietly.

  “Stupidity.” He answered his voice warm. I smiled. “Lots and lots of stupidity.” I snickered

  The boys started flashing the porch light at us again. We both cursed. The word swear jar was yelled from the house. He groaned.

  “Is there anything you can do to get them to stop? Cause we’ve got some shit to talk about.” He asked still whispering. I thought for a moment and grinned.

  “I believe so.” I looked up at him and smiled. “But you’d have to let go of me.” His brow drew down, and his eyes unfocused looking above my head at the house. He didn’t let go. “Dylan?” His eyes focused again before he looked down at me.

  “I’m weighing the pros and cons.” He admitted. I laughed quietly. He gave a big sigh and let me go. I pulled out my cell phone and texted Zeke.

  Alexis: Who is fucking with the lights?

  Zeke: The twins.

  Alexis: Can you stop them, we’re talking out here.

  Zeke: Why don’t you two come inside, it’s cold out there.

  “Oh, you little shits,” I grumbled. Dylan stepped back and leaned against the porch rail.

  “Who?” He asked.

  “All of them, they’re trying to get us inside so they can hear better,” I told him as I was texting Zeke back.

  Alexis: If you stop them I’ll give you five of the curse words I have left. Asher too, if he helps.

  Zeke: Done.

  I giggled wickedly, put my phone away.

  “I just bribed Zeke to get them to stop with the light.” I looked up. He was watching me with a little smile on his face. “What?”

  “You're just cute.” He said, smirking. I smiled at him, the guy had bad taste in girls. “We need to figure out our schedules, though.” Reality set in. His hands reached out, he took both of mine and pulled me closer so we could keep whispering. The butterflies went crazy. He kept holding my hands.

  “If you couldn’t get away for a month before then how are we ever going to see each other?” I asked keeping my voice low.

  “That science project is set up now, so that’ll free up some time.” He began, his eyes on the house wall, unfocused. “I’ll tell Dad that I’m only willing to work three shifts a week. He’ll have to hire people immediately, I know a few of my friends from school who could use the cash.”

  “My Friday night is always free. And I can get my Saturday and Sunday stuff done in the morning, and move my research to during the week.” I whispered back, mentally going over my schedule. Dylan grinned down at me.

  “That works, I can pick shifts that work during the week, or in the mornings on the weekends” He was still whispering, it kept sending those warm shivers down my spine. I tried to ignore it for now.

  “What about football?”

  “That’s over for us, Asher’s in the playoffs remember?” He said as his eyes kept running over my face; he still had that little smile on his lips.

  “That’s this Saturday, you want to go?” I asked in my sweet voice. That smile grew.

  “Hell, yeah. That’ll make it so we can see each other when school’s going on.” His eyes came back to mine. “But we’re on vacation right now, so, we’ll both have a lot more time to see each other. It might not be everyday but-.”

  “We can switch back and forth on driving, or meet in the middle.” I offered. He gave a soft groan and pulled me until I was pressed against him.

  “A girl who is willing to compromise, and knows the value of gas.” He looked down at me like I was something special. I’d never had anyone look at me that way before. It was... different. “Bad news, though...”

  “You have to go.” I guessed.

  “If I want to get everything in place so I can see you Friday night, yeah. I need to go.” He didn’t sound happy about it.

  “So, you're coming to game night this week?” I asked in my sweet voice. He smiled at me.

  “Wouldn’t miss it.” His eyes ran over my face again, then focused on my lips. “But before I go, I need to kiss my girlfriend goodbye.” My stomach did that low, hard flip again. I tilted my chin up as he came down to meet me. His lips were soft and gentle this time. My pulse raced as I moved my lips against his. His palm held my cheek, the butterflies kept going. Dylan was kissing me again. Sweet, cute, funny Dylan. That warmth and happiness filled me until I was sure I was going to be unbearably girly later. He took his time, moving his lips over mine. Kissing me until I didn’t have a thought in my head. Eventually, he pulled back and took a deep breath, his eyes still on my face. “Okay, gotta go.” He said quietly. I pulled back away from him, but he still didn’t move. He was looking at me like he couldn’t take his eyes off me.

  “Dylan...” I reminded him. He blinked, his cheeks tinting pink.

  “Okay, I’m going.” He grumbled. “I’ll see you later.” He stepped close, leaned down and gave me a quick kiss on the forehead. I smiled.

  “Drive safe.” I said quietly. He gave me a wink before he turned and went down the stairs. I waited until he drove down the road to head inside. I paused before opening the door. I took a breath and braced myself. I walked in. I took off my jacket, draping it over the banister then turned around. The family room was a mess. Zeke had Isaac pinned to the floor and was sitting sideways on his butt. Asher had Ethan in an arm lock against the couch. I started laughing.

  “That’s what happens when you mess with me, boys.” I taunted. Zeke bounced on Isaac.

  “Say you're sorry,” Zeke ordered, still bouncing his big butt on Isaac’s back.

  “Sorry, Red!” Isaac grunted. “Now get his ass off me!”

  “Swear jar!” Several of us called at the same time. Trisha didn’t seem to think it was funny.

  “Don’t let them up yet.” I pulled out my cell and aimed. “Say don’t spy on Lexie!” The guys just laughed as I took the picture. I immediately sent it to Dylan, grinning the whole time. The guys let the boys up as the girls fixed the couch cushions. Ethan was practically bouncing on his toes, and he wasn’t the only one.

  “So, what happened?” Riley all but shouted as she sat back into the wide armchair next to Zeke. Everyone sat down and looked at me expectantly. I sighed and sat down in my spot by the coffee table. I told them about Dylan’s mad rush to get here, and why he dropped the phone. The girls awed. My face warmed.

  “Oh, my God, Reds blushing!” Isaac shouted. “Get a pic, get a pic!” I flipped him off.

  “So, are you two dating now?” Trisha asked, looking confused. I thought it was obvious, after all, they had probably watched the whole thing.

  “Yeah, we’re dating.” I couldn’t seem to stop smiling. The twins gave out a whoop, and the girls just smiled. Then I looked at the guys. “Now, how much spying did you guys do?”

  “None,” Isaac said.

  “Not a bit,” Ethan added.

  “I�
�m pleading the fifth,” Asher admitted. I looked at Zeke. Miles wouldn’t have spied but Zeke would. And Zeke never lied.

  “Zeke?” I asked directly. He met my eyes and kept his mouth shut. Okay, fine. I looked at his girlfriend.

  “Riley, how much watching did they do?” I asked her sweetly. Riley grinned back at me mischievously.

  “Oh, they watched the whole thing.” Riley ratted them out. The guys groaned. “When he kissed you the first time, Asher had to stop Zeke from going out there.” I looked at Zeke, my question on my face.

  “From our angle, it looked like he forced you to kiss him,” Zeke admitted, not sorry one bit.

  “When Isaac said, you were kissing him back, he calmed down,” Riley explained as she looked at Zeke with a big smile on her face.

  “Zeke.” I said. He looked at me. “What would have happened if he touched me and I didn’t want him to?” Zeke rolled his eyes.

  “You would have kneed him in the balls.” He admitted. I smiled at him sweetly.

  “Thanks for looking out for me anyway,” I told him. He just gave me that half grin of his. We all went back to watching the movie.

  It wasn’t long after that when the girls got up to leave, and the guys got up to walk them to their cars. With the sudden free seating, I got up and stole a corner of the sofa. I moved a throw pillow and curled up into the corner. When I was comfy, I went back to watching the movie. Faith and Trisha stalled in the archway.

  “Aren’t you leaving too, Lexie?” Trisha asked, her voice curious. I looked up to see her face slightly strained. As if she was trying not to do something. I really didn’t care right now. The girls wanted to leave before our usual over time, that was on them. I wanted to watch a good movie with decent body counts.