by Kristy Marie
I pinch my eyes shut, feeling the tip of the marker press into my skin, looping lines into letters. Before long, she whispers, “Done.”
I open my eyes and take the marker. Just like I did, Aspen lifts her shirt, exposing her bare, unblemished skin. I press a kiss to her stomach and lower to my knees. The kiss is my apology. It’s also against the rules, but I can’t punish her anymore tonight.
Tonight isn’t her fault.
The rules aren’t her fault.
Aspen is entirely innocent, but yet, she suffers this fate with me. Why? I’ll never know. All I know is she should have walked away from me years ago. She doesn’t deserve this type of relationship.
Quickly, I write the rule on her skin, something we’ll both see in the morning, reminding us of what went wrong tonight.
No getting drunk together.
Those are the words I sentenced us with tonight. The rule we cannot break again.
My fingers drift over the words one last time before I stand. “It’s done.”
She nods, giving the new rule acknowledgment. “It’s done.”
Flashing me a brief smile, she pockets the marker. “Now, are you gonna pussy out of bungee jumping or not?”
“Bennett!”
I jerk, the memory fading just like the ink on my stomach. “I’m sorry, sir,” I say to her father, who I apparently ignored.
He narrows his eyes. “You’re no longer my favorite,” he returns.
My lips twitch. “I’ll work on it, sir.”
“For heaven’s sake, Jameson. Did you only teach the boy one word? What’s with all the sirs? I feel like my grandfather.”
My dad shakes his head.
Calling my elders “sir” came from living at a foundation for veterans all my life. Aspen’s mother and my father opened the foundation before I was born. It started with Aspen’s mom, Anniston, finding my father, near death, in a ditch.
My father was homeless and didn’t care if he lived or died. Anniston, a doctor, nursed him back to health and refused to let him leave the property, only to die on someone else’s lawn. At least, that’s how my dad tells the story anyway. Anniston and my dad became friends, which sent my uncle Theo into a crazy tailspin. They, too, eventually became friends, but it was rocky for a while.
Theo isn’t really my uncle, but since we’ve always lived at the foundation together—growing up as a family—I’ve always referred to him as such. It’s the same way with Aspen’s roommate, Vee, who we rarely see anymore since she started dating the neighbor, Sebastian. Her father, Tim, was a veteran Anniston and my dad took in.
All my life, I’ve been exposed to the ugliness of the world where men who served our country were spit out and abandoned when they struggled to fit back into society upon return to civilian life. I’ve grown up around their rules, routines, and “yes, sirs.”
It’s what I know.
“Come on,” says my dad, handing me a bottled water. “Let’s go run before Fenn passes out again.”
I look at the carton of cream and then at Aspen. We won’t get to spend our last morning drinking coffee together in this house—another routine I will never experience again.
The run with everyone did nothing to quell the beast inside me. Instead of feeling exhausted and crashing on the couch like Fenn and my brother, I grabbed my bag and headed to the gym.
Theo insisted Aspen have breakfast with him and her mom. I figured they would keep her busy for a while. With last night’s events playing on repeat through my head, I wasn’t about to stay home and stare at the ceiling. I needed a distraction, and my teammates were the best I could come up with.
“Eventually you’re gonna have to come and hang out with us.”
Bruce, my left tackle, has spent the past forty-five minutes going over everything I missed last night at the Kappa-something sorority house party. Basically, there was alcohol, sex, and idiots. All things I try to avoid.
“Maybe,” I say, pushing past him.
I’ve showered, and I’m finally tired enough to go home and nap without seeing visions of Aspen in between my knees. “I’ll see you later.”
“Yeah, okay. If you change your mind, we’ll be at Swanky’s tonight.”
Flashing Bruce a pinched smile, I nod. “I’ll keep it in mind.”
It’s not that I don’t like Bruce, or my teammates. It’s just when I think of fun, I always think of a blonde that doesn’t smell like sweaty socks and last night’s deodorant. Take Exhibit A, Aspen—the aforementioned fun—lying on the hood of my SUV with the sun on her face, attracting a small group of football players lingering in the parking lot.
That carefree personality is why I’d rather not hang out with my teammates. I plan to lap up every single minute I have left of Aspen and her ideas of fun.
Striding up to my car, I hold back glaring at the audience in the lot. It’s pointless though, since my fists are balled at my sides while Aspen, the pretty little hood ornament, talks to Jake, a senior on the baseball team. He’s a decent guy when he’s not looking at Aspen’s tits. Right now, he’s enemy number one.
“Can you do that for me, Jakey?” Aspen asks in that singsong voice of hers. The one she pulls out to get what she wants.
Jake straightens and takes a healthy step back when he sees me, averting his eyes to a safer location, like my foot, which he knows will be up his ass if his gaze travels anywhere near her again.
I clear my throat. “Yes or no, Jake? Answer the lady’s question and move on.” I’m in no mood after what I’ve been through last night. No sleep and blue balls will drive any man to insanity.
Aspen blows a bubble with the gum in her mouth and grins when it pops. “I’m sorry, Jake. Don’t mind my driver—good ones are hard to find. They tend to be a bit…” Her smile widens as she keeps her gaze hidden behind the squared sunglasses. “—bitchy.”
I don’t have time for this shit; exhaustion is setting in. “Yes or no, Jake?”
The harsh tone of my words snaps Jake out of his frozen state.
“Yes.” He looks at me, not Aspen. “I can do that, Aspen.”
Aspen lowers her shades and glares at me over them. I return her look with one she recognizes—I don’t give two fucks. Jake will lose an eye if he looks at her tits again.
“Alright then,” she confirms. “I’ll call you next week.” She holds her hand for Jake to shake.
He doesn’t take it.
Instead, he waits for my permission to touch her.
Now, I may not want him touching Aspen, but I also don’t want to be screamed at the entire ride home, so I nod curtly. I can tolerate him shaking her hand.
However, Jake, the smart guy he is, goes in with a low-five—fast, awkward, and perfect for getting him the hell away from Aspen in a hurry.
“Have a good one.” I dismiss him.
He tips his chin and heads to the car.
“Look up and tell me what you see,” Aspen says when I just stand there, watching Jake get in his car and drive off.
I toss my bag on the ground and sigh dramatically as if I don’t have time for her games. It doesn’t faze Aspen since I’ve established over the years that I will always have time for Aspen Von Bremen, even her ridiculous observations.
Closing one eye, the sun blinding me, I look skyward like she’s doing. Puffy, white clouds fill the air, reminding me of cotton. Straining, I attempt to find what she sees. At first, it’s just a bunch of jumbled shapes, but then I see the handle, following its length to a widened top. “A baseball bat.”
She sucks in a gasp and pauses, narrowing her eyes. “Do not play games. You know that cloud looks like a penis.”
“Don’t call it a penis.” I cringe at the word. I know the technical term is, in fact, a penis, but honestly, I’d rather Aspen never refer to a man’s third leg or appendage at all. Ever. It conjures up images that take far too long for me to clear.
“Okay, word diva,” she teases. “Cock. That cloud up there looks like a massive cloud co
ck.” She rights her shades before lying back on the hood. “Better?”
I hear a couple of chuckles behind me, reminding me we are not alone, and this is definitely not the place to be sunbathing in a crop top while throwing out words like cock and penis.
Grabbing her ankles, I pull her body down the hood, ignoring the scratching sound of her bracelets etching into the paint. Her feet slide between mine, and when the soles of her shoes are firmly on the ground, she lets a full-blown Aspen-original smile loose. “Since you’re a little moody today, I’ll give you this one.” She fingers my shirt, letting her knuckles brush along my abs as if by accident. “It’s a bat with a dick shaped handle.”
I cut her a look, a frown firmly in place, but even I’m not immune when she bubbles out a fit of laughter, grabbing my shirt and hauling me to her chest. “You should see your face right now,” she tells me, sucking in more air before laughing again. “You would have thought I shouted ‘debauchery’ in the church pew.” She grips my hips. “You’re so uptight right now.”
And pent up.
I change the subject fast.
“I thought you were spending time with your parents today.”
She shrugs, burying her face into my shirt and inhaling. “They got distracted.”
Ah. Distracted is another way of saying her dad needed to spend quality time with her mom, naked. It was something we had to learn to avoid as teenagers. Aspen’s parents are very liberal with their sex life.
“Theo dropped you off?” I scan around the parking lot, noting no car here. “No, Fenn did. I was hungry, and so was he.”
“He finally woke up?” And then decided he wanted to eat without her?
“Yep. He wanted to get away from the house before Dad finds him again.”
We share a smile.
Fenn deserves a weekend stuck under his father’s thumb. He’s been nothing but a nightmare this past semester. If it weren’t for Aspen, I don’t know that Drew and I could have handled him. Drew is enough for me on a good day; add Fenn and his every other month suspensions, and it’s a damn near impossible feat.
“So, he found a lunch date and left you here?”
Aspen leans in, her breath against my lips. “Yep. Lucky you, huh?”
Finally, Fenn did me a solid.
“Coffee?” I propose.
“In our pajamas?”
Inhaling, I consider it. “Sure.”
“In your bed?”
Give her an inch and she takes eight miles.
“The living room.” We did enough rule breaking last night.
“Come on, Bennett. We’re leaving tonight.” She gazes at me with those deep, navy blue eyes, weakening my resolve. “Let me have one last nap on your comfy bed before I go?”
She’s manipulating me, and I let her. She’s right, we’re leaving tonight, following our parents home where we’ll both spend the summer before parting.
It’s the last time we’ll be alone.
“Fine,” I grit out. “Coffee and pajamas.” One last time. “In my bed.”
God forgive me.
Pants must be worn to bed
Aspen
I’m wearing his pants.
Not that I don’t enjoy wearing his pants, but I’d much rather have stayed in my t-shirt and underwear. But Bennett wasn’t having it, claiming a t-shirt and underwear were not pajamas.
I snuggle down into his sheets, the past twenty-four hours of no sleep finally catching up to me. “I say we watch something scary,” I propose, scanning the network channels.
Bennett shrugs, setting our coffee on the bedside table. “That’s fine. You’ll fall asleep anyway.”
This is true. “I suppose I should ask you what you want to watch then.”
He climbs in next to me and wedges a pillow between our bodies.
I arch a brow. In about thirty seconds, that pillow will not stop me from snuggling with his big, warm body.
“I don’t care what you turn on, I’ll probably pass out too,” he says.
He sounds tired, and the guilt from keeping him up for an entire day creeps up on me. “I’m sorry I kept us out all night.”
He flashes me a look of boredom, but I keep going. “I forget how delicate you are.”
“Aspen.” He groans, grabbing his coffee and taking a sip. “Shut up.”
I grab the pillow and toss it to the floor. “Will you hand me my coffee please?”
The muscle in his jaw ticks as he stares at the now open space between us. “This isn’t a good idea,” he notes, eyeing the discarded pillow.
I nod. “Probably not, but I’m doing it anyway.”
He’s not amused and the pained noise that follows all but confirms it. “I don’t have the energy to argue with you.”
Ignoring his attitude, I throw a leg over his waist and straddle him. Sitting up, I snag my coffee from the table. “I don’t know why you’re getting so worked up.” I take a sip of the fiery liquid, feeling the warmth trail down my throat. “We’re just lounging in your bed like we’ve done for years.”
It’s the truth. I sleep in Bennett’s bed more than I sleep in my own. Why he’s getting pissy is that, lately, as my time with him ticks down, I’ve been a little more aggressive and he’s let me.
I think he knows this is it. This is the end of us being neighbors and sharing a bed.
“You know,” I tell him, still straddling his hips, his hands clenched around his coffee, his body a frozen statue beneath me. “I can recommend another neighbor to snuggle with you when I’m gone.”
I’m totally lying. I don’t care how many miles away I am, I will come back to Georgia and kick some girl off my side of the bed.
His eyes are hard as they stare at my chest. “That’s not funny.”
Don’t worry, he isn’t getting an eyeful because when I started changing, he tossed me a shirt ten times my size.
“I’m not trying to be funny,” I tell him. “I’m just saying, if you go through withdrawals, I can find you someone who can keep your feet warm.” Again, this is a lie, but I feel compelled to make a joke about it. Truth is, I’m the one who will suffer through withdrawals.
I’ve been sleeping in Bennett’s bed since he was born. My Aunt Breck, Bennett’s mom, used to say that at two years old, she would find me in Bennett’s crib in the middle of the night. No one knew how I got out of the house and into Bennett’s crib, but the habit never stopped. Eventually, our parents just let us fall asleep together. It was only when we hit our teenage years did my father put a stop to the bed-sharing. Clearly, we’ve found a way around that rule.
Bennett sets his coffee down and sighs. “Can we just pretend nothing is changing? That you aren’t moving at the end of the summer?”
His voice is soft but firm. Like me, this change upsets him. Whether or not change is what we need, letting Bennett go will be the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.
“Yeah,” I agree. “We can pretend.”
I set my cup down next to his and lean forward, pressing a kiss to his forehead like I used to do when I was bigger than him. His eyes are pinched shut and his mouth is clenched tight when I finally sit up.
I smooth the line of tense muscle with my thumb. My touch only somewhat relaxes him. Rolling off, I turn onto my side and face the wall like a good girl who obeys the rules.
The blankets rustle before they gently find their way over me. “Just a quick nap,” he promises, exhaling and curling up behind me. His arm drapes over my shoulder, comforting me. But I need more.
Pushing back into his body, the heat and security envelop me in a warm embrace like I crave. “Just a nap,” I agree.
“She’s in here!”
My brother’s voice sends me shooting up in bed. The door to Bennett’s bedroom is open and Fenn is standing in the open space.
I look at Bennett, who rubs his eyes before checking the watch on his wrist. “It’s four,” he tells me. “You’re supposed to be at the football field at five.”
I nod. “I’ll make it in time.”
My brother scoffs. “Doubtful. Not with Dad in the living room and you naked in Bennett’s bed.”
I glare at my brother. “I’m not naked, dipshit.”
Fenn shrugs. “Dad won’t stop to make sure. He’ll kill Bennett on the spot.”
Sitting up, I slide out from under the covers and interlock my fingers, stretching the muscles in my back. Even though I could use another eight hours of Zs, I feel better than I did before.
“I’ll see you later,” I tell Bennett, walking to the window, ignoring Fenn’s threat. Raising the frame, I slip out onto the grass and shuffle across the courtyard to mine and Vee’s townhouse. It isn’t a long walk; a sprint would have me at the back door in seconds. Which is exactly what I do.
“Where have you been?” Vee’s big brown eyes are wide as she holds up her phone. “I’ve been calling you for hours.”
I close the back door and flip the lock. I don’t need my parents barging in after Fenn throws me to the wolves.
“I’ve been with Bennett,” I tell her.
“Duh!” she screeches like I’ve wasted air even stating that fact. “I’ve been calling him too. Neither of you answered.”
“We were asleep.” I shrug off the baggy t-shirt and head toward my room. “I’m assuming my parents are looking for me?”
She scoffs, following along behind me. “Your parents, my parents, Uncle Hayes, Uncle Mason, Uncle Kane, Uncle—”
I hold up my hand. “I get it. Everyone is here.”
She nods, going over to my window and closing the curtains. I cut her a look. “You and Sebastian still spying on each other?”
She waves me off. “Of course not.”
“Liar.” I chuckle.
“Okay, fine. Maybe a little.”
Whenever Vee gets flustered, her Latina roots show up, making her talk faster and with less of a southern accent.
“I’m not judging,” I admit. “I think it’s cute.”
She and Sebastian were adorable, pretending they hated each other a few months ago. But ever since they exposed their love for each other, they’ve been attached at the hip. I’m not one to talk, though, considering I’ve been with Bennett for the past thirty-six hours.