by Kristy Marie
She nods weakly and smiles. “It was worth a shot.”
My chest clenches at her acceptance. God, how I want to take her up on the offer. But I can’t. Things will get messy and I can’t afford that to happen.
She tries pulling away and somehow, deep in my soul, I know she’s shutting down. She might claim she wants to enjoy our last summer together, but I know what she really means is she’s preparing to leave me this summer. And I’m not prepared for that. “I can only agree to a day,” I blurt out.
Her entire body freezes as her eyes widen. “A day?”
Oh God, what have I done?
I nod tightly, fighting the rising panic. “Twenty-four hours,” I repeat. “I can only agree to twenty-four hours of no rules. We can’t be trusted for longer.”
She yanks me by my jeans, crashing our hips together. “You shouldn’t trust me for an hour, BJ, but you have yourself a deal.”
My stomach is in knots and the three beers I’ve had, have yet to loosen me up.
“Did Aspen make you cry or something?”
I jerk my head to Drew. He’s sipping on his beer, the Edison lights overhead illuminating the smug look on his face.
“Don’t you have anything else to do?” I clip.
He lives to annoy me. “Actually yes, I’m waiting on Vee’s slow ass to finish her drink and jump in.” He taps the pool water.
After I made the deal with Aspen, I got out of the pool and went back home to change into swim shorts while Aspen’s parents cooked dinner. A couple hours later, we’ve all made it back into the pool with drinks.
“Want to play a game of volleyball, chicken style?”
I cut him a look. “Not really.” Chicken style is playing with someone on your shoulders. We’ve done it a couple times at parties. It serves no purpose other than to allow Drew’s girl of the night to grind on his neck for a couple of games.
“Come on,” he chides. “Me and Vee against you and Asp.” He tilts his head, a sly grin emerging. “Or you and Vee and Aspen and—”
“No.” Aspen is not getting on his shoulders.
“That’s what I thought.” He laughs. “You in or not?”
“What are we playing?”
Aspen glides through the water, her mood far perkier than earlier. “Pool volleyball, chicken-style.”
He had her at volleyball. “Sure!”
Drew winks. “Cool. Take a knee, Bennett.”
No chicken-style anything
Aspen
“You heard him—kneel.”
I’m pretty sure it’s just me enjoying watching Bennett’s throat work as he levels me with a look that is so not amused.
Taking his beer, I flash him a wink and down the last little swig he used as an excuse to dawdle. “Oops. No more excuses.”
Bennett glares, standing there and making no move to kneel or otherwise get moving. The air is thick with tension, which gets a chuckle out of Drew.
“You ready, Vee?” he asks.
Vee grins, pulling up onto the ledge of the pool and motioning for Drew to back up between her legs. “Come to mama, Drusila.”
Drew, never one to turn down a good time, backs up, never taking his eyes off Bennett. He’s enjoying putting Bennett in a precarious situation. I’m sure it’s exactly the payback he intended. He told me about Bennett punching him this morning.
He also tried to weasel out what happened between Bennett and me to cause that particular mood swing. Of course I didn’t tell him, but Drew knows us. I’m sure he knows it’s the same argument we have all the time.
“Let’s practice while these two have a silent argument,” Drew says once Vee is securely on his shoulders. He tosses her the volleyball and casts a teasing look at Bennett. “Chop, chop, brother.”
It’s like Bennett is in shock—pale, stiff, and unmoving. Swishing through the water to his side, I grab his arm, pulling him down and planting a kiss on his cheek. “What’s it going to be, QB? You in this game or not?”
Bennett bites his lip, his teeth sinking in harder than they should. “Yeah, I’m in.”
Normally, knowing I’m about to straddle Bennett’s neck would send all kinds of giddy feelings through me. But those feelings started earlier and never left.
He promised.
One day.
No rules.
That, my friends, is a freaking miracle—a crazy, sexy, exciting miracle. Bennett knows I plan on violating every rule we have in those twenty-four hours.
Every. Single. One.
Bennett Jameson, for one blessed day, will be mine with no rules, no stipulations, and no barriers. Unless the guilt kicks in and he takes it back.
No, he wouldn’t do that. He’s not that that kind of person. Right?
“Asp.” He clears his throat.
I pull my gaze from his jaw, ignoring the unease swirling in my stomach. “Yeah?”
A toying smirk flirts at the corner of his mouth. “Did you need help up?”
I see his smart mouth is back.
Pulling back, I wink. “I think I got it, but thanks for the offer.”
He really should have been prepared for what happens next.
I wade through the shallow water, making a half circle around him to get to the ledge. I can feel his eyes watching me as I place my palms against the gritty concrete, my breasts resting just above the ledge. I feign a pitiful attempt to push myself up and chuckle. “I think I’ve had too much to drink,” I tell him, turning my head to the side, and catch his narrowed gaze. “Maybe I will take you up on that lift.”
Let’s call it day one of Bennett Jameson’s inevitable explosion.
He’s giving me twenty-four hours. I don’t intend to waste it with his hollow excuses and distractions. I want him ravenous—so much that he might kill both of us when he finally takes his first bite.
I know Bennett and his rules.
I know this is his last goodbye—the only selfish act he’ll indulge before I’m banished to the friend zone forever.
I’m not going down without a fight. One day is not enough—I want a lifetime.
“You don’t need a boost.” His voice is at my ear.
“Are you calling me a liar?” I smile into the night air.
He grunts out a non-answer that makes me stupidly happy.
I flip around, meeting his hungry gaze. “Are you going to answer me?”
I reach for his face and he captures my hand with his, dragging it down to my waist. “This isn’t a good idea,” he grits.
His lashes flutter over his eyes and I lean in close. “This is a terrible idea.” I agree, watching as his gaze drifts down to my lips, mere inches from his. “But there’s no rule against it.”
Lines crease his forehead as he blows out a breath, the same thing he does when he’s preparing to take the field. “That changes after tonight,” he warns.
As sweet as I can, I add, “I’m looking forward to it.”
With that parting remark, Bennett drops my hands, grips the side of my thighs harshly, skimming up to my hips with nothing but pure want.
“That’s my boy,” I whisper, a soft moan slipping out between breaths.
If there’s no rule against it, then we might as well make it a good mistake.
His fingers reach the edge of my bathing suit, slipping delicately under the edge. My breath hitches and he pauses. I want to tell him to continue, but I don’t. Bennett flirting with rules is a delicate situation. Too many voiced words will bring him crashing down to reality, where the rules and our families live. It’s better to leave him in a state of wonder and rebellion.
His eyes pinch shut, and he sucks in a breath. I can feel the fear radiating through each tensed muscle. Sighing, I bring my palm to his face. “Lift me up, BJ. Drew is waiting.”
He nods, his eyes still closed. “I’m sorry. You know I—”
I cut him off. “I know.” It’s the truth. All the evidence that Bennett wants me is bulging against his swim trunks.
Bendi
ng at the knees, I give a little jump, going with his lift and sitting on the edge of the pool. Water pours off my body as my legs wrap instinctively around his chest. It was a poorly thought out move on my part, considering his lips are face to face with my pert nipples. I mean, they’re covered with a scrap of triangled fabric, but it’s pretty obvious, they too, are digging Bennett’s lips being only inches away.
I reach out, and press my finger to his lips, pushing ever so slightly. His hands brace against my side, his elbows bent and ready to stop this madness any minute. Warm air breathes against the pad of my finger before it’s sucked in and met with a warm wetness. My back arches, one arm goes around my back, the other wrapped around my wrist holding me there.
“Oh, shit.” My head bows forward, lying on top of Bennett’s, completely forgetting about Vee and Drew in the pool.
Bennett’s pulls start out slow, but as my body inches close to his, they become harder—aggressive. Like he’s capitalizing on every second of his insanity.
My entire body vibrates as his grip on my wrist loosens and drops to my hip, skimming over the tied bow of my bathing suit. A wave of chills breaks out along my spine as his finger lingers, swiping up and down, fighting the urge to slip underneath.
“You guys owe me.”
What? The words take a minute to register, but then the lights go out and I know Drew is getting a damn good Christmas present this year. That’s my boy!
Bennett, unaware of the lighting change, sucks harshly. My free hand goes to his head, knotting his wet hair in my fingers. He pulls me closer to the edge, the road rash on my exposed skin registering only a bite of pain.
“Why you?” He says from around my finger. “Why—”
I shush him and pull his hair, tugging his head up so I can meet his eyes. “Don’t talk right now. Don’t take this moment from either of us.”
He nods slowly, holding my gaze while he closes his lips around my finger as it disappears with a long pull. The feeling is too much. My eyes close and my legs tighten around his chest, holding him captive.
“It can be like this—”
The lights flicker on. “Who the fuck turned out the lights?” At the sound of my father’s voice, Bennett drops my finger and tries to step back.
“Aspen?” my father calls.
“I’m here,” I say, watching as the insanity drains from Bennett’s eyes and is replaced by fear. “I think Bennett’s sugar is low,” I lie about why I’m holding onto my neighbor like he might need attention.
“Bennett?” I look at Bennett, willing him not to shut down as my father calls for him. “You alright? Want me to get Anniston?”
It’s too late.
I can feel Bennett pulling away with every word my father speaks.
“No, sir.” He swallows. “I’ll be fine.”
My father stands there for a minute. I can’t tell if he doesn’t believe us or if he’s worried about Bennett. Either way, it adds one more cement brick to my already drowning relationship. I straighten out my legs, allowing Bennett to back up the way he’s wanted since the lights turned back on.
“Let me walk you home, son,” my dad says finally.
Bennett nods, clearing his throat, and becoming the Bennett I’ve known since that day my father pulled me from his bed. “Yes, sir.” He gives me one last look. It’s pained but final. Tomorrow we’ll both bear a rule. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I let him go without a parting remark. There’s nothing to say that would change his mind. I’ve lost him and I won’t get him back until I cash in his promise of twenty-four hours without the rules.
His window was locked.
I wasn’t surprised, but the deep searing pain that pierced my heart told me it hurt deeper than I thought it would. And that pain only angered me. Who was Bennett to decide when he could check out of this shitshow of a relationship?
I slam a baseball into the back of the fence. The batting cages have served me well growing up. I might not love baseball as much as football, but I sure love hitting the dog shit out of a ball when I’m mad.
“I waited for you tonight.”
I flip around and find Cade standing on the other side of the fence.
I shrug and turn back around, waiting on the machine to launch me another ball.
“You know,” Cade says, unlocking the gate and walking in, “I think tonight is the first time I haven’t seen you tread through the fields and climb through his window in twenty years.”
I smack a ball and it feels extremely satisfying when it smashes into the chain link. “I came earlier,” I answer on a sigh. “You weren’t out here yet.”
At fourteen, I realized that the strange sensation of someone following me was actually Uncle Cade making sure I made it through Bennett’s window safely.
“Ahh,” he answers, scratching the scruff of his beard. “So, I’m to assume you couldn’t sleep then?”
I feel my teeth clench. I can’t admit to Bennett’s father that he locked me out. Doing so would signal that Bennett and I are having problems. And everyone knows problems between girls and boys are typically about love. I can’t have Cade thinking anything is wrong and possibly asking Bennett or my father.
“Yeah,” I lie. “This move and new job has my head all messed up.”
Cade grabs a bat and walks up to the ball machine next to mine and turns it on. “You don’t mind if I join you, do you?”
Yes. I’d very much like to pout it out alone.
I shake my head. “Not at all.”
“Your father and I used to spend hours out here when he was stressed.” He smiles like he’s remembering something funny. “He would hit, hurling insults at me, until his shoulder gave out.”
That sounds like my dad.
“And you let him?”
“Let him?” He scoffs, readying his bat before taking a swing, and sending the ball into the fence much harder than I do. “No one can stop your father from doing anything. I think you know that.”
“Yeah,” I nod. “He’s a pain in the ass.”
Cade barks out a laugh. “Agreed.”
I take another swing and miss. “But you’re still friends with him after all these years?”
He nods. “Your father and I have an understanding.”
I scoff. “Like what? You being patient when he explodes?”
“Not exactly.” He takes another swing, leveling the hit and sending the ball to the back of the cage. “You know, some of our best conversations were spent out here, not saying a word.”
I step back and drop the bat. “What? I don’t get it. You just stayed out here and hit balls?”
The familiar dark head nods briefly before he lines the bat up and takes another swing. “Believe it or not, most problems don’t need to be given a voice. Sometimes the battle must be fought within.”
Tightening steals my breath as I realize Cade might have been lingering in the woods longer than I thought.
“Sometimes, a good friend is someone who will stand in the shadows, a constant presence, so you can fight the battle alone.”
“Is that what you do, Uncle Cade?” I swallow, letting the ball whiz past me. “You stand guard while my father fights his own battles.”
Stepping out of the box, Cade turns around and faces me. “I’m saying the strength of a friendship is not measured by what’s said but by what is done.”
I look down at the ground. “And what happens if he loses that battle?”
I swallow. “You saw he locked me out, didn’t you?”
The bat clangs against the cage as Cade drops his bat. “Look at me.”
I pull my eyes from the ground as the ball whizzes between us. “I don’t know what’s going on between you two, but I know Bennett will never live in a world without you.”
My lip quivers as I fight back tears. “I hope you’re right.”
He smiles. “I know Jamesons and I know Von Bremens.” He winks. “And I know how big of a pain in the ass they all are.”<
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He tips his chin to the ball machine. “How bout we hit until your shoulder gives out?”
The tension in my body eases. “I’d like that.”
And we do just that. Cade standing in the shadows as I fight my battles alone. And when I can’t lift the bat anymore… he walks me home, making sure I’m tucked in safely, just like he’s done my entire life.
“Mornin’, princess.”
Dad kisses the top of my head, plucking the strawberry from my fingers and tossing it in his mouth.
I frown. “Good morning.”
A smirk plays at the corner of his mouth. “You helping B cook?” He eyes the kitchen island, the one I’m currently sitting on.
“I’m feeding the little brother you strapped us with,” I return, reaching back into the bowl and grabbing a new strawberry. “Someone has to teach him his mouth is for eating.”
“Shut up, Asp.” Fenn quips. “Toss me another one.”
Dad’s brows furrow as he watches me judge the angle and toss the strawberry into Fenn’s awaiting mouth. “He could choke,” Dad notes, watching as Fenn chews the fruit and swallows.
I shrug. “I’m waiting to hear a reason to stop.”
Aunt B gasps from behind me. “Aspen!”
My dad throws his head back and laughs a deep, jovial sound. “I’ve missed you two.” He looks at Fenn, all puffed up and pissy. “Where were you last night?”
Fenn sits up straighter. “Here.”
Dad plucks a piece of bacon off his plate. “Here, as in the state or on the property?”
An exasperated sigh seeps out of Fenn. “Here in the state. I didn’t think I needed to report my whereabouts to you.”
My father chews, acting like he and my brother are discussing the weather. “You don’t. However, you take that tone with me again and I’ll shove that—”
“Good morning!” Mom interrupts with her abundance of energy.
“Mornin’,” I return, watching as my father and Fenn glare at one another.
Mom follows my gaze. “Did I interrupt something?”
Yes.
“No,” says my dad sweetly. “Fenn was just telling us about his night.”