“Justin—” I start to lay into him, but the announcer interrupts me, calling us to the starting line.
“Let’s go get a good raft,” Layne suggests enthusiastically. Not obvious at all.
“Did you just say ‘a good raft’?”
“Yes, of course. We don’t want one that’s leaking air or anything.” She speaks slowly, as if I have trouble understanding plain English.
“Let’s go, Justin. It’s time to win this race,” Lily announces quickly.
As they walk away, I cut my eyes to Layne. “Think you’re slick, don’t you?”
She lifts up on her toes and kisses me. Even with my eyes closed and her lips on mine, I feel a thousand eyes on us. “Let’s go win this thing.”
“Damn straight, slick.” I then add, “Don’t think I haven’t noticed you took your T-shirt off, too. Every male here between two and two hundred has noticed, too.”
“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were jealous.”
“Jealous? Nah. Protective? You bet.”
I grab my shirt behind my neck, yank it over my head, and drop it on top of Layne’s bag. Her playful expression instantly changes to pure lust when her eyes land on my bare chest. Fuck, I love how she looks at me.
“Keep looking at me like that and we really will give the town something to talk about.” I threaten and lift one eyebrow in challenge.
“Move it before you get us both arrested, troublemaker,” she grumbles with a knowing smile. “All these women are lusting after you. No self-respecting New York girl would allow that.”
Good to know she’s not jealous either.
When we reach the water’s edge, Layne stops and her jaw drops open. She slowly trains her eyes up and down the bank, taking in the multitude of brightly colored inner tubes floating in the roped off waiting area. She looks at all the people standing around waiting to rush to a tube, then back at the water again.
“What’s wrong, babe?” I goad her.
“This isn’t how I pictured it would be. I thought we’d be in one tube together. Like a two-man float. Not two separate floats tied together with a flimsy string.”
“Are you afraid you’ll lose me?” I tease.
“Not at all,” she replies with her chin lifted in defiance.
The buzzer sounds and the hordes of couples rush the water, grabbing the first set of floats they can get and jumping on top of them to be the first across the finish line. I grab our linked set with one hand and pull Layne into my side with the other. “I’ll hold it for you so you can sit down first.”
“No.” She shakes her head. “We’ll never win that way. Look at all the people sitting with their asses in the water—they have no control. We need to keep our feet in the water and kick!”
My girl has a competitive streak. It’s kind of turning me on.
“Let’s do it, then,” I agree.
We enter the water and begin maneuvering our floats between people. With so many people in such a tight space, it quickly becomes a game of bumper boats. After apologizing to the first few couples we inadvertently bump out of our way, Layne starts to laugh. When the next person is knocked out of our way, her cackles are contagious and soon we’re both devilishly laughing as we paddle through.
“Umm, Ace?” The uncertainty in her voice is so unlike her normal demeanor.
“What’s wrong, babe?”
“Is that safe?” She nods downstream, and I turn my head to follow her line of sight.
“Do you want to get in my tube with me so I can protect you? I’ll make room for you right here.” I point to the area between my chest and the inside wall of the tube.
She looks around to see if anyone is watching before she flips me off. “You making fun of me now, Sharp?”
“No way, babe. This is actually one of the best ideas I’ve ever had. With you in that itty-bitty-bikini, we could make this race a whole lot more interesting real fast.” I wink, and with a seductive bow of my head to the side, I give her an open invitation to join me.
“You are such a bad influence. And here I thought you were a good guy,” she teases back.
“I’m much better than good, babe. You already know that.”
“You didn’t answer me,” she evades. But her cheeks are red, showing she’s more affected than she lets on.
“It’s perfectly safe, I promise. They’re barely even class one rapids. It just gets shallow and the water rushes over the rocks. But you’re still welcome to join me if it’d make you feel better.”
“As inviting as that sounds, I still want to win so I have to stay in my own float.”
“Follow my lead,” I smirk. “I’ll get you there.”
We easily traverse the scary rapids, dodge the other floaters, and the finish line comes into sight as we round the last curve. She squeals in excitement because only a few other couples are in front of us now.
“Kick, Ace! Put those legs to work!”
The water splashes up behind us from the turbine created by our legs. We power through the water, passing other couples who try to use their arms to propel them, and we cross the finish line first as a team. As a couple. Paddling over to the bank, we drag our floats onto the shore and meet the announcer.
“We have a winner, folks! What’s your name, young lady?” Harold, the announcer, is one of those two-hundred-year-old men who was checking Layne out before the race. Now that she’s dripping wet, I’m genuinely concerned he’ll have a stroke just from standing beside her.
“My name is Layne Elliott,” she says into the microphone.
“I’ve known this young man his whole life. Congratulations, Ace Sharp. You have a beautiful race partner here.”
“I completely agree, Harold,” I reply and keep my eyes locked on Layne’s.
Harold gives us each a cheap trophy with a generic label that simply says “Winner.” Layne seems especially thrilled with the token of achievement as she takes it from him.
“Here you go, young lady. Compliments of Oak Grove City Council—and me.” Harold winks.
The next couple exits the water and Harold takes the opportunity to pat Layne on the back, dismissing us so he can talk to the first runner-ups. Layne steps into my side and I put my arm around her, letting my hand rest on her lower back.
“Let’s go grab your bag,” I suggest with my mouth close to her ear. “So you can put that shirt back on.”
She throws her head back in laughter, knowing I’m only partially serious, and softly shakes her head. “Just to be clear, I’m putting my shirt back on because I don’t want to get burned out here in the full sun. Not because you’re ordering me to.”
“Fair enough. As long as it’s on, I don’t care why.”
“Excuse me. I don’t see a shirt covering you. I can see your man nipples.”
“Do you want to touch them?”
“Are you always going to be this difficult?”
“Damn straight.”
It feels good to have this lighthearted banter with her. It feels right to have her at my side, my arm around her, and showing everyone I’ve known my whole life that she’s mine. Some of the single ladies in town who have been after me for the last few years give us dirty looks as we walk by, but if Layne notices, she doesn’t react to it. She holds her head high and continues to chat while we make a path back to the huge live oak where we left her bag.
She puts our trophies in her bag before she picks up my shirt, holds it out to me, and watches as I pull it over my head. With a smile that says she’s won this battle, she grabs her shirt and pulls it over her head. Then she takes a pair of shorts from her bag and pulls them on. I had no idea she even had them in there. The triumph on her face when she meets my gaze says it all. She’d planned to be fully dressed the entire time, even before my insistence. Without a second thought, I thrust my arms around her waist and push her back up against the tree trunk.
“You constantly put me in my place,” I murmur against her lips. “And I wouldn’t chang
e it for the world.”
“I can be myself when I’m with you. You accept me for who I really am,” she whispers back. “I wouldn’t change you for the world.”
Our lips meet, tenderly at first, matching the moment we just shared. Her hands slide up my arms, shoulders, and neck until she’s holding my face. Her lips part slightly and I seize the opportunity to fully claim her mouth when my tongue slides inside. Softly stroking her tongue with mine, I feel her entire body relax and meld with mine. The urge to say those three words has never been stronger. I don’t know if she’s really ready to hear it yet, but every cell in my body screams at me to tell her.
Tell her now, because the next second may be too late.
Tell her now, so she’ll want to stay past the end of summer.
Tell her now, because she deserves to hear it, feel it, and know it.
We’ve had the perfect day together and I don’t want anything to ruin it. What if she runs after I tell her? What if it scares her off after what her ex did to her? Doubts run through my mind and steal my words. The words that were just on the tip of my tongue before I gave them to her with a kiss.
“Hey, Ace,” a male voice I recognize all too well calls out from behind me. “Since you’re not busy, you mind helping us get all these floats out of the water?”
Laughter fills the air all around us and we break off our kiss. I turn to Justin and glower at him. The opportune moment is gone. I let it pass by because I wimped out on telling her exactly how I feel about her. If everyone was watching us before Justin so rudely interrupted, I was blissfully unaware. Now that I know everyone is watching and waiting to see what happens next, the intimacy has vanished like a vapor in the wind.
Layne reaches down to grab her bag and smiles sheepishly at me. “Go ahead and help them. I’ll be waiting at the swings with Lily, River, and Zoe.”
Justin deserves an ass-kicking for this. His shit-eating smirk pisses me off, but I don’t let it show as I approach him. He’s already changed into his dry clothes, but he’s standing in shin-high water, grabbing one tube after the other and tossing them onto the bank. When he pivots to grab another one, his balance shifts forward toward the water. With a little extra shove from behind, I help him reach the float.
The fact that he fell through the middle and is now soaked from head to toe is just a bonus.
Chapter Fourteen
Layne
Our trophies have a prominent position on the mantle directly over the fireplace as a constant reminder of how quickly everything can change. In the past two weeks since the day of the race, every day has felt like I’m in a dream. My life changed drastically on that otherwise ordinary day. Nothing is set in stone yet, so I try to control my emotions, not get my hopes up, and keep myself grounded. Yet, I still have to pull myself out of my daydreams and focus on the task at hand every few minutes.
That day, while Ace helped the other guys remove the inner tubes from the water, deflate them, and load them into the county truck, I spent time with Zoe, Lily, and River on the playground. Lily and I seemed to click right away in one of those instant friendships that made me feel like I’d known her for years. If I lived here, I could easily see the two of us becoming the sister neither ever had.
As she pushed River on the swing, she chatted easily with me. “Looks like things are getting pretty serious between you and Ace.”
Her Southern accent and sweet demeanor made the conversation feel so natural that it didn’t bother me a near stranger was prying into my personal business. In New York, I’d always been on guard and suspicious of anyone who stuck their noses into subjects they had no business knowing. But I sensed there was no hidden agenda with Lily, no angle that she was trying to play. She genuinely liked me and she obviously loves her brother and niece.
“I wish I could tell the future,” I admitted, thinking of the amount of time that had already passed and how much time was left in the summer. “I’m crazy about him, but I don’t know what’ll happen at the end of the summer.”
“Why does that matter?” Zoe asked.
“This trip was a sabbatical for me, a chance to get away from the stressors in my life and get my mind settled. I have a job and an apartment waiting for me back home.”
Saying “home” conjured a different image with the mere mention of the word, though. Instead of my luxury Manhattan apartment in the city that never sleeps, my mind’s eye pictured a mountain cabin hideaway. A cozy home nestled in the rolling hills and mountains, surrounded by a river with clear, flowing water, and a back porch with a grill, homemade ice cream, and the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen. In the yard, a little blond-haired, blue-gray eyed girl plays with her toys, happy and content in the knowledge she’s safe and loved. In the pasture just a few feet away, a beautiful buckskin horse named Frankie grazes without an ounce of fear toward humans.
“Layne, where’d you go?” Lily asked.
“I’m sorry. Did you say something?” I replied and looked between Zoe and Lily. “What did I miss?”
Zoe laughed, her eyes sparkling with mirth. “Must have been a great daydream. Was Ace the star of it?”
“Zip it,” I retorted with a full smile.
“I asked if there’s any way we can change your mind about leaving,” Zoe replied. “But it looks like we need to talk to Ace and get him to change your mind.”
“I never thought a man could ever make me second-guess what I’ve always been so intent to have for myself,” I replied wistfully.
“Until Ace,” Lily replied matter-of-factly.
“Until Ace,” I confirmed.
“The heart knows what it wants, regardless of what your brain tries to convince you,” Lily answered. “It’s up to you to figure out which one you’ll follow.”
When River started yawning, Lily decided it was time to take her home for a nap. Zoe and I sat at a picnic table under an open-air pavilion. She suddenly became distinctly quiet and sullen, her long face conveying her deep sadness. My heart broke for her and I wished I could help her.
“Zoe, what is it, sweetheart?” I asked her as I grasped her hand in mine.
“I’ve put it off and hid it for as long as I can. I have to tell my parents that I’m pregnant. Everyone else knows and someone will eventually say something to them. I’ve been waiting for it to happen every day when I walk in.”
“Do you want me to go with you? Be there with you when you tell them?” I offered because I was honestly afraid of how Zoe would take their reaction.
“You’d do that for me?” She sounded so surprised, so shocked that someone would actually be there for her and on her side. Tears sprang to her eyes, and I noticed her neck working overtime to swallow the tears before they could fall.
“Of course I will. Do you want to do it today and get it over with? The more you build it up in your mind, the larger the problem seems.”
“I’ve been thinking about something else I want to talk to you about first. You may need some time to think about it, though.” She wouldn’t make eye contact with me as she spoke. Her voice sounded so small and unsure, as if she were afraid I’d turn my back on her when she confessed what had been on her mind.
“Zoe, you can tell me or ask me anything. I won’t judge you, I promise.”
“Layne, I really want to get out of this town and go off to college. I’ve taken the ACT and my scores are really good. My GPA is, too. My guidance counselor said I can get into the University of Georgia if I wanted to go there.
“That’s my dream school, Layne. Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve heard people talk about the Dawgs and I’ve wanted to go there. But that can’t happen if I keep the baby. Jeremy won’t acknowledge this is his baby, so he won’t want it. I was hoping you’d think about adopting it. I’ve seen you with River, and I know you’d be a great mom. I wouldn’t worry about it ever being abused or neglected.”
“Zoe, this is a big decision for you to make. Are you sure you’ve given it enough thought?”
&n
bsp; At that moment, I couldn’t think of another coherent response. My desire to have a baby had turned into an obsession and clouded my judgment. That was part of the reason why I needed to get away from my life in New York, to find out who I really am again. In a matter of weeks after arriving here, a young girl was offering me her unborn child to raise as my own. To say I was floored was the understatement of the year.
“I’ve known I’d put it up for adoption as soon as I realized Jeremy had no intentions of being with me, of being a family. The only person I’ve talked about it with is my doctor. She knows the whole story, and thankfully, she knows my parents well enough to know the truth about how they treat me, so she believes me. She said it’s my decision and she’d support me either way,” she replied. “I think you were meant to be here, Layne. Right now, during the hardest time of my life.
“It may sound selfish of me, especially since I got myself in this predicament, but I don’t want to throw away the rest of my life working for minimum wage in a grocery store. When I have a family, I want to be able to provide a better life for them. I hope you don’t think I’m a terrible person for saying that.”
My emotions stuck in my throat, bobbing up and down as I swung from one end of the spectrum to the other. On one hand, I’d wanted to be the one who was pregnant. To feel the life growing inside me. To give my love freely without expecting anything in return, only praying for a healthy baby.
On the other hand, Zoe hadn’t even started her senior year of high school yet. She was still merely a baby herself. She was also facing a lifetime of regret for a mistake she made because she put her trust in someone who didn’t deserve her. After only knowing me for a few short weeks, she’d connected with me enough to want me to have her baby, to raise it and love it as my own. She was asking me to give her baby a chance at a better life than she’d had herself.
Tears filled my eyes because I couldn’t imagine being in her shoes and facing that choice. A young and innocent girl was making the ultimate sacrifice to give her unborn baby, and her future children, the best chance at a full and happy life she knew how to provide.
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