My hands slid around to her front.
“You need to know the truth, darling,” I whispered.
Aira threw an elbow into my stomach. “Let me go. You had a chance at the truth.”
She grabbed my hands and tried to peel my fingers apart.
I could have kept my hold on her but I let her go.
And she just kept walking.
I could have yelled to her and made a fool of myself. Begging for her to listen to me. Coming up with a million reasons. But the truth was the only thing that would matter.
I wasn’t all that worried either.
I knew where she lived.
I saw Aira walking around the back of Julia’s house, wearing her favorite hoodie, her hair put up on her head in this messy, yet sexy, bun. She was in shorts and my eyes looked at her legs. She was ripping me apart from the inside out. I had never got worked up over a girl before. Probably not since the first time I met her.
When she saw me, she stopped.
She turned and walked the other way.
I laughed as I charged after her, running along the beach like some moron in love.
Love.
That was a touchy word for me.
A word and attempted feeling that seemed to get thrown around so easily.
Yet I was the one battling the sand to gain distance on Aira.
“You can’t run forever,” I called out to her.
She showed me the middle finger on her right hand. “You don’t know a thing about me then, Wes.”
“You’re wrong, Aira. You are so fucking wrong.”
She waved her middle finger.
I curled my lip.
“You’re jealous,” I called out.
That was the nerve to hit.
Aira finally stopped walking.
She turned and I was ready for her to slap me.
She had a fist and swung.
I backed out of the way and as she stumbled to her left I grabbed her waist and pulled her toward me.
Aira instantly thrashed. “Don’t touch me.”
“You’re wrong,” I whispered to her. “Everything you think is wrong.”
I opened my arms and she stumbled forward and down to the sand.
She buried her face into her hands and started to cry.
Shit.
I sat down next to her, reached for her hand and pried it off her face.
She looked at me, tears rolling down her cheeks.
She was too pretty to cry.
I looked down at her legs, tracing invisible lines up her exposed inner thigh. But it wasn’t in that way though. It was to make sure she hadn’t hurt herself again.
“Aira… let me talk to you, darling.”
“For what?”
“You know, you walk a lot at night. Alone. In the middle of the night. Like you’re afraid of something.”
She scoffed. “You’re going to tell me what I do wrong? After what I saw?”
I shook my head. “What’s got you so scared?”
“Fuck you, Wes,” she whispered.
“You saw me with Noelle,” I said. “And I never told you about her. Because… she’s this dark secret.”
“Oh, yeah, that makes me feel better,” Aira said.
“Listen to me,” I said. I reached across my body with my free hand and wiped away a tear. “That wasn’t what you thought. Noelle is like a sister to me.”
“She kissed you.”
“She kissed my cheek, Aira. I hugged her to say goodbye. She has nobody. She moved in after you left.”
“Even better,” Aira said. She laughed and cried at the same time. “I get ripped away and here comes a prettier version of me, right? Taller. Skinnier. Probably willing to do whatever you want. Because I’m just a virgin.”
I swallowed hard. “Oh, damn, darling. No. She moved in with her father. Her mother had been stealing cash from her father and got burned out on drugs. He tried to get her cleaned up and her mother left rehab and did herself in.”
“What?”
I felt my chest tighten a little.
I sighed and shook my head.
“If this is really happening, then you need to give me something,” I said. “Why are you out here like this? You’re scared at night, Aira. And I know it’s not because you think monsters live under your bed.”
“Fine. You’re right. Just tell me one thing… have you and Noelle… ever…”
“No, Aira. No.”
She shut her eyes. “Okay.”
“And what you saw wasn’t what you think. I made a promise to a dying man.”
Aira slowly shook her head. “I came back here, Wes, because there’s nowhere else to go. Not after what happened.”
“And what happened?”
Aira opened her eyes. “My house burned down. I lost almost everything I ever owned. And the thing is… I don’t really care. I hated that house. I hated that town. All I ever wanted was to come back here. To you, Wes. To you.”
Shock stole my ability to move for a few seconds.
House burned down? Lost everything? Coming back to me?
I wrapped my arm around Aira and pulled her close.
She started to cry again.
At least now I sort of understood why.
Chapter 19
Aira
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Wes asked as his strong thumbs stoked my cheek for the hundredth time.
My emotions and thoughts were scattered all around.
“I don’t know,” I said. “I didn’t want to be that girl.”
“Meaning?”
“The second it happened, everyone treated me differently. I had to stop going to class. I just couldn’t be there anymore. And living in this fake house that was full of stuff that wasn’t mine. It was all so staged. And my parents… they don’t show any emotion. My mother lives to drink wine. And when she does, she shows emotion but in the wrong way. My father… it was just business as usual for him. Gone on another trip. Like, oh well, the house is gone, we’ll just build a new one.”
“Fuck, I’m sorry,” Wes said. “That’s not right. No wonder you wanted to leave.”
“They really didn’t even fight me on it,” I said. “And thankfully Julia was okay with it.”
“So you lost… everything?”
“Almost,” I said. “It was just… I have nightmares, Wes. I… wait a second.” I grabbed his wrists and pushed them off my face. “How did this turn on me? You haven’t finished your story. I know what I saw. You should have told me.”
I stood up and walked away, wiping my own tears away.
I didn’t need some boy trying to do that for me. Even if it was Wes.
Weslee Jackson… will you ask me to marry you?
I gritted my teeth.
Stupid me being ten and watching him from my bedroom window, thinking about that question over and over.
I walked to the water and dipped my toes into the waves.
“I hated that someone was there to replace you,” Wes said. “I hated Noelle. I refused to talk to her. Even the day I saw her crying on the porch steps, I ignored her. Want to know why she was crying?”
“Not really,” I said. I looked at Wes. “But, yeah, sure…”
“Her mother died.”
“You implied that already.”
“Yeah, well, not only did her mother die, but her father had cancer.”
My muscles tightened. “What?”
“Yeah. Her father fell the one day and couldn’t get up. I heard her crying and she came over to get me. That’s when I first talked to her. I helped her father up off the living room floor. I became her friend. I protected her. As a brother would do, Aira. That’s what she means to me. Like a sister. Like…”
Wes’s lip curled. He looked away.
“Like what?” I asked.
“Nothing. She doesn’t mean the same to me like you do. It’s different. Her father was loaded. Some real estate guy. He left everything to her when he died. B
ut she lost herself so many times. In so many things.”
“Kailey and the rest said she used to go to HCH,” I said.
“She did. But it didn’t work out.”
“Why?”
“Just didn’t, Aira. She’s better at Tech.”
There was a serious amount of pain and anger hiding in Wes’s eyes.
It made me jealous but I believed him. I had no idea why I believed him though.
“She lives with Cherry now,” I said.
“Cherry…”
The name hit me hard.
I had forgotten all about Cherry.
“You remember her, right?” Wes asked.
“Of course I do. She always gave us candy.”
“Yeah,” Wes said. “Right. That’s where Noelle lives now. She didn’t want to have to leave town after her father died. And she has plenty of money to survive and everything. It’s just… the memories. Emotional stuff. That’s all.”
“That’s all?” I asked.
“When her father was dying he asked me to take care of her. To watch her. Because there was nobody else after him.”
I lowered my head. “So what I saw…”
“She came by the shop to show me something she wrote. She writes these little stories and poems and shit. She draws little pictures. Nobody ever sees it but me. That’s it. And I’m sorry… but in a way, I’m not, darling. Noelle is like a sister to me. That won’t change. That can’t change.”
I let out a long breath. “I feel so stupid now.”
“Don’t,” Wes said. He touched my back. “Don’t ever feel stupid. I told you this town…”
“Is full of secrets,” I whispered. “Everything is so hidden.”
“It is.”
“My boyfriend cheated on me,” I said to Wes.
“Oh.”
“I don’t know what I was thinking with him. I knew it was going to happen too. And it did. But it sort of stuck with me.”
“And you thought I was doing the same?” Wes asked.
“I guess.”
“Does that mean we’re together, Aira?” he asked.
That was one hell of a question to leave dangling out there.
And I didn’t answer it.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” Wes said. “I kept my distance a little. I only stepped in when I felt I needed to. And if we start getting closer, I won’t be able to stop.”
“Stop what?” I asked.
“Falling for you,” he said.
My heart melted into pieces.
I looked over my shoulder at Julia’s house.
My heart began to race. “Can we go inside?”
Wes looked back at the house too. “Of course we can.”
“Julia’s going to kill me,” I said with a giggle as I put the bottle to my lips.
“No she won’t,” Wes said. “She won’t even know.”
I took a drink. My mouth burned and my eyes watered.
The vodka was like fire, but once it settled, it was fine.
“Have another one,” Wes said.
“You’re trying to get my drunk,” I said.
“Maybe. I mean, we’re in your room, right?”
“Stop it,” I said.
I took another drink and handed the bottle back to him. “I usually don’t drink this girly crap.”
“Oh. So sorry I don’t have your drink of choice. I’ll remember for tomorrow night.”
“Tomorrow night, huh?” Wes asked.
Heat flooded my cheeks.
We sat next to each at the side of my bed. The same spot where I had sat when I cut myself. There was a certain sensation between my legs, but far different from when I was holding the little razor to my inner thigh.
My nerves started to shake so I grabbed the bottle from Wes’s hand and drank again.
“Why does everything have to be so messed up?” I asked.
Wes laughed. “There’s the question nobody can answer. All we can do is swim in it, darling. That’s why I said I was going to protect you. From everything in this town.”
“Including yourself?”
“Yeah,” he said. “I didn’t want you hurt over Noelle. Or anything else you think or you hear or you believe.”
“What else is there? I don’t understand why you and Ryland hate each other so much?”
“It’s how beach towns live, Aira. Ryland thinks he can do whatever he wants because he’s got the most money. But he doesn’t. He’s nothing without his parents.”
“And you?”
“My father’s long gone,” Wes said. “You know that though. And Ma works herself half to death as a nurse over at Mercy. She refuses to take cash from Pop. But working with Jett all my life has paid off I guess. I know what I’m doing and I could always survive. With or without money.”
Wes took a big drink from the bottle and handed it back to me.
I took another drink and knew I was going to feel it sooner rather than later.
I licked my lips and put the bottle down.
“Why didn’t Kailey just tell me about Noelle?” I asked.
“Because I don’t play into bullshit drama,” Wes said.
“Meaning?”
“Meaning when they all start talking and spreading rumors, I ignored it. So, yeah, people think me and Noelle fool around. They think we’re fuck friends. I really don’t care either. They hated when we’d hold hands in the hallway or I’d put my arm around her and they could never figure out what it meant.”
Jealousy burned worse than the vodka.
I hated the images in my mind of Wes touching someone else. Doing anything with someone else. Even though I knew that was reality. Just like with me and Jesse. We did everything but you know.
“So you think they came with me today because they wanted to figure out the truth too?” I asked.
“Of course they did,” Wes said. “They’re your friends, but they’re all the same. Worried about everyone else’s shit.”
“Can you do me a favor?”
“What?”
“Can you stop picking on Kailey over her chest? That’s really bad to do to someone, Wes. She can’t control that.”
He grinned and nodded. “You’re over here worried about Kailey when you just went through your house burning down?”
I laughed. “I guess I’m just a good friend.”
“Better than me,” Wes said. “I left Walker on the ground with a hard on.”
“Gross,” I said. “He really liked that? With Emma and the baseball bat?”
“I guess so,” Wes said. “He was probably just trying to impress her, but who knows.”
We both reached for the bottle at the same time.
Our hands touched and our eyes met.
It was like electricity exploded all around us.
Wes moved his hand from the bottle to my face. He slipped his hand behind my neck and pulled me close to him. He met me halfway and we started to kiss. A real kiss.
The drinks had already started to work, making it easier for me to kiss him the way he kissed me.
I lifted the bottle and gently touched both our cheeks.
Wes broke the kiss and we were cheek to cheek as I tilted the bottle.
“This isn’t going to work,” he whispered.
“Oh well,” I said.
I poured the vodka and our tongues hurried to try and catch it.
Our tongues touched and I lost all interest in the stupid drinking idea.
The kiss picked up again and I put my hands to the floor as Wes started to move closer toward me. He put his left hand to the floor on the other side of me. He hovered over me as I put my head back against my bed.
Wes broke the kiss and I exhaled loudly, almost sighing.
His lips touched my neck and I groaned, feeling the effects of his kiss rippling through my entire body.
Wes’s right hand slid up the back of my shirt, touching my lower back.
He kissed to my ear and paused as he let out a breath.
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It tickled and it turned me on even more, which seemed impossible.
My fingers curled against the hard floor of my bedroom as I opened my eyes.
Wes kissed up my throat and sought out my lips again.
They were ready for more of him.
So much more of him.
He kissed me again, deeper and harder.
His left hand touched my side and made a move up over the front of my hoodie. His strong hand cupped against my chest, making me groan into his mouth. I had no idea who I was at that moment. Getting so into it. Shivering and craving more. To me it was just proof that I was meant for Wes.
Wes’s hand moved down to the bottom of my hoodie and cut under it. He pulled at my tight tank top and found skin. I jumped as his hand moved up my shirt. I closed my eyes again and whimpered as his lips closed, pulled back, and he just stayed there.
I opened my eyes as his bare hand moved over my chest. His rough touch against my soft, warm skin. Sliding over me and cupping, squeezing enough but not too much.
I wrestled my hands from the floor to his face. I pulled him against me again because I couldn’t get enough of his lips against mine.
His hand moved down my chest, his thumb pausing enough to roll left to right against my nipple. Enough to make me thrust my chest, but he kept going. Down the front of my body, out from under my shirt, and then against the middle of my shorts.
I gasped and put my head back again, my mouth open.
Wes rubbed the tip of his nose against my neck as his fingertips played against my inner thigh. I thought about the marks there and I almost froze up.
But in that moment, Wes whispered, “It’s okay, darling. I’ll talk care of you.”
My hands were against the floor again as I lifted my lower half up off the floor enough to allow Wes to slide his fingers up the inside of my shorts.
At the first hint of pressure between my legs, I bit my lip.
It was instant butterflies in my belly, only this time they didn’t stay there. They moved down… way down…
I sucked in a breath as Wes pressed his fingers against the outside of my panties. He made wide circles, adding more pressure, making me feel something.
My right hand grabbed his left forearm. He was so strong. The muscles of his arms moving as he touched me.
“Oh… Wes…”
“You feel so good, darling,” Wes said, his breath against my neck.
Hidden Creek Secrets (Hidden Creek High Book 1) Page 14