Love and Cupcakes

by Susan Bishop Crispell

  “Until you decide to like one of his sisters,” Graham said. His tone emphasized the things left unsaid. “You have the advantage, though, because you’ve already made it legal with Harper. There’s not much he can do to stand in your way if you decide to take her back.”

  “He asked what I was going to do and I honestly have no idea. I love her and I’m miserable without her, but what she did…I don’t know that I can get over that. I mean, could either of you?” Mason asked.

  Graham shrugged. “We’re not here to try to convince you either way. Though we would both like to see you work things out. I just think that there are enough people out there already who miss their opportunity at happiness, or screw it up so royally that they don’t have a clue how to get it back. We don’t want that to be you.”

  “Or Harper,” Jack added. “I know she’s been a pain in the ass and there’s no excuse for it, but you can’t believe she’d ever do anything to intentionally hurt you.”

  Jack shifted on the seat. Her hand brushed Graham’s and he curled a pinky around hers. Heat pulsed from the small point of contact.

  “I know. But it doesn’t make it hurt any less,” Mason said. “I also know that she would kick your asses if she knew you were here.”

  “Yeah, she would,” Graham agreed. He shrugged again as if to say too damn bad.

  “She wants to fix this,” Jack said.

  “If Harp wanted to talk to me, she would. She’d never send someone else to smooth things over. That’s not her style.”

  “She’s not one to grovel, either. Just remember that,” Graham said.

  ***

  On the drive home, Graham kept turning his attention from the dark road to watch her sleep. Her head was tilted back, her lips open. He turned the volume down and trained his eyes on the road. Headlights glinted off the cars as they streaked by in flecks of red, silver, and black. He readjusted his grip on the wheel and glanced at her again. Her chest rose and fell with deep, even breaths. Her hand lay open on her leg as if she was holding hands with someone in her sleep.

  He wondered if she was dreaming of him.

  He hated to wake her when he parked behind his apartment. Rubbing his hand along her face, he cupped her cheek, whispered her name. Her eyes blinked open, unfocused, hazy. Her lips parted, curving into a smile that shot a burst of heat through his body.

  “We’re back,” he said.

  “Sorry I fell asleep,” she said. Her voice was husky, and did nothing to calm the boiling in his blood. She leaned into his touch as her eyes fluttered closed again.

  Pulling his hand away, he got out, walked to her side, and tried again. He leaned on the door frame, the metal cool against his arm. He looked down at her as she fought through the webbing of sleep. His granddad’s gravelly voice echoed in his head. “Watch out, kid. You’ll be in love before you even realize it. And there ain’t nothin’ you can do about it.”

  Something dislodged in his memory.

  He could see Jack’s face, young and happy. Her brown eyes sparkled in the sunlight filtering through the tree branches above them. Her smile was intoxicating. In his dream state, he didn’t blink as something in him yearned to touch her.

  The desire to touch her was stronger now as he watched her. As if the years of resistance multiplied the need. He could taste the sweet flavor of strawberries that marked their first touch. He blinked in the dim light. Her eyes were open now, locked on his. Neither moved. They barely breathed.

  A soft golden glow emanated from her skin. It stretched between them, reaching toward him with thin, shimmering tendrils that wrapped around his wrists and shot into his blood with a hot rush.

  Graham wrapped his arm around her waist as she slid from the seat. His fingers rested on her hip, holding her close.

  Yawning, she laid her head on his shoulder as they walked.

  Graham pressed a light kiss to her hair. “You’re practically dead on your feet. You should go to bed,” He turned down the alleyway that led to his apartment. Good thing I happen to have a one that’s very easy to get to.”

  Pulling away from him, Jack tucked her hands in her pockets. “Just because it’s easy doesn’t mean we should,” she said.

  He winced at the hurt in her voice. Words swarmed in his brain, but refused to line up in any semblance of coherent order. “I didn’t mean it that way. Just stay with me tonight. It doesn’t have to be a big deal, Jack.”

  She backed up a few steps, not taking her eyes off him. She held her hands in front of her to keep him from getting too close. “That’s just it, Graham. If I stay, it will be. Maybe not to you, but I want it to mean something. I don’t just want to be here because it’s convenient or easy. I know I may be ruining everything, but I really need to know what we’re doing.”

  He took her hands and tugged her down to the steps at the back door. The stones were cool beneath him. His heart pounded as he looked at her. Now or never.

  “Do you have any idea how difficult it is to work with you every day knowing what it’s like to kiss you and not be able to?” he asked.

  Jack traced her fingertip over the rough burn scars on the back of his hand. She didn’t look at him when she said, “It didn’t seem to have that effect on you when we were in high school.”

  Her words hit him like a punch to the gut. He’d always assumed she’d known he and Hutton had had a fight. He didn’t think she knew it was about her, but had figured she knew Hutton was the reason he’d stayed away, not her.

  “You thought I didn’t enjoy it?” he asked. He tried to keep his tone light. But his stomach muscles tightened at the idea of her thinking she hadn’t been good enough for him.

  He yanked her back when she stood and tried to walk away.

  “You kiss me one day out of the blue, and then I don’t see you for three months. What else was I supposed to think?” she said. Her voice wavered so he had to listen hard to catch every word.

  “I told Hutton how I felt about you and he asked me if you were the one. When I said I wasn’t sure, we fought about it, and he told me to stay the hell away from you. He said that if I even looked in your direction, he would never speak to me again.” He clutched her hand as if she was the only thing tethering him to the ground. “He was, and still is, the best friend I’ve ever had. And after everything with my dad, I couldn’t take the chance of hurting you and having you both hate me,” he said.

  Staring at his feet, he waited for her to say something, anything. The only sound in the courtyard was the faint trickle of the fountain in the far corner.

  “I’m guessing since you’re with me tonight instead of hanging out with him that this fight turned out differently?” she asked after a few more seconds.

  The relief was so intense he wanted to laugh. Graham shifted to cup her face as he had years before—fingers flirting with the base of her neck, thumbs pressing lightly along her jaw. Her body tensed, but she didn’t pull away. “You’re it, Jack. I knew it back then and was too scared to do anything about it. I won’t make that mistake again.”

  One corner of Jack’s mouth ticked up in a smile. She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his.

  That one small spark was all it took for them to catch fire.

  The wave of need rolled through him so quickly that he couldn’t see straight. In the dim light from the street lamps, he watched her. The dreamy-eyed sixteen-year-old was gone. In her place was a woman just as desperate as he was.

  She tugged at his shirt to bring him closer.

  Graham went willingly. He fisted his hands in her hair. Dragging her head back, he grazed his teeth down her neck. She tasted like summer and lime. He pressed her back into the rock, sliding one arm under her and bracing the other on the steps. His fingers grazed the smooth skin where her shirt rode up. He pushed the fabric up another inch.

  A crowd whistled and whooped as they walked by the courtyard entrance. Graham kissed her again and managed a breathless, “Upstairs. Now.”

  ***

>   He didn’t have to tell her twice. Jack took his hands and went with him when he pulled her to her feet. Her legs trembled. Then her bones melted altogether when he pressed her against the wall and kissed her senseless. His hands were hot against her shirt despite the cool night air. His mouth desperate as he tugged on her bottom lip. Her body hummed against his. He shifted, pulling her hips closer, bending her back just enough to expose her neck. He trailed his lips along her jaw, down her neck and along her collarbone. His teeth scraping lightly as he went, sending a trail of shivers rocking through her body. She had to lean a hand on the wall to steady herself when he released her.

  Her vision was foggy as he opened the door and led her upstairs. Worried he’d disappear if she looked away, she didn’t take her eyes off him. Jack concentrated on his shoulders, the curve of his neck. Leaning into him, she pressed her lips to the soft skin below his ear. His pulse was jumping.

  Graham stopped and looked down at her. “I’m trying really hard to make it into the apartment,” he murmured against her forehead. He kissed her brow and continued up the stairs.

  “Sorry,” Jack said, suppressing a laugh. She’d never felt more wanted in her life. And she intended to enjoy every second of it.

  They tumbled into his living room after he unlocked the door. His keys clattered to the floor. His hands were on her, tugging her shirt up before he managed to kick the door shut. She let go of him long enough to shrug out of it. Her skin was on fire where his fingers raked across it.

  He backed her down the hall toward his bedroom, hands roaming over her as he walked. Her skin sparked with every touch. She half expected to see finger-shaped scorch marks trailing from her breasts to the top of her jeans. She would’ve welcomed the burns if it meant he’d never stop touching her. Pressing against him, she whispered his name. A plea to the universe to let her live in the moment forever.

  Jack dug her nails into Graham’s shoulders to keep from falling when her calves hit the edge of his bed. His heart hammered in time to hers. His eyes, so familiar, had a golden glow to them that pulsed in the light. The color shifted, expanding and contracting in a vibrant circle around his dark pupils. Transfixed, she stared at him, unable to pinpoint what about him had changed in the last few minutes.

  The air rippled as if a window had been opened. A whiff of mint and lime permeated the room, making her dizzy. She closed her eyes, letting the desire wash over her, seeping into her pores and whispering that all he’d ever wanted was her. And somehow she knew without a doubt that it was true. Meeting his stare, she shivered.

  “I’ve never been so happy to see a bed in my life,” Graham said. And he lowered her onto it.

  Laughing, she said, “If you wanna just go to sleep—”

  He caged her with his arms and bit her bottom lip. “Honey, we might never sleep again.”

  “I don’t mind if you don’t.”

  twenty-one

  Graham wrapped his arm around Jack’s waist and pulled her back to bed when she reached for her phone. Her laugh filled the room. It rippled along his skin like a warm breeze. Wisps of gold danced between them, pulsing and humming like an electric current. She linked her fingers with his and held his arm in place. He pressed his lips to the soft skin at the base of her neck next to a congregation of freckles in the shape of a seahorse.

  His cell phone trilled for the third time on the bedside table. He groaned against her skin, letting out a stream of hot air, which fluttered her hair. He laughed when she tried to squirm away. The phone continued to ring. Giving in, he checked the screen and he said, “It’s your brother.”

  Jack twisted around to face him. Her long legs tangled with his as she snuggled in closer. “I figured. He’s already called me twice.”

  “Guess I should get it before he comes over here and drags you out.”

  “Let him try,” she said. Her lips, still swollen from his kisses, curved into a challenging smile.

  He kissed her again before answering the phone.

  “Hey, you know where Jack is?” Hutton asked. His tone was edgy and worried.

  Graham sank back into the pillow, tightening his hold around Jack’s shoulders. He stared at the ceiling fan, which spun cool air down on them. It teased the ends of her hair so that they tickled his bare skin. Even though he and Hutton had reached an understanding about her, he hesitated another second before saying, “She’s here.”

  “Huh,” Hutton said, a hint of amusement lightening his tone. “Does she plan on going home anytime soon?”

  Jack lay with her head on his chest. He glanced down at her. Her pale skin shimmered gold in the light that streamed in the window. He trailed a finger down her arm. The simple fact that he could do that made him want to tell Hutton that she might not ever leave again.

  Instead he said, “Don’t know. We haven’t gotten that far in our planning.”

  “Can I borrow her for a little while? I promise to bring her back. Hell, did I really just ask permission to see my own sister? This is weird.”

  Graham laughed. “You might want to get used to it.”

  Jack pushed up on his chest so that she was at eye level with him. Her hand was warm and firm over his heart. “Tell him I’ll be home soon,” she said.

  “I heard,” Hutton said before Graham could repeat the message.

  She pressed her lips together, frowning at him after he hung up. “I guess I’d better go.” She didn’t move. Just continued to watch him, something like amazement shining in her honey eyes.

  “Yeah, probably,” Graham said. He snaked his arms under the thin cotton sheet and locked his arms around her to keep her in place.

  Jack laughed, and he felt it vibrate deep in his gut. “You’re gonna have to let me go at some point,” she said.

  “Not a chance,” he whispered against the top of her head.

  ***

  Jack pulled up to her house still half drunk on the happiness that buzzed through her body. Hutton sat on her minuscule porch steps. Her smile froze. His broad shoulders took up three-quarters of the space. There was no getting around him. He sat with his hands folded together, elbows resting on his knees. He looked up when she started up the walk.

  Unsure how he would react to her sleeping with Graham, she walked slowly and stopped a few paces away. She folded her arms over her chest and cocked one hip, blocking the path as effectively as he did the stairs.

  “Look who’s doing the walk of shame,” he said.

  “A, it’s Graham so there’s no shame. B, technically I drove.”

  “Aren’t we funny this morning? Must’ve been a good night.”

  Her chest tingled with a mix of nerves and happiness. She pressed her palm to it. “The best.”

  “I brought cupcakes,” he said, though his hands were empty. “They’re inside,” he added when she looked around.

  “You could have waited in there, too.”

  “That felt like an ambush.”

  “Since when are you above ambushing to get your way? The brother I know would’ve waited in the parking lot behind the apartment and jumped me by now.”

  “I’m trying to tell you I’m sorry. Would you at least give me the chance?”

  Jack nudged past him. Opening the door, she looked at him over her shoulder and jerked her head for him to follow. He unfolded himself like a tree growing out of the concrete. Tall and sturdy. Ready to weather any storm. She hoped that was true. If he was truly against her being with Graham, the coming conversation was going to get rough.

  He followed her in and made himself at home in her kitchen, pulling out bowls and spoons for breakfast. Retrieving the cereal from the pantry, Hutton unrolled the bag and poured out some for each. She got out the milk and doused both bowls. She handed one to Hutton before walking back out to the front porch.

  He sat next to her on the top step, resting his forearms on his knees. Their spoons clanked against the ceramic bowls as they ate in silence.

  “So you two are, uh, really going through
with it? You’re officially dating?” Hutton mumbled between bites.

  “What’s so wrong with me and Graham? I get that he’s your oldest friend, but what about the two of us together is so awful?”

  “As a guy, you just don’t date your friend’s sister,” he said lamely.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me. That’s the excuse you’re using? Is that why Mama found the two of you going at it in the backyard after he kissed me my junior year?”

  “She told you, huh?”

  She glanced at him and caught the half smile before he took a bite of cereal to hide it. Maybe a couple punches to the stomach had brought him to his senses.

  “Yep,” Jack said.

  “I didn’t think she’d do that. Listen, Jack, I just didn’t want you to get hurt. And you would have.”

  Setting her bowl down, she turned and leaned against the cool stone. Frustration poured out of her. “I thought he quit coming around because of me. Because I had done something wrong. Do you have any idea how long it took me to get over that?”

  “I made sure you were fine. Don’t you remember we hung out all the time? You couldn’t go anywhere without me trying to tag along.”

  “You didn’t have Graham to hang out with. I was the only one left,” she said.

  “I did have other friends, you know. I hung out with you to make sure everything was cool. You never mentioned it and didn’t act all that broken up over it, so I figured everything was okay.”

  Leaning forward, Jack watched him. She’d never considered her brother a stupid man. He could usually peg the cause of her moods—good or bad—within minutes. If he really had missed how torn up she’d been about Graham, it just proved he hadn’t looked that hard, no matter what he said.

  “Did you really expect me to admit that I was the one who drove your best friend away?”

  Hutton hung his head. “C’mon, Jaclyn. You’re making me feel worse.”