Crashing Down

by Cathryn Fox

  Jared gestured toward the cut on the corner of Noah’s mouth, reminding him of his fight with the Neanderthal last night. “Yeah, well, we’re not all suicide junkies like you.”

  They walked toward the kitchen, passing by Shannon’s office. Noah glanced in, catching a glimpse of the cute red-head he’d caught staring at him earlier that morning when he was getting reamed by Donald, and again later today down at Canyon Run.

  “Who’s the new girl?” he asked.

  “Kathryn Lane,” Jared said, not bothering to look to see who Noah was talking about. That was the all-knowing, all-seeing Jared, always had his finger on the pulse of the resort. “Scholarship student. She’s here for a summer internship.”

  An uneasy shiver moved through Noah as he gave her a once over. It wasn’t the way she kept her back rigid, or the way she had her strawberry hair pulled back in a tight ponytail that had him thinking back to three years ago. It was her focus. The way she seemed to tune the whole world out as she concentrated on her task, like it was the most important thing in the entire world. Noah had learned the hard way that it wasn’t.

  “Forget it, Noah,” Jared said.

  “Forget what?” Luke asked, as he caught up with the two of them on the way to the kitchen. Noah knew Jared considered Luke a friend, but Noah, well, he’d rather run his raft into a rock wall than hang out with the guy. As far as he was concerned, Luke was a bit of a douche, always walking around like he thought he was better than everyone else. So what if he was a super star tennis player, taken out by an injury during the world’s junior a few years back. Now, thanks to his family’s connections, he had a nice cushy job at the resort, giving lessons—on and off the court—to some of the hottest ass around. And to top that off, he took a three-month hiatus in the summer, hanging out with his family in Europe during the resort’s busiest months. What twenty-three-year-old needed a hiatus? From the second Noah stepped onto the resort, Luke had seemed to take an instant dislike to him. He’d never come out and said it to his face, but there was no denying the tension between them.

  Jared jerked his head toward Shannon’s office as they passed. “Noah was checking out the new girl.”

  “Oh yeah? Well forget it, pal,” Luke sneered and ran his hand over his gelled hair. “A girl like that would never fall for your bullshit.”

  “It’s not my bullshit they fall for,” Noah said, grabbing his cock.

  “You’re such a crude bastard,” Luke said. “Regardless, you’re not her type.”

  “And you are?”

  A sour look moved over Luke’s face as he let his glance rake over Noah’s work clothes. Then he waved a hand over his own body. Christ, the guy looked like a fucking pussy in his designer brand polo shirt and golf shorts. Noah could understand having to wear shit like that on the court, but the guy was off duty.

  “Come on, Noah, you can’t be serious,” Luke said. “She’s out of your league.”

  “Probably. But I bet I can get her to go out with me. In fact, I bet I can get her to do a lot of things with me.”

  “Oh really? Then I guess I’ll take you up on that.”

  Wait! Shit, what had he just agreed to? He thought back to the pretty girl who looked like she was all work and no play. His gut tightened, because everything inside him told him that he should have kept his big mouth shut. Getting her to go out with him was a bad idea. Not because he wasn’t up for the challenge, but because he saw way too much of himself in her. Too much of the guy he used to be and never wanted to be again.

  “Isn’t fucking around with staff forbidden?” Noah asked, hedging a direct answer.

  “It’s frowned upon.” Luke made air quotes as they entered the kitchen area. “Not forbidden.”

  With a shake of his head, Jared grabbed a tray and moved ahead of them, leaving them to hash out the details of the bet Noah knew better than to accept. Then again, he was the one who had put it out there. Jesus, he was such a fuck up.

  “What’s good?” Jared asked the kitchen staff.

  “Lasagna,” the head chef, Mario said in a very thick Italian accent. He looked past Jared’s shoulder and met Noah’s glance. “Nice and cheesy, just the way you like it, Noah.”

  Working to keep things light, Noah stepped up to Mario and slapped him on the back. “You’re the man.” Reaching into his back pocket, Noah pulled out the two tickets a guest had given to him as a thank you for a fun time white water rafting. While he wasn’t allowed to accept cash tips, sometimes the guests rewarded him with things like vouchers and tickets.

  “Take the wife out to the drive-in tonight.” He gave him a wink, and said, “Maybe you’ll get lucky and something really boring will be playing.”

  Mario laughed. “You’re too good to me,” he said as he put an extra heaping of lasagna onto Noah’s plate.

  Luke, who barely spared the cook a look, took his tray and made his way toward the back room, where staff ate separately from the guests.

  “Well,” Luke continued as they all sat at the long table. “You want to bet on it or what?”

  “What’s in it for you?” Noah asked, glancing out the window to see a squirrel run up a tree. Off in the distance he caught a glimpse of Amy, gesticulating with her hands like she always did as she showed another newbie around the resort. Noah caught the way Jared was watching her, his eyes glued on Amy’s ass.

  Noah looked back at Luke in time to see a sly grin slide across his face. “Your motorcycle.”

  “What the hell?” Noah’s head jerked back. “You want my bike?”

  “Yes. Not the one you’re riding. I want that piece of crap you keep in the garage.”

  “What the fuck do you want with that?” Noah swallowed the bile rising up in his throat at the mention of his broken down bike, or rather Jonny’s bike. Jonny had loved that vintage motorcycle more than anything in the world. He’d purchased it years ago with the intention of rebuilding it. But he hadn’t lived long enough to get it up and running. Noah had spent the last few years tinkering with it, wanting to see Jonny’s dream through for him. Unfortunately, the parts for this particular bike weren’t only expensive, they were hard as hell to come by. He’d recently found the gearbox he needed, and had put a bid in on it, but pulled out at the last minute to lend the money to Jared when he’d found out Jared was in trouble. He’d lost the part to another bidder, and had no idea if he’d ever find another, but it was worth it. No way could he just sit back and let Jared get the shit kicked out of him, or worse.

  “It’s taking up too much room in the garage, and I’m afraid my Porsche is going to get dented with all those parts you have lying around.”

  Noah shook his head, hardly able to believe what Luke was suggesting. “What’s in it for me?”

  “I’ll help you restore your bike. Either way I win because it gets the damn thing out of the garage quicker.”

  “I don’t want you touching my bike.”

  Luke met his glance, and they stared at one another over their food. After a long moment, Luke pushed back in his chair, and said, “Okay, fine.” He pulled his car keys from his pocket and dangled them.

  Noah shook his head as he stared at the keys to the Porsche. “Are you serious?”

  “Jesus, Luke, what the hell are you doing?” Jared asked around a mouthful of lasagna.

  Without taking his eyes off Noah, Luke smirked and said, “Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing.”

  Shit, if Noah won Luke’s car, he could sell it and get the parts he needed to finish the bike.

  Noah angled his head. “Are you sure about this?”

  Luke dangled the keys again. “This is how sure I am. So what do you say? Do we have a bet or are you too chicken shit?”

  “You’ll be gone all summer, how will you even know I got her?”

  “I’ll know.”

  “How?”

  Luke arched a brow. “Because after one summer banging you, she’ll come out the other end just as fucked up.”

  As he glared at
Luke, he knew taking the bet was a shitty thing to do, but then again he was a prick, and pricks did shitty things.

  He tossed a hunk of lasagna into his mouth and turned to Jared. “Tell me everything you know about her.”

  Chapter Three

  Kathryn kicked off her heels and threw herself on her bed, her mind going over all the things she’d learned today. For the most part, her job consisted of preparing text for pamphlets, designing brochures, website updates, and helping her boss with corporate events. Next week, however, she’d be helping out with her first wedding, and she had to admit she was looking forward to being away from the desk.

  A knock at her door had her jumping to her feet. She pulled it open to find Amy on the other side. Dressed in a pair of cute short shorts, and a top that didn’t quite reach her belly button, which had a butterfly piercing dangling from it, Amy came bouncing into her room.

  She frowned and planted her hands on her hips. “Wait, why aren’t you dressed?”

  “Dressed? “ Kathryn asked. “For what?”

  “We’re heading to the Cave.” She slanted her head. “Didn’t we already talk about this?”

  “I guess…I don’t really…” Her words fell off as Amy rifled through Kathryn’s closet. “What are you doing?”

  Amy pushed her dark hair off her shoulders, disappointment on her face as she puckered her lips. “Did you bring all work clothes?”

  “I just…”

  “Never mind.” Amy grabbed her hand and pulled her into the hall. “We’re about the same size. I’ll lend you something.”

  “Wait,” Kathryn said, as Amy pulled her down the hall. “I wasn’t really planning—”

  Amy shot her a grin. “Your graffiti guy will probably be there. I’ll introduce you.”

  “Oh.” As Amy dragged her into her room, which looked like a tornado had blown through it, Kathryn couldn’t help but feel intrigued. Back at school she often wandered the art district, longing to be a part of it. She’d made a few connections, and was even invited to a few after show parties, but had always ended up turning them down. “Well, I guess I could come for a minute,” she answered, curious to meet the artist behind the graffiti.

  Amy pulled open her dresser and began tossing clothes over her shoulder. “Nope. Nope. Nope,” she said. “Wait, here. Try this.”

  Kathryn stared at the cute, summery orange, yet very short dress she was holding up. “I don’t think...”

  “Don’t be silly. This will look gorgeous on you, especially with your hair.” Amy tossed the dress over Kathryn’s shoulder, and then reached for the elastic keeping her curls in a ponytail. “I can help you with your hair and makeup too,” she said.

  “I don’t normally do much with it.”

  “Well, everyone who’s anyone will be at the Cave tonight. And if you want to have a little fun this summer, and by fun I mean snag the hottest guy before one of the locals get their claws into him, then we need to get you all prettied up.”

  Her thoughts instantly went to Noah, and she was about to say that the most fun she ever had was sneaking out to the art district, when Amy cut her off.

  “Noah will be there,” Amy said smiling.

  “Is that who you’re trying to snag?” Kathryn asked.

  “Who isn’t?” she said, laughing. “But, actually I’m kind of into his friend Jared.” She held her arms up and flexed her non-existent biceps. “He got buff over the last year.”

  Trying to appear uninterested in Noah or his friend, Kathryn shrugged and asked, “What makes Noah so special?”

  Amy’s dark eyes went wide, and Kathryn couldn’t help but smile at how animated she was as she threw her hands in the air. “You’ve seen him, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “He’s so hot, and I mean come on, who doesn’t love a bad boy?”

  Before she could think better of it she began, “But Shannon...” When she realized what she was saying, she let her words fall off, not wanting to gossip. Lord knew she’d been on the other end of the gossip mill a time or two. Of course that was to be expected when she studied all the time, and had no social life. Her classmates just didn’t know the real her, and people were always threatened by the unknown. Then again, she didn’t know the real her either, had never had the chance to explore what she really wanted, who she really was.

  Amy grabbed her brush and ran it through Kathryn’s hair. “Noah is here for a good time, like most of us. We’re young. That’s what we do, Kathryn. We have a good time.”

  Kathryn nodded and swallowed the lump in her throat, because she feared she wouldn’t know a good time if it smacked her over the head. “Life isn’t just about having fun.” As soon as her father’s words left her mouth she felt like smacking herself.

  Amy pursed her lips and looked at her, obviously putting her psychology skills to work as she stared into Kathryn’s eyes.

  “You’re right, but what good is living if we don’t have some fun, and cut loose once in a while? So come on, let’s show off those smoky eyes of yours, take the straightener to your hair, put you in something sexy, and go enjoy being young.” Amy stood back and let her gaze move over Kathryn’s face. “Do you have any idea how gorgeous you are?” Kathryn felt heat move into her cheeks. No one ever told her she was gorgeous before. “Noah isn’t going to know what hit him.”

  “I told you I’m not—”

  “Yeah, I know what you told me.”

  A short while later, she sat beside Amy on the shuttle that took them to the Cave. Amy pulled out her phone and they shared contact information.

  “In case we get separated,” she said.

  Hoping that didn’t happen, Kathryn watched the beautiful scenery fly by, and when the shuttle finally stopped near a shale beach area, over half the people got off. The warm summer air washed over her, and gravel crunched beneath her feet as they walked a path to the water, to where the fire was already blazing high. Feeling a bit nervous, Kathryn let her gaze drift to the horizon, admiring the streaks of pink and purple bruising the skyline as the sun set over the mountains. She took in the sandy shore and the rocks hugging the sides of the beach.

  As if picking up on her unease, Amy nudged her and said, “Relax, Kathryn, this will be fun.”

  Kathryn nodded and exhaled slowly. “Why do they call it the Cave?”

  Amy pointed to the rocks. “There’s an alcove in the rocks over there.” She wagged her eyebrows. “Great for when you’re looking for a quiet place.”

  Music blared from the open hatch of a car that was backed up on the beach. People were talking and laughing loudly as they sprawled out on the roof and engine bonnet. They reached the fire and a cooler was shoved into her hand as Amy introduced her around. She spoke briefly to Emery, the newly hired maid, as well as to Mike, the guy who worked the front desk with Amy. Kathryn recognized a few of the people from the resort, as well as from her living quarters.

  She sipped her drink and tried to relax as she made conversation with her coworkers. A short while later, Amy waved a guy with dreadlocks over. He was a local bartender named Trent, and after discovering that he was the graffiti guy, Kathryn found herself relaxing, losing herself in conversation with him. She was on her second cooler and feeling the effects of the alcohol when a motorcycle sounded in the near distance. She turned to see Noah climbing off and tried to ignore the rush inside her stomach.

  “Noah, my good man,” Trent said.

  “You know Noah?” she asked Trent.

  “Who doesn’t?”

  A shiver skipped down her spine just from saying his name. She hugged herself and turned to see Amy, who was grinning at her.

  “Do you want an introduction?” Amy asked.

  “Not really.”

  “You should probably say hello, considering you’re going to be seeing a lot of him this summer.”

  “Why would I be seeing a lot of him?”

  A twinkle moved into Amy’s dark eyes. “Because you’ll be sleeping beside him for four wh
ole months.”

  Kathryn took another mouthful of her peach cooler, finishing it off. “I don’t plan on—”

  Amy laughed. “Relax Kathryn. I mean he’s in the room next to yours at the lodge.”

  “Oh.”

  Screams erupted beside her and she turned in time to see a girl get carried into the water. A commotion broke out, and all around her guys scooped up girls and tossed them into the waves.

  “What’s going on?” she asked, a bit woozy from the alcohol as her mind tried to sort things through.

  “Initiation,” Amy said. She grabbed Kathryn’s arm and tugged her closer. “Unless you want to get dunked you’d better—”

  Amy didn’t get to finish what she was saying, because some guy picked her up by the legs and tossed her over his shoulder. Her purse fell to the ground and all she could see was the sand rush by as he ran with her. A second later he tossed her into the lake.

  She screamed, and took in a mouthful of water. Submerged, the cold waves seeped into her clothes and chilled her to the bone. Thrashing and freaking out in the dark, she kicked her legs, her body flailing like a hooked fish as she tried to right herself. She continued to struggle, to get herself together, when someone grabbed her by the waist, and pulled her to her feet.

  “Are you okay?” a deep voice asked as he anchored her body to his.

  She took one look into the most gorgeous pair of blue eyes she’d ever seen and knew in an instant that she was not okay. In fact, she might never be okay again. The feel of his body next to hers sucked the oxygen from her lungs. As she gasped and gulped to refill them, she slipped from his hold and dipped back under the water.

  Before she even realized what was happening, he fished her out again and threw her over his shoulders. The movement forced the water from her lungs as he carried her to the shore. He laid her out on the ground and tilted her head back. A second later his mouth was on hers.

  Bursts of warm air filled her lungs, but she couldn’t think about that right now. No, right now all she could think about was how hot his lips felt, how his mouth tasted like beer and cinnamon and everything nice. Unable to stop herself, she moaned, her nipples tightening as she wrapped her hands around his head.