by Heather Long
Grinning, I stroked his hand where it still nestled between my legs. A mistake, because it added pressure to my already sensitive body, and I clenched around him. We both let out a hiss. “Yeah,” I admitted after that round of shudders passed. “You have great form.”
He chuckled and rolled me over until I was on my back and he was over me again. This time, his kiss was as much sweetness as steam. “And I haven’t even gotten your bra off yet…”
Chapter Four
We Belong Together
I’d ridden to school with Archie that morning, but I came home with Jake. Coop was going to get some work hours in, so he’d kissed me at school and promised to see me later. Ian wasn’t far behind us, and Archie would be over to scoop me up later for a date. The guys grumbled, but Archie wanted to steal me away for dinner, and being asked with a rose and a cup of coffee first thing that morning made me more than amenable to the plan.
Not that he had to bribe me with coffee. Or roses. Still, it had been sweet. Ian and I had plans this weekend to work on the recording for his demo tape. I still hadn’t quite worked out why he insisted I record with him, but the quiet words of praise and encouragement in his eyes made it so damn hard to say no.
True story, I didn’t want to say no. He made me sound like I knew what I was doing, so as long as it made him happy, I was there for it.
“I’m going to check the mail,” I called over my shoulder as I headed for the front door of the apartment. Jake had snagged my backpack. Another boyfriend perk, apparently, or maybe it was a requirement. They no longer let me carry my backpack, constantly tugging it off my shoulders or snagging it themselves. It was a ridiculously little thing that made me warm and gooey inside.
“You want me to just go ahead and order the pizza now?” Jake called as he paused at the fridge. “I know you and Arch are going out later…”
At the front door, I glanced back and grinned. “But you’re hungry and I can always eat. So sure, it’s not like we won’t eat it. Though…” I hesitated.
“If you say it costs too much, I’ll spank you.” There was no threat in those words at all, but a shiver went right through me.
“Promise?”
His eyes heated and the fridge door slammed as he stalked toward me.
Laughing, I escaped before he got there. The air had a bite to it, and the wind had picked up. Thankfully, I still had on Jake’s jacket, so I huddled into it. Trina was checking their mail, and she threw me a grin.
“Hey,” I said with a quick sideways hug that turned into a real one. “You okay?”
“I hate my parents,” Trina confessed. “Dad’s turning into a real dick. He was supposed to take my side with Mom, but Mom won’t even hear a word he has to say.” She made a disgusted sound and then slumped back against the mailboxes as she eyed me. “If you and my brother weren’t making sex eyes at each other all the time, I’d ask to move in with you. At least you have no parents to have to deal with anymore.”
Yeah, no parents to deal with. “You know your mom loves you, right?”
Trina scoffed, and I stared at her a beat.
“Trina, my mom couldn’t care less about what I do.” I ignored the breeze for a moment. “I get you don’t like being grounded or fighting with them. But at least she cares.”
The younger girl made a face. “It’s not the same thing.”
“No,” I agreed with her. “It’s not.” I sighed and leaned against the mailboxes. “Seriously, it’s not. Maddy’s…Maddy’s never been there for me. I used to tell myself she was, even when she wasn’t. I used to make excuses for her. She was busy. She had bills to pay. She did her best. She just wasn’t like that… You don’t have to make excuses for Carly.”
When Trina bit at her lower lip and chewed on it, she looked a lot younger. “It’s just that… Why is it okay for Coop to date and stay out all night, and I can’t even look at a guy?”
“Is this really about the guy?” I ignored the breeze sweeping around the mail center and focused on her. “I mean, really.”
Slumping with her back to the mailboxes, Trina stared away from me. “I don’t know. I get the smoking thing. Fine, I didn’t even really like it, I just wanted to be cool.”
“Well, I can’t say I haven’t done things I wasn’t all that interested in to get people to like me.”
She scoffed. “Everyone loves you.”
Not everyone. Maddy certainly didn’t. That thought burned a little, but I shoved it aside for now. This wasn’t about me. “Trina…”
“I know,” she grumped and made a face. “But it’s different. You and Coop—it’s always been you and Coop. He’s my brother and he’s gross, but I want a guy to look at me the way he looks at you.”
“And you’re fourteen,” I pointed out. “You literally just turned fourteen.”
“So? When you were fourteen, Coop looked at you the same way.”
I’d give her that. Even if I hadn’t seen it the same way she did. “He’s my best friend, has been for as long as I can remember. I didn’t see him as a boyfriend.”
“Well, that was stupid,” Trina informed me with all the sage wisdom one has at her age. Then again, she wasn’t totally wrong.
“Agreed,” I told her with a wry smile. “But my point is, we were friends first. He never asked me to be anything but what I was and who I was. If you have to change who you are?” I lifted my shoulders. “To get the guy to look at you? Then no, he isn’t the guy who deserves you.”
Trina frowned.
“And cut your mom a break. I don’t live your life and I’m not there every day, but she cares enough to meddle and to keep involving your dad. I’d trade you for that. Maddy might not have cared what I did, but that wasn’t because she was cool. It’s because she just doesn’t care unless it gets in the way of what she wants.” Erin would be so proud of me. It was what she’d been working on getting me to verbalize for weeks. And I managed it without a stutter.
Go me.
Teeth dragging at her lower lip again, Trina cast me a long look. “So what you’re saying is find best friends with benefits?”
I rolled my eyes, but the corners of her mouth quirked into a hint of a smile.
“I’ll try,” she promised, though it was half-hearted at best. “Dad mentioned I could go and stay with him for a while if it got too tough here.”
I winced, but that was not an argument I could weigh in on. She was lucky to have two parents who both wanted her around. “That’s your call, but talk to your mom and Coop before you make that decision.”
“You guys are gone next fall,” Trina said slowly. “Then it’s just gonna be me and Mom, and if we’re still fighting like this, maybe I should live with Dad.”
“I don’t know how to respond to that.” I spread my arms and then on impulse, hugged her. The fierce clutch of her arms told me it was the right call. “Just don’t forget that they love you,” I whispered. “Even when you’re fighting. Or maybe especially when you’re fighting. Try to hear what she’s saying even without words. And my door is always open…”
“Except when my brother is there,” Trina said with a sniffle. “’Cause I really don’t want to walk in on you or hear you. That’s gross.”
I laughed.
Then I kissed her forehead like she was ten years younger than me rather than just four. Fourteen had been a shitty age. Thirteen hitting fourteen hadn’t been much better. But Trina was right, I’d had the guys. I’d had my best friends. Guys who hadn’t even complained when I stood in the feminine products aisle and read every box at the age of twelve to figure out what I needed. Coop had called his mom when we ran into issues.
Why I hadn’t asked Maddy…well, I didn’t wonder about that one anymore.
Wiping her eyes, Trina pulled back and then opened her mailbox. “Okay, I need to go home. I’m still grounded.”
I frowned, retrieving my own mail. There was a stack of it in there. “I thought you would have gotten off of it over Christmas.”
The corner of her mouth tilted just a fraction higher, and mischief sparkled in her eyes. “I might have stayed out all night with friends and forgotten to call Mom.”
I groaned.
“Yeah,” she admitted. “Probably not my smartest call, but we were having fun.”
Dammit.
“Trina, you’re not having sex yet are you?”
Her whole face flushed pink, and she dipped those gray-green eyes so much like Coop’s, even as her hair swung forward to hide her face. “Not…exactly.”
Oh, I hated my life. Were there rules that said I had to tell Coop if I knew? Was there a line? “Not exactly?” I prodded, because yes, I was a masochist.
With a cough, she gave a little shrug. “We played a kissing game. No one did anything, you know, really dirty, but one of the guys kind of…you know, felt me up.” She was beet red.
“Did you enjoy it?”
Owl-eyed she stared at me. “Well…yeah?”
“Okay then.” I should probably offer other advice. I mean, we’d had this talk before but… “Just don’t leap. Wait for the right guy to make it special for you.”
“Like you did?” she snarked, and I just met her stare until the rebellion in her expression eased.
“That’s exactly what I did. And I’m glad for it.” Another shrug. “Anyway, I gotta go. I’m not going to judge, but if you ever need to talk, you call me, and if you ever get stuck somewhere and want to leave and don’t want to call Coop, call me.”
She’d gone back to chewing on her lower lip and gave me a little nod. I didn’t make it a couple of steps before she said, “Don’t tell Coop?”
I glanced back at her.
“About me thinking about moving in with Dad or about making out…?”
“Yeah, I don’t think telling him about the making out is a stellar idea.” Not if she wanted the boy to live. Just the image of Coop hearing that and then telling Jake… Nope. Just nope. I didn’t want Archie to have to get either one of them out of jail.
At that bit of advice, Trina burst out laughing, and some of the gloom in her expression dissipated. The cold added to the pink flush of her cheeks. “I’ll talk to him about Dad and about Mom…and I’ll talk to you before I make any decisions. I just wish…”
Facing her, I waited and then prodded, “You wish?”
“I wish she trusted me like she trusts Coop. He stays over with you all the time, and I know you guys have to be having sex. Not!” She held up her hand abruptly. “Not that I want any details. Like none. Zip. Zero. My brother does not have a dick.”
It took everything in me not to laugh my ass off. Then again, I didn’t really want to discuss his dick with anyone, so she was safe there.
“Give her a chance,” was all I said. “And maybe give her a break. High school is a marathon, not a sprint.”
“And you’re almost to the finish line.”
Yes, we were. “I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
“Deal. And, Frankie? Thanks.”
“Anytime.”
I was shivering despite the coat by the time I got back to the apartment. Ian was already there, and he and Jake both stared at me as I shuddered my way in the door. “I was just about to come looking for you,” Jake said. “You okay?”
“Just talking to Trina,” I told him as he slid his hands under his jacket and tugged me against him. Oh. Warm. Very warm.
Ian rescued the mail from my chilly fingers and then stripped me out of the coat. It let the heat of the room surround me, and then he settled right up against my back as I tucked my hands under Jake’s shirt.
“Fuck your hands are cold,” Jake swore, but he didn’t move away. Nor did Ian, and I grinned as I snuggled there.
“But this is nice,” I admitted. He chuckled, a sound Ian echoed, and the rumble just made me sigh. A hand settled on my hip and squeezed, but Ian made no move to hide the steadily growing erection pressed against my ass. Oh, this would be fun if he would…
A knock at the backdoor had Jake pulling away with a mutter. “Pizza is here.” He dropped a kiss on my nose, and Ian wrapped around me and pulled me firmly back against him.
I had been down at the mailboxes longer than I thought. Ian nuzzled at my ear. “Don’t think I don’t know what was going through your mind,” he whispered. Then his teeth scraped at my ear. “I’m not ready for that, Angel.”
I shivered and rubbed my hands to his. “I know,” I murmured. “Doesn’t mean a girl can’t dream.”
“Or get spanked?” He bit my earlobe, not hard enough to really damage, but I definitely felt the sting. “If you’re in need, Angel, we can make arrangements.”
I groaned. “You’re a tease.”
He smiled against my neck and then bit down lightly before whispering, “Then behave next time.” The hand on my hip slid over and landed the lightest of slaps to my denim clad ass as he slipped away to meet Jake with the pizza. I laughed. Still, that was a promise he would deliver on later, and I was ready to talk about that some more.
Well, talk and other things.
No longer half-frozen, I toed off my shoes before collecting the mail. The first couple were just statements on bills Archie had already paid. The third was a credit card bill for Maddy. Pfft. I needed to add return to sender on that, since she no longer lived here. Would serve her right if they canceled all her credit cards.
I waited for the sense of guilt to stab at me, but it wasn’t coming. Shrugging, I flipped through to the next couple of sale offers, a loan offer for improve your credit blah blah, and as I sat down on the sofa, I froze on the last one.
It had Harvard in the corner.
It was a small envelope. I’d gotten worried at the first small ones I’d gotten, thinking they were automatic rejections, but so much was done online now, they didn’t always send more than the form letter.
But this was Harvard.
“Baby Girl?”
“Angel?”
Worry decorated both of their voices, and I glanced up to find them staring at me, plates of pizza in hand. Jake even had a plate with three slices for me.
“Harvard,” I said, holding up the letter.
Ian dropped into the seat next to me, while Jake perched on the coffee table in front of me.
“What does it say?” Jake asked, his pale eyes steady as he set the plates aside.
“I’m almost scared to open it.” Harvard had been the goal for so long that it became synonymous with getting away from Maddy. From escaping this apartment and this town…but I had gotten away from Maddy, and now this apartment had them in it.
I sucked at my lower lip, torn between looking at them and looking at the letter. It just sat there in my hand like no big deal. It could be a ticking time bomb ready to shred my dreams, or it could be my ticket out. And what if it was? What if it was an acceptance letter? Archie had gotten into Harvard, but no one else had theirs yet. What if we got in, and they didn’t?
Then I just wouldn’t go to Harvard.
I wouldn’t leave them behind.
Blowing out a breath, I said, “Well, let’s find out.” Having made the decision, it seemed easier to slit the envelope open.
The form letter thanked me for my application and informed me that I had been placed on the waitlist. They indicated that spots do open up later in the semester as students accept their admissions to other schools, but it could be as late as summer before I heard anything more.
The crash wasn’t as bad as I feared. A part of me had already thought I wouldn’t get in. They were very exclusive and had nowhere near as many available spots as they had applicants. Reality and odds said my chances of getting in were less than three percent.
Three.
But still, it hurt, and my heart sank and my stomach bottomed out. Even as I tried to tell myself I didn’t need this ticket out anymore. Any other school would do…
Ian wrapped an arm around me and tugged me close, and then Jake plucked me away and they shifted around until I was
sandwiched up between them again. I sniffled and then let out a watery laugh. “It’s stupid to be upset.”
“It’s not,” Ian told me. “You’ve wanted this for so long. The stupid ones are them.”
“Damn straight,” Jake rumbled, and then pressed his lips against my hair, even as he rubbed a hand along my thigh. Ian had his hand on my back, and I swiped at the stupid tears. “You have been wanting it for a long time, but no one would go there without you, you know that right? None of us.”
“You didn’t even care about Harvard,” I pointed out. “You and Arch wanted MIT.”
“True,” he admitted. “But I don’t care where I go to school, Baby Girl. I care about going with you. I care about none of us making this long distance.”
“Agreed,” Ian stated, and his tone was so firm, like it was a done deal. “We applied to the same schools, I auditioned for all the programs. If you four get in somewhere and I don’t, well, I’ll be house boy while you guys go to school and I work on my music.”
Jake snorted. “You’ve got a potential recording contract.”
“That too,” Ian said with a gentle smile. “A contract I have no interest in chasing if it doesn’t have you involved somehow.”
I sighed. They were making me feel so loved…treasured. “I don’t want you to put your lives on hold for me. You guys have dreams too…”
“Fuck that,” Jake said, and his voice went hard, inflexible, and downright stern. He cupped my chin, turning me to look at him, even as Ian lifted me back into his lap and settled my back to his chest. There was no escaping being surrounded by them. Not that I had any interest in going anywhere. “We’re a team,” Jake stated, gaze locked on mine. “The five of us are here because we want to be here. I love you. They love you. And you love us.”
None of those were questions. “I do,” I confirmed anyway, even as the feeling tightened like a fist around my heart.
“Then we make the decisions together. We make the best one for all of us. One of those considerations is that we’re together. If that means we’re all in the same town but at different schools, fine, we’ll find a way to make it work. But understand this, Baby Girl, where you go, we go. That’s all there is to it.”