Defying Gravity

by Kendra C. Highley

  Dad nodded emphatically. “Yes. Or maybe to a church social with lots of chaperones.”

  “Brian, don’t be such a downer,” Mom said, laughing. “She’s eighteen, not seven.”

  “That’s what I’m worried about.”

  Zoey sighed. “Will everyone please let me decide what I’m going to wear? Dad, don’t worry. My outfit will end up somewhere in between convent and Beyoncé.”

  Dad pretended to consider. “Okay, but it better be closer to convent than Beyoncé. I’ve seen some of things she wears.”

  She ran upstairs to get dressed before Dad could demand that she wear a dress with a sash and ribbons in her hair. When she’d packed for the trip, she’d thrown in a red lacy dress she’d bought on sale that covered less than she was used to, thinking to impress Luke. It sounded so desperate now, and there was no way she’d wear it. There’s no way Dad would let her wear it, either, even if he was teasing earlier.

  She paused and ran a hand over the red dress. She’d gone so far to get Luke’s attention: sexy dresses and makeup on the mountain, flirting and flattering. She’d let herself become a groupie, and realizing it stung. Not anymore—that wasn’t the person she wanted to be. Zoey let go of the red dress, watching it slip between her other clothes. If she chose to glam it up, it would be because she wanted to, and not to impress anyone else.

  She surveyed her closet. There was a silver miniskirt and black wrap top, which was elegant and made her look older. It was nice enough for a club, and she felt good in that outfit. So what if it didn’t have the “flash” Luke was looking for? It was the right thing for tonight, and she imagined Parker would probably appreciate it just fine. His opinion was what mattered now.

  She took her time getting ready, and by the time nine rolled around, she was bundled up in her wool coat with the faux-fur collar partly because of the snow, and partly to make her dad wonder what she was wearing, just for fun. He eyed the black booties with the four inch heels with plenty of suspicion, but waved her on as soon as Parker opened front door.

  “I know where you two gentlemen live,” he said in a passably threating tone. “Back by one-thirty, or I’m rounding up a posse of gun club enthusiasts.”

  “Noted, sir.” Parker expression was torn between amusement and terror, and Zoey’s heart beat a little faster. He wouldn’t look like that if he had nothing but good, clean fun on his mind, would he? Maybe there was hope after all.

  “Come on, let’s go before he threatens me with a girls-only Catholic school,” Zoey said, pushing him out the door.

  His hand settled at the small of her back. “You warm enough?”

  It was a sweet thing to ask, especially since she’d foregone tights to spite her father. “No, but I’ll live.”

  They hurried down the walk to Luke’s car. The cold wind cut through her and the streetlights had strange halos around them, but when she blinked, they disappeared. Nothing to worry about. Must be her contacts…and not the start of bird flu.

  “Here.” Parker opened the door, then half lifted her into the Jeep’s back seat before sliding in next to her. “Good?”

  She caught Luke’s eyes on them in the rearview mirror, something slightly mocking in his gaze. She turned away and leaned into Parker. “Better now.”

  His eyebrow twitched slightly, but he didn’t say anything. “We’re ready, Jeeves. Drive on.”

  “I should’ve sold you to the circus when you were four,” Luke said. “Would’ve made my life easier.”

  They drove downtown slowly. Or maybe it seemed slow because the boys were ignoring each other, and it felt like the temperature of the car dropped ten degrees. She shivered, holding herself tight to stay warm.

  “You sure you’re okay?” Parker’s eyebrows were pinched with concern. “You don’t look like you feel well.”

  “I’m fine.” She waved a hand. A fever and a headache weren’t going to ruin this for her. Paige had ordered her to “land that man” and this was phase one of her plan to do just that. She couldn’t quit now.

  “We can still go home.” His arm tightened around her. “That wouldn’t bother me at all. A quiet night in would be fine after all that went on today.”

  “Oh!” Zoey sat up, feeling wobbly. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for the awards ceremony today. You looked amazing. Shawn stood with me and explained all the tricks. The crowd loved you.”

  Parker ducked his head. “Thanks. I had a blast.”

  “You tell her about the scout?” Luke asked.

  His tone was neutral, but Parker stiffened. “No. I wasn’t planning to, either, so thanks.”

  “Tell me what?” She peered into his face. “Something wrong?”

  “No. I got a card from a scout who works for a promoter, that’s all.”

  “That’s all, he says.” Luke laughed, and Zoey wasn’t surprised to hear a note of jealousy in it. “The promoter works with X-Gamers. A little push, and the kid could hit the big-time circuit.”

  “Can we not talk about this right now?” Parker rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m not ready to think about it.”

  Zoey stared at the floorboards. The X-Games? The circuit? Would Parker forego college to snowboard for a living? And if he did, where would that leave her? No—she should be happy for him, not selfishly wishing he’d stick around. But…she couldn’t bear the thought of him leaving. She closed her eyes, feeling sick, and she didn’t think it was from the flu.

  “Okay, fine. We’re here, anyway,” Luke said.

  Here looked like an abandoned store front, with blacked out windows and a hand-painted sign over the door that read, “Edge.”

  “God,” Parker said, “It looks like a cross between a totally cheesy youth club and a place to get ax murdered.”

  Based on the half-block long line of hot teens and twenty-somethings on the sidewalk outside, people clearly didn’t share Parker’s fear. Zoey chuckled. “If it sucks, we can go out for ice cream.”

  “Now, that sounds fun,” Luke said.

  “It does, Mr. Sarcasm.” Zoey sighed. “And you’re assuming we can even get into this place. There are fifty people waiting.”

  “Oh, I think we won’t have any trouble.” Luke flashed her a grin. “The bouncer takes one look at you, and we’re in.”

  Zoey’s stomach clenched, and Parker leaned over to whisper, “Don’t listen to him. We get in, or we don’t. Don’t put yourself out there if you don’t want to just because Luke said so.”

  “I won’t,” she murmured, thankful Parker understood.

  Luke parked the Jeep and they hurried through the cold to get in line. A bouncer was walking down the sidewalk, eyeing people to let in. Once she got a good look at who was evaluating the potential clubbers, a little smile tugged at Zoey’s face despite the cold. This was going to be more fun than she thought.

  “You got any dynamite?” Luke asked, nudging her with his hip. “He’s coming this way.”

  “Look closer.” Zoey gave him a devilish smirk. “The bouncer’s a woman.”

  “He has a shaved head.”

  “She has a shaved head.” She nudged Luke in the hip like he’d done to her. “You got any dynamite, sweet thing?”

  It was true—the bouncer was a tough, tall, bald woman with appraising eyes and the look of someone who knew exactly what she wanted. Luke’s jaw dropped, but Parker winked and moved closer to the rope, pulling this sexy grin out of nowhere. Zoey’s blinked, then blinked again. He looked so…so…hot.

  The woman sauntered over. “You’re the kid who won up at Snowmass today. Am I right?”

  Parker didn’t bat an eyelash. “Yes, ma’am. Here to celebrate.”

  Zoey’s mouth stretched into a surprised—and gleeful—grin when the woman nodded. “How many?”

  “Three,” he said, pointing to her and Luke.

  “Huh, you got yourself an entourage. Good for you.” She stamped their hands with a purple “E” and nodded to the door. A protesting grumble started up from the rest of
the line—all guys’ voices. The girls seemed to understand exactly how they got in and didn’t seem too peeved about it. More than one of them gave both the Madisons long looks as they moved inside. Zoey had to bite her lip to keep from laughing when Luke’s shoulders rolled in a little.

  How do you like a taste of your own medicine, buddy? Being ogled isn’t so much fun, now is it?

  The heavy sound of bass assaulted them as soon as they opened the door, then the smell of flat beer wafted out. A bored bouncer stood at the desk. “Stamps.”

  They showed their hands, paid the cover, then were waved inside. The dance floor teemed with bodies, while lights strobed overhead in reds, blues, purples. Parker took her coat and waded into the fray to find a table. Luke stood at her elbow.

  “Well? What do you think?”

  She thought Parker’s assessment was partly correct. A few people definitely looked like ax murderers, especially the skeevy group of older guys watching a drunk mob of girls dirty dance with each other.

  But the half-teasing, half-mocking smile was back on Luke’s face, and she was done with his baiting. She met his eye, not giving him an inch. “Looks hot. Think I’ll go dance.”

  Feeling the eyes of every guy in the place crawl over her, Zoey found a half empty corner of the floor and started swaying with the music. Trying to forget all her confusion from earlier, she let the beat take over, and raised her arms over her head and danced like she didn’t care. It felt good to let it all go, to remind herself this was her vacation. She’d get everything sorted out and it would be all better.

  She hoped.

  The room buzzed in her head, and she felt the music in her bones. The lights overhead did the halo thing like the streetlights, and the dancefloor was bathed in purple-pink. So beautiful. Sweat beaded on her forehead. Beautiful. The world was full of infinite possibilities, totally within her grasp. She let out a soft giggle, trying to drown out the ringing in her ears.

  That feeling of freedom lasted all of a minute, then some drunk guy appeared in front of her like an unwelcome mirage. “Dance with me, baby.”

  He thrust his hips forward and attempted to grind against her. It took her a second to shake the cobwebs free, but she managed to cock a fist to knock his sorry ass out. Before she could swing, a hand clamped down hard on the guy’s shoulder.

  Luke stood behind him, looking like he was willing to commit a grievous act of murder. “She’s with me.”

  The guy held up his hands and backed away. Zoey called after him, “And even if I wasn’t, don’t be a dickhead to the next girl you see alone!”

  Luke laughed. “Did you want to fight that battle? Should I have waited?”

  She waved a hand. “No. You saved me from breaking my fingers on his face.”

  They stared awkwardly at one another as a slow song started. People paired up all around them, and Zoey had no idea where Parker had disappeared to. Luke stood in front of her, but she really wanted Parker’s arms around her, not Luke’s. She looked all over the club, but couldn’t see Parker over the people on the floor. The ringing in her ears had started up again, too.

  “Want to dance?” Luke asked.

  “Yeah,” she said, giving up the search. He’d find her. He always did. She took a step toward Luke, scanning the dance floor one last time. The room spun and she ended up stumbling right into his arms.

  “Whoa, there,” he said, with a lazy smile.

  “Sorry,” she mumbled against his chest. Wrong arms, wrong chest, but it seemed like a good place to rest her head a second until the floor stopped moving. “Just tripped.”

  “Uh huh. Sure.”

  She was too tired to argue, and they moved in a slow circle, not paying attention to anyone else. “You know,” Luke finally said. “I’m having a hard time with this.”

  She yawned and blinked to clear her vision before tilting her chin up to look at him. “What do you mean?”

  “I’ve known you since you were in preschool, making mud-pies with my brother, but you’ve grown up,” he said. “And here we are, dancing. You’ve grown into a beautiful, fearless woman, Zoey. I like what I see.”

  “You do?” Was he really making a play right now? Maybe she shouldn’t have leaned against him. God, her head hurt. No…her teeth hurt. Wait—both her teeth and her head hurt, and so did her bones. What was he saying?

  But Luke was laughing. “I wouldn’t have said so if I didn’t mean it.”

  His arms tightened around her, and he tucked her head under his chin. They kept turning, and the music was so loud. A little voice in the back of her head was reminding her there was somewhere else she wanted to be, but the rest of her was too tired to move.

  “I was thinking,” he murmured into her hair. “Maybe after this we can go out, just the two of us. There’s a great lookout point not far from the house. You can see all of Aspen. It’s gorgeous at night.”

  She swallowed. Her throat was so dry. “What?”

  Luke laughed again. It rumbled in his chest and vibrated against her cheek. “I’m asking you out for a romantic drive. Sorry if I wasn’t clear before.”

  “Oh.”

  “Just oh?” He sighed and turned them in a circle before adding. “I thought that might be what you wanted.”

  She pulled away and blinked up at him. “I’m not sure anymore. I…I don’t know what’s going on.”

  A brief look of disappointment crossed Luke’s face, but he recovered with a smile. “With what?”

  “With me.” God, she was so tired. She waved a hand at him. “You. Parker.”

  “Parker.” Luke’s voice was flat. “Trouble in PB&J’s universe?”

  “Opposite,” she mumbled. “Opposite of trouble.”

  “Zoey, what do you mean?”

  Her head lolled against his chest. “I…what?”

  “You okay?” he frowned down at her.

  “I…don’t know.”

  “In that case, maybe I should cut in.” Parker appeared behind Luke. “I’ll take it from here.”

  Luke released her and headed for the bar. Parker’s jaw was clenched. And Luke looked a little crestfallen. She giggled. Crestfallen sounded like a “Paige” word. “Vocab at the club,” she said, sliding into Parker’s open arms.

  His body was rigid against hers and he was staring in Luke’s direction. “Miller, what are you talking about?”

  “Why are you so mad?” she asked, swaying with the walls and the floor. “You’re too…too…shiny to be mad.”

  The scowl dropped from his face, replaced by a blank, stunned look. “Shiny?”

  She leaned into him, breathing in the subtle cologne he wore, with his scent underneath. So warm and inviting. She rose up on tiptoe to graze her nose along his collarbone. Smells so good. “When did you start wearing cologne?”

  His eyes flew open wide. “Were you just…smelling me?”

  “Yeah.” She twirled under his arm, tripped and fell back against him. “Oops. The floor is whirly.”

  “I’m shiny, and the floor’s whirly.” He turned her around, supporting her with an arm around her waist. With his free hand, he tilted her chin up and peered into her eyes. “Have you been drinking, or are you delirious?”

  “I’m not drunk.” There were two Parkers in front of her. Which one was the real one? Should she kiss him and try to find out? She giggled again. “I’m just glad you’re here. Oh! I forgot tell you—so sexy with the towel thing in the window. You should do that again sometime.”

  She rested her head against his chest and hummed along with the music, in time with his heartbeat. His pulse was going really fast, and he’d tensed up some. To make sure he was okay, she snuggled right up against him. This was where she belonged. She didn’t care who knew. She probably would tomorrow, but she didn’t care at the moment. He was warm, solid, and his arms wouldn’t let her fall. She could live here, stake a claim, make her home. If only he’d let her.

  He turned them in a circle, and his body slowly unwound and relaxe
d, and his arms closed tighter around her.

  Black spots danced in her vision like negative stars. “I like dancing with you.”

  “Do you now?” he asked in a hoarse whisper. “And why’s that?”

  “You’re my best friend.” She took a deep breath of his cologne again. Damn, so sexy. It made her knees buckle, and he tightened his grip. “You make me feel like me.”

  He paused in their rotation, staring down at her. “You make me feel like me, too. Not Luke’s little brother, but myself, separate from his reputation.”

  “And what a reputation,” Zoey slurred. “He’s a hussy.”

  “A hussy?” Parker choked on a laugh. “What’s going on with you? You’re acting so weird.”

  “Just a little dizzy spell.” She spun in his arms again, but this time, she teetered and he had to lurch to catch her. Her head hurt, and her stomach rolled over. “I want to take a nap. Think I can lie down on the floor?”

  “Not this floor. It’s nasty.” He reached up and put a hand on her forehead. “God, you’re burning up.”

  “I’m too hot to handle.” She leaned heavily against him. “I want to go home.”

  “I think that’s a very good idea.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Parker

  Parker moved Zoey off the dance floor. She tripped over her own feet more than once, then tried to lie down on the club’s floor again.

  “Not here, Miller.” He held her up, scanning the crowd for his brother. He had the extra keys for the Jeep, but he wanted Luke’s help walking Zoey to the car.

  Even more, he needed a little distance before he exploded. He’d gone to get her a drink of water when they made it into the club, and turned around to find her dancing with Luke. He’d been so hurt by that, but turned out he was dead wrong to be. Zoey was all over him, and he’d gone fever hot, too. She’d smelled him. What was that about? Was she telling him she was into him? Had her inhibitions dropped with each degree her temperature rose?

  “You look good with purple hair,” Zoey breathed into his face, leaning in close enough to press her breast into his arm and severely test his self-control.