Loyal Love

by Henry, Max

  “He was trying to help,” I defend. “He thought this would get them to back down.”

  “It backfired a little, huh?” Dad sets his toast aside and then drops his face into his hands. “I’m out of my league with this. I have no idea how even to approach it.”

  I feel so damn terrible I could quite literally melt into non-existence right now and not utter a word of complaint. “I’m so sorry,” I whisper. “I was such an idiot.”

  “No.” He groans, rubbing his face as he lifts his head. “You weren’t an idiot, Lacey. You were misguided. Uninformed.” He sighs. “I got mad last night after you girls turned in, and then I got sad.” He smiles, weakly. “At the end of the day, this is on your mother and me. We failed to teach you kids about consequences, it seems. We failed to monitor what the privilege we gave you opened doors to.”

  “I could have done this if we were broke and living in a tent,” I reason. “The life you provided us has nothing to do with this.”

  “Doesn’t it?” He meets my gaze. “Because I sometimes wonder if you’d seen me arrested earlier in life, if you didn’t think that your status could buy you freedom from responsibility, if you and Colt would have developed differently.”

  I don’t know the answer. There’s no denying that the view Colt and I share of the world has transformed dramatically since our life in Riverbourne changed. But would we have had the same revelations if we were raised with parents who struggled week-to-week?

  I couldn’t honestly say. I have no experience even to make an assumption.

  “The only thing I have to hold on to is that this will blow over,” I admit. “In time, people will forget, or it won’t matter as much.”

  “True, to an extent.” Dad resumes eating the last of his toast. “But in the meantime, there are real and serious consequences. Not only for what Colt did sharing the content but for what you did by collating it.”

  “What kind of consequences?” I’m not naïve. I know this will go legal. But I have no idea what I can be charged with as a minor.

  “For you,” he answers. “You’ll get no more than a slap on the hand from the judicial system. I’m more concerned about what sort of reputation you’ll carry when you start searching for a job. As for Colt …”

  “He’s no longer a child in the court’s eyes.”

  “Exactly.”

  We sit in silence, each lost in our thoughts as we stare out at the birds hopping across the lawn and the rising cloud in the sky. Whatever happens in the next twelve hours, come this Christmas it will definitely be one like no other.

  Dad pulls in a heavy breath and collects his plate and phone from beside him. “I’m going to make a couple of calls.” He rises to his feet. “You and Greer fix yourselves something to eat. Colt can sort himself out when he gets here if he hasn’t already.”

  “Yeah. Okay.” I stay fixed to the spot, soaking in the sun.

  Focusing on the past never helped anyone, but at times like this, I struggle to do anything other than wish for the simplicity ignorance provided in years gone by. Looking to the future with hope is hard when the outcome is unknown. How can you feel sure about something that hasn’t happened yet?

  It’s so much easier to find comfort in knowing exactly where you went wrong. I can dissect and critique my past until my heart desires. But the future?

  I wish there were a way I could get a rock-solid guarantee that everything will work out as it should. I wish there were a way to be assured I will never feel this bad again.

  But there’s not. And that’s what hurts the most.

  When it all comes down to it, I’m still that little girl seeking comfort in the strength of adults. Except, now I’m becoming one of them. And what an eye-opener it is to realise that they’re just as lost as I am.

  TUCK

  The chill of the morning has burnt away, thanks to the rising spring sun. Major walks as though in a trance, his head down while he idly follows Duke, Dad’s horse, toward Lacey’s. I would have loved to give her a heads up to say we’re on our way over, but when she says she lost her phone, I don’t have much chance of that.

  What teenage girl doesn’t know where her phone is? But hey. Maybe that’s something else different between us?

  A vibration deep in my pocket precedes my ring tone. I, on the other hand, know exactly where my phone is, thank you very much. I slip my right leg out of the stirrup so I can straighten my leg and dig the device out.

  Johnson’s name sits on the screen.

  “Hey. Wasn’t expecting to hear from you.”

  Dad turns in the saddle and frowns.

  “So, funny thing,” Johnson starts. “I get up this morning, and my old man is one hell of a foul mood.”

  I mouth “J” to Dad, and he nods before righting himself. “Yeah?”

  “Mmm. Anyway, I ask him what the fuck flew up his arse and hatched eggs, and he loses it. Like, full-on went hulk on everyone.”

  Shit. “You good?”

  “Oh, I’m fine,” he laughs bitterly. “Thing is, after he rips us all a new one for petty shit like not rinsing our dishes before we put them in the sink, I managed to get him to spill what the fuck it is he’s so mad about. Apparently,” he says loudly, “my darling sister invited all the—and I quote—heathens from that fucking school in town out to Dee’s, and not only that, but he’s being asked by your dad what the heck he intends to do about it.” Johnson pauses. “Any idea what’s going on there?”

  I pull in a deep breath and adjust my seat. “It’s complicated.”

  “Like fuck, it is,” my once best-pal hollers. “Now I have my step-mother in full-on protective mama bird mode with Amber, my step-sister bawling on and off, and my dad a hair-trigger away from going postal on this household.”

  “Look,” I growl under my breath. “I’d love to fuckin’ tell you some simple goddamn answer on why shit’s blown up like it has. But the truth is, it involves Lacey’s family and half our mates at school. Mandy has a plan. Dee has a plan. Fucking Amber has a plan. And for all I know you have a goddamn plan too.” I pause to catch my breath. “As I said, it’s complicated.”

  He huffs down the line. “Fine. You can tell me all about it over lunch. Your shout.”

  I don’t get a chance to protest before he hangs up. Shit.

  “Everything okay?” Dad’s twisted in his saddle again.

  “Yeah. For now.” My stomach sours when we turn into Lacey’s driveway. I slide off Major and hitch him in the shade of the tree. “I’ll go get the keys for you.”

  “I can get them.” Dad dismounts Duke, wisely tying his gelding away from Major to keep the two of them from arguing. “I’ll come in for ten before I head off. Be polite.”

  “Sure.” As long as he does leave.

  I have plans for this morning, and they don’t involve getting stuck in the living room with the olds if my dad chooses to stick around and hang out with James.

  I take the lead, stopping at the open door to knock several times. Conversation carries from the living room, cut abruptly short at my greeting.

  “Come in,” James calls out. He emerges at the archway joining the kitchen to the living room. “Would you like something to drink? The water’s still hot if you’d like a coffee.”

  “No.” Dad waves him off. “I won’t stay long.”

  The two of them glance toward me.

  “Should we take this outside?” James asks.

  Dad nods, touching the brim of his hat for me.

  I wave him off with a raised hand and then find my way into the lion’s den. Greer slumps into her seat when she realises it’s just me, Lacey oblivious as she rubs her temple. You could cut the tension with a knife. Upon seeing me, Lacey springs from her seat.

  “I’ll be back soon, Greer. I need to catch up with Tuck.” Her slight hand wraps around my forearm, the contact zapping through me as she drags me from the room.

  I barely keep up with her as she hauls us down the hallway. “What’s the rush?”


  Her bedroom door snicks behind us. “Oh, my God. That’s fricking intense.” She whirls around, wide-eyed. “The sooner Colt gets here to take Greer home, the better. It’s so awkward when Dad’s watching us both like a hawk.”

  I reach out and run my fingertips along her jaw. “Hey.”

  She drags in a deep, fortifying breath and closes her eyes briefly. “Hey.”

  There she is. Lacey settles, her shoulders dropping and every cell in her body seeming to relax.

  “How did it go last night?”

  She breezes past me to open her sash window a fraction. “Is it me, or is it hot this morning?”

  “Just you.” Although, I know why.

  I feel the same, except my body’s response is to send more blood to the extremities rather than heat up. Thanks, biology.

  “Dad took it okay, I guess,” Lacey says with a shrug. “He’s torn up because he doesn’t know what’s best to do about it all, but at least he’s listening, right?”

  “Right.”

  She hops on the foot of her bed, one leg tucked beneath her. “He said Johnson’s dad didn’t take the news from Mrs Epsom very well.”

  “No. He rang me just before I got here.”

  “Johnson’s dad did?” She lifts her eyebrows.

  “No.” I chuckle, moving to sit beside her. “Johnson. He said his dad went off on everyone in the house.” I twist to face her. “Get this. He said Amber’s that upset about his reaction she’s in tears.”

  “Really?” Lacey stares down at the floor, clearly as surprised as I was. “I didn’t realise she knew how to do that.”

  “Cry?”

  She nods.

  We both laugh a little. Fuck, it feels nice. “Oh, hey.” I empty my pocket. “I brought you this. It’s shit, I know. One of Dad’s old ones. But if you get a SIM, you can keep in touch until you find your phone or get a new one.”

  Her cheeks tint, and she ducks her head. “Thank you.”

  “What? You don’t have to use it if you don’t want to. I’d just like to be able to contact you.”

  Lace reaches for the phone and charger, setting them aside. “No. Honestly, that’s so awesome of you. It’s just …” She rolls her eyes. “I didn’t exactly lose my phone.”

  I frown.

  “I threw it out in a fit of rage.”

  “What. The fuck?” I laugh, sending her into giggles.

  “I know, right?” Lace sighs. “It sounds as bad as it is.”

  “We’ve all done stupid shit when we’re angry.” I could name a few spots in our house where the GIB board has patched holes thanks to my pre-teen temper.

  “So, about us.” She reaches for my hand, setting it in her lap. I watch as she gently matches her palm to mine, fingers over my fingers. “We didn’t get to talk about it properly last night.”

  “I think I said enough.” I bend my fingers to slide them between hers. “I’m not going anywhere, Lace.”

  “I know. But I wanted to say some things that I don’t know if I have already.”

  “Okay.” I frown a little.

  She traces my knuckles with her free hand. “Since I got here, to Arcadia, you’ve always been able to take my mind off things. You make me laugh.” She smiles. “And you make me feel wanted. I don’t know if I ever said thank you for that.”

  I shift her so that she sits straddled over my legs. “You have.”

  “When?”

  My turn to smile. “Every time you did this.” I lean in and take what I can’t get enough of: her kiss.

  Lacey’s hands slide up my chest, her touch the perfect weight as it settles on my shoulders. Her lips sweep mine, tasting, testing, and then she tilts her head just enough that it’s all the invite I need.

  I deepen our connection, sweeping my tongue across hers. The slightest exhale from her nose, the barest arch of her back, but the biggest signal of all.

  She grinds herself harder against me, searching out friction I’m only too happy to supply.

  Lacey continues to steal my breath every which way possible as I let my hands roam up her shoulder blades, and down her arms. I shift my focus to the barriers between us, coaxing her jersey up her small body until it bunches beneath her arms.

  Lace breaks away, her hair a mess across her face and her lips flushed pink as she wrestles the woollen fabric over her head. It hits the floor with a satisfying whoosh.

  She freezes, and I take a moment to do so also. Her eyes burn bright with a craving that I’m sure I can match, her mouth slightly parted as she seeks quick bursts of oxygen.

  There are moments in life where nothing need be said, only time stand still long enough for you to weigh the pros and cons of how you plan to go forward. As I look at the girl before me, I recognise that this is one of those moments. I could take what I want from her when she’s drunk on desire, or I could be a gentleman and suggest we wait until emotions aren’t running as high. Both roads have their own merits, and both have pitfalls.

  So, because I can’t, I let her choose.

  Her gaze tracks my hands as I strip my sweater off and toss it beside her jersey. The girl undoes me with a tug of her bottom lip between her teeth, and I decide that fuck it, I may as well go all the way. I throw my T-shirt in the pile too.

  Her hands creep between us, and she traces the lines of my torso with her soft fingertips. Breath stuttering from my lungs, I close my eyes and relish the touch.

  I’m about to tell her not to stop when her weight leaves my legs.

  “I better lock this.” A deviant smile crosses her swollen lips, her eyes devilish in the morning light.

  Lacey quietly flicks the old catch and then skips across her room to me. She slides back in position, hands cupping my jaw. “You don’t mind?”

  “I don’t mind what?” Is she insane?

  “That we’re not the only ones home.” Her gaze searches my own.

  I check the door and sigh. She has a point. “As much as I hate this.” Her face falls. “We have to make it quick.” I stare deep into her eyes, wanting to be one hundred per cent sure on this. “Is that what you want?”

  Her nostrils flare a little, and she swallows. “All I want is you, Tuck. I don’t care how I get that.”

  “Fuck.” I grab hold of the back of her head. “You can have me any way you want.”

  Our mouths crash together, her needy, suppressed whimpers enough to have my dick raging hard and ready to go beneath her. She sweeps her tongue across mine, rubbing herself feverishly on my lap.

  If she keeps that up, I’ll damn well come in my pants.

  “Stop,” I whisper, stilling her with a firm hand clamped on her thigh.

  “Do you not like it?” Her eyebrows peak.

  “I fucking love it,” I grate out. “Too much.”

  Hands to her arse, I hoist her up with me and switch our positions. She sucks in a sharp breath, clinging to me like a little monkey. If I had my way, she’d be permanently attached to me, all day, every day.

  “How far?” I ask, setting her down on the bed. “How far do you want to take this, Lace?”

  She leans back, braced on her elbows. “I’m not sure.” The heat of her gaze as she drags it down my body makes my dick twitch. “I think I want it all.”

  Fuck. I don’t have protection. As much as I want nothing more than to seal our status the most intimate way imaginable, I can’t go that far. Plus. No way in fucking hell am I getting busted by her dad or mine doing that.

  Fuck. No.

  “I’ll give you all of it, babe,” I assure her. “But not today.”

  Lace’s teeth capture her bottom lip, and she intently watches as I reach between us to remove her shorts. I feel as though this is some twisted fantasy, tugging the worn denim off my very own Daisy Duke. Blonde hair cascading around her face, Lacey’s chest rapidly rises and falls while she shuffles to help me get the cut-offs down her legs.

  Her panties are the perfect shade of pink against her pale skin. I hesitate, stan
ding at the foot of the bed to take in how incredible what I have before me is.

  And she’s mine. Fucking mine.

  Fuck yes.

  I run both hands up the outer of her smooth thighs, feeling my way to where the hem of her tank meets her skin. Her breathy little pants fall between us while I coax the fabric up and over the swell of her breasts.

  Fuck. Me.

  Lacey Williams in a matching lingerie set is pure fucking magic. “Jees, babe.”

  “What?”

  “Nothing.” I shake my head. “Just you.”

  Small kisses across her stomach—I brand my girl. Her muscles contract with each staggered breath and, yeah, my pride swells knowing I do that to her. I make my way toward her tits, reaching ahead to flick them out of the cups as I go.

  Pert, dusky nipples sit proud, waiting for a taste. She groans when my lips wrap around the left, and then the right, leaving each with a slight tug and a pop as the soft skin pulls from my lips.

  “Yes.” Her eager hands skate across my flesh, searing me with her touch.

  Every day, my body’s assaulted with sensations: a shirt against my chest, my hands when I shower. But having her tender fingers map me out? Fuck. It’s as though I’ve never been touched before in my life.

  Today’s not about me, though. I tug Lacey’s panties down her legs, well aware I can make my girl come without making half as much of a mess as I would if she got me off.

  “Fuck,” I groan as I drop the satin to the floor. “I can smell how ready you are.” And damn it if that doesn’t make me hungry.

  Lacey takes a sharp breath when my nose hits her clit, hands diving into my hair to ground herself when I then run the flat of my tongue the length of her honeyed flesh. She tastes so damn good—a treat for any occasion. Using the tip of my tongue, I tease her, working her to the edge of sanity before I run a taunting finger the length of her slick heat.

  She moans, a small, delicate sound, her eyes closed, and brow pinched with desperate need.

  Keeping up the pace with tongue and savouring every hit to my senses, I spear her with my finger. Lacey bucks, groaning behind closed lips before she reaches for a pillow to muffle the sound.

  I eat as though I haven’t for weeks. Fuck. I guess it might have been. My finger gets faster, and when she pushes back harder, I edge in a second.