“This isn’t a war. I’m not going in for battle.”
A strangled laugh escapes my chest, and I pull his stubbled cheeks toward mine. “That’s why I love you.”
“You do not.” His brows dip down into a seductive, sharp V.
“I do, too, and I don’t really care if you believe me.” I bite down over my bottom lip. “How does it feel to have your own words thrown back at you?”
“As long as they start with I love you, I don’t really care what follows.” Rex and I make love with our mouths, with kisses that defy gravity, time, and space.
“I love you,” I whisper.
“I love you, too.” He bows down, landing a kiss over my forehead before rocking over my body with a slow and steady pace. I had envisioned my first time happening in many ways over the last few years. First, with a faceless boyfriend, then with Duncan, then with a faceless frat boy, an entire string of faceless frat boys, but not once did it involve something beautiful, something spiritual yet tangible. It never once involved a thing called love. Rex gave me everything I wanted and then some. In this imperfect world, we accidentally stumbled upon something people often strive for and never achieve, perfection.
Rex
All night Scarlett and I wrestle it out. Scarlett Kent is as impressive on the mattress as she is off. We fall asleep with her curled in my arms, her tiny body dwarfed in mine. The last thing I remember is burying a kiss into the back of her hair and tumbling into a seamless slumber in which my bones, my mortal soul, find unspeakable rest in. It’s as if with Scarlett here with me, I’ve finally found that fabled place I’ve been chasing ever since my parents split up, home.
In the morning, a seam of sunlight cuts through my lids, forcing me to land a pillow over my head. My arm rakes over the bed to find Scarlett and come up empty.
I sit up, groggy, to find her walking back to bed in my dress shirt, unbuttoned down the front, looking sexier than anything I’ve ever laid eyes on in my life.
“Morning, Goober.” She lands on the bed and swats me lightly with my pillow.
“Morning, Muffin Top.” I try to pull her over by the fingertips, but she lets me slip through her hands.
“Don’t be mad.”
“What?” I glance around, trying to scrap for anything that I might be angry about. “Why would I be mad? Did you set the kitchen on fire?”
She averts her eyes with that smirk I’ve grown to love. “I know my way around a fifteen thousand BTU burner, Toberman.” She winces. “But I guess I don’t know my way around a bed.” She pulls back the comforter to reveal a trail of bloodstains on the pristine white sheets.
“Crap, are you okay? Did you start your period?”
“I’m fine—mostly. And no to Aunt Flo. This is actually a marker of yet another milestone in my life, the end of my innocence.” She falls into my arms as she says those last few words, and despite the gore, there is something decidedly poetic about it. “In the Middle Ages, this would have served as valuable evidence of my virginity. Of course, we would have presented it to your parents as exhibit A, and in return, I would have received my full dowry.”
I groan, pulling her up until she’s seated between my thighs. “So, what are we looking at? A goat and three pigs? Maybe a couple of wool blankets?”
“Ha!” She takes a generous bite out of my shoulder. “You wish. Try a stable full of stallions and a herd of llamas. A treasure trove of emeralds to match my eyes and a pearl necklace just because I look good in it.” She gives a sly wink, and we share a deep, warm laugh.
“You’re not kidding about the emeralds.” I kiss each of her lids in turn. “You are so beautiful.” I wrap my arms around her tight and get lost in the sound of her breathing for a moment. “But you’re worth more than a few horses and llamas. We’d probably have to beef up the dowry with a few bows and arrows. You into any other sports I’m not aware of?”
“Oh, wow, let’s see.” She rakes her nails over my chest and looks up at me with those cut glass eyes. Emeralds should be envious of Scarlett’s eyes. “I could easily kick your behind in tennis, basketball, and track. I might even give you a run for your money on the football field.”
“Oh, really?” My chest strums with the laugh. I pull her high onto my lap. As much as my hands begs to wander, I won’t let them. I don’t want to hurt her any more than I already have. I’ve been injured enough times to know that blood usually indicates pain. The last thing I want is for Scarlett to have to tough it out for my sake. That’s not what this is about. It’s about us. “Maybe we should get a few teams together from the Black Bear. Girls against guys.”
“And this will be touch football, I take it?” She spreads her palms wide over my chest, and I growl in response to the feel-good sensation.
“It’s always touch when it comes to you and me.”
“So?” She straddles my hips on either side. “You up for round two?” Her finger glides down my chest.
I suck in a hard breath through my teeth. “How about we take a shower and go out and shoot for a while? I want to give you a little break.” My lips find hers and indulge in a lazy kiss. “But not a long a break.”
“Okay to the shower.” She wrinkles her nose, pulling me off the bed and toward the bathroom. “But we’re not taking a break. At least not you.”
Scarlett runs the water and strips off her shirt. Her perfect body glows incandescent in the early morning light. I help her step into the shower, and we let the water rinse off the night’s sweat, the ripe scent of one another’s bodies. Scarlett’s mouth covers mine with an aching hot kiss that I drink down to the dregs as we try to make it last forever. I take my time shampooing her hair, running my tongue over her neck. I don’t know how I lived without Scarlett Kent in my life or why it took so long to appreciate how amazing she is. One thing I know for sure is, we are never going back to that desolate place. From here on out, it’s Scarlett and me, together for all time. I don’t see a future without her. I don’t see my next breath without her by my side.
The Black Bear has felt like a second home ever since I landed at Whitney Briggs. It’s a place I hang out at with Jet and Owen, and Cade now that I know him better. It’s a place where the team comes to chill after a game and hook up with both cheerleaders and sorority girls alike. But mostly it’s been a place where I’ve spent the last year eyeing the daughter of the man my mother was dating, wondering why in the hell fate twisted its crooked finger and took Scarlett off the short list of girls I wanted to land by my side. There was no way in hell I ever thought we could work after the forced family our parents tried to shove us into. But tonight, everything between Scarlett and me will officially be out in the open. After four blissful days of playing honeymoon up at the cabin, we’ve decided to let our friends in on the fact they’d better get used to seeing us together because we’re not going anywhere. Scarlett said she’d meet me here with her friends, which is a typical Friday night for them so no one will suspect anything unusual.
“Dude”—Jet slaps me five as I meet him and Owen at our usual table—“you’ve been a ghost. I was starting to think the worst.”
“Oh, yeah? What’s that?” I slap Owen five before taking a seat.
“I thought some chick had you tied up with her ponytail, making you live off popcorn and pink parts.”
“You’re sick.” I wad up a napkin and toss it at him.
Cade comes over with a round of beers and takes a seat at the table. “So, where are the girls?”
“Jet scared them all away.” I kick his foot out from underneath him. “But they’ll be back. Scarlett says they’re almost here.”
Owen straightens a moment. “Scarlett says? I thought you couldn’t stand that chick?”
“I can stand her.” And sit her and spin her. A goofy grin takes over, and I don’t bother to stop it.
“That’s where you were.” Jet nods like the know-it-all he is. “So, is she good?” That chiding look lets me know he’s just trying to crawl under my
skin.
“As good as your mother.”
Jet pulls his fist up and grunts out a smile. “Dude, you are lucky that I like you.”
Owen shakes his head. “He’s not lucky. He just slept with the girl who’s about to become his stepsister. In the event you need the Cliff notes, this doesn’t end well.”
“Why doesn’t it end well?” I suck the foam off my beer in one easy swoop.
Cade groans as if the idea alone pained him. “You’re too close to the wall. Back up and you’ll see the writing. Once your parents tie the knot, you can’t escape her. This is a lifetime of seeing one another. And if it ends badly, it’s a life sentence you can’t get out of. There are so many other fish in the sea.” His cheeks puff up as he blows a slow breath. “Where do you think you are?”
“We’re solid.” I glare at Jet a moment who’s busy giving me the finger with a grin. Sometimes, Jet feels more like my brother than Knox does. “Don’t you have a tattoo to screw-up somewhere?”
He nods at someone over my shoulder. “Not tonight. I’ve got front row tickets to the Rex Toberman takedown event. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
I glance back in time to see Scarlett land a soft peck to my lips. Nobody said subtlety was her strong suit.
Cade lifts his brows in amusement. “So, this is happening?”
“What’s happening?” Cassidy and Piper flank Cade on either side.
Scarlett sinks onto my lap, and their jaws root to the floor.
I lean in and whisper, “I take it you didn’t tell them.”
“I’m much better at show than I am tell.”
“Well, look at this”—Cassidy digs her fists into her hips, looking equally livid and amused—“it looks like we’ve got a case of homemade sin brewing hotter than sweet tea.”
Piper grunts, “This fling official? No more closet dry humping?”
“Crap,” I whisper. Leave it to Cade’s sister to say what’s on her mind and then some.
“Nope.” Scarlett wraps her arms around my neck while beaming up at her friends. “We’ve moved on to the real deal.”
“I knew it!” Cassidy screeches so loud her voice howls over the riotous music. “You went on that getaway to Mattress Lake, and you let that boy go cherry picking!”
Scarlett moans as if she might be sick.
“Mirror Lake,” I correct, but no one seems to hear.
“Oh crap!” Piper grunts it out while eyeing me as if I just hacked off Scarlett’s ruby locks. “You took her virginity!”
Help. I glance around to see if an angry mob is growing. I shoot a pleading glance to Jet and Owen.
“Relax.” Owen pulls Piper in, and she conforms to his body. “He didn’t hurt anyone. Besides, this is what they want.”
Cade nods as if agreeing, but that frown is still plastered to his face. “It’s what they both wanted. Make it last, you two.” He offers a knuckle bump before heading back to the bar with Cassidy in hot pursuit.
The band starts in on a slow song, and Piper evicts Owen from his seat as they head to the dance floor.
“You want to do this?” I take a quick nip of Scarlett’s ear, and she jumps to her feet, taking me with her.
Jet stands and pulls me in, pretending to sock my gut. “If you’re happy, I’m happy. I’ll catch you later.”
“Where are you off to?”
“I’ve got a tattoo to screw-up.” He gives a sly wink as he heads for the door. Jet knows I didn’t mean it. He’s the best tattoo artist on the East Coast as far as I’m concerned.
Scarlett leads me by the fingers to the beating heart of the dance floor. I wrap my arms around her, and we begin to sway to the lethargic rhythm. Her perfume sways around us like a poem. I can get lost in Scarlett for a thousand years if she’d let me. And even then, it wouldn’t be enough. She hikes up on her heels and touches her lips to my ear.
“I checked in with my dad again. He’s pretty down.”
“You think it’s too late to save the day?”
“Never say never.” She shrinks a little in my arms, her bottom lip tugging to the side. “I even enlisted Sabrina to help.”
“Desperate times call for desperate sisters. I’ll talk to my mom in the morning. Maybe we should take them out to dinner. I’m pretty sure we can straighten this whole mess out before dessert.”
“I’m glad you think so. I just want to see my father happy again.”
“I know.” I press a soft kiss to the top of her head. “I want that, too.” My eyes close as we rock slowly to the music. I never thought for a minute Scarlett and I would be the obstacle that threw my mother and Bradley off course. I thought for sure all of those skeletons in my mother’s closet would be the ones to derail her impending romantic future. If my mother truly wants happiness, I think she needs to come clean as much as Scarlett and I do.
I’ll talk to her in the morning, all right.
She just won’t like what I have to say.
After a long night at the Black Bear, our group disbands, and I head back to the house alone. Scarlett said she wanted to change before she came over, and I’ve been walking on air ever since, tidying up, making sure my boxers aren’t strewn around like confetti. Cade and I use the same housekeeping service, so the place is usually spotless, but since this will be my first night at the house with Scarlett spending the night, I want it to be extra special. Our crew of friends down at the Black Bear bounce through my mind. Not only do I feel lucky to have Scarlett in my life, but I’m feeling pretty stoked to know the entire lot of them. It’s pretty cool the way we’re breaking off into pairs—and happy about it at that. I feel bad for Jet now that he’s the odd man out. Owen has Piper, Cade has Cassidy, and I have Scarlett. It feels nice to know that Scarlett and I fit so well, not only with each other, but within the neat matrix of couplings. Come to think of it, there’s an odd girl out of the mix, too—Daisy. I’ll have to ask Jet what he thinks of her. She’s a beautiful girl, and Jet’s a great guy. Suddenly, I feel like a matchmaker—which is usually Owen’s specialty.
I turn on the TV and scan through the channel guide until I hit up a smooth jazz music station. Smooth jazz? I flip around a little more until I hit soft rock. That’s something Scarlett might appreciate a little more. A dull smile comes to me, and I don’t fight it. I want to please Scarlett Kent in every single way. I want to know every nuance about her so I can have her needs met before she even realizes she has them. Scarlett and I are about to prove every single one of our naysaying friends wrong. We’re in it to win it. Scarlett has become my singular need. Even this house feels empty without her.
My phone buzzes and spins over the glass table before I pick it up. It’s a text from my mother.
I glance down at the time, ten forty-five. I can’t remember the last time my mother contacted me past four-thirty. Something must be wrong. Maybe it’s Dad.
Just wanted to give you the heads-up. The cat is out of the bag.
My brain works overtime trying to piece her ambiguous message together.
What’s out of the bag? No sooner do I shoot her the text than it hits me what exactly that fat incarcerated cat is.
“Crap,” I hiss into the phone and start texting once again.
Who knows what? And when did they find out? I hit Send and hold my breath.
She shoots back. Bradley. I don’t know how he found out, but it couldn’t have been hard. I’m surprised he didn’t find out sooner. I suppose it’s really over now.
“Double Crap.” Why didn’t you tell him right off the bat?
A lengthy pause ensues before she texts back.
I tried at first, then as time passed, it grew more difficult. I thought he might think I was trying to hide it from him until finally I was doing just that. I guess I’m a terrible person.
I text back without hesitating. You’re not. You’re a great person with a big heart who just so happened to get caught up in some terrible things. Let’s do breakfast in the morning. Does that sound good?
She texts back. It sounds like the best thing I’ve heard all day.
The phone sits cradled in my hand a good long while as I try to make sense of what this means for my mother and selfishly for me. I know exactly how she feels because I just so happened to delay telling Scarlett the truth for the very same reason. And now that we’ve been together, joined at the hips literally for the summer, she’ll wonder why I waited so long, why I was trying so hard to hide it.
A nasty bite of anxiety boils in the pit of my stomach. This will all end well. For my mother and for Bradley. For Scarlett and for me. It has to.
An aggressive knock rattles the door, and I head over. I glance through the peephole to find a mane of red hair that I’m dying to bury my face in. I swoop the door open and pull her in.
“Your mother—”
Scarlett heads right in that direction, but I crash my mouth over hers and try to douse the damage away with a hard, aching kiss that says I’m sorry, I don’t want to lose you, I don’t know what the hell else to do.
“Rex Toberman!” a female shrieks from the lawn, and I pull back to find—
“Scarlett?” I jump back from the girl in my arms to find Sabrina as the recipient of that apologetic kiss I just doled out. “Crap.” I close my eyes a moment.
“Not only is your mother a gold digger, but you are an asshole!” Scarlett jumps back into her car and speeds away while I stand there stunned like the asshole I’ve just become, watching as the night swallows her whole.
“Well, that was rich.” Sabrina heads inside without waiting for the invite.
“If you’re looking for more of the same, you can leave. I didn’t realize it was you.”
“Oh, I’m well aware of the conundrum that wet and wild tongue of yours just landed you in.” She gives a little wink as she sits and spreads her arms wide over the back of the sofa. “I’m not interested in sloppy seconds.” Her eyes narrow in on mine, her features sharpen hard as flint. “I’m not leaving until you fill me in on everything I need to know about Lynette Toberman. Who is she really? And is she even your mother?”
Summer Breeze Kisses Page 38