“You surpassed the one-night stand status. I’d say you’ve moved up to fuck buddy if we’re being technical.” At the humor in my tone, a soft laugh escapes her. Mission accomplished. I just want my smiling, fun friend back.
“So, what’s the next step in this relationship, friends with benefits?” Kelsey sits up with a tugging smile on her face.
“If that’s what you want.”
“Nah, I’d rather not,” she dismisses.
I finally get to be the friend there for her because it’s not often that she is vulnerable. Although, I have a feeling she is far from done with him.
Colt
“Have you decided what day we’re going to head to Florida?” Parker asks as I take a seat at the kitchen table. I haven’t even started eating breakfast yet, and he’s interrogating me. I’m not an early morning person.
“I figure Friday sometime,” I state garbled as I spoon in a mouth full of cereal.
“Are you inviting Brealynn?” He continues eating his breakfast while hammering off more questions.
“Yeah. I will ask her sometime this week.” I hope she will consider going with me. “Has anything else happened between you and Kelsey?”
He pauses mid-bite and looks up at me, sets his spoon back in his bowl, and stands up. Walking over to the sink, he slams his bowl down and stomps out of the kitchen.
Well. I take that as a ‘no.’
“You know, you could work off some of that in the box!” I’m half trying to push his buttons and half hinting that he’s off his game. He hasn’t been as focused on riding this semester, and I have a feeling it’s due to Kelsey. Ever since the bar incident a few weeks ago, Parker hasn’t said one word about her.
Parker calls back to me, “I’ll meet you in thirty!”
Well, I’ll be damned. My little brother’s going to come out and play.
Brealynn
Driving my Jeep down the dirt road that leads to the back end of Colt’s land, I take notice of a giant oak tree that I didn’t see last time. Images of a picnic and day sex run through my desire filled brain. The ache for Colt growing stronger with each picture I paint in my head.
It’s a week from his competition, and I’m so excited to watch Colt do what he loves. Ride. I come to a stop right beside his truck, and once the dust clears, I realize Colt isn’t the only one who wanted to practice today. Immediately, I’m kicking myself for inviting Kelsey out here with me. A thud greets me when my feet hit the ground from jumping out of the driver’s seat before she can give me the death stare I know is coming. My attention instantly pins to Colt, perched on his bike the royal blue TBX shirt catching my eye. His jeans are rolled to the knee on the leg he’s using to hold himself upright with.
“Hey, pretty girl.” Colt grins seconds after leaving his bike on the ramp. We wrap up in each other. Colt twirls us around once and then softly sets me back on my feet.
“Hey you,” I breathe as I reach up to kiss his lips. His presence turns me into a love sick teenager.
Colt walks over to his truck and we follow. Popping the tailgate, Colt then grabs my hips and gently lifts me up and settles between my legs to place a soft kiss on my lips.
“Why do you only have one pant leg rolled up, some weird kind of man capris style?” I feel Colts laughter rumble through his lips and feel the smile spread across his face before he pulls his lips from mine to reply back to Kelsey’s observation.
“It’s so my pant leg doesn’t get stuck in the bike chain when I ride.”
“You going to ride or fuck? I didn’t come out here to watch porn,” Parker yells from the ramp to Colt, interrupting us.
Colt smiles that cocky, sure of himself smirk at me, “I’m going to go smoke my little brother’s ass real quick.” With a wink and one more quick kiss, he takes off running back toward the ramp. Kelsey hops up onto the tailgate.
“Did you know he’d be here?” Her voice is quiet as she stares in Parker’s general direction, the wind whipping our hair into our faces.
“No. I swear. We can leave if you want. I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”
“Oh, hell no. He isn’t going to run me off. Besides, he looks way more affected by me being here than I am. So, I think I’ll stay. Since I am into torture and all.” Kelsey laughs.
Colt and Parker are doing all kinds of crazy stunts. It all makes me nervous and hot at the same time. Colt looks like a badass. How in the heck does he not already have a broken neck? I mean, with some of the stunts he’s doing, if he falls, it could do some serious damage to that beautiful face of his. Kelsey and I are intensely watching the boys when my text alert goes off. At first glance, I clam up.
What the hell does he want?
Looking toward Kelsey, I whisper, “Nick.”
She looks confused. “Nick?”
I scoot a little closer to her and swipe my phone open, revealing the text message in all its glory.
Wanna hear a joke? - Nick
I’m not really in the mood to hear his jokes. Before I can even think about a reply, my phone alerts again.
You and how fucking easy you are. - Nick
Soon followed by,
Your heart is the biggest joke of all. -Nick
Kelsey takes the phone from my hand and sets it down between us. I swear my face is drained of all color by the amount of blood that has to pump through the fast beating of my heart. Colt must seem to know something is wrong because he is now headed in my direction. I can’t deal with this shit right now.
Looking at Kelsey as I jump off the truck, I whisper, “Let’s go.” She jumps down right as Colt reaches us.
“What’s going on?” Worry straining his features.
“I’m not feeling very well,” Kelsey volunteers before I can say anything. I don’t really even know how to handle telling Colt about what Nick just sent me.
“I’m going to take her back to the dorms,” I tell him. Hopefully, I sound better than I feel. Colt looks over at Kelsey and then to me. He’s not a stupid man. I’m sure he knows something is up, but I just can’t talk about it.
“I hope you feel better, Kelsey. I’ll let you know when I am done here.” He eyes me and wraps me up in a hug. The fact that Nick was the one I gave myself and my heart to first guts me.
I inhale his spicy citrus scent mixed with the sweat of his workout, and tears try to fight their way into my eyes. I really like Colt. We have our differences, but we always find a middle ground. It’s a give and take relationship. not just one-sided like it was with Nick. I gave him my heart a long time ago though, and he gave it back to me chipped. I don’t know if I have it fully glued back together to hand over to Colt without him getting cut.
I ease away from his embrace. “Talk to you later.” Kelsey and I make our way to my Jeep. Climbing into the driver’s seat, I shift my eyes in Colt’s direction and see the brothers back at their tricks.
“Don’t let it get to you. He’s a fuckin’ asshole.” Kelsey slams the passenger door.
“I keep finding that out more and more,” I sigh. As much as I fought to be strong after what Nick did to me, how hard I tried not to love him, not to hurt for losing him, I did. Then, I met Colt and my whole world starting spinning differently. The ride back to the dorms is a quiet one, which is good because I have a lot of things to work through in my head.
Colt
With a long run back and forth on the ramp, I pick up speed before the lift off. My grip tightens as I begin pulling back on the handlebars and my body and bike move into a backflip. While still upside down, I make the split second decision to throw a tail-whip catching the back of the bike at the end of the back flip and landing with ease.
“Damn, you owned that trick!” Parker shouts, looking at me with pride.
“Fuck, I love that shit!” My body is still humming with endorphins, the high of riding will never get old. It’s a sense of freedom I can’t find anywhere else. I look in Brealynn’s direction to see my girl’s reaction; she’s new to the whole BMX world,
and there’s so much I can’t wait to show her.
When my gaze lands on her, I don’t see the reaction I was expecting. She isn’t even looking in my direction. My high instantly crashes and is replaced with…hurt.
Lifting off my bike to kick out the stand, my eyes find her again; she’s talking with Kelsey, holding her phone and looks like she may be sick. Dropping my bike in an instant, I rush toward her. The closer I get, the more panicked her expression becomes.
What the hell is going on?
She quickly jumps down from the truck as I approach.
“What’s going on?”
Kelsey speaks up saying she is sick. That’s a lie. She isn’t the one who looks sick. Brealynn does, but why? The sting of their obvious lies settles in me, and I’m unsure of how to approach this situation.
B says she’s going to take her back to the dorms. I’m more confused now than when I was on the ramp. At least then I knew she was upset, but now, I need to know why. I hope she doesn’t take me for a fool because I know Kelsey isn’t sick. Something is up with her, the smile she’s giving me doesn’t reach her eyes, and the fact she can’t confide in me pisses me off. But what can I do about it if she doesn’t want to talk to me? So, I just let her walk away with Kelsey. I head back over to Parker, jump back on my bike, and begin to go back and forth on the ramp. Riding soothes my nerves. It always has—it’s both an escape and my safe haven. Parker doesn’t ask me any questions, and we just ride until dinner.
Brealynn
After two knocks, I pad over to my door, swinging it open and seeing him hits me right in the gut. The urge to vomit is strong. He wraps me in his arms while he whispers into my hair, “Have you missed me?”
What is that, whiskey? It clings to him like a vice. Awkwardly, I pull away, glaring with distaste clear in my eyes.
“How have you been?” Nick asks raising his eyebrows and smiling a toothy grin.
“Cut the shit. Why are you here?”
His smirk tells me that this visit isn’t a friendly one.
“To grovel at your feet and beg you to come back to me. To tell you that I love you and everything will change, I will change, if you give me another chance.”
His hand grazes my cheek and I cringe at his touch, stepping out of his reach. “Fuck you. You need to leave.”
“What? No kiss? Where’s your boyfriend? He out fucking around on you, too? Boy, you sure know how to pick ‘em.” Nick’s disdain for Colt is written all over his face. His eyes are full of hate. I can’t help but take a step back.
“Can I help you with something?” I speak wearing what I hope is a threatening smile. I just let his comments roll off my back. He wants to get under my skin. That was his plan coming here, and I won’t give him the satisfaction.
“Just thought I’d stop by and see the love of my life. That is what I used to say, wasn’t it? Shit. I can’t keep the lies straight.” That comment doesn’t roll off my back as easily. My heart contracts a little tighter with his dig. Even if he didn’t mean it, I thought I did. So, at the time, it was honest, even if it was just puppy love. Standing in my doorway, I glare at Nick. He’s standing here like he owns the hallway, like he owns me. My mind is reeling, trying to figure out how to reply to him. His eyes rake over my body from head to toe and back again, and my skin crawls under his gaze.
“I don’t know what’s more surprising to me. The fact that you are a lying piece of shit or that you are a total and complete fucking asshole.”
“Hit me right in the heart, baby.”
“Don’t call me that.” The nickname sets me on edge more than anything. Sweet names are reserved only for Colt.
“What did you call her?” Alex props herself against the wall directly in front of my door with a smirk in place. Her voice sets all my nerves on edge and the blood roaring through my veins. I stare through her, not in the least intimidated.
“What do you want?” If looks could kill, she’d be dead.
“I didn’t think you had a bad bone in you, Brealynn. You surprise me.” She leans away from the wall, stepping into my personal bubble and caging me in like a cat coming for a mouse. “I wonder what Colt will think when he learns you are sneaking off with Nick?” She’s inches from my face, as the blood rushes to keep up with the pounding of my heart, the sound deafening to my ears. A pound of lead drops onto my chest with the added weight of all my worries. I know she’s a callous, manipulative bitch, but her face is telling me that I haven’t seen anything yet. I’m terrified where she’s going with this.
“You know that’s not true,” I utter with more strength in my voice than I feel and staying stock-still. I’m scared I may throat check this bitch if I move one muscle.
“Funny thing about the truth, it’s all about what that person perceives it to be,” she informs me, holding up her phone that shows a photo of Nick touching my face.
How deceiving. It looks so sweet. Damn, what if she sends this to Colt before I can tell him this bitch is crazy? Fuck!
You can do this, B. Don’t show the devil any sign of weakness. Colt won’t believe her lies.
“He won’t believe you,” I utter, a little above a whisper.
She crosses her arms and smiles at me. Her smile chilling me to the bone. Pure evil lurks in her.
“Oh, honey. I have known Colt a lot longer than you have. Unlike you, I know how he ticks. Do you?” Her ego threatens to suffocate me while she tilts her head. How does she know more about him than I would? He promised me that he never was intimate with her. She’s not making any sense. “Of course, you don’t. He wouldn’t want to run off his sweet Brealynn, now would he?” A wicked laugh follows her comment. I feel sick. What the hell is she talking about? I grab a hold of the doorframe to steady myself.
“What are you trying to accomplish here?” She releases her arms from across her chest and looks me dead in the eye.
“You always take what’s mine. You can’t ever just let it be me,” she says poking me in my chest. She has lost her mind. I never took anything from her.
“And that was?” Even though she’s in my personal space, I stay calm and collected. If I act out, it will be just what she thrives for. My face is relaxed. However, my eyes stare into her black soul.
“You’re not stupid,” she spits, visibly more upset.
“I don’t have all damn day to do circles with your crazy ass, Alex. Fill in the blanks because, for the life of me, I don’t know what I could have done to you. I can, however, name many things you have done to me.”
“Nick and I had a great thing going until you decided you wanted him. You couldn’t just let me have one thing!” I see a girl stop and stare at us from down the hall so I grab Alex by the elbow and pull her right inside of my dorm room, slamming the door in Nick’s shitty face. I don’t need everyone listening to our conversation.
She jerks out of my grip. “This is insane. I never knew you and Nick had something going on. I swear it,” I admit. This all blows my mind and also makes me wonder how long they were actually messing around behind my back. Alex and I stare at each other for what seems like minutes.
Kelsey passes the threshold and drops her bag onto the floor. “It reeks of bitch in here. Oh, duh. Alex. What the hell are you doing in here?” She takes a defensive stand beside me, leveling her stare directly on Alex. I don’t see Nick; I assume he is finally done playing for now.
“Don’t forget to talk with Colt. Or I will.” She blows a kiss in my direction before turning on her heel and walks out of my doorway. I stare out after her, trying to wrap my mind around everything that just happened in the last fifteen minutes.
“She needs to calm herself. Quick get her a vibrator, so she can work off some stress and learn her damn place,” Kelsey jokes and a giggle bubbles up through my mouth, although I don’t feel like laughing right now. I want to know what she was hinting at with Colt. Between the new information about Colt and dealing with Nick and Alex’s vendetta against me, my head is spinning.
<
br /> With a heavy sigh, I push my bulky Jeep door open and climb down. The slam of my door slices through the night air and the rocks crunch under my white Converse as I gradually tread over the gravel and into the grass toward the bike ramps.
I gave Kelsey all the details of today’s events after she saw Alex in our dorm. She’s just as mind blown as I am with Alex’s assumption. What kind of sick game has she been playing all these years? I was halfway to Colt’s house when I told him that I was on my way. Whatever it is she knows, I want to know.
Have to.
I look up at the sky and inhale a deep breath of the crisp air. When I return my gaze forward, they land on Parker, startling me. My phone alerts me of a text message. Pulling it out of my pocket, I swipe the screen.
Had to run out, I will make it up to you. –Colt
“You okay?” Parker rasps.
“I… was meeting Colt.” I place my phone back in my pocket without a reply.
“He had to go deal with some stuff.” We both stand a few feet apart from each other, between my Jeep and the ramps.
“Yeah.” I sigh and start to turn back when his voice stops me.
“Something on your mind?” His observation makes me face him again as he evaluates me, searching my face for any sign of what is troubling me.
“More than you could imagine.” I raise my chin. I don’t know what it is about Parker, but I always feel I need to have my guard up. Like one sign of weakness and he will pounce on it.
“He cares for you. Just so you know.”
That takes me back a step. I know Colt likes me, likes having sex with me, but really cares about me? I can only hope that’s the truth. Emotions prick the back of my eyes as I try to fight against it. One lone tear defies me, gliding down my cheek. Stepping into my personal space, Parker wipes away the tear with his thumb and then takes a step back.
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