“You look beautiful too, baby.” Trey offers back, slightly forced as Liv rolls her eyes. Robert and I laugh as he pulls me back into him, my head resting on his chest, listening to the way his heart beats when we’re together. “Way to make me look bad, man.”
“Follow the master, and I’ll teach you the ways of love, my friend.” Liv, Trey and I laugh as Robert refers to himself as a love master. “Yeah. Yeah. Get in the truck. We’ve got about an hour’s drive from here.”
I slide into the front passenger seat while Trey and Oliva take the back, anxiously awaiting to see where we’re going.
*****
-Two Days Earlier-
“So, I guess we’re double dating,” Trey mentions as we’re walking into the locker room after practice. Presley is waiting for me to take her home; and my attention is currently focused on spending some much needed time with her. “Got any good ideas?”
This would actually be Presley’s and my first official date, and I want to make it memorable for her. “Actually yea. There’s a place I’ve wanted to take her for a while now. Since there’s no school on Friday, we can go then and spend the day together.”
“Cool. What is it?”
“I found a dog sledding place about an hour away.”
“Dog sledding?” He stops packing his bag and stands there looking at me. “I don’t know, man; Liv hates the cold.”
It’s actually kind of funny how tiny little Livie Lou Who scares the crap out of Trey. “Trust me. You’ll be fine.”
“If she kills me, my death is on your conscience.”
Closing my locker and collecting my bag, I shout back over my shoulder, “Guess you’ll have to keep her warm then.”
-Present Day-
“Brice are we lost?”
I’m beginning to hate the name Brice. It sounds so foreign coming from Presley’s lips, and I know she hates saying it as much as I hate hearing it. When we’re alone, my name is always on her tongue, but when we’re in a group, she usually finds some other way of getting my attention. I’m not ready to come clean to everybody and she seems to understand. I’ve already decided to use my birth name when I go off to college; it’s the name I put on my applications, the name I’ll have printed on my high school transcripts, and the name coach has sent off to the scouts. “Nope. Almost there though.”
“Oh good. I have to pee.”
I look back in the rear-view mirror, shake my head at her and say, “Liv I told you to go before we left.” She rolls her eyes and sticks out her tongue. I look over at Presley and smile. Taking her hand in mine, I bring it to my lips, whisper I love you against her skin, before leaving a lingering kiss.
Five minutes later, we pull up to an A-frame cabin. The solid oak logs run horizontally across the front, and a pitched hunter green roof helps keep the snow off. There is a large evergreen wreath on the front glass door, and evergreen garland drapes across the porch railing.
Presley leans forward in her seat as she admires the cabin, eyes wide as she takes everything in. “Oh my gosh! Brice, this is beautiful.”
I lean over and kiss her cheek, bringing my lips to graze against her ear, “Only the best for you.”
“Trey, did you plan this? Or was this all Brice’s idea?”
I want things to go well for Trey and Liv. Liv and Presley are friends, so I know if Trey messes something up, Liv will tell Pres and then she’ll tell me, and then in some weird twisted way, I’ll get in trouble for something he did. I want to avoid being in trouble at all cost. “Nope. Liv, this was all Trey. I didn’t even know this place existed.” Giving Trey a wink, he nods his appreciation.
“Aww, baby! Thank you.” The pitch of her voice tells me she’s genuinely happy.
“Anything for you, Liv.”
I get out of the truck while Presley continues to admire the cabin and the evergreen forest tucked back behind it. I open her door, allowing her to slide out of the truck and into my waiting arms. “You totally planned this, didn’t you?” she says in a hushed tone so as not to ruin the excitement for Liv.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Mmhmm. Sure, you don’t.” She gives me a sideways glance, pushes her chest into mine, nibbles on my ear, and seductively whispers, “Too bad, you could have been getting lucky right about now.” I clear my throat as she taps the backside of her hand against my groin, “But like you said—you didn’t plan this.”
I have to readjust myself as my cock immediately pushes against my jeans; she lets off a triumphant laugh. “It’s too easy to mess with you.”
She sprints towards the cabin and I chase after her, yelling behind her, “Oh, you’re gonna pay for that, Presley Elizabeth! Just you wait.” She’s in a fit of giggles by the time I get to her, pulling her inside. I give the receptionist Trey’s name and Presley an, “I told you so” smirk.
“Oh, you must be here for the afternoon ride. Follow me this way. We’re all ready for you.”
“Ride? Brice, what are we doing?”
I cringe at the sound of my name. It’s not Brice she’s doing this with. It’s me, Robert, her Robert. I take a deep breath and try to push my feelings aside. “Just wait,” I say while giving her a wink.
Outside, Liv lets out a high-pitched squeal that causes the dogs to become flustered, and I’m sure there are pieces of broken glass somewhere within a five-mile radius of us.
“Oh. My. God! Are you serious right now! I’ve always wanted to go dog sledding. Trey! How did you know?”
“Uh, lucky guess, I guess.” He shrugs his shoulders and looks at me, unsure of what to do.
Two guides come out of a nearby barn and help us get into the sleds. Guys in the back; each girl settled snuggly in between our legs. Fur blankets are thrown on top of us to help keep us warm and to keep the snow off. The whole ride takes about three hours.
“Thank you for this,” she says as she lays her head against my shoulders.
“For what?”
“For planning this, despite what you say; I know this was you. I’ve missed our snuggles and those big strong arms of yours around me.”
I know she’s patronizing me with the last part, but I’ll indulge her. “One day princess, these arms will hold you tight every night.” A few weeks ago, a comment so bold would have scared her off, but now she wiggles her body closer to me and pulls my arms tighter around her.
“What are the chances of you staying over tonight?”
I feel her heart racing through her jacket, and it kills me to answer her, “As much as I want to, none. Liv is staying with you, and I’m beginning to doubt my restraint when I’m around you.”
She nuzzles against me, nipping at my neck, “You’re not the only one having a problem.”
Our lips collide with a magnetic force as she opens willingly for me. My tongue strokes against hers, pulling the tiniest whimpers from her already shaky breath. I am instantly kicking myself for allowing us to get to this point with our flirting. Our tour guide clears his throat and I have never been more thankful for a distraction.
Taking the girls dog sledding ended up being a perfect day date. Both Presley and Liv fell asleep on the drive home giving Trey and me an opportunity to talk.
“I really appreciate you giving me credit for today. There’s no way I could have pulled off something like this.”
“It’s no problem. You and Olivia are still new. Besides, you need way more help with your game than I do.” We both laugh and he claps me on the shoulder.
“Hey, not all of us can save a life, Mr. Knight in Shining Armor.”
I chuckle to myself, remembering what I called myself when Presley said the exact same thing, Knight in Carhart.
“You know, Liv and I can go out alone tonight if you wanted to spend time alone with Presley. I mean, hell, I have blue balls just watching the two of you. I can’t believe you haven’t slept with her yet.”
“It’s not just about sex with her. I mean, yea, I’d like to do more than
kiss her, but I can wait till she’s ready.”
“I don’t know how you do it, man.”
I chuckle to myself, “When you find the right one, it’s an easy decision. I mean not everyone finds their soulmate when they’re three.” Shit. Shit. Shit.
“Three? Didn’t you meet her a couple of months ago?”
“Uh, yea. It’s an expression.” Trey quickly drops it, but I can tell he’s questioning me.
*****
As we drive home, I rest my head against the window and close my eyes. I’m not completely exhausted, just slightly tired. I focus on the sound of Robert’s voice as if it were my own personal lullaby.
Trey cuts in, “You know, Liv and I can go out alone tonight if you want to spend some time alone with Presley.”
Oh, thank you, Trey. Please say yes, Robert. Mom will be gone, and I’m so tired of waiting.
“It’s not just about sex with her. I mean, yea, I’d like to do more than kiss her, but I can wait till she’s ready.
My heart jumps. He’s so sweet, but I’m ready, Robert. Can't you see how ready I am?
“When you find the right one, it’s an easy decision.”
God, how did I get so lucky? And is this really a conversation between two teenage guys? Do they really talk about stuff like finding the one? Huh. Who knew? Robert does sound way older than Trey, though. I really hope he doesn’t end up hurting Olivia. I swear I will murder him and then have Gramps hide the body if he thinks he can use her. She deserves a good guy.
“I mean, not everyone finds their soulmate when they’re three.”
Shit. Shit. Shit. Come on, Trey. I know you’re not necessarily the smartest one, but please let this drop. Robert doesn’t want to deal with this right now. Presley, wake up. Do something. Anything to distract them.
I open my eyes, yawning and stretching against the seat as I gently rub the back of Robert’s neck, playing with the hair along his collar. “Hey there, handsome.”
“Hey, beautiful. Did you have a good nap?” He smiles at me and leans a little more into my hand.
“So good.” I smile back at him.
“Pres, I was telling Brice I could take Liv out tonight for a couple of hours if y’all wanted some alone time.”
I pretend to be in shock and bat my eyes at Robert. I already know what he’s gonna say, but I can at least give him one more chance to change his mind. “Thanks, Trey. You’re too sweet. Brice, what do you think?” I give him my most suggestive smile as he shakes his head in amusement.
“I think Liv would be pissed if we didn’t finish out the double date together.”
Well shhhit. “True.”
“I guess you’re right. Since we’ve only been dating for a couple of weeks, there’s no reason to piss her off, yet.”
“Trey, you better not intentionally piss her off ever. I’m not above murder.” Robert chuckles, and Trey swallows deeply, his Adam’s apple bouncing in his throat as I glare over my shoulder at him.
The truck jostles as we turn off the main road and up the drive. Liv wakes up and sleepily snuggles into Trey. Parking the truck, Robert looks between Liv and me, breathing in deeply before he speaks up. “We’ll see you two in a couple of hours. I hope you both had fun today.”
His eyes are focused on me, mouthing the words, “I’m sorry,” while Liv rambles on about something. She opens her truck door and hops out.
“I guess we’ll see you soon,” is all I can manage to get out as disappointment and self-doubt begin to wash over me.
Chapter Nineteen
An hour later, Liv is a bustle of excited energy while I lean against my headboard. Why didn’t he take Trey’s offer? We’ve hardly gotten a moment alone together since school started back again. Maybe he’s rethinking things. But then again, perhaps I’m overthinking things. Turning molehills into mountains, which is totally something I do.
“Earth to Presley. Come in, Pres. Anybody there?” Snapping out of my trance, I see Liv has a concerned expression on her face. She sits on the bed next to me, “Hey, what’s going on? You’ve been quiet ever since we got home. I know you and Brice didn’t have a fight.”
“It’s nothing, Liv,” I say with a sigh cloaked in disappointment.
“I call bullshit, and you know it. Pres, I know we haven’t been friends for too long, but I know you, and as your honorary best friend, it is my sole responsibility to call you out on your crap. I wouldn’t be a good friend if I didn’t. Now spill, what’s going on?” She sits back against the headboard with me and I rest my head on her shoulder.
Liv may very well be my first true girlfriend. She welcomed me when she didn’t have to, she introduced me to some amazing people, and she unknowingly gave me back my Robert. “Would you be upset if Brice and I didn’t go out tonight?” She pushes out her bottom lip in a pouting manner and instantaneously I feel terrible for asking. “I’m not feeling too good right now.”
“Mmmm.” She lets loose a long and exasperated sigh. “I still don’t believe you, but if you’re gonna play the sick angle, I guess I’ll go with it.” She gives me a sideways glance before sliding off the bed and rummaging through her luggage for something cute to wear tonight. “If you want the pity card from Brice, you should at least throw on a pair of cute pajamas and touch up your makeup. Just because you’re not feeling well doesn’t mean you need to look like death showed up to collect your soul.” She throws me a smile over her shoulder, and I’m thankful to have her in my life.
I stifle my laughter as she throws me a pair of cream and black polka-dotted pajama shorts and an off the shoulder black pashmina sweater. I don’t think I’ve ever had something so soft against my skin. “He won't be able to keep his hands off you in this. I did bring it in hopes of having Trey’s hands on me, but I think you are a worthier cause.” She lets out a giddy laugh and continues getting ready for the evening, moving back and forth between my bedroom and bathroom as I stare at the pajamas she’s lent me.
God, what would I do without her? “Hey Liv, can I ask you something?”
“Sure. What’s up?”
“First, you have to promise not to laugh or get offended.”
She pokes her head out from the bathroom with a bewildered look on her face. “Pres, you have me a little confused and a whole lotta worried.”
I take a deep breath, purse my lips, close my eyes, and let it fly. “Have you done it before?” I slightly crack open my eyelids to see her staring intensely at me.
“Wait! Oh my God! Is this why you don’t want to go out tonight? Do you want to have sex with Brice?” The word sex is a whispered yell as she looks around the room and back at the door before jumping on my bed, all grins and giddy energy. “Wait, would he be your first?” I blush a little, covering my face with my hands. “Oh God! Of course, he would be otherwise you wouldn’t have asked. Pres! I feel honored to be the one having this conversation with you. And don’t worry, I won't say anything to anybody.”
“God, I feel so embarrassed.”
“Why? This is totally normal. And to answer your question, yes, I’ve had sex. I’m not a total slut like Heather, the girl will spread it for anyone, but let’s just say, I’ve been around the block once or twice. My first time was actually with Trey if you can believe it.”
“What!” Umm hello. Talk about shocking. “But I thought you two—”
“What? Had never gone out? We hadn’t. I’m not proud of the way it happened. I guess I always thought my first time would be with someone I was at least in a relationship with, but Trey was honestly everything I wanted in a guy. It’s not like he was some random guy, we’ve been friends since middle school.”
I’m completely dumbfounded. It always seemed like there was something unspoken between them, but this, wow! “So, what happened? If you don’t mind me asking?” She sits down on the bed, completely calm and collected, she is the opposite of my red-faced self.
“We were at a field party last spring celebrating the baseball team’s state win.
Flirting led to kissing, which led to touching, which led to the back seat of his truck in the middle of a hayfield. He was so kind and sweet throughout the whole night. He made me feel special, as if I was the only one he wanted to be with. Plenty of girls came up to him, but he stayed by my side and kept his arm around me the entire night. It just kinda happened.”
“So, then what happened afterward?”
“I didn’t want him to think I was one of those clingy types of girls. I didn’t want him to feel obligated to be with me. I just wanted to feel wanted, like I do now, besides I was leaving in a few weeks to travel with my parents over the summer anyway. It didn’t seem fair to tie him down when I wasn’t going to be here anyway. Besides, Trey had never really been the relationship kinda guy anyway, so I wasn’t expecting much afterward anyway. He and Brice are actually a lot alike in a way; they flirt, and then usually they lose interest.”
“So, you two never talked about things afterward?”
“Nope. School finished, I left town for the summer, worried things would be awkward between us once school started again, but it surprisingly wasn’t. I think we had always kinda had a thing for one another, but we never acted on it until that night.”
“So, you’ve only slept with Trey then? I don’t think one time constitutes as going around the block.”
“Oh, honey, who said it was only one time?” She lets out an uninhibited hysterical laugh, “If you only knew.” Her eyes almost entirely roll back in her head as she reminisces about the night.
I interrupt her daydream because she has to know the truth about her and Trey’s relationship; if I was her, I’d want to know. “Liv, Brice never had a chance to talk to Trey about asking you out. He did it all on his own.” Her head snaps forward and her eyes open wide.
“You mean—” her fingers fly to cover her mouth, “he actually chose me?”
I nod in excitement for her, watching her sky-blue eyes brim with happy tears as she pulls me tightly.
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