Unspoken Rules

by Eliah Greenwood

  “I was afraid you’d say that…” Kendrick says. “So I prepared for the worst.”

  He walks back outside, bends down to get something he left on the porch, then drops it on the hardwood floor.

  A suitcase.

  “Hell no, you’re not staying here,” Haze immediately says.

  “Yes, I am. We’re a family package, Adams. Sorry.” Kendrick closes the door.

  Haze studies me. I know he wants me to tell him that it’s out of the question, but I end up smiling timidly instead. The truth is, I missed Kendrick. I wouldn’t mind having him around.

  “Oh come on. Cheer up,” Kendrick scoffs. “It’s just until Winter goes back to Canada. Then, she’ll be safe and never see you again. Everyone wins.”

  “How am I winning, asshat? I’ll never see my girlfriend again.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry, I said everyone. Which means you have to be an actual person and not a piece of shit to be included, Haze.”

  Damn.

  That’s the strike Haze won’t allow. He’s about to put Kendrick in his place when—because Life has a sense of humor—we’re interrupted by the sound we’ve heard too many times today.

  The doorbell rings.

  Haze grabs Kendrick by his collar again.

  “Fine, you can stay. But if you make a single sound or ruin this moment for me, the next thing coming out of your mouth will be your teeth, got it?” he hisses.

  Kendrick nods in confusion, and Haze sets him free with a push. Kendrick stumbles back a few steps as Haze opens the door. On his porch are the gorgeous Riley and the cutest little brown-haired boy I’ve ever laid eyes upon.

  He has green eyes while Haze’s eyes are blue but the resemblance still hits me like a truck. He’s definitely an Adams, this one, no doubt. Jacob’s gaze roams the house curiously. Riley takes his hand and gets him inside.

  “Hello,” Haze says and kneels down to his level.

  Jacob smiles shyly, revealing the most adorable tooth gap.

  “What’s going on? Why is there a kid and a model on Haze’s porch?” Kendrick asks, nudging me with his elbow.

  So much for not making a sound.

  His nonexistent subtlety skills cause Riley to glance our way. She frowns, probably wondering who Kendrick is.

  “That’s…” I pause and prepare for his disapproving glare. “This is Riley, Haze’s ex. And that’s Jacob. Haze’s kid.”

  “What?” Kendrick exclaims obnoxiously loud. They all jump. Even Jacob stares. I apologize and motion not to mind us while I drag Kendrick into the bathroom so he can tell me all about how I’m wasting my life away and dating the wrong guy. I twist the tap on and hope the water will obscure my cousin’s bad manners.

  “Are you out of your mind?” he blurts the second I close the door. “You’re staying with him? You’re going to stay with a guy who has a kid? Winter, this is insane.”

  “He just found out. What am I supposed to do?”

  “I don’t know. Here’s an idea: get in my car and run away from this madness. Come on, have some self-respect.”

  “I can’t just leave him, Kendrick. I… I love him. Just because he made a mistake when he was younger doesn’t mean I should give up on this entire relationship.”

  “Oh for fuck’s sake, look at them. Just look!”

  He swings the bathroom door open, giving me a direct view of Haze, Riley, and Jacob sitting on the couch. Jacob is playing with the toys Haze and I bought for him yesterday. He’s radiant. They all are. Riley’s smile grows with every laugh her son emits. As for Haze, he seems amazed by even the simplest moves Jacob makes. Kendrick does have a point.

  They look like the perfect little family.

  Like a too good to be true picture with no room for me.

  I clear my throat, refusing to let my emotions come out and play. I’m fine. I can do this. It’s no big deal, I tell myself.

  “Can’t you see? Literally the only thing standing between that model chick and Haze is you. It’s only a matter of time before they reunite for the kid. What’s it going to take for you to take a hint? Are you going to have to find them in bed?”

  “Okay, stop. I got it, jeez!” I put my hands up like I’m hoping they’ll shield me from his negativity and stomp out of the bathroom.

  Kendrick follows me. “Where’s my room?”

  “There are a hundred in this house. Go find one,” I grumble.

  “If you want to sit with them and third-wheel like everything is fine, go ahead. But I’m not going to watch you.” He pokes at me again. I sigh and watch him run up the stairs to explore his new home.

  I mute his voice inside my head and join the happy family in the living room. I think I see Riley roll her eyes when I sit down next to Haze. Did she just…

  Stop, Winter. It’s probably nothing. You’re just imagining things.

  “Hey, beautiful.” Haze quickly pecks my cheek and turns to the kid, who’s observing me intently. “Jacob, this is Winter. My girlfriend.” He introduces us in the cutest kid voice possible, and I giggle. Hearing Haze talk to a kid is so different, yet so hot. I don’t know why it makes him even more attractive. Jacob simply smiles in return. I come to find out that he’s a very quiet kid. Riley tells us that he only speaks around the people he’s comfortable with. And by speak, she means he says a few words and makes noises.

  “So… how did you two meet?” Riley asks and takes a sip of the coffee Haze brought her a few minutes ago. Haze and I exchange sideways looks. There is no way we’re telling her the real story. Oh, it’s nothing interesting. I followed my street fighter cousin to a meeting and thought I was being super slick. Haze, who’s my cousin’s nemesis, decided to make a deal with me as the prize to destroy his enemies. More coffee?

  “School,” Haze says, and I bite back a grin.

  Technically, it’s not a lie.

  “And how long have you two been together?”

  “A few days at most,” I say and only realize how unserious our relationship sounds when a satisfied smile emerges on her lips. Is it me or… does she look strangely happy right now?

  “We’ve known each other for a while but… yeah, let’s just say we weren’t expecting this.” Haze takes my hand.

  “Just a few days? Really? I’m surprised. He used to be a keeper, that one.”

  What’s that supposed to mean?

  “In fact, we were together for, what, two years?” She takes another sip.

  Okay?

  “Remember the night of Vic’s birthday party? Oh my God, it was so awkward.” She notices my confusion. “Oh, that’s right, you wouldn’t know. Sorry. That’s when Haze and I first got together. Blame five minutes in heaven. Vic had gotten himself locked with Gloria and he…” She bursts out laughing, and Haze laughs along with her.

  “I can still see the look on his face. He was completely freaked out,” he finishes.

  “Who’s Gloria?” I ask.

  “Some girl who used to crush on him. He wasn’t interested,” Haze explains.

  “Oh.” I nod.

  “Then, Oliver dared Haze and me to go together, and you know…” She takes a sip. “Anyway, this wasn’t as bad as what happened on the pier. Remember that one?”

  Haze laughs harder. “How could I forget?”

  They proceed to hop onto the memory lane train and leave me standing alone in an empty station. They keep reminiscing about days I never once heard of and laugh until I want to bash my head against the wall. Every joke Haze makes, Riley snorts so loud my ears bleed. She’s scooted over to him on the couch and keeps hitting his shoulder every chance she gets. After a few hours of Haze being a typical boy and dismissing all the red flags that make my eyes the size of a golf ball, I have no other choice but to accept the truth. I always want to see the best in people, but I’m not stupid. I can’t deny it anymore.

  She isn’t only here for her son.

  She’s here to steal my man.

  17

  Mine

  “Time to w
ake up,” a voice I know all too well whispers in my ear, and I groan, the numerous sleepless nights that I’ve had recently making it close to impossible to open my eyes. Haze lightly tickles me, and I finally gather the courage to move.

  “What time is it?” I rub my eyes.

  “Eight thirty.” He rests his arm on my stomach. “Riley says it’s better to get there early if we want the beach to ourselves.”

  He leans in to kiss me, but I turn my head and offer him my cheek instead. I can’t help being annoyed with him. He’s so oblivious.

  “Riley said this, Riley said that,” I mutter under my breath and push the covers off me, rolling out of bed.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” he asks, his voice still raspy from just waking up. I pretend not to hear him and walk to the door.

  “I need a shower.” I sneak out into the hall and lock myself in the bathroom. The past five days have been worse than I imagined. I haven’t had a moment alone with Haze. He hasn’t touched me once since our first time, and I’d be lying if I said that it hasn’t been on my mind. I know from the way his hands linger on my body when we hug or the way he eyes me when he thinks I’m not looking that it’s haunting him as much as it is me, but we haven’t had the chance to act on it.

  Haze and I both got tested a few days ago just to be safe. I made it clear that I wasn’t sleeping with him without protection—even if the tests said he was clean. The pill isn’t a hundred percent effective. I’m not trying to become Riley the second. The results recently came in and… it goes without saying that knowing we’re both STD-free isn’t helping me control my urges.

  Riley’s been around every single day.

  Every single day.

  Jacob’s the definition of an angel, but the fact that his mother has to tag along with him is slowly driving me mad. Kendrick says that I’m pathetic for staying. That I should leave this sinking ship while I still can.

  I’m starting to wonder if he’s right.

  The only good thing to come out of this hell is that I’ve had more time to focus on my online classes. It’s made me wonder how Haze’s going to graduate. He’s missed so much school. He doesn’t look too worried about getting held back, that’s for sure. I think back to the way no teacher ever wrote down that he was absent and wonder how many corners he can cut just by being the kid of the school’s biggest funder.

  Riley’s flirting is getting more obvious with each torturous day that goes by. Even Kendrick, who didn’t notice for a week when his own sister dyed her hair red during freshman year, knows that she’s trying to seduce Haze.

  I don’t want to tell him because I know what he would say. He’d tell me not to worry because he loves me. I’m sure from his perspective, Riley just seems like a caring mother who wants her child to have a father. On day number three, she asked Haze to go to dinner without me. Something about Jacob not liking strangers. I almost laughed. She said that like Haze wasn’t also a stranger who Jacob met less than a week ago. Haze denied her request, which made her mad. She tried to disguise it, and she might’ve successfully fooled Haze but not me.

  I get a towel out of the cabinet and curse when I realize that I don’t have any clean clothes with me. One quick trip to the bedroom shouldn’t be too hard. I just have to find a way to avoid Haze’s questions. I open the door and walk back in the room to see him standing shirtless next to the bed. He’s just put on sweatpants. He wasn’t lying about always sleeping naked.

  See why I’m struggling with my involuntary vow of abstinence?

  He furrows his eyebrows, surprised to see me back so soon.

  “Just getting some clothes,” I say, hoping to run back to the bathroom without trouble. My hopes quickly fall. The look in his eyes tells me he’s not letting me get away that easy.

  I grab whatever clean clothes I can find and speed walk to the exit, but before I can turn the doorknob, he wraps his hands around my hips and spins me around. My back hits the closed door as he presses his muscular body to mine.

  Dang it. So close.

  “What’s wrong?” He gazes deeply into my eyes, and I can tell he’s hoping to find the answer I won’t give him in there.

  I can’t keep it in any longer.

  “She wants you,” I blurt out.

  There’s no going back now.

  “What?” He frowns.

  “Riley. I know you don’t see it, but I do. Even freaking Kendrick sees it. She wants her perfect little family together and for me to disappear.”

  Then, as I expected, he looks at me like I’m crazy.

  Yep. He’s completely clueless.

  Why am I even wasting my time?

  “Forget it.” I try to move away from his hold, but he doesn’t let me.

  “Winter, wait, talk to me.”

  Am I going to have to spell it out for him?

  “She laughs at every single one of your jokes, she’s touchy, she’s constantly reminiscing about the good old days. Deny it all you want, but she wants you back and you know it.”

  The confused look on his face remains. He really has no idea what I’m talking about.

  Guys…

  Unable to take any more of this nonsense, I bring my hands to his chest and push him off me. I manage to slide back into the bathroom and shut the door. I remove my clothes and get into the shower in a rush. The hot water soaks and soothes my muscles as I close my eyes, trying not to think of all the ways this shower could’ve gone differently if there was no Riley. If there was no Jacob…

  I’m caught off guard when images of Haze running his hands all over my body as he enters me corrupt my brain. Now is so not the time to be thinking about sleeping with him, but my hormones don’t give a flying shit that I’m mad. I had a taste of him once, and now I’m addicted. My heart comes bursting out of my chest when I feel a hand sliding over my hip. I jump and jolt around.

  Haze.

  Completely naked behind me.

  I didn’t even hear him come in.

  “Haze! You scared the crap out of me!” I place a hand on my racing heart. “How did you even get in?”

  “Door wasn’t locked,” he says, his eyes boring into mine, and chews on his lower lip. His gaze travels downward.

  Oh, right, I’m naked.

  I clear my throat, the water dripping down his chest throwing me off, and find myself staring down at him, too. To think I was daydreaming about this very moment just a few seconds ago.

  “So what?” he says with a stern voice.

  I just stare at him in confusion.

  “So what if Riley did want me?” He steps closer. “I don’t give a shit, Winter. I don’t care how many memories she brings up. I don’t care how many times she laughs at my jokes. I want you.”

  Leave it to Haze to casually drop a super serious speech on me when we’re butt naked.

  His words affect me a lot more than they should. I don’t speak, simply because I have no idea what to say. He still doesn’t see it. He doesn’t see that she’s flirting with him. I know he’s just telling me what I want to hear.

  “I want you. I’m always going to want you, and I’m sorry if I haven’t done what it takes to make you understand that.”

  I’m far from prepared for what he does next.

  “So let me clear things up for you.”

  The air leaves my lungs when he backs me up onto the tiled wall of the shower roughly and yanks my face closer to kiss me. I instinctively kiss him back. Like my body’s been desperately waiting for his touch, it responds in a way that surprises me almost as much as it does him. I press myself to him, leaving no room for questions or hesitation. This is happening and no one, especially not Riley, is stopping us. He keeps on kissing me, but I know his attention is down there. He’s more than ready.

  His lips find my neck, and I moan as he feathers my collarbone with burning kisses. His hands trail down to my stomach, but I stop him. I don’t know if it’s my ego, or if it’s jealousy, but I want to touch him. I want him to feel the s
ame way I did the other night. It’s his turn. He’s chosen me over Riley. I’m going to show him he made the right choice.

  I grab him between my fingers, and his lips instantly part.

  “Winter, you don’t have to—”

  I don’t let him finish. Instead, I hold him tighter and start moving my hand up and down in the hope that I’m doing this right. He groans and sucks in a breath. I’ll never get tired of seeing that look on his face. Seeing the ecstasy cross his features is almost better than feeling it myself. The disbelief in his eyes when I get down on my knees in front of him makes me feel powerful, in control.

  I look up at him and bring my head closer, teasing him.

  “Fucking hell, Winter,” he says through gritted teeth.

  “What?”

  “Do you have any idea how many times I’ve fantasized about this?”

  The thought of him wanting this as much as I do drives me wild. He stops breathing when my mouth connects with his length. My tongue is gentle at first. I’m testing the field. Then, when I feel comfortable enough, I go all in. I wrap my lips around him and opt for a pace I hope is not too quick or too slow. I assume I’m doing something right from the way he throws his head back with a grunt and clenches his fists. I analyze his facial expressions, adjusting to every slight change in the noises he makes.

  “Fuck, Winter, you…” He seems at a loss for words, his breathing unsteady. “No fucking way you’ve only had one guy.” He tugs at my hair and the heat rises in my stomach. I never thought my body could react this way to… anyone, really. Haze’s changed me in ways I don’t understand.

  After a few minutes, I ask him how I can make it better, and he looks at me like he’s wondering if I’m real. I guess not every girl he’s been with was open to criticism. He gives me a few instructions that I’m happy to follow. I didn’t expect to be a pro the first time, and the way he reacts to my additions is worth every awkward try. I grab him at the base, my mouth still moving up and down around him, and increase the pressure with each twirl of my tongue. His breathing grows heavier until he snaps.