by VR Baucke
“Good.”
Mace stood abruptly like he was about to storm off but paused and deftly jumped over the back of the couch.
“Another?” he asked from the chilly bin.
Checking the level of my second beer, I accepted. When Mace didn’t reply, I glanced over to see him standing tall and alert. Mindlessly passing me the fresh bottle, he turned and casually strode towards the house.
No sooner had he reached the steps, light raindrops began to fall. Mace folded his arms over his chest and grinned. Turning to look behind me, I found Trav standing with the garden hose at the rear of the garage and pointing it skyward. Mickey was up and moving in a flash across the yard.
Both Mace and Trav roared with laughter, thinking it was the funniest fucken thing since the Spice Girls. When Mickey furiously twisted the tap on the second garden hose, I realised shit was about to get real.
I was up and moving as Trav aimed the hose at Nico and the girls. Lil and Kimmie let out a delayed ear-piercing squeal, and that seemed to be the signal to unleash chaos.
Taking a running jump over the fire, I cleared the shortest distance to the house and arrived on the deck slightly puffed from my unexpected sprint—complete with beer still in hand.
Strings of expletives and roars of laughter filled the yard while bodies sprinted in all directions.
“You’re an asshole, you know that right?” I growled at Mace.
“Hey, there was no way I was hanging ‘round out there when I could be sitting pretty, and dry, up here.”
Lunging at his shoulders, I pulled him into a grapple, inducing a minor scuffling match. Despite me being slightly taller than my cousin, his shoulders were broader. The physicality of our jobs meant that we were strong, but when it came down to it, we both knew that Mace would eventually get the upper hand; I wasn’t into pumping weights like he was.
Our wrestle ended when Mickey snuck around the corner of the house and turned the hose on us.
“Shit!” was all he managed to laugh before Mace stalked towards him.
My ass was staying put. I leaned against the weatherboards and was soon joined by Nico. Together, we silently watched mayhem reign.
The two girls were crouched behind one of the couches like sitting ducks; they just didn’t know it yet. I smirked knowing it was only a matter of time before they were found, and it would be sooner now that Mickey noticed me looking in their particular direction. A wicked grin spread across both our faces as he crept up on them, all the while Lil maintained her scathing glare at me.
Mickey timed his assault perfectly, turning the hose on the girls as Trav boxed them in from the opposite side. The amount of shrieking and cussing was enough to send Nico and I into fits of laughter.
Doubling over and gasping for breath, I realised I couldn’t remember the last time I laughed like I meant it. The awareness sucker punched me right in the heart. I really hadn’t allowed myself to relax—let alone smile—more than a dozen times over the last few years. That thought was enough to sober me immediately, leaving me overcome and overwhelmed.
With what? I wasn’t sure. It may have been bitterness over the friendship they all shared, it may have been because they had accepted me without question and treated me like any other member of their crew, or it may have been guilt because for a split second, I was actually bloody enjoying myself.
Quietly slipping into the house, I searched for the bathroom. By the time I returned, the party had moved in-doors and the fire pit lay dark and smouldering outside. Kimmie handed out towels and demanded the removal of wet clothing. No way I was sticking around any longer.
“I’ll catch you later, Mace, I’m off,” I informed him and thumbed at the door.
Against my will, my eyes did a quick scan for one last glimpse of Lil, and I couldn’t fathom if I was disappointed or relieved by her absence.
“Not on my watch,” Mace declared and came at me. “We have one major rule here, and that is, if you drink, you stay.”
“Pfft, yeah, I’m not staying,” I scoffed, my bike keys already dangling from my forefinger.
“You’re staying,” Mace growled.
He matched my stance with his hands raised and looked like he was gearing up to put me on lock down. Being the stubborn fool I was, I wasn’t backing down either.
“No, I’m leaving,” I snapped, emphasising the ‘leaving’ part by opening my eyes wide and giving him a You’re a tosser look.
Mace huffed out a breath and slapped his hands on his thighs, clearly exasperated by my total pig-headedness. Before I could react, he lunged and grappled for my keys. I tried to regain my balance by taking a step back but two hands landed on my back and pushed against me. Glancing quickly over my shoulder as I struggled with Mace, I was met with determination blazing in Lil’s big hazel eyes.
The unwelcome distraction caused a momentary lapse in concentration and Mace took full advantage of it. He tore the keys from my hand and pocketed them in his own jeans.
“There,” he puffed and shot me a smug grin that my fist itched to punch off his face. “The decision has been made for you.”
Without letting me argue, he spun on his heel and walked away whistling. Anger and frustration flared in me. I wasn’t used to having to answer to someone or being told what to do.
Cool patches formed on my back where Lil’s warm hands had been pressed. As if having her hands on me wasn’t overstepping the mark enough, she then had the audacity to poke my side in a silent hint for me to move out of the goddamn doorway. I snapped my head downwards just in time to see her fingers tentatively extending towards my abdomen again, no doubt to cop a second feel.
E-fucking-nough.
Maybe I had more to drink than I thought, or maybe simply being around her heightened my intoxication. Either way, I was feeling well out of my depth and it was clouding my judgment. I allowed the anger on my face to reflect my inner turmoil as I stepped into Lil’s space.
I was close.
Too close.
Lil inhaled rapidly and stepped back in surprise. Her eyes flared and it was obvious she was slightly ill at ease over my sudden change in demeanour. I knew I was being an asshole, but I couldn’t care less. I felt uncontrolled around her, and I had only ever felt that once before, many years ago. And as a result, my entire world broke.
A wave of guilt washed over me again, causing my irritation to spike over this entire cluster fuck of a night.
Giving her body the once over again, I balled my fists when my gaze connected with hers. I didn’t look away as I rounded on her, each step guiding her further towards the darkened end of the deck. She gasped when I laid a single finger on her arm, and from that fleeting moment I was unable to hold back.
Want flared within my veins. I needed to feel, to taste her, and as soon as fucking possible. Boxing her in against the house with my arms either side of her body, I bent my head to her ear and grinned devilishly when her breath hitched.
“Playin’ games with me, Sunshine, isn’t wise.”
“Only if you’re a bad sport about it,” Lil replied with a distinct edge to her voice.
My palms landed on the back of her thighs and hoisted her up. Her legs instinctively wrapped around my waist. I suppressed a growl in satisfaction knowing that when I pushed forward, I would be grinding between her legs. With her finger tips digging into my shoulders, I ducked my head again.
“Depends who I’m playing with,” I growled against her lips.
When she opened her lips to respond I claimed her mouth with my own and was taken by surprise when she reciprocated with matched vigour. It wasn’t my intention to be like this; rough and unpredictable, but she had awoken something feral within me that had been dormant for too long.
Lil’s throaty hum gave me all the confirmation I needed, and I settled into devouring her as best I could while fully clothed.
In my greed to touch every part of her, my hand roamed up her ribs while the other pulled her hips impossibly closer. She
moved with me, pulling and tugging at my hair and clothes.
The moment her fingertips flicked under my shirt and connected with my bare skin, I let out a grunt in shock. There was that feeling again—the energy between our connection, the one that stopped me in my tracks earlier tonight.
Fuck, this girl was completely undoing me and I needed to stop, but selfishly, I didn’t—she was too damn responsive.
Our bubble burst the instant Trav stuck his head out the door and hollered into the night.
“Oi, you two coming in? What’s the hold up?”
Sealing my lips back over Lil’s so she couldn’t make a single sound, I froze, fearing the barest movement would draw attention to us.
Giving a confused huff, Trav headed back inside, and judging by the tone of his voice, he was inquiring about our whereabouts.
With one last taste, I broke away with a frustrated growl. I couldn’t look at her, couldn’t even bring myself to help steady her when she stumbled a little.
Unable to be near Lil any longer, I jumped over the deck railing and stalked around the side of the house to move my bike.
Now in the solitude of the night, guilt rose and took hold of my heart. I couldn’t fathom what the fuck just happened back there, but it wouldn’t be happening again.
FIVE
LIL
“WHAT THE HELL...?” I breathed, struggling to calm my racing heart and regain my breath.
Gage stole the oxygen from my entire body, leaving me lightheaded yet alight and aching. The throbbing between my legs was a lasting reminder of his presence that contrasted with the sting on my lips left behind from his beard. The prickly heat I felt under my palms when I pressed them to my face was enough for me to know what my skin looked like right now.
It all happened so fast, and there was no denying that the guy was as confused as I was. He had lit a whirlwind of emotions within me that no one else had even come close to kindling. As much as I tried to deny it, I liked it, a lot. Curse my treacherous body for wanting more of the delicious preview he’d just given me.
What have I gotten myself into?
After running my hands through my hair in a quick effort to tame it as best I could, I made sure all my clothes were in the appropriate spots before heading inside. My quick pace was muted on the decking timber and I prayed no one would notice me slink in. I wasn’t more than two steps into the house when everyone paused and turned their attention on me. The various questions and smirks on their faces caused me to shuffle on the spot.
“Er, what’s going on?” I calmly asked, my voice sounding thick and tight. Inside, my pulse hammered and the blood roared in my ears. I could feel a guilty flush rapidly rising up my neck and spreading across my cheeks.
“We could ask you the same question, Lil,” Kimmie tittered. Her eyes twinkled and her smile dazzled my intoxicated vision. She bloody well knew exactly what had been going on.
Mace’s question rolled off the back of Kimmie’s comment. “And what have you done with my cousin? You didn’t eat him alive, did you?” He gave me a wicked smirk, and I wanted to melt into the floorboards and die between the cracks. Mace casually stroked a hand over his chin. “You, ah, had a reaction to something there, Lil Bean?”
Oh God kill me now. I was already dying of embarrassment; it couldn’t possibly get worse!
I sucked in a rapid breath, which unfortunately resulted in me coughing on my own saliva. While bending over with my hands planted on my knees, completely red faced and spluttering, Kimmie took pity on me enough to slap my back and offer a glass of water. As I caught my breath, Trav’s feet appeared in my downcast line of sight, then a bottle of mouthwash was thrust into my face.
“What’s that for?” I croaked.
“You know what it’s for. But if you want me to spell it out for you, I can do Storytime with Trav?”
“Damn you, Travis!” I hissed, snatching the mouthwash and pegged it blindly in his direction.
Laugher broke out at his yell of surprise as the bottle found its mark—close to his junk—before skidding along the floor.
It was at that precise moment Gage made his re-appearance. Now it was his turn to feel the wrath of their interrogative stares.
“What?” he snapped in a pissy tone. “I was moving my bike around the back so it wouldn’t get stolen. What’s with the awkward as fuck silence?” he challenged. Then, as an afterthought and seeing me still bent over trying to regain composure, he added, “You ok there, Sunshine?”
The son of a bitch actually had the gall to rest his hand briefly on the small of my back, sending a bolt of lightning searing up my spine. I straightened instantly, and if it had been any other moment, I would have bragged about executing a perfect ‘bend and snap’. However, right now I needed a diversion and fast, and Mace was by far the easiest target.
“Is that going to stain, do you think?” I grimaced, pointing at his discarded shirt with the grease mark clearly visible.
Thank goodness the change of subject was successful. Attention turned back to Kimmie who was edging away from Mace, sensing his imminent attack.
With the festivities resuming, Gage whispered, “Nice work, Sunshine,” and chuckled deeply as he walked away.
My annoyance flared and I wanted to growl because of it. I didn’t know what ‘this’ was between us, but it was remotely nowhere near over. It was only just getting started… And it was going to be complicated.
~
For the rest of the night, Gage and I avoided each other like the plague. That didn’t stop me from stealing glances his way, and every now and then I was positive I felt his gaze searing over my body when I least expected it.
Regardless of the distractions, it felt as if there was a gigantic flashing neon sign above our heads with the words ‘Just hooked up’ blinking obnoxiously for all the world to see. I noticed Mickey giving Gage the brotherly death stare on multiple occasions, which Gage took like a man-child; returning an equally dark glower from across the room. Only Mace had the balls to question me outright—for the moment; Kimmie was simply biding her time to get the juicy details.
Mace sidled up to me, bumping my shoulder before slinging his arm around my neck. “Sooo, moving the bike, huh?”
“Nope, not me. I was picking up the empties and turning the hoses off.”
My cover story was total baloney and he knew it, but it was the best I could come up with in the state I was in. Holding my gaze to ransom, Mace tilted his head towards mine and gave me an affectionate squeeze.
“You two would actually suit each other really well. Plus, I haven’t seen Gage interested in anyone in a long time. Which means, he also realises that you’re one of a kind.”
“Aww, that’s real sweet of you, Macey-Poo,” I mocked before snapping to a factual tone. “But yeah, that ain’t gonna happen.”
Straightening to full height, Mace got serious too. Burning me with a sullen look, he grumbled, “If you ever call me Macey-Poo again, there’ll be hell to pay, Missy.”
Loud laughter burst from my mouth before I cooed at him like he was a tiny baby bird, all ruffled and vulnerable and scruffily cute. Mace snorted and tried to look badass despite his eyes crinkling with amusement.
Shaking his head in feigned resignation, he reached across the bench and grabbed a bread bun, which he then slapped into my palm.
“Eat that, you’re a goddamn pain in the arse.”
“Well, I happen to think I’m rather awesome!” I sang with over inflated self-confidence.
Ignoring Mace’s snigger, I turned my attention to the bun, mauling it with exaggeration and biting off way more than I could chew. Literally.
“Jesus,” Mace muttered and pointed at my bulging cheeks. “You’re ridiculous! Eat. Carefully!”
Kimmie breezed past on her way into the kitchen. She danced as she filled the jug with water then moved onto placing savouries onto an oven tray.
“Aww, Kimmie, I love the shit out of you right now,” I declared as I reach
ed around her for some water to clear the bun induced cottonmouth.
“I love you, too, Lil, but quit breathing on my neck,” Kimmie giggled.
I puckered and tried my hardest to lay one on her. It was true though; she was basically my sister and I loved her as such.
The same could be said for everyone in this room tonight. I loved each and every one of them, and hard. Well, apart from Gage, because that man was grinding my gears by simply being here.
We were a family, and we would fight through hell or high water for each other if we needed to. The grilling and questioning always came later, but we all knew that if anyone had a problem, we were all there for one another, no matter what.
Now that Gage was part of our group, he was automatically included. That’s how we rolled. I just hoped that he would also come through for any one of us if we needed him.
~
It was now well after two in the morning when everyone began to slump into the living room furniture. Kimmie set about making sure everyone had a place to crash for the night.
Neek and Trav checked the outdoor couches and proclaimed them dry enough to be slept on. They lugged them onto the deck, and since Trav and Mickey were the ones spraying the water around, they were automatically relegated to sleeping on them. Luckily for those two, the nights were beginning to warm up now and they wouldn’t freeze their assess off.
The master bedroom was always off limits, Neek called dibs on the spare room. Gage and Mace claimed the crazy comfortable living room couches, leaving Kimmie and I to share her bed. That was a pretty sweet deal too, even if I had to deal with Morning Kimmie, whom I despised deeply. Her chirpiness at the crack of dawn was something that no human should be exposed to. Waking up to her singing or declaring what a beautiful day it was made me want to rip my ears off and shove them down her throat. No guesses needed for my emotive state upon waking; a total freaking grouch!
After exchanging goodnights, I dragged my ass to Kimmie’s room and flopped onto the bed. It took a huge amount of willpower to stand again and tug off my jeans and top. Making the most of being vertical again, I grabbed a pair of Kimmie’s PJ shorts and singlet top from her drawer. Stumbling back towards the bed as I pulled them on, I used momentum to complete the dive between the soft welcoming sheets. Bliss! Total bliss until my bra made itself known. With a frustrated growl, I worked my way around the bed until the annoying piece of clothing was disentangled and flung on the floor. Kimmie stumbled through the door and stopped short as it landed in a crumpled heap on her carpet. Her eyes narrowed then skipped over all of my discarded clothing strewn around the room.