by Piper Rayne
“It’s working for us,” I say.
“One day you’re gonna be knocked on your ass when this goes to shit.” He disappears down the hall.
When someone knocks on the window, I turn toward the front. It’s Presley. She gives me a small wave.
I head over and open the doors of the brewery. “Hey.”
“Hi. I just wanted to thank Jed for putting up my awning and give you this.” She hands me an envelope with the word rent in girly script on the front.
“I told you—”
She puts up her hand. “I feel the need to make the point even more pointed that I’m just a tenant.”
“You don’t have to pay to stay there.”
“Oh, and I asked Zoe if she wouldn’t mind giving me a ride to the car rental place tonight. It’s on her way home, so that way I’m not disturbing you.”
Jed comes walking out from out of the back.
“Hey, Jed, thanks again for helping Adam with the awning. I really appreciate it.”
He waves. “No problem.” He pretends he forgot something and goes back down the hall.
But she’s already walking away. “See you later.”
“Presley,” I call after her.
She puts her hand in the air. “I’ve got a million things to do. A new shipment just came in. See ya.”
I watch her open the door of her shop and disappear inside.
“Things already went to shit, didn’t they?” Jed asks as if he never left. “Leave it to Reese to screw it up for you.”
Just as he says her name, she walks out of the butcher, so I shut the door and lock it as if keeping her physically out of my brewery will stop her from invading my life once again.
Chevelle walks into the house and covers her eyes. “Fisher, ew. Put on some pants.”
“We bathed together.” He continues playing Xbox with Jed, not even glancing in her direction.
“As babies. This is very different,” Chevelle says.
Jed laughs. “I don’t mind seeing your junk, Fisher.”
“I’m comin’ off a long damn shift, Chevelle, so I suggest you get yourself a blindfold if you don’t like it.”
I pick up a piece of pizza and relax in the chair, enjoying not having any attention pointed my way. Plus, the chair gives me the perfect view of the driveway, so I’ll know when Presley comes home. As it grows darker, I worry she doesn’t know her way around.
“So, Mom’s birthday,” she says, plopping down on the couch next to Fisher. But she’s perched on the end and turned in my direction.
A car pulls up the drive and I lean over to get a better view out the window. It parks behind Fisher and I sigh when I see it’s Fisher’s best friend, Cameron’s, Jeep. Damn it. Where the hell is she?
Cameron knocks and we all yell to come in. He steps into the room and Chevelle sighs.
“Hey, Cam, I’m almost done obliterating your friend.” Jed tilts his whole body as if it controls what’s happening on the screen, his fingers moving a mile a minute.
“Like hell.” Fisher’s body moves and comes dangerously close to touching Chevelle, who watches him as if he’s a snake slithering her way and she’s deciding when it’s time to abort mission.
I stand, annoyed and needing a distraction. “Hey, Cam.” I bump his fist. Cam’s been around since we were young.
Chevelle gets up to move over to my chair, but Cam quickly sneaks in and she ends up on his lap. He’s always treated her like a little sister too.
She smacks his shoulder, annoyed. “You’re so annoying!”
“Feel free to stay, I don’t mind you on my lap,” Cam jokes—to antagonize her or Fisher, I’m not sure.
Fisher drops his controller and narrows his eyes at Cam while Jed screams in victory.
Jed stands and puts his hand in the air for a high five from Cam. “Thank you very much.”
Fisher’s still glaring at Cam, but Chevelle follows me into the kitchen.
She sits at the kitchen table and pulls out a piece of paper. “I have the itinerary.”
This has been Chevelle’s thing ever since our mom died. I know it’s a part of her healing and the therapist said that if it helps her, then we should keep it up. But it’s been years now and we’re all grown up. I’d prefer we all just grieve her ourselves. Not that I’m going to bring up that idea.
“I figure I can get the flowers and we can meet there at the same time as always. We’ll each say something to Mom like always and then we’ll all go to Dad and Marla’s to eat.”
This whole day she’s talking about is for Fisher, Xavier, Adam, Chevelle, and me. After Dad married Marla, we excused him because we didn’t want her to feel bad. But he still comes every year and Marla is perfectly comfortable with it. She’s an amazing stepmom.
“Sounds fine.” I grab a beer out of the fridge. “Want a drink?”
“No, I’m good.” She tucks her blonde hair behind her ears. “Do you need to talk?”
I sit at the table and look at her. “Why?”
“You seem antsy, and I mean, I heard the rumors.”
I blow out a breath. “What rumors?” I act dumb, but I’m sure tomorrow Nikki will be talking all about it anyway.
“Reese being back. I heard her boyfriend cheated on her with her best friend, so she came home. Someone else said she’s back for good.” Her eyes widen.
“That sucks for her, but I don’t really care.” I tilt back my head and gulp down my beer.
“Okay then, do you want to talk about Presley?”
Chevelle was only five when our mom died, and she’s struggled with that loss her entire life—for reasons that are her own and completely understandable given what happened. I’ve been there as much as I could to listen and help guide her, so it’s no surprise that she wants to reciprocate with me, but that’s not the way our relationship goes. She’s not going to be my confidante. She’s got enough to deal with besides my bullshit.
“No, I don’t.”
She leans in across the table and lowers her voice. “Is what Nikki said true?”
“What?”
“That you and Presley are together?”
I’m not about to explain to my twenty-three-year-old sister about the friends with benefits situation I find myself in. “No. She’s staying above the garage and that’s it.”
Thankfully Cam walks in and opens the fridge.
“You just let him go into your fridge?” Chevelle asks me.
“Relax, little one.” He pulls three beers out of the fridge and goes back into the other room.
She rolls her eyes. I’m not sure why Chevelle and Cam have never gotten along, but if I had to guess, I’d say it’s because Cam was at our house a lot and they developed a sibling rivalry of sorts. But I wish Cam would’ve stayed in the kitchen longer so he could help get her off my back.
“I have a poem I want to read this year,” she says.
“Okay.”
Honestly, I grieve my mom my own way. A way I’ve never shared with any of my siblings. So whatever Chevelle wants to do, I’m fine with it. But she wants me to okay it because I’m the oldest.
“Don’t you want to hear it?” she asks.
“I’ll hear it that day.”
She nods. I can tell she wants to read it to me now, but I’ve got too much on my mind to think about something that’s still weeks away. It’s like the minute the first of the month happens, everyone is remembering her. Which is great, but I need some fucking air right now.
As though she’s my saving grace, headlights reflect off the garage. I stand to go meet Presley, but Chevelle stands faster.
“Oh, I haven’t officially met her yet. Is that her?” She beelines past me, out the back door, and ambushes Presley the minute she parks her small rental SUV.
This is one of those times when big families suck.
I exit my rental SUV as a slender woman with long blonde hair shoots out of the main house.
“Presley,” she says.
Pl
ease tell me she’s not another ex of Cade’s. The first one has thrown me into a spiral I just managed to talk myself out of. I had to remind myself that he and I aren’t anything special. We’re fuck buddies, if I want to classify us as anything, even though we’ve yet to actually have sex. Something I’m unsure will ever happen now with Reese’s appearance.
I freeze when she throws herself at me, wrapping her arms around me and squeezing tightly.
“Hi,” I say, lengthening the word and standing like a statue.
“Presley, this is my sister, Chevelle.” Cade’s voice comes out of the darkness until he appears as a shadowy persona on the porch.
I notice the beer in his hand. Seeing Reese has stressed him out. Not a good sign for me.
Chevelle finally removes herself like a blanket from me. “It’s so nice to meet you.”
I nod. “You too.” I reach in and grab my grocery bags, along with the bags from the retail store where I bought some trash cans and bedding.
“I love that you’re staying up in the apartment. I used to have sleepovers up there when I was little.”
Another Greene admission of how the space above the garage was used. It makes me wonder what Cade’s memories up there might be.
She follows me up the stairs, as does Cade, both loaded with bags from my car.
“I can get it all,” I say.
“Nonsense. We’re right here.” She steps in and places the bags on the counter. “Oh, you cleaned it up nice.”
I put away the groceries while Cade stands there, drinking his beer.
“I should go. I just had to stop by to talk to Cade.” Chevelle’s gaze finds his, and he manages a smile for his younger sister. They obviously share a bond. She hugs me again on my way back from the fridge to grab more items. “Welcome to Sunrise Bay.”
“Thanks.” I can’t help but smile at her, despite my mood.
“And don’t go into the main house. Fisher is in there in his boxers.”
“Consider me warned.”
She hugs Cade and he pats her back, his gaze on me the entire time. Then she’s gone and the door shuts, leaving a deafening silence in her wake.
I continue to put away the items, unsure where we stand after I gave him rent as though I was making the point that he was free to do what he wanted. If that means he wants to do Reese again, so be it. I’m fully aware of how ridiculously needy I was being. I might as well have given him an ultimatum right there.
He sets down the beer and comes up behind me when I struggle to get a box on a high shelf. His hand lands on my hip and he eases the box out of my hand, setting it up on the shelf.
“Thanks,” I say.
He doesn’t move and I don’t turn around. My breath feels heavy in my lungs.
“I feel like I need to apologize,” he says in a low voice.
I squeeze my eyes shut and shake my head. “You did nothing wrong.”
He slides my hair over to one side and goose bumps chase after his finger, my body betraying me again. I feel his breath before his lips touch my shoulder.
“I would have done all this with you,” he says.
“That’s not part of the agreement.”
I turn around to try to leave, but his hand winds through my hair at the back of my head. His lips fall to mine and I sink into his hold. His kisses are like a glass of wine after a long day. I’m thankful the counter is behind me because just like with wine, I want to sigh and collapse into a comfy chair with a good book. Okay, well, I actually want to sink into a comfy chair and spread my legs for him.
When his lips are on mine, there’s no fight in me to remember what this is and keep him at arm’s length.
He breaks the kiss and steps back. “You probably want to finish putting the groceries away.”
I’m about to say nah, the ice cream can melt, but I’m fairly sure I’ll be needing that ice cream in the coming weeks, based on the fact that I willingly agreed to a friends with benefits relationship with a man I don’t see as just a friend. That realization came when I found myself jealous of his ex earlier today.
“I should.”
He unpacks the bags and I put everything away, Cade helping me with the top shelves. After we’re all done, I ask him if I can use their washing machine and dryer. Then we head inside the main house, sneaking into the basement before anyone sees us.
I load the comforter and sheets I bought and I’m about to go back to my apartment when Cade picks me up by the hips and plops me down on the washer. His hands slide up my thighs, nudging them apart so he can fit between them. Grabbing my ass, he slides me forward.
“Are you offering me a ride on the spin cycle?” I say, the first joke we’ve had since Reese’s reappearance.
“I’m in charge of your spin cycles,” he says before his lips are on mine again.
There’s something domineering about this kiss, a claim of sorts that I haven’t felt from him yet. There’s no possible way he’s not still navigating his feelings about Reese’s return, but this kiss feels like a declaration. He deepens it and I cling to him as though I’m afraid he’s going to leave me.
He pulls back and rests his forehead on mine. “I like what we have going.”
And that’s enough for me. I naively agreed to this, but I’m not going to ignite a set of flares to alarm him and make him think I’ve caught feelings. I’m a grown woman and able to handle this relationship for what it is—unattached sex. So I nod slowly without saying a word.
“Let’s go to your apartment,” he whispers and picks me up, lowering me until my feet touch the floor.
“Don’t forget the condoms,” I say, walking up the stairs.
“I love the fact you put an s on the end of that sentence.”
I smile back at him and leave him in his house while I head back to my apartment.
I’m only inside for a few minutes before I hear some kind of commotion from inside the house. I look out the curtains to see what’s going on and watch as all the guys rush out of the house and get into Jed’s truck.
My phone dings as the headlights disappear down the driveway.
Cade: Sorry, our younger brother broke his leg. Rain check?
Me: Of course. Go.
Cade: I’m never going to be inside you, am I?
At least it’s something he still wants.
Me: I’m here all night.
Cade: I’ll keep you posted.
Me: Just worry about your brother.
Cade: Thanks for understanding.
I send him a smiley face and fall to the bed, sexually frustrated and messed up in the head. I thought I was trying to keep things uncomplicated.
I make myself dinner, and after I finish moving my comforter to the dryer, I head back upstairs. I’m not gonna lie, it’s a little scary coming to the main house at night with the woods surrounding us. But I don’t have much of a choice.
The boys left their Xbox on, along with all the lights, and left the doors unlocked. So I turn off the game, wrap up the pizza, and throw the box in the trash outside. I turn off the lights and lock the front door. I have to keep the back door unlocked so I can get back inside to remove my comforter from the dryer.
Once I’m in my apartment, I arrange my bathroom with my new toothbrush holder and trash can. I put out some knickknacks I bought, but once I’m done, I’m restless and unsure what to do with myself. So I open the small door that leads to the unfinished portion of the garage.
My phone rings and I assume it’s Cade, so I rush over to the bedside table and answer. “Hey. Is everything okay?”
“Sweetie, we booked our flights for your grand opening. We cannot wait.” It’s my mom.
I sigh, sinking to the bed.
“Are you okay?” she asks.
“I’m fine.”
“Once we’re in town, we’ll get you back into Glacier Point. Wyatt called your dad to say how sorry he is.”
I had no idea my dad even knew Wyatt’s family until after Dad told his friend at
the club that his daughter was in Sunrise Bay. Long story short and Wyatt was offering us a discount and saying how he’d take care of me while I was in Alaska. He’s a nice guy and thankfully doesn’t give off the stuck-up society asshole vibe I’m used to dealing with in our circles. Especially since his circle is a lot wealthier than mine.
“That’s okay. I’m going to stay here. I already paid rent.”
There’s a long silence.
“You can’t stay there.”
“I can.” I flex my jaw while I wait for her to speak.
“Rent is so… I mean, it’s so permanent.”
“Yes, Mom, because I’m opening up a bookstore, I’m going to be here for the foreseeable future.”
Another long silence ensues, and I get up from the bed, annoyed, and go to the door to the unfinished part, finding a light switch by the door. Crouching through it, I see the boxes that Cade must have put away when I came up here.
I pry one open and pull out a football trophy with Cade’s name on it. And then another one and another one. There’s a yearbook and a homecoming sash with his and Reese’s names. I slide the silky material through my fingers then toss it aside.
“Well, we’ll talk when I land. Your dad wants to see your business plans anyway.”
“Listen, I hate to do this, but I need to go.”
“We just got on the phone,” she whines.
“I’ll call tomorrow. Promise. Love you.”
“Love—”
I click off the phone before she finishes because I’m too preoccupied with the picture I’m holding. It’s of a much younger Cade and Reese nestled together at some bonfire. His arms are around her and she has her head turned toward him with that same look she had on the sidewalk—love.
I pick up the yearbook and flip through the pages, seeing the Greenes everywhere in it. Cade and Jed together in football uniforms. All the Greene boys—Cade, Jed, Fisher, Xavier—in football gear. I scan the pages, reading some messages his high school friends wrote to him. Then there’s a long message that takes up an entire page and I don’t bother reading it until I see who signed it. Love you forever, Reese.