“Hey, hot stuff.” Brylee snatches a taco from my plate and takes a giant bite.
“Have you seen Reese?” I glance out at the crowd.
“I just talked to her. She’s changing into something that’s guaranteed to drive you insane. You do realize that girl is crazy about you.”
“She’s just having a good time.” I shoulder up to Bry as I continue to pan the crowd. “She specifically signed up for fun, and that’s what I plan on giving her.”
“A little bird told me that you plan on giving her a lot more than fun on Friday.” She bumps her hip into mine, and the rest of my food goes flying.
“Nice.” I toss my plate into the trashcan next to me. “And, yes. Did she sound excited?”
“Hell to the yes. Oh, hon, you don’t even know. This is bigger than prom.” She bats her lashes a ridiculously long time. Brylee straightens out, and her demeanor shifts. “Why don’t you do everyone involved a favor, Waterman…”
I know what she’s going to say, so I look away.
“I don’t want to rock the boat,” I whisper. “If she’s happy like this, then so am I.” The last thing I’m going to do is slam her with my feelings, especially since we were pretty clear about maintaining a friendship right from the beginning.
“So you’re content just being fuck buddies?” She glares into me with her arms folded tight. Brylee knows I hate that term, and to associate it with Reese seems almost blasphemous.
“Don’t say that.” I look around to see if anyone else heard. “What we have is different—it’s special. She just wants to cross that bridge with someone she feels comfortable with, and this is the summer she wants to do it.” I swallow hard. “She recruited me.” I’m not sure that’s an upgrade from fuck buddy, but I like the argument. Maybe, at the end of the day, that’s all we would have been this summer. “It’s special to the both of us. We’re best friends.” It’s like I can’t keep my mouth from moving while trying to justify the situation.
Brylee tilts into me with a look that suggests I’ve just fed her one line of bullshit too many.
“Reese andIare best friends.” Her hardened stare bears into me. “Should I be fucking her?”
“Yeah, well, she didn’t ask you. Did she?” I scan the crowd for Gavin now. I’ll do just about anything to ditch Brylee and her ball-busting campaign.
“Exactly my point.” She nods while staring me down as if this should mean something.
I’m just about to ask her to sharpen the lines, tell her I’m a guy and can’t read between them when a light tap emits over my shoulder.
I turn to find Reese, and my heart stops. She’s wearing a skintight dress, the exact color of her skin, short as hell with her cleavage blooming in front. Her hair is loose around her face in perfect waves, and her eyes glow like streetlamps in this dull light.
“Remember that marble collection you used to have?” Her tongue licks over the rim of her lips like quicksilver. “I wondered if you still had it. Maybe you could show it to me?”
Brylee groans into us. “Would you two get a room already?” She calls out for Kennedy before dancing off in her direction.
“Sorry. I told her,” she confesses. “Do you hate me?” She tilts her head, and her dark hair fans out on one side like a giant feathered wing.
Reese pulls a smile from me without even trying. “I could never hate you.” And there is no bigger truth.
Reese threads her arm around my waist, and we walk boldly through the crowd like a couple. I wait until we hedge the upper ridge before pulling her in tight.
The lake and the lights from the party glitter down below, and it feels as if we’re on top of the world from this vantage point.
“Marble collection?” I press my lips over her forehead as a dull laugh rails through me.
“I’m serious. When we were kids, Neva and I used to sneak into your room while you were out and touch all your things.” She flirts with her eyes, and my body starts to tremble. I want her so damn bad it hurts.
“All my things, huh? You weren’t allowed in my room.” I give her ribs a quick tickle as we make our way onto the blacked trail that leads to the cabin. I wince when I spot Dad’s car parked next to mine. A part of me wishes he were down the hill, getting his rocks off with all the local MILFs—anything but this.
“Yeah, well, that’s what made it so fun—knowing that we weren’t allowed.” Reese looks up at me from under her lashes, her eyes siren out like stars. “Sometimes it’s the forbidden things that I want the most.” She hikes up on the balls of her feet and kisses me hot over the lips, but her words swirl through my mind like a flying hatchet. Is that the draw? The fact she knows her father—most everyone in Loveless wouldn’t approve? “Anyway”—she rubs her hand over my chest—“I loved the giant blue one you had. It was the exact shade of your eyes.” She looks down a moment. “I used to hold it and stare at it for hours.”
She noticed the shade of my eyes way back when?
“So what you’re really saying is that you want to gouge out my eyes and hold them hostage for hours.” I lean my head over hers as we make our way to the porch.
“That would make me sick and disgusting, and you’re equally sick for thinking it up.” She steals a kiss as we make our way to the porch. “Thanks for making my skin crawl.”
