“Nice save.” I pat the seat next to me, and Ace complies without hesitating. “I almost knocked us both right over.”
“You couldn’t knock me over if you tried. Besides, I’ll always catch you, girl.” His dimples depress, and, for a moment, it’s just Ace and me with my heart palpitating in honor of his glory.
“So how was school?” I glance around.
Gavin shakes his head. “The school of hard knocks suits me just fine.” He opted out of the scholastic route and opened his own business instead. Outside of firewood, he carves oversized bears and eagles that the residents buy to adorn their yards. Gavin is pretty amazing in his own right.
“I have lots to tell you.” Brylee pierces me with a hard stare. Her stony-green eyes drill into mine. Brylee is cute and bubbly with her long, blonde hair, her body that most girls pay for, and she happens to get away with murder due to the aforementioned attributes.
“You choose a major this year?” I ask, taking a quick sip of my mocha freeze.
“Business.” She rolls her eyes as if she regrets it already. “Guess where I’m headed in the fall?”
“No way!” It comes from me a little louder than necessary. I turn back for a moment and catch Warren talking to Neva. His hand brushes over hers, and I ignore it. “Do you know what dorm you’ll be staying in?”
“Beuller Hall.”
“That’s where I am! I’ll see if I can get our roommates to switch. I’d die to have you with me.”
Ace and Gavin hold their own conversation about woodcutting, something about cords being stacked later this afternoon. I never did understand the woodcutting lingo, so I wait for a lull in their conversation before interjecting.
“How’s school for you?” I say it quieter to Ace, hoping he knows my question is still layered with heat from last night’s kisses.
“Good.” His dimples flex, setting off a set of mini tremors between my thighs. “Still rowing. I declared business as my major. The year flew by. And you?”
Warren comes back before I can answer and drops a kiss on the top of my head. He smacks Ace to scoot over, and he does without hesitating.
Warren can be a good guy when he’s not busy being an asshole. He’s tall, a little lanky but clean cut and for the most part attentive—to his own needs.
“I’m headed to Collingsworth in an hour.” He pushes into me with his shoulder until I nearly fall off the bench. “You in?” Warren has a scar that jags up his left cheek from an accident he had when he was a kid. He fell from a horse onto a barbed fence and slit his face open. His caramel-colored hair is a little longer than it’s been, but he keeps his face clean-shaven as a baby’s bottom.
“What are you going there for?” Brylee asks while sipping her creamy Frappuccino and suddenly I wish I would have ordered that instead. I have a tendency to want things that aren’t mine, like Ace.
“My dad needs me to run some briefs to his buddy down the hill.” He slinks his arm around my waist again and gives my ribs a squeeze. I forgot Warren is doing an internship with his father this summer. “You up for a quick run? We’ll make a day out of it. I’ll let you beat me on the golf course later.”
My mouth opens as I look to Ace, and he quickly deflects my gaze.
“I was thinking about laying out. You know, catching up on a book, maybe.” Laying out? He just offered to treat me to an entire day, and I cancel because I have to work on my tan? Nice. Maybe Warren pegged me right. Maybe I’m a bitch with or without caffeine coursing through my veins. On the other hand, I’m not in a hurry to send him anymore mixed signals. I’d rather endure a third degree sun burn than listen to Warren drone on about all things legal, let alone ride shotgun in a golf cart for three hours straight.
“I’ll go.” Brylee volunteers. “But only if we can stop at Costco. The refrigerator’s on empty, and my parents are out of town for the next few weeks.”
“Deal.” Warren glances at me as his lips twist with disappointment. “Catch you in the p.m.? Dinner at the Blue Crab?”
“Sounds great.” I shrug. There I go again, getting sucked into Warren’s special brand of ambush dating. But I had already turned him down once. I’d hate to cut him off at the balls in front of everyone at the table. Maybe I’ll tell him at dinner that I want to see other people. Obviously he thinks we’re exclusive even though I’d sit on an entire stack of Bibles to testify the fact we’re not.
Ace nods over to Gavin. “Ready to go?” His face is peppered with stubble, and it gives him that sexier-than-hell look I ingrained into my memory last summer before leaving.
“Where you off to?” I ask, trying not to sound so desperately interested. But, dear God, am I ever desperately interested. I’ve taken a mental inventory of our every exchange for as long as I can remember. I’m so thirsty for Ace in the worst way, and last night he offered a sip, but I’m greedy. I want to fall into his ocean and drink him down to the last drop if he’ll let me.
“Emerald Forest.” Gavin answers for him. “We’ve got a quarter acre of nobles just begging for us to hack ‘em to pieces.”
“There’s also a grove of walnuts back there.” Ace holds my gaze with his deep-sea eyes a moment too long, and I can’t look away. “We need to dry them out—season them.”
“Dude.” Gavin shakes his head. “Like anyone cares.” He hops up and slaps Warren on the back as he heads for the door.
“I care.” I bite down over my lip as everyone starts to disband. Warren and Brylee discuss their departure as I slide into Ace. “You think I can see you tonight?” My voice warbles like a frightened child, and I don’t know why.
“Sounds like you’re busy.” He shoots a quick glance to Warren. A smile plays on his lips, but he won’t give it. He’s teasing me, and, secretly, I’m loving it. “Reese”—he leans in hard, his heated breath licks against my neck—“forget about what happened last night.” His lips brush against my temple, and a wild jolt moves from his body to mine. “I did.”
