Placing her back on her feet, he smoothed down her dress and grinned wolfishly. “Don’t worry, they won’t look. They value their teeth too much.” After kissing the hell out of her, he pulled away and acknowledged Storm with a nod. “Storm.”
Storm stopped just shy of our semi-circle. “Hudson, Reed, Harper,” she said with a smile. One that didn’t reach her eyes.
“Storm,” we all said in unison.
‘Are you OK?’ I mouthed, and she nodded with a tight smile. Storm and I had buried our differences ages ago and were now friends.
“Er, hello?” Nix grunted, stepping forward and giving her a wave due to being left out of the greeting.
Storm rolled her eyes at her half-brother and pointed out. “I saw you this morning, dick.” Phoenix and Storm saw each other regularly when he was visiting their father. Mr. Summers had recently offered Phoenix the pool house as an alternative to staying on campus. “Remember?”
Realisation swam into his features. “Oh, yeah, right,” he replied with a goofy grin. God, I loved him so much. He’d mellowed over the last year; the sense of humor he used to have when we were kids was back.
Smoothing her long, dark hair down her front, Storm glanced around us, purposefully keeping her gaze off Reed. “So, what were you guys talking about?”
A knowing smirk appeared on Hudson’s face. He wouldn’t allow her to blank his brother. “Reed’s transfer.”
Her cheeks heated, and her eyes flickered towards Reed. It was a brief look. The coward's way out, really, but we all knew she was hurting. “Oh, of course.” We’d all had a lengthy discussion about whether you could call what happened between Reed and Storm a breakup, considering they were neverofficiallyan item.
I noticed she hadn’t taken her diamond engagement ring off her finger. It was that one she had disregarded as a dress ring one day in the car last year. There was nothing fake about it; the stone was real and extremely expensive. She didn’t usually wear it around Reed, for obvious reasons.
When the news that Storm was engaged came out, we were all shocked. Reed, on the other hand, was broken, beyond repair. Not that he would ever admit that, the stubborn idiot. I wanted to punch him in the nuts and tell him tofight for her!
“It’s an opportunity too good to miss, I suppose,” she muttered sadly.
“That’s right, Teacup,” Reed said, his eyes locking onto her face. She didn’t have the guts to retain that contact, even when Reed used his nickname for her.
Placing my arm through Nix’s, I added. “I just wish it wasn’t so far away.” Hoping that would encourage Storm to say something. Fuck, maybe even take him to one side? Have that overdue chat?
“You could always stay,” I suggested, ignoring how Nix squeezed me in warning. We weren’t supposed to get involved, Hudson’s orders.
And then Reed put the final nail in the coffin or the knife in the heart. “There’s nothing for me here, now.” He said those words directly to Storm, and she raised her eyes to his. Her expression was forlorn, and I wanted to shake some sense into her. Strike that, into themboth.
None of his brothers, Molly, or I said, ‘What about us?’ We got the point he was not so subtly making.
I glanced pleadingly at Hudson, but he just shook his head as if to say no. That was the same message he’d given us when the news of Storm’s hidden fiancé had come out into the open.
The atmosphere between us thickened, the air becoming stifling, due to the elephant in the room scenario.
As if perfectly timed, Storm’s cell started to ring. “Anyway, I just came to drop Molly off and say hi, so I’ll leave you to your party,” she croaked, her voice breaking slightly.
“Why don’t you stay and have a drink?” Molly encouraged, after Storm’s phone went silent when she didn’t answer it. “I know you have someplace else to be, but you could stop for a quick one?” Both Molly and I knew where she had to be: the country club where she would meet up with her fiancé, Jasper, and his extremely important parents.
Reed’s face tightened, and a tick in his jaw appeared. He then crushed the can in his fist and dropped it onto the sand.
The movement snapped Storm out of her trance. “No, I'd better not. I’m driving.” I watched as one of her infamous fake smiles appeared. Storm’s cell then started up again, and she slipped it out of her pocket and scanned the screen. Her eyes told me exactly what I already knew: she wasn’t pleased about the caller. “Look, I need to take this.”
Reed smirked. “Let me guess, the fiancé, right?” he said, pointing a gunned finger at her.
She nodded. “Right.”
Her ex-lover raised his eyebrows and stated. “Better not keep him waiting then.”
Storm’s expression switched as quickly as a lit match. “Goodbye, Reed, take care of yourself.” Her words were cool and lacked feeling, and my gut clenched. Why they couldn’t work it out was the question on everyone’s lips.
“Always do. You too, Teacup,” he replied beneath his breath as she turned away.
“Laters,” I called.
