I wanted to ask her if he’d packed those pictures awaynow, now that he was home, but I didn’t. I was afraid of the answer.
The girls that Gordon, Tommy, and Grady had brought were hanging out with Krista by the ATVs. I didn’t recognize them at all, so naturally Tessa dragged me over to them for introductions. “This is Paige, Grady’s girlfriend. Annaka is foolishly with Gordon, although hopefully she wises up soon—“
“Hey! I heard that!” Gordon yelled out, scowling at Tessa. She flipped him off and he grinned.
“And Samantha is Tommy’s friend,” Tessa continued. “Ladies, this is Elle.”
“Hey,” I said, assessing the newcomers. Paige had a friendly smile, golden hair and freckles lining her nose and cheeks. Samantha seemed rather shy and uncomfortable. She had chestnut brown hair shoved under an old Blue Jays baseball cap and eyes so blue they appeared almost violet.
Gordon’s girlfriend, Annaka, seemed out of place. She was quite pretty in an edgy way. She was unlike anyone he’d ever dated before in appearance alone. She had gages in her lobes, her labret and left nostril pierced, and ashy purple hair with 50’s style pin-up girl bangs. She had ink on every free square inch of skin, and she wore winged eyeliner and dark red lipstick, which was an odd choice for an afternoon of mudding—then again, who’s to say that Annaka wasn’t hit with this plan at the last minute, just like I’d been? “I love your makeup,” I said to her.
“Thanks,” she grinned, her white teeth flashing. She even had a gem on her right canine tooth.
“Annaka is a tattoo artist,” Tessa said. “She works in a shop in Sudbury.”
“Impressive,” I said, arching my brow. “How in the hell did Gordon find you?”
“It’s a long story,” Annaka laughed. She looked over her shoulder to see if Gordon was paying attention. When she confirmed that he wasn’t, she leaned forward. “Two weeks ago, he came to the shop to get a tattoo but greened out on my table.”
Tessa burst into laughter. “Oh, it never gets old,” she told me, grinning. “Gordon’s always been such a wuss when it comes to needles. I can’t even believe he attempted to get a tattoo.”
“So he didn’t end up sticking it out?” I asked, bemused. I looked over to where the guys were standing, and caught Braden staring at me. He smiled a secret smile, and I felt my body flush under his heady gaze.
“Not at all, he’s got one random dot on his shoulder. It basically looks like a dark freckle,” Annaka chuckled.
We ended up waiting another fifteen minutes for Travis to finally show up. Thankfully, he came solo. Once his ATV was unloaded off the massive truck he had showed up in, everyone got ready to hit the trails. Becky fussed over Aiden a little, making sure that he’d strapped on his helmet securely.
I didn’t even glance over in Braden’s direction. I knew he’d invite me to ride with him, and I knew that I would have trouble telling him no. Instead, I climbed on to the back of Tessa’s ATV. I held the passenger hand grips as she pulled out behind Brock, who led the way with Hunter ambling alongside. Braden travelled behind us, and then everyone else followed with Becky and Aiden taking up the rear.
Becky wanted Aiden to go slower than everyone else. I could tell that she was a little nervous letting him ride in such a big group, but everyone was cautious of the seven-year old. We didn’t ride as hard or as fast as we usually did.
It was about a ten-minute ride to our regular mudding spot in the clearing. We had to go through the swampy area, so by the time we actually made it to the clearing, the majority of our legs were covered in mud. Especially mine—Tessa liked to hit every puddle that she could, laughing with delight every time she showered us. Her mood was infectious, and I laughed along with my best friend.
Years ago, Brock, Gordon, Grady and another one of their high school friends had created a large track in the clearing with miniature jumps for the ATVs, nothing too drastic or dangerous. The clearing had a couple of springs underneath running through it, but the ground wasn’t as muddy as it usually was due to the lack of rain we’d gotten that month.
We all took turns running the track and eating the sandwiches Becky had made. Aiden hooted and hollered when the guys decided to race. Tessa and I, never refusing a challenge, demanded to be included. Tessa was as fast as they were, and she won the race by half an inch. I came in just behind her on Becky’s ATV, beating out Braden and splashing him directly in the face when my rear tire squealed through the mud.
I smirked when I saw how muddy Braden’s face was, but my laughter died on the tip of my tongue when he brought his shirt up to wipe away the guck from his eyes, exposing the taut muscles of his stomach. My heart sped up, my blood heated, and I ached for his touch again, the heat pooling between my thighs as if my body remembered in exact detail what it felt like to be beneath him.
Wrinkling my nose with disgust at my own traitorous body’s response, I pressed my thumb hard on the gas and shot forward, driving back to where Becky and Aiden were waiting.
I turned off the machine and climbed off to the sound of Aiden begging to participate too. “Come on Mom! Just one race? PLEASE!?” he pleaded, his Miller blue eyes wide with hope.
I had no idea how Becky could refuse him. If I had a child half as cute as him, with eyes like that—so much like Braden’s—I’d be powerless and give in to his every request.
“I don’t know, Aiden,” Becky said, her uncertainty ringing in her voice.
“But Mom!” he whined, pouting. “Even thegirlsgot to race!”
“Hey now, that’s not fair,” I interjected, my hand on my hip. “Why are you using us girls as an example here, kid? Girls have every right to race. Hell, we’re better than your uncle!”
“I know,” Aiden replied sheepishly, his pout growing as he kicked at the dirt. “But I’m seven now! I can race too! I bet I’d beat Uncle Braden. It doesn’t look hard at all!”
I couldn’t help but laugh at his response.
“You can race me little man,” Travis offered, grinning at Aiden. He ran a hand through his wavy, dark blond locks. Becky’s eyes shot to his, and she frowned.
“Now I really don’t know,” she scowled.
