“Let’s wait ‘em out for a minute,” Logan said. “If we try to climb out of the ditch right now, they’ll see us.”
With my back pressed against his stomach and his arms tight around my waist, Logan pulled us farther out of the path of the four-wheeler light. I tried very hard not to think about all the bugs and parasites that were probably crawling all over me and focused on the steel bands wrapped across my body.
The spotlight flashed along the ditch, moving the length of the water in front of us, back and forth, searching. The light tapered off where we were hidden, tucked away in the shadows of weeds. Finally, the light shut off, leaving us in eerie darkness once more. The four-wheeler didn’t move or turn on, and we were very much aware that Layne Marten was still out there, ears perched, waiting for any sound to alert him in the darkness. The voices of my brother and his friends, the caught fugitives, were muffled as they made their way toward the house, talking and laughing, no longer in need of keeping quiet.
“Are you scared of my brother?” I asked. The thought made me smile.
He slowly turned me to face him. The moonlight caught his eyes and I drew in a breath. There was a soft look to his gaze, no longer teasing.Thiswas the Logan I had come here to see tonight. He had made an appearance at the river the week before and I couldn’t get him out of my mind. A thrill of anticipation shot up my spine. He moved us both until my back pressed against the dirt wall of the ditch, his face a mere two inches from mine.
“No.” He swallowed and looked away as though he were wrestling with something. When he turned back to me, his voice was low and caused goosebumps to scatter across my skin. “I’m scared of myself.”
This time, he didn’t ask for permission. His mouth that found mine came direct, without hesitation, as if we had been underwater and I was the burst of air he needed. My body stilled upon contact. I didn’t know what this all meant. Emotions were a risky business when a bet was involved. He had been teasing about this kiss for a while now, but this didn’t seem like a joke. It didn’tfeellike teasing, the way his hands landed in my hair and on my waist, tugging me closer. It didn’tfeellike teasing, the way his body pressed into mine, warm and possessive.
A feeling of hope swirled in and out of my consciousness and began to burn in my chest. The feeling had pricked at my heart for a while now, but I had always pushed it away, aware of the danger. Now, hope began to trickle its way out of my chest and into my fingertips as I traced his strong jaw and wound my fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck. Even though I understood the risk, hope had begun to soften my edges. My head called out in protest, reminding me of things I tried to forget, while my arms settled over his shoulders, pulling him tight against me. If his dad found us now, I would die a thousand deaths, but even that thought couldn’t pull me from the fog my brain was currently lost in.
With every dip of his head, every touch of his fingers, my head shouted at me,He’s a player! He’s a player! He’s a player!His hot mouth slid against mine, nudging my willing lips open.He’s playing you!I pressed up against his body, the water splashing between us, making too much noise, both of us not caring. He pulled back to look at me, his shadowy eyes roaming over my face in the darkness.This is just a game to him!A bet!I cradled his face in my hands as his insatiable mouth captured mine once more.
Shut up, head.
I don’t care.
20
Logan
Igripped my hand tight around Tessa’s as we ran through the hay field. Our bodies were soaked, making running in our jeans a horrible affair. The weight of my wet pants threatened to expose a lot more than I wanted to.
Apparently, that was the theme for the night.
I noticed Tessa seemed to be having the same difficulty, one of her hands gripped onto mine with the other desperately trying to keep her pants up. Was it appropriate to strip down to one’s underwear? With my boxers and Tessa’s underwear, it would be basically the same as a swimsuit.
But at the same time…nota swimsuit.
I had no notion of time. No way of knowing if the flag had already been captured or if we were going to be strolling in half an hour late amid Jake’s annoying, all-knowing eye. My dad had left the ditch eventually, starting up his four-wheeler and moving toward the house, scanning the fields, leaving us the perfect opportunity to remove ourselves from the water. Except, it took me another ten minutes before I even thought about moving. Another five to stop kissing her. And, well…we were late.
The four-wheelers were easy to spot in the dark, even if one couldn’t hear the roar of their engines. Both four-wheelers stood guard at the edge of the field closest to the house, moving back and forth, scanning their lights across the dark. I picked up my pace, realizing now, for the first time, that Tessa was probably slowing her stride so I could keep up.
Running in wet jeans had to be the worst form of torture.
Oneof the worst forms of torture.
Crap.
Tessa stopped suddenly and pointed toward the house, a half mile away now. “I’ve been watching. There’s a dark spot right to the side of your parents’ house, where the four-wheelers never go. What is that? Could we sneak in through there?”
I followed her gaze. “That’s the bull pen.”
“The bull pen?”
“Yeah. A big, mean, hairy bull with horns on his head and a couple of his girlfriends live in there. You’re welcome to prance through his house in the dark, but I won’t be joining you.”
“Chicken.”
I was definitely that.
“I think our best bet might be to sneak through the fruit trees in front of the house,” I said. “Anywhere else, the cops will spot us for sure. We need places to hide.”
“Can’t we circle around to the back of your property and surprise them from behind?”
