We were off once more. A twig snapped beneath my foot as we ran full speed. By the time the cop had turned his four-wheeler around and came prowling over to where we had last been, we were safely tucked away behind a large apple tree. We ducked low into the weeds and grasses while the light passed above our heads.
“Now, we just need to outsmart your sister,” Tessa said, her gaze locked onto the barn. We couldn’t see Kelsey, but she had to have been out there. “Where do you think she’s hiding?”
I scanned the area. “My guess is she’s to the side of the barn. Close access to the door, but out of sight.”
“I think one of us needs to distract her,” Tessa said.
“Do you see Cade anywhere? We could probably bribe him to take care of that.”
“I don’t see him, actually.” Tessa squinted into the dark toward the group. “I wouldn’t put it past him to already be distracting her.”
If that was true, I was beginning to think my brother-in-law had the right idea. We were so close to the end. So close to being discovered. We were on our knees on the other side of the tree, facing the house. The group of caught fugitives was under the porch light, draped in lawn chairs on the grass, laughing and carrying on. Kelsey and Cade were probably making out by the barn. Nobody cared anymore. I didn’t care anymore.
“How many do you count over there?” she whispered.
“At least eleven or so. Not sure. We might be the only ones left.”
“I say we make a run for it.” Tessa turned toward me as she stood up, carefully keeping herself in the shadow of the tree. I followed suit, leaning in close, wanting to feel her close by but not wanting to admit it out loud. Bumping, jostling, and nudging were things that happened in the dark. I was getting greedy now.
She peered up at me. “You good with running? I’m starting to not care. I just want to get out of these clothes.”
My mouth opened, but words failed me and I could only blink like the hormonal boy I was coming out of a daydream. She gave a soft laugh. “What’s with you tonight? Well, I’m going for it.”
Me too.
“Hold up, Tess.” I grabbed her hand before I could think anything through and pulled her back toward me. If I was going down in flames tonight, I was going to light myself up like a blazing inferno. She looked at me in question. I was questioning myself as well, but I couldn’t find it in me to stop. “I don’t know if I’m ready for our night to be over just yet.”
She looked down as my fingers tugged the bottom of her shirt, pulling her the last few inches to me. “Do we need to have another check-in?”
I smiled, my arms making themselves at home around her waist, and brought up the bet, which was the quickest way to put a boundary between us while still being able to get close to her again. “Jake said it had to be good. I can’t, in good conscience, let us leave here without making sure I covered my bases. The one earlier was just so messy and…”
HOT.
She nodded softly, her hands on my shoulders. “It was really bad.”
I nuzzled my face closer, my forehead on hers. “I’m going to kiss you again, Jailbait. But you aren’t allowed to read anything into it. I’m doing a thorough job of this bet for Jake’s sake. Alright? We’re getting this all out of our system, and then we won’t need to do it anymore. Got it?”
“Yeah.”
She had barely gotten the word out before I kissed her. An explosion of warm sweetness filled my mouth. She clung to me, her hands in my hair, giving back as good as I gave. My hands followed suit with my adolescent-boy vibe. They were everywhere—at least, everywhere that wouldn’t get me shot by her dad. Or Nate. They were both still out there somewhere, after all. She was my little sister’s best friend. But that was the thing when a man started kissing somebody they used to know. Somebody who used to have very clear lines drawn around them. Kid-sister lines. Too-young lines. Jailbait lines. Things were starting to blur, starting to—
“Well, ain’t this a nice turn of events?”
Jake’s voice broke into my dream like the sound of my niece playing her school recorder. Horrifying. Grating. Tessa and I pulled apart somewhat sheepishly. Jake was leaning against the next apple tree over, arms folded, and staring at us with a self-satisfied smile on his face.
“It’s not what it looks like,” I began.
“Oh, I think it’s exactly what it looks like.”
“Just fulfilling the bet,” I declared, cringing as Tessa wrapped her arms around herself at my words.
He took a loud bite of an apple. “So, there won’t be any more kissing now that you’ve got it over with?”
I met Tessa’s gaze as I was suddenly unsure of what to say. Her face gave me no clues, so I said, “Yup.”
Jake laughed, rubbing his hands with glee. “It’s hard being right all the time.”
The four-wheelers revved their engines and began making their way toward us. Toward the noise. Freaking Jake.
