Page 69

He gave Austin a death glare. “Maybe I would if your girlfriend minded her own damn business.”

“Oh come on, Archer. I was setting you up!” Riley pleaded. “You clearly need the nudge, you’re horrible at making the move.”

He puffed his chest. Then he was off, running up the stairs after Tea.

It was pitch-black outside, the moon the only light glistening over Silver Lake. He found her moments later, curled up underneath a pine tree, tears in her eyes.

He knelt in front of her. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

She wiped her nose with the back of her hand. “Nothing.”

“I’m sorry Riley pressured you. That was mean.”

She shook her head. “I’m not crying about that.”

At the time, Archer had no idea she was crying about her father, about the news that’d dropped on her earlier that night. Gareth Richards had stage four testicular cancer. He only had weeks to live.

Instead, he was an eighteen-year-old with raging hormones, and the most beautiful girl in the world sat crying in front of him. He lifted her to her feet and hugged her tight, telling her that whatever it was, he was there for her. “You can tell me what’s wrong, Tea. Best friends forever, remember?”

She tilted her head back and gave him a watery, apologetic smile. “Even if your best friend has a secret crush on you?”

Every single part of his body burned. “R-really?”

“I would have kissed my crush, but down there didn’t seem like the right—”

Archer lunged for her, fusing his mouth to hers. She kissed him back with the same intensity. They were terrible at it. Archer wasn’t sure what to do with his hands or his tongue. Tea was shaking with nerves, her fingers fumbling as she pulled on his sweatshirt. She took a couple of steps back, deeper into the woods, and he followed. She leaned against a tree and pulled him toward her. He placed a hand on the trunk, and the feel of all of him pressed against her made his vision go black. He skimmed his free hand inside her tank top and up her belly. She didn’t stop him as he tucked it inside her bra.

She moaned, and he practically lost himself to the sound of it. Years of tension finally snapped, and they couldn’t get enough of one another. They went from zero to sixty in a matter of minutes. She undid his jeans and slid a hand inside his briefs, grabbing for him.

He broke his lips from hers. “Tea, crap. Is this too fast? Should we—”

She squeezed and he groaned, dipping his face into her neck.

“I’ll stop if you want me to,” she whispered.

“No, I absolutely don’t want you to stop. I-I just don’t know what I’m doing.”

“Me neither,” she confessed.

“You’re awfully good at that for not knowing what you’re doing.” He released his hands and cupped her face. “Tea, are you sure?”

Her eyes were on his lips. At the time, he was so lost in her he couldn’t see what was plainly on her face: She was hurting. She wanted to forget for a little while.

And Archer handed it to her far too easily.

“Yes,” she whispered. “I’m on birth control.”

Moments later, clothes abandoned and deep in the woods, Archer took her first, and she took his.

They dressed in silence afterward. She wouldn’t look him in the eye.

Archer glided the strap of her tank top to the side and kissed her bare shoulder. “Everything okay?”

She stepped out of his grip. “That was a mistake.”

His face darkened. “What do you mean that was a mistake? I thought you said you wanted it.”

She hesitated, then shook her head, backing away from him.