The forever weekend, p.5
The Forever Weekend, page 5
“Yeah, yeah. Get dressed.” She paused with her hand on the doorknob. “You never sleep the latest. You feeling okay?”
No. I’m not okay. I was up all night making out with a hot guy whose pants you literally stepped over two seconds ago. “Never better.” I waited until I heard the screen door close before I collapsed back onto the bed and peered over the side about two feet away from the wall. Yep, there was Taylor, wedged under the bed, his face sticking out, his brows wiggling.
I couldn’t help but giggle. “Quick thinking, kid. I thought you promised to be gone by the time the sun came up? Allie stepped all over your pants.”
He pushed himself out a little and put his hands behind his head, appearing relaxed, which was impressive considering the tiny space his body was crammed into. “I did. But you felt so damn good all cuddled up next to me. I couldn’t make myself leave.”
“Such the smooth talker, even at eight a.m.” I rested my cheek on the pillow he’d used. It still smelled like him. I had to fight the urge to take a deep inhale.
“Why were you screaming at her?”
“She was about to turn around and see your pants. I needed to distract her.” I rolled over and got out of bed, tossing his pants behind me. “I’m going to go to the kitchen to keep distracting. You get up and leave through the side door.” When I turned around to make sure he was being compliant, he was already gone.
I threw my hair into a messy bun on top of my head and went inside. Taylor walked in through the kitchen door at the same time I stepped into the living room. He caught my eye from across the room and winked.
Automatically, I smiled and Cole followed that smile back to Taylor and gave him the stink eye. “Tay man, where were you?”
Taylor didn’t miss a beat. “I was hanging, looking at the lake. It’s like glass out there today, so calm. So smooth. I haven’t used any since I was a kid, but one of these hiking trails will take us to this awesome beachy area on the other side of the lake.” He popped an olive into his mouth. “You girls game for some hiking?”
Bailey pulled a map out of a drawer in the kitchen and spread it open on the table. “I’m game. Come show me which trail.”
Taylor chuckled. “We don’t need a map, silly girl. I told you, I’ve been there before.”
Kasey gave him a weary look. “You said you hadn’t been since you were a kid. Do you honestly still remember how to get there?”
“Of course I do.” He tapped the side of his head. “Steel trap.”
Allie snorted. “Famous last words. We’re all going to end up at a creepy abandoned cabin where we get chopped into pieces.” As she leaned over the bar and handed me my drink, she asked, “Taylor, do you want a Bloody Mary?”
He shook his head. “Is there stuff left for another Michelada? I can make it myself. We’re here to wait on you guys remember?”
I closed my eyes. Please don’t let Allie realize what he’d let slip. Please. I cracked one eye to see Allie looking confused. “How did you know we had stuff for Micheladas?”
Taylor’s eyes got big. He pursed his lips. “I, uh, can clearly…see the ingredients for Micheladas on the counter.” He shook his head. “You girls are so fuzzy in the morning.”
Allie looked down at the tomato juice, lime, and beer in front of her. “Oh, okay, duh.”
Taylor sent me a relieved grin as he got busy making himself a drink and I got busy drinking mine.
I loved Allie, she was smart and successful, and had the world’s best husband. But sometimes, she was naïve as hell.
When we were in college, she dated a drug dealer for like three months, and he was constantly getting into his own stash. To this day she swears he was independently wealthy and had ADHD.
Chapter Eleven
Taylor
I was off my game. Way fucking off. I had spent the whole night wrapped around Livi like a damn pansy. I never did that. I had almost outted our little sort of affair not once, but twice this morning. Then, twenty minutes into our hike I had been demoted to the back of the line. Apparently, my mind wasn’t a steel trap after all. Bailey did not play around. The only positive thing going for me right now was that the back of the line gave me an amazing view of Livi’s ass in her teeny tiny cutoff shorts.
After what seemed like a hundred miles, the thick woods gave way to the large open sandy lake entrance I remembered from my childhood. Totally grateful, we were the only ones here, and the water looked so welcoming. Everyone started peeling off their sweaty clothes so they could get in the water and cool off. I watched Livi shimmy out of her shorts and pull off her tank top. Red bikini today.
I knew I needed to keep my distance, but I couldn’t seem to help myself where she was concerned. Instead of wading into the water with Cole, I walked up next to her and whispered close to her ear. “Come swim with me.”
She put her hand to her face to shield her eyes from the sun as she studied the lake, her nose wrinkled. “Uh…no. I’ll wade out into the water with you, knee deep, but I don’t swim in lakes.”
I made a face. “What? Why not?”
She didn’t take her eyes off the water when she answered me. “Crocodiles, alligators, and/or piranhas.”
I had to chuckle. “You’re joking, right?”
Kasey laughed as she stepped past us. “Oh, she’s serious. Liv watches way too many ridiculous scary movies. I’m surprised she slept on the porch by herself last night. I was sure I’d feel her crawling into bed with Allie and me at some point. You know, murderers in hockey masks and all that.”
Livi groaned. “Dammit, Kasey, Jason hadn’t even crossed my mind. Now it’s going to be all I can think about tonight.” Kasey rolled her eyes as she walked away.
I leaned down, placed my hand on Livi’s hip, and let my lips brush her neck as I spoke. “Don’t be silly, sugar. I’ll be all you can think about tonight. I’ll keep you safe.” I picked her up, threw her over my shoulder, and headed into the water. I ignored her screams and threats. I didn’t put her down until I was waist deep, which meant she was about chest deep. The sandy bottom continued out to where we were standing.
Livi punched me in the arm and switched positions with me so that she was closer to shore than I was. “Ass.”
“There is nothing in this lake to be scared of. I’ve been coming here my whole life. And don’t even tell me that this cold water doesn’t feel amazing after that hike.” I circled around her, blocking her from shore.
She switched positions with me again.
“Why do you keep doing that?” I put my hands on my hips. “Are you going to try to make a break for the beach?”
“No. I want you farther out than I am. That way if something attacks, it’ll get you first.” She didn’t seem like she was joking.
“Aren’t you as sweet as pie?” I sank down in the water up to my shoulders. “You want to know the best thing about lake water?”
“Flesh-eating bacteria?”
I gave her an annoyed look and reached for her legs. I wrapped her ankles around my hips. “No one can see what you are doing.”
I watched her, carefully, looking for signs that she was uncomfortable or that I was taking it too far in front of her friends. But, because life had always been kind to me, she smiled as she wrapped her legs tighter around me before leaning back in the water. I was instantly hard. In my mind I pictured carrying her back to shore, spreading out a blanket, and eating her for lunch. We stayed like that, connected, talking about nothing and everything until Cole came over and shoved my head under the water.
“Come on, Tay, let’s play some football.”
Livi untangled her legs from mine, stole the ball cap off my head with a wicked grin, and headed back to shore.
I jumped on Cole’s back, dunking him, pissed off he interrupted my time with Livi. When he sputtered to the surface, I shook my head then punched his shoulder. He knew what he did, and he knew he deserved it.
Absentmindedly, I played ball with him and Bailey, but my gaze kept searching out Livi. I couldn’t help myself. Maybe I really was enamored. Nah, I was only acting like a such a pussy because I hadn’t been in hers yet. Once this weekend was over, I’d be back to my normal awesome self.
She had spread out a towel and was sitting next to Kasey. They talked for a while but then she put my cap on and lay down. Seeing her stretched out like that, her body glistening in the sun, it was like the beginning of the little fantasy I’d had earlier. I fought the urge to go lie next to her for as long as I could, which was all of maybe ten minutes.
I made my way back to shore then sat next to her, leaning in and dripping water on her chest. “Are you sleeping?”
“I was.”
“Are you going to make a habit of stealing my clothes?” I couldn’t deny I loved seeing her wear my old faded ball cap like I loved seeing her in my tank top yesterday. I needed to lock these sappy emotions down.
“Maybe.”
I shook my hair, splattering her with more water droplets. “Wake up. Talk to me.”
“No.” She moved my cap so I could see her face. “Someone kept me up all night.” She sounded irritated, but peeking out beneath the brim of my cap I saw her teasing smile.
I crossed my arms over my bent knees and contemplated the lake. “Explain to me why chicks have this innate need to cuddle?”
Livi scoffed. “You’re joking, right? You were the one who wanted to spoon.”
I peered down at her, grinning. “Yeah, well, tonight I wanna fork.”
She laughed a good, real, perfect laugh. “You’re crazy.”
I looked back at the water, watching her friends swim and play football. No one was around us, no one could hear anything we were saying, and I wondered if they knew I wanted her. That looking at her, hearing her laugh caused my heart to race and my dick to twitch. I lay down next to her on the sand, which was hot and scratchy on my back. “Don’t act like you’ll turn me down, sugar. We both know you won’t.”
She smirked and muttered, “You’re cocky too.”
“Livi, look at me.” I waited until she lifted the cap off her face and then turned, rolling her eyes as she propped herself up on her side. “I want you. For the rest of the weekend I want to own you. I want to make you feel so good that no other man will ever measure up.”
She chuckled. “Those are some lofty aspirations, kid.” I hated when she shot “kid” at me to keep me at arm’s length. No matter, her eyes gave her away. Those beautiful green eyes grew dark, and I could see her pulse beating wildly in her neck.
She could deny it all she wanted, but I was turning her on. Livi liked the unapologetic way I wanted her.
Chapter Twelve
Livi
We were all gathered on the back porch sipping on ice-cold beer and listening to a whole lot of Jack Johnson. It was a movie-perfect setting. The guys made us lunch and then set us up, ordering us to relax while they cleaned the kitchen. Hiring these two men was the best idea Bailey ever had. None of us had moved for an hour.
Now, on the other side of the porch, Kasey, Allie, and Bailey were playing cards. Cole was inside doing something on his laptop, and Taylor was sitting next to me, studying. He looked hot as hell in his glasses, no shirt, with a pencil at his lips. He was right; I wouldn’t deny him. I should, but I wouldn’t. It’d been too long since I’d felt wanted.
Patrick and I had been having problems long before I caught him banging his secretary on his desk. Aside from the cheating, what had he been thinking? I mean with all the #MeToo why wasn’t he worried he was buying a sexual harassment lawsuit—blondie couldn’t believe he would be faithful to her if he was doing her and had a wife. The point really was he didn’t care. Not about me, her, or anyone but himself and him being able to do what he wanted when he wanted to do it.
Ultimately, I didn’t think he’d cheated because he fell in love with someone else, or because he fell out of love with me. We’d been drifting apart for a while, and it’s sad to say, but I didn’t make any effort to fix it. We weren’t an “us” for so long, I’d gone on with my life without him while sharing our house occasionally since he was never home. When I found him doing his secretary in his office, I was pissed and felt betrayed, but after I’d kicked him out—that was a scene I never wanted to repeat again: him begging, me screaming, him begging, me throwing his clothes out the front door, him begging and me threatening to call the cops—I realized I didn’t really care all that much. I didn’t think I was losing anything I wanted to hold on to. That’s when I knew for sure things were over.
The fact my marriage had ended was easy to keep from the people close to me because its demise didn’t affect me all that much. I was used to doing all the day-to-day stuff by myself. Patrick was rarely around the last couple of years. I knew it was time to tell my friends though. Maybe I’d share on Sunday. That way I wouldn’t mess up our girls’ weekend. Or maybe I’d shoot them a long text once we were all home. Then turn off my phone for a few hours. Or days.
“Penny for your thoughts, sugar?” Taylor reached over and stroked my thigh with the eraser end of his pencil. It made my breath hitch in my chest. One touch from him and my blood was pumping double time.
Before I could answer, Cole came out the back door and let out an obnoxiously loud yawn. “All right, ladies, what’s the game plan for tonight? Want to go out to dinner, or want to eat in? You tell us. We work for you.”
Bailey answered for all of us. I didn’t want to call her bossy, because women weren’t bossy, they took charge and got shit done. She’d been that way as long as I’d known her. The first day we met in an ethics class freshman year, she’d basically told the TA he didn’t know what he was talking about and had taken over teaching the planned lesson. Baily always knew what she wanted, and she never backed down from it. I admired that about her. “I was thinking we could go into town early and walk around, maybe do some shopping. Then head to dinner. Are there any bars in town?”
“There’s one. It’s small and Friday nights aren’t all that bumping here. If you guys wait ’til tomorrow night to hit the bar, they usually have live music.” Cole swatted at a fly that landed on the table with the switch he’d been holding.
Kasey flicked the dead fly off and watched it sail to the ground. “That sounds good to me. We can do some touristy stuff tonight and then tomorrow we’ll go out on the town.”
Bailey stood, stretching her arms over her head. “Okay, I’m going to go shower the lake water off. You guys don’t need to come into town with us if you don’t want to. We’ll wait ’til we get home to start drinking.”
Allie scoffed, taking another sip from her wineglass. “Speak for yourself, woman.”
I got to my feet, following Bailey into the house, the AC making chill bumps erupt on my arms. She threw me a bottle of water from the fridge. “Each of these inside bedrooms has a shower. The owner left instructions that we can all shower at the same time and the hot water will still work.”
I unscrewed the cap off my water. “Okay, I’ll use the one in the guys’ room.”
“Hey, Livi?”
I spun around dramatically making her smile. “Yeeeessss?”
“Are you… I mean, you and… Is everything okay?”
I took a deep breath and held it. I could come clean right now. I should come clean and tell Bailey everything. She obviously knew something was up. The more time I spent around Taylor, the more relaxed I became. We flirted and touched, and I was sure it looked completely inappropriate. But for some reason, I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t open my mouth and tell her that my marriage was over. I wasn’t ready for my failed relationship to be the center of attention.
I let out that breath, and said in my perky voice, “Yeah, everything is fine.”
Bailey stared at me, not blinking. She knew I was keeping something from her, but before she could call me on it, Kasey walked in. “I’m going to shower too. The guys said they are going to stay here if we’re sure we don’t need them.”
Bailey answered Kasey without taking her assessing gaze off me. “Yeah, we’re good. I’ll drive. Allie can get as crazy as she wants.”
Allie came skipping into the house, letting the porch door slam shut behind her. “Did I hear my name?”
“Yeah, you lush. I was telling Kasey that I would drive us tonight.”
Allie immediately started singing Addicted to Love and making herself a cocktail with a lot of flourish and finesse. I used the entertaining distraction to my advantage, grabbing my stuff and heading into the bathroom off the guys’ room. I shut and locked the door. The last thing I needed was Taylor coming in here.
Bailey was already suspicious. I didn’t need to add fuel to the fire. I took my time, letting the hot water wash away the day and the tension in my muscles. I adored my friends, and we’d been close for a lot of years, but that meant that they knew me as well as I knew them. They knew when I wasn’t being myself. It was only a matter of time before one of them cornered me and demanded I come clean.
After I was done, I towel dried my hair and got dressed into my outfit for the evening. When I opened the door, Taylor was lying on the bottom bunk. His chiseled chest was still bare, his skin even darker from the time he’d spent out in sun by the lake. His shorts were lying low, his hips on display.
He was gorgeous, and so damn tempting.
He was also pouting. “You locked the door.”
I nodded. “I was in the shower.”
“I wanted to be in the shower with you.” He sat up, turning to place his bare feet on the floor.
My smile was tight. “I know, that’s why I locked the door.”
He held his hand out for me, silently asking me to come to him. My head told me to leave the room. We could hang out tonight after everyone was asleep. It was safer that way. “Taylor, I need to finish getting ready. I don’t want everyone to be waiting on me. Bailey gets super pissy about stuff like that.”
He gestured for me with his outstretched hand, not giving up. “Come here, just for a second.” The truth was, no matter how stupid it was, I wanted to go to him. Taylor made me want to throw caution to the wind, he made me want to be as wild as he was.
