by Heather Long
I just hadn’t paid attention.
Frankie had. She’d gotten him that lyric book and sheet music for his birthday. It had seemed a weird present at the time, but I saw it now. She saw us. The different parts of us we didn’t always show each other.
Making a mental note to follow up with Bubba’s plans at some point, I decided I had to do some research in investments for the musical business. The more I listened to Bubba, the more I realized this guy needed to do something with it. Especially since he even got Frankie to sing for us while he was playing.
Yep, music was going on the list.
“Why can’t I know where we’re going?” Frankie asked, her gorgeous green eyes glittering as she stared at me. She was dressed in ripped jeans, a dark green long-sleeved shirt with the shoulders cut out, and a pair of calf-length boots that just added to how long her legs seemed. Even better, she had on her charm bracelet and the necklace. I had more charms to add to it for the holiday, not just the skiing one.
The microphone would be ready for it after tonight.
“Because it’s a surprise,” I told her as we waited for the guys to join us. The best part of a concert—there was no dress code. But I had a feeling Frankie would have at least two new concert shirts before the evening was over.
Admittedly, being able to have the car service bring us nice limos for the trips was a perk I’d never regret, but I missed having our own cars. I liked being able to steal away with her. The ride there, we ate snacks, drank sodas, and laughed. It was a game of twenty questions with Frankie, each one growing more outrageous than the last.
Bubba knew where we were going, and I clued Jake and Coop in when Frankie went to get ready. They’d both gaped at me and then Jake swore. “She’s going to lose her mind.”
That was the plan.
I wasn’t the only one enjoying her increasingly outlandish asks though, so it was kind of a win for all of us.
When we reached the venue, it was hard to disguise what we were there for. Speechless, she’d glanced from the sign to me, then back to the sign. Was I grinning like a damn cat? Hell yes, I was.
Speaking of cats, I’d shared the video Jeremy sent me of all three of her little pets being cosseted in style at the house. Jeremy had even invested in a series of cat trees and toys. The video had all three of them stoned out of their minds on catnip.
It had been hysterical.
Frankie flung herself at me, the hug so fierce that I almost missed the flash of tears in her eyes.
“Hey,” I said, cupping her face and thumbing away the moisture. “No tears unless they sing some gut-wrenching sad song.” They better fucking not.
“These are happy tears, you ass.” She sniffed, then grinned at me. “I’ve never been to a concert.”
I smirked, then dropped a kiss to the tip of her nose. “I know.”
“And this is Torched!”
“Funny,” I teased. “I thought you might like them.” Her pinch just made me laugh.
She tucked herself right up under my arm as we strolled inside. I’d been to concerts before, nothing big really. But I’d never been crazy about a band or a group the way she was about Torched. She ended up getting three shirts. I really liked the sleeveless one with the roses in the center. Those were a big deal to the band. One of the singers had roses tattooed along her arm, and Frankie mused that maybe she could do that.
“What do you think? Should I dye my hair blue?”
That would be a negative. Thank fuck all three of the others were on my side in that argument. The thought of all that golden blonde disappearing? Fuck. No. Her laughter was worth a little bit of ribbing though.
Bubba took point as we headed to our seats with Jake behind us. A move I appreciated, considering the number of dicks checking out Frankie’s ass. The jeans did great things for them, but Jake looked like he was making a list.
“I got the bail covered,” I told him with a clap to the shoulder as we put Frankie in the middle, two of us on either side. This time, I took advantage of grabbing the one to her immediate left as Bubba took the one to her right. That put Coop and Jake on the outside.
We’d grabbed water bottles from a vendor on the way in, and I wasn’t the only one checking the seal. No one was giving her another damn drugged drink. Not on our watch.
But all of that faded when the music started and Frankie lit up. I had to admit, Torched gave a hell of a performance and the music was great. But Frankie dancing and singing along with them elevated it to a whole new level. Damn, she could move, and I knew for damn certain she had no idea how good she looked rocking her hips, hands up, as her body went loose and fluid.
The guy behind us checking her out irked the shit out of me. But when he caught me looking, he shot me an apologetic wave and dragged his eyes off her. Good decision, since I wasn’t opposed to siccing Jake on him or punching him myself.
The girl group gave a badass concert, though ‘girl group’ seemed almost too patronizing a description. They were a band—all three of them played instruments, and they swapped them out. They had backup players, too. Bubba kept pointing things out to Frankie about the guitars. I’d have to get him to fill me in later.
Their first album, Party Girl, was one of Frankie’s top five favorites. That much I knew. When they segued from their new stuff to that album, she’d kissed me right in the middle of the second song, and fuck if I didn’t want to find a way to fuck her right then and there. I could wait.
Her excitement was worth a little pain and suffering.
The concert only lasted about three hours from start to finish, but we were all hot and sweaty by the time we, along with the masses, began to make our way out. Frankie’s eyes glittered, and she needed to hit the bathroom. We found one without a hideous line and parked ourselves to wait for her. As soon as she was inside, I let them know that when we got back, Frankie was sleeping with me. No one argued. Look at us, being all mature. Only when she was back with us—ha, and changed into one of her concert shirts and looking sassy about it—did we take turns hitting the restrooms ourselves.
Yep, some things we were just gonna be paranoid about.
Burgers, fries, and shakes waited for us in the car. I’d asked the driver to grab dinner for us when he picked us up and to grab something for himself to eat while he waited. I’d wanted to score backstage passes for us, but they weren’t doing them for this part of the tour.
That was fine. They were gonna be in Dallas right after graduation.
And I already had tickets and passes.
Was I smug as fuck about that? Yes, I was. But I’d save that reveal for later.
Hoarse from singing and flushed from dancing, Frankie’s joy flooded the interior of the car. Of course, we had the music on and she half-danced to it while eating her burger. It hit me as she darted her attention between Coop and Bubba that it had been a long time since I’d seen her really happy.
To be honest, I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen her this happy. It made stark the shadow she’d been living under for so long and me more determined than ever to cut that cunt of a mother out of her life for good. It wasn’t my call, yeah yeah. But Frankie flourished without her. I sprawled back in the seat, head tilted back with my eyes only half-open, but I didn’t miss a move she made.
Four months.
In four months, she’d be eighteen. Even if we only ever had the temporary order, we just had to make it last.
Then goodbye, Mrs. Curtis. May she and Edward rot in hell together.
She nudged me with her elbow as she shifted over to sit closer to me. “You okay?”
I smiled down at her and then pressed my lips close to her ear. “Just thinking about all the ways I want to make you come later.”
Her shiver and flush made me smile, and her swift inhale told me more about her interest than anything else.
It took no convincing to steal her away as soon as we got back.
Waking to Frankie was nearly as good as taking Frankie to bed. Who w
as I kidding? It was mostly equal and sometimes better. Like the fact that she woke me this morning with the hot suction of her mouth, and fuck if I wasn’t coming in nothing flat. It was almost embarrassing.
It was only fair I repaid that favor after my brain stopped melting. Her joy tasted as sweet that morning as it had the night before.
Round two, we took our time. So much, we hit round three before we finally dozed off for a nap. We didn’t get up until lunch.
The presents arrived when we hit the slopes the next day. Frankie was a damn natural, but she was so wary of the blue, even if she insisted we could split up so we could check out the different ones. Of all people, it was Coop who convinced her by the end of the day to try one. Not because he’d done it, but because he’d do it if she would.
Excitement sparkled in her eyes, but she kept chewing her lower lip. Heights were not her favorite thing. Course, Coop got her to go on a rollercoaster. She could handle the blue. We’d do the easiest one. Finally, she said yes, and it took everything I had not to cheer out loud.
No problem, Jake did a fist pump and a very enthusiastic yes. That covered it for all of us.
At the top of the blue, she stared down the hill with huge eyes and then looked at us. “If I break anything, as soon as I’m healed, I’m coming after you.”
“Deal,” Jake said, all confidence and ease. “You’re not going to break anything. You can do this.”
“Slow and steady,” Bubba advised. “We’re not leaving you. Promise.”
“I’ll even go first,” Coop told her. “You can follow me. That way I can take all the pratfalls.”
Her snort made us all grin, but when she glanced at me, all I said was, “Whatever you want to do, babe. We can cross back over to the green about a third of the way down if you want to try something else.”
Lips pursed, she adjusted her hat and then pulled down her goggles. It was sunny as fuck today, which was great, except the snow was blinding when we first got up there. The goggles helped. “I got this. And if I tell myself that enough,” she insisted, “I’ll be right.”
I chuckled. “You have this.”
Despite the bravado, she blew out a couple more breaths and resettled her feet before facing the downward slope. None of us moved, letting her take her time. Then she said, “Fuck it. You only live once,” and pushed off.
Heart clenching, I was a second behind her. Jake was right behind me. That left Coop and Bubba to follow. Bubba would keep an eye on Coop. Between the three of us, we had them covered. She zigzagged her way, wedging if she picked up too much speed, but you couldn’t miss the moment she relaxed and her confidence actually bloomed. She did a perfect cut, and instead of wedging to slow, she turned and used the momentum to execute a perfect parallel turn.
At the bottom, she was laughing when we caught up to her.
This trip was the best idea.
It was blues for the rest of the day. Easy blues. But still blues.
Back at the lodge, the presents filled in the underside of the tree until it was near full to bursting. Frankie was torn between looking at that and heading up to change. We were hitting the hot tub again. One foot on the stairs, she paused to eye me, then the guys. “Any more surprises waiting for me up there?”
I smirked. “Wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you, would it?”
Besides, the next big surprise was scheduled for Jake’s birthday. He’d already signed off on the idea because he’d seen Frankie watching those videos, too. Should be a good night.
“Uh huh.”
I made a shooing motion, and she stuck her tongue out at me.
“Promises, promises,” I teased, and she laughed before heading up the stairs at a swift clip. Damn, that made her ass sway when she walked that way.
Coop let out a breath and so did Jake. Bubba laughed.
“What?” I glanced over at him.
“Just glad I’m not the only one who makes like some cartoon dog with his tongue lolling out.”
No, he definitely wasn’t the only one. “Hard not to,” I admitted. “Never giving her up.” In case that wasn’t absolutely clear.
I slanted a look at the other three, and Jake just shrugged. “No argument, but I’m not either.”
“Ditto,” Coop said, grinning. “Besides, weird as this shit might be, it works.” All three of us cut a look at Bubba, and he held up his hands.
“I have already choked on my own stupidity. When I said I was in, I meant it. Besides,” he continued, heading for the stairs himself, “she needs you guys.”
“She needs all of us,” I reminded him.
He paused at the top of the stairs with Coop and Jake not far behind. Meeting my gaze, Bubba nodded. “Yeah, she does. I’m just glad you guys saw it a hell a lot clearer than I did.”
I followed them, but slower. I was still the first one downstairs, and I gathered up the edibles and the wine. Tonight, we’d soak, eat, play, and laugh. That was what these two weeks were about.
The five of us finding a real rhythm and convincing Frankie that not only could we work, we would work.
Would I keep her to myself if given the chance? Hell yes. But this worked, too.
The fact that she strolled out in that barely there bikini for the second time without an ounce of her shyness from the first night? Win.
The smile on her face? Win.
The idiots splashing into the hot tub around us, making her laugh and smile?
Fuck it.
Win, too.
I took a bite of a cookie and stretched back after she took the glass of wine.
This was the kind of life we could all get used to.
If I had my way, we would.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Never Have I Ever
Frankie
“This is a terrible idea,” Coop said as he lined up the shots. A storm had blown in early in the morning with blizzard-like conditions and promised to make the roads hazardous, so our plans for sightseeing and shopping had been delayed for a day at the lodge. Archie sent a message to the staff to let them know we would fend for ourselves.
Fending for ourselves included video games, movies, books, and a crock pot with pot roast and all the fixings. It had all been prepped, I just got it started, but it would be ready for dinner. In the meanwhile, we had the most ridiculously piled high sandwiches for lunch and cereal for breakfast. We hadn’t even bothered to get dressed. A fire burned merrily in the fireplace, and I had put on fuzzy socks to keep my feet warm while I was dressed only in one of my new Torched t-shirts that hit me mid-thigh. I wanted an oversized one on purpose, so I’d gotten one that would fit Jake or Ian.
“Possibly,” Archie said, giving me a slow smile as I snagged one of the blankets. I hadn’t bothered with pants since it was just going to be us, but the sound of the wind made me cold. “But it could be fun, too.”
I snorted. “You just like playing with fire.”
“Yes,” Archie agreed with a wink. “I do. So do you.”
Also true. We were all sitting in the living room with the whiskey—wow, that crap was strong—bottle in the center of the table and five shot glasses filled and passed around to each of us. Ian and I had one sofa, Jake and Archie were on the opposite one, and Coop took the floor with his back to the fire. Between the isolation of the howling wind, the crackle of the fire, the twinkling of the lights, and the soft huffs of their laughter, it had been a fun way to spend the day.
“I still think strip poker would be more fun,” Jake argued. “Or we could do strip combat.”
“The only one we all want to see naked is Frankie, and she’s not playing,” Coop said with a shake of his head.
“Speak for yourself,” I told him. “You could all strip for me, and I wouldn’t complain.”
“Yeah?” Jake rose and Ian threw a pillow at him.
“Sit down.”
All of us laughed.
“Anyway,” Coop said, motioning to the whiskey. “Never have I ever is on the tab
le, who starts?”
“Age order,” Archie declared. “Bubba, you’re the oldest.”
“Frankie’s the youngest,” he countered.
“Uh huh.” I slanted a look at him. “By a few months. But you’ve been an adult longer than the rest of us.”
“Impossible,” Ian teased me. “You’ve been an adult for as long as I’ve known you.”
I poked him with my toes, and he wrapped a hand around my foot. The flash of amusement in his eyes promised tickling, and I just stared at him. If he started that, there would be no drinking game and we’d end up breaking something in here.
“Fine,” he said with a mock sigh. “Never have I ever gotten a ticket.”
“Lame,” Archie said. “Dude…”
I groaned and reached for the shot glass and suddenly had four sets of eyes staring at me. I chuckled at the absolute shock in Jake’s eyes and the curiosity in Archie’s, but it was Coop narrowing his eyes at me that made me smile widest.
“When did you, Ms. Safer than Sex Driver get a ticket?”
“Week before I got the restrictions off my license,” I told him, and then downed the shot and grimaced. Holy crap, that stuff was awful. It burned all the way down to my belly and had my eyes watering. “Smooth,” I coughed.
Archie snickered. “It can be, you’re just a lightweight.”
“Then it’s so good we’re starting with whiskey.” I licked my lips and put the shot glass back on the table.
“The week before you got the restriction taken off?” Coop pressed. “You didn’t say anything.”
“’Cause it was embarrassing.” I blew out a breath. The heat detonated in my belly and definitely chased away even the illusion of chill. “And it probably would have pissed you off.”
That earned me a look even more intense than the first half of my answer. “Explain.”
“Dude.” Jake flung the pillow at him that Ian had tossed earlier. “Chill with the ’tude.”
