by Cole Lepley
The lake was the perfect place to start this venture. It’s packed full of bored high school students on vacation with their parents, college students looking to have a good time before they go back to campus, and thirty-somethings looking to unwind before heading back to the daily grind.
It was easy. Too easy. The one thing you have to be careful of is the dreaded greed. We made just over four grand for very minimal work. Illegal work, but easy profit.
Jeremy’s phone rings non-stop when we’re almost back to the cabin. I nod to his pocket.
“You gonna answer that?”
He shakes his head. “No, it’s Walker.” He turns to me, conflicted. “Should we tell him?”
“Yes, we should fucking tell him. The only reason we did this without him is so he could look after Tess. She doesn’t need to be involved in this.”
He nods, still not convinced.
“Listen,” I say, gripping the wheel tighter. “I’m not saying this is going to be a thing now, but we do have something here. Maybe we ride out the summer, make a little cash, and move on. Sure as hell beats slaving for my dad all of senior year.”
Jeremy continues to stare off into the lake as I continue along the winding path. There’s something larger swirling around in that brain of his, and I’m wondering what it is. My thoughts are interrupted when I see the excessive amount of vehicles at the cabin.
“The fuck?” I mutter, pulling the cart along the gravel path just beyond the driveway.
“Looks like a party,” Jeremy says, with a grin.
“Yeah, but who invited them?”
As I step out of the cart, I get a pretty good idea who’s behind this. The first vehicle I recognize is Johnny’s. The first voice I hear is Sloan’s. Her high-pitched laughter travels from where she’s dancing over by the fire. Tess is sitting on the log with her arms crossed, clearly not amused.
When I make my way through the yard, Sloan spots me and lets out some sort of squeal.
“Baby!” she cries, throwing her arms around my neck. She kisses up to my ear and I laugh.
“You miss me, Sloan?”
“Always,” she slurs. I tighten my grip on her because she’s not too steady on her feet. I pull back to look at her face. “How much did you have to drink, baby?”
Her nose scrunches up and she attempts to demonstrate using her thumb and forefinger.
I laugh again. “Just a little, huh?”
She nods and blows out an unsteady breath, leaning into me more. “It was fun.” She smiles. “But I missed you. It’s not as much fun without you.”
I kiss the side of her head. “Well, I’m glad you’re here. I wish I could say the same about your friends.”
She waves her hand in the air. “Ah, they’re fun too.”
I raise an eyebrow when I notice Johnny giving me the eye from across the fire pit. I shove my hand down the back of her short shorts and he turns away, pretending to be engaged in conversation. If there’s one thing everyone in this town knows, it’s that Sloan Prescott is with me. Maybe not all the time, but even when we’re on the outs, she always comes back.
She grabs my hand and pulls me to the cabin. “Come on, I want to show you how much I missed you.”
I smile at her, but then glance back to Tess. She’s sitting with two girls from the senior class and their mouths are running a mile a minute. Drunk chatter is annoying to Tess, and I can only imagine how much she wants me to save her. If only Sloan’s ass wasn’t so tempting right now.
Flashing a wink back to Tess, I follow Sloan into the cabin. When we get to the bedroom, she practically throws me onto the bed and climbs on top of me. She pulls at the hem of my shirt and kisses a trail up my stomach. I want to push her head lower, but we have plenty of time for that.
I pull my shirt over my head when she removes her tank top. My hands move to cup her breasts while she works at removing my pants. When I reach back to unsnap her bra, she freezes.
Her face turns white and her eyes widen.
“Sloan… what’s wrong?”
Suddenly she leaps from my lap and shoves her head into the trashcan beside the bed. Apparently, ‘just a little’, meant a lot. She proceeds to vomit the entire contents of her stomach, very loudly, beside my bed.
I gather her hair and hold it behind her head. She would really be pissed if she puked on her new highlights. Rubbing my hand down her back, I whisper soothing words in her ear while she heaves and cries. This isn’t anything new, but it’s not what my dick had in mind when we came back here.
The door peeks open and Jeremy shields his eyes. “Oh, shit. That looks really bad.”
“Get out of here, Jeremy,” Sloan cries, mascara trailing down her face.
She releases another large heave and I stifle a gag. Jeremy clutches his stomach. “Okay, dude. But I’m taking Walker for a little chat. Keep an eye on Tess, will ya?”
With one hand on Sloan’s hair and one on her back, I give him a look. “And how am I supposed to do that?”
Jeremy points to her. “She’ll quit eventually and pass out. A girl that small can’t have that much alcohol inside her.”
I roll my eyes. “Thanks. You’re a great friend.”
He grins and reaches into the closet and throws me a towel. “I’ll sleep on the couch tonight.”
I level glare at him as he turns to leave. Sloan stopped heaving and is now quietly crying into the trash can. I bunch her hair up around my wrist and pull her into my lap. She takes the towel and wipes the remnants from her face and buries her head in my leg.
“I’m sorry I ruined your party,” she murmurs.
I continue to rub small circles on her back. “You didn’t, baby. And it wasn’t supposed to be a party. All I wanted was for everyone to come up here and hang out a few more times before the end of summer. We only have one month left.”
She turns her head, her bloodshot eyes rimmed in red. “I love you.”
I smile and kiss her forehead. “I love you.”
She grabs my hand and places it on her face. “No, like I really love you, Perry. I want to have all your babies, and live in a two-story house, and pack your lunch in the morning before you go to work.”
I stifle a laugh. “You’re drunk, baby. Get some sleep, okay?”
She shakes her head, but rolls over anyway. “You’ll see Perry Michaels. I’m going to marry you one day.”
As I’m lifting the blanket over her, a sharpness pierces my chest. She says all the things I want to hear, but she’ll never remember it in the morning. They say people are honest when they drink. I sure hope that’s true.
Trying not to breathe through my nose, I grab the waste basket and towel and head to the bathroom. Lucky for me Sloan has good aim, so she didn’t get it anywhere else. As I’m rinsing out the basket in the sink, I spot Tess perched in the doorway.
She brings her hand up to her heart. “Oh, I long for the day when I can have a relationship as romantic as yours. Cleaning chunks from a garbage can spewed in there by my beloved.”
I laugh. “You’ll see, Bishop. Relationships aren’t always roses. You have to take the good with the bad.” I give the basket one final rinse and set it on the floor, turning to her. “And it’s about taking care of the ones you love, even if they did it to themselves.”
Tess nods down the hallway. “Everyone left. Jeremy kicked them out and then he took Walker somewhere on the golf cart. Said he needed to talk about ‘guy stuff’.”
Tess is annoyed by this, but I know exactly what he’s doing.
“You want to go hang out by the fire some more? Sloan will be passed out ‘til morning and I can check on her from time to time.”
Tess smiles and then nods.
I grab an extra blanket and the few remaining beers. With all the drama of the evening, I’ve barely been able to catch a buzz.
We sit side by side, staring into the flames in silence for a moment. I crack the top of a beer and hand it to her. She smiles over at me when I reach for
one for myself.
“So, you and Walker, huh?”
Her mouth pops open and I smirk.
“How did you know?”
I bump my shoulder with hers. “It was kind of obvious. He isn’t exactly subtle when it comes to someone he likes.”
She takes a small sip of her beer, but doesn’t face me. “So, what do you think about that?”
I shrug. “Walker’s a good dude. I know he’ll take care of you.” I turn to her so I can meet her eyes. “I think that’s important. That you have someone you can rely on.”
“What about Sloan?”
I sputter a laugh. “What about Sloan?”
“This back and forth… it’s not healthy. Do you really think a relationship can withstand that forever?”
I chug the rest of my beer and crush the can when I finish. I toss it into the fire and watch the flames engulf the tin.
“I guess we’ll see.”
8
Slow It Down
Tess- Now
The sound of Perry snoring is one thing I didn’t miss. My bedroom is down the hall and it still sounds like he’s sleeping right next to me. Unable to tolerate it any longer, I throw my covers off and reach for my robe. Typically, I wouldn’t even wear one, but the small cotton shorts and tank top I have on don’t feel appropriate at the moment.
I pad into the kitchen without even evoking a stir from Perry and turn on my coffee pot. The stack of bills by the microwave is piling up more and more. Not only did Walker share most of the work with me, he also handled the finances. That coupled with the income we were getting, which wasn’t on the books, I’d say I’m in trouble. No threat of losing the shop just yet, but it’s coming if I don’t think of something soon. Maybe I can hire an apprentice?
I’m halfway through a much-needed cup of espresso when Perry stumbles in. He has an uneasy look on his face.
“Good morning, dear. Can I fix you some breakfast, or won’t you be staying?” I say with my sweetest smile.
He lets out some sort of grumble and points down at his clothes. “This is Walker’s shirt.”
I nod, taking another sip. “Yeah, well, you woke up in the middle of the night and destroyed your clothes. You left me with few options.”
He’s quiet for a moment and then I catch him bunch it up at the collar and inhale. He smiles, but it clouded with sadness. “It smells like him.”
I turn my head away and wipe a tear with my knuckle. “You can have it if you want. I haven’t exactly gotten around to—there are still a lot of things to take care of.”
He nods, running his hand along the faded letters.
“I washed your clothes, too. They should be dry any minute.”
This causes him to smirk. “Did you also undress me?”
My cheeks get heated, but I keep my features even. “I helped you. You have nothing I haven’t seen before.”
Perry chuckles. “Maybe not that big, though. You must be traumatized.”
I roll my eyes. “I guess you win by default then.”
My words came off harsher than intended and he’s quiet for a moment. Perry takes the seat across from me and reaches for my cup. I pull it back immediately. “Ew, I saw what came out of you last night.”
Perry smirks. “Don’t worry, I found your drawer of toothbrushes you steal from the dentist’s office. That’s weird by the way.”
“Is not. Dental hygiene is very important and the only true way to wear red lipstick is to have perfectly white teeth.”
He steals my cup and holds it up to me in a toast. “I’ll drink to that.”
I cross my arms and lean back in my chair. “So, what are you going to do about your little problem?”
Perry arches an eyebrow. “Bishop, I think we already established I have a large cock.”
I grit my teeth. “No, dumbass. Sloan. Your ex-girlfriend whose engagement ring is sitting at your parent’s house.”
He shakes his head. “It’s not.” He reaches into his pocket and then looks up at me. “Where’s my wallet?”
“Oh my, God. You took it to the bar with you? What if you would’ve lost it? You should have seen yourself last night.”
He ignores me and tilts his head in annoyance. “Where is it?”
With a sigh, I walk over to the dryer in the small walkway beside the kitchen. I reach under a towel and then toss it to his chest.
Perry grins. “Don’t worry. I kept it in a safe place.”
I watch as he pulls out a tattered photo and unfolds it on the table. He points down to the shiny diamond in triumph. “Safe.”
My eyes begin to well up when I see the photo. I reach for it and he pulls it back.
I raise an eyebrow. “What? I can’t see it?”
He holds it against his chest and takes a breath. “Bishop, this is the only one I have. It’s been with me through some pretty fucked up shit. Be gentle with it.”
I take the photo carefully from his hand and my eyes burn. “This is that day.”
He nods. “Yeah, it’s not the only picture I have, but it’s the last one with us all together. I keep it with me at all times. To remember how it used to be—how it should be now.”
I reach my hand over and place it on top of his. “I’ve been down that road, Perry. I know you want to blame yourself for what happened to Jeremy, but it was an accident.”
He drops his head into his hands and lets out a sigh. “Maybe if we wouldn’t have been celebrating so much after winning that damn race.” He looks up at me, his gaze burning with intensity. “I should have been able to grab him. I shouldn’t have been that fucked up…”
“Hey, we all were. We were dumb kids doing reckless things. Something bad was bound to happen.”
His expression darkens. “Not to him. He was a good person. He was going to make something with his life. Not have it taken away at seventeen before it had even begun.”
I continue to hold his hand in silence. There’s nothing we can say to make what happened to my brother okay. We both know that. At least after the accident we still had each other. I had Walker, and he had Sloan—and me. Regardless of how much I love Walker, Perry always had me stuck in a place of doubt. I always wondered what it would be like if there was no Walker or Sloan. Would he feel the same?
I push that feeling aside as the bell rings, signaling a customer downstairs.
“Shit,” I say, pulling my hair into a ponytail. “My appointment must be early. Can you go down and stall so I can get dressed?”
“Sure,” he says, reaching for the picture and tucking it back in his wallet.
I hurry into my bedroom as Perry takes the stairs down to the shop. Quickly throwing on a pair of torn jeans and a black tank, I run mascara over my lashes and dust on some blush for color. Five minutes later, I run down and am faced with something I didn’t expect. Sloan is leaning against the counter, batting her eyes at Perry.
“Well, isn’t this a nice surprise,” I say with heavy sarcasm. I lean into her ear on my way past. “Missing something?”
She glares at me and turns to Perry. “You told her?”
Before he can open his mouth, I answer for him. “I peeled him off the bar at The Watering Hole last night. Just like old times. He spends one day with you and he’s already spiraling.”
Sloan crosses her arms. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, I think I do,” I sneer, stepping closer. “You think you can just show up two years later and act like everything is fucking peachy? You can’t throw people away like that and expect them to accept it.” I shoot a look to Perry. “Even if they’re dumb enough to fall for it.”
Perry clears his throat. “Okay, that’s enough you two.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out her ring. “I think this is what you came for.”
Her eyes light up when she sees the over-sized sparkler. “Oh, I was so worried. Johnny would flip his shit if he noticed it was missing.”
She slides it back onto her perfectly manicure
d finger and sighs.
I can’t hold back a bitter laugh. “So that’s it then? Thanks for the bang, but now I need to get back to my husband?”
“Bishop,” Perry warns.
I shrug. “What? Can’t we just cut out all the bullshit? This is exactly what this is. She’s bored and you’re some dangerous felon now that she can live out her deepest bad girl fantasies with.”
Sloan scoffs. “That’s not what this is at all. We love each other.”
My face scrunches up in disgust as I turn to Perry. “You still love her?”
He nods. Sloan smiles at me like its something she should be proud of.
“And you love him, too?”
“Of course I do. I’ll always love him.”
“But you’re not going to leave Johnny for him.”
Perry grips the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable with the line of questioning.
“I—I don’t know. This all happened so fast.”
I roll my eyes. “That’s what I thought.” I turn away from them and start to flick on the lights. “I don’t know about you two but I have work to do. Take your drama somewhere else.”
Perry steps over and grabs my arm. “I’d still like to talk to you. This morning was, well it was nice.”
I glance over at Sloan and then back to him. “You can come by later if you want. But don’t bring her with you.”
I say the last part overly loud and she glares at me.
“Okay,” he says in a small voice. “I can do that.”
Perry walks over and places his hand on the small of Sloan’s back and leads her out the front door. I can see them through the large glass window, clearly arguing on the sidewalk. Not a good idea. We live in a small town and the chances of them being seen together and it getting back to Johnny is great.
I’m not surprised she picked him in the first place. He was always trying to come in between her and Perry and the many times that they broke up, he sometimes did. Sloan was always looking for a way out of this town. A better life that only Johnny could give. He’s currently in his second year of med school and is away a lot.
