Thin White Line

by J. A. Templeton

  No such luck. The knocking ensues, this time followed by a, “Ryder, open the fucking door.”

  It’s Brooke, she’s pissed and I don’t have to guess why.

  Ryder drops his forehead against mine. “I’m in trouble,” he says, rolling off me.

  I laugh under my breath. “Maybe she’ll go away.”

  He snorts. “Do you know your cousin? I’m telling you, she’ll kill me if we don’t walk out of this room in sixty seconds.”

  The knocking at the door continues, growing louder by the second. “Ryder, open the door.” This time it’s Deklan. His voice sounds calmer than Brooke’s, but no less intense.

  Ryder releases an agitated sigh and stands, holding a hand to help me up. “Now she’s brought the big guns in.”

  The knocking grows more aggressive.

  He helps me hook my bra and buttons up my vest while I zip and button my pants.

  I watch him with a smile, finding it hard to believe I went so far with Ryder.

  “You’d better wipe that grin off your lips, Kenz...or we’ll both be in deep shit.”

  He has lipstick on his mouth so I reach up and wipe it off with my thumb.

  “Ryder!” Brooke’s voice is reaching ear-piercing volume.

  Ryder rolls his eyes. “I’ll be right there,” he calls towards the door.

  “You better fucking be,” I hear Brooke reply.

  I lick my lips and he moans under his breath. “Don’t do that.”

  “Why?” I ask, but I know. He wants me...badly...and the simple truth is that I want him, too.

  His hands move up my waist and he leans in again, kissing me. The intensity of the last few minutes is gone, but definitely not forgotten.

  “You ready?” Ryder asks.

  “No.” I’m not ready. I want to stay with him and keep experiencing this over-the-top, amazing, heart pounding feeling, but it’s over for now and I can only hope that it’s just the beginning.

  Taking a deep breath, Ryder opens the door with me a few steps behind him.

  Brooke looks furious as she glances from Ryder to me, her gaze slowly sliding down my body and back up again; as though she’s looking for one thing out of place.

  Her gaze returns to Ryder and she scowls at him. “She’s my cousin, Ryder.”

  “I know she’s your cousin, Brooke. I get it.”

  “Do you? Because you just fucking locked yourself in a room with her. That is so not cool.” Her tone has a lethal quality to it. “You’re my friend, but Kenzie’s family. Don’t forget that.”

  Ryder holds up his hands. “Sorry, Brooke. My bad.”

  “You can say that again,” she says between clenched teeth.

  I open my mouth, ready to defend him, but he shakes his head and squeezes my hand.

  “Can I talk to you?” Deklan asks Ryder. “Alone.”

  Feeling like a kid who’s been busted with their hand in the cookie jar, I nod. Deklan finally looks at me and he stares at me so intensely, I actually apologize as I pass by him.

  Brooke stays in the room with them and the door closes behind me.

  My eyes widen at the string of four letter words I can hear coming out of my cousin’s mouth from behind the closed door.

  “What’s going on?” It’s Sadie. Her eyes are glassy and her breath smells like tequila.

  “They’re talking.”

  “Wait, what did I miss?” she asks, sounding intrigued.

  “Nothing,” I tell her, but it’s a lie. Everything has happened and I know my life will never be the same because of it.

  I join Sadie on the dance floor. Five minutes later, Brooke walks out of the room and announces, “We’re leaving.”

  “Why?” I ask. The last thing I want is to leave, especially when so many other girls are here, just waiting for a shot at Ryder.

  “Not yet, Brooke,” Sadie argues. “It’s still early.”

  Curtis walks up, a fifth of whiskey in his hand. “Who wants a straight shot?”

  I glance at Brooke. “You’re not driving, right?”

  Curtis lifts a keychain and swings it around his finger. I recognize the blinged-out “B” keychain as Brooke’s.

  “Apparently not,” Brooke replies, handing me one of the shot glasses. Sadie grabs the other. “To Kenzie.”

  “To Kenzie,” Sadie cheers, giving me a wink.

  I toss the liquor back and it burns its way down my esophagus to my stomach.

  The entire place seems to erupt in applause.

  I don’t really want to leave, especially with what just happened between me and Ryder. My lips still tingle from our kisses, my body is still sensitive and, with how I feel, I just really don’t want to walk away from it. I want...more.

  Someone turns the music up loud, a song with an almost frantic rhythm that has all the girls on the dance floor gyrating and the men clapping in applause.

  Curtis lines up shot glasses on the table and fills them with whiskey.

  “Come on, girls.” He motions us to join him.

  Ryder walks out of the room and comes over to me. He doesn’t look any worse for wear and Deklan isn’t mean-mugging me or Brooke, so I figure we’re in the clear.

  “Toss it back,” Sadie says and without hesitation, I take the shot.

  CHAPTER 7

  The pounding in the base of my skull won’t let up and the daylight spilling into my room as well as into my eyes doesn’t help the intense pain.

  My head might explode.

  Ugh, I want to die.

  I take a deep breath in and rub my temples, hoping the throbbing in my skull will let up. After five deep breaths, I realize that no amount of breathing will help the hangover from Hell.

  “Jesus, is it really one?” a voice says from beside me.

  I roll over. There, on my bedroom floor, stretching and yawning, is my cousin. Her hair is a little mussed and, aside from smudged mascara beneath her eyes, she looks none the worse for wear. I glance at the clock radio on my nightstand. It’s seven minutes after one.

  My mind races and I try to remember if I even saw my mom last night after we came home. Things are a bit of a blur after what had gone down in Deklan’s room with Ryder. I smile to myself, a little shiver rushing through me at the memory of making out with him—and the feelings of him touching my body.

  The smile disappears, though, because I know that if Brooke hadn’t knocked on the door, I can almost guarantee I would have woken up this morning without my virginity intact.

  “I probably shouldn’t have taken those last straight shots.” Brooke stands and stretches. “I never really cared for whiskey.”

  I vaguely remember the straight shot or had there been more than one?

  “Tell me you didn’t drive?” I ask, horrified that I can’t even recall how I made it home.

  “Deklan drove us.”

  As in smoking hot, tattooed rocker, Deklan? I hope I didn’t make an ass out of myself.

  “Where’s Sadie?”

  Brooke’s finger brushes her hair. “She probably stayed over with Jack.”

  “Who is Jack?”

  “Wow, you were toasted.” Brooke laughs under her breath. “Jack is Curtis’s friend with the long curly hair. You should remember him. After all, you were slow dancing with him.”

  My heart crashes to my toes. “What?”

  “Kidding.”

  I could choke her. “Jack did like you, though. He’s always had a thing for blondes.”

  “I should have passed on the straight shots,” I say absently.

  I should have passed on the coke as well. Huge mistake.

  Brooke sits on the edge of the bed. “So, what do you remember?”

  I remember snorting coke, listening to the band, dancing and getting down with Ryder.

  She nudges me. “You could have gotten yourself in trouble, you know that? Ryder doesn’t mess around when it comes to women. He can move faster than anyone I know.”

  I don’t need a reminder. I’m sure people
will be talking about it at school come Monday. Great, labeled a slut on my second week of school. “Tell me we left shortly after the straight shots.”

  “Well, you did get sick.”

  My eyes widen.

  “But you didn’t puke until we were driving home. Deklan had to pull over about every two minutes. He even held your hair for you.”

  Shoot me…

  “Where was Ryder?” I ask, almost afraid of the answer.

  “No room for him in Deklan’s truck. Trust me, though, he wanted to come home with you.”

  I smile and she rolls her eyes. “You need to be careful with that one. I mean it, as in seriously careful. He had you locked in Deklan’s room.”

  Yeah, I know that, especially since she keeps reminding me.

  “Deklan was ready to kill him.”

  “So Deklan doesn’t drink?” I ask, changing the subject.

  “He’s not a big partier. I mean, he loves living in the house and having people over, but he hates drugs.”

  “So that’s why everyone panicked when he came upstairs to Curtis’s room?”

  She nods. “Exactly...and speaking of Deklan and his place, we need a ride over there to get my car. I’ll call Sadie and have her pick us up. She owes me one.”

  “Sadie’s nice.”

  “Yeah, but she’ll get you in trouble if you let her.”

  I’m surprised Brooke would say that about a girl who I assumed to be her best friend.

  “Is she…”

  “Umm…Gay? No, just sexually confused. Trust me, I’ve seen her girl-on-girl moments. I think she does it more because it turns the guys on so much.”

  My cheeks turn pink. Last night I’d seen the responses to our dirty dancing. If memory serves, I kissed her, too.

  Her phone beeps. “Sadie will be here in an hour. You mind if I take a shower?”

  “Go ahead. Towels are in the linen closet in the hall.”

  While Brooke takes a shower, I lie back on my bed and try not to think about puking in front of Deklan. I saw him watching me throughout the part of the night that I do remember and I know he wasn’t happy at all with Ryder when we were locked up in his room.

  Brooke walks through my bedroom door a few minutes later, her hair wrapped in one of our rattiest towels. “Get in the shower.”

  “Why?”

  “You’re coming with.”

  The idea of getting in a car when I feel like I still might hurl is far from appealing. I’m not sure if I really want to see anyone from last night, either. I wonder what they all thought of me.

  “Just come with me.”

  She grabs her purse and shuffles through it before finding a mint container. Opening it, there are pills of varying sizes and colors. “Here. This will help with nausea. In fifteen minutes, you’ll feel good as new.”

  Warning bells go off in my head. “What is it?”

  “It’s the gold standard remedy for nausea. They give it to patients going through chemo.”

  I take the pill from her and she hands me the water bottle. I slide the pill into my mouth and swallow a minimal amount of water.

  “You mind if I borrow some clothes? I’ll bring them to school tomorrow, I swear.”

  She’s already rifling through my clothes before I can respond.

  I take a shower and, by the time I step out, the nausea I felt upon waking is a thing of the past, and I’m excited at the prospect of seeing Ryder again.

  Thank God my mom isn’t home. She left a note saying she’s at the Farmers Market with Aunt Shelley.

  Right on time, Sadie pulls up to my house. Like Brooke, she doesn’t look any the worse for wear after last night. She’s looking gorgeous in a cute, flowery sundress and flip-flops, her hair is in a ponytail and there is zero makeup on her face. I can’t decide if she looks more beautiful without the makeup than she does with it.

  Lucky.

  I made sure to at least wear enough makeup that I don’t look as hung-over as I feel. I don’t think it helps, though. I don’t own enough makeup to cover the dark circles beneath my eyes.

  My head still pounds a little, but the pill has taken the edge off my headache almost as much as it helped the nausea.

  “So...did you stay with Jack last night?” Brooke asks Sadie.

  Sadie lifts her sunglasses and winks. “Got to scratch that itch.”

  Brooke shakes her head.

  Sadie pulls into traffic and I watch the passing landscape, saying very little, my thoughts consumed.

  “I heard you were locked in the bedroom with Ryder.” Sadie makes a sound between her teeth. “I told you our dance moves would drive him wild.”

  She meets my gaze in the rearview mirror. “So...is he as good as rumored?”

  My cheeks burn. I can tell by her expression that she thinks we did a lot more than what we had done. “We just kissed.” I wasn’t about to bring up the part where he had me on my back on Deklan’s bed or that we had gone further than I had with any guy. With the weightless feeling I’d been experiencing last night, I can almost guarantee that I wouldn’t have pushed Ryder away.

  I know one thing—with how shitty I’m feeling—I’m not in any rush to party again.

  “I don’t know...you look sort of guilty.” Sadie gives me a cocky grin.

  “Leave her alone,” Brooke says, her voice laced with irritation.

  Sadie lifts a brow at her. “She likes him and he obviously likes her, so what’s the big deal?”

  “Exactly,” Brooke snaps. “So just drop it.”

  We fall into an awkward silence and I’m relieved when we pull up to Deklan’s. My heart misses a beat seeing Ryder’s silver Acura in front.

  “Oh goodie, Mr. Hottie isn’t wearing a shirt.”

  I expect to look out and see Ryder without his shirt, but it’s Deklan who is washing his truck in the driveway...shirtless...and I have to admit that his body is off-the-chain amazing; broad shoulders, wide chest, shredded six pack, defined V that disappears into the low waistband of his jeans. I think about last night, watching him play the drums, the way his body moved in time to the beat, the muscles in his biceps bulging with each strike of the drumstick.

  “Hey, Deklan.” Brooke slides out of the car and adjusts the seat so I can get out.

  “Hey,” he replies, flashing a grin. Had I noticed those deep dimples last night? “Glad to see you didn’t get towed.”

  “Yeah, me, too.”

  “How are you feeling today, Kenzie?” Deklan asks, his gaze shifting over my black tank top, frayed jeans and flip flops.

  Sadie takes in the view for a minute, ultimately whistling between her teeth. “I have to get going.”

  “Is Curtis here?” Brooke asks.

  Deklan rolls back on his heels. “Still in bed, I think.”

  “He has my keys,” Brooke says and I’m half tempted to follow behind her. I really want to see Ryder again, but I’d have to run to catch up, as well as the fact that I don’t want to look desperate.

  “Later, Kenz!” Sadie calls and pulls away from the curb.

  I wave, then lean against the fence and watch as Deklan wipes the truck down with a towel. I check out all of his tattoos as he does. The filigree working its way up the sides to his back is an intricate work of art in itself. It’s nothing short of amazing; and the castle tattoo takes up his entire left shoulder.

  “Did you have fun last night?” he asks abruptly.

  I nod. “Yeah, it was fun.”

  His lips quirk. All my life I have sought approval from others; my parents, my teachers, my friends. I always did what was right and, admittedly, I don’t feel like I need to apologize for a night of letting loose.

  Tossing the towel over his shoulder, he shrugs. “Normally, I have a pretty good intuition when it comes to people.”

  “And what does your intuition say about me?” I ask, intrigued.

  His eyes narrow, but the slight smile remains. “I think you watch people a lot. You say little, but you see everyth
ing. You follow versus lead, not because you don’t have what it takes to lead, but you can get lost in the crowd that way. It’s just...easier.”

  Did he just diss me?

  I frown. Is he right? Am I a follower? I think about my life in San Diego. Like in any school, even Saint Catherine’s had cliques. I definitely hadn’t been a leader of any group. Even in my own family, I take a step back to my brother; Cole has always been the star.

  Deklan takes a few steps, closing the distance that separates us. If I wasn’t standing against the fence, I would have probably fallen on my butt from trying to back up.

  “Don’t ever let anyone determine who you should be. You’re the only one who can do that.”

  Before I can ask him what he means by that, the door to the house opens and closes. Ryder appears wearing a soft, grey, v-neck t-shirt and dark jeans.

  “Hey, you.” His gaze shifts between me and Deklan. “What are you up to?”

  My heart pounds with every step that brings him closer to me. His gaze slides slowly over me, stopping at my chest for a millisecond before his blue eyes meet mine.

  Before I can respond, he leans in and gives me a heart-stopping kiss.

  All my fears disappear in an instant.

  “I was going to text you...but then I realized I didn’t have your number.” He pulls out his phone. “Let’s fix that right now.”

  I give him my phone number and shift nervously on my feet, reliving the memories of last night. He licks his lips as he plugs my number into his phone. A blush runs up my neck as I recall just how far we’d gone last night. How those same lips had been on my breasts while those hands were taking me to new heights.

  When he finishes, he pockets his phone and asks, “So how do you feel today?”

  “A little rough around the edges. I don’t think the straight shots were a very good idea.”

  He lifts a hand and slides a lock of hair that has come free from my ponytail back behind my ear. It’s a sweet, surprising gesture. “Your cousin has your back. In fact, she kind of has this mothering thing about her. Just ask Curtis. I think that’s part of the appeal. Not to say that your cousin isn’t smoking hot because she is.”

  “I’d stop talking right now,” Deklan says, laughing under his breath.