I closed my eyes, and his hand came up to my cheek. Our eyes met as I replied, “I was afraid you wouldn’t keep that promise.”
“I’ll never break a promise to you, Sky. You mean too much to me,” he replied, and his forehead came to mine. “Thank you for saving me.”
Our lips hovered over one another, and my heart seemed to stop beating and then start again so fast I wondered if he could hear it.
“I was so afraid…” I began, and my voice broke. “I just wanted to run away with you, so you’d never have to face her again…but now you get to do something even better– live your dream.”
“I’d still run away with you,” Danny replied, and then his lips were on mine. Soft and sweet as I wrapped my arms around his neck and he pulled me closer. His bare chest pressed against mine, and at that moment I didn’t think kissing anyone else could ever be better.
I put my hands over my face as my heart hammers the same way it did then. No one ever did kiss me like that again; no kiss has ever come close to that one. Sand falls into my eyes from the puck, and I curse as I stand and jog to retrieve my board from the curb it’s climbed before coming to a stop. I grab it and then go to place it on the ground, dropping it harder than I mean to when my eyes find Danny sitting on the curb in front of the house watching me.
I yank my earbuds out as I step on the board and coast towards him, carving in tight half circles as my pulse thrums in my ears. I don’t know what to say to him, but I want us to be close again, even if it’s not as close as my body and heart seem to want even after two years.
Danny nods towards the board, his eyes briefly running over my exposed legs and then up to my face, causing my face to flush with heat.
He just checked me out. Apparently, it’s not just my body that wants him. I avoid the urge to clasp my eyes shut.
“Since when do you do that?” he asks, and I shrug as I plop down next to him.
I pull my gloves off slowly, concentrating on them. “A year or so ago.”
“You looked frustrated.”
I raise an eyebrow at him. “I fell on my ass. I’m pretty sure that’s why I looked that way.”
“Before that. I know your determined face, Sky, and you were determined and frustrated like you were trying to forget something.”
I swallow, looking down at our knees just inches apart. It seems he still knows me pretty well. I don’t answer, and he heaves a sigh.
“I can’t shake the feeling it has something to do with me. I’m sorry about the way I reacted when I first saw you. I just didn’t know what to expect…I don’t…” his voice drifts, and he looks down at his Nike’s before his eyes meet mine. “I’m sorry about everything.”
The kiss.
I shake my head. “Nothing to be sorry for.”
He puts his head in his hands and his shoulders tense. I fight the urge to reach out and rub them until he relaxes.
I bite my lip before continuing, “I know I was too young for you, and it must’ve been weird.”
His head slowly rises along with his gaze. “Age has nothing to do with it. Was it weird for you?”
Lie to him.
I shake my head, and his fingers clasp into fists.
“God,” he says, sticking his tongue into his cheek. “You’ve grown up so much.”
“A lot’s happened,” I reply, cocking my head at him.
His eyes crush shut. “Joey told us what happened with that guy after we left.”
My stomach clenches, and I look straight ahead. The name stings as I say it. “Brian.”
“We just call him fuck-face,” Danny says, and I look over my shoulder at him.
I call him that in my head, but I feel like not saying his name gives him some sort of power–like not muttering Voldermort.
“I think of him like that too,” I reply.
“No wonder,” Danny says, and his eyes find the scar that travels from my lip jaggedly to half-way down my chin. His hand starts to lift as if he wants to touch it and then his tongue darts out and he blinks hard, dropping his hands to the curb. His knuckles turn white as he grips it.
“You still look the same,” I finally manage to say, and his lips spread into a wide smile. Everything about him is exactly like the last time I saw him in person, except one arm is covered in sporadic tattoos down to his wrist and the other has a solid half sleeve to his elbow that depicts the universe with stars and planets against a deep purple and blue sky. I keep my eyes on his face because I’m afraid if I let my eyes drop to his tattoos that I’ll end up drooling at the flex of his biceps against them, and I don’t want him to catch me checking him out.
“Still don’t know how to shave,” he replies, running his hands over his cheeks.
“Something like that,” I say, and I can’t help the smile on my lips.
Danny’s brows furrow and he swallows. “I’ve missed you, Sky. Everything…that smile especially.”
I fight the urge to put my head on his shoulder.
“You’re the only one who makes me smile like this.” The words slip out before I can hold them in. We’re both quiet for a moment, staring out into the distance, and my stomach clenches. I turn to face him. “If you’ve missed me why haven’t you talked to me since you left?”
Since that kiss.
Danny tucks his head between his shoulders before he looks up at me. His hazel eyes bore into me, and my heart seems to freeze and then speed up again. His lips part and for a moment he’s silent.
When he speaks, his voice is rough and low. “I thought it’d be better for you.”
I run my hands through my hair, and I don’t know what to say. My voice is weak when I respond, “I know you’re Joey’s best friend, but you were mine, too.”
“I know.” He looks out at the road in front of us. “You were mine. You were the person I ran to when the shit hit the fan with my mom over and over again. I never meant to hurt you, Sky. I’ve wanted to talk to you so many times…” His voice breaks and his chin lowers into the curve of his bicep.
I fight the urge to put my hands on either side of his face and put our foreheads together– to smooth the pain flitting in his eyes. Instead, I put my head on his shoulder.
“I’ve missed you,” I reply, my voice almost inaudible as my mind races to all the times I sat in bed crying myself to sleep because no one knew what was going on with me, and I so desperately needed to confide in him but couldn’t. To the many times I listened to a voicemail from Joey over and over because I could hear Danny’s laughter in the background and it made me happy to know he was happy. “I needed you too.”
Danny’s head lifts, and I close my eyes as he presses his lips to my forehead. “I’m here now, and I promise I won’t leave you again.”
I’ll never break a promise to you, Sky.
I keep my head where it is because I’m afraid if I lift it I’ll kiss him, and I don’t know if that’s what this means, or if we’re just friends kept too long apart.
“Not like you have a choice for the next six months,” I reply, and he shifts next to me, so his arm is around my back.
“I guess that means we should head in and get you all packed up?”
“I guess so,” I reply as I pull away, and I swear he’s blushing beneath his scruff.
He makes it hard to breathe for all the right reasons or the wrong ones.
Right now, I’m not sure.
Chapter 4
“Lark!” Zack says as he comes in the back door of my bedroom. He sweeps me into his arms and spins me around the room before putting me on the ground. “You’re all grown-up!”
I cross my arms and narrow my eyes at him. “And I still hate it when you call me Lark.”
He pouts, and I can’t stay mad at him. He’s foolishly good looking in his band t-shirt, zip-up hoodie, and beanie. It covers his dapper haircut that has a streak of chemical white-blond he dyes a different color to suit his mood. I pull the beanie off his head, and he winks. Pink.
“Somet
hing you’ve been meaning to tell me, Killer?” I ask.
His pout drifts into a smile, complete with lady-killer dimples. “I’m completely secure in my manhood. You can ask my girlfriend.”
“Settling down, are we?” I tease just as Aaron bursts through the door and throws me over his shoulder. Where Joey and Zack are tall and skinny, Aaron and Danny are muscular. Danny’s got the arms while Aaron has the abs.
“You get her bags,” Aaron orders. “We’ve got a radio interview to get to.”
“Do either of you know how to use a front door? Or knock?” I ask as I hang suspended over Aaron’s shoulder with my hand cupping my face.
Danny comes through the door next and his head jerks back as he takes in the scene. “Looks like you don’t need my help.”
I nod to my rack of longboards. “You’re the only one I trust with my boards. The pintail and the dinghy.”
“Speak English,” Zack says, but Danny seems to understand and grabs the two boards.
“Look!” Danny says, holding the dinghy up next to Zack’s head. “The trucks match your hair!”
“I was wondering where you fools went to!” Joey says as he walks in the door. “Mom and Dad want to say bye to all of us, but I’m pretty sure Dad will prefer if you’re not hauling Sky around ass over teakettle.”
“Oh, come on! This is totally normal,” Aaron says, and Joey blinks at him. “Fine.”
“Don’t worry,” I say, squeezing Aaron’s arm as he sets me down. “You and Danny can take turns trying to bench press me after.”
“Sick!” Aaron whoops. “You’re the perfect size for that!”
Danny narrows his eyes at me as the guys file up the stairs. I hold my hand out, and he gives me the dinghy. “Bench press you?”
I lean my shoulder into him before we head up the stairs. “Just because you like the idea.”
He laughs, shaking his head as he holds the door open for me. “I’m afraid Aaron will like it too much.”
“Jealous?” I ask.
His neck turns red beneath his scruff. “Protective.”
“All of you are,” I remind him. “And I want to know how you knew what boards I was talking about.”
Before Danny can explain Dad pulls me into a hug, already used to navigating around my skateboard. “You’re going to behave, right?”
As he pulls away, I look around him. “You should probably be more concerned about the boys.”
Dad breathes in through his nose, running a hand through his thinning gray hair. “Yeah, I know. Remember, they may be over twenty-one, but you’re not.”
He glances at Danny and his crows feet become more severe against his skin, tanned from hours outside. The look is meaningful, meant to reinforce the fact I’m still his baby, and then he turns and gives each of the other guys, including Joey, the same look. “You’re family, take care of each other.”
“We will,” Joey says as he comes over and puts his arm around my shoulders. “This will be good for Sky. She’ll get some real photography experience.”
Mom’s crying too much to speak, and she takes a turn hugging each of us until we can’t breathe. She wipes her eyes after hugging me and then turns to the boys. “Next time you’re in town, you better stay longer than two days.”
“Of course,” Danny says, and she gives him a tender smile.
“We’ll move the futon into Joey’s room for next time if it’s okay with Sky,” she says, and I nod.
Danny’s gaze meets mine, and I smile before looking down at my feet.
“I hate to rush this along, Mom, but we have a radio interview,” Joey says, looking down at his watch. “In like twenty.”
“Fine, fine!” she says, or that’s what I think she mumbles. Mom gives each of us a kiss on our foreheads, saving Danny for last. She whispers something in his ear, and he nods.
I narrow my eyes at him, but he heads to the door without giving any indication what she said. Joey puts his arm around my shoulder. “Our chariot awaits.”
When we get outside, I’m stunned by the fact the RV isn’t a piece of crap. It’s a decent size, like a mini-tour bus and has the band’s black unmarked trailer that holds their instruments hooked behind it. Some of the graffiti I helped Joey apply to it when the band first started out shows beneath the black paint, but after a couple of grand worth of equipment was stolen we made sure it was more ambiguous.
Joey walks out in front of me and turns. The black and red flannel shirt tied around his waist flaps in the wind as he spreads his arms. “Our humble abode welcomes you! It sleeps six, so Danny’s about to find this is a lot better than a sleeping bag on my floor.”
“This,” Zack says as he hops out the door. “Is freaking amazing! Well worth all that money we saved up!”
“You guys bought this together?” I ask. “The label doesn’t pay for that?”
Joey laughs. “We’re not that big time yet– and we’re just renting it. Hopefully, next album we’ll get a tour bus from the label. Showering is going to be the fun part. I hope you brought your bathing suit and flip flops.”
I blink at him as he opens the driver side door.
“I’m joking, Sky — there’s water onboard, but think of it as a drought. Two-minute showers, brush your teeth with the water off, you know, conserve the water and all that shit. Which reminds me no number two,” Joey says just as Danny hops into the passenger side seat. “Just let me know, and I’ll be sure to get us to the nearest rest stop.”
My face burns with a heat I don’t think I’ve ever experienced before as Danny’s eyes lock on mine. Joey winks before shutting the door, and the RV purrs to life. I walk around and go in through the side door, propping my board in the space Danny’s put my other one.
“Take a seat,” Aaron says, nodding across the table where he and Zack sit. “Walking while in motion is allowed, but Joey says we should remain seated whenever possible.”
I sit down and look at the space. It’s nicely done. We’re seated in a kitchen-slash-living area, and there’s a decent size TV kiddy cornered next to what appears to be a bed above the driving area.
Zack taps a door behind him. “Bathroom is here, master bedroom back there, and there’s another TV in that room.”
The sleeping area above the driving section is big enough for two, and so is the bed I can see at the end of the hall.
“Joey,” I call up front. “Are you sure this sleeps six?”
Aaron smirks wiggling his brows at me. “You like where you’re sitting?”
My eyes widen. Danny turns from the passenger seat and signals to the table between the guys and I. “Folds up, and both sides flatten out, but you get your choice of whatever bed you want.”
“What?” Aaron’s smirk disappears.
Danny raises one brow. “She’s the only chick onboard. She gets first pick.”
A smile comes to my lips. “Does the room with the TV in the back have a door?”
Danny stands up and navigates his way back. I bite the inside of my lip as my eyes slip to the way his jeans perfectly fit his ass. My jaw clenches, and I stand to follow him.
“You’re supposed to stay seated!” Zack says, but Aaron’s already following me.
Danny pulls a piece out of the wall, and a pocket door rolls out. “Looks like it does.”
He squeezes my shoulder as he walks passed me, and Zack narrows his eyes at me from where he’s sitting. I just keep smiling as if the heat from Danny’s touch isn’t spreading tingles to every inch of me. But then again, maybe that’s why I can’t stop smiling.
“Dibs on this one,” I say before heading back to the kitchen area and taking a seat back at the table.
“Of course, you choose the only one that’s a real bed,” Aaron says with a pout as he sits across from me and crosses his arms.
Danny taps the bed above the driving area as he walks under it. “Dibs.”
Joey lifts his hand onto the ceiling above him. “Dibs.”
I lean across the table
and flick the shock of pink in Zack’s hair. “Looks like you’re going to be spooning with Hawk.”
Zack grabs my hand and narrows his eyes at the thick watch on my wrist. His grasp tightens as he lifts his other hand and begins to unbelt it.
“Zack–” I warn, my voice a growl. My pulse thrums in my ears because I know he’s not going to stop.
His brows rise as he flicks the metal prong and removes the watch.
“Oh, dear,” Zack says, tsking me with his tongue.
Aaron legit falls off the bench seat in mock-shock.
“What’s going on back there?” Joey asks, and I’m glad I’m not facing him because the number two comment was bad, but this is going to be even worse.
“Apparently, your little sister is a little rebel,” Zack replies as he cocks his head at the design on my skin.
“It’s just a tattoo,” I mutter, and Joey slams on the brakes as if he already knows it’s not just ink but a part of the scars I’ve hidden for so many years.
“We’re here!” Zack says as he lets go, not bothering to hide his satisfied smile as he and Aaron go to the door.
I stand to follow, but stop when I see both Danny and Joey turned in their seats staring at me. Their expressions are mirror images of disapproval — blinking eyes and lips in thin, straight lines. I cross my arms and nod to the chest tattoo that peeks out from under his v-neck t-shirt, along with a thin coat of chest hair. Then I turn to Danny and let my eyes fall to each of his sculpted arms.
“Who did you go with?” Danny asks as he stands and holds his hand out.
I swallow, keeping my wrists under my chest. “No one.”
“No one,” Joey says, and I shake my head, biting my lip. His thick brows shadow over his eyes. “Why?”
My vision fogs, and I struggle with what to say. I end up with the truth slipping from my lips when I can’t think of anything better to say. “I didn’t have anyone to go with since all my friends were on tour.”
Joey’s lips twist into an awkward smile as he shakes his head. He doesn’t believe me.
“We can’t be your only friends, Sky. I mean what about everyone–” His voice falters as I look away, inhaling through my nose as goosebumps travel up my arms without my permission.
Out of Beat (Boys of Fallout Book 1) Page 2
