I groaned as he squeezed me tightly, squeaking out a ‘thanks’ before he finally released me. Even Nick gave me a hug; it was cold and detached for the most part, but he didn’t have to do it, so that must mean something.
Chance glanced around; I had a feeling I knew who he was searching for. “Alright, Ally. What do you want to drink?”
“Actually—“
“One Dark ‘n’ Stormy for the birthday girl!” Jessa reappeared through the crowd and set my drink down in front of me; she wasn’t looking at me, though. She was looking at my brother with a big smile on her face.
The heaviness between them was even suffocating to me. How were they still breathing?
“Chance.” I’d never heard that tone of voice before. “Frost.” Her eyes narrowed somewhat when she mentioned Nick. I knew I was standing with my mouth wide open, taking in the scene in front of me, but so was everyone else…
“Jessa,” my brother bit out sourly. His smile was shining sharply as though he wanted it to cut her. Her name was like a curse leaving his mouth.
I was briefly distracted by the small laugh that came from Nick before he turned away from the show. Vaguely, I heard him say something to Tammy, but I was too interested in the silent war going on between Jessa and Chance to be able to focus on it.
“How have you been?” Jess answered nervously. I’d never seen Jessa nervous before. I took a sip of my drink, trying not to feel too much like the third wheel in the conversation.
“Good,” Chance clipped; the man in front of me, with a slight beard and angry eyes was a side of my brother that I rarely saw. “Really good, actually. Although, shouldn’t you be asking Frost? Or was it always both of us you were after? Nowadays, we might be up for that sort of thing.”
I choked on my drink. Oh my God. I was in shock, but all I could think about was Jessa. All color drained from her face. Her mouth parted slightly like she just realized the knife that had been stabbed into her chest.
Chance turned to me like he hadn’t just publicly humiliated my best friend and said, “When you’re done with that, I’m buying your next one, Al.” And with a sterner look, “But, that’s all you’re getting.”
And then, he and Nick were gone, disappearing towards the direction of the bar and probably towards the group of single women there as well.
“Jess are you ok?” I reached for her; she was frozen. “I can’t believe… I can’t believe he did that; he said that… I’m so sorry.”
Her face masked over. “It’s fine, Ally. After what I did, I deserved it.”
I would have been bawling my eyes out, but Jessa, she somehow pulled on this inner strength that kept her calm and composed
“No, you don’t. And it’s been what? Seven years?”
“It’s ok, Ally. I’ve been waiting for that for seven years. Honestly, I’m just relieved that he finally had the chance to say whatever he wanted to me.” She gave me a sad smile. “It’s been a long time, but some hurts leave scars.”
The music droned on in the background. Part of me wanted to hug her, part of me wanted to scream at her for not yelling at him – for not smacking him, part of me wanted to smack him. But their fury was their own. I loved them both – no matter what hurtful things they’d done to one another.
“Did you finish your drink already, Tammy?” The old Jessa was back, like Chance had never existed.
I saw Chance and Nick at the bar talking to a group of women. He didn’t look over here again.
Whatever was between them had passed like an eclipse. A few minutes immersed in the complete darkness of their history – a darkness that was outlined with a light so bright, it could blind you. And then it was gone, both of them going their separate ways.
Tammy’s eyes went wide, looking down at her empty cup and back up at us like she had no idea how it happened.
Her expression – talk about comic relief. We burst out laughing.
“How did I… I couldn’t have…” She looked around as though someone else had been stealing sips from her cup this entire time.
“Do you want another one?” Jessa grinned at her.
My laughter stopped abruptly as chills beat up my spine.
Emmett was here.
I turned towards the door, scanning the faces, looking for that red.
I would always find him.
He would always find me.
Moisture pooled between my legs; I’d given up on any underwear being able to hold their own against him. Truthfully, the heat that poured out of me probably should have melted through the lace.
His eyes met mine – eyes that sent images of his hands on me, his mouth on me, flickering like my favorite movie through my mind.
He was with someone. I wasn’t sure how I could tell that, but I could and my heart stopped.
What if he had brought another girl? Because Nick and Chance were here?
Don’t vomit.
I tore my gaze away; I didn’t want to know. My cup rattled as I set it down on the table with shaky hands.
“Wait, Ally… Is that…” Jessa had noticed Emmett and I couldn’t stop my head from turning back.
He had brought someone with him. A blonde. With broad shoulders and a Rip Curl shirt on…
“Oh my God!” I screamed. “Tyler!!!”
The next thing I knew I was wrapped in my cousin’s arms as he picked me up and spun me around.
The scene drew spectators. I didn’t care. I could have cried I was so happy. Wait, was I crying?
“Happy birthday, munchkin!” He squeezed me tightly before setting me down.
I was speechless, floundering for words amidst a sea of emotions. “W-what are you doing here? H-how?”
He nodded to Emmett who was still standing next to him. The way Emmett was watching me was… like my happiness could cure his cancer – or whatever it was that was eating away at him.
“And Channing.”
“Surprise!” Jessa squealed hugging me from behind; Tammy trailed over, looking a little worse for the wear.
“Did you know about this?” I turned to her.
“Of course, we did.” She rolled her eyes. “Channing had to let us in on the plan so that we made sure to get you here.”
I looked back to Tyler. “Was this my sister’s idea?”
“No, it was all King of the Ginger’s plan. She just facilitated,” Jessa clarified.
I shook my head, my vision fuzzy. “I can’t believe this; I can’t believe that you’re here.” I hugged him again.
“It’s nice to finally meet you, Tyler. I’ve heard nothing but great things from Al, here.”
Smooth, Ally. I quickly introduced everyone, watching as Tyler and Jess fell into an easy conversation that kept even Tammy entertained.
“How did you…” My heart beat louder than the music as I looked at Emmett.
“Easy. Called your sister, asked her for his number, told him the plan, and booked his flight.” Oh, no big deal.
“You paid for his flight?” His eyes answered me. “You shouldn’t have done that.”
“I shouldn’t do a lot of things, gorgeous, but that rarely seems to stop me.”
My teeth sunk into my lip before I murmured, “Thank you.” I couldn’t stop myself – and he couldn’t stop me. I wrapped my arms around his neck, my lips skating across his, quickly concealed by our hug.
It was two seconds. Maybe. If that. But I let myself feel every inch of him. Hard. Hot. Cold. Caring.
“Tyler?” I heard Chance’s shocked question and pulled back from Emmett. “What the hell are you doing here?”
I watched the two embrace, laughing and smacking each other on the back.
“I couldn’t miss the little one’s birthday.”
“No fucking shit.” He introduced Nick and pulled Tyler away towards the bar for a drink. “You in on this King?”
“Yeah.” He walked towards Chance and didn’t look back to me. “Channing’s idea. Feeling guilty or whatever.”
&nbs
p; My brother wrapped his arms around both of them as they walked to the bar, leaving us girls back together again.
“Should we go back and sit before someone takes our table?”
“Yeah,” I paused, “Tammy, are you ok?”
She looked green compared to the tight, deep red dress that she was wearing.
“Yeah.” Totally not true. “I just think I should sit,” she said with a strained voice.
“Ally, take her. I’ll grab some water.”
She returned a few minutes later with three cups of ice water. “And here, I thought that Al was going to be the first to go down. I clearly have not done my job.”
“For the birthday girl,” Tyler wrapped his arm around me and set another Dark ‘n’ Stormy on the table in front of me. “Chance insists that I tell you it’s from him, but I’m saying that it’s from the both of us.”
“I still cannot believe you are here. How are you? How is Delray?” I took a sip of the drink that went down far too easily. “I just talked to my mom the other day. It sounded like all our parents had a great time in Europe.”
“Oh, they did. I’ve heard of nothing else.” Rather him than me was all I could think. “How have you been?”
His gaze dropped from mine down to the hand that was holding my drink – the hand that was still wearing Dylan’s Claddagh ring. Out of habit, the glass went down and my finger began to spin the piece of jewelry.
“Alright. There are good and bad days.” I shrugged, unable to look at him. “I’ve been learning how to snowboard.”
“No shit!” He laughed. “How’s that going? Is your sister teaching you?” I’d told him about Chance’s injury. And when we realized that he left, I called Tyler that night and he stayed on the phone with me while I cried.
“Ahh… no, actually. She doesn’t know yet. I just started. Emmett is teaching me.”
“Mmm,” he murmured.
“What?” I don’t know why I gave him that answer. It was just the two of us talking. Jessa was trying to distract Tammy until the water started to kick in.
“I know who he is to your siblings, but who is he to you?” he asked, staring me down.
He was an enigma. He was the King of the Mountain who had knelt to me, who worshipped me.
I swallowed. “He is the glue that’s holding all of my pieces back together.”
Ty’s smile was pure hope and happiness. I was afraid he might be angry. Dylan was his friend. Was it too soon? Too soon to move on? I would never forget about him. I didn’t want Ty to think that…
“That’s what I want for you, Al. And I know that’s what he would want for you.” I took a sip of my drink. He was talking about Dylan and I was trying not to cry. “Plus, looks like you might be doing the same for him – Emmett.”
At his name, I glanced over at the bar to find those dark eyes watching me intently, ignoring the woman who was trying to talk to him while her friends easily entertained my brother and Nick.
After that, Ty changed the subject, including Jessa and Tammy in the conversation. He was so good at making people feel comfortable – just like he had for me when I’d moved. The four of us fell into easy conversation, interspersed with Ty pulling me out onto the dance floor for a few classic songs like ‘Summer of ‘69’ and Michael Jackson’s ‘Beat it.’
Emmett’s eyes were wrapped on me tighter than my dress was. Every moment I felt him and it took everything I had not to wrap myself around him. I wish I could blame the alcohol, but I was drunk on him.
Laughing hysterically, Ty led me back over to our table where I took a seat before I became too lightheaded to stand and too nauseous to keep dinner down where it belonged. Jess jumped right back in, asking about life in Florida and surfing and the beach; she’d never been. Tammy stayed relatively quiet since she still wasn’t feeling well. But Jessa and Tyler hit it off immediately which made sense to me. They were both kind, free-spirits.
At some point, Chance and the others came back over to our table in the middle of one of Tyler’s surfing stories; he had all of us laughing hysterically.
“Alright sis, we’re heading out.” He squeezed me and kissed my head. “You coming Ty?”
I didn’t realize they were taking him with them. Chance’s gaze wasn’t as friendly on our cousin and I foggily wondered if it was because he and Jessa were getting along so well.
“C’mon, man. You can stay with us at Nick’s and then we’ll give you the grand tour tomorrow.”
Tyler shrugged and stood. I knew as much as he’d come to see me and spend time with me, he probably still wanted to hang with the guys, especially as it seemed the night was winding down.
“Alright, alright.” He waved his hands in defeat. “Happy birthday, Ally. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
He hugged me – and everyone else in the group. What were the chances that my brother would murder his own cousin for touching Jessa?
“Is she ok?” Nick asked and nodded to Tammy.
She smiled even though it hurt. “Perfect, thank you, Mr. Frost.”
“She’s not ok,” he said. It wasn’t just a statement of fact. It was a demand. The repercussions if we didn’t keep an eye on her crystal clear in his tone.
“King!” Chance yelled, he and Tyler already a few steps towards the door. “You coming?”
I saw Emmett’s eyes darken on me. “Nah. I got shit to do tomorrow.”
“Whatever, dick.” Chance sneered and spun.
“It’s your shit, dick!” Emmett countered as the three of them – Chance, Tyler, and Nick – left. He must have been pretty toasted already to not push Emmett about his ‘stuff’ at all. Or, they had another party that he was too focused on getting to.
My burning-hot King looked like he didn’t hear a word my brother said. I kept my eyes on Chance, knowing if I looked at Emmett, I would melt into a puddle of dark and stormy desire.
Once they disappeared into the crowd, I let out a sigh of relief. Or pent up guilt. God, I told Tyler about Emmett but not my own brother. Yes, the relationships were so different in so many ways, but all I could picture was the way he treated Jessa for her betrayal. I could only imagine what he’d do to Emmett for…
Kissing me? Touching me? Devouring me? Oh, and all those things were just below the waist.
“Ally,” Jessa’s hand touched my shoulder, “I’m going to take Tammy home. She’s not doing well.”
A glance back confirmed the assessment. “I’m sorry, Ally. I feel so terrible to do this on your birthday.”
“Oh my gosh, don’t you dare apologize!” I wobbled around and gently hugged her gently. “I’ve been having a great time. I’m totally fine with leaving.”
His gaze paralyzed me. “Not with them.”
Three sets of eyes stared at him. One electric gaze stared back at me.
“You’re leaving with me.”
Gauntlet. Thrown.
My mouth was like sand; it was probably the only dry part of my body. My tongue was thick as I tried to find the words.
“If that’s what you want?” Jessa asked, stepping in front of me and raising an eyebrow. She wanted to make sure I was ok, but the slight smile she couldn’t contain meant I needed to be prepared to detail every minute of tonight to her when I saw her next.
I nodded curtly.
Her arms came around me. “It’s your birthday, babe. If he doesn’t get you off at least three times, I’m going to have to have a serious discussion with him,” she whispered in my ear.
A half-groan, half-laugh escaped me.
I wrapped my arm around Tammy’s shoulders as she walked stiffly past me. “I’ll check on you tomorrow.”
“Not if I don’t check on you first.” The fact that she was trying to joke when she felt like shit… God, I loved my girls.
Neither of us moved as Tammy and Jessa left.
His jaw ticked. “Do you want to stay?” The band still had another hour. It was one in the morning. It was officially no longer my birthday; it was offic
ially Valentine’s Day.
Two steps and my hand was on his chest. “I want one dance.” The familiar chords of ‘Blue Ain’t Your Color’ coming over the speakers.
I wasn’t escorted to the dance floor. I was stalked. He came towards me like predator to prey and I retreated until he was right where I wanted him. And then he was flush against me. If we weren’t on the dance floor, surrounded by other couples, no one in their right mind would have looked at us and thought we were dancing.
We barely moved. And the world around us crumbled. This was the calm before our storm and I wanted to soak it in – the anticipation, knowing what was to come. I wanted to stand with him just a little longer – to stare over the cliff of what we were about to fall into. Emmett and me. On the edge. Always.
“Thank you for bringing Tyler here. I-I can’t tell you what that means to me.”
“I know.” His fingers tightened on my back. “Although, if I had known you’d be wearing that, I wouldn’t have bothered.”
“What?” I breathed. This wasn’t like our normal banter; my whole body tingled. “Too short? Too low?”
“Too hot,” he rasped.
Air rushed into my lungs and I admitted, “Well, I only bought this dress so you could take it off…”
“Now, I regret bringing the part of your gift that kept you occupied… and unavailable… for longer than I prefer to suffer,” he said hoarsely.
I’d felt his throbbing erection the second he’d pulled me against him. I breathed deep against him, his grip tightening again.
“Part of it?” I asked. What more could there be?
“You’ll get the rest tomorrow,” he promised.
My heart fell. Was he really going to take me back to my house tonight? Was this how my birthday – and Valentine’s day – was really going to end?
My arms fell as the music stopped and I demanded, “I want the rest of it tonight.” Thank you, alcohol, for your contribution to my courage.
His eyes narrowed. “What do you think I’m giving you?”
“You,” I answered softly, my eyes rising hopefully to his.
He smirked and I knew I had lost. Burning cold raced through me.
And then his face was next to mine; his lips brushed my ear.
“I don’t give a fuck if it’s your birthday, sunshine. Tonight, you are my present.”
On the Edge (Winter Games Book 2) Page 22
