Shifting Lines

by Abigail Lee

  I tried to look away, but he placed his palm on my cheek, keeping my eyes locked on his.

  “Because there’s no way you like me as much as I like you. If this ended, you would walk away with a smile on your face. I would be crushed.”

  He wiped a few fallen tears away and let out a small smile. “I do have a past, and for that I’m sorry. If I could go back and erase it for you, I would. But trust me when I say that nothing from my past can compare to what I have with you. You’ve had my entire heart from the first time I saw you. There hasn’t been anyone but you since that night we first met and there never will be. I don’t want anyone else. I don’t even think about anyone else. If this were to end, I’m not even sure I would survive it.”

  I let his words sink in and felt a warmth spread throughout my chest. He was just as emotionally invested in this as I was.

  “I love you, Riley.” He moved his hand down to my neck and ran his thumb over my jaw. “I’ve loved you since the moment I saw you.”

  “I love you, too,” I whispered as more tears ran down my cheeks.

  He took my face in both of his hands and lightly kissed my lips.

  “Promise me one thing.” He leaned his forehead against mine. “Don’t shut me out again. I hated not knowing what was going on last night.”

  “I won’t,” I whispered. “I promise.”

  “You have to go with us,” Hannah whined and turned to Trey. “If Riley doesn’t go, I’m not going.”

  We were sitting at our normal table in Luke’s bar discussing plans for Spring Break. A small part of me wanted to join them in South Padre, but a bigger part of me wanted to stay here with Luke. I had actually just heard about these plans since Trey, with some encouragement from Hannah, had invited her to come with him.

  “You leave in two days.” I laughed. “This is kind of short notice.”

  “That gives you two entire days to pack,” she argued. “Luke, tell her to go.”

  His arms tightened around my waist when he heard the statement, and he twisted me around in the bar stool I was sitting on. He leaned down into my ear so no one else could hear.

  “Do you want to go?” he said in a low tone.

  “Not if you don’t go,” I answered honestly. I ran my hands down his chest past his stomach and tugged on his belt. “I think I’d rather just go upstairs and spend the week there.”

  “Careful.” He ran his nose down my jaw before kissing my lips. “Find out the trip details, and we can try and figure it all out tonight. I have to get back to work.”

  I watched as he walked away and let out a long breath. This trip sounded like a lot of fun, but it would be a lot more fun if he were there.

  “Earth to Riley.” I looked up to see Hannah staring at me and waving her hand in front of my face.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Man, you have it bad. Is he that good in the sack or what?” She laughed as I swatted at her arm.

  “Shut up.” My face was beet red as several of the guys at our table were listening to us.

  “He must be.” She wiggled her eyebrows and continued laughing.

  “I think I hate you.” I tried to glare at her. “Start talking about this trip if you still want me to go.”

  Our Thursday night group had steadily stayed at eight people over the last month. Trey and Hannah, me, Tommy and his new girlfriend Brandie, Colin, and Adam. Other than the one time with Tommy on the dance floor, none of the other guys had attempted to make a move on me. I was never sure if Luke had an influence on that or if they just weren’t interested.

  Colin and Adam were single and liked to have a good time. They, along with Tommy and Trey, were in grad school and had met Luke during freshman year of undergrad. At one point, they had all lived in a six-bedroom house together, and I’d heard bits and pieces about the parties they once threw. Apparently, everyone on campus knew them, and all of the girls wanted to be with them.

  They all looked like they spent a lot of time at the gym and could almost pass as brothers. Colin was the only one without light brown hair, but his red hair made him stand out a little from the others. And he owned it.

  This would be the same group going to South Padre and sharing a four-bedroom condo for five days. It did sound like fun, and I’d never been on an actual college spring break before. Chris had never been interested in anything like that. The more Hannah talked about it, the more I wanted to go.

  We continued drinking, as I had discovered I liked vodka tonics after experimenting with every type of beer and wine in this place. It had become my drink of choice, and I usually stuck with a two-drink limit. Tonight, with all of the talk about clubs and beaches, I was starting my fourth.

  “Let’s dance.” Hannah pulled on my hand until I was standing. “We haven’t danced in forever.”

  I followed her to the middle of the room, and we began moving to the beats that were coming out of the speakers. We were laughing along with Brandie, and I began scanning the room for Luke. I hadn’t seen him in a while. My legs froze when I saw him near a back wall talking to the redhead who showed up the night before.

  “What?” Hannah stopped moving and followed my stare. “Oh, hell no.”

  She took off after me once I started pushing my way through the crowd. I hadn’t decided yet if I was going to scream at her or at him or hit the wall, but this bitch needed to know that he was mine now. And she needed to back off. The crowd thinned out, and I had a direct path in front of me. Luke looked up and saw me charging toward them. The small smile that crept across his lips as he watched me fire toward them stirred something deeper in my soul.

  I stepped between them and faced Luke. Pushing him back until he was pressed against the wall, I grabbed his face with both of my hands and pulled him down into a deep kiss. His hands wrapped around my waist and pulled me in closer to him and a deep moan came from the back of his throat. When I thought we put on a good enough show, I released him and looked up to see his green eyes were two shades darker. Turning around, she was standing there with her mouth gaping open.

  “He’s mine now.” I took a step toward her. “Get the hell out of his bar.”

  Hannah and Brandie were laughing off to the side as they watched the scene unfold. The redhead shut her mouth, tilted her head as if she wanted to say something, but then turned and walked away. After she had disappeared into the crowd, I turned to see Luke watching me with a serious expression on his face. I didn’t care if he was mad. She needed to know that he was mine.

  “Any other skanks I need to scare off?” I took a step toward him.

  “That was so fucking hot,” he growled before lifting me over his hips. “You’re coming with me.”

  He opened then quickly slammed a door I had never noticed before. The streetlights shined in from the only window in the room, and I could see boxes of cleaning supplies and toilet paper around us.

  “Are we in the maintenance closet?” I asked.

  “Turn around and bend over,” he demanded as he lowered me to my feet.

  “What?” He had never been that forceful before. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like it.

  He took a step forward until my back was pressed against the cold brick wall. His breath tickled my neck and goosebumps covered my entire body.

  “This is going to be hard and fast.” My body trembled when he finally spoke. “Now, turn around, place your hands against the wall, and bend over.”

  I did as he said and my short black skirt was up around my waist in less than a second. I heard the familiar sound of my panties ripping and groaned when I felt his tip press against my opening. He slid in and out of me a few times before slamming into me. I let out a scream at the sudden impact but pushed back wanting more. He pumped in and out of me until I was sure I couldn’t stand anymore.

  My neck jerked back when he grabbed a fist full of my hair.

  “Let go, baby.”

  His words were my undoing, and we both screamed out in release. I fell back i
nto his arms as we slumped to the ground. The music was vibrating the walls around us, and I smiled as I leaned into his chest.

  “Are you okay?” he asked as he kissed the top of my head.

  “More than okay,” I answered.

  He turned my face with his hand and leaned down for a slow, soft kiss.

  “I love you,” he said in a low tone. “Thanks for being so cool about the bullshit from my past that keeps showing up.”

  “I love you, too.” I gave him a quick peck. “I’ll fight them all off if I need to.”

  He gave me a surprised but thankful look before he helped me stand to my feet. I straightened my skirt as he pulled up his jeans. I found my white silk underwear on the ground and lifted them to him.

  “If you keep ripping my underwear, I’m going to start wearing my cheap ones that come up past my belly button. This was my favorite pair.”

  “Maybe you shouldn’t wear any at all.” He took the torn pair and stuffed them down into his jeans pocket. I leaned back against the closed door and let out a small laugh as I looked over his strong features in the glow coming through the window.

  “What?” he questioned as he placed his hands on either side of my face.

  “I’m just looking at you.” I smiled.

  His lips pressed onto mine and his tongue ran along my lower lip. “Are you ready to get out of here or do you want to go back to the bar?”

  “Can you leave yet? It’s still early.”

  He let out a low growl before answering. “This damn place. No, I really shouldn’t leave yet.”

  “Okay, then. I think I need another drink.” I placed my hand on his cheek. “We can leave once you’re ready.”

  He kissed my forehead before opening the door and swatting my backside before we walked back into the loud music and crowds.

  “Wait.” I turned around causing him to bump into me but then catch me in his arms. “Do I look like we just had sex? It was dark in there. How’s my hair? Makeup?”

  He ran his hands through my long wavy hair and brushed it behind my shoulders. “Your makeup still looks perfect. You look beautiful.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him wondering if his vision was clouded by the sex we just had. “Hmm, okay I’m going to stop at the bathroom before I go back to the table.”

  I slipped into the door marked with a ‘W’ and saw him laughing as he walked back to his office.

  “Are you sure you can be gone this long?” I asked as I zipped up my suitcase. “We don’t have to go.”

  “Yeah, I left Roger in charge. I’ve been training him for a while now to take over the management part of things. This will be a good test run.” He was sitting on the edge of my bed watching me. “Plus, with everyone leaving for Spring Break, I’ve always closed the bar part of this week anyway. Unless you don’t want to be seen with the old guy on the beach?”

  I laughed and walked between his legs. “I have a feeling I’ll be fighting more girls off of you there than I do here. This old guy is mine.”

  “All yours.” He winked at me as he pulled me closer into his legs.

  “Alright, love birds.” Hannah poked her head into the room. “Let’s go.”

  He growled as he picked up his duffel bag and my suitcase. “This is how it’s going to be all week, I can already tell. She interrupts at just the wrong time.”

  The four of us loaded into Trey’s black extended cab F150 truck and took off down the highway. I loved Luke’s bike but was grateful that he didn’t put up a fight to take it for the six-hour drive. We made it through most of the trip with few stops and small talk as Hannah tried to decide if Luke was the one for me or not.

  “Did you finish college before you opened the bar?” Hannah asked from the front seat.

  “Yeah, I have a Bachelor’s in Business Management. I’ve owned the bar since I was in college, though.”

  “You have?” She turned in her seat.

  “Yeah, it was my dad’s. He left it to Mel and me when he passed. She sold me her part of the company a few years back but still helps out on the busy nights.”

  “I love Mel,” Hannah stated. “I tried to get her to come on the trip but she wouldn’t. Something about being old and having responsibilities.”

  He laughed beside me but didn’t continue the conversation. I wondered what Mel was talking about.

  “You know that Riley and I were bartenders last year. Before we got our internships.” She turned to me and smiled. “That was fun. We shouldn’t have quit.”

  “You were?” He looked at me. “What bar?”

  “We were actually waiters for a catering company. At a few parties, they let us work the bar.” I felt my face turn pink. “We worked there during junior year.”

  “You should let us help you out at The Green Room,” Hannah interrupted. “We can make some mean drinks.”

  “We did come up with a few good ones.” I laughed. “Usually toward the end of the night for people we knew couldn’t taste anything.”

  “Remember that nasty mango one.” Hannah made a face. “It was disgusting, and that girl loved it. Yuck. I’ve never been too drunk to not know if a drink tasted bad or not.”

  “Yeah, right.” I laughed again. “Remember that time…”

  “Okay,” she interrupted. “Next topic.”

  A few hours later, we pulled up in front of a large beach house that wasn’t far from the ocean. The other guys and Brandie had already beat us there and were down on the beach drinking and playing volleyball. We claimed the remaining two bedrooms and quickly unpacked before changing into our swimsuits and heading to the beach. I sucked in a breath when Luke came back into the room wearing only black swim trunks, leaving all of his tattoos on display.

  I ran my hands over his chest and arms the second he was within arm’s reach.

  “You really shouldn’t be allowed to wear clothes.” I knew I was drooling at this point, and I really didn’t care.

  “I won’t if you won’t.” He laughed as he walked us toward the bed.

  He lifted me up before placing his knee on the mattress and laying me on my back. Hovering over me, he began to untie my turquoise bikini top when the bedroom door flew open.

  “Seriously, you two.” Hannah put her hand on her tan hip as Luke collapsed on top of me. “I thought we were all going to the beach.”

  “I’m going to kill her this week,” he growled into my ear causing me to laugh. “If there isn’t a lock on that door, we’re going to a hotel.”

  “We’ll be out in a second, Han.” I was still laughing.

  I heard the door slam and Luke rolled onto his back and adjusted himself. I leaned over and kissed his lips. “I promise I’ll make it up to you later.”

  He grunted as he stood up, and we made our way to the beach.

  The first two days of the trip seemed to fly by. We spent most of our days at the beach. We weren’t far from where thousands of college students were gathered to party the day away, but all of us except the two single guys in our group seemed to stick with the private beach that was behind our house.

  Our house also had its own hot tub, but after Adam and Colin brought girls home the first night, I refused to get in that water.

  I had never seen the ocean before, so my favorite part of the trip had been sitting in the sand rather than taking body shots a few miles away. However, today Hannah had different ideas.

  We had made it out to two different nightclubs, and tonight we were heading to the club we heard was the best on the island. Hannah wanted to check out the party beach during the day, though. Luke and I walked hand in hand, as we made our way through the crowd and found Adam and Colin playing beer pong at a table that was set up on the sand.

  “You guys want to play?” Adam yelled over the music that was blaring from a stage not far away.

  Hannah grabbed my hand and headed for the table. “Yes, we do.”

  I was guessing Trey was pissing her off because today she had been purposely trying to get aw
ay from him. Hopefully, a few drinks would calm her down, and they could fix whatever was going on. I looked back at Luke and shrugged. He just winked and mouthed good luck.

  Adam set us up at the table and explained how the game worked. He walked to the other end with a guy I recognized from campus and balls started flying. I was more than awful at the game, and it wasn’t helping that the cups were filled over half full.

  “I hate you for making me play this.” I choked down my fourth beer. “I hate the taste of this.”

  “Ignore the taste.” She leaned into me. “Just drink it fast. That’s what I do.”

  Worst advice your friend could ever give you at Spring Break, but for some reason, I took it. Once all of the cups had been drunk between the two of us, we accepted our defeat and declined another game.

  “Where did Luke and Trey go?” I looked at Adam.

  He just shrugged and went back to talking to a leggy blonde that had approached the table. We walked around, and I sent a text to try to find them. Nothing.

  “Let’s go listen to the band for a while.” She began walking toward the stage. “They’ll call back eventually.”

  What I thought was a concert turned out to be a giant group of grinding and half-naked bodies. The beer was well in my system at this point, and I laughed as we stumbled up onto a smaller stage with six other girls dancing. One girl was topless. Hannah and I laughed and moved to the music for I wasn’t even sure how long. At one point, I felt like someone was watching me, but my mind was too foggy to register anything other than the dancing.

  “Okay, I need a break.” She jumped down from the platform, and I followed. “Has Luke messaged you back yet? Trey said they were over by the volleyball court.”

  I looked at my phone and had six missed calls and a few texts. Shit. When we found the guys, they were standing next to Adam and the same blonde along with a few other girls who seemed to be with her. Luke and Trey were talking, and I noticed both had beers in their hands. I had never seen Luke drink before.

  “Hey.” I walked up and wrapped my arms around his waist. “We’ve been looking for you.”