She leaned closer too though. Her breath was heavy on my lips, our mouths inches apart, when the bathroom door opened suddenly. I drew in a sharp breath, and pulled back so fast, I nearly fell straight off the edge of the bed, but Elise grabbed my arm and laughed.
“Careful, Nolan,” she said. “I promise I'm not going to bite. Hard.”
Chase scowled at me, shooting me a warning glance. Yet, he was wearing nothing but a towel, allowing trickles of water to run down his bare chest. I only noticed because Elise noticed. She'd perked up, sitting in bed and staring at him like a ravenous animal. I had a lot of trouble believing that wasn't planned on his end of things.
“Maybe you should put some clothes on,” I said.
“Thought you two would be downstairs already,” he said. “Sorry about that.”
I wasn't sure if he was being truthful or not. It was hard to tell. I doubted he'd want to come on to Elle, though. Doubted he wanted to tempt her like that. It really didn't seem like something Chase would do. If he noticed the way her mouth was watering as she checked him out though, it didn't show in his face. He sat down on the end of the bed, the towel riding down low and showing a hint of his ass.
“Jesus Christ, man,” I said, throwing a pillow at him.
He chuckled, sounding way more amused than he should have been. Elle was staring at him, her gaze moving over his mostly naked body, her eyes slightly wider, and her lips parted a bit. She looked like a woman who was starving, sitting in front of a sumptuous feast. Chase, like the rest of us, was still in great shape. Being in the Army, we learned to work hard and push ourselves to the limits. None of us let up on the workouts even now.
Footsteps pulled me away from Chase's little show. Two sets of feet were coming up the stairs. Trevor appeared first, and a look of absolute horror and disgust crossed his face.
“Fuck, man,” he said, shielding his eyes.
“Not like we haven't seen each other naked before,” Chase mumbled.
“But there's a lady in the room now,” Sean piped up from behind Trevor.
Chase glanced back and winked playfully at Elise. “I don't think she minds. Not the first naked chest she's seen before. Won't be the last, I'm sure.”
“I don't mind,” Elise confirmed.
Sean grinned, shaking his head. “Unbelievable.”
“What?” Chase asked, reaching down for his shirt on the floor, and pulling it on over his head.
“While the two of us slept on a fold-out couch, you guys were up here getting naked with Elise.”
“Not me,” I said, raising my hand to protest. “Just Chase.”
“For fuck's sake, I'm not naked,” Chase said.
He stood up, the towel still wrapped around his waist, his shirt hanging just above it. However, when he stood, his hand slipped and so did the towel, baring most of his ass for a split second. Elise let out a surprised squeal followed by a peal of laughter that seemed to come deep within her chest. She was doubled over now, her face red – though, if it was red with excitement, lust, or embarrassment, I couldn't tell.
“Sorry,” Chase grumbled, hurrying into the bathroom.
Elise was still doubled over in laughter, completely oblivious to the fact that Chase actually seemed embarrassed by his little faux pas. Had it been Sean or Trevor, there'd have been no shame. They probably would have strutted around butt naked, without a care in the world. They didn't mind being ogled. In fact, I thought they relished it. Chase though, was still a little more modest than our other two friends.
Trevor's arms were crossed in front of his chest, his brow furrowed in what appeared to be annoyance at our antics. Sean had a wide grin stretched across his face as he plopped down onto the bed next to Elise.
“I doubt it's the first ass she's seen, Chase,” Sean said, chuckling to himself.
“First time she's seen one of our asses though,” Chase mumbled, coming back out in a pair of jeans. “And we should be better than that.”
“I highly doubt –” Sean started to say something, raising an eyebrow at Trevor as if the two guys shared some inside joke the rest of us were unaware about. “Never mind.”
“No, what?” I said, sitting up in the bed, casting a curious look at Sean.
Sean shrugged, but didn't meet my gaze. “I just figured there'd been a time or two where she'd seen our asses, either swimming, or –”
His grin grew wider.
Trevor, on the other hand, looked even more pissed, and Elle looked downright uncomfortable. The air in the room was suddenly infused with a tension so thick, it was almost oppressive. The strained silence spun out for several long moments, nobody quite knowing what to say to fill the void.
“I'm going to make some coffee,” Trevor growled, finally breaking the silence, and took off down the steps, plodding heavily.
“How are the roads looking?” Elise asked, after clearing her throat – though her cheeks were still flushed a bright pink, and a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “Think we'll get out today?”
“Not a chance,” Sean said. “It's still coming down, hard. Visibility is practically zero right now.”
Chase sat down at the edge of the bed, and the three of us shared a look. Elise sighed, the smile and laughter from earlier a distant memory now. Outside, we heard the wind blowing forcefully beneath the eaves of the cabin, reminding us that the storm was still very much in effect.
“Brad isn't going to be happy with us staying here,” she stated the obvious. “Plus, if we're going to be stranded here, we're going to need food. There's a mini-store in the main cabin that has some supplies. Food, water – stuff like that. I don't know about you guys, but I'm not comfortable stealing food from Brad's family. Even if he's a major dick and probably deserves it.”
None of us said a word because she was right. The idea of stealing didn't sit right with me either. I wasn't a dishonest person, and I sure as hell wasn't a thief. On the other hand, we were going to need food if we were going to spend the day – or longer – here.
It was a no-win situation, no matter which way you looked at it. Brad already wasn't going to be happy when he found out we were still there in one of his other cabins. He was going to be even less happy if we stole food out of the main lodge.
So far, we'd been lucky. Maybe he'd been too drunk to realize we were still on the property. It' wasn’t like he had a reason to step outside. Still, it was only a matter of time before he saw our truck or noticed something was amiss – especially if we had to get some food in this place.
Then, I had a realization. It probably wouldn't wash with Brad but fuck it. At that point, I didn't care what he thought. At least I knew our consciences would be clear.
“Do you have the keys?” I asked.
Elise nodded. “I grabbed the key ring that had keys to all the buildings.”
“At least we won't have to break in, I guess,” I said. “We can leave money for anything we take too. I have cash on me. That way, at least we're not stealing.”
“Me too,” Chase mumbled.
Sean nodded his head.
“Problem is, we have to get in there without Brad seeing us,” Elise said, biting her lip.
“So what if he does?” Sean scoffed. “It's not like he can do anything about it,” I said. “We're not stealing, we'll pay for anything we take.”
“But – well – we shouldn't even be staying here,” she said softly.
She looked away, staring down at the comforter that she'd covered herself with. Her entire face fell, and there was a look in her eyes that physically hurt me to see. She was scared of him.
I draped an arm over her shoulder and gave it a tight squeeze. She had nothing to fear as long as we were there with her. Brad could throw a fit, but there were four of us and only one of him – not that just one of us couldn't take him out if needed. But, four of us guaranteed he wouldn't get frisky with us. Or at least, it should.
5
Sean
“Fucking piece of
shit door,” I muttered as I fought with the stupid thing.
The handle was frozen solid, making it hard to slide the key in, then I had to fight with it to get it to turn. Finally, after what felt like an eternity of standing in the freezing temperatures, the door to the main cabin popped open, and I let out a long sigh of relief.
A sudden rush of pride in my victory swelling within my chest, I stepped back and motioned for Elise to step inside like I was some conquering here who'd just slain a dragon, rather than getting a stubborn door open. But, whatever. I waited for the others to shuffle inside before following them in and shutting the door behind me.
“This way,” Elise said, motioning for me to follow her past a check-in desk.
The place was eerily dark and quiet. It felt abandoned. Dark burgundy curtains covered the windows, blocking the view of the outside – and blocking Brad's view inside, which was even better. Rustic furniture filled the room, giving it a quaint kind of charm, and on one wall was a giant stone fireplace that sat dormant and cold. No doubt, when it was lit, it would put out enough heat to fill the entire lodge.
The whole place though, reminded me of some creepy ass cabin in those woodsy horror movies. Hell, that thought hit too close to home. I wasn't a country boy for a reason. Being this far away from society, isolated amongst the trees and God knows what else was lurking around in the woods, just wasn't my jam. I preferred being amongst civilization. People. Concrete structures, and that nasty city smell. It just felt safer that way.
We followed Elise behind the check-in counter, and into a small store. There were just three rows of shelves, and one wall of refrigerators. There wasn't a whole lot of variety to choose from, but we could make do with what was there. At least we wouldn't starve.
Elise grabbed a basket, doing her best to act as if all of this was normal, as if the store was open for business and we were just doing a little shopping. I followed behind her, eyeing the shelves. Macaroni and cheese. graham crackers, and other S'mores making supplies.
Elise tossed in a couple boxes of Frosted Flakes as I searched for something that might be considered real food. No fruits or veggies, though there was a spot for them near the counter. No meat. Nothing that could go bad, not even in the fridges. I finally settled on a few cans of soup and carried them around with me. Chase managed to find some Spam and held it up to me.
“Fuck, no. I'm not that desperate for protein,” I said.
He put it back on the shelf with a laugh. “I'm sure we can survive a day or two without some meat.”
“Barely,” Trevor muttered as he walked past me.
He'd been in a pissy mood since this morning, and I had a good idea why. Not that he'd told me about his feelings for Elise, but it was fairly obvious something had happened between the two of them at some point in the near past. Something neither one was willing to acknowledge, but something that had impacted them both pretty deeply.
They avoided each other like the plague, and when they did speak to each other, it seemed like it was always through gritted teeth. It caused a rift, and a tension in our group that I was sure the others could feel as well. I'd wanted to ask him about it but couldn't figure out how. We weren't the type to talk about our feelings and shit. Besides, I wasn't sure I wanted to know. Some things were better left unsaid. Especially since I'd crushed on Elise from the moment I'd laid eyes on her a few years back, so I had no moral high ground to berate him about breaking the one and only rule that bound us all – Elle was off-limits.
I'd had my fair share of fantasies and thoughts about Elle – as I was sure all the other guys had too – but, she was a no-no. She was basically family, and I knew better than to fuck with family. Because Aaron was our brother, and he wouldn't have approved, there was no getting around it. Even though he was gone, I never wanted to do anything I wouldn't do if he was alive and with us today.
I turned the corner and Elise was standing right there, alone in the aisle. She wasn't looking at anything at all. She was just standing there, staring at the shelf in front of her. Her honey blonde hair fell around her delicate face softly, her bangs swept to the side. As if becoming aware of my presence, her eyes flickered over to me, and she forced a smile that didn't come anywhere near to reaching her eyes.
“Sorry, didn't see you over there,” she said.
Her voice was gentle and quiet. It trembled a bit, and that was when I noticed that her hands were shaking, and with my insides aching, I stepped closer to her.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
Her blue eyes were as deep as the sea, and more beautiful than any ocean I'd ever laid eyes on. Her smile grew wider, and for a second, it even felt real.
“Just lost in thought,” she said.
She picked up a can of green beans from the shelf and looked at the label as if they were the most interesting green beans in the world.
“What about?” I asked, sidling up beside her.
She shrugged. “Everything. I mean, nothing really.”
“What is it? Everything or nothing?” I cocked an eyebrow at her. “Can't have it both ways.”
“Why can't it be both at the same time?” she said.
Her voice held a hint of teasing, but I knew she was serious. She couldn't fool me. Beneath her words, I could hear the tinge of sadness, almost despair, that colored them.
“Sorry about Brad,” I said. “If it's any consolation, I'm sure he's usually a decent man –”
“Nah, he's not,” she said matter-of-factly. “It just took me too long to see it.”
“Well you did, thankfully, before it was too late.”
Elise bit her lip and stared down at her hands. Her smile had faded, and she just looked – lost. She was no longer there, with me. Mentally, she'd checked out of the here and now, and was deep in her own head. I feared that it was something I'd said that caused her to slip away from reality.
Before I could ask her what that was about though, there was the sound of a door opening and slamming shut. Turning, I saw Chase and Trevor there with me, and they too were looking toward the front part of the cabin. There was a doorway separating us from the main area, so we couldn't see who it was coming through the door. Though, it wasn't like we actually had to see him to know who was coming in.
Trevor lurched forward, his hands balled into fists at his side. I rushed after him, my blood already boiling as Brad's face came into view. He seemed entirely shocked to see us standing there in his store, but the surprised look on his face faded, and was quickly replaced by one of white-hot anger.
“What the fuck are you guys still doing here?” he said.
I heard Chase's footsteps behind me. I knew it was Chase, because he always walked heavier than Nolan. The three of us were out there, and Nolan was probably in the back with Elise. With any luck, he was sneaking her out some back door, far away from her jackass of an ex.
“Listen, we don't want any trouble,” Chase said, holding his hands up. “We got stuck here, thought we'd pick up some supplies, we were planning on leaving cash behind for everything we take.”
Brad snarled at Chase. “First, you come onto my family's property and start a fight with me,” he growled. “Now you're breaking and entering and stealing?”
“We didn't break in anywhere,” Chase said.
I left most of the talking to him. He was the calmest of the three of us and could usually be counted on to keep a level head. He was second only to Nolan in that department. Trevor's face was beet red, and he looked like he might explode with the purest anger I'd ever seen in him before.
“You stole the keys, I assume?”
None of us answered. Elise, technically, took the keys but none of us would throw her under the bus. So, we let him think what he would. Didn't matter who took the keys in the grand scheme of things anyway.
“Oh, Elise probably,” he said, his face falling at the mention of her name. “Is she here?”
Again, none of us answered. We formed a wall in the front of the st
ore entryway, just in case she and Nolan were still back there. I hoped Nolan was smart enough to hustle her out the back to avoid the confrontation, but I wasn't sure there was another way out. Either way though, there was no way we were going to let Brad confront her again. Not as long as we were there.
Crossing my arms in front of my chest, I stood between Trevor and Chase. We were an intimidating bunch. All of us well over six feet tall, in the best shape of our lives. Big, bulky, and muscular, built the way a Ranger should be. Trevor and I had a few tats peeking out on our arms that some people found added to our air of intimidation. Chase only had a couple, all of them well hidden.
He would forever maintain his boy next door image, even after serving time in the Army with us. But, he was as big of a badass as any of us. When he stiffened his back, and stood his ground, not many people out there would mess with him. At least, nobody who had a functioning brain in their head. His eyes narrowed as he looked at Brad, and like me, his thick arms were crossed in front of his chest.
Brad continued. “Listen, I just want to speak to her.”
“I don't think she wants to talk to you,” I said, my voice flat.
Brad's gaze flicked nervously to mine. There was a hint of anger, but more so, he was scared to face off with us. We had him where we wanted him; scared and uncertain.
“If you're staying on my property, and don't want me pressing charges, then let me speak to her,” Brad said, trying to add false bravado to his voice.
“No,” Trevor said matter-of-factly.
Brad's eyes moved over to Trevor, his face contorting into a look of dark rage. I was sure he was remembering the night before, and the way Trevor had taken control of the situation, knocking some sense into him. He subconsciously touched his nose, right where Trevor had blasted him, and when he realized what he was doing, quickly lowered it again.
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