by Rayne, Piper
“I’m in the middle of something, Savannah.”
Her gaze falls to me then to Li. “Hey, Li.”
“Always a fire.” Li laughs.
“Truth.” Savannah rolls her eyes then grabs my arm and pulls. “Oh perfect, you’ll be better than Austin.”
“Savannah…” Austin sighs, pulling me back by my other arm, the wontons shaking in the container.
“The mayor had cold feet on the whole pie-in-the-face thing,” Savannah says.
Austin laughs. “You’re dreaming. I do a lot for his family, but I am not letting kids throw a pie in my face. I’m not letting Holly do it either.”
Savannah’s face crumbles, and she shoots Austin what I guess is her best puppy dog eyes.
“No,” he says. Guess I was right. “You do it. I’m sure plenty of your employees would love to throw a pie in your face.”
“You know as well as I do that it’s mostly kids who throw the pies, not adults. Sorry, Mr. Educator, but you picked the wrong field.” She puts her hands on her hips.
I pull a wonton from the carton and bite into it while I enjoy their sparring. I give Li a thumbs-up.
“Good, right? I swear, I’m a god in the kitchen.”
“Not compared to me.” Another one of the Baileys approaches and does some weird handshake with Li.
“Rome, heard you were back! Bring it on, fancy pants European chef.”
Rome hops over the table to join Li, and the two of them head over to check out some of Li’s produce.
I swear I’ll never get all the Baileys straight.
“Please, Austin.” Savannah has her hands in front of her now in a prayer pose.
Austin shakes his head. “I promised Holly a Ferris wheel ride. Sorry.”
Savannah sets her eyes on me. “Please, Holly? Or Principal Radcliffe—what do you prefer? I’ll do anything if you help me out. I only need someone for an hour. It’s our biggest event every year and it makes the most money. The money goes to a local charity and the families depend on it.”
“She’s pulling on your heartstrings. She’ll find someone else.” Austin snags a wonton from the container and pops it into his mouth.
Savannah’s head falls back. “What do you want? Name it.”
“I want you to straighten Phoenix out, that’s what. But maybe we can negotiate a deal for you not to guilt-trip me for leaving,” Austin suggests, raising his eyebrows.
I watch these two, wishing I had my own sibling. It was always just Mom and me.
“I’ll do it,” I say.
Austin glares at me. “No, you won’t. I’m not letting her guilt you into it.”
I stare at Austin. “I’m doing it to help the families who rely on the charity. Where do I go?”
Savannah claps. “You’re the best. Come on.”
Savannah nods in the direction to head and thanks me profusely the entire way there, as Austin grumbles behind us. The booth is set up with a cut-out to put my face through. There are racks and racks of pie pans filled with whipped cream, along with a station of girls continuing to make them.
“All of those?” I ask with wide eyes.
Savannah laughs. “Once the first one hits, you’ll barely notice the difference.”
“She’s lying. She has no idea because she’s never actually done it herself,” Austin adds.
“Coach Bailey!” A few teenage boys amble over.
“I’ll take him.” One of the boys places a twenty in front the of the girls. “Remember when you benched me for chewing gum?”
Austin rolls his eyes. “Sorry to ruin your day, Sullivan, but my face isn’t going through the hole.”
I tug at his arm. He looks at me with an expression that clearly says no.
“I thought you were fun?” I ask and poke his stomach. Actually, his set of rock-hard abs.
A half-smile tilts his lips. “You were mistaken.”
I raise up on my tiptoes and whisper in his ear, “Really? Because I think the guy who picked me up that night was a lot of fun.” I drop down to my regular height.
“Nope.” He rocks back on his heels.
I narrow my eyes, my smile unable to stop growing. “What if I let you clean me up after?”
Savannah laughs.
He raises a brow. “What do you mean by clean up?”
“Play and find out.” I shrug in a coy way, and his gaze falls down over my body.
“Fine.” He stomps over to the cut-out. “One hour, Savannah, then find another duo of suckers.”
Savannah releases a long breath. “Thank you.”
“Not much of a choice,” Austin deadpans.
She touches my arm but steps closer, enveloping me in a hug. Her expensive-smelling perfume surrounds us. “You’re the best. Sure you don’t want to be my sister-in-law?” She laughs it off before I can respond.
“I better go before Cranky makes a run for it,” I say with a chuckle.
“Great, and I’ll find someone for the next hour. I just have to think of whose face I’d want to throw a pie at.”
I laugh, heading back behind the cut-out, and smack Austin’s ass when I pass him.
“Watch it, sweetheart, otherwise I’m taking a can of whipped cream back to your place with us.”
“I don’t recall asking you over?”
“You said I get to clean you up. As much as I enjoyed our time in the Jeep, this time I want more time to explore.”
I shake my head. “Dirty mind you have there, Coach Bailey.”
“Only when it comes to you, Principal Radcliffe.”
We both grin then stick our heads through the cut-outs. Austin talks shit to the players as we get nailed by pie after pie.
“These kids have way too good of aim,” I murmur before licking the whipped cream off my lips.
“Just remember this was your idea,” he says from beside me.
“Not really my idea.”
“Might as well have been.”
“Your sister needed our help,” I insist, relieved when the pie that was just thrown falls short of its mark.
“Let me give you a little advice when it comes to the Baileys and Lake Starlight—the word no needs to be in your vocabulary.”
“Are you suggesting I should tell you no?”
He turns to me and I side-eye him, my smirk proud.
“I’m the exception.”
“I had a feeling you were going to say that.” I laugh, a light, buoyant feeling filling my chest.
An hour later, my face is covered in whipped cream, including the front of my hairline.
“Have a nice day, Savannah,” I say.
Austin grabs my hand and pulls me away from the booth. I think Denver and that guy Liam are next in line. I heard him razzing Savannah about not wanting to get dirty.
I stop walking. “Where are we going?”
“To your place to clean up?”
“I said you could clean me up, not that we were going back to my place.” I toss him the dishtowel Savannah gave me. “Here you go.”
He catches it and stares blankly at me. I laugh.
“Really?” he asks.
“Really.”
His shoulders sag, and he walks over to me with the towel. Starting at the tip of my forehead, he slowly runs the towel down the side of my face. He takes half a step forward, and my chest meets his. When his labored breaths hit my face, I’m back in that Jeep again, his scent and gentle hands surrounding me. I close my eyes while he wipes cream away from my eyes.
By the time he’s reached my lips, a moan slips from my mouth.
“If you think this is good,” he whispers, “you should let me take you home.”
“Then you’d have no respect for me.”
A soft chuckle escapes his tempting lips. “You’re going to make me work for this, aren’t you?”
“Well, I did give in pretty easily the first time.” I open my eyes. His stubbled cheeks are in my line of vision, and I can’t help but want to feel the rough hairs on my
skin. “Austin,” I sigh.
“Yeah.” He runs the towel down the other side of my face.
“I’m only here for three months.”
“Good, so am I.”
“I’m probably going to leave here with a broken heart because of my dad. I don’t want to leave with a shattered one.” I speak my worst fear out loud.
He blows out a breath. “I get it.”
“So?” I say, disappointment flaring in my stomach.
He tosses a towel onto a nearby table. “So, I think I promised you a ride on the Ferris wheel.”
My forehead falls to his shoulder, and he wraps his arms around me.
“Let’s just have fun,” I whisper.
Besides that one night with Austin, fun doesn’t seem in my vocabulary lately, and it sounds nice coming off my lips. Why can’t I give myself three carefree months before I let my feet touch the ground again? I deserve to push my worries away.
I draw back and look at the big smile overtaking his face. “No sleepovers, no dinners, no lunch dates, no flowers. Pretty much you can’t do anything nice for me.”
He laughs, and his dark eyes sparkle like melted chocolate. “How can I argue with that? But only if you agree not to send me flowers either.” He winks, and his hand slides down my arm to link with mine.
I retract my hand. “We need to keep it private. No one can know.”
He stuffs both hands in his pockets. “Okay.”
“I don’t want to be on that Buzz Wheel thing again.”
“Well, I don’t have a lot of control over that, but I’ll try to be as stealthy as a thief.”
“Okay then.”
He nods. “Ferris wheel?”
“Ferris wheel.”
We walk down Main Street with whipped cream drying in our hairlines, a few inches between us and our hands in our pockets. My stomach dips as though I’m already on the Ferris wheel, because I can only imagine how thrilling this ride Austin and I are about to embark on will be.
Fifteen
Austin
The sun is setting, leaving an orange glow in the sky. A lot of the families with younger children have left, headed to the Veteran’s Hall for snacks and drinks. We climb aboard the Ferris wheel, and a few kids lingering nearby snap pictures with their phones.
“I don’t think your wish regarding Buzz Wheel is going to come true.”
“Guess not. As long as they don’t see us kiss or anything, we’re good.”
“I really want to kiss you,” I mumble, sliding my hand between us and running my finger over her thigh.
“Austin.” She picks up my hand and places it in my lap.
I move my hand back. “No one can see us.”
She laughs. “I have a feeling you’re going to have a hard time adhering to the secrecy thing.”
“Me? I’m great at taking direction. Or don’t you remember?”
Her cheeks pinken and my dick stirs. It’s the first thing I remember noticing about her at Lucky’s—she embarrasses easily.
Our cart reaches the top of the circle.
“This would be a great place for a kiss,” I say.
She shakes her head and we miss our opportunity, falling back down the other side. When we get into sight, I remove my hand from her leg. Both of us sit there like two thirteen-year-olds, our hands on the metal bar, facing forward.
“Go, Coach Bailey!” someone on the ground screams.
She raises her eyebrows.
We go around and around, my stomach dropping with each fall. Each rotation, I slide my hand onto her thigh until we get in view of others. My hand inches closer and closer to the space between her legs, and she spreads them an inch wider each time. The thread of sexual tension between us tightens with each dip and rise of our cart.
When they stop to let off passengers below, we’re a few spots from the top. I inch my fingers closer to her center.
“Austin…”
My name is a soft plea on her lips.
“I really want to kiss you,” I whisper, tucking my head into the crook of her neck.
“We can’t.” She lets out a long breath, her legs parting for me even more.
Sliding my finger over the seam of her jeans, I press in. My lips kiss her neck. “No one can see us up here.”
Her hand falls to my hand. “But…”
“Turn to me,” I beg, her smell just as intoxicating as it was that night in my Jeep.
She turns her head. Her eyes are hooded, her lips moist, and her cheek soft as it runs along my nose.
“Holly?”
“Uh-huh,” she says, her eyes closed.
“I’m going to kiss you,” I whisper as our chair stops in the top spot. If this guy running it knows what’s good for him, he’ll leave us here for a while.
I don’t wait for a response, taking her lips with my own. I taste the sweetness of the whipped cream as my tongue slides into her hot, waiting mouth. She meets me halfway, her tongue gliding along mine. I press my finger against her center, and she squeals into my mouth, rising up off the seat. When she falls, I plunge my tongue into her mouth and my hand covers her center for more pressure.
The chair falls down a notch and she pulls her mouth from mine.
“I guess I’ll buy you cotton candy another time?” she pants.
“I knew we were in sync.”
She laughs as the chair continues down. I notice the slight flush of her cheeks, the shyness of her actions. Her gaze skitters to me then away.
Watching her step out of the Ferris wheel chair, I hope that we can stick to the plan. I’ll already be hurting my family when I leave. I can’t take crushing someone else’s heart on top of it. Regardless of what happens, I’m leaving Lake Starlight in three months. It’s about time everyone understands nothing is keeping me here, not even a gorgeous auburn hottie.
* * *
We walk the two blocks to her house, and because I’m a gentleman, I walk her up the stairs.
“So, this is where we part?” She smirks as she unlocks her door.
I smile in case anyone happens to be watching. In towns like Lake Starlight, there are eyes everywhere. “I’ll come to the back door in twenty minutes.”
“Sounds good. I’ll leave it unlocked.”
“Perfect.” I nod.
“Well, good night, Austin,” she says in a louder voice than she needs to.
“Night, Holly.”
I jog down the stairs, watching her get into the house. We wave goodbye, and I walk back toward downtown so I can be seen without her before sneaking back to her house.
Of course, once I reach Main Street, I run smack-dab into Mrs. Andrews.
“Austin,” she sneers.
“Hello, Mrs. Andrews. Have a great night.” I attempt to slide past her, but she places her hand on my upper arm.
“May I have a word?”
I blow out a breath. I have about one hundred words for her, none of which I think she’ll appreciate.
“Sure.” I deliver a fake smile because I’m a Bailey and that’s what we do in this town.
“I just wanted to say that JP talked to me about his detention, and although I think it’s very unfair since Elijah punched him first, I don’t want him to lose that friendship.”
I blink to make sure those are actually tears forming in her eyes.
“I’m not sure… well, Mr. Andrews says I protect JP too much, but he’s my baby and after…” She inhales a deep breath and composes herself by repositioning the purse hanging off her forearm and blinking a few times. “After we lost Vivian, I suppose I spoil him, but it was good friends who got me through losing her and I don’t want JP to lose a good friend like Elijah. So…” She stops again, straightening her back and looking across the street. “I’m asking if you could help to mend that? It’s the least you could do, what with not getting recruiters to come look at JP for college.”
She was doing so well until that last line.
She holds her head up, her eyes briefly makin
g contact with mine.
“Sure. I’ll do what I can.”
She nods. “Thank you, Austin. Have a good night.”
“You too.”
She walks down the street, stopping briefly in front of the toy store before glancing back at me and walking into Lard Have Mercy.
Figuring Mrs. Andrews saw me on the street without Holly and that I’m good, I circle the block and walk through the backyard to Holly’s back door. I open the door, the distinctly female scent of her house reminding me of her.
A can of whipped cream sits on the counter with a small note. I pick it up.
I did promise you could clean me up. I’m upstairs waiting. ;)
Grabbing the can, I ditch the note, toe out of my shoes, and walk up the stairs.
My hands move to the hem of my T-shirt as I walk into her bedroom, admiring her lying on her bed, even if she’s fully clothed. “For some reason I thought you’d be naked?”
“Half the fun is undressing one another.” She gets up on her knees, moving toward the edge of the bed. She’s washed the dried whipped cream off her face.
“Especially the first time.” I quirk an eyebrow, and she laughs.
“It was dark, and we were suffocated for space.”
“True, I’ve been reliving it through the memory of touch more than sight.”
She falls back to sit on her ankles. “You relive it?”
I step forward, drop the can next to her on the bed, and take her face in my hands. “Are you kidding? Will you think less of me if I say it was the hottest sex I’ve ever had?”
She playfully pushes my chest, her cheeks flaming red. I love that look on her. “I’m here, willing and waiting. You don’t have to use lines.”
I grab the hem of her sweatshirt and pull it up her body. She helps me by raising her arms, and when I see another layer of a long-sleeve T-shirt, I groan.
She giggles.
I reach for the hem. “There better not be another shirt under this one.”
When I slide it up her body, her bare skin is revealed to me inch by inch. The T-shirt and my hands move up and over her breasts, my thumbs grazing her black lacy bra. She sits back on her ankles, letting me soak in the vision of her. I’m committing her body to memory because that’s going to come in handy every morning in my shower.
