Paige snapped her fingers to get my attention. “You might wanna wipe the drool off your face before he comes back.”
I rolled my eyes at her, but I kept my thoughts to myself. Yes, she was my best friend, but that didn’t mean I’d said a word about my growing infatuation with Ace.
“Are you staying?” I changed the subject on Paige, in hopes that Ace wouldn’t come back down the hallway and hear something I didn’t want him to.
“Nah, I have to work in the morning. Hey, what are you gonna tell your dad?” She pointed at my face and winced.
I shifted with a groan. “The truth, which will probably freak him out or piss him off.”
My dad was very protective of me since my mom decided that she no longer wanted to live the quiet country life. She left us behind and never looked back. It was probably a good thing too, since I had nothing nice to say to her. How did you just up and leave everything behind? How did you leave your daughter and start over again as if she didn’t exist? Dad claimed she had to find herself. My reply was ‘good luck with that’. It was a sore subject for both of us.
Paige chuckled as she stood up and stretched her arms. Her hand slapped over her mouth, stifling the yawn that tried to escape.
The front door of the cabin opened, and in trudged the rest of the Six. Each of them carried a bag and a look of concern stretched across their faces.
I picked up my fingers and gave them a half wave. “I’m fine, guys.”
“Yeah, well, you don’t look fine, so don’t try to cover it up to make us feel better,” Jared said, dropping his bag on the counter. I jerked around to tell him to shut it and immediately regretted it. Sweat broke along my brow, and a clammy film coated my skin. The next time I saw Samantha, I’d chuck a damn log at her head as payback.
Josh darted in my line of vision and gave me a toothy grin. “You look a little green, Riles.”
I swallowed the thickness in my throat and closed my eyes tight, which was a big mistake. “Ow!”
“Damn it, y’all, she’s hurt. Stop screwing around with her!” Ace’s voice boomed down the hallway before I could even see him.
Josh’s hands shot up, palms out, and he backed away from me. “None of us touched her, Ace.”
The others ignored Ace’s roar of disapproval and set their bags down to put away what they’d brought with them.
“Are y’all moving in?” I asked.
“No, but we figured we’d stay here for a couple of days. Kinda lay low for a little while until you don’t look like… that.” Jared tossed his head in my direction.
“My dad…”
“I stopped by and talked to your dad. I asked him if he minded if you stayed, and he was cool with it,” Josh said. He raked his hands through his hair, telling me there was more to it than that.
I pegged him with the meanest glare I could without howling in pain from it. “What?”
Josh’s hands fell to his belt loops and hooked his thumbs. “I told him Paige was gonna stay out here, too.” He darted a glance at Paige. I looked over at her about the time she shook her head and threw up her hands.
“Y’all know I can’t do that. I’m on shift tomorrow. Besides, I’m on the schedule at the hospital all week. The hours are weird, and I’d planned on crashing in the lounge in between shifts.”
Mark crossed his arms and gave Paige a look I couldn’t quite decipher. “But Riley’s dad doesn’t know that. Besides, it’s not like you couldn’t come out here at least one night. We’re not that bad, Paige.”
She actually squirmed under his gaze, nodding her head sharply in agreement with what Mark said. When had things got awkward between those two?
Mark’s expression changed. He gave Paige a grin that would have melted any of the other girls who competed for his attention. “Good, then it’s settled.”
“God, you six are so damn bossy. When are you gonna get it through your thick ass heads that not every female in existence will do what you want when you… ugh, never mind!” Paige slammed her hands on her hips and shook her head. “Make yourselves useful and get her off the damn table. Riley, I’ll be by tomorrow with clothes for you.” Paige’s sentence trailed off as she walked out the door and closed it firmly behind her. The Six thankfully waited until her car started before they broke out in laughter.
Ace shook his head and held his hand out to me. “Come on, Riles, let’s get you settled on the couch.”
THERE WAS NO EASY WAY to get off the table. If it didn’t hurt so much, it might have been a little humorous. Unfortunately for me, it did hurt, and it was not at all funny. Ace ran his hand down his face. “Riley, I don’t know how to help you without hurting you. I can’t even put my arm around you and lift you up.”
Eli stuck his hand out and gestured for mine. When I stretched it out, he dropped two white pills in my palm. “Take those,” he said, as he tried handing me a bottle of water. I went to give the pills back, but he shook his head. “Relax, Riley. They’re just ibuprofen with codeine. You need something for the pain, and this will help without being too much. Trust me, you’ll want something, and soon, when your back tries to seize up. This is what I took when I tore a ligament a few months back.”
I shook my head no and tried again to hand them back, but Ace’s hand closed over mine. “Just take them, Riley. Eli’s right; you’re gonna need something for the pain.”
The kitchen went quiet, as if the Six waited for me to give in for once and agree. “Fine.”
Eli unscrewed the bottle cap and handed the water to me. Dumping the pills in my mouth, I took a swig to wash them down.
Ace took the water from my hand and handed it off to Eli. “We’ll wait a few minutes for the medicine to kick in before you try to get off the table.”
I was tolerant up to a certain point. I really was, but sitting on the damn table like a bird on its perch was just as uncomfortable as trying to get off it. I pulled a deep breath in, pushed my hands against the top, and shoved myself off the edge. The slamming stop jarred my body, and Ace grabbed my arm to steady me. His tight hold kept me from falling backwards into the edge and doing further damage to my back.
I huffed deep breaths with each wave of pain that rolled over me, as I chased the black dots in front of my eyes to make them disappear. Ace put a hand under my elbow to help keep me upright.
“Riley, I swear to God, you’re gonna be the death of me,” Ace muttered under his breath when I swayed against his grip.
Tilting my head to look up at him, I scowled. His eyebrows lifted, and his gaze hardened as if challenging me. His eyes told me everything without saying a word. “Go ahead and argue with me, you know I’ll win,” they said.
I looked down and groaned at the sight of my pants. “Ace, was there any sweatpants in the clothes I left behind?”
Confusion marred his brow. “You can’t even stand up on your own. How the hell are you gonna change by yourself?”
“Y’all shoulda thought about that before you chased Paige off.” They had a bad habit of doing that crap. I’d put up with everything they dished out over the years. Paige had only dealt with them since our sophomore year in high school, and she did that for me. The Six made her uncomfortable. Not because of their looks, but because she was shy and kind of timid. Or was. Ever since she’d started taking loads of college classes in between her high school ones, she’d grown a backbone. It was like her confidence grew when she took on shifts at the hospital and got her foot in the door as an intern. If anything, being around the Six had given her thicker skin. If she could deal with them, she could deal with anyone.
Ace groaned beside me. “How do you want to do this, Riles?”
Josh tossed the last pillow on the couch and walked over to take my arm. “I can help her.”
I swear I felt Ace stiffen up beside me. “It’s okay, Josh. I can do it myself.”
“You’re gonna fall on your damn face, which, by the way, would make it worse than it already is.” Ace sounded angry. “Josh, hand
me those pants,” he said, pointing to the clothes he’d laid over the back of one of the recliners in the living room.
Josh grabbed them and handed them to Ace.
My pulse hammered in my neck, and I could feel a cold sweat beading up under my armpits. No way would I let Ace help me undress. “Ace… I got…”
“No. Now stop arguing with me and let’s go.” His fingers gripped my elbow a little tighter, and we moved down the hallway.
“Huh. Who woulda thought Riley would actually cave in to Ace getting all dominant like that?” Aiden piped up. The guys howled with laughter since it was so unlike him to point something like that out. Out of all of them, Aiden was the one with the least to say.
“Idiots,” Ace mumbled under his breath, flipping the bathroom light on.
“They’re your friends,” I shot back at him.
“They’re yours, too. Okay, how do you wanna do this?” I could see the blush creep along his cheeks before he turned and tossed the sweatpants on the counter.
I struggled to sit down on the closed toilet seat. Ace turned just in time to grab my arms and take the weight off my legs. “Thanks,” I said, blowing out the breath I’d held. The codeine must have kicked in because the pain had at least dulled, and it was a little easier to move. Leave it to Eli to know just what I’d need. Then again, Eli was constantly getting hurt, so he was experienced with all sorts of injuries.
Before I could ask, Ace knelt down and grabbed the heel of my boot. With a gentle tug, it slipped off my foot, and he set it on the floor beside him. Picking up my other foot, he removed my other boot.
“Riley?” He kept his head bent as he spoke.
“Yeah, Ace?”
“Jake.” He whispered his name back at me.
The way he said it was like asking me to call him by his real name, and that was treading dangerous ground for me. Using his nickname kind of put a barrier, a self-created wall up between us. Calling him Jake took it away and made it more. So much more.
He sat back on his feet. Waiting.
“Can you help me up, Jake?” His head snapped up, and he looked at me as his hands came out to mine. I slipped mine over his and felt every ridge, every callous, every single ripple and indent, almost like I’d done it all in slow motion. His hands locked around mine, and he lifted me up until I stood close enough that our chests brushed against one another. I sucked in a sharp breath as my fingers clenched over his. His eyes never left mine until he brought my hand to the sink counter, and I let go to balance myself. He moved the sweatpants over to where I could reach them and turned around. Widening his stance, he put his arm out. “Just grab a hold of me if you feel like you’re gonna fall.”
“Thanks.”
I let go of the counter, unbuttoned my jeans, and then slid the zipper down. The problem was shimmying them past my hips, and not using my upper body to do it. I felt myself falling, and my fingertips slipped off Ace’s arm. He spun so fast that I didn’t even have time to process that he’d turned. “Riley?”
He cradled my neck in one hand and gripped my hip with the other. He heaved a sigh of relief as his forehead came down to rest on mine. “That. Was. Close.”
I could feel his heart beating against my hand and realized in that moment that my hand was splayed over his chest. When he looked down, the corner of his lips kicked up into a half smile. “See, admit it, you need my help.”
“Fine. I need you… your help.” My admission made Ace’s half smile bloom into a full one. He really was devastatingly handsome. And so very, very unattainable.
“What makes you say that, Riles?” His thumb brushed up my neck, as his other hand splayed a little wider along my hip.
“Huh?”
He winked at me. “I’ve never been unattainable.”
I stood there, dumbfounded. “I said that out loud?”
He chuckled and dropped his hand from my neck, as I slumped back into the counter. “Hold on, please.” And before I could stop him, he grabbed the sides of my jeans and tugged them down over my hips, all the way to my feet. I couldn’t help the blush that bloomed across my cheeks, as I looked down at the top of his head. I could feel the fire of it spreading down my neck to my chest.
Ace reached up past me, grabbing the sweatpants from where he’d set them. He picked up one foot, then the other, sliding the material up my legs and over my hips. When he let go of the waistband, he stood, putting his hands against the countertop, caging me in as his eyes sought mine. I could see his pupils dilate. The vein in his neck stood out, pulsing in time with his heartbeat. His jaw flexed once, and then again, as he stepped forward, lining his body up with mine.
He leaned in, and I closed my eyes on a quick intake of breath. A bolt of electricity zipped through me when I felt his nose brush against mine, and I waited. Would he kiss me? My lips tingled as he drew in a deep breath, making it feel like he’d pulled every bit of oxygen from the air around us. His hand came up, cupping my neck with fingers. They were warm and rough against my skin. The catch in my breath stalled him, and I found myself reaching out to grab a fistful of his shirt as I trembled. Ace’s hand slipped from the counter to my hip. I tilted my lips close enough that they barely touched his. He shuddered as his lips moved lightly against mine with the barest hinted whisper of touch. It wasn’t a kiss—it was torture.
“Yo, Ace!” Jared yelled down the hallway. “We got a fire goin’. How many hot dogs y’all want?”
Ace jerked back and dropped his hands. “I’m sorry… I don’t know why I did that. I shouldn’t have done that.” His voice was a hoarse whisper. His words, while apologetic, sent a knife through my heart. Ace didn’t want me. He was just being a typical guy.
I turned my back on him and grabbed my jeans, using the excuse of folding them to look away and give him his escape. I cursed myself for being such an idiot. Ace had seen me almost naked. He was only reacting like any other hormone-driven guy and when he realized what he’d started, he’d shut down when reality crashed in on us. Or I should say, when Jared’s big-ass mouth opened and reminded us of who we were and where we were. The kick in the ass of it was that we’d left the door wide open. Anyone could have walked in on us while Ace helped me get my pants on.
“Ace, what the hell, man? Is everything okay? Is Riley okay?” The tone in Jared’s voice changed as he jogged down the hallway.
I didn’t want to face Jared after what had happened, or really, what hadn’t happened with Ace, so I grabbed a washcloth from the cabinet behind me and moved around Ace to get to the sink. He backed up to put some room between us and shoved his hands in his pockets, putting his head down so I couldn’t see his face. Jared came to sliding halt, as he grabbed the doorframe. His eyes darted between Ace and me, taking in the scene.
“Is everything okay?”
I turned the sink on and wet the washcloth, giving him a smile in the mirror. “Everything’s fine. I just wanted to wash my face, Mr. Impatient.”
Jared rolled his eyes and stepped into the bathroom. Putting his hand on my shoulder, he forced me to turn around. When I did, he bit back a wince as he grabbed the washcloth from my hand, wiping the cool cloth along the cut under my eye. I hissed at the contact.
Before I could say anything, Ace pushed off the wall. “She can do that herself, ya know.”
It sounded harsh coming from him. The Six always joked, argued, and grumbled at each other, but his tone was one I’d never heard him use before on his friends. Jared’s eyes darted to look over my shoulder. His mouth kicked up at the corner before he answered, “The rules have changed, brother.”
Ace swore under his breath and stormed out of the bathroom.
I caught Jared’s wrist and stepped back from him. “What was that about?”
Jared chuckled. “Ace doesn’t like his own rules.” He shrugged and handed the washcloth back to me with a wink. “Hurry up. We got a fire rollin’ and dogs on.”
He walked out before I could reply.
I took a few minu
tes longer to collect myself. It wasn’t very often I had a moment of peace with the Six around. They hovered whether they realized it or not, and all that testosterone at once could be suffocating. I ran the washcloth back under the tap and wrung it out as I assessed my eye. It was swollen, but not as bad as I would have thought, given the expressions on the guys’ faces. There was a gash just below my left eye from the ring Samantha wore, but it was more a scratch than anything. Had I not turned my head with her punch, it would have been worse. The bruise would be ugly. The purple in it was almost black, and I knew I’d be sporting it for at least a week. The tightness in my back had lessened, so I was able to lift my shirt to get a look at the damage. A large, red welt ran left to right just under my bra strap, and the beginning of a bruise formed underneath it from the log Samantha had hit me with. I could only hope her bruises were worse than mine. Then again, the bruise to her ego probably went deeper than any mark I could have made on her, so that was at least something.
The guys had made it seem worse than it was. Like always. Sometimes it felt like I had six older brothers, but that wasn’t quite right either, because what I felt for Ace was nothing close to brotherly.
His lips had been so close, so soft. His body so hard, so near, and then gone. I let out a watery sigh, as I fought the tears that threatened to spill. Ace would be my undoing if I let him. I needed to come to terms with the fact that he was off-limits, and let it go.
A tear trekked down my face and then another. I didn’t have the energy or the want to wipe them away. Besides, it was just me, alone in the bathroom, crying over a boy I couldn’t have. Another tear fell as a warm hand landed lightly on my shoulder.
“Oh damn, I should have warned you that you’d probably feel a little out of sorts.” Eli’s voice was quiet, soft, like he knew if he talked any louder than a whisper, I’d shatter.
A watery laugh slipped past my lips, as I picked up the washcloth and wiped the tears from my face.
“Sorry, Riley.” Eli pulled his hand back and leaned against the doorjamb. “If you want, I can help you to bed. It might help if you get some rest. I always took the pain meds before I went to bed, so I could at least sleep through the night.”
The Summer I Fell (The Six Series) Page 3
