After putting our dry clothes back on over our wet underwear, we started the walk back. The night was warm enough that the contrast didn’t bother me and I got the feeling that most things didn’t bother him. Though he left his shirt off, as if he knew exactly how much he affected me.
“Hang on,” I said when we got back to the room. I leaned in to see if I could hear any sounds coming from inside. There were none. “Sounds like we’re all clear.”
Porter chuckled as he pulled his key card out of his back pocket and got the door opened. He stepped aside so I could go in first.
I’d been right. Laney and Zac were in their pajamas, obviously content with whatever they’d done, and were reading something on Laney’s phone.
“Hey,” Laney said with a tired smile. I scrunched my face up at her as if disgusted, which only made her giggle.
“I think I’m going to take a shower then get to bed,” I told her.
“Me too,” Porter agreed. I turned to him with wide eyes I didn’t think I was ready to tell Laney about us—if there was an us. It was just a kiss after all. “I meant after you,” he told me.
Right.
It might’ve been the quickest shower of my life. Normally, I might’ve waited until morning, but we’d just been in the chlorine. Plus we had the butter castle to get to tomorrow. I only towel-dried my hair before putting on a tank top and pajama shorts. I’d probably pull my hair into a bun tomorrow so how it dried really wouldn’t matter.
When I opened the bathroom door, a plume of steam poured out and I found Porter leaning against the wall on the other side. He was still in his jeans, though they were now unbuttoned, and still shirtless. This man should never wear a shirt. His eyes traveled from mine down to my breasts, where I was visibly not wearing a bra. I’d gone back and forth on that decision but had decided comfort over anything else. Nobody loved sleeping in a bra.
Instead of waiting for me to get all the way out of the bathroom, Porter slid in front of me, forcing me to turn so we didn’t collide. He ran a hand across my stomach as he passed.
That hand may as well have been in my panties because that was where I felt the touch.
“We’re going to ride some of the rides tomorrow, too, right?” I asked Zac and Laney, who were in the exact same position I’d left them in.
“Obviously,” Laney said. “Breakfast first, though. We need our stamina.”
“Excellent. I don’t know how big of a fair it is, but I say the more dangerous the ride, the better.”
“I’ll ride anything, so I’m good with that,” Zac told us.
I smirked and said, “I’ve heard that about you.”
Laney giggled quietly while I tried not to join her as Zac shook his head and said, “You’re thinking of Porter.”
That did it. Neither of us could hold anything in at that point. I grabbed a small bag of chips from my snack bag and fell onto the other bed while scanning through all my social medias.
A while later, Porter came out of the bathroom in a pair of boxer briefs. My guess was he slept like that. Lord help me.
“Did someone say something about dangerous rides?” he asked.
“Yes,” Laney confirmed. “But no. We weren’t talking about you.”
I put a bent finger in front of my mouth so they wouldn’t see me laughing.
“So what’s the sleeping arrangements here?” I asked to change the subject. Zac glanced to Laney and I knew they wanted to share a bed, but I wasn’t sure about sharing one with Porter.
“Rhian and I will take this bed,” Laney said, giving Zac a look of apology. “You two can share that one.”
Zac shook his head. “I really don’t want to sleep in a bed with him.”
Porter shrugged. “I’ll sleep with anybody.”
“I’ve heard that about you,” fell out of my mouth again before I could even think about it and I cringed.
Porter scowled at me.
“Go,” Laney said, pushing Zac away from her. He went, but he did so begrudgingly. Then she patted to the bed beside her and said, “Come on, Rhian.”
I grabbed my phone just so I could check my email before going to sleep. It could be dangerous to ignore my mother for too long. Never knew what she’d do next.
Zac kissed Laney more times than I could count before moving over to his own bed.
Finally, we were all settled and one of them turned the light off. I pulled my phone up, sliding the screen brightness all the way down so I wouldn’t bother anybody. Whatever Zac had done to Laney must’ve been good because in no time I could hear her rhythmic breathing, which indicated that she was out.
I tapped my email button and sighed a quiet breath of relief to see that I had nothing from either of my parents. In my texts I had a few random memes from Tegan that I laughed silently at. I loved his and my relationship.
When I was about to be done, a text from Porter vibrated my phone. I leaned up just enough to look over there, but he was on his side facing away from me. No other choice but to pull up the text. Laney had given me both his number and Zac’s a while back. I couldn’t even remember why exactly.
I don’t like that you think that way about me.
It took me a minute to get what he was talking about. Then I remembered my joke.
I’m sorry, I typed out. But it’s true, right?
Used to be, he replied.
Used to? I asked.
It took longer for his reply to pop up. I’d started to wonder if he was going to answer at all.
I like you, Rhian. So yeah. Used to be.
My stomach clenched in excitement at his admission as a butterfly let loose in my chest. Yes, we’d kissed. People kiss all the time. I didn’t actually like all the people I’d kissed in my life and sometimes it was just a means to an end. You could be attracted to a person and not be in like with them. But Porter… I was attracted to him and kind of liked him.
I’m sorry I said it. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.
Don’t give a fuck about my feelings, he said. Do give a fuck about what you think of me.
Promise, even with it being true, I don’t think anything bad about you. We’ve all had our hookups.
I heard a groan from the other side of the room and I couldn’t help but smile since I couldn’t laugh.
I’d really rather not think of that, he told me. The idea of your nipples pressed against some other guy like they were against me in the pool… can’t handle that.
Goodnight, Porter.
I couldn’t fall right to sleep after that.
Porter liked me.
Sure Laney had warned me about him but it wasn’t like we were trying to form a relationship. He didn’t do that. A fact that had been made crystal clear. But I did like him and maybe he liked me enough to have an excellent summer together.
Chapter Seven
I thought I might be the first person awake in the morning, but no. I’d forgotten to set an alarm and Laney was shaking me somewhat aggressively.
“Stop,” I said into my pillow. It sounded more like a groan.
“Then get up,” she said with a laugh in her voice. “The boys are beating us.”
I pushed up to a sitting position. “Beating us how?” A big yawn took me over as gave into a fantastic morning stretch.
“They’re already dressed.”
“How did that happen?”
Laney rolled her eyes. “Apparently, being grown-ups who get up early for work means that their internal clocks make them wake up like that all the time.”
“I think that’s a myth.” Because honestly, who got up early when they didn’t have to?
“It’s really not,” Zac told me.
I groaned and gave them both a scowl as I forced myself all the way off the bed. Porter was leaning against the dresser, arms crossed over his chest watching my every move. The heat of his eyes warming the chill of the rooms’ air conditioner against my skin. He was wearing jeans again with a black T-shirt and I was beginning to th
ink I’d never seen a more attractive outfit on anyone. Ever.
Laney and I hurried to get dressed and do our hair. I pulled my hair up into a messy bun, as did she. We both also added sunscreen because my skin would sizzle in the sun then dressed in shorts and tee. Nothing special. It was a fair after all. All-in-all it took very little time.
Then we left for breakfast.
Laney found us a mom-and-pop restaurant for us to eat at. Given that we’d probably take in a thousand calories in fair food, a good healthy start was best. I ordered an egg white omelet, Laney a regular one, and the guys both ordered huge stacks of pancakes.
This place was not only quick but also delicious.
Then it was time for the fair.
I hadn’t woken up until almost ten and by the time we’d finished breakfast, it was a little after eleven. The fair was already busy when we arrived and bought our bracelets, which would allow us to ride anything we wanted to without additional cost.
“Oh, man,” I said after I’d looked over the fair map.
Laney slid in beside me. “What’s up?”
“I signed us up for a butter castle closes for maintenance at noon and opens back up at one.”
“What kind of maintenance does the butter castle need?” Zac asked me.
“No idea.” Then something popped into my head. “Maybe they shut it down every so often to cool it back to temperature. Have to think all the body heat could be a problem.”
“True.”
Laney pulled out her phone then put it back in her pocket. “That just means we have an hour and a half to ride some rides.” She slipped her arm around mine. “Let’s go.”
We started out small with the Ferris wheel and Tilt-A-Whirl. Things the four of us could fit into. Then we moved on to a few games and then went to some of the “scary” rides. They weren’t scary to me, but Laney didn’t love them.
The guys seemed unimpressed. I’d kind of hoped that, after their big, greasy breakfasts, they would’ve at least gotten a little queasy. But nope. Stomachs of steel on those two.
Through it all, Porter stayed close to me, but neither of us made any move to hint that anything had happened between us last night. We’d kissed. And it had been a good kiss. If I were being honest, I wanted another one, but not there with Laney and Zac present.
We were having so much fun that by the time one of us looked at the time again, it was already three.
“Damn it.” I groaned. “Let’s go to the butter castle. I hope there’s not a huge line.”
“If there is, we’ll just wait in it.”
There was a small line and we did have to wait. The attendant said they only let so many people in at the same time because too much body heat could melt the butter. He also mentioned that it was freezing cold inside and I wished I’d brought at least a hoodie.
Finally, we got to go in, just our little group. When we stepped inside, it looked exactly as I thought a butter castle would have. The floors were carved out of huge slabs of butter to look like wood flooring. Of course there was a hard plexi-glass type overlay so we weren’t actually walking on butter. The walls were carved to look like stone. There was even butter furniture decorating the inside. The place was insane.
It was also freezing cold, just as the man had said it would be.
Zac tucked Laney under his arm when she began to shiver.
I didn’t have that option. When my fingers felt like they would fall off and I was about to become an ice cube, I stepped behind Porter and with a quickness I didn’t know I’d had, I slipped my hands up the back of his shit and laid my fingers on his warm skin.
He hissed and his back arched, but he didn’t look back and didn’t tell me to stop. His body heat kept my fingers from falling off. I was sure of that.
Finally, we made it to the exit.
“Holy shit, I’m cold,” Laney said, still shivering.
“Yeah. I wasn’t expecting that.” I looked over at the guys. “Why aren’t you two cold?”
Porter cocked his head to the side with a little grin. “Because we’re hot.”
I rolled my eyes and Zac laughed.
“Or,” Zac offered, “we wear more clothes than the two of you.”
I looked them over. Jeans and T-shirts with tennis shoes. Then I looked at Laney and myself. T-shirts, shorter and thinner than theirs, shorts, and sandals. He wasn’t wrong.
“Fair point,” I told him. “Now let’s go carve our blocks of butter.”
“What?” Zac asked.
“We get to carve something,” Laney told him. “Let’s go.”
Just around the end of the exit, where it was still cold but not freezing, there was a carving station where we could each carve whatever we wanted out of butter. The attendant there explained it all and cautioned us not to get too attached. It was butter. It was going to melt unless we put it in the refrigerator immediately.
I didn’t care. I cared about how much fun we were having.
The four of us stood at a table and went to work. An artist—I definitely wasn’t. So I set out to carve the one thing I thought would be easy enough for even me. A baseball bat.
Still, I ended up with this short, fat thing that only vaguely resembled a baseball bat.
“What’d you carve?” I asked Laney first.
“A bar of gold.” She held up her butter. She’d only trimmed the edges and wrote Gold on the front. I laughed out loud.
Zac held up a screwdriver. Not inspired but remarkably realistic.
Porter held his up next.
“What is that?” I asked him as I took a step closer.
“Jesus,” Zac muttered.
“What is it?” I asked Zac because he seemed to know.
“Is that… ” Laney squinted and took another step closer. “A butthole?”
A wide grin spread over Porter’s face. Hell. She was right. “Why is there so much detail?” I asked.
Now Zac burst out into a loud laugh. I hadn’t meant to be funny.
“Time for some gentle kisses, Zac,” Porter said and I didn’t get the reference at first. Not until the memory of Zac saying that to him at the pond last summer came to mind, which made us all laugh. “What’d you do?” he asked, his eyes settled on me.
“Now I feel lame.” I held the bat up. “It’s supposed to be a baseball bat.”
Porter bit his lips together to keep from laughing. “Let me fix it for you.”
After taking my butter, he went back to the carving station and worked for only a couple of minutes before handing it back.
I rolled my eyes. “A penis?”
Laughter filled our area again as the next group stepped out of the castle.
“I don’t even want it anymore.” We all dumped our butter carvings in the trash on our way out. We weren’t headed back to the hotel right away and there wasn’t a refrigerator there anyway. They’d just melt.
We did another round on the fair and rode each ride one more time before heading out. I realized then that we hadn’t stopped to eat and I was starving. It was dinner time after all.
“Maybe we should just get pizza and take it back to the motel,” I suggested as we got out to the car.
“Um… ” Laney stopped right in front of me and nervously worried her lips. “Zac and I were thinking we’d go get something, if you wouldn’t mind.”
Zac rested his arms on the roof of my car and sighed. Wasn’t sure why, other than maybe the if you wouldn’t mind at the end of her sentence bugged him.
“Why would I mind?” I asked her, though I kept looking over at him.
She quickly wet her lips. “Because that would mean leaving you at the motel with Porter.”
“I don’t mind,” Porter said quickly and it took everything I had not to smile.
Laney rolled her eyes. “Of course you wouldn’t mind, but I wasn’t asking you.”
“I don’t mind,” I told her to get this moving.
“Also… I’d have to borrow your car.”
/> My eyes widened. “My baby?”
Laney nodded. But I let out a laugh. I didn’t love my car like that, but even if I did, she was my best friend. She could borrow my car. Not that I wanted to let her know how easily I would’ve caved.
I sighed. “Fine. But pizza first. Then you guys can go.”
She bounced on her toes and quickly clapped her hands together. “Thank you.”
Since I now needed to find the pizza place, I tossed Porter the keys and went around to the passenger side. We all piled in, but when he didn’t put the motel address back into the GPS, I raised an eyebrow. He shrugged me off. Instead of asking, I pulled out my phone and scanned for a pizza place until I found one.
“What do eat?” I asked him as I kept scouring the website.
“Everything.”
I stopped and raised my head then looked over at him. “So many jokes.” He snorted. “On pizza? What do you like on pizza?”
“Everything,” he said again. “Anything. I’m not picky. Get what you want and I’ll eat it.”
I ordered the pizza for Porter and me. We stopped at the grocery store up the street from the pizza place to get a few sodas, several bottles of water, a salad, and a light vinaigrette dressing. We were back at the hotel half an hour later. Zac and Laney wasted no time heading out for their fun.
“Those two are going to be popping out babies in no time,” Porter said. We were getting set up to eat on one of the beds.
A groan got caught in my throat. “I sure hope not. We’re so young and he already has one.”
Porter nodded and dropped onto the bed. “True.”
After eating the entire premade salad—it wasn’t overly large, basically just a single salad for a single person—I began to nibble on some pizza and thought that this was the perfect time to get some information out of him. Information I didn’t have or at least a perspective I didn’t have.
“What’s your name, Porter?” I asked instead of what I really wanted to. That was coming, but he needed to be warmed up.
“Nope,” he said through a chuckle.
“Really?” I cocked my head to the side. “You’re never going to tell me, are you?”
A Little More Touch Me (The Fallout Series Book 2) Page 6
