Keys and Kisses: Untouchable Book Three

by Long, Heather

  Did I really want to pretend? Or did I just…

  “Hey,” Coop murmured, catching my hands. “Tell me. What do you want to pretend?”

  “I don’t want to pretend,” I told him, finally meeting his gaze. “I have three amazing boyfriends.” Three. “I want to go and have a great time tonight. I want to dance with you guys. I want to laugh. I want to enjoy that dress I got after the fashion show at the store.”

  He grinned.

  “I just want to be us.”

  “Then that’s what we’ll do.”

  “I don’t want to pretend.” The second time was as much for Coop as it was for me. I didn’t want to play this game with Ian. “He said he couldn’t do this…”

  “I know.”

  “And now he’s asking what if he wanted to try again? What the hell kind of question is that?”

  “A dumb one,” Coop murmured.

  “It’s not even saying he does want to, it’s just—what if he did. I’m supposed to try and unsettle everything for a hypothetical?” Irritation scraped through me. “And he’s asking me this right now?”

  “Want me to have Jake kick his ass?”

  The question stopped me in my tracks, and I glared at Coop. “Don’t make fun of me.”

  “I’m not,” he promised. “But you really are cute when you get pissed.”

  “Ass.”

  “Sometimes,” he agreed, then grinned. “Tonight is about exactly what you want it to be about. This boyfriend, for one, can’t wait to dance with you.”

  “We really haven’t danced like that. Have we?”

  “Nope. It’s always been as buds, even when the other boys still thought girls were icky and gave us cooties.” He looped his arms around me and pulled me close. “I already had your cooties, what were they going to do to me?”

  I laughed, and just like that, all the anger leached away. “You’re such a idiot sometimes.”

  “Ah, but for you, I can be an idiot all the time.”

  Now I rolled my eyes.

  “Feel better?”

  “Yeah.”

  Coop did that, he could take the sting out of the rage.

  “I do.”

  “So, do I get a verdict on whether Jake should kick his ass?”

  “They’re already bruised up enough, don’t you think?”

  With a shrug, Coop said, “It’s Jake, what do you think?”

  I thought if Jake heard me be this upset, he’d have already gone to kick Ian’s ass. “He didn’t hear, did he?”

  “Bubba was still breathing, so I’m going to take that as a firm no, he didn’t hear.”

  “Then let’s keep it that way.”

  “You got it.” Tapping the tip of my nose gently, he said, “Can I make you smile, beautiful?”

  The corners of my lips curved. “You already did.”

  “Then hold onto that and to me. Okay?”

  “I think I can do that.”

  “Now, I’m going to smudge the lipstick.” He dipped his head.

  “It’s okay,” I breathed as his lips were a centimeter from mine. “She promised it was smudge-proof.”

  The kiss sent tingles cascading through the unsettled chaos of emotions rioting through me. Gripping his shoulders, I dug my fingers in and held. The lick of his tongue against mine grounded me, even as it lit me up again. We were both panting when he finally lifted his head.

  “Well,” he murmured, tilting his head. “Definitely smudge-proof. Good to know.”

  The wry remark punctured the tension, and I chuckled as he looped an arm around me and we headed back to the apartment. Ian stood by the back door, hands in his pockets staring at us.

  His pained expression cut at me, but I lifted my chin.

  “Go on inside,” Coop murmured against my ear. “I’ll take care of this.” Did it make me a chicken that I would rather Coop dealt with it? I didn’t want to fight, but I also didn’t want Ian yanking my heartstrings around.

  “Thanks.”

  Ian stood aside for me and as I closed the door, Coop said, “Dude, rule number two, let’s back it up, okay?”

  “We aren’t there yet, and it just kind of…popped out.”

  Great, he really hadn’t even meant it. I shut the door firmly and headed for my room. Jake stood in the living room, dress pants, dark shirt, dark vest and a red tie that would match my dress. No jacket.

  Holy hell.

  He looked…

  “Wow.”

  He grinned as he glanced at me. Some of his hair tumbled over his forehead. It wasn’t quite combed, more rakish than normal. The faint bruises added to the effect. At the same time, he was gorgeous.

  “You look amazing.”

  “Baby girl, all for you.”

  That just pumped my heart right up.

  “Unfortunately for him,” Archie said as he sauntered out, his shirt was white, with a deep red vest and no tie over a crisp pair of dark slacks. “I look so much better.”

  Jake’s snort just made me laugh.

  They were adorable.

  And sexy has hell.

  Did we really have to get dressed up and go out?

  “See?” Archie said, his grin smug. “She’s speechless.”

  “Ha. That’s because I’d already taken her breath away.” Jake grinned, absolutely unabashed. They both looked amazing. “Yo, Coop,” he bellowed. “Get the lead out, I wanna see Frankie in her dress.”

  When Coop and Ian came in, there was no evidence of the earlier issues. They headed back to my room to change, leaving me to drool over Jake and Archie. It also gave me time to get pictures to add to my phone.

  Coop’s suit was lighter than the others, but he’d gone with a jacket instead of a vest and he a dark red shirt without a tie that would go with my dress, too. They had really color coordinated.

  Like Coop, Ian had gone with a deep red shirt, but he had dark navy almost black slacks and a dark tie to match.

  They all looked…different, and yet awesome. “Wow,” I said when it was my turn to head back and change. “No one is going to be looking at me tonight.”

  I didn’t turn to see their faces, but the fact that four snorts followed me told me enough. Still, my nerves were rioting, even as I reminded myself—these guys liked me in ripped jeans, tank tops, shorts, and sweats. Dressing up was fun, but what I liked about them wasn’t their clothes, either.

  The pep talk only lasted so long as I slipped into the under things I’d bought for this outfit. I had to go with a thong—which I hated—but it would leave no lines on the dress. The strapless bra fit like a second skin, but at least I didn’t have so much I was gonna pop a boob.

  That would be horrifying, and I’d actually jumped around in the thing to make sure.

  The dress slid on like floating silk—another reason I liked it, and my hair held up as I slid into and out of clothes.

  I wore the bracelet Archie had given me with all its new charms, then looped the charm like layers of necklace on. Three strands that dipped in varying lengths. Finally, I tucked the earrings in and stared at myself in the mirror.

  I’d never looked less like me and at the same time…

  I didn’t even know I could look like this.

  It might all be way too much work for everyday, but it was kind of fun.

  Huh…Coop was right. The lipstick was smudge proof. I had an extra tube of it that Carol had given me, since she used a brand new one. The small wristlet would let me carry my keys, phone, and ID, so I slid the lipstick in there and then glanced at myself once more before I put on the shoes.

  They were the strappiest things I’d ever owned, but I hadn’t gone for high heels. They were gold, so they’d match the jewelry and they showed off my feet.

  Prissy, right?

  Heart racing, I headed for the door. Every step had the skirt swishing against my legs, and the air seemed cooler everywhere. Technically, I had more covering me than I had in the shorts and tank, but the barely there feel of the material lef
t me more exposed.

  “Ready or not,” I called out with a hell of a lot more bravery than I really possessed. “Here I come.”

  The low hum of conversation cut off abruptly a full two seconds before I cleared the end of the hall into the living room. Standing, all four faced me and it took a moment for their stunned expressions to register. Coop held a giant mum in his hands, and they each had a garter on their sleeves that matched it.

  Even Ian.

  I forgot how to breathe.

  I’d forgotten all about the mum. Cheryl mentioned the thing about her mom making hers, and that moms did that, and my mom…

  “You guys made me a mum?”

  Archie grinned slowly, and Coop’s eyes brightened. Jake slid his hands into his pockets and let out a low whistle.

  “It’s beautiful.”

  “No where near as beautiful as you are,” Coop said. “That dress looks every bit as good on you as I remember…but you’re…”

  “Stunning.” Archie nodded. “Frankie, you look like a million bucks.”

  Face hot, I flapped my hands at my cheeks. “Stop it, I’m going to cry, and then the mascara will run and I’ll get snotty.”

  That pulled a laugh from them, even Ian, who stared at me with something like wonder and maybe a touch of sadness. Yeah. I couldn’t focus on that. I just—I couldn’t. Instead, I closed the distance to look at the mum.

  “We wanted you to have the full experience, baby girl,” Jake said. “Coop organized it, and Archie over there fried his fingertips off.”

  It was beautiful, the purple ribbons created a sunrise effect around the fat white mum and the ribbons had our school colors and red to go with my dress. There were even trinkets hanging on it. Like my charms.

  Fuck, I really was going to cry.

  “No tears,” Coop said. “Don’t do it. Laughter, not tears.”

  My cheeks ached from my smile as they worked to safety pin the thing to the strap of my dress. It weighed a ton and stretched almost to my knees with the ribbons.

  “Perfect,” Ian murmured. “You look perfect.”

  Dipping my chin, I glanced down at it and then at all of them. “This…thank you.”

  “My pleasure,” Archie said, then gave me a kiss before Coop winked and gave me another, but it was Jake who cupped my face gently and very carefully wiped his thumb against my lower lashes stealing away the tear that defied me.

  “You ready to party?”

  Was I ever!

  “I can’t wait,” I whispered.

  “Pictures,” Archie said abruptly, and phones came out.

  “You better send me copies.” But we took turns standing together. This mum would not make the whole night. In fact, I kind of wanted to keep it here so it wouldn’t get damaged. At the same time, my ping-ponging emotions carried me skyward again.

  They’d made me a mum. Dressed up. And we were all going to Homecoming.

  Hair, nails and makeup? A couple of hundred dollars.

  Fancy dress? Way too much.

  A night with my guys? Even Ian?

  Priceless.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Everything I Wanted

  The limo arrived exactly on time, and we locked up and headed out together. It was fun to take more pictures on the way, the mum stayed, and even though I loved it, I did not want it ruined. So the guys hung it up in my bedroom for me.

  I sat between Coop and Jake with Archie and Ian opposite us as the limo carried us over to the Garden Hotel and Convention Center one town over where the Homecoming dance was being held. As we pulled up, I got my first good look at the Hollywood theme work the committee had done, including the red carpet leading up to the doors, the velvet-rope lining the walkway, and the silhouettes of paparazzi—it was both ridiculous and adorable.

  When the driver opened the back door, Jake slid out first and then held a hand out to me. The perfect weather of the day was turning into the perfect evening. The breeze tugged at my hair, but it wasn’t hot at all. The sun was dipping on the horizon, but it would be another hour before it went down.

  We waited until everyone was out before following the red carpet inside. We weren’t the first to arrive, but we were definitely not the last. Cars were pulling in to the parking lot, and other kids were walking up. Other cars were lining up behind the limo to deposit their passengers too.

  Jake threaded his fingers with mine as we headed inside. There was a star wall set up with the school name and in our colors along with a photographer to take our picture.

  “We’re gonna take a little time here,” Archie informed the photographer. And we did—we got individual shots of me with each of them, then one of all of us together. The only couple shot we didn’t take was me and Ian.

  Whatever Coop said to him seemed to have worked. Holding onto that, we were still laughing from the last picture when we headed inside.

  “Woah,” Jake said as we made it into the lobby area. The music pulsed from beyond the doors, but someone had taken the time to create “sets” all over and there were a couple more photographers.

  “Classic car pic!” Coop said, catching my hand and tugging me over to the replica of James Dean’s Porche 550 Spyder. They even had a fan to create wind.

  I slid into the driver’s seat and Coop made a face before he hopped over into the passenger side.

  Snap.

  The King Kong set was next, and Jake and I played like we were hanging off the Empire State Building.

  Like I said, ridiculous.

  Snap.

  Archie wanted the shot with the faux casino and James Bond. I hung off his arm like some Bond girl. But I was pretty sure the fact I couldn’t stop laughing as we cut up didn’t help.

  Snap.

  The last set we got to was a horror movie set up, right down to the “bloodied knives” and faux bodies. At my grimace, Ian said, “Hard pass.”

  I almost said “sorry” because he hadn’t gotten to do the movie one, but I didn’t do horror movies, and thankfully, none of them questioned that.

  We followed the hall toward the double doors.

  “You ready?” Coop asked, the thrumming beat vibrated the air around us. It had to be loud in there, and I grinned. It was weird, how many dances had I gone to with all of them? Usually, they’d had dates of their own, but more than once, I’d been the defacto date, if for no other reason than one of the guys went stag.

  Still, tonight, it was just us.

  “You know what?” I said with a grin. “I really am.”

  Jake and Ian grabbed the doors, and there was a wall of gold glitter streamers we had to pass through to get inside. The music rolled out on a wave. Inside, it was all glittering lights and moving strobes. A DJ occupied the corner and rocked out to the music filtering through the oversized speakers.

  There were already people out dancing, tables were set up scattered around the dance floor, and there was a station to get drinks—water and soda. No punch bowls. It was kind of funny, you always saw punch bowls in the movies, but I’d never seen a single one at a dance in real life.

  “You’re here!” came the squeal of a voice warning me of Cheryl’s approach before she launched at me. Coop steadied me with a hand on my back as I hugged her back.

  Laughing, I pulled away to see Cheryl in all her finery. She’d pinned her hair up save for two tendrils falling on either side of her face. It made her look like a real doll.

  “You look gorgeous,” Cheryl continued catching my hands. “Doesn’t she, Mitch?”

  Mitch grunted a response, or maybe he said something else, but I barely got a glance at him before Cheryl did a twirl.

  “What do you think?”

  “I think you look perfect.” I had to pitch my voice higher to carry, and she grinned.

  “Oh…” She thrust her phone at Mitch. “Take our picture.” Then she hooked arms with me as Coop and Jake dropped back a couple of steps, both guys were shaking their heads, and it gave me my first good look at Mitch. D
espite the dressier clothes and neat hair, he wore a faintly sour expression. Kind of like he’d smelled a fart in church.

  Then again, maybe Cheryl had just had him snapping a lot of pictures this evening. It was a Cheryl thing to do. Wrapping an arm around my waist, she tilted her head in, and I laughed as we leaned toward each other.

  Two flashes from the camera on her phone and she let me go with an excited titter to grab the phone and look. “Oh we look awesome, see?” She showed me the picture and, you know, it wasn’t half bad.

  “Hey,” Coop said as he caught my hand. “I’m stealing Frankie for a dance. We’ll see you later.”

  “Okay,” Cheryl said. “We’ll join you!” She grabbed for Mitch’s hand, and he actually rolled his eyes with what I hoped was exasperated affection or I might have to nut punch him.

  The guys were right, Cheryl was sweet. Mitch had better be nice to her.

  “We’ll catch up,” Coop said to the guys as he tugged me toward the dance floor. There were shoes under a lot of the tables. Half the girls had already ditched their heels.

  Not that I blamed them, it was why I hadn’t worn them. The music shifted as Coop weaved his way through the room for the dance floor. Beyond Cheryl, I recognized a few other seniors. Most of those already here were likely juniors or sophomores. Seniors tended to arrive later…

  Or so it seemed.

  The song changed as we got to the floor, and I laughed. I loved this song. I think I bounced the last couple of steps to the dance floor itself. It was crowded, and for once, I didn’t care. Turning to Coop, I grinned at him. He’d ditched his jacket already, and we moved together to the music. Laughing, we mouthed the words at each other as we moved. When he spun around and danced back at me, shaking his ass, I laughed and lifted my arms as we rocked.

  When “Shut Up and Dance” segued to “Moves Like Jagger,” I shifted to dance backward and ended up bumping into Jake. While Coop didn’t sit it out, I was dancing between them. As the music cycled through and Archie hit the dance floor with us, I rotated between them until it was just all four of us dancing.

  I lost track of the songs they were playing and just moved with the beats. Sweat, cologne, and fragrances perfumed the air around us. When they finally gave us a slow song, it was Jake I ended up dancing with.