by Skye Jordan
Xavier
Levi and Ben give me fist bumps of approval before they make their way to their cars and Laiyla, KT, and Chloe hug as if they aren’t going to see each other first thing tomorrow.
I unlock the car and open the passenger’s door for Chloe. The skirt of her dress floats around her thighs and falls between the seat and the door. I lift the edge of her dress to make sure it doesn’t get caught, but instead of laying it in her lap, my hand finds its way underneath the fabric and along her toned, smooth thigh. The sight of my hand moving beneath her dress, along all her warm skin, spikes desire.
“I’ve been wanting to do this all night.” I cut a look toward Levi’s and Ben’s vehicles to make sure everyone is out of sight. “I’ve been wanting to do this all night too.”
I lean in and kiss her. Her lips are warm and welcoming, but I pull back to look directly into her eyes. “I’m sorry about… You know.”
“Yeah, I know. It’s tough to be in demand.”
“I meant what I said earlier,” I remind her. “I’ve just been waiting for you.”
She doesn’t say it’s okay, but she smiles and kisses me, which is the next best thing. When she pulls back, she plays with the hair at my nape. “I still have a lot of insecurities, but they’re mine, not yours.”
“I hope I can erase them. They don’t belong with a woman as amazing as you.”
We kiss again—I could never get tired of this—and I round the hood, wave to Laiyla and Levi as they pass, and slide into the driver’s seat. As I make my way from the lot, I think ahead. I don’t want to invite myself to stay with her again, but I don’t want to sleep without her either.
How quickly I’ve gone from certified player to focused lockdown. But I knew that if I ever got a shot with Chloe, I’d take it all the way. “Slide over here, beautiful.”
She unbuckles her seat belt, slides to the middle, and refastens. She’s got her head on my shoulder as we leave the lot, and my heart is bursting with joy.
“That was fun.” I glance down to find her fingering the necklace. “I mean, once people left us alone.”
“A year ago, no one would even talk to us, unless it was to be nasty,” she says, the “us” referencing the three women. “Remember when Craig O’Malley tried to keep us from celebrating our birthday at his pub and you came to our rescue?”
I smile. “Good times.”
“Hmm.” She lifts her head, slides her face into the crook of my neck, and breathes deep, then pulls my skin between her teeth before kissing me there. My body is instantly alert and prepping for action. “I think this year’s events are way more fun.”
I slide the fingers of my free hand into her hair. “I wholeheartedly agree.”
Her lips and tongue take a route behind my ear, and the shivers she creates raise gooseflesh. Then her hand slides over my thigh and between my legs, and she cups me with a little moan of desire.
“Can you get us home,” she asks, “so I can undress you with my teeth?”
I groan. “My place or yours?”
“Whichever is closer.” She tugs on my belt, and it opens for her. Then her fingers pop the button and push at the zipper, and she moans as she slides her hand beneath my boxer briefs and around my cock. “I’ve been meaning to come over and see all the progress you’ve made on your house, but right now, I’m really focused on something else.”
My cock hardens in her hand, her thumb sliding over the head, making me see stars. A part of me still can’t believe this is happening. My fantasies didn’t begin to do her justice.
I stop at a light at the end of Main Street. This light has always irritated me because there’s never enough traffic to warrant the stop. But tonight, I’ve got more to do than just sit here and wait for it to turn green.
Turning my head, I lift her face by the chin, and I’m about to kiss her when something catches my eye, and I glance out the side window instead. I spot three men loitering in the alley behind Devan Sicily’s quick mart.
“What’s wrong?” Chloe follows my gaze. “Who is that?”
“Trouble.” I veer across another empty lane and into the driveway. “This will only take a minute.”
I drag the tail of my shirt over my open pants and pull up a few hundred feet away from the men—Smith Gunderson, Dale Hawthorne, and Chase Maddison. Smith and Dale are eighteen-year-old seniors. Chase is a seventeen-year-old junior.
When they look over, Smith sneers, Dale rolls his eyes, and Chase grins with a good-natured “Hey, Officer Wilde.”
I lift my chin in greeting. “Chase, can we talk a minute?”
He looks at the other guys, shrugs, and saunters over. He leans on the open window ledge with both forearms and smiles into the cab. “Hey, Miss Chloe.”
She smiles and offers a warm “Hi, Chase.”
Chase turns his gaze on me again. “Didn’t know you and Miss Chloe were a thing. Nice choice.”
Chloe laughs.
“So, what’s up, man?” Chase asks.
“What are you three doing?”
“Just hanging, you know.”
“With you, yeah, I know. With them, hanging is just another way of saying looking for trouble.”
Chase tips his head side to side in tacit agreement.
“Do you know what guilt by association is?” I ask him.
“Uh…” He scratches at the burgeoning scruff at his jaw. “Getting in trouble for something someone else did?”
“Right. For example, if you all wandered inside to, say, grab a Coke, and Smith pulled a gun out of his ass, you’d be guilty of armed robbery, the same as Smith and Dale.”
His face creases in disbelief. “Nuh-uh.”
“Uh-huh,” I counter. “And if Smith lost his cool—as he’s known to do—and shot Devan’s husband, Ed, who’s working tonight, and he died, you’d be just as guilty of murder as Smith and Dale. Premeditated murder. That carries the death sentence.”
Realization dawns in his expression, fear shining in his dark eyes. “Are you shittin’ me?” He cuts a look at Chloe and flickers a smile that doesn’t hold. “He’s shittin’ me, right?”
“I’m not,” I say, relieving Chloe of having to answer. “Google it, but in the meantime, steer clear of those two if you want to hold on to that Golden Bears scholarship you’ve got.”
Chloe pulls in a sharp breath. “You got a scholarship to UC Berkeley? Oh my God.” She reaches across me to give Chase a forearm squeeze before pulling back. But her breasts are still against my biceps and my cock is still throbbing. “That’s incredible. Congratulations. Your parents must be over the moon.”
He chuckles. “They are.”
“Then they’d tell you the same thing I’m telling you,” I say. “You’re a great kid. You’ve got amazing things waiting in your future. Don’t blow it by hanging with future convicts. Make your excuses and get your butt somewhere they aren’t.”
“Okay, okay,” he says good-naturedly, “but you know I gotta throw shade.”
I smirk. “Of course.”
Chase straightens away from the car and walks backward, making frustrated gestures. “Man, that ain’t cool. Don’t dis my friends like that.”
As soon as Chase clears my bumper, I crank the wheel and continue through the parking lot and back onto the road.
“Is that what they call community policing?” Chloe asks, her head on my shoulder. “I never understood that.”
“Sort of. In a small town, almost everyone is community policing because we all know everyone. That’s community policing, walking the streets, getting to know the people, root out the bad seeds, try to either get them to grow or bury them.”
“Interesting metaphor. Is what you told him about guilt by association true? I mean in the eyes of the law?”
“Oh, yeah,” I say with emphasis. “And kids don’t understand just how easy it is to get caught in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong person. Or how easily and quickly it can ruin their lives. I’ve seen it hap
pen way too often.”
“Looking back, I can see how lucky I was. I spent my fair share of time with the wrong people, but I never knew how close I came to real problems. Is that why you’re so strict with Piper?”
“Piper doesn’t know what strict is. But, yeah, that’s why I want her to stay away from troubled kids who are criminals in the making.”
Chloe strokes her hand up and down my thigh, rekindling the fire between my legs. “She’s lonely.”
“I know. I get it. But if she doesn’t break ties with those kids soon, I’m going to be getting a call from the jail—or worse. I appreciate you watching out for her.” I curl my hand over hers and pull it to my mouth for a kiss. “Now, where were we?”
15
Chloe
I wander back to my boat from morning yoga and meditation, disappointed Xavier won’t be there waiting for me today. I shower and dress for the day in shorts and a tank top, looking forward to connecting with my online students and getting some words in on my book.
But first: coffee.
I slide into my flip-flops and start toward the market. One of the perks to living here—aside from the freaking perfect weather—is that I can grab coffee or a snack whenever I need one. Today, Piper’s working, so coffee is also my excuse to drop in and say hello.
The morning chill is melting away with the sun, and the first sounds of fun on the lake touch my ear. As gravel crunches under my flip-flops, I pull out my phone and text Laiyla and KT.
Sure could use some girl time at Rainbow Falls today. Can you break away this afternoon?
I pocket my phone and tune in to my body, which is sore and sated, both a direct result of Xavier. My hand rises to touch the three circles of the necklace he gave me, and I smile. He’s even more amazing than I already knew, and I’m well on my way to falling head over heels for him.
KT and Laiyla have suspected, but I’ve never told them exactly how hard I’ve been crushing on him. Who would admit something like that when the guy you’re crazy about is dating all over town? It’s always been safer to categorize my feelings for Xavier as friendship, because that kind of relationship fits easily into my broken world.
But from where I stand now, looking back…I can’t lie to myself anymore. I’ve been in love with him for a long damn time. And admitting that feels a lot like parachuting when you’re afraid the chute won’t open.
I have to admit that the insight I got from Laiyla about dealing with Levi’s ex’s and KT about her previous player tendencies gave me a whole different perspective. Maybe, like KT, Xavier just never stayed with one woman because he hadn’t found the best fit, or because it wasn’t the right time or place.
The real possibility that I might be the right fit for Xavier makes me smile so big, my cheeks hurt, and I let out a giggle.
As I approach the market, I say hello to the retreat attendees. On the patio, I see Bodhi talking with a group, but continue toward the front door.
“Chloe?”
My feet stop, my eyes close. Dammit. The joy I was feeling just seconds ago drains, and apprehension fills the space.
I release a breath and turn. Bodhi’s wandering toward me, hands in his shorts pockets. His smile is…authentic, I decide. Half real, half guarded.
“Hi,” he says.
“Hi. Did you need something?”
He shakes his head and looks at the ground before meeting my gaze again. “I need to tell you—again—that I’m sorry. Sorry for what happened in the past and sorry about how I came for this retreat, without giving you a heads-up. I was definitely leaning too heavily on ego, sure you’d be glad to see me.”
I step aside to let a few women into the market. “I’ve found myself leaning a little too heavily on ego lately as well.”
“I sincerely hope you’ll accept my apology and maybe someday find a way to forgive me.”
I think about all the good in my life—Laiyla, KT, Levi, Ben, the girls, my studio, my students, my purpose, my peace, and, of course, Xavier. Who the hell am I to be angry about something in the past when that past led me to such a perfect present and promising future?
“You’re forgiven.” The offering lifts an invisible weight from my chest and lets me breathe easier. The tension in my shoulders and chest dissolves. “I wish you the best.”
His smile is filled with as much gratitude as his body language, and I step in and hug him. He hugs me back.
“I didn’t realize how badly I needed this,” he says with tears in his voice. “Your forgiveness is precious to me.” When I pull away, he lets me go easily, and I find his blue eyes glistening. “Thank you.”
I’m grateful as well. Who knows how long it would have taken me to let go of the past if I wasn’t forced to face it? Who knows if I would ever have found a way to grab hold of Xavier?
When Bodhi heads off toward the conference center, I watch him go, deeply relieved that all that heartache and turmoil is in my past.
I catch sight of someone who looks startlingly like Willow turn the corner of the building toward the back of the market. But Willow doesn’t have any reason to be here—unless she’s here to see Piper.
As the crowd flows toward the conference center and the patio grows quiet, I look into the market and find Jackie Jones at the register.
“Well, hi there,” Jackie says. “Are you looking for your caffeine fix?” She points toward the storage room in the back. “We just got a fresh shipment of your kombucha too. Piper’s restocking.”
I smile. “Thanks.”
Instead of heading that direction through the store, I follow Willow’s route. And as I get close to the back entrance, I hear hushed voices—Willow and Piper arguing.
“I can’t do this,” Piper says. “It’s stupid anyway.”
“Chill out, girl,” Willow says. “This is nothing.”
“It’s not nothing.”
“Fine, forget it,” Willow says. “I knew you were a loser. Just give it to me and we’ll call it quits, which would be stupid when you’re so close to being finished.”
I step around the corner in time to see Piper hand something to Willow. I move closer, my gaze glued to a small ziplock bag of some sort in Willow’s hand. She and Piper see me, and Willow slides whatever Piper gave her into the back pocket of cutoff shorts that barely cover her ass.
Willow’s smooth, but Piper gives herself away with an oh-shit expression.
“Hi,” she says, twisting her fingers together, her shoulders up around her ears. “What’s up?”
I approach the girls, my hard gaze on Willow, my hand out. “Give it to me.”
Willow steps back. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You suck at lying,” I tell her.
She huffs an offended laugh. “You just suck, period.”
“Willow,” Piper scolds.
I move closer, and when Willow doesn’t move again, her gaze defiant and condescending, I get nose to nose with her. Or, okay, maybe forehead to nose, because Willow is quite a bit taller than me. “Get off this property, and if you ever come back, I’ll have the cops remove you.”
“Chloe,” Piper says, her voice thin with nerves. “Everything’s okay. She just—”
My gaze cuts to Piper, and the girl’s words evaporate. “Just picking up drugs? I can spot a drug buy from a mile away.”
“No,” Piper says. “It wasn’t a buy… It was, just—”
I ignore Piper, never taking my gaze off Willow. “Get off this property. Now.”
“Fine, I was leaving anyway.” She backs up a few steps, her gaze holding on me. Then she shoots Piper a look. “Later, losers.”
She’s not even at her car in the parking lot when Piper steps closer to me, discomfort and fear radiating off her. “I’m sorry about what she said. She can be a bitch, but she doesn’t mean it.”
I cut a look at Piper. “The hell she doesn’t.” I grab Piper’s wrist and bring her hand to my nose, then throw it back. “Weed? Are you fucking serious
?”
Piper’s eyes go wide. “It’s not mine, I swear to God.”
“A lot of good that’s going to do you when you’re with Willow when she’s arrested.” I know for damn sure Xavier explained the guilty-by-association ramifications to Piper by now. Numerous times. “Or worse, you’re arrested with the pot before you hand it off. You’re on a damn slippery slope here.”
“It was just this one time,” she says, talking fast, eyes pleading for me to believe her. “Smith brought it to my house last night and told me to give it to Willow today.”
Smith. Of course. “Didn’t you wonder why he didn’t just give it to her himself?”
“I swear, it was only this once. Please don’t tell Z.”
“I won’t.” I cross my arms, envisioning how livid Xavier will be when he finds out. “You will.”
Her breath streams out, and her shoulders drop. “What?”
“You heard me. I’m not lying for you, and I’m not keeping this from him. But it’s your story to tell, so that’s what you’ll do. Tonight.” I would call him right now if he wasn’t working. “As soon as his shift is over.”
Her face crumples. “He won’t understand.”
“That makes two of us. You have no excuse to be doing this kind of shit.”
She exhales and stares at the ground, looking dejected, then edgy, and I get a very distinct feeling she’s hiding something.
“What aren’t you telling me?” I ask.
“Nothing,” she says. “Fine. I’ll tell him tonight.”
I want to fire her. Right now. But I’m not sure if that would help or hurt. Probably better to have her where I can watch her. I feel something more going on beneath the surface, but I can’t figure out what. “I should fire you.”
“Oh my God, please don’t—”
“You just dealt drugs on my property. Our property,” I say referencing Laiyla and KT. “We’ve been nothing but good to you, and this is how you repay us?”
Her eyes go wide. “I…I…didn’t think—”
“Exactly, you didn’t think. Tell your uncle tonight, and I’ll talk to him tomorrow to decide if you stay or go.”
