Текст книги "Ruin"

Автор книги: Rachel Van Dyken

сообщить о нарушении

Текущая страница: 9 (всего у книги 14 страниц)

Chapter Thirty-One

So apparently I’m boring… Awesome.

Weston

I wasn’t sure what was more disconcerting, the fact that in the span of a few hours Kiersten had fallen asleep twice on me, or the fact that I’d been kissing her the last time she’d done it.

Clearly she hadn’t been sleeping well.

She’d asked me about keeping time – our time. Apparently, she liked that. I couldn’t lie to myself – I loved that idea. It made everything seem more permanent when it was anything but that.

I shifted away from her and looked up at my ceiling. The same ceiling I’d been staring at all my life.

A soft sigh escaped Kiersten’s mouth as she twisted in her sleep and then threw her arm over my chest, stealing the breath from my body. Damn, but that girl could pack a punch if she wanted.

“Wes…” she mumbled, her head twisting from side to side. In an instant I was pulling her close to me again. I wasn’t sure if it was guilt eating me alive or my sickness, really it was a toss up at that point. I was making her fall harder and it wasn’t like I was being anything but myself. I wasn’t lying, I wasn’t trying to get her to sleep with me, at least not in a sexual way – it was the first time in my life I was actually being real.

Great timing, I know.

“Wes.” Her lips found my bare shoulder. She may as well have just stabbed me, I felt that kiss, those lips, her wet tongue all the way up and down my body like a shot of heroin to my system. I’d never done drugs, but I could imagine that this was what it felt like.

Kiersten’s leg lifted and then went between mine.

Shit.

No way out of that one. I was going to have to suffer an entire night with the girl plastered against me and gain no relief in the process. Okay, so maybe I knew exactly what a heroin addict felt like. Hell, I wanted to take a hit, I wanted to drink her in, but I knew, if I made that choice for her – she’d end up hating me. I don’t care what girls say, no innocent chick goes into a relationship thinking it’s just a onetime thing unless they’re sluts. They expect forever.

The one thing I knew I couldn’t give.

“Sleep.” I kissed her forehead again and held onto her as tight as I could.

****

“Wake up, sunshine, time for turkey,” I whispered into Kiersten’s hair. She looked like a really hot version of Cousin It. Her red hair was wrapped all around my pillow, my arm, my face, her face; it was like its own person with its own zip code and inability to stay in its personal space. And I loved the hell out of it. I parted the red locks and found an eye.

“There you are.”

The eye narrowed.

“So, still not a morning person?” I asked.

Didn’t think it was possible but the eye narrowed more until I was convinced it was closed. I pulled the curtain of hair farther back. Two eyes. Score! She wasn’t blind.

“Why are you staring at me as if you just discovered gravity?”

“I did.” I smirked.

“This better be good.”

“You.”

“Huh?”

I sighed. “Still too early for my innuendos and all around amazing pick up lines, huh?” I swatted her with the pillow. “Get up, Lamb, Wolf’s hungry and I’ve had to pee for like five hours.”

“So why didn’t you go?”

“Because a ninja masquerading as my girlfriend was holding me hostage against my own bed all night.” I nodded to her legs as they intertwined with mine. “Not to mention the fact that her viselike grip was so damn cute I just stayed put.”

“Wes.” She jolted up. “I’m sorry! I’m normally not a—”

“Clinger?” I offered.

There went that eye narrowing again. I wondered if I was losing points by actually being a morning person. I hadn’t taken any drugs yet, mainly because I physically couldn’t move, so I wanted to soak up the happiness while I still wanted to talk to a person rather than my porcelain toilet.

“Don’t you dare start calling me clinger.” She moaned and covered her face with her hands. “Sorry for pinning you to the bed all night.”

I smirked and licked my lips. “Yeah, there are worse ways to go.”

Like the doctor using you as is own version of Operation. Only when he touches the edges you bleed out and your heart stops, no do-overs, no second tries.

“You okay?” Kiersten touched my shoulder. I hadn’t realized I’d zoned out. Clearly the fact that I just got handed my football jersey and was another few weeks closer to surgery was messing with me, not to mention the fact that I kind of wanted to live.

Every reason keeping my feet firmly planted on earth was living and breathing next to me, damn it.

“Stellar,” I sang. “But I still have to use the bathroom so if you could just untangle your long sexy legs from mine, I’d appreciate it. Actually, I’d appreciate it more if you just let me have my way with—”

An exasperated sigh exploded from Kiersten’s lips.

“The toilet,” I finished. “That’s all I ask.”

“Fine.” She laughed and moved fully away from me, probably the most alone and lost I’d felt in years. Irritating to think that one person had that much power over my attitude.

“Why don’t you go get ready in the other bathroom, and we’ll meet downstairs in a bit for some awesome breakfast?”

“Okay.” Kiersten slowly shuffled across the large rug that covered the hardwood floors in my room. “Wes?” She turned.

I stopped, my hand on the doorknob to my connecting bathroom. “Yeah?”

“Thank you.” A bright blush stained her cheeks. “For last night. For chasing the monsters away…”

“Anytime. It’s kind of my job to protect you.”

“A job sounds like you’re forced.”

“Nah,” I argued. “Saying it’s my job just means it’s my identity in a way. You know how people go, ‘Hey, I’m Rick. I’m a janitor.’” I smiled. “Now I can say, hey I’m Weston, and I kill monsters on behalf of my very sexy girlfriend so she can sleep at night.”

“Lame.” Her laugh hit me in all the right and wrong places, making the idea of using the restroom a moot point. I wanted to stay pinned, preferably beneath her.

“Nah, heroic.” I argued. “Now, go get ready so we can eat cinnamon rolls.”

Apparently that’s all I needed to say. Her eyes widened, and then she was running down the hall. Good to know she was a fan of breakfast. That could have been a deal breaker right there. I hated it when chicks refused to eat the most important meal of the day. As if they didn’t realize how much it helped. I knew, mainly because my pills ripped my insides to shreds if I didn’t eat.

I closed and locked the door behind me and opened the cupboard under the sink. Fifteen bottles all with my name on them. Hell, I almost wished I was a druggy. You know, one of those guys who stole oxy and morphine to get high.

Right. I never even touched my pain pills. They numbed my senses so much that it wasn’t worth it, and it wasn’t like I was in any pain. My doc said it would help me with the anxiety.

Clearly he’d never heard of exercise. All oxy did was turn me into one of those zombies from Walking Dead, only I was pretty sure I looked more haggard and scary.

I popped the lid off of my first pill bottle, dropped the pill into my hand, and shook my head. It was a powerful little bitch. I actually nicknamed it bitch because it was so small that you’d think it wouldn’t do much damage. Wrong. The first time I took it, I was sick for a week straight. I became so dehydrated from puking I had to go to the hospital. Now I know how to take it. I had to take it with my anti-nausea pill, which worked only sixty percent of the time, and then pop my giant ass white pill – the special chemo pill that’s made specifically for me.

I had five more pills to take, but I needed to eat first. I quickly jumped in the shower, brushed my teeth, and was dressed, all within fifteen minutes.

I checked my watch. Kiersten was probably just getting ready. I didn’t want her to see me taking any pills – I didn’t feel right lying to her face when she asked me why I was taking an entire medicine cabinet full of rainbow-colored chemicals, so I stuffed them in my pocket and told myself not to forget to take them after breakfast.

If I did… well, I’d be absolutely no fun for the remainder of break, not to mention it just gave that cranky tumor one more day without a defense, meaning it would grow… and the idea that its tentacles were slowly choking parts of my heart was a mental picture I could really do without.

Chapter Thirty-Two

I would never get the mental picture out of my head — Wes was hot, his body was ridiculous, and I’d slept plastered against him all night. Oh gosh, I probably even drooled. Well here’s to hoping he still wanted to be my boyfriend after I clung to him like a twelve–year-old Justin Bieber fan. Yay.

Kiersten

I got lost twice on my way down to the kitchen. The first time I went left instead of right, the second time I was distracted by the middle of the stairway where a few family pictures hung. Wes and his brother stood side by side. They almost looked like twins. My heart clenched a bit when I thought of how awful it would be to lose your brother to something like suicide. You’d probably live to regret every single conversation, every single moment you could have said something different, possibly changed the outcome. I shuddered and went down the wrong side of the staircase leading into the master bedroom.

Crap. Finally, I made my way back up the stairway and down again to the other side, where I could smell the cinnamon wafting from the kitchen. Yeah, I could learn to live with Wes’s life. Waking up to fresh rolls in the morning after I sleep in a mansion. Right, life should be so hard; the guy had no idea how lucky he was.

Laughter floated from the kitchen.

Feeling like I was interrupting, I cleared my throat while I walked in. Wes was standing in the corner with Melda, both of whomm were frosting rolls and joking with each other.

The kitchen was full of food. Everywhere I looked the granite counters were covered with different boxes of things, plates, silverware, chips, dips. Crap, were we throwing a Thanksgiving party?

“Kiersten!” Wes crooked his finger. “Come here.”

Smiling, I made my way over and stopped right in front of him. He lifted his frosting covered finger to my lips and whispered, “Open.”

Well, I wasn’t really in a position to say no. My stomach clenched, it was so hungry. I opened my mouth as his finger swiped frosting across my lips and then my tongue wrapped around the frosting, sucking on his finger until it was gone.

His eyes darkened as he pulled his finger away and then touched his lips to mine. I heard someone clearing a throat but really all I cared about was the fact that Wes’s lips were pressed against mine. He tasted like coffee and sugar, and wow, what I wouldn’t give to spend every morning with that taste in my mouth.

“Ahem,” Melda said again.

We broke apart. I could feel my face erupt into flames. Wes bit down on his lower lip and looked innocently at Melda. “Sorry, Kiersten’s just a messy eater. I was helping her clean up.”

“So that’s what the kids are calling it these days.” Melda’s eyebrows rose as she stirred the remaining frosting and dropped it onto the last few rolls. “Now, I only have one rule for Thanksgiving.”

“What?” I asked, reaching for a roll.

“Stay out of the kitchen.” She smiled and the wrinkles around her eyes crinkled with mischief. “Young Wes used to hide in the cupboards and scare me. Just last year Wes tried it again and I spilled turkey all over the floor.” The twinkle left her eyes as she wrung her hands together and licked her lips.

“Tragic death for that bird.” Wes shook his head and pulled Melda into his arms. “I promise we’ll be good.”

“You.” Melda poked his chest, clearly forgetting her sadness. “Stay away from this area. I’ll call you when I need you, until then, try to occupy yourself.”

Wes’s eyes turned to mine. “Hmm, I think I can find something to occupy myself.”

Pretty sure I was that something. Not that I cared. He held out his hand, I gripped it like a lifeline.

Melda shook her head and handed Wes a large plate full of rolls. “Here you go. Why don’t you go into the breakfast room and have some protein and juice. I’ve set up the breakfast bar for you two, so you won’t have any excuses to come back in here.”

“She’s really thought of everything.” I laughed.

“Thanksgiving is her favorite holiday. She doesn’t want me ruining it.” Wes took my hand and led me into another large room different than the one we ate in last night. “And this is the breakfast room.”

The room was entirely covered in windows on the east side. The sun was already up, but I could tell why they ate there in the morning. It was beautiful and warm, almost like a sun room.

“Juice?” Wes called from behind me.

“Sure.” I went over to the table and sat facing the windows.

“So.” Wes rubbed his hands together. “You ready to knock some more things off that list of yours?”

I took a sip of juice and nearly cried. It was the perfect mixture of sweet and pulp. “We gonna go bungee jumping on Thanksgiving?”

“Nah.” Wes put some of the roll in his mouth. “We’re going to skinny dip.”

I choked on my juice.

“Of course, we can’t do that in broad daylight. After all, what would Melda say? Swimming lessons first, nakedness second.”

“I’m almost afraid to ask what third is.” I didn’t chance looking at him and losing my composure. I mean, I hadn’t kissed a guy before him.

“Kiersten,” he purred, his lips close to my ear. “You mean to tell me you don’t know what comes after being naked?”

Oh. My. Hell. Somebody open a window. His hand grazed my arm as he chuckled deeply into my ear. My body was tense with nervousness and anticipation as his hand made its way up to my shoulder and then he cupped my neck pulling me closer so our lips were nearly touching.

“Cranberry sauce.”

“Wh-what?” I shook my head. “That comes after being naked?”

Wes’s eyes lit up. “Of course, I mean that is how you wrote the list right? Or am I missing a few in between?” He tapped his fingers against his lips. “Maybe I have it mixed up, but I’m pretty sure you still haven’t done that.”

I shook my head no, not trusting myself to speak.

“Then it’s settled.”

“Right.” My voice was hoarse. “Swimming. Naked. Cranberry sauce.”

“SNC.”

“Awesome, like a code.”

Wes pulled back and popped some more food into his mouth. “Exactly.” He reached into his pocket and then his gaze furrowed for a few brief seconds before he pulled something out and kept it in his hand.

My eyes were trained on his hand as he kept it clenched tight.

Weird.

I turned my head and looked back out at the Puget Sound.

“So…” Wes’s hands were both empty as he braced himself on either side of my chair, his hands massaging my shoulders. “What do you say we eat some more breakfast and then go get ready for a morning swim?”

“Is it going to be cold?” I asked like a five-year-old not wanting to take swimming lessons.

“Heated pool,” Wes answered. “Besides, it’s not as if you won’t have me to warm you up.”

“Probably shouldn’t be doing any warming when we’re naked.”

“You sure about that?” His hands froze on my shoulders. Holy crap, what was I supposed to say?

“I mean, that’s wilderness 101, naked bodies rubbing together to create heat, friction—”

“Good thing we aren’t in the wilderness.” I laughed, trying to kill the sexual tension that was making me want to turn around and throw myself at him.

“I’d say it’s a pity.” Wes’s hands left my shoulders. I almost slumped over onto my plate but kept my body rigid. “Need a suit? I can grab you an extra if you do.”

I didn’t even want to think about why they would have extra suits.

“Lots of parties, people leave suits. All of them are clean I promise.”

“Yeah.” I swallowed. “A suit would be good then.”

He was gone for maybe five minutes before he returned with a white bikini. Surely that wasn’t all they had left?

My eyes narrowed.

He grinned. “What are you waiting for? Take it.”

“Will it cover anything?”

“The important parts.” He held it out to me. “Come on, live a little.”

I snatched it from his grip. “If I die from hypothermia…”

“Not possible.” Wes shrugged. “Not unless you decide to take a midnight swim in the Sound, and I would advise against it, since that giant squid seems to think it’s a cool place to live.”

“Noted.” Did I mention I hated fish? Or the fact that the reason I didn’t ever go diving with my parents was because water terrified me? Maybe that’s why the nightmares were worse for me than someone else. I couldn’t imagine dying a watery death. I was terrified of it. Ever since I fell in the pool when I was three, I hadn’t been able to go near it without feeling weak in the knees.

Well, Wes would find out soon why this was on my list, so I might as well tell him before I jumped into the water and made a fool out of myself. I went into the bathroom and shakily took off my clothes, then donned the white bikini. Little triangles covered my boobs, just barely, and the bottoms were strings tied to little patches for the front and back. Holy crap I looked like a prostitute. I mean, the suit looked fine for a stripper.

I leaned against the porcelain sink and took a few deep breaths. I could do this. I would do this. I was halfway through my list.

“Get it together, Kiersten.” I stared at my reflection in the mirror, my red hair hung down to the middle of my back in thick waves. My green eyes stared back in a terrified fashion, as if my insides were begging me not to go through with it.

“I can do this,” I repeated, my fingers still clutching the sink. “I will do this.” With a final jerk, I pulled away from the counter and opened the door. I shook the entire way down the hall. By the time I reached the door to the back porch and pool, my hands were shaking so bad it looked like I was a druggie in need of a hit.

“You can do this,” I whispered again and opened the door.

Cold air hit me immediately. Whose brilliant idea was it again to go swimming in November? Oh right, mine. Teeth chattering, I walked over to the edge of the pool and nearly had a heart attack when Wes’s hand touched my shoulder.

“Ready?” he asked.

No. I swallowed and gave him one jerky nod.

With an understanding smile, he pulled me into his warm embrace. His body was searing against mine, the only thing dividing us was our suits and quite honestly it scared the heck out of me that I wanted nothing between us, that I wanted to be pressed against him and only him. I could almost forget about the pool, forget about the terror.

“Don’t be afraid,” he whispered in my hair. “I’ve got you.”

“Promise?”

“I promise, I won’t let you fall, not on your own. I won’t let you drown. I won’t release your hand until you’re ready and even then I won’t turn my back on you until you’re safely back on the ground.”

“Okay.”

“Really?” He stepped back.

“Yes, just we need to be fast.”

“Ah, music to every man’s ears.” He laughed aloud and helped me step into the pool.

Chapter Thirty-Three

She has absolutely no idea what she does to me… She’s my medicine, my cure, my everything. If only hearts could heal that way — through someone else’s beating.

Weston

“There you go.” I helped her down the first stair into the giant pool. It was one of those infinity ones; at first glance it looked like the pool ran directly into the Sound instead of off a nice little cliff leading to the hot tub.

“It’s warm.” Kiersten splashed her feet a bit and looked up at me, the brightest, sexiest smile I’d ever seen on her lips. It was hopeful and completely trusting in me, and in us. I should have told her then. Told her that I wasn’t the hero she thought I was. Nah, I was keeping something epic from her, which sort of made me the villain in this tale. But damn, I wanted to be the hero. Gabe’s words haunted me.

“Don’t tell her.” His damn voice blared in my head, reminding me that I needed to let her make her own decisions, that when the ball did drop, I allowed it to stay in her court, not mine.

“Do yourself a favor. Let her be the one to make that choice in the end, not you.”

Kiersten wasn’t like other girls; she probably wouldn’t run away from me. No, she’d cling. She’d make me feel worse about my future, and in the end she’d hate me for taking away her choice. I didn’t—

“Wes?” Kiersten’s hand cupped my cheek. “Where’d you go?”

“Sorry. Thinking.” I offered her a grin and stepped down to the second stair. “Alright, keep going.”

Kiersten’s hand tensed in mine but she stepped down.

“See?” I splashed some of the water with my hand. “No big deal, super easy. The water’s nice.”

“Nice,” she repeated with her teeth chattering. “Right, it’s nice.” She took the final stair, bringing the water level to her waist. Damn, she looked good in that suit. So maybe some of my past was coming back to haunt me. I was acting like a selfish ass, but I’d been wondering for weeks what she’d look like in a bathing suit. I’d wanted to see every inch of that glowing skin. I’d wanted to watch the sunlight reflect off her hair.

Couldn’t a dying man at least have one last wish? Even prisoners on Death Row were given a last meal – she was mine.

“Come on.” I swam backward and let the water wash over my chest. It was comfortably heated at ninety degrees, almost like a giant hot tub.

With a curse, Kiersten walked toward me, the water rising to her breasts. I knew I was acting like a complete guy, but I stared, and then was suddenly so jealous of the water touching her in spots I never could, that I swore and looked away.

“Wes?” Kiersten reached out and grabbed my arm. “I’m freaked, and like I said, I want to get this done as fast as possible.”

“Ah, stop saying that, you’ll hurt my ego.”

“Fine.” Her teeth chattered some more. “I’m excited—” She looked like she was walking to her death. “—to get started, so can we, just… swim?”

“Sure.” I grinned. “First lesson…”

“What?”

“Float.”

“I can’t.”

“Everyone floats.”

“I don’t know how.”

I sighed and looked into her eyes. “Do you trust me?”

She nodded slowly.

“Okay, then lean back. Feel my hand? I won’t let you drown, and it’s not deep enough for that to happen in the first place, lean back and relax, think about something happy.”

“I’m too terrified to think.” Her body was stiff as a board as she leaned against my hand and began to float.

“Think about kissing.” My hands moved from her back to her butt as I held her body in a plank position. “Think about my hands running slowly over your body until all you can do is think about what I’m going to do next.”

“What are you going to do next?” Her voice was quieter, her breathing labored as she lay in my arms, trusting me.

“I’m going to devour you with my eyes. I’m going to look at every inch of skin, memorize it, store it in the little box in my head labeled the most beautiful girl in the world. I’m going to hold you until you’re ready for me to let go, and then, when you float on your own, I’m going to keep staring, keep wanting, keep desiring, until I have to go jump into the Sound.”

Her body went limp against my arms.

I let go.

She didn’t move, just continued to float. “Just warn me when you let go.”

“Okay.” I laughed. “I’m going to let go, alright?”

She tensed and already began to sink as her body folded in half. I grabbed her before she did sink and pulled her into my arms. “Your first lesson is in fear.”

“Huh?” Her hands were pressed against my chest.

“You were floating on your own for around fifteen seconds before I told you I was going to let go. The minute I said I was going to let go, you braced yourself for sinking – your mind failed, therefore your body failed.”

Kiersten made a face and looked away. “So basically I sabotaged myself.”

“Basically.” I grinned, loving how she was holding her bottom lip hostage between her teeth. “You can’t go into things with the mindset of already failing. Being fearful isn’t necessarily a bad thing.”

“Right.” She clenched her eyes shut and crossed her arms. “I get what you’re saying, I just don’t know how to control it. Every time I see the water or a pool I start to shake. I freak, thinking the same thing’s going to happen to me that happened to my parents. Yes, I know it’s illogical, but the fear is still there.”

“Fear…” I uncrossed her arms and linked my fingers with hers. “Is what makes us feel alive. Fear causes our blood vessels to constrict, and then the amygdala, a tiny almond shaped part of our brain, sends signals to our nervous system. The signal says run or fight.”

“I say run.” Kiersten laughed humorlessly.

“Right.” I tugged her closer to my body. “That’s how we keep ourselves from getting eaten by wild animals We need a fight or flight system in our body. I mean, can you imagine living in a world without fear?”

“We’d all die.”

“Exactly.” I chuckled. “People would be jumping off buildings thinking they could fly, so like I said fear isn’t a bad thing.”

“Wait.” She tried to push against my chest as I pulled her into the deep end with me. “What are you doing? I can’t swim, remember?”

“I know,” I whispered. “But I can.”

“But—”

I ignored her. “Fear can be your ally. You can do something afraid.”

“Do something afraid?”

“Yes.” I swam until my legs burned, holding her up in my arms. “For example, I may be afraid of kissing you or afraid of losing you. I may be afraid that when I close my eyes you won’t be here in my arms anymore, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to hold on to you for dear life. I’m living proof that living afraid – is the way to go. You push forward, you fight the demons, you keep moving. Fear tries to paralyze you, to keep you from moving. It stops success, it stops progress – when you do things afraid, you’re still accomplishing your goals, only you’re doing it knowing that you are truly conquering the Everest in your life. So your parents died.” I flinched. I hadn’t meant to sound so blunt. But I pushed on. “So you could die too.”

Her sharp intake of breath nearly made me release her as she fought against me.

“You could die crossing the street.”

Kiersten still fought me.

“You could choke on that bad ass turkey Melda’s making.”

Tears began to form in her eyes.

“You can let your fears control you, or you can control your fears. Never for one second believe the lie that you don’t have a choice.”

Kiersten shook in my arms, her fingers digging into my biceps like little nails getting pounded into my flesh. “What about you?” she asked in a fear-stricken voice. “What are you afraid of? What’s your biggest fear?”

I should have looked away.

I should have lied.

I should have done a lot of things other than what I did.

“Dying without really living. Leaving this world knowing that the girl who makes me want to live the most – will have to do it without me.”

Her eyes widened. “That’s a bit heavy.”

“Hey, it could be worse. I could be afraid of the water.”

“Ass.” She laughed and slowly started unclenching her hands from my arm.

“Move your legs,” I urged. “Swimming is instinctual, just move them and allow your hands to keep your head afloat.” I showed her how to tread water and then released her body from my grip.

“I’m not sinking!” she yelled and splashed around. “I’m not sinking!” Within two seconds she was plastered against me.

“Okay.” I choked as her arms wrapped around my neck. “But now I’m sinking.”

“Oh.” She pulled back and gripped the side of the pool with her hands. “That was—”

“—a total rush. Holy shit, it’s almost like we’re out here getting high.” My eyes widened in excitement.

“Thank you, Wes.” Damn, but I would never tire from those breathless lips as they said my name. “Thank you for not thinking I’m crazy.”

“Ah, we’re all a bit crazy, don’t you think?”

“Yeah.” She sighed. “Especially us.”

“I’m going to kiss you now,” I warned as my mouth collided with hers. Our tongues twisted, and I pulled her back into the water with me, floating backward as her legs wrapped around my waist. My body flared to life as her breasts pressed against my chest. Groaning in frustration, I reached for the string of her swimsuit, telling myself it was okay to be the guy I used to be, the guy that would screw her brains out without a second thought.

But I hesitated. My hand hovered over the strings as if my fingers had forgotten how to pull loose a girl’s swimsuit with one hand.

“Wes?” My dad called. “You guys out here?”

I cursed and gently pushed Kiersten away, linking my hands with hers as I yelled back. “In the pool.”

He rounded the corner and smiled, understanding washed over his face. “I, uh, hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

“Not at all,” I said too quickly.

“Right.” He chuckled. “Um, I need to talk to you about something, Wes. The school called and—” He looked behind me to Kiersten. “You know, we can talk later. Why don’t you kids get out and grab some hot coffee. I DVR’d the Thanksgiving Day Parade just in case you’d want to watch it.”

“Yes!” Kiersten shouted from behind me. “I haven’t seen the parade in years!”

“Great.” Dad smiled and gave me that knowing look, the one that said you better not screw this up with your bullshit. I smiled back, the smile every son gives to his father when he wants to remind him that he’s a grown man and not a little kid anymore.

“Let’s go.” I grabbed Kiersten’s hand and kissed it. “We can skinny dip later.”