Broken Trouble (Broken Storm #1) (17 page)

The guys all broke out into song, even Wyatt and Dylan. I was watching them let loose. I thought they all seemed carefree before, but this was different. Jayden started dancing beside me, his earlier punishment from Polly completely forgotten.

              Maybe that's what tonight was all about. Going out and forgetting all your troubles and just having the time of your life with the people around you. Another truck pulled up behind us with Starre and Trevor in the back. Starre waved her arms around in excitement, her hair being completely messed up in the wind, too. I guess she hadn't known where tonight would lead either.

              Everyone continued to sing the song, which went on about someone cruising the town, and I couldn't help but smile. Tonight was going to be crazy and fun, as long as I relaxed and enjoyed it. I turned back around, facing towards the front of the truck and letting the wind catch my hair and blow it out behind me.

              I leaned forward and flung my arms into the wind and sang along with everyone. This was what a moment of complete and utter freedom felt like.

              When the guys said we were going out tonight, I had no idea what that meant. Where we ended up was unexpected, but completely obvious to anyone who knew ranchers, and how they partied.

              When I thought parties I’d been to in the past; I thought of too many people packed into a too small building. I thought of everyone getting completely wasted, and doing stupid stuff that they would regret in the morning. I thought of a place that smelled of booze, body odor, and vomit.

              Country parties were apparently different.

              Instead of the packed building, this was hidden in a patch of canyons out in the open night air. A huge bonfire was built. Trucks parked around it, and most of the people were just relaxing on their tailgates, drinking beer. A couple people danced near the fire, but it looked more like they were hanging out.

This was my first party with the guys, so maybe there was more to it than sitting around, and drinking. Everyone seemed excited. I guess if things were too boring, I could always hike to the top of the canyon, and just hang out there until people were ready to go.

              It wasn't like I should drink much anyway. I didn’t need to spill my dark secrets at a party with people I actually cared about, and would be seeing again afterwards.

              Gavin pulled the truck beside the fire, and everyone piled out. Excitement was in the air. Starre walked over from her truck to meet me. She smiled; her eyes wide as she looked around, taking everything in. I felt out of place and unsure, so I followed her lead. I ran my fingers through my hair, working out some of the tangles from my hair.

              Several guys from the other side of the fire let out a whoop before hopping down from the tailgate of their truck and approaching us. One guy, a couple years younger than Dylan, swung his arms in the air, as if trying to expel his energy. "Finally you all made it! I was about to start the fun without you all."

              "Like you could have a party without us," Jayden smirked as he strode forward, "Is it all set up?"

              The guy caught sight of me and strode forward until he was directly in front of me. His green eyes gleamed with interest. He grinned and touched the brim of his hat, his curly blonde hair sticking out from under it. The freckles across his nose lit up from the fire. "Hey there, I'm Flint."

              I smiled back politely, trying not to look uncomfortable. Even though he was only a few years younger than me, it felt kind of like being hit on by a kid. Not that I knew what that felt like, but if I had ever been hit on by a kid, I was sure I would feel like I did now. Maybe I was just overwhelmed with all of the guys that were showing interest in me and I didn't want to bring anyone else in and complicate things more. Either way, I was trying to figure out how to let this guy down easy without hurting him, because he seemed nice and was their friend.

              "Nova," I introduced myself, letting my smile drop until it was barely there. Before I could turn away, he was leaning in closer. "Do you want to go hang out with me by the fire?" he asked.

              "No," Jayden said, grabbing him by the back of his shirt and tugging him away. "Off limits," he said firmly, redirecting Flint towards the opposite side of the fire. Jayden was yet again staking claim where he had none, but at least he wasn't feeling me up in front of Flint to prove a point. Maybe Polly's talk with him had worked. "Now, is it set up?"

              It only took Flint a second to realize what Jayden was talking about, his expression brightening like a lightbulb turning on. He nodded, glancing back at me before focusing solely on Jayden, who had released the hold on his shirt. "Yeah, of course,” he paused, looking nervously before adding, "Sike’s here."

              Jayden's eyes darkened as he looked around. "Great."

              "Where's the fucker at?" Gavin ground out from behind me, his brows furrowed in a scowl.

              "I think it would be best if you both stayed away from him. Look how it turned out last time," Flint said, raising his hands up as if to stop the guys, and any plans they were making, as well.

              "I haven't done anything to him that he hasn't deserved," Gavin remarked as he brushed past him. Jayden stepped into stride beside him as they both strode to approach a group of young men.

              I glanced at the others, completely confused. Trevor dropped his arm from around Starr as he joined Landon, Wyatt, and Dylan. I may not know them very well, but I knew when there was a fight brewing.

              "Who's Sike?" I asked Starre.

She rolled her eyes and sighed in annoyance over the man behind the name, "He's Jayden and Gavin’s top competition in bull riding. They've been rivals forever and that would be fine, if Sike wasn't the most arrogant jerk around. Every time they see each other it's a fight." Starre looked at me, her face solemn. "Do you want to help me stop them?"

              I nodded. I didn't want the guys getting into a fight. Tonight had started out on such a high note; I hated that things were plummeting downward. Starre and I jogged to catch up. We stopped in front of Jayden and Gavin, blocking their path.

              "You two are not going over there to start a fight. This is Nova's first party and she didn't come here to watch you get all bloody and beaten," Starre chastised, putting her hands on her hips.

              "I'm not going to be the one who's bloody and beaten," Jayden assured arrogantly, barely paying attention to the fact that I was standing in front of him until he walked into me. I put my hands on his chest to stop him.

              So, I did what any girl would do in my situation. I used his own words against him. "No," I said with a sharp edge to my voice, "Off limits."

Jayden eyed my hands on his chest and frowned.

I sighed and pouted, "I came here to have fun, so why don't you show me a good time?" I immediately regretted my words. If he wasn’t making inappropriate comments, apparently I was.

              I stiffened, waiting for his crude response about how good of a time he could show me.

              His eyes flickered with heat and I knew his thoughts had turned vulgar, but what came out of his mouth was surprisingly innocent, "Okay."

              That was it? No cocky response that would make me blush? I stumbled for something to say, before settling on a simple, "Good."

              I glanced at Gavin, wondering if Starre or Trevor was making any progress with him. It looked like they were trying to talk him down.

              "Wait for him to come to you. Let's enjoy ourselves while we can," Trevor reasoned. Everyone had caught up by this point, moving to stand in front of Gavin and Jayden like a wall, blocking their view of the group. Wyatt stepped forward, putting a hand on Gavin's shoulder. "Now's not the time."

              Gavin growled, his eyes peered over our makeshift wall to glare murderously at someone behind us. Slowly, his eyes dragged themselves back to Wyatt's, their blue eyes exchanging an inner conversation like I’d heard only twins could do. Gavin growled again, before slowly turning and stalking away, his shoulders hunched with pent up aggression.

              We all followed him and headed back to the fire where a few people were making s'mores. We spread out, taking seats on random truck beds. Jayden found a cooler full of beer and handed a few out, while Starre and Trevor settled into the back of the truck to talk. My steps faltered as I wondered who to follow. Dylan appeared beside me, his cheeks flushing as he handed me a stick with a marshmallow impaled onto the end.

              At least I knew Dylan wouldn't pick fights. He sat on a rock, placing a marshmallow on his stick and extending it over the fire. I paused before I sat next to him. We had to press against each other to both sit on the small space, our sides pressed flush against the others. Dylan blushed as I shifted, but didn’t get up or move away. I smiled at him and he smiled nervously back. Our faces were the closest they'd been since our date, reminding me of our kiss. He must have had the same thought, and glanced down at my lips.

              I loved these sweet moments with him.

              We were in the perfect position to kiss, but I wasn't sure if it was the right time. I knew I was hesitating because I’d never openly showed affection towards one guy while in front the others.

              So, while I panicked on the inside, I gently nudged him with my shoulder in a playful way. He smiled and the tip of his ears turned pink. It was freaking adorable.

              I directed my marshmallow over the fire, trying to lightly brown it like Dylan’s. I kept moving it around, but it was either too high and not cooking, or too low and catching on fire. I frowned and glanced at Dylan, whose marshmallow was perfectly roasted. Maybe it would help if I had actually roasted a marshmallow before.

              I pulled my stick back, the marshmallow flaming like a torch. I waved the stick in the air, trying to get the fire to go out, before finally just blowing it out. All that was left was a blackened crisp.

              Dylan nudged me gently and a perfectly roasted marshmallow appeared in front of me. I glanced at him in question. Was he offering me his marshmallow? Of course he was, that's just Dylan. With his encouraging nod, I reached up and slid the marshmallow from the end of his stick and placed it in my mouth. My teeth broke through the lightly browned marshmallow crust and into the hot, gooey center.

              I moaned as the marshmallow hit my tongue, filling my mouth with its sweetness. I put the rest of it in my mouth and devoured it, some of the marshmallow sticking to my lips, forcing me to lick it away. I was halfway through before I noticed Dylan's eyes on my mouth, following my tongues every move.

              "A party isn't a party without beer," Jayden declared, appearing beside us. Dylan flinched and snapped out of his trance, his face turning red from embarrassment while his eyebrows furrowed in annoyance at the interruption.

              I turned to Jayden, who was watching me with his usual smirk. He sat down in the dirt next to me, passing me a beer.

              "Thank you."

              "Sweetheart, you don't have to thank me. Watching you-" Jayden paused and grimaced, "-is thanks enough," he finished. Though I doubted that was what he’d originally meant. He took a long pull of his beer, as if he needed to drown his unspoken words to keep them from coming out.

              I hesitated. I'd already told myself that I wouldn't get drunk tonight, but if I just sipped it, then I would probably be safe from embarrassing myself. I took a sip of the malty and slightly bitter liquid, feeling the warmth of the alcohol as it hit my stomach. I hoped I wouldn't regret it. Setting my bottle down next to me, I put another marshmallow on my stick, noticing that Dylan was already roasting another over the fire.

              We sat in silence until someone turned on the radio, blasting country music that echoed throughout the canyon. I focused on the lyrics, wondering if I could imagine Dylan singing a song about saving horses and riding cowboys. I couldn't.

              I blinked out of my thoughts when I felt something touch my hand. Looking down, I saw Dylan re-positioning my hand with the stick so the marshmallow was hovering over the fire just so.

              Without speaking, he was trying to show me how to roast marshmallows. He seemed to speak even less in public then he did at the ranch, but I was still grateful for his help. With his help, I might actually be able to make an edible roasted marshmallow. I said another thanks and watching him blush again.

I smiled and glanced at Jayden. "What were you asking Flint about earlier?"

Jayden looked confused, then his eyes brightened. I could see his spirits rising by the second.

              "That's something I'd rather show you," he said as he got up and reached for my hand with a wink. "It's time to start having some real fun."

              I gave him an uncertain look, but took his hand. He had been behaving so far, so I could humor him. Dylan took the stick from my hand so I could follow Jayden. As I walked, I noticed people perking up at the sight of us and standing to follow. It was like they all knew what he was doing, or where he was going.

              "Is it time?" Someone shouted.

Then another person who was following us, shouted back, "It's time!"

              My anticipation grew as we walked. I heard a few trucks start to follow behind us, their headlights casting a glow. I walked hand in hand with Jayden down a short path leading through the canyons until we popped out the other side and out into the open. There was something directly in front of us, but I wasn't able to make out what it was until the lights from the trucks hit it.

              "A mechanical bull," I stated, surprised.

              This was the extremely fun thing that all these people were looking forward to?

Granted, I’d never rode one, but didn't they have them in bars where they could ride them all the time? What was so special about it?

              "Yeah, we use it to practice before the rodeo and, of course, to show off," Jayden explained with a wink. "You're lucky, Sweetheart, you're about to get a preview of the action you'll see on Wednesday,” he stepped up to the bull, pulling out the controller, "and I'll even let you control