Finding Ever After (21 page)

           
“Yeah, Rainbow, I
gotta
have something to do when I’m
not serenading the panties off of chicks and since my only other skill set is
killing people, I figured mechanic would be better than hired assassin.” Even
though he was making light of his experience in the military, I noticed, for
the first time, something dark and almost tortured in Spade’s eyes.

           
“How much is it going to cost me?” I wasn’t really worried so much about the
price, as I was just upset that I
was having
to deal
with it in general. I shouldn’t
be having
to pay
anything. I should have four perfectly good tires on my car.

           
“Nothing babe.
It’s taken care of.”

           
“That’s not necessary, I have the money. I can pay for it.”

           
“No you can’t. It’s already been paid for.”   

           
“By who?”
I asked him suspiciously. I didn’t need him
to pay for me. It wasn’t fair for him to have to cover Connor’s damage.

           
“Come on, let’s just get going.” Kyden interrupted, brushing past me and
striding over to his bike. Spade walked over and climbed into the driver’s seat
of the black muscle car that I was sure had to be a late sixties Impala. I
didn’t know anything about cars, but I was very familiar with the Winchester
brothers, and it looked an awful lot like Dean’s car. Ace climbed into the
passenger seat, while
Vi
and Jake got into her car. I
noticed Danny and Marcus heading toward the Impala and Bas and Chris were
moving to get into
Vi’s
car. I got a sinking feeling
in my stomach.

           
“What car am I riding in?” I asked, not sure that I was going to like the
answer.

           
“You’re with me Princess.” He was smirking and holding up his spare helmet.

           
No. No. No.

           
There was no way I was riding on the
back of that bike. Number one, I had no desire to have my body parts smeared
across the pavement. Two, if I had to spend an hour and a half plastered to his
back, breathing in his intoxicating scent with my arms wrapped around his hard
abs, I would probably throw myself off the bike in order to put myself out of
my misery.

           
“Can’t someone else ride on the bike, and I can ride in the nice, completely
enclosed metal box, that has seatbelts?” He just raised his eyebrows at me like
I was crazy.

           
“
Princess,
there’s no way in hell I’m riding down the
freeway with one of those jackasses wrapped around my waist. I don’t ride
doubles with dudes, so get on.” If we crashed and my leather jacket got ruined,
I was
gonna
kill him. I loved that jacket.

           
“You had better go the speed limit
this time.” I warned him.

           
“What do you mean Princess? I was going the speed limit last night.”

           
“Not in this country.” I retorted, tightening the strap around my chin as he
started up the sleek and powerful machine. Just because I didn’t want to ride
one, didn’t mean I couldn’t appreciate it. As soon as I was in place, my arms
found their way around his torso. The bike started moving and we followed the
other vehicles out of the driveway. Once we were out on the street, the bike
shot forward and we flew past the others.

           
“Are you insane or do you just have a death wish?” I yelled.

           
“I can think of worse ways to go than squeezed between your thighs Princess.”
He hollered back, and if I wasn’t so afraid of crashing, I would have hit him.

           
I loved
Vi’s
family’s home on Prince Cove. Bas and I
had come here with them every summer since we became friends with
Vi
our freshman year. Her parents were the cool, loving
parents the rest of us lacked, excluding Bas’ dad. They treated Bas and I like
family and they didn’t look down on anyone, not even me, knowing who my father
was.

           
We used to come every Fourth of July, and I was glad to be back again. I’d
missed this tradition. We would spend hours laying on the dock, soaking up rays
and jumping in the ocean to cool off, or swimming in the pool.
Vi’s
parents would grill out every day, and then on the
fourth there was a big festival in Falmouth, which was only a twenty minute
drive, with live music and an incredible fireworks show at the end of the
night. This year, the guys were the headlining act at the festival.

           
The house, if you can even call if a house, more like mini mansion, was
amazing. It was set on four and half acres and looked right out at the cove,
with a columned porch and a deck that stretched one entire side of the house.
Just off the deck, a stone patio cascaded to the in-ground pool and hot tub and
a walkway through the gardens that led down to the dock. There were balconies
off of each one of the five bedrooms and the property surrounding the estate
was beautifully landscaped. The inside was just as lavish but still tasteful.

           
Vi
and Jake took the master suite, but all of the
rooms were bigger and more extravagant than the master bedroom at my place. The
guys started pairing off to claim the remaining four bedrooms. Ace and Marcus
were together in one, Danny and Spade took another, so that left Chris and
Kyden together and Bas and I in the last room.

           
“So Bas and I will take this one and you two can have the room on the third
floor.” Chris announced.
Wait a second, that’s not right.

           
“That works
We’ll
take the room up there.” Kyden responded.
No, that does not work.

           
“But . . . I thought you and I would
share Bas?” I couldn’t share with Kyden. Last night was one thing, but I
absolutely, definitely, positively was not sleeping in the same bed as him for
a week. No.
Freakin
.
Way.

           
“Sticking those two in a room together would be a bad idea.” That was the only
explanation Bas gave and I was not satisfied by it, but he and Chris
disappeared into the room leaving me with little choice. I would be having
words with them later.

           
When I reached the top of the stairs that led to the third floor room I
considered turning around and pushing Kyden down them before I turned the knob
and entered
our
room.

           
“What happened to you not sharing a bed with girls?” I asked Kyden as I tossed
my bags down at the foot of the bed.

           
“Last night might have changed my mind.” He winked. “Besides,
it’s
girls that I’m screwing that I don’t sleep with. You
and I aren’t screwing. You and I are
friends
.” His mouth curled up in an
impish grin when he said that word. “I’m all about trying new things now,
broadening my horizons and I think this ‘just friends’ is actually going to be
a lot of fun.” The way he said that made me very nervous.

           
“Please tell me you at least brought pajamas?” His grin was answer enough.
“Great. Well you better stay on your side of the bed.”
What was Bas
thinking?
Wasn’t he the one who told me to stay away from Kyden and now he
was practically locking me away in the tower with him.

           
“Hey, relax. I brought shorts and it’s only for a couple of nights. Monday
morning Ace and Spade have to be at work and then they’ll come back on
Wednesday but Marcus leads some study group or genius thing at MIT so he won’t.
Once they’re gone I’ll take one of those rooms and you can have this one to
yourself. That is if you still want to kick me out then. Who knows, you might
actually enjoy having me in your bed.”

           
“Just.
Friends.”
I made sure to put an emphasis on
each word. “That’s it. So keep all of your body parts to yourself.” He chuckled
before disappearing into the adjoining bathroom that we would also be sharing
up here. I quickly changed into a pair of shorts and went to find the others
before I really did push him down the stairs.    

           
When I went downstairs
Vi
asked if someone would run
to the store to pick up the groceries we needed, I immediately volunteered Bas
and I. I wanted a minute alone with him so I could grill him about his suddenly
joining Team Kyden. We made a list and everyone chipped in then I drug Bas out
of the house.

           
“What the heck were you thinking putting me in a room with him?” I practically
growled the second we pulled out of the driveway in Vi’s Beemer
..

           
“Were you not the one who was all ‘
grr
don’t even
talk to him, he’s an evil
manwhore
, stay away’?
Because I’m pretty sure that was you, and now instead of
hating
him you’re practically pushing me on him.”

           
“I never said he was evil. It’s true that I wasn’t particularly thrilled with
the idea of you getting within three feet of him at the time.” I raised my
eyebrows. “Okay, so I hated the idea of it, but I never hated him. I actually
love the guy, even when he is a complete dick. All those guys are family. I was
just worried about what he could do to
you,
you’ve
already been through too much. I’ve realized though, that I underestimated you
and I shouldn’t have. You’re handling him just fine.”

           
Of course he would decide to have faith in me just as I was beginning to doubt
myself, but there was no way I could admit to just how not fine I was around
him.

           
“Yeah, you should’ve listened to me when I told you that I wouldn’t fall for
him.” I hoped I sounded more convincing than I felt. Maybe I should’ve listened
when Bas warned me the first time. I should’ve stayed far, far away. Really I
did try
though,
it was circumstances that kept pushing
us together.
One more thing to blame Connor for.
I was
starting to hope he would show his face, so I could hit it repeatedly, with a
bat, or a crowbar, or a car.

           
Bas didn’t say anything else, he just turned up the music on the stereo and I
had to wonder what he was thinking. It wasn’t often that I couldn’t read him,
but now was one of those times. I still thought something was up with him and
the faint smile he wore told me I was probably right.

           
 At the store we grabbed two carts and began filling them with the items
on the list. For the most part everyone agreed and by everyone, I mean the
eight guys who outnumbered the two of us
girls, that
we would grill out every day. So we grabbed packages of burgers, hotdogs,
steaks and chicken.
Vi
and I were fine with that but
we made sure to inform them they were in charge of doing the grilling. It was
unnecessary though, they all looked appalled that we thought they might even
consider letting us near their precious grill. Men! At least I didn’t have to
cook.
Vi
and I would just be responsible for the side
dishes to go with.

           
I divided up the rest of the list and I went in search of the main ingredients
we would need to make the potato, taco and pasta salads, and sent Bas to pick
out the fruits and veggies. He had learned a long time ago, on the many trips I
sent him to the store for me, how to sniff and feel out good produce.

           
Once we met back up and were satisfied that we had enough groceries to feed a
small village, or large group of guys, we got in line at the checkout. When he
started unloading his basket with everything from the cart, I noticed that five
extra packages of Oreos, not counting the three that were planned, somehow made
it into his cart, along with way more beer than I thought we needed. I’m the
only one out of the group that doesn’t drink though, so what did I know. Being
around my father, and the constant stream of guys working for him that were in
and out of our house and his businesses, was enough to convince me I didn’t
want anything to do with alcohol, not even in moderation, something none of
those guys knew.

           
Bas saw me eyeing the Oreos disapprovingly. “Hey, you get your own pack of
Nutter Butters, so we each need our own pack of Oreos. It makes perfect sense.”
He had me there, I knew I wasn’t going to win this one, so I let the Oreos
slide and they all put in beer money, so I wasn’t going to say anything about
that either, but I really hoped this wasn’t going to be one big long beer fest
weekend.

           
My apprehension must’ve showed and Bas was in tune with my thoughts. “Don’t
worry,
it’s not going to be like that. The guys like to have
fun, but they know their limits and won’t get out of control, I promise.”

           
Bas was the only one who really understood my aversion to being around large
groups of
drunk
guys. He was always the one I called
to help me sneak out of the house when things got out of hand. I trusted him
though when he said this wouldn’t be like those times.

           
Making everything fit in the car so that the chips, bread and eggs wouldn’t be
smashed and the beer and drinks wouldn’t slide around was like a game of
Tetris, but we got it all in, and hopefully everything would make it back
undamaged.

           
When we got back to the house the guys all came out to help carry in the bags,
and the general consensus seemed to be that Bas had made a smart call with the
Oreos. Apparently I should’ve known that when we were making the list and they
all concurred that Oreos were a must, it meant they each had to have their own
pack. I was informed that if I had returned with less, I would have been sent
back.

           
After everything was put away we decided to head down to the water and enjoy
the sunshine. It was a comfortable eighty two degrees out, with a slight
breeze. Not too hot, but plenty warm for sunbathing and swimming. They all
rushed to their rooms to put on swim suits, but I didn’t need to change so I
just grabbed a book, a water bottle and a towel and walked down to the water.

           
I was laid out on the dock with my copy of Pride and Prejudice, I know the
ultimate girly book, but it’s like a comfort blanket for me. It feels good no
matter where I’m at or what mood I’m in. I was only six pages in when I heard
feet pounding down the dock. I didn’t have time to react before the whooping
and hollering started, followed by five big splashes that sent a spray of lake
water up all over the dock, soaking me. Somehow I think that might have been
their intent.

           
I heard a deep laughter coming from behind me. I set my book down and turned to
see Kyden standing at the base of the dock in his swimming trunks. This was the
third time I had seen shirtless
Ky
and the sight wasn’t any less stunning than the first or second time. In fact
it was probably more so. The first time I hadn’t gotten a good look, as I was
pinned beneath him on the princess bed and then he was up and out of the room
before my brain was even functioning properly again. The second time was last
night and between my emotional state and the lack of lighting in my bedroom I
really hadn’t taken him in then, either.

           
Right now, with the sun shining on his smooth skin, the color of golden honey
with just a sprinkling of dark hair and abs so well defined I would have believed
they were carved from
marble,
I couldn’t have looked
away if I tried. My eyes were also drawn to the massive piece of art that
covered his ribs. It was a sprawling tree, with the root tips disappearing just
below his waist line. I couldn’t make out the details but it looked very
intricate and I wanted to run my fingers over every inch of it, trace each line
from the top all the way down. I was suddenly thinking it was a good time to
jump in the lake and cool myself off because
holy six
pack
Batman that boy is hot.
Even with my sunglasses on there was no way he
didn’t know I was checking him out.

           
“Hey it’s only fair if you’re
gonna
keep staring like
I’m an ice cream sundae that I get to look as well. Where’s your swimsuit
Princess?” He started moving down the dock toward me.

           
“I don’t wear bathing suits. I try to
expose as little skin to the sun as
possible,
ya
know skin cancer and all.” The lie came out easily,
after all it was the same one I had been using for years and because of my mom
no one questioned it. Even
Ky
lost the devilish grin that had been plastered across his face a moment ago.

           
“Is that the kind of cancer she had
Princess?” He crouched down beside me, his eyes were soft, but once again there
was no pity.