Her All Along

Once everyone had ordered their food and drinks, Grace’s highlight of every visit here arrived, which was the bread.

“Yuh-yuh-ba-mmm!” She bounced in her seat as I tore the soft bread into tiny pieces.

“My little weirdo. You’re a cheap date.” I sat back, amused, and watched her go to town.

Resting my arm along the back of Grace’s chair, I caught Elise smiling at me, a soft smile that spoke volumes in a place where we couldn’t talk. An affectionate smile that made me wonder if we were going to remain “friends” during this visit of hers. I knew we’d said we’d wait the two years before giving us an honest chance…

Seeing her today, I wasn’t sure I could go that long.

Darius whacked Ethan in the back of his head for some reason. “Quit eyeing my staff. The girl just graduated high school.”

“Jesus.” Ethan glared and rubbed his neck. “So, she’s legal.”

“For chrissakes, son,” Mary grated.

“What is it with you cradle robbers?” Darius asked incredulously. “First, Ry finds his toddler on the streets, and now, you’re chasing the youngest tail you can possibly find in my fucking restaurant.”

I cleared my throat and side-eyed Pipsqueak, who was finding her napkin riveting to fidget with.

“I don’t chase anyone,” Ethan bitched. “When you look like me, you don’t have to.”

It was possible that Ethan could be a tad obnoxious.

“Shit does attract flies,” Pipsqueak noted.

Oh… My shoulders started shaking with the laughter I tried to contain, but one look at Ethan’s expression and I was done for. Darius and James—hell, Lias too—didn’t even try. They all howled with laughter.

Ethan could not look more offended. Or shocked.

Upon seeing the flush that bled across Elise’s cheeks, I realized she hadn’t meant to be funny. It’d just been one of her filterless musings, and it only made things funnier. She grinned sheepishly at me, and I couldn’t help but touch her back. Just a brief brush of my hand up her shoulder. Okay, time to pull away from her soft, flawless skin.

This was going to go well.

Twenty-Six

The next day, I was at the Quinns’ at seven in the morning to drop off Grace and to meet up with Elise, Ethan, Willow, and Darius. We were hiking up toward Coho Pass, the highest peak in the area, but we wouldn’t go the whole way just yet. About two-thirds of the way up the mountain, there was a trail not many knew about that led to a cliffside with hot springs and a small lake.

It was on Pipsqueak’s list of favorite things to do in town and, therefore, part of her homecoming tour. She wanted to soak it all up before she had to leave again.

We drove up in Darius’s heavy-duty truck, the only vehicle that would fit all of us without making us feel too crowded. It was a twenty-minute drive into the forest district of Westslope, across the river, until we reached the first campsite and a parking lot for hikers.

I handed Pipsqueak her daypack from the bed of the truck before shouldering my own, and Darius and Ethan decided we should take the shortest route. Not because it was short, but because it involved some moderate climbing skills.

I was still waiting for my goddamn hug, but I supposed I’d have to settle for seeing Pipsqueak working up a sweat.

At least I got a little bit of privacy with her on the hike. Ethan evidently had to uphold his reputation as a fitness freak, so he stayed several paces in front of everyone. Darius and Willow were a minute or so behind us, seemingly discussing something they didn’t want other ears to pick up. Because they’d changed the subject the couple of times they’d come closer to us.

“Come on, you lazy fucks!” Ethan hollered, having already climbed up the first cliffside.

“Calm yourself.” Pipsqueak frowned up at him.

I smirked faintly and gestured for her to go first. The cliff was no more than ten feet high and had plenty of crevices and protrusions to grab on to.

“Isn’t this where you’re supposed to be a gentleman and offer to drag me up?” Elise teased.

I chuckled. “No, this is where I catch you if you fall, and the reward for my gentlemanly behavior is my view.”

“Oh.” She blushed furiously and set her foot on the first step, so to speak, and hauled herself up. “I’m trying to behave, you know. It’s not easy when you deliberately torture me.”

Deliberately what now?

“What did I do?” I hadn’t fucking done anything. I hadn’t even managed to sneak in a motherfucking hug.

Ethan was gone from the top ledge, and Darius and Willow were still a bit behind us.

“You have a perfect butt, okay?” she snapped under her breath, causing my eyebrows to hike up. “You showed up in those dress pants at dinner yesterday, and today you’re all sweaty T-shirt and abs.”