All I Need (4 page)

Fighting the urge to shove my hands in my pockets and stare at the ground, I kept my glare on Golden Boy. “No trouble, Pops. Same old, same old.”

Hale stood and bowed his shoulders out, like that intimidated me. He must’ve been completely fucking mental not to realize how close he’d been to spending the night in the hospital.

I’d lain awake for the past year, dreaming of ways to make him pay for hurting the girl I cared about more than anyone. Ways involving my fist, his face, and a whole lot of blood. I’d back off just before beating him unconscious so he could beg Everly for forgiveness in front of the entire town.

“All right, well, clear out. Festivities are about to start.” Pops put his hand on my shoulder and gave a slight shake of his head as Hale backed away, glaring at me. “Mayor’s son, Jubb,” he reminded me under his breath. “Cool it.”

“Yes, sir,” I said through gritted teeth. Yeah, I fucking knew who he was. I also knew that she didn’t write a single song lyric after he blew her off last year. The light in her eyes had dimmed and she’d put a wall up after that. I didn’t blame her for it, but I’d been trying my damnedest to knock it down ever since.

Everly’s sweet voice broke in. “It was a misunderstanding.” She wrapped her arm around my waist and tugged me toward the parking lot.

“I’ll get things set up here,” Dax told us as we left. “I’ve got Alex to help out. Don’t worry about little ol’ me.”

I should’ve thanked him or something, but I couldn’t. My head was still buzzing from the adrenaline rush. Testosterone pulsed through me hard and fast, making my head throb. My fist clenched in pain at not getting to sink it into Hale’s face. When I glanced over at Everly as we drove three blocks to her house in silence, I was afraid of myself. I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold on much longer.

Her full lips begged to be kissed. The pain she still carried around needed to be soothed. With my mouth. I wanted to kiss every inch of her, whisper in her ear that she was beautiful and amazing and that I needed her so badly it hurt. My tongue ached to lick that thin strip of skin I saw peeking out at me from under her shirt in the van. And a whole bunch of other places. Taste her, bite her, claim her.

“You okay, Jubb?” Her eyes were full of concern when she looked up at me from under her thick, dark lashes. The kind of concern no one had ever had for me. Just her. Always her.

I gave her a quick nod and smirked as if it were a silly question. It wasn’t. My need for her had built to a dangerous level, and Hale had thrown gasoline on my fire.

We reached her house and she took out her keys.

I was good until we made it to her door and I caught a whiff of her sweet strawberry scent. She’d used that same shampoo forever, and it had been driving me crazy since we were kids. But we weren’t kids anymore. So I let go. Gave up my death grip on keeping my distance. Stepping into her space, I pressed her up against the door without actually touching her.

“Jubb, what the hell are y—”

“Feel that, Ev?” I grabbed her hand and sliding it under my shirt. Her slender fingers grazed my stomach. I pressed her hand against me more firmly. Made her trace the hard ridges of my abdomen.

“Yeah,” she breathed out, gaping up at me with eyes glinting with heat and panic. “I feel it.”

“No more Jubb,” I told her. “No more Jubb, or Jubby, or any other childhood nickname you might have had for me. Call me Justin or Cohen. Take your pick. Got it?”

My face was so close to hers I could hear the sound of her licking her sweet lips. And swallowing. Hard. “Um, okay. W-why not?”

This was it. Go big or go home. Shit, I was already home. Everly was my home. “Because,” I began, releasing her hand to brace both arms on either side of her head, “Jubby won’t sound as hot when you’re screaming it out later. And if I have anything to say about it, you will damn sure be moaning my name in the very near future.”

Her eyes widened, and mine drifted down from her burning ones to her mouth then to her heaving chest. This was a start. I had her breathing more heavily at least.

“Did I miss something?” She stared at me like I’d lost my mind, but strangely enough her hand was still under my shirt. Resting just above my waistband. My dick twitched toward it in anticipation.

“Yeah, Ev, you did. You missed us not being in the sixth fucking grade anymore. You missed me wanting you so badly I can barely see straight half the time.”

“Y-you
want
me?”

Now I was confused. She appeared to be genuinely shocked. I couldn’t figure out how she could seriously not know.

I had to reign in every ounce of self-control I had to keep from showing her what she couldn’t seem to see. “I’ve always wanted you. The only thing that’s changed is I’m done fighting it. Done hiding it for some greater good. Because I can’t figure out anything that would be worth not having you.”

I wasn’t sure exactly what had triggered the urgency, but suddenly I was a burning man.

Her eyes met mine as she bit her full bottom lip. I ran my thumb over it, tugging until her teeth released it.

“Jubb—er, Justin. I don’t… We can’t…” she began, giving a slight shake of her head.

My ego flinched at the rejection in her words. But I could see it, that hungry need in her gaze. She just wasn’t ready for it yet. I’d thrown too much at her too fast. Well that could be corrected.

“We can, and we will,” I promised low in her ear before stepping back. I shrugged, a vital part of my diabolical plan to play it cool. “But for now, we need to ice that ankle and get you some shoes to wear for tonight. So feel free to open the door.” Jerking my head toward her door, I gave her a wink.

I probably needed a moment to process as badly as she did. Even though I hadn’t planned on making my move at that particular time and place, I didn’t regret it. Not one damn bit.

M
y best friend had lost his mind. Or maybe I’d lost mine and had the mother of all hallucinations.

My hand trembled as I struggled to jam the key into the deadbolt. When the lock finally bent to my will, I opened the door and entered my house on unsteady legs. My body was hyperaware of his every move as he came in behind me.

I was still struggling to comprehend what I’d just learned.

Jubby wanted me.

And he didn’t want me to call him Jubby.

And he had every intention of making me scream his name. While he was… What the hell was he planning to do to make me scream?

My mind raced with possibilities.

“You might want to breathe, Ev. Can’t have you passing out right before the show.” The deep timbre of his voice sent a chill up my spine, and I shivered. He laughed low and soft as I released the breath my lungs had been holding hostage. Jesus. Since when did he have this effect on me?

Oh yeah. Since he’d pinned me to my front door and promised to make me scream his name.

“Um, I’m going to grab some other boots and um…” Something. My scrambled brain couldn’t even form a complete sentence. I glanced up at him helplessly.

“You do that,” he said. “I’ll grab some ice in the kitchen. So we can get it on that ankle.”

Somehow he’d regained his usual demeanor. Like nothing out of the ordinary had happened up against my front door. I couldn’t seem to get a grip on myself. Once I’d made it to the safety of my bedroom, I gripped my closet door and leaned into it.

What the hell?

My entire body vibrated with rattled nerves.

I caught my reflection in my mirror. Dear God, I looked like death on legs. Apparently driving all over Ohio in a van the day after a show and no sleep did not a vixen version of Everly make. And yet Jubb, shit,
Justin
Cohen had come at me like…like he had plans of making me scream his name. Which apparently he did.

Without giving too much thought to why, I darted into my bathroom to wash my face. And brush my teeth.

After scouring my closet and hating everything in it, I slipped into my mom’s room and nabbed her favorite black strapless cocktail dress. It was tighter and shorter on me than it was on her, but it was sexy and yet it covered my ass, so it won. My ankle still hurt a little, so I grabbed some heels and decided to just carry them until performance time.

Oh, hell. Performance time. My best friend’s freaking alpha male move had scrambled my brain. I damn near forgot about the show I’ve been dreading like it was my job.

I was pretty much never home and when I was, all I did was shower, sleep, and do laundry—so my makeup selection wasn’t great. After lining my eyes in smoky gray and dabbing some red gloss on my lips, I tossed my head over and did my best to give my hair some oomph.

Another glance in the mirror said I wasn’t ready for the runways, but for a stage in Abbott Springs, I’d do.

I walked out into the living room, and my best friend’s face told a different story. He stood there with a Ziploc bag full of ice. Both of his brows rose at the sight of me.

“Damn, Ev. You got a hot date after the show?”

I scoffed. “No. Shut up.” I tugged at the skirt to make sure all the goods were covered. “That my ice?” I nodded at the bag he held.

He let his eyes roam over me just long enough to make me nervous. “It is.” He turned toward the kitchen, so I walked into it. Once again, the closer he got, the more my body registered his presence. How broad his chest was. How thick his neck and arms were. The way he smelled. Like soap and dryer sheets and…something a little less innocent. Cologne, probably. An intoxicating scent that probably had some ridiculous name. Whatever it was, they should rename it Everly’s Undoing.

I hopped up onto the counter and presented him with my swollen ankle. His darkening eyes locked on mine before dropping to my legs. Every muscle in my body tensed as his warm hand wrapped around my calf.

“Too cold? Want me to wrap it in a towel or something?”

“Okay,” I responded weakly. The ice might’ve been cold. I wasn’t sure. What I did know was that his hand seared into my flesh and stole my ability to think straight.

Once the bag of ice was wrapped in a towel, he pressed it against my ankle. He lifted his head and pinned me with those damn eyes. He’d always had the sweetest, most boyish face. Even with a chiseled jaw, he still had a dimple when he grinned. For the first time ever, I allowed myself to admit that I was a fan of his mouth. His lips were thick, the kind of lips women wished they had. And they always looked soft. Kissable.

Air vacated my lungs as if it had received an eviction notice. Effective immediately. My mind was dead set on imagining what it would be like to kiss my best friend. To be kissed by him. I could only imagine the things he could do with that mouth. And imagine I did.

“I have an idea,” he announced.

Me too. I was having several ideas as a matter of fact. His eyes held the type of gleam that made me wonder if he could read my mind.

“About?” I squeaked. For fuck’s sakes. I was not this girl. Ever since Kennedy Hale had discarded me like yesterday’s garbage, I’d stopped letting people affect me like this. Stopped getting all flustered any time a guy flirted or winked or made some suggestive comments. It had been like flipping a switch. And yet the guy I’d spent nearly every waking second with had flipped it back. Without my permission.

“Got any plastic wrap?”

Well, now my mind was really working. My dirty thoughts suddenly got way more interesting. His fingertips grazed the underside of my bare foot, and I nearly twitched right off the damn counter. “Um, I think so. Top shelf in the pantry.”

He retrieved the slender box and opened it. I watched him work to secure the bag of ice to my ankle with the cling wrap. “There.” His self-congratulatory grin widened. His eyes flickered to mine as he stood up straight.

My tongue seemed to have swollen in my mouth. I swallowed hard in an attempt to make room for it. “Thanks.”

He stood so close it only made sense to increase the distance between my knees to accommodate him. “You’re welcome.”

The air in the small space between our faces thickened. Working harder to breathe, I considered leaning back slightly to give both of us some room. Distance. But I couldn’t. His intense gaze held me captive, a prisoner in my own home. It was terrifying, looking at him this way and feeling things for him that I never expected to.