Dead Series (Book 3): A Little More Alive (21 page)

“Once.” Clutch
grinned. “And you’ll never believe what happened.”

“What?” Kate and
Woody said at the same time.

“Well, Ken has the
same boat as my dad, except his has this pirate flag…”

Rory glanced over
his shoulder to the table, where the flickering light jumped off Rachel’s denim
shorts. The group’s chatter drifted a thousand miles away and he still couldn’t
believe it had been three years. He hoped she would’ve at least gained a
hundred pounds by now but she looked better than ever. Stronger. Wiser. Rachel
didn’t look like Rachel anymore; Rachel looked like a woman. Not that it
mattered. If she was dating this Clutch guy, she obviously lost her mind and
was no longer the person Rory once knew and loved. People change.
But those shorts…
His eyes hovered on
her perky backside, igniting a naked blast from the past. He knew every curve
and freckle on those cheeks and what he would give to explore them again.
Turning back around, he found Clutch staring right at him.

Clutch’s thick
eyebrows disappeared beneath the brim of his hat. “You all set, bro?”

Rory jiggled his
empty. “Just waitin on that beer.”

Void of
expression, he slowly nodded back, time stretching to a painful crawl.

“What if we turned
around and Mary was just standing there by the trees, watching us?”

Rory frowned.
“Mary?”

“Yeah, the scout
leader.”

“Was her name
Mary?”

Woody scooted to
the edge of his chair. “All I know is that we don’t have any phones or guns and
I am seeing shit, man!”

“Woody! Quit
freaking me out.” Kate dug a smudge stick from her oversized black purse and
lit up, scanning the darkened trees around them. “You don’t have to scare me to
get me to sleep in your tent tonight.”

“No, you have to
pay her,” Ashley relied, coming back with a bottle of cab.

“Don’t do it,
Kate.” Rachel handed Woody a cold can. “You two work together and you’ll regret
it on your next shift.”

Kate waved the
stick around while holding her cup out for Ashley to refill it. “Hey, you only
live once.”

“Or twice,” Woody
whispered. “If you’re Mary the scout leader.”

Rory frowned. “Not
sure her name was Mary.”

Kate waved smoke
in Woody’s face. “Why do you do this every time we come out here?”

He sat back and
shrugged. “Bored I guess.”

Ashley sat back
down, flashing Rory some serious cleavage in the process. Her warm fingers
brushed against his as she returned her cup to the cup holder, sending
butterflies launching inside his stomach. It had been a long five weeks since
Danielle dumped him and the touch of a woman made his blood pump faster.
Leaning back, he shot her a cool smile, letting his bloodshot eyes trail down
her sundress to the slender legs running into the sand. The fire reflected off
her freshly oiled skin and maybe hooking up with Ashley tonight wasn’t such a
bad idea after all. It would get under Rachel’s skin and that was a bonus.

“I’m glad you’re
back,” Ashley whispered, reading his eyes.

His cheeks flushed
with heat. “I’m glad to be back.”

“No, you’re not.”

“No, I’m not.”

She laughed.

“Rory, this summer
is going to be so much fun! Wait till you see new Cliff’s new boat.” Kate sent
another joint around the circle.

“I heard it’s
nice.”

“Wait till you see
the wakeboard rig, dude. It’s sick,” Woody told him, holding in a hit.
“Surround sound and a built-in bong under a seat in the pit.”

Kate nodded
rapidly. “You’ll never want to leave again.”

He grimaced and
forced a smile, catching an awkward look from Rachel he couldn’t quite
decipher.

“Oh, sweet mother
of Jesus,” Woody mumbled, smoke seeping from his lips.

Rory followed his
friend’s glassy eyes to see Ashley standing naked in the sand with her sundress
crumpled around her feet.

“Who wants to go
for a swim?” she asked, bravely letting it all hang out. Her eyes swept to Rory
and her hand followed. “You.”

“Uhhhhh,” he said,
temporarily captivated by her round breasts and shaved skin. He swallowed hard
and forced his eyes to Rachel who was awaiting his response with a raised brow.
“I...just have to grab something in the tent and I’ll be right in.”

Ashley gestured
with her hand, boobs jiggling. “Oh come on, Rory. I won’t bite,” she said, the
fire sticking a devilish gleam in her eyes. “Hard.”

Rory tugged on his
collar. “Well, it is getting pretty hot out, isn’t it?”

Clutch sprang to
his feet and dropped his jeans, taking his boxers with them.

“Oh my God!”
Rachel’s jaw dropped. “What’re you doing?”

“The fire’s too
hot, babe. I need to cool off.”

She held up a hand
to block him out. “Okay, this just got awkward.”

Clutch threw his
hands out. “It’s a night swim. That’s what summer’s all about. Come on in; it’s
Party Cove, baby!”

Rachel hid behind
her hand. “Knock yourself out.”

“I’m in,” Kate
said matter-of-factly, setting her cup on the ground and pushing herself from
the chair. With a casual air, she wiggled out of her shorts while aiming a
sultry stare Woody’s direction. The shorts hit the dirt at roughly the same time
as his jaw. She pulled her tank top over her head next and let it slip from her
fingers.

“Now we’re talkin!
Let’s get this party started.” Clutch tipped his beer back and drained it,
Adam’s apple bobbing with each chug.

Rory and Rachel
looked at each other and this time he could read her embarrassment loud and
clear.

Kate shook her
head, letting dark hair spill over an expensive pair of breasts that Woody was
staring so hard at, Rory thought drool would literally start running from the
corners of his mouth. He wasn’t sure why he didn’t want Rachel catching him
stealing glances of Kate and Ashley, but he didn’t and wrote it off to old
habits.

“Wow, okay.”
Rachel peeked through her fingers at Kate. “This is starting to get way out of
hand.”

“Oh come on, Rachel.”
Kate laughed. “Live a little!”

“No thanks.”

Clutch handed Rory
what was left of the joint. “Last one in is a rotten girl scout cookie,” he
yelled, running for the water and screaming like a banshee. He high-stepped
into the shallows, white butt cheeks glowing in the moonlight, and dove in head
first. A few seconds later, he came up for air and howled to the moon. “Damn,
that feels good!”

Woody stood up and
dropped his board shorts to the sand, making Rachel’s eyes bulge.

“Jesus!” Rory
turned away as if Woody just opened the Ark and released a whirlwind of
swarming spirits.

“Okay, I did not
need to see that!” Rachel laughed.

Kate slapped a
hand over her mouth. “Woody! You didn’t tell me you were a porn star.”

Ashley giggled,
unable to look away. “Is it always that big or is it just happy to see us?”

“That’s for me to
know and you to find out,” he replied, tossing his beer can into the fire and
darting for the lake.

Ashley and Kate
squealed with laughter and gave chase, kicking up sand as they raced to the
water’s edge. Rory tried not to gawk, but the beers delayed his plan to turn
away. Splashing into the black water, the girls screamed and laughed, their
nude bodies glistening in the silver moonlight.

“Wow.” Rory turned
to Rachel. “I guess it’s your turn.”

“Pass.”

“Awe come on, now.
Don’t be shy.”

“After that toxic
waste spill? No way.”

He tipped his head
back and laughed. “
That
was like ten
years ago.”

“Well, I don’t see
you going in.”

Inhaling a deep
breath, he grew quiet and gazed out over the lake. “Yeah well, I’m not big on
growing a third nipple, so...”

She smiled,
watching the others dunk each other with wild splashes and sharp screams that
splattered the rolling hillsides around them.

“They’re crazy.”
Rory offered her the joint.

She held up a hand
and shook her head.

He tapped the
joint in the sand until it stopped smoking and left it under his chair, the
silence between them as oppressive as the fire’s heat. His mind scrambled for
something to say, something that wasn’t about how she was doing or the weather
or the price of gas. Something…natural. He got up from his chair and took the
one next to her. She smiled warmly and turned to watch the others frolicking in
the water like excited puppies.

“So how long have
you and
Clutch
been…?”

“A couple months,
but we’re not
serious
serious.” She
dropped her forehead into the heel of her hand and pressed. “And I know what
you’re thinking.”

“He seems like a
good guy.”

“He’s better when
he doesn’t talk.”

“And when is
that?”

“Never.”

Their subsequent
laughter faded into an awkward lull, filled with the popping fire and the
croaking frogs.

“I’m sorry he was
rude.”

Rory shrugged. “My
fault. I should’ve just let him tell his little ghost story.”

“Holy Jesus!”
Clutch yelled in the distance, reaching for the stars. “There’s something in
here!” He jerked under with a violent splash, making Ashley and Kate scream.

A light breeze
pushed smoke into Rory’s eyes. He squinted as it passed through him like a
drifting ghost. “He just doesn’t seem like...”

“My type? He’s
not.” She tipped her cup back and took a sip, the fire turning her hair from
blond to orange. “He’s such a showoff which makes me uncomfortable.”

Rory’s eyes
snagged on the nipples poking from her tank top. He wanted to take them into
his mouth and bite down until she tipped her head back and moaned like she used
to do after a straight tequila night.

Rachel sighed. “He
can go and show his little wiener to everyone in town for all I care.”

Rory nearly spit
beer out. “Wow, that is really vulgar,” he said, wiping his mouth with the back
of his hand.

Lightly smacking
him, she sent a shockwave through his arm and tried on a smile that almost fit.
They shared a surprisingly comfortable moment of silence, getting lost in one
another’s eyes like old times as embers burst into the sky like the tiny
fireworks going off inside his chest.

Clutch broke the
surface like a killer whale. “Good Lord! Something’s got me!” he bellowed, arms
slapping at the water.

Kate and Ashley
screamed and high-stepped through the water to take cover behind Woody, who
gladly shielded their slick bodies with his long arms.

“I’m sorry they
cut your column.”

The pity in her
tone made him fidget. “Something better will come along.”

“I know it will.”
She set a warm hand on his, sending another charge through him. “Your reviews
always made me laugh, they were so spot on.”

His brow knitted.
“You read my reviews?”

“Online.” She sat
back. “When you said the only reason Ed Helm did the new
Vacation
movie was to make
The
Hangover Part III
look better I almost died laughing because it worked!”

Rory grunted and
dug his toes into the sand, letting his eyes blur with the fire’s wavering
heat. “I should’ve kept in better touch.” He cringed, wondering why he just
said that. He didn’t mean it and there was no way to pull the words back into
his mouth. Leaning his head back, he caught a shooting star streak across the
sky. “How’re things at the coffee shop?”

“Couldn’t run
without me.” She cradled her cup in her hands and got quiet. “I’m sorry things
didn’t work out with Diane.”

“Danielle.”

“Danielle.” Rachel
bit back a smile. “I ran into Woody last night at Target.”

“Of course you
did.” Tipping his can back, he got lost in the stars. His plans to bring
Danielle to Minot to meet his family and friends this coming August skittered
through his mind. At the time, she was so excited and he couldn’t wait to take
her wherever Rachel was going to be so he could rub Danielle in her face. A
combination of guilt and humility wormed through him, weaving a rug of shame
into his soul. “I should probably go find some more wood,” he finally said.

Woody dashed from
the water, dripping wet and covering his privates with both hands. “This is so
epic! I think I might actually have a shot with Kate
and
Ashley tonight,” he panted, dancing from foot to foot.

“Woody, Kate needs
that job.”

He stopped dancing
and frowned at Rachel. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Because as soon
as you two hook up, you’ll fire her like you did Megan Crawford.”