Five Ways to Fall (27 page)

He purses his lips for a moment as if deciding his next move. “I’m not a wuss. I just don’t feel like getting arrested tonight.”

“Wow. This feels
so
good against my skin,” I taunt in an intentionally seductive tone, trying to keep my splashes to a minimum as I sail across the span of the deep end.

“Fuck,” I hear from the shadows behind me.
And three . . . two . . .
There’s a rustling of branches as Ben climbs over the hedge, tossing off his shirt. “Damn it, Reese. Mason was right. You
are
trouble.” I ignore the comment and watch in silent appreciation of his physique as his shoes and socks come off next, followed by his pants and boxers.

Okay. I’ll admit it. Ben has something to brag about. I’ll also admit that I’m probably about to do something really stupid with him. And that little switch inside that’s supposed to kick in and make me care—I think it’s called morals or a conscience, or . . . I’m not really sure—well, it hasn’t done anything but sit back and enjoy the show so far.

Ben slips into the pool on the other side much more quietly than I would expect someone of his size to sound. And when he begins wading over to me with intense purpose on his face, those dead butterfly corpses lying in my stomach—the ones Jared smashed long ago—begin fluttering like mad again.

Ben makes me feel good. He makes me feel important.

Maybe I
do
want this to happen.

But I’m not about to make it
that
easy for him. With a small, giddy giggle, I push off the side and skim across the water until I’m on the opposite end. I manage this two more times but, with Ben’s huge arm span and strength, I soon find myself in a game of cat and mouse that has me caged against a wall with my predator’s hot breath warming my cheek and his broad chest pressed against mine, holding me in place. We’re standing on the slope down to the deep end, the water leveling just above my collarbone. “I feel like a fucking sixteen-year-old kid right now. Thanks.”

“I liked being sixteen, so you’re welcome.” I’m having a hard time steadying my voice. I’m not sure if it’s due to the thrill or nervousness.

Ben snorts, one hand sweeping my hair off my shoulders. “Why? Because you could only be tried as a minor?”

“None of those charges ever stuck.” Damn, was I ever a pain in the ass to Barry.
And
Jack. I should probably apologize to both for the premature graying I must have caused.

Resting an arm on the edge of the pool, Ben brushes a rivulet of water off my cheek with a fingertip. “If we get caught tonight, I’m the one who stands to lose. Do you even care?”

“Oh, relax! It’s only a second-degree misdemeanor and there are no trespassing warnings. We can plead a misunderstanding and get off completely free. Unless you have a weapon, and then it’s a third-degree felony. How do you not know this off the top of your head?”

“How do
you
know all of this off the top of your head?”

I let him see my exaggerated eye roll and then reveal my little secret. “The owners are
at
the wedding. You remember that guy that looks like an older version of The Situation?”

I watch him as he picks through his memory. He totally has no clue. “And the woman with giant duck lips and a big head of blond curls?”

One big dimple appears as Ben gives me a crooked smile. “Yeah, I saw her.”

Of course he did
. “Seriously? This is their house?”

“Yeah. And the twin boys hovering over the dessert table are theirs.”

Ben pauses. “Well, what if they come home right now? And what about silent security alarms? Have you never heard of those?”

“Trust me. Between the wife and kids asking about the late-night buffet and the husband chatting up every stripper there, they won’t be home anytime soon. And . . .” I let my finger graze over the solid curve of Ben’s shoulder and slide down to his chest to toy with his nipple, “. . . I heard the wife bitching to him about staying relatively sober because the security company is coming at nine a.m. to fix the security system around the pool.” I give him a smug smile. “Because it’s
not
working.”

Realization sweeps over his face. “Huh . . . So there’s no real risk of getting caught for this, is that what you’re telling me?”

“Basically.”

His chest rises and falls with relief and then he presses farther into me, his nose skimming my cheek playfully. “Well, this changes things.”

“So . . . the water’s really warm, right? Better than the cold ocean?” I tease.

He chuckles, his naturally loud voice crackling with the strain of trying to keep quiet. “Yes, otherwise
we’d
have a
real
problem here.” And by the feel of Ben against my stomach, we certainly don’t now. The next thing I know, Ben’s hands are diving under the water to wrap around the backs of my thighs. Lifting me, he guides my legs around his hips and then steps in to secure our position against the pool wall. With a free hand, he reaches up to grasp the nipple piercing, sending a current of excitement through me. “Have I already told you how glad I am that you kept this in? You’re not allowed to take it out.”

“Jack doesn’t know about it, so I figured it’s okay.”

Ben’s head falls into the crook of my neck with a grunt. “Can we not talk about the guy who will fire my ass if he ever finds out about this?”

“Deal,” I agree as a hand curls behind my neck and his lips find my collarbone. I lay my head back against the edge of the pool, my breathing now coming in short, ragged drags. It’s been so long since I felt like this.

“While we’re talking about hidden piercings . . .” As if afraid to lose the opportunity again, Ben wastes no time sliding a hand down my chest, my stomach, and down farther. A tiny gasp escapes me as he begins searching me inside and out.

Another way in which Ben appears to be supremely skilled.

“Are you disappointed? I chickened out,” I admit, struggling to sound unaffected.

The hand that nestles my neck forces my head up to face a set of sparkling blue eyes. “Nothing here is a disappointment, Reese.” Wedging his free hand between the small of my back and the pool wall, he crushes me with his body and a mind-numbing kiss that ends all thought process.

Except one. “Did you bring a condom?” I whisper against him, wondering how well they work in pools and knowing that he needs to get something on himself very soon.

He chuckles as I feel his arousal jump to attention against me. “Do you think I go
anywhere
without a—”

His words are cut off as a blinding floodlight suddenly shines down on us from the house. We turn in unison to find an old lady standing by the sliding glass door, her frail little body clad in a pink robe, her hair set in curlers, bifocals sitting on her nose, and a rifle pointed at us.

“Ah, shit,” Ben mutters. “I take it Granny wasn’t invited to the wedding?”

“Stay still!” she yells in a reedy voice, squinting at us. Her hands are trembling. From fear, or anger, or old age, I’m not sure. But I’ll admit that I’m more than a little concerned that one of us is going to end up with an accidental gunshot wound because of it.

“Just let us get dressed and we’ll be gone in a minute,” Ben offers, but she’s apparently having none of that, her head already shaking side to side.

“Why you young folk think it’s okay to fornicate in the pool my grandkids swim in . . .” She works her bottom lip as though maybe her teeth aren’t firmly in place. “The police are on their way!”

Ben’s forehead falls against mine with a quiet curse.

Chapter 20

BEN

“Can I grab a ride back with you?” Dan asks the officers as they turn to leave. One of them offers me a lazy salute and a smirk as he passes by. I recognize him as a customer from Penny’s. Not that that connection was enough to keep us from getting into trouble tonight.

I called Dan and asked him to intercept the cops in case Reese was wrong and they could find a reason to haul our asses down to the station. I’m pretty sure Reese is right and they can’t charge us with trespassing. I’m not 100 percent sure about the indecency charges and I’d rather not have to figure that out while in handcuffs.

I think I know how Reese has avoided a criminal record up until this point: she’s a compelling liar. When Granny announced that the cops were coming and Reese saw the look on my face, she immediately turned the tear tap on, swearing that Sara—how Reese remembered the woman’s name is beyond me, unless this entire stunt was premeditated, which, given Reese’s reputation, could very well be—told us we could come over for a late-night swim. The old woman was sceptical, but she at least allowed me to dig my phone out of my pants pocket to call Dan.

All of this while still in the pool because she wouldn’t let us get out. She said she didn’t trust us not to run. I’m sure that’s mostly true, but I damn well know that with the light shining down on us the way it was, glasses or not, the old coot was getting a good eyeful.

If I had known she was pointing an eleven-year-old’s BB gun at us, I would have pulled Reese out and run.

Dan arrived just minutes after the cops, driving the blitzed homeowners and their kids home. Apparently Sara bowled out of the car and stumbled inside to pass out on the couch, so she couldn’t corroborate Reese’s story. Jim, the husband, was thankfully a little more lucid. He quickly brought towels out for us and sent his mother inside with the boys, swearing up and down that his wife did in fact invite us to use their pool. I think everyone standing around that backyard knew that was a fat lie, but no one, including the cops, wanted to deal with this tonight. Seeing as we hadn’t hurt anyone, and our “public nudity” was on private property at night and hadn’t offended anyone besides Granny, the cops were happy to leave with a warning.

All because I can’t think with the right head when there’s a naked girl around.

“Can I please go back to my bride now?” Dan asks me, his tone full of irritation.

“I’m sorry, man,” I mutter, buttoning up my shirt. Fuck, am I going to get the gears about this one later!

“Thank you, Dan,” says an already dressed and very sheepish-sounding Reese.

Dan exhales and then softens. “Don’t worry about it.” Running a hand through his blond brush cut, he adds in a very cop-like tone, “But let this be a lesson to you, young lady. This is the kind of stuff that happens when you hang around with a guy like Ben.”

Stealing a glance Reese’s way, I see her lips pressed together tightly, like she’s fighting the urge to laugh. She merely nods in silent agreement.

And all I can do is shake my head at her.

Jack saw you drop me off this morning.

Reese’s text couldn’t have come at a better time. Or worse.

“Ben! A moment?” Jack calls out as I speed past the open door, hoping to go unnoticed.

“Shit,” I mutter under my breath. With a low exhale, I slide my phone into my pocket and turn around to make my way into Jack’s spacious office. I hoped it would be empty in here, on a Sunday afternoon. I should have known better.

Jack gestures to the chair across from him. “Take a seat, please.” He looks as rough as I feel, the dark circles under his eyes more pronounced than usual. The guy’s in his mid-fifties and he works longer hours than anyone else here. Not what I want to be known for when I hit that decade of my life. Very casually, he asks, “How was your night?”

I sigh before I can stop myself, as the tightness of regret sets into my chest. Reese could have shared a little more on what exactly she told Jack. Now I’m bound to get caught in a lie. I mean, other than
almost
nailing his stepdaughter in the pool and
almost
getting into trouble with the police, nothing happened. When we got back to the reception, Dan had already highlighted “another night of Ben’s idiocy” to everyone. They wasted no time laying into me. The only plus to that was that Mercy heard about it and I guess figured that if I was giving it to anyone, Reese would be the lucky receiver.

We hung out in the den with the usual gang for a while after the crowd died down, intent on heading home once the few beers I drank worked their way out of my system. We would have left had we both not passed out for a few hours on the couch, Reese curled up against my side, her cheek on my chest. It was sweet. If Nate and Ginger weren’t asleep on the other side of the sectional, I might have awakened Reese to pick up where Granny had interrupted.