Authors: Jessica Gunhammer
“So, what are
your plans for the summer?” Brent walked over and leaned against the wooden fence that surrounded the horses. I could tell by the way he carried himself that he was a little tipsy. Okay, I think it would be safe to say he was drunk.
“
I’m not sure yet.” I climbed up to the top rail and sat down. “Maybe get a job.” I brought my cup up to my lips and tilted my head back. The last little bit of alcohol ran into my mouth.
“Parents
’ idea?” I watched as his hand that rested on the fence slid a little closer to my thigh. Oh geez, maybe coming out here wasn’t such a good idea.
“No
. Mine, actually.” I rested my hand on the fence between his hand and my leg. Maybe he’d get the hint. “They would rather I don’t do anything over the summer because they don’t want me to get burnt out before I spend the next few years going to school.”
“
What are you going for?”
“They want me
to be a doctor. If it were up to me, I’d take a year off and work, maybe even get some traveling in. But they aren’t too fond of that idea.”
“Well
, it’s kind of up to you. It’s
your
future.” He moved from beside me to right in front of me. I kept my legs together in an attempt to keep him at a distance. I was sitting a couple inches higher than him but I had an idea where this was going.
“You obviously don’t know my parents.” I jumped off the fence and attempted to make my way to the barn
, but his muscular arm came up and blocked my way. “I should probably go check on Tori.” I attempted to duck under his arm but he moved it down again to block my way. The muscles in his bicep tightened.
“She’ll be fine.” He moved in closer
and the smell of booze lingered on his breath. “I trust Travis,” he whispered in my ear. Every muscle in my body tensed up. I had a million thoughts of how I could get out of this and a majority of them included hurting Brent, which could make this situation go from bad to worse. I didn’t want to be doing this right now, not just right now but
ever
. Brent’s always been a nice guy, before this anyway, but I wouldn’t ever date him. My parents would love for me to bring someone like him home. But I want more—I blame it on all the love stories I read and hear, I want that love at first sight, can’t get you out of my head kind of love.
“Brent!” My body eased at the sound of someone’s voice. I felt butterflies in my stomach when I looked over and
saw Nate standing outside the barn door. I hadn’t heard him come out. I wonder how long he’d been standing there? I hope he’s not thinking I’m trying to hook up with Brent or anything. “Why don’t you come back inside? I have someone I want you to meet!”
“Can’t you see I’
m a little busy?” He attempted to mask the aggression in his voice but he wasn’t doing a very good job.
“Come on
, man—I have a feeling you’ll really like this one!” Nate yelled back.
“We can continue this later
,” Brent whispered in my ear before he stumbled away. That was so weird. I’d never seen him act that way before. I wonder if he always gets like that when he drinks. I made a mental note to steer clear of Brent when he’s drinking, or at least not to be alone with him.
“Hey!” Nate yelled in m
y direction. “You going to come back inside, too? You probably shouldn’t be out here all by yourself—unless standing in the middle of nowhere in the dark is your thing? Then I’ll let you be.” I could see the slightest outline of a smile playing at the corner of his lips.
“Yeah
, it’s kinda what I do.” I started walking towards the barn. “I’m totally kidding, by the way,” I told him as I walked by.
“What the hell is your problem
, man?” I heard Travis ask from the corner of the barn where I last saw him and Tori.
“My problem is you
’re passed out on a hay bale with my sister!” Brent yelled.
“Dude, it’s fine! Chill out!” Travis attempted to calm his friend down.
“Don’t tell me to chill out!” Brent had his face about an inch from Travis’. This did not look like it was going to end well.
“Brent, calm down. I’m tired.” Tori stood up and put her hand on her brother’s chest to try and get his attention. “I’m going back to the house and going to bed.”
From the slur in her words I knew she was shitfaced. Not to mention the fact she passed out on a hay bale, that couldn’t be comfortable.
“I’ll walk you.” Travis got up and grabbed Tori’s hand.
“The hell you will.” Brent pushed him back down. Travis was pretty drunk too, so I probably could’ve knocked him over if I wanted to. But still, Brent was a big guy and if it came to blows, Brent would win, no doubt. “I’ll walk her. Come on, Tori! Let’s go!” Brent pushed between Nate and I and went out the barn door.
I was a little rel
ieved that all that drama had just went down. Maybe it would get Brent’s mind off of what had happened between us tonight. I didn’t want things to be awkward in the morning. I glanced around the room and noticed the only people left in the barn was Travis, two other guys passed out on the ground, and Nate and I.
“I didn’t even realize everyone had left
,” I said to Nate, trying to think of anything I could say just to talk to him.
“Yeah. I walked them all out the back right after you and Brent went outside. I figured it’d be best to get them all out of here before he started to get too rowdy. He tends to get like that when he drinks.”
“Good to know.” I walked over and grabbed Tori’s jacket she’d left behind. “Thank you by the way, for calling Brent back in here. He was making me a little uncomfortable.”
“Oh
, yeah. No problem. I wasn’t spying on you or anything—I just saw you guys and I could tell when you jumped off the fence that he started to get a little…well, you know.”
“Yeah…well
, I better get back inside.” I started my way out the barn door. Shit. I stopped in my tracks. What if I run into Brent on the way back to the house?
“You al
l right?” Nate asked.
“Uh, yeah.” I sta
rted walking in the direction of the house again.
“He usually passes out once he gets inside.” I turned around and Nate was leaning up
against the side of the barn with his arms crossed over his chest. I would love to have those arms wrapped around me right about now. “But I can walk you back if you want. Just give me a minute to get this place cleaned up. Lynn will be pissed if she sees this in the morning.” I nodded and he turned around and walked back inside the barn.
I waited nervously outside and kept a lookout for Brent until Nate reappeared. He slid the barn door closed behind him.
“All right, let’s go.” He walked past me and started down the gravel road.
“What about those guys in there?” I pointed towards the barn.
“They’ll sleep it off and be gone in the morning before Brent’s parents wake up.”
“Oh.” We continued down the road in silence. I was okay with that
, though. I didn’t want to say anything stupid, and even though that whole thing with Brent sobered me up pretty quickly, I still felt a little tipsy.
When we got to the front door we quietly walked inside
and tip-toed down the stairs to where Brent and Tori’s bedrooms were. When I got to the bottom of the stairs, I went straight for the bedroom. I stopped when I made it to the door and turned around. Nate was walking to the couch in the small living room.
“Nate.” He stopped and turned around.
“Thanks again. I really appreciate it.” I don’t think he realized how much I really did appreciate his help. I’d walk over and kiss him right now if I could, but that would mostly be for my own pleasure.
“No problem.” He smiled at me and I
almost walked over to him and jumped in his lap. Luckily I was able to restrain myself.
“Good
night.”
“Good
night, Summer.” Hearing him say my name made my stomach do back flips. Before I could do anything stupid, I bolted into Tori’s room and shut the door, making sure to lock it behind me. Not because I was worried about Brent coming in here, but because I was afraid of where I might end up if I didn’t.
The next morning
I woke up before Tori. Normally I’d go upstairs and grab myself some breakfast but I didn’t want to risk running into Brent or Nate on my way up. When I didn’t hear anyone outside the bedroom door, I sprinted across the hallway, opened the bathroom door, and shut it behind me. I closed my eyes and leaned my back against the door, relieved I didn’t have any awkward run-ins with anyone.
The room felt warm and humid
, as if someone had just gotten out of the shower, and the smell of men’s body wash still lingered in the air. Once I opened my eyes I found myself face to face with Nate. Not just Nate, but a half-naked Nate. He had a towel wrapped around his waist and a toothbrush hanging out of his mouth. I was horrified and embarrassed, to say the least, but also a little turned on.
My mouth fell open as I w
atched a few drops of water slide down his chest and abs until they disappeared into his towel. I didn’t think this man could be any hotter, but I was wrong. His hair had the wet, messy thing going on, and I swear he looked like he stepped right out of a magazine.
“Oh God!” I turned and opened the door. “I’m so sorry!” I caught on
e last glance of his abs before I ran for Tori’s room. I closed the bedroom door and leaned my forehead against it. Then I looked in the mirror to see how horrid I looked from the night before. Other than the smudged eyeliner, I didn’t look too bad. For once, I was thankful for my bad habit of sleeping with my makeup on.
“I thought you were getting in the sh
ower?” I jumped at the sound of Tori’s voice.
“You scared me!”
She started to laugh but stopped suddenly. “Eh. Don’t make me laugh! My head is killing me!” I walked over and sat on the bed next to her. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Why?” I lied.
“Don’t lie to me. I’m not stupid. Did my brother hit on you again?” She had an amused look on her face.
“No. I mean
, yeah, but that’s not why I’m—”
“Why you
’re what?”
“
I accidentally walked in on Nate when he was getting out of the shower.” Tori sat straight up.
“When
? Just now?” I nodded my head and watched a grin spread across her face. “No way! Did you see his—”
“No!” I could feel my cheeks getting warm. “He had a
towel on.”
“That is hilarious!” Tori bu
rst out laughing and fell back down on the bed.
“Well
, I’m glad one of us finds this amusing.” I brought my hands up to cover my face, hoping that it would somehow help get rid of the embarrassment I felt.
“Why? Nate’s hot!
I’m sure that view is something you won’t forget.”
“That is
very much correct.” Tori and I both burst in to laughter. “How have you not told me about him before?”
“I do
n’t know. It’s not like we sit around talking about my brother’s friends.”
“Well
, for future reference, if a guy like that shows up on your doorstep or in your basement, be sure to let me know.”
“Noted.”
We both looked at the door as we heard a soft knock. “Come in!” Tori yelled.
I was a litt
le nervous about who was on the other side. The door cracked open and Nate popped his head in. I hoped he wasn’t listening to us talking. My cheeks immediately felt hot and I looked around the room for anything I could find to help me avoid making eye contact. I settled for a magazine on the nightstand. I flipped to the middle and pretended to be reading it.
“Your mom wanted me t
o let you know she made breakfast.”
“Al
l right. Thanks.” Nate closed the door and I tossed the magazine on the bed.
“I can’t go up there.
” I leaned back down on the bed. “I refuse to go upstairs until he leaves.”
“What are you going to do? Hide from him forever? I’m sure
it wasn’t that big of deal, he’s probably over it by now.”
“I won’t have to hide from him forever because from now on we’re only staying at my house. Then I won’t have to worry about running into him again.”
“Well, you’re going to have to wait until after the camping trip next weekend because he’s coming with us.”
“
Tori! You’ve got to be kidding me! I’m not going.”
“I told you Brent
and his friend were going to be there.”
“
That was before I walked in on his friend while he was half naked in the bathroom!”
“You’re going!” She got out of bed and
walked over to look at herself in the mirror hanging above her dresser. “Come on, let’s go eat. They’re probably gone by now, I think Brent said they were going riding today.”
“Riding?”
“Yeah, they ride motorcycles with some group or something.”
“Oh.”
Okay, seriously, now he rides motorcycles? How is one person allowed to be that hot and ride motorcycles? All that in one package should be illegal. Or they should at least come with some kind of warning label.