Straight Laced (4 page)

Chapter 7

The ne
xt morning Tori and I started the fire and cooked up some breakfast. It took awhile to get used to, but the sausage and eggs didn’t turn out too bad. The only one that complained was Brent, of course. If he or his mom didn’t cook it, then it wasn’t done right. We spent the next couple hours sitting around the fire visiting with Tori’s mom while the guys went fishing.

When it got
warm enough we decided to drive down to the beach area. There were supposed to be a bunch of people that we went to school with spending the day down there and we thought it’d be fun to meet up with them for a few hours. Tori and I were packing up our beach bags and getting in the car when Brent and Nate returned.

“Where are you girl
s heading?” Brent asked.

“We’re going to the beach.”

“We were just going to head that way. You guys wanna ride with us? Nate and I are going to take the bikes out.”

Tori looked at me and shrugged.
“Sure.”

I grabbed my backpack off the front seat and walked around to the other side of the car where T
ori was using the side mirror to apply her lip gloss. “Um…what are you doing?” I asked her.

“Putting on lip gloss. What does it look like
?”

“
Not that! Why are we going with them?”

“I figured it’d be better. We’ll probably be drinking and now
I won’t have to worry about leaving the car down there over night. Plus, have you ever ridden on a bike before? It’s fun!” The guys came back out of the camper and headed toward the bikes parked behind the car.

Tori
walked over to the blue bike, grabbed the helmet from the seat, and secured it on her head. I walked over to the black bike and did the same. I watched Brent walk over to the blue bike, jump on and start it up. Tori got on behind him and smiled at me. She would have me ride with Nate. Nate walked up behind me and sat on the bike.

“
Have you ever ridden on a bike before?”

I shook my head. “No.”

“All right, well, watch your legs. The metal can get hot and burn the shit outta you. It shouldn’t get too bad since the drive’s not too far from here.” He started up the bike. “Ready?” I nodded my head and flung my leg over the bike. I looked on each side of me for something to hold on to. There was nothing. “Hold on, okay?” I wrapped my arms around him and placed my hands on the gas pump in front of him.

My heart was pounding rapidly. I wasn’t sure if it was because this was my first time on a bike or if it was because I had my arms wrapped around
this sexy almost stranger. Everything about this situation felt dangerous and risky, and that was everything I liked about it.

We drove through the campground
and I was finally starting to loosen up a little bit. My hands still rested on the gas pump and my chest was about a quarter of an inch away from his back. Every time we went over a speed bump our bodies touched and my hands would slip a little further between his legs. It didn’t take long before I was wishing we were driving on a road full of speed bumps.

Soon enough we were stopped at the stop sign that
led to the main road. Brent stopped and then turned right and took off down the road. I watched Tori put her head down and cling to him. Nate scooted up to the stop sign and looked to the left for cars.

“You’re going to want to hold on.” I moved my hands up to his stomach and wrapped them
around him as tight as I could without suffocating him. Nate made the turn and we were off. I closed my eyes. I wanted to open them to see how fast we were actually going, but I was still freaking out a little. As scared as I was, I felt like I didn’t have anything to worry about, like I knew that Nate wouldn’t put me in a dangerous situation. I felt like he had some kind of need to protect me, ever since that night at Tori’s. It was weird, though; that was the first night we’d ever met. Why me?

I
finally decided to open my eyes and take in the scenery around me. I’m glad I did, it actually felt…peaceful. There was no place I’d rather be right now. The hills really are a gorgeous place. The green pine trees whizzed by us, and between them I noticed the small figures of boats in the lake behind them. I realized that I had been smiling this whole time. Tori was right. This is fun.

A few minutes later I could see
the beach in the distance. I was a little bummed that our ride was about to end. We slowed and turned into the parking lot. I saw the group of people from school sitting on the tailgates of their trucks drinking and talking. Brent parked next to one of the trucks and Tori got off the bike. Nate pulled up next to him and shut the bike off. Looked like this was going to conclude our ride. I put one foot on the ground and flung my other leg over the bike as I unbuckled my helmet and pulled it off.

“Tha
nks for the ride.” I handed the helmet to him and he climbed off.

“No problem.” He smiled at
me and I felt my heart flutter and my cheeks begin to burn. “What did you think?” he asked.

“It was fun.”
I couldn’t just come out and tell him, ‘oh you know, it was one of the top ten best things I’ve ever done in my life.’ I’d sound like a psycho.

“It was fun? That’s it?” He patted the top of his gas tank, where my hands had been. “This bike is one of the best bi
kes you can get, you know. And ‘it was fun’ is all I get?” he joked.

“I told you that bike wouldn’t impress the chicks!” Brent chimed in.
Tori and I both started laughing.

“
All right, fine! It was amazing! Does that make you feel any better?” I tried to sound sarcastic, even though it was the truth.

“Yes! That’s what I wanted to hear!” He smiled at me again and suddenly I had the urge to walk up and pull him into
a kiss. I was about ten seconds away from doing so when Tori broke my train of thought.

“You guys think you can pick us up later and take us back to the campsite?”

“We know some guys down there,” Brent pointed to the end of the parking lot. “We’ll probably hang out here for a bit. I’ll let you know if we leave.”

“Al
l right, sounds good.” Nate and I exchanged one last smile before Tori and I walked over to join our friends.

***

We settled in on our towels on the beach. I pulled off my cover up and laid back down on my towel.

“So, that was fun
, right? Not to mention you got to wrap your arms around Nate. How was it? Could you feel those rock hard abs through his shirt?”

“Yes
, it was fun. And I didn’t go feeling around his abs, I was a little busy freaking out.”

“About the ride or about being that close to him? And both being awake this time.” She joked.

“Shut up!” I laughed and took a sip of my drink. I could feel the alcohol starting to kick in and I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. I didn’t want to do anything stupid to Nate or with Nate. But they didn’t call it ‘liquid courage’ for the hell of it. I looked up and noticed him and Brent were now sitting on the tailgate of a truck next to the beach. Nate was staring right at me, he didn’t even look away when I noticed, he just smiled. That smile is seriously going to get the best of me.

Tori and I got in the water and decided
to play chicken. We both climbed on the shoulders of some of the guys we were hanging out with. I pushed her off and she pushed me off and we were both laughing so hard my stomach was aching. I walked back up to my towel and grabbed another drink out of the cooler. I glanced over and noticed Nate was still watching me. This time, he didn’t smile, he just looked away.

T
he girls we were with kept asking me about Nate and telling Tori how hot her brother was. They weren’t girls we knew very well, we just knew of them since we all went to the same school. It didn’t take long before two of the girls had enough drinks in them to go up and talk to the guys for themselves.

I watched
them. The girls talked to them, giggled, and rubbed the guys’ arms. Brent, of course, was eating it up. So was Nate. He laughed and smiled and poked at the girls’ sides to make them scream and giggle some more. I tried to ignore it and keep engaged in the conversations I was surrounded by, but let’s face it, I was doing a horrible job.

It didn’t take but five minutes before I watched Nate, Brent
, and the girls walk over to the bikes. Nate handed the helmet—yes, the helmet
I
had just been wearing—to one of the girls. He got on the bike and started it up. I watched the girl climb on the back of the bike and wrap her hands tightly around him. I was fuming. I didn’t take my eyes off them until they pulled out of the parking lot and disappeared into the distance.

Chapter 8

There were
a million emotions running through me. I was sad, angry, betrayed and most of all, hurt. I couldn’t believe he would just take another girl on his bike like that. I mean I’m sure there were plenty of girls on his bike before me and it’s probably stupid of me to think there wouldn’t be any after me, but really? Right in front of my face!

I
grabbed my towel and started stuffing it back in my bag. I was probably making a bit of a scene but I didn’t care at the moment. I just wanted to leave. I looked back and saw Tori in the water, still flirting with one of the guys we were playing chicken with. I couldn’t leave, she was having fun and I didn’t want to be a downer. I’ve never liked downers. I sat down on the cooler and sipped on my drink. Ryan, the other guy we were playing chicken with, got out of the water and walked towards me.

“You going somewhere?”
he asked.

“No. I just got tired of sitting on the ground
,” I lied.

“Well
, you must have really hated it because I’ve never seen anyone pack up a towel that fast.” I felt a small smile forming from my lips. “I like when you smile.”

“Thanks. You want a drink?” I started to get up off the cooler.

“No, actually, I want you to join us in the water.”

“No
, I’m good.”

“Come on!” He gently grabbed my hand. I knew hanging out with
him wasn’t going to change or fix the dilemma I was having in my head about Nate, but I knew it might take my mind off of it for a minute.

“Fine.” I ran out into the water and jumped in with Ryan close behind me.

We played around in the water, swimming and throwing a football back and forth. About ten minutes went by before I noticed Nate’s bike out of the corner of my eye. I looked to see if the girl was still on the back and she was, clinging to his waist. They got off the bike and went back to the truck where they were previously sitting. The girls came running into the water. I listened to them giggle and talk about how they were planning to hook up with the guys before they left.

I looked up and noticed that Nate was still watching me so I quickly looked aw
ay. I waited for Tori to throw the ball to Ryan and I jumped on his back. He turned around and faced me and I wrapped my legs around him. I felt him put his hands on my butt to hold me up, even though it wasn’t necessary in water. I glanced up at Nate out of the corner of my eye and he was still watching me.

“Kiss me
,” I told him. He didn’t hesitate, he did as he was told. I felt his lips touch mine but I didn’t feel anything. Not a single flicker of passion, not a butterfly in my stomach, I felt nothing. But I made sure everyone around me thought otherwise, especially Nate. I ran my hand up the back of Ryan’s head and ran my fingers through his dark brown hair, pulling him closer.

“Get a room!” Tori yelled and everyone around started laughing.

“Tori!” I pulled away from Ryan and looked up at Brent standing at the edge of the water. “We’re heading out! You guys coming?” Tori looked at me for an answer. I wanted to say no but I wasn’t sure how we were going to get home if we didn’t go. Maybe I could talk her in to letting me ride with Brent this time.

“We can take you guys back when we leave.” Saved by Ryan. I nodded to Tori.

“No! We’re good! We got a ride!” Brent nodded then walked up to the bikes where Nate was standing. They both put on their helmets and I watched Nate back out of the parking spot. He gave one last look in my direction before he hit the gas and peeled out of the parking lot, leaving nothing but a cloud of smoke behind him.

***

We spent a few more hours at the beach before we decided to go back for dinner. No more make out sessions happened between Ryan and I. I’m probably the worst person ever because after Nate left, I hardly gave him any attention whatsoever. But on the ride back to our campsite, he didn’t seem fazed by me ignoring him at all. He must’ve just been happy he got something from me.

We pulled up in front of the campsite and Tori and I got out of the car. I immediately looked around to see if Nate and Brent were back but I didn’t see them and their bikes were still gone.

“I’ll give you a call this week. Maybe we can hang out again?” Ryan asked.

“Sure.” I smiled. He was a
nice guy, I didn’t want to shut him down completely. Tori and I waved as the guys drove off.

“Where are Brent and Nate?” Tori asked her mom.

“They were going to meet up with some girls they met today or something. They left awhile ago so they should be back soon.”

“Oh.” Tori looke
d over and me at I gave her a fake smile.

“You girls hungry?”

“Yes, please!” I smiled at Lynn and walked over to help her prepare dinner. I heard the familiar sound of the bikes rumbling from down the road. Well, it’ll be interesting to see how this plays out. The sound got closer then it went silent.

“How was your little play date?” Tori asked as Brent and Nate got closer.

“It was good.” Brent had a smile plastered across his face. Yep, somebody got laid. “They were nice girls.”

“I bet they were.” I tried to smother the laugh that was trying to escape.
Lynn looked up at me and I pinched my lips together.

“So who were those guys that brought you girls home?”
Lynn asked.

“Just some friends we
know from school,” Tori answered.

“You could’ve fooled me with that make out sess
ion Summer had with one of them.” Brent laughed. I froze and looked up at Tori. She looked at me then over at Nate, who was sitting quietly near the fire.

“Oh really? You have a thing with one of them?”
Lynn asked. “I wouldn’t blame you.” She nudged me with her elbow. “They were cute!”

“Gross
, Mom!” Tori yelled.

“No. We’re just friends.” Was the only answer I managed to get out. I sat down in the chair behind me and glanced over at Nate
, who was staring into the flames of the fire. I didn’t know why I felt so nervous now, but for some reason that kiss didn’t seem like such a good idea anymore.

***

After dinner Tori’s mom went to bed and the four of us were left around the fire. Nate had barely said two words since they got back. I couldn’t help but wonder if he slept with that girl today. He sure didn’t have the ‘I just got laid glow’ like Brent did, but who knows, maybe he’s been with so many girls that he didn’t get that anymore.

The guys decided they wanted to go night fishing
, so Tori and I decided to go with, it’s not like we had anything better to do. I stayed a little bit behind everyone else as we walked down to the boat, I needed some time to think and clear my head. When we got to the hill where Tori had got stuck, I noticed Nate stopped at the top. I got to where he was standing and walked past him down the hill.

“You didn’t have to wait for me
, you know.”

“Yeah
, but it’s dark and you don’t have a flashlight.” I purposely slowed down so Brent and Tori would get a ways ahead of us. When I knew we were out of hearing range, I stopped and spun around to face Nate.

“What’s your problem?” I spit out.

“What are you talking about?”

“I don’t get you! Is this just a game you
’re going to play with me? Is this what you do to all the girls you’ve been with? You play all these little games until they fall for you and then you up and find someone else to play with?”

“Woah. What are you talking about?”

“You know exactly what I’m talking about! The night at the barn, you came and swooped in right when you knew I needed someone! The ‘almost kiss’ we shared on the boat, and don’t try and tell me that’s not what it was, because I know damn well it was! The holding hands on the boat! The flirting! All of it! You either like me or you don’t! I’m not playing this fucking game with you!”

“Playing games? If I recall, you’re the one who was making out with some guy today.”

“Yeah, after you took some girl you just met out on your bike!”

“Seriously? You’re mad because I gave her a ride on my bike?”

“Well, yeah!”

“Summer, that’s not even a big deal. You know how many girls have ridden on my bike?”

“Exactly.” I turned and continued walking down the hill, at a faster pace this time.

“Summer, wait!
” I felt his fingers wrap around my wrist. I felt a sense of electricity run through my body. It wasn’t like the feeling I got when we were on the bike. This was more intense. Maybe because this time he was intentionally touching me. “That came out wrong. I’m—”

I spun around and pressed my lips against his. My lips parted and I became engulfed in our kiss. I felt his hand leave my wrist and move to my waist, his thumb brushed the skin right above my waistband. Goosebumps took over my body. His other hand made its way to the side of my face as he pulled me closer. The passion in this kiss was like nothing
I’d ever felt before. It gave me a high I’d never felt before, I didn’t want it to go away. I put my hand behind his neck and pulled him closer, I wanted to be as close to him as possible, I wanted every inch of our bodies to be touching.

Then it stopped when he pulled away. What the hell? Why was he stopping? How was he stopping? I would’ve never been able to voluntarily pull away from something like that.

“We better head down there.”

“They can wait.” I tried to pull him to me again but he pulled away.

“Summer, I can’t. I’m sorry.” He walked around me and down the hill to the boat docks. There I was, standing in the dark by myself. I thought things couldn’t get anymore confusing than they already were. Well, this just goes to show I was wrong, very wrong.