Forever With You (Silver State Series) (12 page)

 “I
will
say, in my role as your responsible big sister, you should
not
have sex until you’re at least twenty-five and in a loving, long-term relationship.”  Slowly her face morphs into a smile, and she concludes, “But as a fellow
woman
? – Hell yes, you should sleep with him.  Have fun, sweetheart – just don’t forget to use a condom.”

She winks at me before swinging her door open and climbing out, and I throw my head back in gleeful laughter.

Saturday, 2:00 PM

T
he beach is unsurprisingly packed, but when I close my eyes and concentrate on the sounds of the lapping water and the gulls, the clamor of the crowd fades to white noise.  For the past hour and a half I’ve lounged blissfully in the warm, late-summer sun, intermittently napping and daydreaming.  Rhiannon, who’s more prone to burning than I am, sits next to me under the shade of an umbrella, reading a book.

Around two o’clock, we take a break from our lazing just long enough to grab hot dogs from one of the food trucks.  As we shuffle back through the sand, my phone buzzes in my purse, and I retrieve it to glance at the display.

“It’s Aiden,” I tell Rhiannon.

She smiles.  “Answer it.”

“Hello?” I say as I press the phone to my ear.  I can hear laughing and a loud buzz like the whirr of a motor on the other end of the line.

“Hey!  Tawny?”

“Yeah, hi, Aiden.”

“Hi!  You still at Tahoe today?”

“Yes, I’m here.”

“Are you still up for some tubing?”

I look up at Rhiannon, who’s picking bits of relish off her hot dog as she attempts to tune out my conversation.

“Is it still okay if my sister comes along?” I ask.  Her eyes snap up to meet mine, but she doesn’t say anything.

“Of course!” cries Aiden.  “The more the merrier!  Can you get to the marina on Lakeshore?”

“Umm…hold on.”  I hold the phone to my chest and address Rhiannon.  “He wants to know if we want to go on his friend’s boat.  I can tell him no…”

“No no, don’t be silly!” she says.  “Let’s go boating!”

Twenty minutes later we’ve gathered up our stuff, and we’re back at the car, tossing armfuls of beach blankets and sunscreen in the backseat. 

We have to pay three dollars to park at the marina.  As we begin the walk out to the pier, I look at Rhiannon and say, “Are you sure you wanna do this?  You’ll just be hanging out with a bunch of dumb college kids.”

She laughs.  “I only want to go if
you
want me to go.  I’ll be fine to hang back here, but if you want me with you I’m more than happy to go along.”

I smile.  “Okay – we’ll just go for like an hour, is that okay?”

“Your wish is my command.”

As soon as we set foot on the pier I can hear someone calling my name.  I turn to see a shirtless Aiden standing up on the back of a blue and white ski boat, waving his arms at me.  As we turn to head that direction, Rhiannon leans in and says, “You didn’t tell me he was
hot
.”  I laugh as she pretends to look miffed, like I’ve been holding out on her.

Aiden is balancing on the edge of the boat, one foot propped up on a huge black inner tube.  He holds out his hand to help me up into the boat, then turns to introduce himself to Rhiannon as he helps her as well.  Next he introduces his two friends, Logan and Brady.  Brady, whose parents the boat belongs to, takes the driver’s seat and steers out to deeper water while Aiden finds lifejackets for Rhiannon and me.  I can’t help smiling to myself when I notice Logan heaping extra attention on my very pretty older sister, and I can’t help but let loose a furtive chuckle when he catches the flash of her diamond engagement ring and suddenly appears crestfallen.

Logan sits up front with Brady, while Aiden, Rhiannon and I take seats along the back bench.  Aiden offers us drinks from a cooler, and Rhiannon accepts a Corona while I take a Dr. Pepper.  Once we’re far enough out from the marina, Brady begins to accelerate.  I hang over the side of the boat, delighting in the feel of the water that sprays in a fine mist over my face, moistening my lips and clinging in droplets to my eyelashes.  We skim over the surface of the smooth blue water, occasionally bouncing when we hit a choppy cross-current that’s been kicked up in the wake of another boat.

As soon as we reach the center of the lake, Brady draws back on the throttle, and I twist in my seat to take in the stunning panoramic view that surrounds us.  “Who wants to go first?” Logan yells over the droning of the engine as he turns around.

“You should go, T,” says Rhiannon.

“Wanna try?” asks Aiden as he pushes the inner tube over the edge of the boat so it’s floating on the surface of the water, trailing from the stern on a length of rope.

“Yeah, I’ll go,” I say, smiling.

Aiden grins back at me.  “I’ll take Tawny,” he announces over his shoulder.  My eyes dart to Rhiannon as she sends me a knowing smirk.

I unfasten my lifejacket and shrug it off so I can peel off my sheer swimsuit cover-up, not wanting it to get too wet.  I shiver a little as the breeze sails over my bare skin before I can re-buckle my preserver.

I wait while Aiden hops agilely onto the tube, then extends his hand to help me cross the distance between the boat and the huge rubber donut.  He shows me how to lie down on my stomach and hold on to the handgrips, then goes over a few hand signals that will let Brady know whether I want to stop, slow down or speed up.

Logan walks to the back of the boat and bends over, leaning on his knuckles.  “You want rough or smooth?” he shouts.

Aiden looks at me to make the decision.  “Rough!” I say without a moment’s hesitation.  He grins and turns around to relay the message to the driver.

“You sure about this, T?” yells Rhiannon.

I flash her a reassuring thumbs-up as Aiden laughs appreciatively.  He flops onto his stomach alongside me so our sides are touching.  “Okay, hang on tight,” he says as the boat begins to inch forward, tugging us along behind.

First Brady zips us along in a straight line, and I laugh excitedly as the cool water splashes in my face and against my bare stomach.  After a couple of minutes he slows down just a little, and I can see him standing up at the wheel, his body twisted around to look at Aiden and me.  He holds up his left thumb, asking if we’re okay to continue, and we both respond in kind.

“He’s probably gonna try to throw us off,” says Aiden just as we regain full speed – his warning is almost swallowed up in the noise from the motor.  Suddenly Brady jerks the boat to the right, pulling us along in a tight spiral.  We bump over the waves, around and around as a cyclone of water swirls between the tube and the boat.  My knuckles are white from clutching so hard at the handgrip to keep from flying off, but I laugh maniacally as adrenaline surges through my veins.  Finally Brady straightens up again, dragging us directly over the spinning funnel of water, and we soar several feet above the lake’s surface.  Everything seems to slow down as we glide through the air and my body loses contact with the tube.

Time catches up in half a second when we crash back down, and my hand is wrenched from the grip.  Panic wells up inside me as the tube slips away and I fly backward, landing a split second later with an enormous splash in the lake’s chilly depths.

I bob sputtering to the surface, thankful for my lifejacket, and see the boat slowing to a stop several dozen yards in front of me.  I’m momentarily distracted by the sound of laughter, and my head turns to find its source.  I grin when I see Aiden swimming toward me.  “Are you all right?” he asks as soon as he’s near enough for me to hear him speak.

“That was so much fun!” I gush, unable to contain my enthusiasm.

He laughs.  “Should we swim back?”

I flip over on my stomach and paddle after him until we reach the ladder on the side of the boat, where Logan is waiting to help pull us back onboard.  Rhiannon waits just behind him, her eyes glazed in terror that quickly fades when she realizes I’m okay.

“Dude, I did it!” says Brady.  “I finally flipped you off!”

I look at Aiden, confused, but he only laughs and shakes his head.  “Naw, man, I let go.”

“Brady’s been trying to fling Aiden off the tube all day, but he’s got Popeye forearms and he won’t let go,” Logan explains to Rhiannon and me.

Aiden shrugs out of his lifejacket and sits down heavily on the bench seat.  “I let go when I saw Tawny fly off,” he insists, flashing his dimples as he shoots me a good-natured grin.

6:00 PM

R
hiannon and I are both drained by the time we reach the car to start heading back, a product of spending hours in the sunlight and taking multiple turns each on the inner tube.  We stop at a Starbucks drive through on our way out of town to refuel with iced vanilla lattes.

Once we reach the highway, Rhiannon switches on the cruise control and leans her head back against her headrest.  “I’ll tell you what, kiddo,” she says, “I always knew you’d end up a heartbreaker, but I must admit it’s still a little surreal seeing my baby sister attract the attention of so many males.”

I frown as I lick at the mound of whipped cream floating on my drink.  “What do you mean?”

She sighs.  “Oh, honey.  You don’t even see it, do you?”

“See what?”

“Well.  The way every guy’s eyes locked on you from the moment you stepped on that boat, for one.  Plus the way Aiden was practically
drooling
when you took off your cover-up.  I thought I was gonna have to pick his jaw up off the floor for him.”

I snort.  “First of all, Logan was looking at
you
from the get-go.  Second of all, I’m pretty sure all guys react that way whenever they see
any
girl removing an article of clothing.  I’d be offended if they
didn’t
give me a second glance.  It’s not like it means anything.”

Rhiannon chuckles, looking at me as if I’m the most amusing person she’s ever encountered.  “Okay, babe, whatever you say.  All I’ll say is, if things don’t work out between you and Kyle, I have a feeling Aiden would be more than happy to fill that role for you. 
You
may not have noticed the way he was watching you all afternoon, but I
definitely
did.”

Chapter 12 – The Barn

Monday, September 5

Kyle – 11:00 AM

M
y body feels broken and sore from the grueling labor I endured this weekend.  Thankfully, it all became worth it the moment my uncle laid the stack of crisp fifty dollar bills in my hand this morning right before I left.  One or two more months of working odd jobs, and I should be able to replace my broken lens.

I got back around half an hour ago and swallowed some aspirin to ease the ache in my arms and shoulders.  The meds are just beginning to kick in – I can feel the knots in my muscles beginning to gradually unwind.

I plug in my phone then sit down at my desk and power on my laptop to check my email.  I figure I’ll wait till around noon, then send Tawny a text and see if she still wants to hang out.  Were it not for the prospect of seeing her today, I probably would’ve stuck around my aunt and uncle’s place a few hours longer to rest up before attempting the three hour drive back.

I respond to a couple of emails from classmates, then switch over to Facebook to kill some extra time.  I scroll down through my newsfeed, but stop short when I see Tawny’s been tagged in a handful of photos by someone named Aiden Jones.  The pictures are grainy, probably taken on someone’s phone.  I flick through them quickly, but pause when I come to a photo of Tawny standing on a boat in a black bikini.  My eyes scan downward from the strapless piece of Spandex covering her tits, to the bottoms that ride low on her narrow hips, to her long, tanned legs.  Her hair is draped in a wet curtain over her right shoulder, and she’s beaming at someone off camera.  I have to use my hand and apply physical downward force to my dick to keep it from getting overly excited at the sight of her.

The next photo is of her and this “Aiden Jones,” obviously a self-portrait he took while holding the camera out in front of them.  Her hair is slicked back in this one, and drops of water roll down her face – in fact, they both appear to be drenched, like they just climbed out of the water.  His forehead is leaned against hers, and his face is painted with a huge grin like he just won the lottery.  Her smile is more reserved, but only slightly.

I click on his name, then immediately curse myself for acting like a stalker.  Oh well, too late now.  His profile is private, but his network is listed as UN Reno.

…So she was at Tahoe with somebody who goes
here
this weekend?

Well fuck
.

It’s only eleven-thirty, but fuck it.  I’m texting her.

Tawny – 11:30 AM

I’ve just climbed out of the shower when my phone alerts me to Kyle’s text message:

Can you still hang out today?

I grin as I twist my hair up in a towel, then type a message back to him.

Sure.  What would you like to do?

How about that photo shoot?

I guess that would work.  Where do you want to do it?

I giggle at my double entendre.

I know of a place.  Can you be ready in an hour?

Sure

OK.  Hey wear a dress.  And leave your hair down please.

K.  See you soon.

12:30 PM

T
he floor surrounding my bed was strewn with cast off clothing by the time I finally settled on my current ensemble, which consists of a blue strapless A-line dress and wedge espadrille sandals.  The dress has an empire waistline and keyhole neckline, an inverted pleat in the back, and it falls just slightly short of mid-thigh.  I struggled with the choice between flats and heels, since the wedge makes the dress appear even shorter – the decision was made because I’ve always had too-thin legs, and wearing heels gives my calves a bit of shape and definition that wouldn’t otherwise be apparent.  I topped off the outfit with a gold chain necklace and matching bracelet.  Then I used bobby pins to secure a thin section of hair behind my head, leaving the majority down as Kyle requested.