Levitate (13 page)

THERE’S A JACKHAMMER in my head. Rolling over, I force my eyes to open. The alarm clock reads nine o’clock. Right beside the clock is a bottle of water and something for the headache. God bless Nicole! I try to remember last night. It’s not very often that I drink as much as I did. I remember dancing with Lance and Maxton interrupting us; after that, it’s pretty fuzzy. Leaning up on my elbow, I toss back the Ibuprofen and take a few big gulps of water. I place the bottle back on the nightstand and fall back on my pillow. Maxton… I smell him. He seems to be everywhere.

Opening my bedroom door, the sweet smell of cinnamon and bacon hits me. Nicole isn’t much for cooking breakfast, so it must be Brighton my stomach needs to thank him. As I get closer to the kitchen, I can hear a deep timbre along with Nicole’s ever-chipper voice. It’s not until I turn the corner do I hear another voice, one I will never be able to forget. “Maxton.” His name slips off my tongue without thought.

All three of them turn to face me. “Hey, sleepy head, how ya feeling?” Nicole chirps. I swear that girl can drink double what I did and wake up the same happy, chipper Nicole. Then again, she’s had a lot of practice.

I don’t acknowledge her. Instead, I walk to the other side of the table. I can feel Maxton’s eyes on me and it’s making me self-conscious. I pull my robe tighter around my waist. I drop into the chair, rest my elbows on the table, and bury my face in my hands.

“That good, huh?” Nicole laughs. I groan at her words and still don’t bother to reply.

I don’t bother looking up until I see and smell a plate being placed under my face. I feel him place his hand on my shoulder. Leaning down, he whispers, “Eat, you’ll feel better.” He is so close that his scent overrides the breakfast he has laid before me. His hot breath on my ear sends goose bumps down my back.

I lift my head and remove my arms from the table. The French toast and bacon smells amazing and, luckily, my stomach is not trying to revolt.

I take a sip of the glass of orange juice that must have appeared at the same time as the plate of food. Maxton sits down beside me with a plate filled as well. I look across the table to see Brighton and Nicole are already digging into their plates. “You cooked?” I say to Maxton.

He shrugs. “Yeah, it’s not a big deal. My dad loved to cook and he taught me. Mom didn’t ever, so he and I did most of it.” He forks a huge bite of French toast into his mouth.

I feel like I’ve entered another universe waking up with both of them here. Did he sleep here? Did he come over just to make us breakfast? My stomach grumbles, so I push the unanswered questions out of my mind and pick up my fork. Just as I’m about to take my first bite, Maxton leans in and whispers in my ear, “Did you take the headache medicine I left for you?”

What? Maxton left that there? My mind starts to race as I flip through foggy memories of last night. Did I sleep with him? Shit! I finally gave into this temptation that has been plaguing me since we met and I can’t even remember it.

Just my luck.

Maxton reaches under the table and places his hand on my thigh, which is now bare since my robe has fallen to the side. His touch causes me to shiver, not because his hands are cold, it’s the exact opposite. The heat of his hand is searing my skin. “Hey, you okay?” he asks. His thumb is gently tracing my thigh.

I nod because I can’t seem to form words. This is surreal.

“Eat up. We need to leave in an hour,” Nicole says as she stuffs the last bite of French toast into her mouth.

What the hell is she talking about? “Where are we going?” I ask before taking another bite.

“I’m not surprised you don’t remember.” Nicole laughs. Suddenly, my best friend is getting on my last damn nerve. Maybe this is a dream. I reach down to pinch myself and yelp at the pain.

Maxton’s hand immediately goes to my leg as he gently rubs my thigh trying to ease the ache He watches me intently.

“I thought I was dreaming,” I mutter as an explanation.

Nicole and Brighton leave the room. I assume they’re going to get ready for wherever it is we are supposed to be leaving for in an hour. Make that fifty minutes.

“You’re definitely awake, pretty girl.” Maxton’s deep voice rumbles in the quiet room. The hand that was on my thigh, soothing the pain from my self-induced pinch, raises to tuck a strand of loose hair behind my ear. “I like you like this,” he says softly.

“Like what?” is the smartest thing I can come up with. His touch has me reeling.

“Like this,” his hand slides behind my neck, “just Kensi.”

I don’t really understand what he means? I’m always just me. Instead of asking for further explanation, I go with what’s really bothering me. “Where am I going?”

Maxton smiles and my heart skips a beat at the sight “We,” he motions between the two of us, “along with those two,” he points down the hall, “are going riding today. You agreed to come with last night,” he says.

“Riding?”

“Yeah. Bright and I get together with a group of guys and take the four-wheelers out as much as we can. Last night, one of the guys stopped and said he was bringing his girlfriend. Bright asked Nic to come and she said she would if you tagged along. You said yes and we leave in,” he turns to look at the clock on the microwave, “forty-five minutes.”

“Why are you here?” I blurt out. I know I’m being rude, but last night is fuzzy and I need answers.

His hand on my neck begins a soothing massage. “You were really wasted, so I brought you home. Nic and Bright were in their own little world and I wanted to make sure you were okay. I helped you into your room, gave you some water and headache medicine, and helped you into bed.”

I look down at my now gaping robe. “Did you help me change?”

I watch as he swallows hard. “I did. I’ve never seen anything so beautiful.” His voice is wistful as if he is remembering it plain as day.

“Did we…?” I trail off, not able to ask the question. I can see from the look on his face he knows what I’m trying to ask.

“No, we didn’t. I helped you change and put you into bed. You asked me to stay, just until you fell asleep. I climbed in beside you and you buried your head in my chest. You were out within fifteen minutes.”

“So, you came back early just to make breakfast?” I sound like an idiot, but I need details. I can’t trust my brain to fill in the missing pieces, so I have to rely on Maxton, something I am not entirely sure I should be doing.

He turns to face me so that his legs straddle my chair. “No, I didn’t.”

He doesn’t elaborate, which irritates me. He knows where I’m going with this. Why won’t he just tell me?

“Did you sleep on the couch?” I pry for more information.

Leaning in close, he whispers, “No, sweets, I didn’t sleep on the couch. I held you. I stayed awake all damn night, holding you in my arms. You unnerve me, Kensington.” He sits back in his chair, his hand still on the back of my neck. It takes all of my willpower not to moan as he works my sore neck muscles.

I tilt my head forward and let him work out the kinks in my neck. His hand feels amazing.

“That was a first,” he says quietly.

“What was a first?”

“Last night, that was a first for me. I’ve never spent an entire night in bed with a woman. It’s too intimate, too permanent. That’s never what I’ve been about.” He rests his other hand on top of mine on my thigh, lacing his fingers through mine. “I held you the entire night. I went back and forth from watching you to watching the shadows play out on the ceiling.” His voice trails off, so I turn to face him. “I didn’t want to leave you, to let you go. I can’t explain it and I sure as hell don’t understand it.” He brings our entwined hands to his lips. “I’m not even sure I want to.” He kisses my knuckles.

“You were gone when I woke up.”

He nods. “I wasn’t sure how you would react waking up with me, so I slipped out around sunrise. I sat on the couch until Bright and Nic woke up. They think I slept on the couch.”

“It was a first for me too. I wish I could remember it,” I admit. The thought that I spent the entire night in his arms and can’t remember it is depressing. I wonder if I’ll ever have that chance again. If I do, would I take it?

THANK FUCK I’M sitting down; otherwise, her admission would have brought me to my knees. I want to pick her up and carry her ass back to her bed. I want to slide under the covers and hold her next to me. Leaning in, I place a kiss on her temple. “Anytime. Anytime you want me in your bed, no matter what the reason, you let me know.”

“Go get ready so we can run to the house and pack up the quads,” I tell her.

She hesitates. “I promise it’ll be a good time. You need to get out more.” I bump my shoulder into hers, trying to lighten the mood.

Releasing a heavy sigh, she climbs to her feet and picks up her plate. I take it from her hands. “I got this; you go worry about you.” With a nod, she turns and heads toward her room.

I busy myself loading the dishwasher and cleaning up from breakfast. This is how Bright finds me.

“Nic’s almost ready,” he says, leaning against the counter. “Kens still going?”

“Yeah, she doesn’t remember saying she would go, but she’s getting ready now.”

“Good. Nicole really wanted her to go. I was afraid she would back out, and then I’d miss out on spending the day with my girl.”

He says it so casually, yet it’s still odd hearing him say things like that. He’s never claimed having a girl before, and now he’s ready to yell it from the rooftops. It’s hard to get used to.

“Well, you can relax.” I, on the other hand, cannot. Lance is going to be there. I don’t know what his intentions are toward Kensington. She said he’s her friend’s brother, is there more to it?

Nicole comes bouncing out of her room. She stops next to Bright and he doesn’t even hesitate to wrap his arms around her and pull her into his chest. I pretend to be wiping off the counter to avoid starting at them. A few minutes later, Kensington enters the room. Even if Nicole wouldn’t have started talking to her, I would have known she was there.

“You ready for a day of outdoor fun?” Nicole asks her.

Kensington smiles and nods. “Let’s get this show on the road,” she quips. I can’t help the smile that tries to break free. She’s taking this like a champ, going with the flow. I’m impressed.

“All right, ladies, let’s do this.” Brighton puts his arm around each girl’s shoulders and leads them to the front door. I want to protest and tell him to keep his hands to himself; then I realize I have no say so. She isn’t mine. Bright turns to look over his shoulder and smirks at me. Fucker! He’s trying to wind me up. I swallow back the irritation and act as if his hands on her doesn’t faze me.

In the parking lot, we load up in my truck and head to the house to get our bikes. Bright climbs in the back with Nicole, which leaves Kensington to sit up front with me. I like it, more than I should. I have the urge to reach over and place my hand on her thigh to feel her smooth skin against my fingertips. Instead, I grip the wheel with both hands and drive. By the time we reach the house, my knuckles are stiff and white. I quickly jump out of the truck and leave the others to follow behind. I need a minute to get my shit together. This girl is alarming my senses. She has me wanting to break the rules. I’m struggling with that, with her and what she makes me feel. Can I trust that feeling? I think about my dad and how he trusted my mother. She crushed his soul, can I take that risk?

“Hey, man, where’s the fire?” Bright yells as he enters the house. I don’t bother to answer. I continue on to my room and change my clothes, brush my teeth, and grab a hoodie. It’s early fall and a seasonably warm day. Chances are slim to none I’ll need it, but she might. I almost leave it behind, but I like her in my clothes. Being able to take care of her wins out and I shove it under my arm.

I march out the front door, not bothering to address the girls who are waiting patiently in the foyer. I hop back in my truck and throw the hoodie in the seat. I back the truck up to the front of the trailer. I’ve done this a million times and never need anyone to guide me. Hopping out of the truck, I work on fastening the hitch to the truck. Once I’m done, I open up the ramp gate in the back so we can easily load the bikes. Brighton joins me and it takes no time for both of our four-wheelers and gear to be loaded in the trailer. Bright loads up the cooler. Josh is supposed to be bringing the grill. We’ll stop on the way to get ice, drinks, and chips; that’s our contribution. We also need to get the girls helmets. No way are they getting on the back of a bike on those trails and not be protected.

“I think that’s it,” Brighton says as he loads the toolbox. We always take it just in case.

“Looks like it.”

“Hey, man, I know we have to stop off to get the supplies, you think we can make another stop?” he asks.

“Where? We need to stop at the bike shop and get the girls a helmet.” It’s not up for debate, not that I think he will fight me on it. Nicole means a lot to him and I know he would want her safe.

“You read my fucking mind. That’s what I wanted to do. No way is she going on those trails with all those other idiots without a helmet. We need to keep our girls safe from those asshats,” he quips, pats me on the shoulder, and walks off in their direction.

Our girls.

Kensington.

My girl.

Shit just got real.