Naked Edge (12 page)

“You live in the garage?”

He shakes his head and grins. “Above it. It’s actually the best room in the whole house. Except for the sun in summer and no running water. But it’s nice and cozy in the winter. And it’s private.”

My great mood burns away like morning dew as I picture a giant bed, red lights and a mirrored ceiling. “I’ll come up.”

I follow him around to the back of the garage and up a steep flight of stairs. Rowdy opens the door without unlocking it. Trusting soul. Or maybe he just has so many sluts coming and going that a locked door is too big of a hassle.

He holds the door open for me. “It’s not much, but it suits my needs.”

I mumble, “I bet it does,” under my breath. All he needs is a horizontal surface and a box of condoms.

Rowdy frowns. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing.”
 

My mouth falls open when I step inside. His twin-sized bed is small, but neatly made with a navy blue comforter and a single white pillow. A huge flat screen television takes up most of the wall over a small, uncluttered desk. A mountain bike, a snowboard and three pairs of skis are mounted on the wall next to the stairs. An acoustic guitar sits in the corner next to his bed.
 

Boys and their toys. “This is nice.”

Rowdy’s frown softens, but his expression remains guarded.
 

My eyes are drawn back to the bed. “That looks like it might be a little crowded when you have company.”

“You’re the first girl that’s ever been up here. Except for Anna.”

My face burns. I turn around and drag a finger across the strings on his guitar. I’d rather he have a dozen different girls in his bed than
her
.
 

Cherri had her hands all over Rowdy, and she’s absolutely gorgeous with big, perky boobs and long shapely legs, but she’s nice. I can see us becoming friends. As long as she keeps her hands off Rowdy in the future.
 

But Anna? No way. That girl gives me the creeps. “It wasn’t too crowded for Anna?”

“God, Skylar. Anna’s my sister.”

“Stepsister.”
 

“She’s never been in my bed and I’ve never been in hers.” Rowdy scrunches his nose and shudders. “We aren’t blood relatives, but we might as well be. Okay?”

Rowdy’s only kidding himself if he thinks Anna doesn’t have a thing for him. But the idea obviously creeps him out as much as it does me, so I drop it.
 

He holds up the bike shorts. “If you don’t want a show, close your eyes.”

“We’re going for a run, not a bike ride.”

“These are tri-shorts. They work for biking, swimming and running.” Rowdy tosses them on the bed then drops his hands to the drawstring on the sweats he borrowed from Boone.

I turn my back and squeeze my eyes shut as an extra precaution to be sure I don’t give in to temptation and sneak a peek. “You’re a triathlete?”
 

“Nah. I just do ‘em for fun.”

“Fun?” What have I gotten myself into? “Keep in mind that I’m not used to the high altitude.”

“You can turn around now.”

Holy hell. Those shorts should be illegal. They look as if they’re painted on, leaving very little to the imagination.
 

“See something you like?”

Busted.
I jerk my eyes up to his.
 

The corners of his mouth twitch, but at least he isn’t blatantly smirking at me. Not yet.

I pick up the guitar and sit on the bed. “Do you actually play this thing, or is it just part of your decor?”

He frowns and takes it out of my hands. “I’m a man. I don’t do ‘decor.’”

“When did you start playing guitar?”

Rowdy’s Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows. “About a month after you left.”

He sits beside me on the bed and strums the guitar with the edge of his thumb. It sounds fine to me. But he tilts his head to the side, bringing his ear closer to the instrument. He alternates between twisting the little tuning pegs at the top and plucking the strings. And then the magic happens.

His fingers dance over the strings, filling the room with music. I don’t recognize the melody, but it’s so poignant and haunting it brings tears to my eyes.

Rowdy’s lips move silently as he plays. I wait for him to finish then ask him to sing the words for me.

He smiles and shakes his head.
 

“Why not? You have a great voice.” The stereo in Old Blue was broken when Rowdy bought it so he and I would sing every song we knew when we were driving around. He always had perfect pitch and an amazing range. Me, not so much. “Please?”

“Maybe some other time.” He puts the guitar back on the stand then turns sideways to look at me. “I’m still working on it. It needs another verse.”

“Wait. You wrote that?”
 

He shrugs, like it’s no big deal. “It’s therapeutic.”

“Music therapy, huh?”

Another shrug. “When the Harris’s took me in, Lori insisted I take up a creative hobby to help me deal with shit. I suck at glass work. Oil paint fumes make me puke. I didn’t have much luck with pottery either. But when I found this old guitar at a garage sale, it was love at first sight.”

“You lived with Aunt Lori and Uncle Will?”

“I had my eighteenth birthday in jail so I wasn’t eligible for foster care. I wasn’t ready to deal with the real world either. Will and Lori insisted I stay with them until I got my shit together. It took about a year. Boone didn’t tell you?”

I’ve only been back for a few days. Boone and I still have a lot of catching up to do, but not telling me that Rowdy lived with his family is a huge omission. “Why did you move out?”

Rowdy stands up then takes my hands and pulls me to my feet. “If we don’t get started, it’s going to be too hot to go for a run.”

I can’t believe I played that song for Skylar. I can’t read music so I just started messing around, creating my own. At first it was all angry music while I worked through my desire for Keith to die a horrible, bloody death. I still hate that motherfucker but I take solace in the fact that he’ll be getting fucked in prison for the rest of life.

After a few months, I started writing sappy love songs. And then sad love songs. When I finally realized that Skylar was gone for good, I came full circle and started writing angry songs again. I wrote
The Naked Edge
right after Lori and Will’s funeral. It’s a jumbled up, bi-polar mess of sad and angry. I’d hoped it was a sign that I was finally moving on. But here she is, again. Sitting in my bed. Gazing at me with those expressive hazel eyes of hers.

“Please?” She clasps her hands under her chin and blinks.

I know that look. She’s not going to give up until I give in. I guess I can play one of the sappy love songs. “If I sing you a song, you have to make me a batch of chocolate chili cookies.”

Her smile lights up the room. “Deal.”

“I wrote this a long time ago so it’s pretty simple.”

“I’m sure it’s wonderful.”
 

I close my eyes and let the music take me back to the time before I gave up on Skylar. “It’s called
Where You Are
.”

I open my eyes when the last note fades.
 

Skylar’s voice cracks. “You wrote that because of me, didn’t you?”

“Whatever gave you that idea?” I try to lighten the mood by making a joke out of it, but there’s nothing funny about the way Skylar’s eyes are filling with tears.

I set my guitar back in the stand then take her hands. “It was a long time ago and...”

She stares at our interlocked fingers and nods. “And you don’t feel that way anymore.”

“I’ve been doing everything in my power to not feel anything at all for so long, I have no idea what I feel now.” Other than terrified.

“Thanks for singing it for me.” She pulls one hand free then swipes at her cheeks with her fingertips. “It’s a beautiful song.”

I want to get us both back to a happier place so I do the only thing I can think of. I tug her hand, pulling her in closer to kiss her, but she turns her head so my mouth lands on her cheek.
 

The ‘kiss dodge’ is one of my tricks, but I can’t believe how much her rejection hurts. I let go of her hand and stand up. “We’ve screwed around here too long. I say we skip the run and head straight to the pool. Okay?”

“Sure.” She smiles, but it doesn’t get anywhere near her eyes.

~***~

I flash my pass and pay for Skylar’s admission into the pool before she can dig her money out of her backpack.

She frowns at me and shoves a fistful of dollars at my chest. I hold my hands up, palms out. “How many times did you grab the tab at Red Robin’s or pay for our movie tickets and popcorn when we were kids?”

“That was different. I was using my mom’s credit card.”

“Yeah, well, now it’s my turn.”

“Rowdy.” She draws my name out and narrows her eyes at me.

I press my lips together to keep from grinning. She’s about as ferocious as a wet kitten. “Go get changed. I’ll meet you out on deck.”

I rinse off in the historic bathhouse then wait by the exit for Skylar. Someone below shouts my name. I shade my eyes and squint. Anna waves at me.

I lean over the rail. “I thought you had to work the morning shift.”

“I couldn’t sleep last night so I took a personal day.” She motions for me to join her on the sun deck next to the slide. “I need help getting sunscreen on my back.”

Ordinarily, I wouldn’t think twice about it. But after Boone’s comments last night, and Skylar’s today, I feel a little weird about smearing lotion over Anna’s bare back. I nod towards the dressing rooms. “I’m waiting for Skylar.”

Anna lifts her shoulders then lets them fall dramatically. I swear I can hear her sigh over the noise of the crowd. “Fine. Come join me when she’s done primping.”

I chuckle and shake my head. Skylar doesn’t primp. Her idea of makeup is Chapstick and eyelash goop. At least, it used to be. I have no idea what her makeup routine is anymore. For all I know, she could be in there for another half hour. My smile fades. What am I doing? This is going to be so much harder than dating a stranger. We both need to scrape away the veneer of what we think we know about each other before we can start over.

“What are you frowning about?” Skylar’s cold, damp hand snakes around my waist.
 

I shiver and grab her wrist. “Damn, woman. Your hands are cold.”

“So is the shower. I hope the pool’s warmer.”

“You know better than that.” I can’t help grinning as I notice the only makeup she’s wearing is a faint, grey smudge under her right eye. I swipe at it with my thumb. “You look like a one-eyed raccoon.”

Skylar grins at me as she bats my hand away. “I didn’t know we were going swimming so I didn’t use waterproof mascara.”
 

“They make that stuff waterproof?”

“It looks fake and it’s hard to remove so I don’t use it unless I plan to get wet or think I might cry.” She rubs her middle finger under her eye then examines it. “Did I get it all?”

“You look great.” I grab her hand and lead her towards the stairs. “Anna saved us a couple of spots on the sun deck.”

Skylar puts on the brakes and gives my hand a hard tug. “I thought she had to work today.”

“She decided to take a personal day.”

“Did you tell her we were coming here?”

“I didn’t even know we were coming here until this morning. Is it a problem?”

“She’s already made it crystal clear that she doesn’t like me.” Sky’s eyebrows draw together, puckering the skin above her nose. She rubs her thumb over the back of my hand. “Besides, I want to spend the day with just the two of us.”

“She’s already seen me. We can’t leave without hurting her feelings.”

“Fine. But if she acts bitchy, I’m putting her in her place.”

“If you would just tell her why you disappeared—”

 
“It’s none of her damn business.”

“Why are you being this way?”

“I’m not exactly proud of the fact that I had to go into WITSEC because my mom’s boyfriend is a criminal.”

“Did you forget how Anna and I are related? Her father is serving a life sentence for murdering my mother.”

Skylar gasps. Her eyes widen. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking—”

“No. It’s okay.” I shouldn’t have brought that shit up. “I’m not trying to force you to tell Anna anything. But if you want her to forgive you, you need to tell her why you disappeared.”

“I don’t care if she forgives me or not. I just don’t want her to come between us.”

“She helped me get through the shittiest time of my entire life.” She’s still helping me, but something tells me confessing that to Skylar isn’t a good idea. “She watched me go through it all—the grief, the disbelief, the insane hope that you’d come back, and finally the devastating acceptance that you were gone forever.”

Skylar wraps her arms around my waist and lays her head against my chest. “I’m so sorry.”

I pull her closer and kiss the top of her head. It’s an ingrained reflex. If someone throws a ball at my head, I catch it. If they throw a fist at my face, I dodge it. If Skylar needs comfort, I give it.

“Hey! Keep it PG up there.” Anna’s shout is like a bucket of cold water straight from the spring. “This is a family place.”

I kiss Skylar’s forehead then take her hand and lead her to the sun deck below.

Anna’s got two beach towels spread out. There’s room for all three of us, if we squeeze in, but she’s lying in the middle.
 

I nudge her shoulder with my foot. “Hey, scoot over.”

She peers at me from over the top of her sunglasses. “I’ve already got this spot warmed up. There’s room on either side.”

“It’s ninety-eight degrees and you’ve got sweat pooling in the middle of your back.”

Skylar snorts then covers her mouth with the hand that’s not clinging to mine.

Anna presses her sparkly, pink mouth into a fine line. Her nostrils flare as she sucks in a quick breath. She pastes a huge, fake smile on her face as she unties the back of her bikini top. “I don’t want to risk flashing anyone.”