The Summer I Fell (The Six Series) Read online

  I didn’t want to think about the fact that he’d leave in two weeks’ time. I had to love him in the moment… and worry about everything else later. I’d waited too long for him to see me, love me—the way I loved him. Had always loved him.

  “I was just waiting for you,” I said, smiling up at him.

  He shifted to sit up at the edge of the bed, picked his shirt up off the floor, and handed it to me. Pulling it over my head, I moved my legs slowly to sit on the edge of the bed. He reached out, snagged his jeans up off the floor, stood up, and disappeared into the bathroom. “Be right back,” he called out behind him.

  I ached pretty much all over, cringing when I rolled my shoulders to stretch. The bathroom door opened, so I smoothed the wince from my face and smiled at Ace when he walked back into my bedroom.

  Walking over, he put his hand out. I slipped my hand in his, and he helped me stand. He let go first and ran his fingers up my arm, over my shoulder. His hand stilled at my neck and he stepped forward, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me flush against him. Kissing me, he then rested his chin on top of my head. I shifted to lay my head on his shoulder. Tracing an invisible line down his chest, I stopped at the waist of his jeans. His hand found mine and he pulled my fingers up, placing a kiss to the palm of my hand.

  “I have no idea what comes next for us, Riley. But I do know one thing. You’re it for me. Only you, no matter where I go. I know it’s not fair to ask you to wait for me, and I can’t say I wouldn’t be pissed if you got tired of waiting and moved on, but can we try to make this work?”

  “I’ve waited for you this long. What’s a little more time?” I leaned back to look at him and watched the worry slip from his face. “I’m not going anywhere, Jake, unless it’s with you.”

  He leaned back and cupped my face. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you, Riley.” He brushed his lips against mine about the same time the front door downstairs slammed shut.

  “I swear to fuckin’ God, one of you better be dead because if you aren’t, I plan on killing you both!” Jared shouted as he raced up the stairs.

  Ace grumbled as he let go of my face. Jared sounded pissed.

  I wondered what smart-ass comment he’d make seeing both of us half dressed. Ace didn’t give him a chance to barge in. He crossed the room in three strides and pulled my bedroom door closed behind him just as Jared made it to the top of the stairs.

  “What the hell, Ace? I fuckin’ call and call, and you don’t pick up. Is Riley okay?” He sounded frantic.

  “She’s fine. My phone died,” Ace told him.

  I blew out the breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.

  “If she’s fine, then you won’t mind if I check on her?” There was a tone of challenge in Jared’s voice.

  “She’s getting her stuff together for a shower. You should probably knock first,” Ace warned him as my doorknob rattled.

  I grabbed the pants I’d had on the night before and slid them on. There was no way I’d be able to put my bra back on. The stiffness in my back made it impossible. I turned to my dresser and pulled out a pair of cut-off shorts when Jared’s knuckles wrapped on my door. I called out for him to come in as I pulled my closet doors open and plucked a T-shirt off its hanger. I hugged the clothes against my chest, as Jared looked me from head to toe. “You both suck. All I could think was there was a problem, and we’d spend our last week together keeping vigil over you in a hospital bed.” He crossed his arms and gave me his angry eyes.

  I chuckled at him and closed my closet. “I’m fine, as you can see. Still standing and everything.”

  Jared shook his head and snorted. I looked past him to see Ace in the doorway. He’d leaned against the doorjamb, watching us.

  Jared saw the direction of my gaze and it was as if everything clicked into place. Understanding dawned on his face, and he turned to look over at my bed. On the floor beside it were the discarded condom wrappers. His eyes snapped to Ace, and I swear I saw a hint of a smile cross his lips. He rubbed his hands together before he spoke. “Get your shit together, both of you. In case you’ve forgotten, we’re staying out at the cabin together before everyone heads out. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to stop by the hospital and demand Paige’s presence for at least a few days, so Mark will stop being an asshole.”

  I couldn’t help but wonder why Jared would think that Paige’s presence would make Mark act any different. I’d tuck that question away until I had a chance to talk to Paige.

  “What do you want us to bring?” Ace asked.

  “Food and contraceptives, people! The basics of life.” Jared let a barking laugh out before he stopped in front of Ace. They stared at each other until Ace moved back so he could walk out. Jared put his fist out, and Ace bumped his against it. “’Bout time, bro. I thought you’d never get your shit together.” Jared trotted down the stairs and slammed the front door behind him.

  “Idiot.” Ace shook his head. “I’ll run to the store while you get ready, okay?”

  “A week with the Six. How could one girl get so lucky?” Crossing over to my bed, I picked up the wrappers Ace had discarded and reached under it to pull out a duffel bag.

  “Sorry, Riles. I shoulda picked those up. Now big-mouth Jared knows.”

  I went for a shrug and stiffened. “I don’t care that he knows, Jake. I’m sure by the end of the week, they all would have figured it out.”

  He smiled and took the wrappers from me. “You’re right about that, especially when I carried you off to my room every night.”

  “Every night, huh?” I bit my lip when I saw his eyes change and desire creep in.

  “Multiple times. Are you scared?”

  “Of you? Never.”

  He backed me up against the wall. Groaning against my lips, he forced himself back a step. His chest heaved as he fisted his hands to keep from reaching for me. “I better go, so you can get ready.”

  I stepped towards him and ran my hand over his shoulder. A heartbeat later, he had me against the wall again. His hungry lips bruised mine in punishing kisses until he went still. “Can’t. We can’t. No protection. Gotta go. Be back.” He spun on his heel, scooped up his T-shirt and shoes, and bolted down the stairs. I heard my keys jingle, and then the kitchen door closed. I rested my head against the wall, sucking in lungfuls of air until I heard my truck start up.

  “Oh, Riley, you’re in deep, girl,” I said aloud to an empty room. My legs shook, as I righted myself and walked to the bathroom.

  THE HEAT FROM THE WATER loosened my muscles. I toweled myself off, opened the medicine cabinet for the bottle of ibuprofen, and shook two capsules out into my hand. Tossing them in my mouth, I washed them down with water from the sink. I leaned in and looked at my eye. The purple line underneath it stood out against the coloring of my skin. I wasn’t pale, by any means, but I’d started wearing a hat to keep the sun off my face, which also kept me from tanning like I normally did in the summer. It looked bad, but it shouldn’t take long to heal. I pulled open the side drawer in the cabinet and took out the little green tin of Res Q Ointment. It was like the miracle of all healing medicines, and I used it on everything. Religiously. The only problem was that I couldn’t reach the spot on my back, so I left it out for when Ace returned. A shiver of anticipation rolled through me. He was my very own addiction. I dropped the towel and pulled on my clothes as the front door opened. Ace called out to me.

  I stepped out of the bathroom, as he closed the door. I waited for him at the top of the stairs and held out the green tin. “Can you put this on my back?”

  He smirked. “Do you think it’s safe to start taking off your clothes again?”

  I turned around and pulled my shirt up over my shoulders, but kept in on. Ace opened the lid, smearing the ointment on my back. “It actually looks pretty good, considering.”

  If Samantha had hurt me any worse, I would have never known what it was like to love Ace. It sort of pissed me off to think about it, so I shook the
thought from my mind.

  Ace snapped the container together, and I pulled my shirt down.

  “I still need to pack,” I said as I picked up my comb and brushed my hair. Ace leaned on the doorjamb, watching me. “Did you stop by your house and get your things?”

  “I’m all set. And I grabbed some stuff from the store.” My eyes snapped up to his reflection in the mirror. A satisfied smile stretched out along his lips. The heat in his eyes rooted me to the spot.

  Ace stepped back to let me pass. “Come on, let’s get you packed before Jared shows up and does it for you.”

  I chuckled because he was right. Jared was not a patient person. Ace followed me back to my room and went in search of his phone. He found it under a pillow, turning it back on before slipping it in his back pocket. “Bring a bathing suit. I’m sure we’ll end up at the Hole.”

  The Hole was Mark’s term for the man-made pond, big enough to be a small lake. Jared’s parents had it dug and then stocked it so the guys could go fishing. Over the last four years, a dock had been added, along with a pair of Jet Skis.

  Jared’s parents were loaded. No one really knew what they did to make the money they rolled in, but they always doled it out if Jared said it was for the Six. Maybe it was because they felt bad about not being around much.

  When Jared’s parents concluded that he came with a set of five unruly best friends, they had the cabin built. Calling it a cabin didn’t do it justice either. It was massive, with six rooms, one for each of the guys. They spared no expense in building and furnishing it. It was more like a home than a cabin, and the guys loved it. Everyone’s parents were happy with it too, since it kept the guys together, out of trouble, and they always knew where their kids were.

  I tossed clothes in my bag and an extra pair of shoes in case they wanted to take a walk. Flip-flops sucked in the woods.

  I grabbed my phone charger, stuffed it in the bag, and looked around my room for my phone. “It’s in your truck,” Ace answered my unspoken question.

  “Okay, well then, I’m ready,” I said, pulling my bag off my bed. Ace took it from me and gestured for me to go first. I stopped by the bathroom, grabbed my overnight case with my toiletries, and added the Res Q Ointment.

  When I got to the kitchen, I checked the fridge to make sure nothing in there would go bad before I came back home. There was a gallon of milk so I grabbed it, and then searched the cabinet for the hot chocolate mix. I found a plastic bag and put them in it. Ace had taken my bag out to the truck, and I heard him as his feet scuffed against the step at the front door. I turned with a smile and all but melted. He was leaning on the doorjamb with his arms over his head. He watched me cross the floor until I stopped in front of him. Dropping his arms to his side, he took the plastic bag from my fingers as I tried to form a complete thought. It was impossible, the thought completion, because they all flew out of my head. The only clear thing that came to me was that Ace was so damn hot. Like, lickable hot. The kind of hot that made your toes curl, your mouth water, and your heart race. Pinpricks of awareness jolted along my entire body, and I couldn’t move until he nodded his head in the direction of my truck.

  Ace opened my door, and I slid in. He put the bag by my feet and closed the door. When he climbed in and started the truck, he reached over and placed his hand on my thigh. Before I knew it, my entire body slid along the bench seat until my hip rested against his. I looked up at him, he shot me a wink, and then put the truck in drive. We’d made it out of the driveway when he slung his arm over the back of the seat and played with the ends of my hair.

  I leaned forward, turned the radio on, and slipped into the comfort I’d always had around Ace, before I’d realized how crazy I was about him. Ace’s fingers continued playing with my hair. The silence between us was a comfortable one. We’d always been like that though. A smile bloomed on my face, as the morning we’d shared replayed in my thoughts.

  “What put that beautiful smile on your face?”

  I laid my head on his shoulder and rested my hand on his leg. “You.”

  He brushed his knuckles against my shoulder and kissed the top of my head. I let a soft sigh slip past my lips, allowing my happiness to beam out of me.

  The ride to the cabin didn’t take long. When Ace pulled my truck around the back, the guys waved from different spots in the yard. Mark was setting up the horseshoe pit, and Aiden fished around inside a huge cooler. Josh was lying in the hammock stretched out between two large oak trees. His leg hung over the side and pushed him as he munched on an apple.

  Eli came out of the cabin and walked over to the truck. When he saw me sitting beside Ace, he smirked and opened the driver’s side door. Ace pulled the keys from the ignition and lifted his arm from around me. “Where’s Jared?” he asked.

  Eli smirked at me. I couldn’t help but wonder if Jared had already called them and filled them in. “Not back yet. He said something about stopping by his house to pick up some stuff.”

  I slid out after Ace, and he put his hand out to help me.

  Eli gave me a toothy grin and a wink. “Need help with your stuff?”

  “Yeah, grab some of those bags in the back.”

  Eli reached over the side of the truck and hauled out two handfuls of plastic bags. “Holy crap, half the grocery store is back here!”

  Ace snorted. “You guys eat like a bunch of animals.”

  “True,” Eli called out over his shoulder, as he carried the bags to the cabin.

  I closed the driver’s side door and walked around the truck. Ace grabbed the rest of the grocery bags from the back. “Just get the small stuff, Riley.”

  I wasn’t going to argue, not with the way my back felt.

  “Josh, get your ass outta the hammock and come grab our bags.”

  Josh flipped him off. “Say please, asshole.”

  “Please, asshole,” Ace mimicked as he walked past where Josh pushed himself from the hammock.

  Josh pointed his finger at Ace as he walked backwards to the truck. “That’s better.”

  I waited for him as he crossed the yard. “How ya feelin’, Riles?”

  “A little sore, but not bad considering.”

  Reaching inside the cab, he pulled out my bag. I closed the door as he slung the strap over his shoulder. He then reached in the back and grabbed Ace’s bag.

  “Your eye looks better than I thought it would.”

  “Pretty, right? I hope Samantha’s whole face is purple.”

  “Feelin’ a little bloodthirsty today, slugger?” Josh darted out of the way when my hand shot out to slap his arm.

  “Nah, she got what she had coming. I just wished she would have refrained from throwing a tree at me.”

  Josh snorted.

  “What?”

  “Nothing… well, I mean, it’s not nothing, but all I can think of is her turning into like the Hulk or something when you said she threw a tree at you.”

  I shook my head. “Josh, you have a really weird sense of humor.”

  “Yeah.” He agreed with me because he knew it was true. He always looked at things differently than the rest of us did. However, it did provide us hours of entertainment when he got going.

  I pulled the screen door open and let Josh go first.

  “Where do you want me to put your bag, Riley?”

  Ace replied before I could even form a response. “Just toss both bags on my bed.”

  Josh whipped his head around and looked at Ace. When Ace gave him a challenging glare, Josh laughed. “This is gonna be an interesting week. I can already tell.”

  Ace winked at me and went back to putting away the groceries. Eli had remained quiet, pretending that lining up the cereal boxes was the most important job on earth.

  I grabbed the milk and put it in the fridge. When Eli stood up, I handed him the box of hot chocolate to put up. “Yes! You never forget, do you?”

  Eli had an unhealthy obsession with dark-chocolate, hot chocolate. Secretly, so did I, but he thought
I bought it for him. I never corrected him since it gave me hero status in his eyes.

  Josh came back into the kitchen and peeked out the front window in the living room. “Jared’s back.”

  As soon as Jared’s truck came to a stop, he bailed out and slammed the door. Eli walked over to the kitchen window and opened it, letting in a warm breeze. “He looks pissed.”

  I looked out the window past Eli and watched Jared holler for Mark. Their conversation drifted along the breeze through the open window. “She’s coming, but be ready, ’cause she’s pissed at you.”

  “She can be pissed all she wants, as long as she’s here.”

  I shook my head, wondering what the hell was going on between Mark and Paige.

  Ace came up behind me, bracing his arms on either side of me. I leaned against his chest as he ducked his head and rested his chin on my shoulder. “What the hell does Jared have in the back of his truck?”

  We watched Jared hand a box over to Mark and then pull another one out. They walked side by side, carrying the boxes to the cabin. Jared stopped and kicked Aiden in the ankle, waking him up.

  Ace chuckled when Aiden kicked back at Jared and called him a dickhead. When Aiden saw the boxes, he got up from his seat and limped behind Mark and Jared, his curiosity getting the best of him. Ace moved to lean against the counter, and I turned around as Eli held the screen door open for Jared and Mark.

  “Party’s here!” Jared set his box down, pulled out several 2-liter bottles of soda, and then opened the box Mark set down. He pulled out two bottles of Crown and a bottle of spiced rum, a smirk spreading across his face. “’Tis a fine thing, rum.”

  YOU DO REALIZE THAT NONE of us drink like that, right?” Eli pulled another bottle of rum out of the box and shook his head at Jared.

  “That’s exactly why we’re doing this. And it’s like a right of passage for friends. We’re all about to go our separate ways, so why not?” Jared snatched the bottle out of Eli’s hands.

  “I’m not carting your drunk ass to bed, but I’ll laugh at you when you pass out,” Aiden said as he pulled the bottle from Jared’s hands. “Can we hold off on the puke fest until we eat?”