HIDDEN CREEK FOREVER: a hidden creek high novel, page 12
When she dropped the bat, she turned and fell at me.
I caught her as she started to cry.
I gently walked away from the steps so she wouldn’t hear or see anything else.
My fist throbbed in pain from punching Eric.
My heart raced because of the look in his eyes.
And this whole kicking everyone’s ass thing still bothered me.
But I understood it.
I really did understand it.
* * *
“I’ll never do that again,” Emma said. “I owe you all an apology.”
“Not a chance,” Charlotte said.
We all stood in the cool ocean water.
The guys were up at the fire, smoking and drinking, reliving beating the shit out of Eric for what he had done to Emma.
“I don’t think he’ll be back around,” Nova said. “I mean, if he’s smart…”
“He’s not smart at all,” Emma said.
“Then if tries to come around, he’ll get his ass kicked again,” Kailey said. “Simple as that.”
“This isn’t about him,” I said. “Stop talking about him. This is about you, Emma.”
“Go ahead, Aira,” Emma said. “I know you’ve been holding it in. Let it out. Tell me everything I’ve done wrong.”
Everyone suddenly stared at me.
My mind decided that it was a good time to flash some images.
Of me standing in the window at Julia’s house. Seeing the beach for the first time in years. Seeing Wes for the first time in years. Seeing Kailey for the first time in years. How I walked out to the beach feeling like a stranger in a place that had in some ways always been home.
And how fast everything decided to twist and turn. Digging into me and changing me.
They all stared at me as though I was their leader.
Or maybe they just feared me.
Or they just thought I was a terrible bitch and would take them down in a second.
I slowly shook my head. “No, Emma. You know what you did wrong. But you know what you did right. I hope that never happens to you again. Ever.”
“But we’re always here,” Charlotte said. “Through the good and the bad.”
“Do you think Ryker still wants to fuck you?” Kailey asked.
“Wow, Kail,” I said.
“What?” she asked. “I need to know.”
“How would I know that?” Emma asked. “That’s not my business.”
“Is it though?” Kailey asked. “Tell me everything that just happened didn’t have something to do with Ryker?”
Emma swallowed hard. “Then let’s go ask him.”
Emma moved from the water to the sand.
She walked with purpose.
“Way to go, Kailey,” Charlotte whispered.
“This should be interesting,” Nova said to me.
I was last in line. I wasn’t going to try and stop this thing from happening.
Emma walked right into the group of guys and grabbed Ryker by his shirt.
“Kiss me,” she said.
“What?” Ryker asked.
“What are you doing?” Kailey yelled.
Wes looked at me with a curious face.
I just shook my head.
“If he doesn’t want to, I’m always available,” Walker said.
“What the hell is this?” Flynn asked as he slipped his hands around Charlotte’s body from behind.
“Not sure yet,” Charlotte said.
“I’m not kissing you,” Ryker said.
“Why not?” Emma asked. “You did this for me, right? You looked into Eric? You wanted to save me? So you did it. Now you can have me. You can do anything you want. And I mean… anything…”
I was speechless.
Emma was crazy and bold. But this…
Ryker looked at Kailey. “You’re fucking crazy, girl.”
“I’m crazy?” Kailey asked.
“You put Emma up to this,” he said.
“Don’t look at her,” Emma said. “Look at me. Kiss me. Then think about all the things my mouth can do to you.”
Ryker stepped back and took Emma’s hand off his shirt.
“This is fucked up,” he said. “You’re all fucked up.”
“Hey, don’t talk about Emma that way,” Walker said. “She’s been through a lot.”
“Wow, bro, that’ll win her over,” Leo said. “Did your voice just crack when you said that? What are you… thirteen again?”
Wes laughed. “What the hell is the point of this?”
Emma looked at Kailey. “Happy yet?”
“Fucking crazy,” Ryker said.
“You did so much for her,” Kailey said.
“I did it for everyone,” Ryker yelled. “Wes was the one who called me anyway. And why wouldn’t I get upset? Shit, Kailey, what do you want this to be? Between us? Huh? You want to get married and runaway? Or do you just want to fuck when you’re lonely? I’ve made it very clear to you…”
“Looks like he doesn’t want to fuck me now,” Emma said.
She turned to walk away and I blocked the way.
“Hey,” I said.
“Hey,” Emma said.
“Jealousy. It doesn’t look good on any of us.”
“I’m not jealous,” Emma said.
“You were. That’s why you ended up with Eric.”
“I’m sorry,” Kailey said. “To both of you.”
“Tell you what,” Walker said. “Let’s lighten the mood. All the girls lift their shirts and we forget about this.”
“Can someone shut him up?” Emma asked.
Leo dove at Walker. He missed grabbing him but he chased him away.
Kailey touched Emma’s arm. “I’m sorry. Okay? You’re gorgeous, Emma. Everyone wants you. It’s not a secret. Everyone sees me as the flat chested best friend. The second option. Which is what I am.”
Kailey glanced back at Ryker.
He didn’t move right away or say something right away either.
Kailey hurried back to the water.
The mood had been deflated.
“Dammit,” Ryker growled.
He ran after Kailey.
“You okay?” I asked Emma.
“I’ll figure it out,” Emma said.
She turned away and took a seat near the fire.
Flynn had pulled Charlotte down to the sand where they were cuddled up talking, kissing, laughing.
That left Wes standing on one side of the fire and me on the other.
Staring at each other.
The fire dancing between us, throwing shadows around. I loved the way the fire looked bouncing off his dark eyes. There was this pull about them that I could never fight. Not that I wanted to fight it either.
We walked toward each other, meeting halfway.
His arms slid around me and I put my head to his chest.
“Crazy night,” I whispered.
“You can still take your shirt off if you want,” Wes said.
I looked up at Wes. “Why don’t you take it off for me?”
* * *
My hands found comfort around the bed sheets. Wes was behind me, his body against mine, inside me, doing more than just taking my shirt off. That felt like hours ago. My clothes scattered across the bedroom floor. His fingerprints all over my body. Places that were okay and places that made my cheeks turn red.
His right arm was wrapped around my chest, cupping my left breast, holding me tight against him. His lips took their time as he kissed from the back of my shoulder to my neck. He would let out a groan before thrusting harder at me.
His left hand gripped tight at the front of my left leg.
We were buried under the covers, hiding together, both looking for a breath of fresh air, but loving the intense heat and the intense feeling we were sharing. Everything he did was intense. And it was perfect. There was no way I could ever imagine anyone else doing what Wes did to me.
In a quick move, I felt Wes pull away from my body.
My toes curled and I pulled the pillow to my mouth to yell in frustration.
I turned my head and felt like biting at his face.
Before I could ask why he stopped, he kissed me.
He rested between my legs, hard and throbbing, but he wasn’t inside…
The fingertips of his left hand inched up. So slow and seductive, making me shiver when there was nothing but heat between us.
As he cut between my legs, I sighed into his mouth. That only made him kiss me harder. He touched me, pressing right where I so desired to be touched. My entire body jumped. Every muscle tightened and released, only to tighten again. I broke the kiss and put my head back to his shoulder.
“Right there, darling,” he whispered as his breath tickled my neck. “That’s the spot right fucking there.”
Oh, I knew the spot. I owned the spot. I felt his touching the spot. My body was ready to explode because of the spot.
My hips rocked as he twisted his fingers and pressed harder.
He made circles as my left hand jumped from the sheets to his wrist.
Feeling his wrist moving as he took me to the edge of my own pleasure.
I tried to kiss him again but it was sloppy. It lasted a fraction of a second before I turned my head and went for the pillow again.
I pulled his wrist, needing him to stop moving so I could…
Explode.
When I did, I cried out into the pillow, never wanting the feeling to end.
Wes moved fast again, always knowing what was floating through my head.
He replaced his fingers with his body and was back inside me again.
Holding my body tight against his.
I never wanted it to end.
Well, that wasn’t exactly true.
Everything in Hidden could end.
But everything hidden in bed with Wes and I?
That was the best part of it all.
Chapter 13
Wes
I finished working on a motorcycle, wiped the seat down, and saw Tony pointing to it.
“That’s done?” he asked.
“Ready to go. You’re selling it?”
“We have half a dozen we’re unloading,” Tony said. “Me and Rhyno are loading them up right now. Going to an auction.”
“Didn’t realize we got into that game,” I said.
“Your old man suckered Pop into it,” Tony said. He shrugged his shoulders. “Not my place to say anything.”
“But it is mine,” I said.
I walked toward the office when I spotted Ryker standing outside.
I decided to join him, walking up to him, hitting my shoulder to his.
“Hey, bro,” he said.
“What are you doing out here?”
“Nothing. Walker went for a food run. I’m fucking starving.”
“Too much partying?”
“Something like that.”
I laughed. “You and Kailey kiss and make up?”
“More than kissed,” Ryker said.
I patted his back. “Good for you.”
“She gets jealous like crazy, huh?”
“Because of her tits,” I said.
“Hey. Fuck you.”
“It’s the truth,” I said. “She thinks she needs some Charlotte knockers.”
“She doesn’t though,” Ryker said.
“Well, bro, it’s your job to convince her of that.”
“Hey, you know I only got upset about the Emma thing because…”
Ryker lost his words.
I laughed again.
“Yeah, I get it,” I said. “We all got upset. We took care of it. If you hear anything about him or anyone he runs with, let me know. But we should be in the clear. He’ll find someone else to mess with.”
“That’s what pisses me off,” Ryker said. “Guys like that get to keep going.”
“Don’t let it get you down. We protect ours here. Everything else. Oh fucking well.”
Leo and Flynn came riding into the lot.
Behind me, I heard the sound of Jett’s voice.
I hit Ryker in the back again. “If you’re falling for Kailey, enjoy the ride.”
“Oh, I enjoyed it last night,” Ryker said. “I think I still have sand in my-”
“I don’t need to hear the rest of that,” I said.
I ran to catch up with Jett as he stood with a piece of paper in his hand.
Tony and Rhyno were loading up the motorcycles for auction.
“New business?” I asked.
“Let it go, Wes,” Jett said.
“What is this?”
Jett shook his head. “I don’t agree with it. But it’s not my name on the shop.”
“My name is on the shop,” I said.
WEAZ… stood for Weslee and Azel.
“Wes, just let it go,” Jett said.
“No,” I said.
Jett grabbed my arm and pulled me toward him.
I was inches from his face.
The man who was like a big brother to me. Hell, the man who was like a father. The one who raised me. Took care of me. Knew when to laugh with me and at me. And knew when to challenge me and teach me a lesson.
“Weslee,” he growled.
“What?” I asked.
“I love you,” Jett said. “Like family. You know?”
“We’re family, Jett. Always have been.”
He let me go.
I went right to the office.
Pop was behind the desk, watching TV.
He had a flask in his left hand.
“You’re taking rides to auction now?” I asked. “Because my old man wanted it?”
“Stay out of it, grandson,” Pop said.
“I won’t. He’s probably the one with the stolen parts, right? Either using them or trying to set you up. And now he’s working deals at an auction? You know he’s going to screw you over.”
“How so?” Pop asked.
He didn’t look away from the TV.
“He’ll write up fake invoices and shit. Pocket cash. This is all about trust. And he’s the last person I trust.”
“Tony and Rhyno are taking the motorcycles.”
“And what’s West going to do? Hang here? You give him that one little sense of power, Pop…”
Pop turned and forced himself to stand.
He looked at me with his crazy eyes.
“I wrote him a check,” Pop said.
“What?”
“I paid him in advance for the motorcycles. You don’t think I know they’re shit? We’ll take them out there, make a deal, strip it all down. Fuck it.”
“Fuck it? He can’t get away with that.”
“That’s the thing, grandson. He is getting away. That’s part of it. He can’t get the shop. He can’t get the land. If I drop dead, he doesn’t get a fucking thing. You’ve been taken care of, Weslee. That’s all you need to know.”
“Wait a second,” I said. “West is gone?”
Pop nodded. “Yeah.”
“Gone…”
“He took his check. It’s done. It’s the only choice I had, grandson. He went to say goodbye to your mother and that’s it. Listen to me, Weslee…”
I bolted for the door.
Pop yelled for me.
I ran to my ride.
The guys watched me as I took off.
I sped through the streets of Hidden to Ma’s house.
Last thing I needed was West spitting shit words to her. In a way she would always love him and that meant there was always a chance she would buy into whatever he was saying.
When I got to Ma’s house, her car was parked in the driveway.
There was a black book bag on the front porch.
I took note of it but ignored it as I plowed through the front door.
Ma sat at the kitchen table, looking lost.
“Weslee,” she said.
“He’s gone?”
She nodded.
“Nobody called me?”
“What did you want from him?” she asked.
My heart sank.
I really didn’t know.
The seven-year-old version of Weslee wanted to hug his leg and yell Dad! and laugh. The current version of me wanted to throw him into the ocean.
I never had any nightmares after Azel died but I did have dreams of West drowning in the ocean instead of Azel. And in the dream I would touch Azel’s shoulder and tell him it was okay to let West drown.
“What did he say?” I asked.
“Nothing,” Ma said. “He said he left something for you on the porch. That he was leaving for good.”
“He always says that,” I said.
“I know he does,” Ma said.
“So he just fucking left? He just woke up, got a check, and left.”
“Wes,” Ma said. She slowly stood up. “Don’t do this to yourself.”
“Do what?”
“I see it in your eyes,” she said. “You’re my son. You’ve been through a lot. We all have.”
“He just gets to walk away,” I said.
“It’s what we wanted, right?” Ma asked.
“Are you okay with it?”
“Of course,” she said.
Her voice rose up when she said that.
A classic Ma lie.
She was hurt.
She loved him.
A piece of her heart lived in a world where Azel was alive. Where West was a good father. Where he and Pop ran the shop or maybe sold the land and everyone was as free living as the rest of Hidden.
I backed away. “I better go see what is in the bag.”
“Hey, Wes,” Ma said. “It’ll be okay.”
The way that made me feel proved just how shitty it could make someone feel. And how many times had I said that to Aira?
Shit.
Out on the porch, I sat next to the bag and unzipped it.
It was motorcycle parts.
Random shit.
Nothing else.
That was what West left me.
What my fucking father left me.
I gripped the front of the bag and shook it, wanting to throw it.
That’s when I saw a piece of paper.
It was a note.
I flipped open the piece of paper and read it.
Scribbled handwriting but not sloppy. Not sloppy at all. In fact, the writing looked a little preppy. A touch of fancy to it. The kind that reeked of money. Someone who had money. Someone who had a plan.
