HIDDEN CREEK KISS: a hidden creek high novel, page 5
Because that someone was pretty fucking evident in my case.
It was - and always would be - Elijah.
* * *
We were all on the beach long after the last HCH bell rang. How we all ended up together I wasn’t sure. But it had an old time feel to it. Which was kind of sad to think. That there were feelings that were from old times and new times.
But that was how it worked.
Charlotte sat comfortably between Flynn’s legs.
Emma and Leo were the loners in the back. Always on the lookout, ready for a fight.
Kailey sat with her phone in her hand, annoyed that Ryker hadn’t texted her yet.
Then there were Wes and Aira, sitting next to each other, their arms all tangled together like they were made of string.
The wind played with my hair as everyone struggled to keep some kind of conversation going.
Until I finally got sick of it.
“Fine,” I said. I moved to my knees. “Fine. You all know what’s been going on here. You all think I’m a fucking bitch for not saying something sooner. Or that I’m messed up for living with such a crazy, dark secret.”
“No,” Aira said. “Not at all. You know my secrets, Nova…”
I swallowed hard. Aira had the scars on her legs from her secret. And then the one about what her father did…
“Everyone has secrets,” Emma said.
“We’re just here for you, Nova,” Kailey said. “Not trying to pry into your life. Or hurt you. Or want you to feel hurt.”
I took a deep breath. “It’s a fucking joke. And a mess. And I’m confused by it all.”
“You’re never alone, Nova,” Leo said.
I looked at him. “Thanks.”
“Even with the other side of it,” Wes said.
“What other side?” I asked.
“The person who helped you,” he said.
“Oh,” I said. “So everyone still hates Elijah.”
There was silence.
I laughed. “I don’t know what else to say then. What’s been talked about is true. It was just something I lived with. Whether you like it or not, if it wasn’t for Elijah being here… nothing would have changed. I know there’s bad blood. I know there’s fights that aren’t finished. I’m not asking anyone to love him or forgive him or pretend to be his friend. I’m not even sure how I feel half the time. But he was the one who was there when my mother finally decided to leave.”
“We would have been there too,” Flynn said. “For the record.”
“He’s right,” Leo said. “Not taking away from what Elijah did…”
“Fuck this,” Wes said. “You’re out of there and safe. For that, I’ll shake his damn hand. Okay? Is that okay?”
“Yeah, Wes, that’s okay,” I said.
“Then move on,” he said. “I don’t want to talk about him anymore.”
Aira managed to get away from Wes and she grabbed my hand. “You never have to hide something from us. Ever. About anything. Or anyone.” Aira glared back at Wes. “But just know if you do hold back on anything, we still love you.”
“You are a stubborn pain in the ass,” Emma said. “And I relate to that.”
“I’m sorry everything happened,” Charlotte said. “It’s wrong. And it’s scary. And I hope someone hurts your father.”
“Charlotte,” Aira said.
“No,” I said. “It’s okay. I appreciate that Charlotte. I kind of just want to let it all go right now. You all know. Everyone knows. And whatever happens next is what happens next. I’m sorry to you all I didn’t say something sooner. I didn’t know how. It was almost routine. I’m hurt because of that. But I’m glad I have friends.”
“Always,” Aira said.
I swallowed hard.
Aira, Kailey, Emma, and Charlotte closed in to hug me.
It was nothing but boobs and perfume. Most of which came from Charlotte.
I shut my eyes and hugged them all back.
“We can’t lose you, Nova,” Kailey whispered. “Even if you’re a bitch sometimes.”
“I mean, if they all put up with me being a bitch, they can handle you,” Emma said.
“I’m worse than you… bitch,” I said to Emma.
“Try me,” she teased back.
“Okay, I can’t breathe here,” Aira said. “I think Charlotte’s boobs sucked all the oxygen out of the air.”
“You’re all just jealous,” Charlotte said.
“Whoa, damn,” Emma said. “Ever hear of a breath mint?”
“I haven’t even eaten anything,” Charlotte said.
“Except for Flynn,” I said.
Kailey wiggled to get away. “Ohmygod. Tell me you… did that to him… and now you’re talking so close to us?”
“Gross,” Aira said.
“I don’t need little Flynn guys jumping from your mouth.”
“Nothing to worry about,” Charlotte said. “I make sure-”
“I’m going to go drown myself in the ocean now,” I said and broke away.
“Oh, come on,” Flynn called out. “That was just getting hot.”
“Sometimes I wonder,” Emma whispered to me. “What would happen if we did do something crazy in front of the guys.”
“You mean the boys?” I asked. “Only boys think that way. And if something happened, they’d stand there, shocked, red faced, and a little stain would appear from in their pants.”
Emma snorted. “I like you, Nova. You crazy surfing bitch.”
I glanced at Emma.
That’s when I remembered everything that had happened to her. With that asshole Eric she had been seeing. What he did to her.
I quickly grabbed her hand and turned to face her.
“Hey,” I said. “Please don’t let it happen to you ever again. Because I watched the progression for so long. I watched my mother become a shell of a person over it. Always finding a way to justify it. And I know you’re a wicked badass with your baseball bat. Please don’t ever put the baseball bat down, Emma. You’re so beautiful and you deserve happiness…”
Emma rolled her eyes up for a second. She cleared her throat. “Are you trying to make me cry, Nova? Do you know what that will do to my reputation?”
“I know. Just know…”
“I get it,” she said. “Now walk away before I fucking slap you.”
Emma winked at me.
I turned and walked back to our little group.
“Once again, that was getting hot,” Flynn said.
“Christ,” Leo said. “Doesn’t Charlotte take care of you?”
“I guess,” Flynn said, shrugging his shoulders.
“You guess?” Charlotte yelled at him. “Want to tell them what I did to you on the drive over here?”
“Hey, Charlotte,” Kailey said. She touched the corner of her mouth. “You have something right there. Looks a little gooey.”
Flynn laughed. “Nice.”
Charlotte kicked sand at Flynn. “Sorry it wasn’t good enough for you.”
She stormed away as everyone let out an ooohhh sound.
“Shit,” Flynn said.
He scrambled to his feet to chase after Charlotte.
I shook my head.
“Remind me to never fall in love and be like that,” I said, half smiling.
“Nova, might be too late for that,” Aira said.
She pointed and I turned my head.
Elijah was standing not too far away, cigarette in his mouth, thumbs in the pockets of his jeans, making my heart race so much I thought I was going to pass out.
Chapter 5
Elijah
“What do you want?”
I pretended to shiver. “Cold, babe. Cold.”
“Yeah? Well… look what you did this morning…”
“Come on, Nova…”
“Nope,” she said. She showed her hands to me knowing I was going to reach for one of them. “Not going to happen, Elijah. There’s something about waking up with you in the same house… it excited me. Then you fucked it up.”
I sucked in a breath. “Yeah. I guess I did. I’m good at that.”
“The best at it.”
“I’m also good at saving your ass. Making you laugh. Showing you what it’s like to be happy.”
“You’re so full of yourself, Elijah. And full of shit.”
“I’m sorry, babe,” I said. “Okay? I’m sorry.”
“For what?” she asked with her hip cocked to the side.
Her lips looked so pouty and kissable.
Her Surfer Girl hair all messy from not ever brushing it.
Her blue eyes shining bright enough to chase away any darkness that existed in my soul.
“For this morning, Nova,” I said. “I owe you an explanation for that. You tried to be there for me. I pushed you away. Fuck, I walked away. And you were right. About me being vulnerable near you. To you. All I gave a damn about was making sure you and your mother were okay. That’s why I swung by Cherry’s, okay? I didn’t plan on staying there. I was kind of hoping to see you. And seeing you this morning…”
“What?” she asked.
I moved at her and skipped reaching for her hands.
I touched her waist.
“I saw you on the stairs, babe,” I whispered. “You saw me and you took off. Then you came back and rushed by me. I watched you.”
“I thought you were sleeping.”
“I’m sneaky, babe,” I said with a wink.
Nova’s cheeks turned red. “Elijah…”
“Look, I’m apologizing here. It was just a lot. I can’t stand being in the same house as you and not being able to enjoy it.”
“So it goes back to that, huh?”
“It’s not just about that, Nova,” I said. “It’s about you. It’s about me. Being close. Being together. Fuck, babe, I want to hold you all night. I want you in my arms. All damn night.”
She licked her bottom lip and touched my shirt. “Me too.”
“So then run away with me.”
“What?”
I laughed. “Not for forever. But right now. Run away with me. You really want to hang with these losers?”
“Elijah… stop…”
“What? And they don’t talk shit on me when I’m not around?”
“I’m not getting in the middle of anything.”
“You’re not in the middle, babe. You’re right here with me. On my side.”
Nova stepped back, out of my reach.
Cocky and crazy…
“Hang with me later then,” I offered. “Just you and me. Before it gets dark. We’ll catch some waves and talk.”
“Talk?” she asked.
“Yeah. I’ll be super vulnerable.”
Nova shook her head. “I hate you right now.”
“Just the same as you love me,” I said. “Now go ask for permission.”
“Fuck you,” Nova snapped, curling her eyebrows down.
I did the same, mimicking her.
She smiled.
“Dammit,” she groaned.
“I know,” I said. “I’m the goddamn worst, babe. Better yet, I’ll go talk to Wes myself. And the rest. Let them know I’m stealing you away tonight.”
I took two steps and Nova charged at me.
Her hands wrapped tight around my shirt. She pushed at me.
“Don’t you dare,” she whispered. “Please. Don’t.”
“Got you to touch me again,” I said.
“Where are we meeting later?”
I leaned down and kissed her forehead.
“The spot where we always used to meet, babe.”
* * *
I met up with Nero at the same beach house where the party had been.
The place was still mostly trashed.
Cups stacked on the mantel. Crooked picture frames. A few of them were cracked.
Pillows and blankets on the floor, mixed in with the empty bottles and cans.
The overall smell of the place was sugar and vomit.
I guess all the markings of what had been an amazing party.
I sat on the railing where I had thrown that guy over.
Lars stood in the doorway, arms folded.
“Fuck, who’s cleaning that?” Paxton asked as he walked out of the house waving his hand in front of his face.
“You can,” Lars said.
“The fuck I can. I passed out too early. I didn’t make that mess.”
“You pussied out,” Nero said.
“I took care of myself,” Paxton said.
“Like… by yourself?” I asked.
“Who better?” Paxton asked.
“Fucking weird,” I said.
Turner emerged from the house, tucking his phone away. “We’ll get the place cleaned up. Just made a call. By tomorrow it’ll be ready for another party.”
“That’s why you’re the best, Turner,” Nero said.
I had to admire their little group. Their crew or gang or whatever they wanted to be called. They were mostly quiet and invisible but when their presence was needed to be known, it was. Heavily.
“Hey, Elijah, for the record,” Nero said to me, “Nick and Dean… they’re wimps. They had nothing to do with your brother. Ryland wouldn’t have been that stupid to have them involved in anything serious. He used them to fuck with Wes. Do stupid shit and then they’d end up getting beat up. Rinse and repeat.”
I jumped off the railing and grabbed Nero’s shoulder. “I know.”
“Yet you still had us…,” Lars said.
“The question is, why did you beat the shit out of them?” I asked.
“Old sins,” Nero said. “Tech gets kind of crowded. Nick and Dean always fighting with Walker and Ryker. Sometimes we’d get involved. Sometimes not. It is what it is.”
“Well, they obviously knew I was in town and they wanted their names cleared of anything I was planning on doing,” I said.
“Which is what, exactly?” Paxton asked. “I mean, what are you planning on doing?”
“Right now? Not sure. Other than meeting Nova in a little bit for a surf.”
“A surf?” Turner asked, making air quotes.
“Yes,” I said, air quoting him right back. “If I meant fucking her I would have said fucking her.”
Turner’s eyes went wide. “Okay then. Damn.”
“Enjoy the cleanup here,” I said.
“We’ll hit you up for the next party,” Nero said. “Bring Nova over. Have some fun. Get her away from those other assholes.”
I laughed. “Someday she’ll realize. Then again, the prince… Wes… he just does what he wants.”
“Always has been that way,” Nero said.
“Not for long,” I said. “I’m here to fuck shit up. I have nothing to lose.”
“What about your girl?” Lars asked.
“I’ve lost her many times, man. So I’ll take the time I can get and see what happens.”
I walked down the porch steps and got into my car and took off.
I took on much more speed than needed.
I took the turns too hard.
I sped up on the straight parts of the road.
My hands gripped the wheel extra tight.
My eyes were intense as I stared at the road.
I could play any tough guy act and shit in front of anyone, but the truth was for the taking.
I couldn’t handle losing Nova again - or for good.
* * *
We surfed like it was summer again.
The two of us paddling out, side by side, exchanging glances and flirty smiles.
Of course we broke out into argument after argument over the waves. Over our positioning. Which was just us. She was wrong, I was right. To her, I was wrong and she was right.
But the second a wave big enough caught our attention we rode it together.
If she fell first, I laughed at her.
If I fell first, she called me weak and gave me a thumbs down.
I’d chase her through the water to the sand, knowing I could catch her in a second but never did.
Just like the way it had always been.
“Here comes one,” I said to her.
“Nah. Too small. Let it pass.”
“It’s building, babe.”
“No, it’s not, Elijah,” she said.
“Bet you a kiss.”
“What?”
“If I take this thing to shore, you owe me a kiss. A good one too.”
Nova rolled her eyes. “Can’t I just flash you instead?”
“You’re going to regret that,” I said.
I started to paddle as the wave grew.
Nova stayed back and the wave lifted and lowered her.
The damn thing lost a lot of its umph meaning she was right.
“Fuck,” I whispered as I tried to get on top of it as it started to crest.
I managed to get up on the board and rode it the best I could.
Which wasn’t much of anything though.
I dove off the board and into the water as the weak wave pushed to the shore.
When I popped up and grabbed for my board, Nova was on top of a bigger wave.
I could watch her surf all day long. Just the way she handled herself. The way her body looked and moved too. Her hair wet and knotted, sticking to her skin. Leaving me feeling a little jealous that her hair was touching places that I always felt were best kept for me.
Nova rode the damn wave down to the shore and stepped off her board. She reached down and unhooked the board from her ankle. She walked to the sand and stood the board up and then ran back to the water.
“I win,” she said.
“Nope,” I said. “I rode that wave, babe. That was the deal. Didn’t matter the size.”
“Size doesn’t matter, huh?” she asked with a grin.
“Please, Nova, you know you never have to worry about size with me.”
“Yeah, right,” she said. “Compare yourself to that wave you just rode and I can see why you’re so confident.”
I curled my lip.
I unhooked my surfboard and walked it to the sand.
Then I stood in ankle deep water.
“Let’s go,” I said.
“What?” Nova asked.
“Kiss and tits,” I said.
Nova touched her chest. “How romantic.”
