Chapter 16
sixteen
. . .
Jameson
M y head is throbbing from the blows to my face, and the harsh hospital lights aren't helping. In the end, we decided that Zander needed to drive the twins home. Colin took a hard hit to the chin and bit his tongue badly, and Ronan, well, he was still ready to fight anyone who looked at him wrong, so Zander gave him a few shots of whiskey to calm him down and then he drove them back to the ranch. Nate's band stayed to help clean up. Indi drove me to the ER in Zander's truck.
I must have taken more of a blow than I realized because I was sitting right next to Indiana Nash, the woman of my dreams, but I managed to doze off. My head is resting against her shoulder when they call my name.
"Jameson Wilde," the orderly calls. The waiting room is packed.
"Uh yeah, that's me." It takes me a second to get my bearings.
Indi stands too.
"It's all right," I tell her. "Not my first stitches rodeo."
She lifts her chin. "Nope, that cut is partially my fault. Besides, I owe you."
I look at her. We've had a helluva night, but she still looks like an angel that dropped from heaven to spread her magic on earth. "You don't owe me, Jones. Just knowing you hate me a little less is all I need to hear and we're even."
Her bottom lip quivers. "I don't hate you, Jameson." She wraps her hand around my good arm, and we follow the orderly into the room.
" Y ou were very brave." Indi looks over at me and winks. "Might have to buy you an ice cream tomorrow."
I lean my head back against the seat. "Normally, I'd say yay, but I realize now it's not ideal to get punched in a stomach that is full of beer." I lift my arm. That asshole left me with a twelve-stitch gash. The wrap goes from my wrist to my elbow. "I think they were being awfully stingy with the painkillers," I say.
"And you had one at the hospital so you're good for the night."
"Yes, Nurse Meanie." The pill has kicked in, and I'm feeling pretty good. It took away the edge I was feeling after the fight. "You can just spin the truck past the house and give me a quick push out the door. I'll crawl my way up to the door. Or you could stay and tuck me in." I reach over and brush my fingers along her arm.
"I thought the doctor might be pushing it giving you that pain pill while you were still drunk."
"Not drunk," I insist, even though my head is swimming. But that's more from sitting in the cab of Zander's truck with Indi than from the stuff in my bloodstream. "Indi," I say, "thanks for taking me to the hospital."
She laughs lightly. "You bet." She pulls the truck into the driveway. "I still can't believe you own this house. It was always my favorite."
"I know," I say under my breath.
She takes off her seat belt and turns slightly toward me. "How do you know that?"
"Because I heard you say it back in high school."
"How the hell do you remember something like that?" Her green gaze catches mine.
My lids feel heavy as I stare back at her. "I remember everything about you, Indi. You used to carry a light pink backpack with a Green Day patch on the side pocket. You always ate a banana between second and third period. You sat in the back in creepy Mr. Kennedy's science class because you were sure he was looking down your shirt when you sat up front. By the way—he was. For Valentine's Day you gave out little bags of chocolates to everyone you saw, and when Mrs. Bernstein fainted in homeroom, everyone else freaked out, but you ran straight up to the front of the class to help her."
Indi's smile fades, and her eyes look glassy. "You remember all that?"
I stare at her for a long time, and all I can think about is kissing her. "I remember everything, Jones. Every fucking thing."
She sits still for a second, and I'm pissed for telling her. I'm blaming it on the pain pill/beer combo. The driver's door opens, and she climbs out.
She circles around to my side. I stare at her for a second through the window, and another moment from the past comes back to me. She opens the door, but I stay in the seat, gazing at her. "You brought me gauze," I say.
She lifts a brow. "The nurse gave it to you to redress your arm."
I shake my head, and it spins for an extra second. "Prom night. After the fight. Everyone took Zach inside to take care of him while Connors was snarling at me for starting a fight. You brought me gauze that night. Why?"
Indi looks down at her feet for a second. "I just thought it was wrong that only Zach was getting first aid." She gazes up at me. The moonlight only adds to her unreal beauty. "Are you ever going to tell me what started it? You never even told Weston what happened."
I lean my head back and close my eyes. "It's on Zach to tell you what happened. You gonna start dating him again?" I lift my head. It takes plenty of effort. "Everyone always said you were meant to be together. Maybe that's true after all."
Her lips pull down on the sides. "Is that what you want to see happen? You want us to get back together and finish that fairy-tale ending everyone was waiting for? You know what? Maybe I should start dating Zach again. Maybe fate brought me back here, so I could end up with Zach. Let's get you inside."
She angrily spins around, but I grab her hand. My forearm is still numb, but I can feel her hand in mine. She doesn't pull it free. She turns back to me, but I can't find the words. It's fucking ridiculous because those same words have been stuck in my chest since we were teens. Our gazes hold like two strong magnets. She breaks the force field first, and I reluctantly let her go.
A glimmer of a smile returns. "C'mon. I'll fix you something to eat. It's not good to take those pills on an empty stomach."
My legs feel heavy as I swing them to the side and drop down out of the truck. We walk to the door, and I fumble with the keys until Indi takes them out of my tingling right hand and unlocks the door. "Think I'll have to use my left hand for a few days," I say as we enter.
Indi turns on a light in the living room. "Where's Rio tonight? With your dad?" She doesn't try and hide the disapproval.
"No, she's with a friend. She does spend time with my dad occasionally. He's much better as a granddad, and with Rio being a girl—he did however let her get her eyebrow pierced. She stopped talking to me for three days when I made her take it out."
"I have to admit it's very hard picturing Finnegan Wilde in the grandfather role." Indi's laughing as she walks to the kitchen. I follow her, suddenly not wanting to be more than a few feet from her, not wanting to be more than an arm's distance from her. It's been a shitty night, and she's been the only thing good about it. I'm still having a hard time believing she's back in my life. At the same time, I'm sure, her leaving will destroy me just like before. But this time is different. This time I won't be able to spiral into bottles of whiskey, constant one-night stands and the occasional brawl to make myself feel better, or maybe I was doing all those things not to feel better but to feel less. This time will be different because I have Rio, and she's all that matters now. My life exists just to take care of her.
I'm telling myself that as I hold my breath watching Indi put two slices of bread in the toaster. She leans over the counter to make sure the toaster is glowing red, and as she does, her perfectly bitable ass juts out. I suck in a deep breath and hold it, releasing it slowly, like a tire with a nail.
"Fancy schmancy toaster," she quips as she turns around. "It's so quiet, like a luxury car. I'm glad you've done so well for yourself, Jameson."
"Thanks, Jones."
"You seem happier," she says. "I mean not at this very moment with your arm bound up like a mummy's arm, but you know—I guess that's Rio's doing."
I nod. "I guess she pulled me away from myself. I needed that."
The toast pops up, and she walks to the pantry cupboard. "Peanut butter?" she asks.
"I'm not that hungry," I say. My hunger is leaning in an entirely different direction, but I keep that to myself.
She pulls out the toast. "Plain?"
"My stomach's fine. It's handled a lot worse combos than beer and painkillers."
Her phone beeps, and she pulls it from her pocket.
"Is it Zach"?" I ask, unable to stop my asshole moment.
Indi blows out an aggravated huff and texts something back. "It's Kinsley. I told her I was going to stay here in case you needed something."
"I'll be fine."
She looks hurt. "Oh, well, then I guess I'll go—" She walks past me, but I take hold of her wrist. She stops and stares down at my hand.
"The answer to your earlier question—" I start, the words are rough in my throat. "My answer is no." I'm talking way slower than normal. "No, I don't want you to date Zach."
She lifts her green gaze to my face, and I can feel it smooth over me like a warm hand. I pull her into my arms and kiss her. She kisses back. Her lips part, and our tongues clash urgently. It's a kiss that I've been thinking about for years.
She pulls her lips from mine. Her eyes are glossy. Her lids are heavy. "Jameson." I can feel her warm breath on my skin. I spin her around in my arms. She leans back against me, her head lolls against my shoulder. My hand smooths over her breasts and dips under the hem of her shirt.
"God, Indi, you feel like silk." I chuckle against her ear. "It figures I finally have you in my arms, and I can only use one fucking hand."
She giggles. "It's probably better you're working with a handicap, Jameson Wilde. Otherwise, I'd be melting into a hot mess right here on your kitchen floor."
I press my mouth to her ear, and a shiver runs through her body. "Let's see if we can still make that happen." I push her bra up above her breasts and tease her nipples into hard buds. "That's it, darlin'. That's the reaction I want." As her head falls to the side, I press my mouth against her neck. A soft sound comes from her throat that I feel straight down to my cock. It presses against her ass. She responds by pressing that same fine ass against my erection.
She leans on me for full support now. I hold her the best I can with my right arm as my left hand smooths down her flat belly. We both laugh at my struggle to open her shorts with my left hand. "Sonavabitch," I grumble. "I swear I'm usually much more adept at this."
"Your hand is about to slide between my thighs," she says breathlessly. "Not a time to bring up your other conquests."
I kiss her neck again. "Just trying to save face in case this whole thing goes south."
She grunts in frustration and pushes my hand under her shorts. The mound of her pussy pushes eagerly against my hand. When my fingers reach the hot, wetness between her legs, I have to pause and swallow hard to keep control. My cock is straining against my jeans as I slide my fingers through the hot folds of her pussy.
Indi is soft in my arms. She would sink to the ground if I released her. Her soft moans are music to my fucking ears. "Part your thighs, darlin', so I can feel all of you."
Her feet move apart, and I reach farther and push first one, then two fingers into her pussy. She sucks in a sharp breath, melts against me more and then starts to move against my hand. The heel of my palm presses against her swollen clit as my fingers massage her from the inside. Her hips writhe so that her ass pushes against my cock. She holds my wrist, worried I'll stop, but that's never going to happen. She moves faster against my hand and then a small cry rolls up from her throat as her pussy pulses around my hand. Indi crumples in my arms, and I hold her against me. It's another one of those surreal moments, one of a million I've experienced in the last few days.
"I guess my left hand isn't so lame after all," I mutter against her ear.
Her body shakes with laughter. "I'm not sure we can call you ambidextrous based on the last few minutes, but—" She takes hold of my wrist and lifts my left hand. "Well done, you." She lowers my hand and turns in my arms.
"I suppose it's only fair that I—" she says.
I shake my head. "It's on the house. But you know what—I'd take that toast now. Worked up an appetite—in more ways than one," I add cockily.
She peels her body away from mine, and I can feel the ache of her leaving my arms through my core. "Have a seat on the couch, and I'll bring you some buttered toast. It's my specialty."