12. Ryan
Chapter 12
Ryan
“ S o, did you fix it yet?” Nix stood in the doorway of my childhood bedroom, arms crossed, a familiar glare on her face. “Well?”
My impatient sister stared at me through the mirror, and I didn’t like it, so I turned around and arched my brows. “Fix what, exactly?”
“Whatever the hell is going on with you and Torey. You said that you would fix it, but seeing as you both are hiding from me, I’m guessing you didn’t.”
I groaned inwardly, knowing Nix wouldn’t let this go until it was fixed to her satisfaction. “I tried, dammit. She listened and said she would let me know.” Whatever that meant. Maybe it was na?ve to expect anything beyond forgiveness from Torey, but I thought she’d give me more.
“Do you want to tell me about it?”
“No. I absolutely do not.”
She chuckled and stepped inside my room before dropping down on my bed. “Sounds juicy.”
“Nix,” I groaned and turned back to the mirror where my reflection stared back at me and called me an asshole.
She laughed again, sounding far too amused for my liking. Rolling off the bed, she tugged on my arm. “I’ll help you.” Nix smacked my hands away and began fixing my tie. “Even though you totally slept with Torey.”
“I am not having this conversation with you Nix.”
“Fine, I’m not all that eager to hear about your sex life.” Her smile was bright and teasing. “Was it just sex or do you actually like her?”
“It doesn’t matter.” She was right; she hadn’t asked for anything beyond our fake relationship. Then again, I hadn’t given her a chance to say anything before I stupidly talked about mistakes. She had pointed it out earlier today with a stony expression, but I knew Torey well, and I saw the signs of hurt that she tried to hide.
Nix gasped and took a step back, staring at me like I was a freak show. “Oh. My. God. You do like her!” She clapped her hands together and tossed her head back. “You totally like her.”
“I didn’t say that.” My words were useless, even if Nix could hear them over her own delight.
“You didn’t have to, big brother. That grumpy expression on your face tells me everything I need to know. So, now that the truth is out there, wanna talk about it?”
“Still, no.”
“Fine. But we should get going or we’ll be late for the Cocktail Lover’s charity contest.” She rolled her eyes. “Never heard of such a thing, but it’ll be fun and it’ll bring in a lot of money for the local women’s shelter. Make sure you kick ass tonight.”
“I’ll do my best.” I’d spent a few hours on YouTube learning what I could about what makes a good cocktail because I was a hometown boy and I wanted to do well, and yeah, I was hoping my skills would impress Torey. If she bothered to show up.
“Good. Let’s go. Lee is going to meet us there.”
“How did you get him to agree to show up for so many town events? I heard he was a recluse.”
She turned over her shoulder, a blush staining her cheeks. “He is a reformed recluse. And if you really want to know, I’ll tell you. Maybe it’ll help you with Torey.”
“Nope. No thanks. Not in a million fucking years.” I grabbed my jacket and followed Nix down the stairs and out of the farmhouse, but ultimately I decided that the suit would be more effective if I lost the jacket and rolled up the sleeves.
“Very nice, big brother. Good luck.” Nix hugged me tight and kissed my cheek as we entered the community center. “Holler if you need me.”
“Right,” I mumbled to myself and scanned the room in search of Torey. She hadn’t arrived yet and the event started in five minutes.
“Looking for someone?” Torey’s voice washed over me like warm honey.
My jaw clenched and I slowly turned to face her, which was a mistake because she looked like my every fantasy come to life. The sparkly dress she wore showed off all the curves she usually hid behind jeans and t-shirts. Her cleavage nearly spilled over the heart-shaped neckline, and her legs looked long and shapely in the knee-length dress, accentuated by a pair of sky-high red heels. Even her smile was painted bright red. “Torey, holy shit.”
“I clean up nice, right?” She smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Now, let’s see if we can win this.” She took two steps forward before my arm reached out to grab her.
“Torey.”
She shook her head. “Not here and not now. Let’s win this for charity and then maybe we’ll talk.”
I nodded. She was right and I knew if I pushed she’d shut down completely. “Yeah, okay. How about we go back to the teasing sort of friends we were before you rocked my world?”
Her smile was soft but it grew bigger and bolder by the second and a red blush bloomed on her cheeks. “That sounds like a plan.” She held out her hand and I took it eagerly. Hungrily.
“You look good enough to eat.” My words caused her to stumble and I happily held her close.
“You’ve never said anything like that to me before.”
A deep chuckle sounded as I helped her onto the platform where each couple’s bar was set up. “Haven’t you heard, Torey? Friendships evolve.”
“Smartass,” she grumbled and gripped my hand as we joined the rest of the couples along with the event host, Sheriff Cook. “Hello beautiful couples. Are we ready to get this town sloshed?” She was so effortlessly easy and I envied that.
I wished I was still entitled to that smile. Sheriff Cook slid beside me and bumped my shoulder. “How in the hell did you get roped into this?”
I laughed and shook my head. “How in the hell did you get out of it?”
“I volunteered to do this event. They were so happy to have me on board that by the time they realized what I’d done, it was too late.” He chuckled like the evil mastermind he was.
“It’s a good thing you’re one of the good guys.”
“At least when it comes to keeping the town safe,” he agreed with a wide grin. “Okay couples, get to your bars and start brainstorming. You have ten minutes before we begin.”
Torey and I were placed almost dead center of the platform which allowed an amazing view of the community center and therefore the entire town. It almost felt deliberate. “This is weird, right?”
“I’m glad you see it too. For a second I thought I might’ve been going a little nuts.”
“Hmm,” she hummed to herself before she turned to me. “Doesn’t matter right now. Let’s start cocktailing.” She offered another one of her brilliant smiles and instantly my shoulders relaxed.
“We’ll be okay,” I promised and brought the back of her hand up to my lips. “I promise.”
She rolled her eyes but I didn’t miss another flush of pink that stole up her chest and neck before it settled onto her cheeks. “Now we have to figure out what we’re going to do.”
“I actually have a few ideas.” It was my time to shine.
“You know how to make cocktails?”
I pushed my up sleeves and smiled with pride at the way her gaze lingered on my forearms. “I’m a quick study and since my morning was unexpectedly free, I put it to good use.” I grabbed a few bottles and mixed up four different cocktails for her to test.
The moan she let out after the third drink was absolutely erotic and I felt my stomach tighten and my cock swell. “Holy hell Ryan, that is divine!” Her eyes sparkled. “What is it?”
“It’s called Lover’s Delight.”
Torey’s nostrils flared, and she licked her lips. “I love it, Ryan. I really love it.”
Yeah, more of that masculine pride swelled in my chest. “Taste the last one before you decide.”
She lifted the glass to her lips and closed her eyes as the cold liquid hit her tongue. Another low moan escaped. “What is this magic?”
“It’s called Better Than Sex.” Oh yeah, that research had been well worth the time I spent on it.
“Damn, you devil, I can’t decide.” Her gaze slid to the third cocktail. “Can’t we do both?”
“Who’s going to stop us?” I gathered the ingredients for both cocktails and showed Torey how to make them both as she finished off the tester glasses. “Want some water?”
“No, I want some more Lover’s Delight.”
“Just name the time and the place.” The words were out of my mouth before I realized what I’d just said. “Sorry.”
“Are you?” She didn’t look at me as she posed the question, simply focused on the measurements of the cocktail.
“No,” I sighed. “I meant it but I know that makes me a dick.”
“Agreed.” She shook the drink and strained it into the coupe glass. “You want me, but you don’t want to want me, and that’s pretty hurtful and confusing, no matter your reasons.”
“I do want you, but it would be selfish to pursue this.”
“Your ten minutes are over, ladies and gentlemen.” The Sheriff’s voice called out over the noise. He wore a satisfied grin, probably because he wasn’t on the platform like a zoo animal on display. “Start making your drinks and in five minutes I’ll unleash the good folks of Holiday Grove on you!”
Ten minutes later, Torey and I moved in the small space like a well-oiled machine, like we’d done this together a million times. “Remember that time you tried to make cookies with me and Nix and we kept bumping into each other in the kitchen?”
I hadn’t remembered that until this moment. “I was like a damn bull in a china shop.”
“And you ate so many of the cookies.” She laughed and sent me a wistful smile.
“I was a growing boy,” I insisted. “Still am.”
“That’s just a way to justify eating like a tiger.” She laughed again and the sound was incredible, full-bodied and rich like a good Scotch. She finished six cocktails and set them on red napkins and took the seventh one for herself.
“Maybe, but some days you have to eat when you can and because of that we all tend to eat like we don’t know when our next meal will be.”
“Because you don’t?” Her blue eyes were curious.
“Just depends on the mission objective and how far we are from actual civilization.”
“That must be stressful.”
I shrugged. “You get used to it.”
“Are you close with your team, or whatever you’re called in the Army?”
“Hell yeah. It’s killing me that I can’t be there with them now.”
Torey surprised the hell out of me when she set her empty glass down and put both hands on my chest, gazing up at me with those big blue eyes. “I’m really sorry you got hurt, Ryan.” She was so sincere that I had to look away.
“Thank you.”
“And you need to tell Nix.”
“Well with all this foreplay you might as well go on and give us a big fat kiss.” The shaky voice belonged the oldest living person in Holiday Grove, Edith Rockwell.
“Edith you dirty ol’ bird,” Torey teased and looped one arm around my shoulder. “I expect you to donate big for both drinks for this.”
“I’m on my second Lover’s Delight, honey. Gotta get my kicks where I can.”
Torey tilted her head back and laughed, so beautiful and carefree. So fucking enticing that I just had to have her. She gasped when she felt my lips on her throat, skimming up her chin before I found her lips.
“Now that’s a hot move,” Edith cooed. “Boy’s got skills.”
I laughed against Torey’s mouth but I took my time and savored that kiss, certain it wouldn’t happen again without Edith’s interference. My tongue swept across her soft, pillowy lips in a slow back and forth motion, happy to take my time with her.
Then she moaned and all of my good intentions flew out the window. My grip tightened at her hips and slid around to the lowest part of her lower back and pulled her close enough that she felt the effect she had on me. She moaned again and my tongue slipped into her mouth, danced with her tongue until her fingertips dug into my flesh. It was the kind of kiss shared by lovers reunited after a long absence, filled with longing and need.
“All right, all right.” Sheriff Cook’s voice was full of amusement but it was the muffled laughter and whistles that brought me back to the cocktail event for charity. “Save the rest for later.”
“Don’t stop on my account,” Edith added, her voice suddenly closer. “I’ll have another Better Than Sex since no one is lining up to prove me or this drink wrong.”
More laughter went up as Torey and I separated. Her smile was bright but the look in her eyes was a mix of bewilderment and disappointment. At least that’s what I thought it was.
It was hard to tell. One minute she was having fun, smiling with her whole body, and then the next it was as if she remembered my words and everything suddenly felt fake. She was phoning in her smiles and her laughter, and worse, her joy.
For the rest of the event her emotions went back and forth between genuine and fake. It was enough to make my head spin. Maybe it made me an asshole, but I liked it when she forgot I’d hurt her feelings and showed me the real Torey.
I liked the real Torey.
Probably too much.