Chapter 7
CHAPTER 7
Sun seeps through the blackout drapes as I toss and turn restlessly. Something nags at my half-awake consciousness. I’ll have to face whatever it is when I get up, but I doze and ignore it a bit longer.
Until a very naked woman curls herself against me, warm and soft, her head nestling on my arm and her tits plastered to my chest. I open my eyes.
Echo.
Last night rushes back to me. Her undressing. Her screaming in pleasure. Her mouth on me.
Oh. My. God .
I stop breathing and stare. She looks like the best friend I’ve had since we bonded over being the new kids at a new school. The wavy hair she’s bitched about a hundred times curls away from the sleep-soft face I’ve seen nearly every day for a decade and a half. I shouldn’t be freaking out.
But I am, because no matter how familiar Echo is, I’ll never look at her the same.
This morning, I notice things about her I never have. Though she’s all woman, her long, dark lashes brush round cheeks that are almost girlish. Her lips are rosy, the bottom one heavy and pouty when it parts slightly, as if in unspoken invitation. Her bare shoulder is dotted with two tiny freckles, which peek out above the crisp white sheet covering the rest of her body. Not that it does any good. Last night, I saw her. I felt her. And I remember her—every detail. I don’t know how I’ll forget.
We can’t ever go back to being just friends. I’m not sure I want to.
In my arms, Echo smells like sweet female. My erection, which isn’t simply morning wood, prods her, desperate to know what being joined with her feels like. She’d let me take her. In fact, she’d welcome me if I rolled her onto her back, spread her legs, and pushed deep inside her. The thought makes me even harder.
But I can’t do that unless I’m willing to gamble our lifelong friendship that I’m the right man for her.
The prospect is terrifying.
Could I make love to this woman every night? Could I wake up with her every morning? And be happy?
I need to think.
Carefully, I extricate myself from Echo and roll out of bed, reaching into my suitcase and grabbing the first pair of shorts I find. Then I swipe my phone off the nightstand and tiptoe to the balcony.
I’ve got to get my head on straight.
When I glance at the device, a text Jayci sent in the middle of the night pops up.
I wish you could come over NOW! My aching pussy is sloppy wet. I need you to tongue it until I scream. Then I want to suck the skin off your cock and swallow your hot load before we fuck ourselves raw. Don’t you wish you could come over, too? LOL!
I darken the device.
Jayci sexts me like that for booty calls all the time. Normally, I jump, showing up with a smile, a bottle, and condoms. This morning, I don’t reply.
I have no interest in her. I’m afraid to admit what that means.
Leaning on the railing, I take in the cool Hawaiian breeze and let out a rough breath. As the sun rises, the gray of the early morning sky gives way to a pale blue with pink clouds. Palms sway. Surf rolls. The resort is quiet and serene.
Why is everything in my head so fucking loud?
I scroll through my phone, ignoring Jayci’s message, and dial the only person who can help me.
She answers quickly. “Hayes?”
“Hey, Gramma. How you doing?”
“Fine.” But her voice says she’s not.
I’m worried. “Liar. You sound sad.”
“Rose’s funeral is tomorrow.” She sighs. “She never married, you know. And she regretted it.”
I didn’t know. I assumed that, like Liddy, she was a widow. “Does she have any other family coming to the service?”
“Probably not. Her sisters have both passed away. She wasn’t close to her nieces and nephews. She was a hard woman to get to know. Always busy with work. She thought there would be time later, kind of like someone else I know.”
She means me, and won’t she be shocked when I tell her why I’m calling?
“What time is her service? Do you need a car?”
“You don’t have to call me a service. I know how to Uber, young man.”
I grin. One thing about my grandmother, she’s feisty and spry. “Yes, ma’am.”
“I’m glad you called. It’s nice to hear a friendly voice. It’s horrible and heartbreaking not to hear Rose’s anymore.”
The catch in her words tug at me. Liddy must be lonely, and I feel guilty for being too busy in the last year to see her. I need to rectify that.
“I’m sorry, Gramma.”
“Thank you, but I’m just feeling sorry for myself today. It’s useless, and I need to stop. How’s your week in Hawaii with Echo?”
“Funny you should ask…” I blow out a breath and prepare to admit out loud the truth that sucker-punched me last night. “You were right. There are more to my feelings for Echo than I thought.”
Her cackling laugh is a mixture of joy and vindication. “It’s about time. She loves you, too, by the way.”
Does she? When she gave herself over to me last night, I would have sworn she felt more than sexual curiosity. But in the harsh morning light, I realize that my feelings, while real, aren’t actual reality. This may be just a fling to her. I may be just a friend willing to do away with her pesky V-card. And at the end of this week, she might be ready for new sexual adventures—with the man she’ll eventually fall for—and tuck me back into the friend zone.
“I don’t know.”
Liddy scoffs. “I do because I know women. She’s been waiting for you to pull your head out of your ass and realize you’re perfect for each other.”
Has she? “I’m terrified.”
“That she’ll turn you down? Don’t be silly.”
That’s crossed my mind, but it’s not my biggest worry. “No. If she does, I’ll apologize for misreading the situation and do my best to repair the damage between us.”
Then what? Try to go back to being the best friend a girl could need? Fuck, that sounds like torture…but it’s better than doing without Echo altogether.
If I somehow manage, it won’t be simple. I’m no expert at love. Hell, I just realized I might be in it. But I’m already sure there’s more to falling out of it than merely wishing I could.
Then again, what if Echo really does have feelings for me, too? She gave up the notion of Xavian taking her virginity the minute I volunteered. She’s always been the perfect friend, but this week she’s somehow morphed into my fantasy. How? And why, if she’s not trying to please me?
“You’re worried she’ll hurt you?” Liddy’s tone makes it clear that notion is ridiculous. “Bah.”
“Not intentionally. Echo’s heart is too big.”
“Ah, you’re worried you’ll hurt her?”
“Yeah.” That would kill me. “You said I’m nothing like Dad, but…” Technically, I’ve never been unfaithful to a girlfriend, but only because I’ve never felt compelled enough to take one. “He tore Mom apart.” Me, too. Watching my mother stifle tears to put on those terrible brave faces and lie to me about why Dad wasn’t coming home again was horrible.
And what kind of lover am I that I haven’t called—or even thought of—Jayci the whole time I’ve been in Maui. I just ignored the one message she sent me. Not that we’re together or exclusive, but I’ve been banging her for months. Shouldn’t I be missing her at least a little?
“Listen to me, young man. Your father wasn’t capable of love.”
“I know. And I have his genes.”
“You think one of your chromosomes decides whether you’re a philandering asshole?” I can practically hear my grandmother rolling her eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous. It’s about your heart, and you have a kind one. You’re nothing like your father. You’ve always been a sweet boy. Do you remember when you used to pick flowers from the backyard for me?”
Gramma kept a big garden out back, and when I spent summers with her, I’d pluck her prettiest blooms and give them to her because she’d always smile as she put them in a big vase on the kitchen table so she could ooh and aah. The memory makes me wince. “Yeah, sorry about that. I know those flowers were your pride and joy.”
“Nonsense. More always bloomed, and I loved you bringing them to me. Why did you pick them for me? Because you wanted me to be happy, right?”
“Of course.” In some ways, Gramma Liddy was more like a mother to me than my own.
“Because you care about others. Your father, on the other hand, got a thrill out of riding his bike through my garden to kill the flowers because he enjoyed everyone else’s misery. He took particular delight in breaking your mother’s heart over and over because she suffered horribly and was too weak to stop him.”
I can’t argue with that. “But being a good kid is no indication that I’d be a good husband.”
God, am I even thinking about that kind of commitment with Echo?
“I see you’re determined to play devil’s advocate. You get that from me, by the way.” She laughs wryly.
I probably do. “Habit.”
“How about this? Hypothetically, remove sex from the equation.”
We’re talking about that now? “Gramma?—”
“Don’t be embarrassed. Sex is natural. After all, you wouldn’t be here if I’d never had it. But sex isn’t relevant to this discussion.”
I wince. It’s also not comfortable hearing about my grandparents getting frisky or whatever they called it back then. “What’s your point?”
“I’m getting there. And don’t give me the tripe that, because you’re a man, not thinking about sex is impossible.”
Maybe not impossible, but deeply, highly, incredibly difficult. Still… “You don’t understand.”
She sighs noisily. “Echo may not be a supermodel, but she’s a cute girl. Certainly, you find something attractive about her. Whatever it is, you can build from there. After all, people fall in love not with the body, but with the soul.”
“Gramma, Echo is beautiful. We have great chemistry. Sex—if we have it—isn’t going to be the problem.”
“You two haven’t yet?”
“She’s been waiting for someone special. I don’t know if that’s me.”
“It is. Hear me out. How long has Echo been your closest friend?”
“Almost eighteen years.”
It’s crazy that we’ve been besties that long. Sometimes it seems like another lifetime ago that we were two kids sitting in the elementary school’s front office, both on our first day in a new place. And sometimes I’d swear it was last week. Echo said hello first. She offered me a Red Vine, then she asked me where I’d moved from and why I talked funny. I’ve since lost my Boston accent but thankfully kept the friend.
“You help each other.”
I shrug. “That’s what friends do.”
“You protect her.”
“Of course. I care what happens to her.”
“She’s always been there for you.”
“Echo is there for everyone. Hell, she’s taking a job assisting underprivileged kids.”
“Just like you’ve always been there for her.”
“Because she’s needed it. The only other people she could count on were her sisters. Now that they’re married and they’ve moved away…”
“You’re taking care of her. Why would you do that, Hayes? Ask yourself.”
My grandmother is backing me into a corner. The mental space is getting tight. I don’t like it.
“That doesn’t mean I’m in love with her.” Does it?
“Why do you spend so much time with Echo? Why do you take her camping when you go with your guy friends? Why did you bring her to Hawaii?”
“I like being with her. She’s fun. She’s chill. She’s sweet. She’s easy to talk to.” She’s also sexy as fuck and blows my doors off every time I kiss her.
Are you sure you’re not in love?
“Uh-huh. And why did you go with Echo to her middle sister’s wedding in Vegas when I know it was a terrible time to pry yourself away from work? And why did you stay away from both the Black Jack tables and the strippers, two of your father’s favorites?”
“Because she didn’t want to go alone.” And because you didn’t want to leave her side .
“Do you feel half that protective or invested in the last girl you took to bed?”
“Gramma…” I huff.
But I’m hiding behind indignation because she’s got a point…
“Answer me.”
“No.”
“The last five put together?”
I sigh. “No.”
“If you could only talk to one woman for the rest of your life?”
There’s the unavoidable, crucial question…and the shocking answer that punches me in the gut.
I stare out at the rolling ocean, mute. Then I close my eyes. “I’d pick Echo. God, I’m a dumb ass.”
“For not seeing that you’re in love with her, too? Totally. At least you’re willing to admit it. The good news is, now that you know, you can fix it.”
I swallow hard. “What if I suck at being faithful?”
“Hayes, you love her too much to stray. And the fact you’re worried puts you light years ahead of your father. Trust me. Go grab your girl and make her yours. You two will be so happy together. And the first wedding invitation you mail better be addressed to me.”
“She’s not even my girlfriend yet.”
“An hour and some groveling will fix that. Trust me.”
I hope she’s right. But if I’m going to tell Echo how I feel, I have to do it the right way. I can’t blurt this. I can’t half-ass it. She can’t think it has anything to do with her request to lose her V-card, either. She can’t feel less than totally special. She has to believe I’m hers.
Liddy and I ring off, and I make a mental note to check in with her after Rose’s funeral. For now, my first order of business? I pull up Jayci’s message. When I reread it, I frown. In the past, that would have kickstarted my libido into overdrive. Now it leaves me feeling somewhere between unmoved and needing a shower. I tap back a message to her.
I’ve done some thinking over the past few days. I don’t think we’re suited for each other, and I won’t be coming by anymore. You deserve someone who cares about you, and that’s not me. Take care.
An instant later, I get a message back. I didn’t need or want you to care about me. I just wanted your cock. But whatever. Fuck off.
If that’s the way she feels, cool. I’m moving on. Moving forward—with Echo.
Suddenly, I’ve got an idea to show her exactly how I feel. Tonight can’t come soon enough.
After I make a few phone calls from the balcony, another half hour has passed. I push back into our suite to discover Echo gone. On the table near the sofa, I spot a note she jotted.
Your calls looked intense. I’m bringing back java and a bite. How do you feel about surfing today?
E
I set down the note with a smile. I’ll probably make an idiot out of myself with a surfboard, but what the hell? I’ll have more time with Echo…and she’ll probably be in another bikini designed to make my tongue drag the ground after her. We’re already in paradise. She doesn’t sound upset about anything that went down last night.
After I finish wrapping my head around what’s in my heart, today should be good.
A knock on the door sends me running. Echo probably has her hands full, so I pull it open. But she isn’t the person standing in my doorway.
“X, man. Come on in.” I step back, taking in his frown. “How are you doing?”
He follows me. “I’m okay. You?”
“Good.”
“Where’s E?”
“She’ll be right back.”
Xavian sends me a sly grin. “So how did last night go? Could you actually keep your hands off of her? And your dick out of her?”
None of his business. “It was fine. What happened with your new family? Curiosity satisfied? Ready to be the lone wolf again?”
“About that…” Xavian grimaces. “I’m staying with them.”
“For the rest of the week?”
He shakes his head. “For the foreseeable future. I’m moving here.”
Is he serious? “To Maui? To be with strangers you met yesterday?”
“To a fucking gorgeous place with people I feel like I’ve known all my life.”
“As opposed to the people you actually have?”
“Don’t get me wrong, man. You, E, Graham, Kella, and Maryam are the most solid friends I could ask for. If it wasn’t for you all, after my mom died I would have either driven my car into an embankment or bit a bullet. I felt so alone. I know I wasn’t, but none of you could relate to the hell I was going through. And I’m glad. I wouldn’t wish that kind of loss on anyone. You all have other family to fall back on. Me? There’s always been a giant hole where my father should have been. I wondered why he rejected me before I was even born. When I’d ask, my mother would only say we were better off without my sperm donor. She took his identity to her fucking grave… I’ve never celebrated a Father’s Day. I can’t fill out a medical history form about the paternal side of my family. And unless it was some other kid I went to school with, no one ever so much as tossed a ball with me. Now that I have siblings who want to patch together a family as much as I do, don’t fucking judge me.”
There’s the familiar chip on X’s shoulder. We’ve all seen and felt it. And I get where he’s coming from, even if I don’t totally understand. “Hey, that’s not what’s happening here. You’re my friend. I’m worried about you. Can you really count on the Reeds?”
“This will sound weird, but after an evening with them I don’t feel that gaping hole in my life anymore.”
I rear back. That’s a lot, coming from X. “Where will you live on the island? Where will you work? What will you do?”
Especially if it doesn’t work out.
“Bethany… Do you remember my sister with the blonde hair?” He smiles. “It still feels weird saying that I have brothers and sisters.”
The pretty one with the unusual gray-green eyes? “Yeah.”
“Dude, she’s a financial genius. She and her husband, Clint, opened a private, boutique investment firm three weeks ago, just after their honeymoon. But his background is in oil and gas, and he didn’t go to college, so he’ll be in school while studying for the CFP exam. She’s already got more business than she can handle alone.”
Seriously? “How much is she managing?”
“Nearly a billion dollars. She’ll have to turn away clients if she doesn’t get help fast.”
“Holy shit.”
“She’s good, man. She’s shrewd and ballsy. She knows tons of movers and shakers. I appreciate you helping me get a job, but if I stayed in LA as your wingman, I’d start at the bottom and do years of menial shit before anyone took off the training wheels. With Bethany, I can make a difference right now. We talked about it last night. We worked through a few clients’ files together, like an audition. I made suggestions. We discussed everything, then jointly developed a strategy. The market is about to close. Together, we’ve made those three clients close to six figures each today.”
“Wow.” If that’s true, it sounds like a hell of an opportunity, and I would never want to hold him back. “That’s insane.”
“Right? I can learn a ton from her. She’s been working in the financial sector since earning her MBA from Harvard at twenty.”
It’s hard not to be impressed by that. “Then, yeah. It sounds like a hell of an opportunity you shouldn’t pass up. Does she know you haven’t taken the CFP exam yet?”
He nods. “Last night, I registered to take it in August. Bethany says she’ll help me study. She needs me to get up to speed before the baby comes. Clint won’t be ready to fly solo by then, and she’s panicked.”
With good reason. “You’re one hundred percent sure you want to do this?”
“Ninety-five. I know it’s a really fast decision, but I’ve thought it through a few times in my head. The only thing keeping me in LA is my friends. I won’t miss my crappy apartment. And even if I get a crappy apartment on the island? Dude, I’ll be in Maui. I’ll go from having no family to having six siblings, along with a niece, three nephews, and more on the way. And I think I’ll make some cool friends, like Noah Weston’s younger brother, Trace, and his fiancée, Masey. Evan’s best friend, Sebastian, is a lot like me—completely sarcastic. We had a ton in common.” X falls quiet. “My gut tells me this is the right move. But I’m going to fucking miss all of you back home.”
“It will be weird as hell without you around. We’ll miss you, too.” He stands, and we exchange a bro hug, complete with back slaps.
“Thanks for understanding. You can visit me anytime, you know.”
“I appreciate that. I admit, I wouldn’t mind coming back here.”
Xavian settles into his chair again, then frowns. “The other reason I came is for E. If last night was merely ‘fine,’ then you didn’t pop her cherry. I gave you a night to see if you’d change your mind about that. Since you didn’t, I’m here to fulfill my promise to her. She wants to feel like a woman—at least for a night. I can give her that.”
X might be trying to keep his word, but his persistence about getting into Echo’s panties pisses me off. “You’re not touching her.”
“If you’re not going to man up, then you don’t get a say. It’s her choice.”
“What I’ve got going with Echo is none of your business. You will not fucking touch her, X. Not tonight. Not this week. Not ever. Drop it.”
Brow raised, he sends me a cutting stare. “Or what? I’m not breaking my promise to her without a good reason. You being delusional enough to think you know better than Echo how to live her life isn’t it.”
I lunge out of my seat and grab the sides of his chair, mostly to keep myself from punching him. “If you touch her, I will beat you senseless. And we can’t be friends anymore.”
In the heat of the moment, the threat slips out. But I’m dead serious.
Xavian looks at me like he has no idea who I am. Honestly, I don’t know this side of me, either. Until Echo, I’ve never been jealous. “Wow. What a douche. Echo has feelings for you. You keep saying you’re doing what’s best for her, but you’re full of shit.” He pushes me away and stands. “I know you’re still fucking Jayci. Her roommate told me you did her the night before we left—loudly. So I guess it’s okay for you to have your something-something, but you’ll lie to Echo to keep her sweet and virginal so that when you finally run out of Jaycis, Lindsays, Brittanys, and Angelas to bone you’ll have your bestie as a backup.”
“That’s not what’s happening.”
“Then what is?”
I can’t tell Xavian that I think I’m in love with Echo before I tell her myself. He’s not exactly a fortress when it comes to keeping secrets.
“You know I’m right,” he spits. “E is no one’s plan B. Don’t you dare treat her like that! At least I leveled with her. I told her if she wanted romance, I wasn’t her guy. But she said she just wanted to fuck?—”
“No!” I snarl in his face, my blood pressure soaring.
I can’t picture him touching her without losing my damn mind.
“Why? You’re never going to treat her like more than a pal. So let her fucking get over you.”
“With you?”
“With someone she trusts who won’t break her heart.” Xavian glares at me with those piercing eyes, shaking his head. “But you already did. Good job,” he says snidely. “By the way, I’m offering E the key to my room down the hall or a place in my bed at the Westons’ for the rest of the week. After I tell her what you’re really up to, I’ll let her decide which she’d rather have. Enjoy being alone, you selfish bastard. You deserve it.”
With a shake of his head, Xavian lunges for the door and tosses it wide open, the solid wooden surface banging loudly against the door stop as he stomps into the breezeway, then disappears around the corner.
“Fuck,” I mutter under my breath.
I have to find Echo now…before he does.