Chapter Forty-two Lacey
Chapter Forty-two
Lacey
Vaughn and I stay at his house playing with Pip for so long that by the time we get to Boone’s house, the party has died down.
Claire and Austin are sitting around a fire pit with Rowan. Vaughn takes a seat in an open chair and pulls me down on his lap.
“Where’s your date?” I ask Rowan as Vaughn’s arms wrap around my waist. I love the way I fit so perfectly against him.
“Last I saw her she was making out with some sophomore football player.” He says it so casually, but there’s a hint of disappointment in his tone.
“I’m sorry.” It feels particularly cruel to me since he’s sitting around with two other couples.
“Don’t be. We’re just friends.” He pulls a flask from his pocket and takes a sip, then passes it to his left.
Claire eyes it for a beat, then takes a drink.
It goes around the circle until it gets to me.
The strong liquor burns and leaves a trail of warmth in my chest. Vaughn’s right hand moves to my thigh and his thumb absently traces a heart.
Over and over again. My skin heats more than it did from whatever was in Rowan’s flask.
I don’t think he’s even aware he’s doing it.
“You wanna kick the ball around?” Austin motions with his head behind us to the side yard where the guys often play soccer at parties.
Rowan looks to Vaughn.
I start to get up to let him go, but Vaughn pulls me tighter against him. “Not tonight.”
All around the circle, our friends stare blankly at my date. I turn to look at him, just as surprised as everyone else.
“What?” One side of his mouth pulls up, flashing a grin that’s sexy and a little timid. “Don’t look at me like that. Even I’m not dumb enough to move when there’s a hot girl sitting in my lap.”
“He can be taught.” Rowan lifts the flask to him and then takes another drink.
So the five of us sit and talk until everyone who’s still at the party has gathered around us. It’s a lot of the soccer team and their dates, and a few seniors who are soaking up their last homecoming party.
I guess I want to soak it up too. I can’t remember ever being happier than I am right this second.
When we all start to fall quiet—a clear sign everyone’s just about to head home—Vaughn brushes my hair away from my neck and leans in.
“Hey, I have another idea.” His words tickle the nape of my neck as he speaks.
“Will this one leave me smelling like dog?” I raise my hands up to see if I still smell like Pip.
“I think you smell nice.” He nuzzles farther into the crook of my neck and kisses me there. My body lights up. I never thought I’d be ready to give up my virginity in high school, but Vaughn has me reconsidering a lot of things.
We get to our feet and that pushes everyone else in motion. Vaughn squeezes my hand and then walks ahead of me to Rowan and Austin. He slings one arm over each of their shoulders.
Claire falls back to walk with me. She links her arm through mine. “You look happy.”
“I am.” I let my head fall to the side so it rests on her shoulder.
She squeezes my arm tighter. “Everything feels like it worked out exactly the way it should have.”
“Yeah.” Hard to believe I’m agreeing with her, but it does feel that way.
Before either of us can say anything else, Vaughn jogs back.
He looks to Claire, “You and Austin are going to meet us at the school in about thirty minutes.”
“O-kay.” She says the word slowly, but her curious smile gives away her excitement.
“What are you up to, Collins?” I ask as he opens the passenger door of his Range Rover.
Instead of answering, he wears a cocky smirk.
I don’t bother asking again until we’re pulling up to a private stretch of lake. It’s dark and quiet with only the headlights illuminating the grassy bank and water beyond.
“What are we doing?”
“Only a few more things on the list.”
I think it over and a smile pulls at my lips. “Number fifteen!”
“You didn’t really think I was going to miss out on that one, did you?” He opens his door.
Laughing, I get out to join him. He meets me at the front of his SUV.
Nerves bounce around in my stomach as we jog down to the water. We stop and stare at each other breathlessly. Vaughn kicks his dress shoes off first, then his socks. I slip out of my heels while he removes his shirt and pants.
“Can you unzip me?” I turn and he steps closer. His fingers brush against my bare skin, sending a chill through me. Slowly, he tugs the zipper down.
I swivel around again to face him and slowly let the dress fall to my feet. As I step out of it, he stares at me unabashedly.
Next, I unhook my bra and put it with my dress. A cool breeze blows my hair and caresses my skin but the way he looks at me has warmth spreading through me.
“On three?” I suggest, looping my thumbs through the band of my panties. They’re all that’s preventing him from seeing me naked.
I thought I’d feel nervous, and I do a little, but it’s more excitement than anything else.
“One,” he says.
“Two.” A wide smile stretches across my face.
He pauses and I watch his mouth for the next number. Anticipation thrums through me as he grins back.
“Three.” The word comes out low and gravelly.
We both shove the last scraps of our clothing to the ground and then stand tall.
My heart beats rapidly and his chest moves up and down like he might be as affected as I am.
He’s the first to break the silence. “You’re beautiful.”
My lips curve into a smile. “Right back at ya.”
The wind picks up, and this time I feel the cold air whipping around us.
Vaughn chuckles softly as my shoulders lift to my ears.
“We couldn’t have done this in the summer?” I ask, hugging myself.
He takes my hand with another laugh. That water is going to be so cold.
He tugs me with him as he starts to walk toward the lake. I shuffle quickly to keep up with him and then we’re running into the water. As soon as my feet touch the freezing water I shriek.
“Oh my gosh.” I try to slow down but he pulls me farther.
“No turning back now.”
Before I know it, we’re in up to our waists. Or he is. The water is quickly getting deeper, and I’m not going to be able to touch for much longer.
“This was such a bad idea,” I admit.
“It’s not so bad.”
We go another few feet until I’m treading water and he’s in up past his shoulders. We face each other, an arm’s length away. My teeth chatter but I can’t stop smiling.
“Now what?” I ask.
“I don’t know. It’s your list.”
I swim toward him, closing the distance between us. My hands rest on his shoulders and I bring my mouth to his. His fingers brush across my waist and draw me to him.
“I have a few more ideas of things to add,” I say as I wrap my legs around his waist. We’re skin to skin, touching in all the places that make my breathing hitch and my body pulse with need.
“I think I’m going to like these additions.”
Our tongues tangle and our hands roam across bare skin until we’re both panting and pressing into each other like we could possibly get any closer.
His dick is pressed between us, and every movement creates a delicious friction that makes the ache between my legs grow.
He groans and shudders as I move more deliberately. Any shyness between us has given way to sensation and exploration. I feel safer with Vaughn than I have with anyone ever.
Stars burst behind my eyelids and my heart skips as my body tenses and then relaxes. I smile into the kiss and hug him tighter against me.
His breath skates across my skin as he moves his mouth to drop a kiss to my shoulder. “We should get out of here before you get hypothermia.”
“I don’t feel that cold anymore.” I know he’s right, but I don’t want to leave.
“We’ll come back this summer,” he promises.
Reluctantly, I let go of him and we swim back to shore. The wind is brutal against our wet bodies. We grab all our stuff and hurry to his SUV to get dressed.
“I have one more surprise,” he says as he blasts the heat.
“I’m not sure how many more I can take.” It’s a struggle to get my dress back on, especially because Vaughn keeps stealing kisses.
When we’re both finally clothed and not shivering, he says, “You’ll like this one.”
“I liked the last one.”
He grins and I sit back in the passenger seat while he drives us to our next location: the high school. There are several cars already parked when Vaughn pulls in behind the football field.
“Number four,” he says as he kills the engine.
I pull on one of his sweatshirts over my dress as I get out. Vaughn comes around to my side and takes my hand.
Many of our friends are already here. Some of the guys have already found a soccer ball and are kicking it around, and others are stretched out on the blankets, facing east. The sky is still dark, but there’s a sliver of light that promises the sunrise won’t be too far behind.
“Watch the sunrise from the fifty-yard line,” I say, then I just stare at him. He has that smug, happy smile still splashed across his face.
“Real romantic shit.”
He frames my face with both hands and drops his mouth to mine. The kiss is quick, and then he’s pulling me toward the others.
“And number seven. And ten again. Better do it again just to be sure.” With a wink he pulls me to the field.
A surge of happiness has me too jittery to sit still any longer. I kick off my shoes and jog toward the guys kicking the soccer ball. They stop when they see me coming, probably confused by what I’m doing. I swipe the ball from them and loop around.
Vaughn stands watching me with an amused expression.
“Think you can handle this, Cap?” I mock him playfully.
The other guys heckle and laugh until Vaughn really doesn’t have any other option but to come after me. Even the way he prowls toward me is sexy. I really don’t stand a chance. Especially when, instead of going for the ball, he grabs me around the waist and hauls me up into the air.
“Hey, that’s cheating!” A laugh bubbles up with my screech.
“Obstruction!” Rowan cups his hands around his mouth.
Vaughn puts me down, but when his lips press to my neck, I’m happy to be trapped in his arms.
For the next hour, we kick the soccer ball around, and then Claire and I decide to do cheers on the sideline, and eventually we all end up sitting at the fifty-yard line, eyes heavy but hearts full.
I’m sitting between Vaughn’s legs, leaned back against his chest. His chin rests on top of my head, and we’re cuddled up in one of the blankets. Not even the chill in the air is going to ruin this night.
“Look!” Claire shouts, pulling us all from our quiet daze.
At once, we all sit straighter. The very smallest bit of light spreads along the bottom of the sky.
Rowan’s flask is long empty, but someone passes around a bottle of Fireball. Vaughn passes, but I take a drink for the both of us.
Laughing, he gets to his feet and pulls me up.
“Thank you,” I tell him.
“There aren’t many items left on the list.” His hands wrap around my back, and he tips his face down to look into my eyes. “What are you going to do when they’re all crossed off?”
“I’m not sure,” I say honestly.
“You could make another list.”
“I thought about that, but I’ve actually done a lot of the things I wanted already.” The list was fun, but I want to live every day crossing off new adventures and making lifelong memories. Maybe that’s why Mom didn’t finish—she was too busy living.
“Well, then it’s good I made one then.” He pulls a folded piece of paper from his pocket.
“You made a bucket list?” I take it from him eagerly.
“It’s not covered in glitter or anything, but I think it’s a pretty great list.”
I unfold it, almost giddy to see what he wrote and shocked that he did. If someone would have told me a few months ago that Vaughn Collins made a bucket list, I would have assumed they were lying or he did it under duress. Yet here we are. I didn’t even threaten to glitter bomb him.
At the very top it says Bucket List. Very concise. Very Vaughn.
And below it there’s only one thing written.
Marry Lacey someday.
High School Bucket List
Make a high school memory box ?
Go apple picking ?
Get a piercing ?
Watch the sunrise from the fifty-yard line on the football field ?
Learn the “Thriller” dance! ?
Go on a double date ?
Stay up all night ?
Volunteer ?
Travel internationally
Kiss someone under the stars ?
Do something scary ?
Go to the homecoming dance with a date ?
Go ice-skating ?
Have a photo shoot with friends ?
Go skinny-dipping ?
Take a road trip with Dad
Leave my mark on Frost Lake High