13. Lara
What”s Parker going to do? Fight him?
I stare at Dylan.
Understanding washes over me because Dylan”s words are accurate, and his method of getting my boyfriend to confess is downright genius.
”You son of a—” Parker is already cocking his arm back, ready to strike Dylan and ruin this whole get-together.
”Oh my God, stop!” a sing-song, feminine voice cuts in. ”You guys are cats and dogs. Don”t you get tired?”
Sloan and Tiffany stride toward us.
I didn”t know they were here.
But I”m not surprised. Just about everyone is at the Caldwell Ranch, and from how Sloan and Tiffany are dressed, you”d think they”re ready for a party rather than a pig roast.
Sloan wears a floral white crop top that hugs her curves in all the right places and tight beige capri leggings that shows off her toned thighs and butt. Her blonde hair is styled in loose waves that cascade down her back, and she”s wearing a dainty crystal necklace that adds just the right amount of sparkle.
Tiffany is wearing a vibrant red jumpsuit that commands attention. Its plunging neckline highlights her collarbones and fits her like a glove. She”s paired it with black boots. Her hair is styled in a sleek, high ponytail that accents her sharp cheekbones, and she”s wearing bold black earrings that complement her overall look.
Together, they make a stunning duo, turning heads all over this pig roast.
”Sloan. Tiffany.” Dylan nods his helloes.
Sloan places a hand on her hip. Her pink lips pucker as she glares at Parker and me. I internally wince, knowing it”s because I should”ve done something rather than stand around watching guys fight over me. But the humiliation is short-lived when Sloan turns her attention to Dylan, mostly puts her entire body against him, and bats her long-extended eyelashes.
”Are you okay, Dilly?” Sloan asks, running her hand down Dylan”s chest.
Dilly? Uggh.
”Of course I am,” he says lowly.
”Let me check… just in case,” she purrs, pressing her voluminous breasts against him.
”Sloan, uh—” Dylan clears his throat.
”She”s just worried about you,” Tiffany chimes in. She flutters her lashes, too, and I try not to roll my eyes. ”You”re not going to make Sloan worried, are you? You”re not that type of person, are you, Dylan?”
Sloan wraps her arms around Dylan”s neck, offering words of comfort in his ear that I can”t catch.
A strange mix of emotions brews inside me.
I don”t like them.
Not in the slightest.
I turn my attention to Parker. ”Are you okay?” I ask while keeping a distance between us. Mainly because we”re in public, and PDA seems gross to me, but another part of me is mad at him for what he was about to do less than three minutes ago.
”Yeah, babe.” He grins, wrapping an arm around me and hauling me to him.
I place my hand on his chest to steady myself from being manhandled.
Parker chuckles. ”You want to feel me up to see how I am, too?”
”We”re in public,” I hiss, wiggling away from his grasp.
He winks. ”Even better.”
”Yeah, I”m sure I”ll feel loved after being auctioned off,” I mutter near his ear.
”Come on. It was a joke. I wouldn”t make a bet unless I”d win,” he retorts.
He”s missing the bigger picture—that—in the end—he was still willing to risk losing me.
”Oh, wow, you must be working out more than usual, Dilly. Your muscles are so big,” Sloan praises loudly.
My stomach churns. The vexed feelings come back tenfold now. And the more I think about it, the more confused I become about these envy-like feelings.
I shouldn”t be feeling this way.
But as much as I push these feelings aside, they taunt me.
Dylan snatches Sloan”s wrists, puts her arms back to her sides, and takes a step back. He clears his throat again. ”I”m fine, Sloan, as you can see. Thank you and Tiffany for checking in.”
”You don”t have to thank us. The last thing we want is a fight because someone can”t keep their boyfriend on a leash.” Sloan slides her gaze over to me.
”He”s not a dog.” I sniff.
”Yeah… I”m a human,” Parker says, and I resist the urge to smack my forehead. The last thing I want is for my boyfriend to look like a brute or a foolish child.
I smile sweetly at him. ”Babe, can you do me a favor and get me some real food? I”m hungry. Get me a pork sandwich and some chips. Please?”
”What about that salad? I mean, okay.” He quickly retracts when I give him a death glare I reserve for a few special people or occasions.
”Get a plate for my sister, too,” I call out.
Thankfully, he hurries off.
Sloan returns to pawing at Dylan as we all sit on the grass. My sister, Juliet, Carter, Tanner, and Mina join us while Carter gets food. Then Parker returns with two plates of sandwiches, chips, and sodas.
Amanda immediately digs in.
As she and I eat, I keep glancing at Dylan.
Which is annoying!
It”s like my eyes don”t know how to behave themselves.
Dylan keeps glancing my way, too.
And every time he sends me those heated gazes, my insides burn.
From all the gazing and sneaky glances, I”m surprised no one catches on.
After satisfying my hunger, I wonder how to fight the urge to nap because of the food coma. Suddenly, Carter stands and whistles loudly, causing everyone to stop and look up at him.
”I”m sure everyone is full and trying not to fall asleep,” he begins, earning a few laughs, including from me. He clasps his hands together. ”So, how about this? Let”s shake it up. Let”s hike through the woods. Follow the river.”
”Hmm.” Tiffany pouts, scrunching her nose. ”I don”t know.”
”What”s so good about following the river?” Sloan speaks up.
From the sidelines, a few others look at one another.
”The view is worth it. I promise,” Carter says. ”And by the time we return, we”ll be starving again. So, who”s in?”
”Sounds fun,” Tanner calls out first, and it doesn”t take long until a few others join in.
”A hike?” Parker says next to me, leaning to put some weight on me. ”Sounds boring.”
”It”ll be good for us.” I get up and dust my backside. ”I don”t know about you, but I”m going.”
”Really? I don”t want to.”
”Am I turning into a chore now?” I snap. I don”t mean to be petty, but he”s getting on my nerves today. ”If you don”t want to spend time with me, I”m going alone.”
”Okay. Okay, I”m coming,” he grumbles.
”Well, don”t worry about it. Go ahead and return to your little horseshow game.” I snub my nose and cross my arms.
”Babe? Come on,” he groans.
”I want to go, too!” Amanda throws up her hand, oblivious to Parker”s and my antics.
Excitement dances in her eyes as a few other kids around her age also look eagerly at the older crowd. While a part of me wants to take my little sister, another part of me knows it wouldn”t be the safest thing.
I don”t want her or the other children to get hurt. I crouch on one knee, shaking my head. ”Amanda? I”m sorry. I think it”s best if you stay.”
”What?” she whines. ”Why can”t I come with you?”
”It”s dangerous,” I tell her, and she immediately hugs me.
”I”ll be careful. I promise.” She holds her pinky out for me to take. ”Promis juré!”
”Amanda—”
”Ugg, it”s not fair,” she pouts.
I”m wracking my brain when Juliet walks up.
”What”s the matter, Amanda?” she asks.
”Lara says I can”t go on the hike!”
I look at Juliet pleadingly.
”Well, who says we even want to hike with them? They”ll be walking in the sun with bugs. Snakes. And spiders are everywhere.”
Amanda tenses, her brows pinching together. ”They will?”
”Yeah, and you know what we”ll be doing as we make them regret their hike when they return covered in bug bites? Face painting. And we”re making something fun out of popsicle sticks, too.”
Amada”s face changes. ”Ooh.”
”Did you say we”ll be making popsicles?” Mina asks, coming up to Juliet out of nowhere.
It takes only a minute until the younger kids follow Juliet up the knoll without complaint, leaving the hiking crew to set off into the woods.
Just a few minutes after starting off, Parker ditches me to be in front with his friend, Matt.
Sloan is ready to crawl back into Dylan”s skin as she drapes herself over him in the middle of the crowd.
Watching them makes me frustrated.
Grumpy. Grumpier.
Beside me, Carter, Tanner, Tiffany, and a few others chatter excitedly about everything and anything.
I hate how beautiful it is, but I can only think about what a mess this day has been.
”I would”ve gone on a walk alone with you in a heartbeat.”Dylan”s words echo in my mind, making my cheeks blaze.
Turning my head away, I refocus my attention on the surroundings. But just like trying to read my book earlier, it”s no use.
”The river is just up ahead, gang. Let”s race,” Carter calls and takes off.
”Hey, no fair!” Tanner yells and runs after his brother.
Everyone else follows, too, and I”m about to run when I see a shiny pebble glittering on the side of the trail.
Amanda will love this.
I smile and pick the little pebble up while the group races onward and stuff the pebble into my pocket. It”s not as if I don”t know where they”re headed. Even if I get lost, I”ll follow the path back. I begin to stand, my back straightening, but I never have the opportunity when arms wrap around me and pull me backward against a hard chest.
I let out a gasp, my heart pounding.
Then his scent wraps around me, and I turn. My eyes snap up to meet the familiar cool blue eyes.
I smack his shoulder. ”Dylan. You scared the shit out of me!”
His eyes get more heated as he leans, his lips moments from mine.
”Sorry,” he apologizes. ”I was hoping we could take that walk together.”
My breath hitches. ”But?—”
I can”t say another word before he crashes his lips onto mine. His lips are bruising, as if he”s letting me know I don”t belong to anyone besides him.
I”m gasping when he lets me up for air.
I ball my fists into his shirt, but I don”t know if I should push him off or keep going. And then, I don”t push him away… I pull him closer.
More.
More. Please.
Dylan wraps his arms around me and hoists me off the trail and up against a tree. It keeps my legs from collapsing, giving me support. I tilt my head and let his tongue slip inside my mouth. Like yesterday, the kiss blocks out everything else. I do know it”s wrong, but I can”t find it in me to pull away.
Not when it comes to Dylan.
Or maybe it”s because of his bulge pressed into me that”s screwing with my ability to reason… I don”t know what the hell is going on with me… or how he affects me this strongly. But he does. And whenever he”s kissing me, my body, brain, and soul are toast. They belong to him.
He”s an addiction I can”t overcome.
”Dylan,” I whisper his name as we pull away just a few inches.
He dips his head to run his nose along my neck. ”I”ll get on my hands and knees if I hear you moaning my name like that,” he says, his voice deep and husky.
This guy is rerouting my brain.
I whimper when he gently bites my earlobe.
I”m like putty in his arms as he grinds against me, pinning me to the tree as he kisses me again.
Never-ending sparks fly.
Chemicals race.
All I can focus on is how perfect his lips are, and by the time we pull away, I”m ready to explode.
”How”s that? Better than the kisses you had before?” he asks.
My heart pounds so loudly that I hear it in my eardrums. By the time I process what he says, I can”t help but gawk at him. ”Oh my God… is that what this is about?”
”No, absolutely not… I was ready to rip Parker”s arms off earlier when I saw him touching my girl.”
His statement makes me giddy. ”I”m not your girl, though.”
”Not yet,” he corrects, not getting I was supposed to be insulting. ”But how”d I score?”
As if I”m going to let him win this easily.
”It was… okay,” I answer with a half-shrug.
”Just okay?”
He knows it”s the most ridiculous lie, but I hold firm. ”You sound confident in yourself.”
”I am, and I”ve never been more desperate to have you, Lara.” He stares me in the eyes. ”I”m not going to hide it, either.”
With that, he leaves me and heads toward the river, toward the rest of the group.
My mind is spinning.
Spinning.