CHAPTER 28
Eve
The guys stayed away as much as neighbors could. I felt like they spent the next couple of days outside constantly, chopping wood or doing other yard work right in front of my window all through the day. Staying inside felt like a slow game of torture but I didn’t trust myself to be around them. The crap with Mark calling had made me see I wasn’t still hung up on my ex. Maybe I was ready to move on, but being around the guys made me want things from them, things they’d clearly spelled out weren’t available. I would be walking from one heartbreak into another.
A melancholy had settled over the town. It was strange how much moods seemed to be suffering. Except for Grandpa. He never came home and when I called him, he told me that he was enjoying his partial retirement and living a little. He still wouldn’t tell me who he was living a little with. Besides Grandpa, though, everyone seemed cranky.
Instead of love being in the air, heartache was. That much was made clear when Joanie and Billie both showed up at the cabin one night, teary-eyed and ready to rant about their men. Hiding out at the cabin, they were there for several nights in a row, talking about their troubles. I was glad to have them over for company at first. After the first couple of nights, though, I felt like I couldn’t escape conversations about love and losing love. It was a downright pity party. It didn’t help there was alcohol involved. When the three of us drank together, we turned into a round table of depressed, scorned women who couldn’t admit they wanted the same men they claimed to hate. It was a lot. Especially when I didn’t hate my guys.
On the fourth night Joanie and Billie were over, I decided I needed a break. I didn’t want to talk about men being assholes for another moment. I just wanted to get some fresh air and…I wanted to see the guys. It’d been almost a week since I’d been in the same room as them and I told myself I wanted to test whether or not I was over my feelings for them. It was just a test. Nothing more, nothing less.
In my tipsy mind, leaving out the front door wasn’t an option. Instead, I opened my bedroom window and tried to quietly climb out. I ended up in a heap on the grass but I didn’t let it stop me. I tip-toed over to the guys’ front door and knocked as loud as I dared. Just as I was realizing I might’ve been a little drunker than I’d thought, the door opened and Tate greeted me with a raised eyebrow.
I held up my hands. “Sorry. I know it’s late. I just wanted to come over and make sure I don’t feel big feelings for you guys. Now that I’ve checked, I can go. Thank you for your time.”
He reached out and snagged my arm as I turned to leave. “Do you know what time it is?”
I let him tug me inside. “Nope. Just late. The grass was already dewy, though. What time does grass get dewy?”
“Is that why you’re wet? Why were you in the grass?”
“I fell out my window.” I shrugged and smiled when Nash stumbled out of his bedroom, rubbing his eyes. “Hey, Nash!”
“Eve’s here to make sure she doesn’t have big feelings for us,” Tate snorted, “and apparently, she snuck out her window and took a tumble in the grass.”
I shrugged. “I just thought if I used the front door Billy and Joanie would think this was a social call. It’s not, though. It’s an experiment.”
“An experiment.” Nash ran his hands through his hair and shook his head. Walking closer, he grabbed me and threw me over his shoulder. “We can do an experiment. Will Eve pass out as soon as her head hits my pillow or before?”
I yawned and then gasped. “You’re using your magic on me. Stop it. Where’s Aiden?”
“He’s sleeping. Which is where you should be, too.” Nash patted my butt and then dropped me on top of his bed. I bounced and giggled as he pulled his shirt over his head to give to me. “Put that on.”
I went up on my knees and pulled off my own clothes until I was in just a pair of panties. Tugging his big shirt on felt like heaven. I let out a happy moan and sighed. “This is fine. This is just part of the experiment. And you both should come to bed. For the experiment.”
Tate slipped in behind me while Nash settled in front of me and tugged me into his chest. Tate’s hand gripped my hip and he closed the distance between us, not stopping until he was pressed against my ass.
I wiggled my legs as arousal struck. “Being horny doesn’t count. As a big feeling, I mean.”
Tate growled. “The hell it doesn’t.”
“I shouldn’t feel it, either. What a failed experiment. Darn.” I yawned again. “The girls are having a hard time and it’s a real sad affair over there. I don’t have anything to be sad about, though. Nothing. I got over Mark. I had sex again. I rode a motorcycle and put out a fire. I’m doing great. That’s why I came over here. Just to tell you guys I’m doing great. I’m not sad or anything. So, if you heard a lot of sad songs playing, it wasn’t me.”
Nash pressed his lips to my forehead and smiled. “Go to sleep. You can explain this all again in the morning.”
“Which is in three hours.” Tate kissed my shoulder and settled even closer. “Also, just so you know, you reopened the door of communication. Now we’re back in.”
I wrapped my arm around Nash’s waist and smiled as I started to nod off. “Shh. I’m trying to sleep.”