Chapter 13
Kenzie
My girls’ night was not what I expected.
Movies and TV shows painted a vastly different picture than seeing Callie and Greta sprawled out on their couches in baggy sweatpants, makeup free and their phones in their rooms. Greta spoke first, handing me a fancy IPA I had never tried before. “Can I speak freely, Ken?”
“Sure.”
“Your brother makes me want to punch a wall sometimes. I love him—most times I think too much—but fuck. He’s a hard person to love, because he has to make every mistake before he figures out the right thing.”
“Ha, that’s a good way to put it,” I said, admiring her candor. “He is hard to love.”
“Again, love the guy, but I’m so sorry he didn’t invite you over for dinner. I thought he did and I feel bad because I want you to feel welcome and one of us, ya know?”
“G, bring it down a peg,” Callie said, throwing a remote at her. She opened her mouth to say something, but someone pounded on the door and Callie rushed to get it. “Sorry, we all know Zade is pretty much one of the girls now.”
Greta snorted, nodding. “He is.”
Zade walked in, picking up Callie and carrying her to the couch. “Ladies, great to see you.”
“You lasted, what…forty minutes? New record for you,” Greta said, and I grinned behind my beer. Their friendship, ease with each other, trust…it was what I’d always wanted.
Zade gave a goofy grin and took the beer from Greta. “Stone IPA, one of my favs.”
“That’s mine!”
Their bickering lasted another couple minutes before Zade narrowed his stealthy gaze at me. “You, Kenzie, lied.”
“Uh, what?”
Shit. Shit. Tanner told them. That means Aaron is killing him right now.
“You were covering for Tanner.”
Both Callie and Greta stared at me and I started sweating. I pushed my glasses up and shrugged. “Be more specific.”
“That’s all he said. You lied to help him out, and that he wasn’t ready to tell us yet. He sent us on our merry way and ripped Aaron for being a shitty brother.”
Tanner’s standing up for me?
Why?
“So where’s Aaron?” Greta asked the million-dollar question and my stomach filled with dread. This was too secretive, too sneaky. What if they find out?
Zade grimaced and tightened his hold on Callie. “To be frank, I admire the guy, but Hilly is a little dramatic and I wanted to spend time with my girl.”
Greta rolled her eyes, but her smile was tight. She was worried. “I’m sure he’s walking here now.” She gave me a weak nod and got up to check her phone. “Kenzie, were you covering for Tanner?”
“I was being a friend to someone who needed one.”
She made a face as though she was unhappy, but perked up when another set of heavy footsteps led to her door. She raced to the entrance, yanked it open and sighed when she saw my brother. She hugged him hard, and I understood Tanner’s aversion to their coupledom. They were a lot to take.
Aaron set Greta on the ground and narrowed his gaze at me. “Tell me what’s going on.”
“Well, I’m at your girlfriend’s place after we had an awkward showdown in front of everyone on the quad. That about sums it up.”
Zade snorted, earning a smack from Callie, but I appreciated his unspoken support. Aaron was dramatic.
“No shit. Tanner told me you lied for him. Why?”
Maybe it was his tone, or the way that this was the second time in two weeks where he’d been an ass, but I snapped. “Because I know what it’s like not to be able to open up about problems when everyone else around you has their own shit to deal with.”
“Kenzie…” His voice trailed off as Tanner made an appearance at the door. Those brown eyes found me immediately and it took him less than a second to read the room.
“Leave her alone. I told you. She covered for me and when I’m ready to tell the rest of you, I will.”
“Why can’t you tell us, Tanner?” Greta asked, the hurt in her voice evident. Everyone waited, watching Tanner and the physical signs of his stress. He stared right at me, took a deep breath and spoke in a tone I imagined he used on the field—assertive, intense and leaving no room for bullshit.
“Because there was never room to bring my shit to the table when we were dealing with Zade’s and Aaron’s problems. I’m not lashing out, so don’t act butt-hurt about it.
You guys are my family, but you’re giving her way too much shit for saying the right thing at the right time.
My past is fucked up and I’ll tell you when I’m ready. ”
An uncomfortable silence filled the room as they all digested Tanner’s words.
My heart hurt for him. He stood too straight and kept his fists at his sides, and I’d bet money he was counting the seconds until he could leave.
Callie spoke first. “I’m glad you were able to talk to Kenzie about it, TJ. ”
“Dude, same. We’ll be here when you’re ready,” Zade added.
Greta mumbled something similar and it was Aaron who broke the awkward tension with the question on everyone’s minds. “But why did it have to be my sister?”
“Because she’s the only person as stubborn as you and she didn’t give me a choice. She physically forced it out of me.”
They all turned their attention to me and I nodded. “When you chuck your phone into a lamp and smash it, no sane person would let you walk out without an explanation.”
“I didn’t smash my lamp.”
“Yeah, you did. Pieces were all over your floor. I saw them when I ran in to rescue you from what I assumed to be a burglar.”
His cheek twitched with annoyance and he tilted his head to the side. “Now that we’ve put on a fucking show for everyone, can I leave?”
“Yeah, Kenzie, you want to stay here?” Callie asked.
“Nah, maybe another night. All the couple-y shit is a bit much. Relationships aren’t my jam.
” They all laughed, and I made my way toward Tanner.
I stopped to ruffle Aaron’s hair, like he always did to mine, and pulled a bit harder than necessary.
“Buckwheat, do you want to have a movie marathon tomorrow? It could be an early birthday present?”
“It’s your birthday?” Callie asked, a crazy ass smile taking over her face. “When?”
“Tuesday. I turn nineteen, yay!”
“Chocolate or vanilla? Ice cream or cookie?”
“Um, what?”
“What type of cake do you like? I’ll bake you one!”
I gave her the stone-cold truth. “All. I like all cake.”
I wasn’t sure if I was imagining it or if Aaron purposely spent more time around the house, asking me questions about nothing and inviting me to everything he did.
No, I didn’t want to go to the cages, or to IHOP, or to the sports store to look for new cleats…
for him. I appreciated the effort, but it meant Tanner and I had a total of two hours of being alone.
We couldn’t do more than talk without Aaron finding a reason to come into one of our rooms. It was stupid, really, and when my birthday rolled around, he was gone when I woke up.
Tiptoeing to the bathroom, I about smacked into Tanner’s bare chest. “Hey!”
“Shh,” he said, picking me up and slamming my back into the door in a practiced move I had no complaints about.
Our lips collided and the leftover taste from his peppermint mouthwash engulfed me, sending tingles to the back of my throat.
It was better than I imagined. Even better than our last kiss, and I ground against him, pulling his hair. “He wouldn’t fucking leave.”
“How long do we have?”
“No idea. Don’t care,” he said, moving his hands up my little tank top and pinching my nipples. I bucked, causing him to laugh, and he replaced his hands with his teeth, biting the tips through my shirt. “Do you like nipple play, Kenzie?”
“More than I realized.”
“Mm, I like that answer.” He grinned, slid me down his body and turned me to face the mirror. He yanked my shirt off and pressed four kisses down my collarbone, trailing light touches over my chest and abdomen at a torturous pace. “Look at you, glowing when I touch you.”
Our gazes met in the mirror and it was the most intimate moment I had ever experienced.
He traced a circle around my nipples, pulling on them until I moaned.
Then he lowered himself to his knees, taking an insanely long time sucking each peak.
He made sure I watched in the mirror as he tongued my breasts.
“Are you wet for me?” he asked, moving his attention from my chest to the waistband of my shorts. He pulled them down, running his nose along my inner thigh and grazing my folds. I stood there, paralyzed, when he moved my legs apart with his arm. “Spread your legs wider.”
He cupped my ass, dragging his tongue from my belly button to my clit, biting down on the nub desperate for release. “Can I taste more of you, Kenzie?”
I squeaked out a yes, and he picked me up in one motion and brought me to my bed.
He didn’t waste any time and kissed his way down my body, his hair tickling the sensitive skin between my thighs.
He bit the inside of my left thigh, laughed when I sucked in air and moved his magical tongue to where I needed it most. He swirled, flicked, teased and probed, bringing me close to the edge and backing me away. “Tanner, please. I’m so close.”
“I want your first birthday orgasm to be the best. Trust me.”
Oh, I trusted him. He slid two fingers inside me, pumping me, combining the motion with his tongue and sending me into a whirl of sensations, each wave stronger than the one before.
My legs shook, my body on fire, and I lost myself in that orgasm.
It was dangerously slow and just as strong.
I reached for anything to hold on to and pulled Tanner’s hair, gripping it as I moaned his name.
Time stopped as I came down from the high and when I opened my eyes, I found Tanner’s warm and fiery ones staring at me. “Fuck, that was…”
“Part one of your birthday present.” He grinned, licked his lips and leaned over to kiss me. “Taste yourself, Kenz. You just became my favorite flavor.”
Those words. Good lord. They shouldn’t be allowed to be spoken.
He took his time, letting me explore the evidence of my pleasure in his mouth and just as he pushed forward and ground his hard cock against me, the front door shut.
He froze for one second before jumping off me.
He threw the covers over me and darted into his room as the footsteps moved upstairs.
It could’ve been Zade, or Aaron, or Jeff coming back two months early…
but I knew it was my brother. I didn’t breathe, as though any sound I made would confess what we’d been doing, but it wasn’t necessary.
Whoever it was stopped outside my room and slid a card with my name on it under my door.
It was Aaron’s choppy handwriting, and I sighed in relief.
I wiped sweat from my brow, found the thin flowery robe I liked wearing when I got ready and chanced going to the bathroom.
I’d brushed my teeth and washed my face before Tanner creaked the door open and gave me a dimpled smile that reminded me of just how good his mouth could be. I smiled and whispered, “Hi.”
He lowered his heated gaze to my legs, groaned and shook his head to refocus himself. “One, that robe is fucking dangerous. Two, happy birthday. But third, and most importantly, don’t you dare count that as one of the twenty. We don’t count the ones that get interrupted.”
“Really, now?” Interesting.
“Yes. Don’t argue.” He grabbed the front of my robe and pulled me to him so our noses touched. He bit my lower lip and pushed me away. “I have at least two more orgasms planned for you today, so be prepared. The second he’s gone, you’re mine.”
He shut the door, leaving me in a puddle of anticipation, and I couldn’t remember having a better birthday morning.