6. Chloe
6
CHLOE
The empty suitcase sitting on my bed is taunting me worse than the bully I kicked in the shins during sixth grade.
“Leave it to Kevin to organize the event of the year, and he did it after he died. And he was smart enough to do it in a way that means none of us can back out or turn him down. And by us, I mean the guys.” Kennedy snorts while she rummages through my closet. “Sheesh, Chloe, do you actually own anything that you can wear for the week? Why does your wardrobe look like you walked out of the eighties?”
“Not there.” I shove her out of the way and push her toward the dresser on the other side of the room. “Everything I wear on a regular basis is in the dresser. I dunno why I keep all that junk.” I’m lying. I keep it all because I don’t want to change anything about my parents’ house. Including my mom’s outdated clothing choices. Plus, occasionally I find a shirt that fits my mood buried in the depths of the years gone by. She had some really awesome choices in the bands that she liked.
“Well, I think you should consider gutting the closet and putting new clothes in.” Kennedy keeps talking, oblivious to the emotional importance of those clothes. “Or maybe you could have one of those blankets made out of the shirts and dresses and stuff? Since it’s clear that they used to belong to your parents.”
Okay, she does understand the importance of the closet.
“I can’t do that,” I tell her honestly. “I don’t trust anyone not to screw it up, and I don’t have the skills to do it.”
“Well,” Kennedy says reluctantly as she grabs a shirt out of my dad’s side of the closet. “You might want to consider it. I think moths are eating at the clothes. Or you could have Ian’s mom do it, since I’m sure she’s got the skills to sew.”
When I see the massive hole in the plaid fabric, I think about bug bombing the house while we are gone. But that seems a little rash. I can’t tell her that I’m not talking to Ian’s parents because that means admitting I’m an asshole, and I don’t think I have the emotional strength to do that right now.
“Are you packed already?” I ask her while trying to mentally calculate how many plastic totes I will need to save all my parents’ stuff from hungry insects.
“Yeah. We’re leaving in an hour, Chloe. I only came by to see if you wanted to ride with us, and I found you completely stalled, just staring at the wall with an empty suitcase. You’ve had a week to pack and get ready.”
“I was busy,” I hedge. “I couldn’t really stop working just to get ready for this.”
“Sure you could. You just didn’t know how to make something up as an excuse not to that’s better than that.” Kennedy smiles as she opens my drawers and starts blindly yanking clothes out. “That’s what I did. Trust me, it was hilarious.” She winks as she drops the first pile of stuff into the bottom of the suitcase without folding it. “Just kidding. I had to find someone to cover me this week, but it’s worth it.”
While she goes back to the dresser, I scramble to organize my underwear and socks, which she definitely overpacked, but I’m not about to stop her. Packing is the absolute worst.
“No offense, Kennedy, but I don’t want to ride with you and Linc. I think I’m gonna drive myself so I can run away if I need to.”
“No, you’re not.” Kennedy dismisses my statement while she continues to pack for me. “You’re gonna ride with me, Emma, and Parker. The guys are already out on Sebago Lake getting the house set up and the food put away.”
I splutter, almost choking on my spit. “What?”
“Yeah.” Kennedy drops the last of the clothes in my suitcase and waits patiently for me to close the lid. “Good thing I found your bathing suit too. You’re riding with the girls. I’m under strict orders from Linc to make sure you get in the vehicle. Otherwise, I’m supposed to drag you or threaten you with the machete. No offense, but no one actually trusts you to get yourself there without making a break for the border.”
“Fine.” I know that I sound petulant but there is no stopping it. At least not then. “But I do this under protest and duress. And if we’re driving that far, we better be stopping for food on the way.”
“We can grab tacos!” Kennedy claps her hands together. “I love a good road trip taco.”
“No. Absolutely not.” I grab the suitcase and walk away before she starts pouting. “Taco Bell is gonna go right through us and we’ll end up pooping in a truck stop on the way. We’re gonna get cheeseburgers or something.”
Kennedy gasps in outrage. “That is sacrilege. We are a taco-loving family and you know it.”
“Well, I’m a chicken nuggie-loving family, and you’re essentially kidnapping me so you should have to make the sacrifice. Otherwise,” I tease over my shoulder, “I can just drive myself up there and you can risk telling the men that you love that you’re the reason I never arrived at the destination. All because of tacos.”
I watch the wheels turn in her head as she tries to figure out a way to get out of it, but there isn’t one. I can be just as stubborn as her.
“Fine,” she says with a smile that is just a little bit too cheerful. “But that means you’re stuck with us.”
I almost turn right back around when we get outside and I see the massive Suburban loaded with faces staring at us through the open passenger side windows.
“You got her!” Emma cheers. “I guess you won the bet after all. Did you have to bribe her to get her to come?”
I raise an eyebrow at Kennedy. “I won a hundred bucks off you actually showing up.”
“From who?” My mind races with who’d bet against me.
“Me.” Poppy sticks her head out next to Parker in the back seat. “I thought you’d bail and run for Canada instead of put up with this group for the week.”
We load up and I buckle in next to Poppy and Parker. “What are you even doing?” I ask her. “You know Logan’s going to be there too, right?”
“Yeah,” Poppy answers with a beleaguered groan. “He’s the reason I’m coming. But how could I pass up a weeklong vacation on Sebago?” She smirks. “Plus, I know how much time those men spend working out in the gym both before work and off-shift. It’s gonna be an amazing sight.”
Emma nods her agreement from the front seat. “I really can’t wait for the clothes to come off.”
“That’s disgusting.” Parker sniffs.
“Oh, please,” Emma retorts. “You’re only upset because you think of Linc as a brother. Kennedy and is married to my brother and you’re married to her brother.” She shudders. “I really, really am not looking forward to that.”
“You guys really need a family tree to keep things straight,” Poppy tells them as a whole. “At least Chloe and I strayed away from the family gene pool.”
Caught up in the moment, filled with fun and a distraction from everything weighing her down, I laugh and high-five her. “We rock.”
“Not fair.” Emma whines playfully as Kennedy pulls into the drive-thru of the McDonald’s on the outskirts of Birch Harbor. “It’s not my fault they ended up with my family. Dom isn’t part of the chaos, either.”
“Why are we here?” Parker asks suddenly. “Why aren’t we getting tacos? It’s a long-ass drive, and if we’re getting snacks, I want tacos. Not… this crap.”
“Because some of us like chicken nuggies instead,” I say with a smile. “And Kennedy wanted to win the bet, so she gave in and rolled over like a dog when that was the only thing standing in her way.”
Two and a half hours later, we’re following the GPS on Kennedy’s phone to a lakefront house, and Parker is snoring with her head on my shoulder and her arm wrapped around her growing stomach.
“I wonder how Remy does it,” Poppy asks from my other side. “Seriously, I wouldn’t be able to sleep with that.”
“Shut up,” Parker grumbles. “It’s not my fault I have allergies that act up in the summer.”
“Please tell me you’re not going to snore the whole time,” Poppy goes on. “It’s bad, Parker.”
“Don’t worry,” Parker yawns and lifts her head off me. “I brought a breathing machine I bought online. It helps a ton, and honestly, I might keep using it even after my allergy symptoms die down.”
“Good.” Kennedy laughs from the front seat. “Because as much as I do love you, I would kill you if you kept me up all night this week.”
While they all bicker, I pick up the last of my chicken nuggets from the floor next to my feet and eat them without remorse.
“They’re all crazy,” Emma whispers loudly. “I don’t know how any of us handle each other.”
She reaches for a nugget and I swat her hand away. “Get your own, asshole.”
I stick the last one in my mouth and chew before she can try to grab it from me again.
“Okay, well, now I’m starving,” Emma announces loudly. “How long until we get there?”
“About thirty seconds.” Kennedy honks the horn of her Suburban as we pull up to a massive lake house.
White, with dark-blue storm shutters and a huge wraparound porch, there are at least three stories to the house.
“Are you sure this is the place?” My question is filled with awe. I expected something small and cramped. Maybe three or four rooms that we all have to share with probably one bathroom.
The house in front of us is ten times that size. It seriously looks like something out of a movie.
“Yeah,” Kennedy says as she checks her phone. “This is the place.” She whistles. “I’m not trying to be morbid over here, but your brother picked one hell of a house for us to fulfill his bucket list at.”
I laugh, unable to help myself. “You’re right. As much as I want to burst into tears right now, I should have known. Kevin would never just leave us outside camping. He’d want to go out in style. Asshole.”
“Right?” Kennedy shuts off the engine as the front door opens. “Time to enjoy the show, guys.”
“What—?” My question is cut off almost immediately, because the answer comes in the form of half-naked Marines. “Holy shit.”
Holy shit is beyond right. Remy and Linc are the first out the doors, and it is honestly like watching someone walk out of a swimsuit competition. Low-slung water shorts and muscles that defy physics bound toward us.
Dom and Logan follow next, somehow making Remy and Linc look smaller than I know they are. But last? Last comes Ben and Ian. And Ian, well, I know his body better than I know my own. And he puts all of them to shame.
“How the hell is he the hottest one?” Emma grouses. “Dom spends hours working in the gym in our basement.”
I snicker, knowing exactly what Emma is thinking of. “He’s naturally got the ‘V’ but I gotta tell you, it’s the boxing. He boxes regularly and got into MMA a few years ago. He’s built and flexible. Regular muscle’s got nothing on that.”
Kennedy opens her door and immediately starts yelling. “Linc, you better talk to Ian about whatever he does for a workout regimen, because he’s hotter than you and I don’t think that’s fair.”
Linc stops in his tracks about three feet from the vehicle and looks down at himself and then at the other man. “Kennedy, we’re all objectively hot, okay? I’m not gonna switch it up ’cause you like his hip things better than you like mine. I like being strong.”
Poppy slides out of the car and closes the door so I slide over to be right next to Kennedy’s ear.
“Strong and nimble,” I whisper to her, not bothering to keep my voice down. Really, I’m just having fun poking fun at someone else. “He’s got it all.”
“If I’ve got it all, why did you dump me?”
I shriek at the top of my lungs and slam my fist into his face. Or I would have, if he didn’t grab my hand through the open window to keep me from hurting myself.
“Not my fault you were busy stirring the pot.” He lets go of my hand and I’m left sitting there, embarrassed and a little turned on by the fact that he hadn’t missed a beat in his reaction. “I’m glad you didn’t chicken out, Chloe.” With a wink, he takes a step back.
He turns away and everyone still in the vehicle groans, along with Linc and Remy.
“Come on, man. You even have those little back dimple things. How the hell am I supposed to compete with that?” Linc shoves his hand over Kennedy’s face. “Don’t look at him, Kennedy. Close your eyes.” When she ignores him and tries to move, he steps in front of Ian. “Just ignore his ass and think of all the babies I’ll give you.”
She’s busy trying to grab his hand and move it, so I have to dig that knife in just a little bit harder. “Don’t worry,” I tell her. “I’ve got some pictures I can send you.”
Linc glares daggers at me, so I open the door and get out of Kennedy’s car only to see Logan standing there with a wry smile on his face. “You are aware that he is gonna get revenge on you for that?”
“He can try,” I say with a wink. “But who do you think taught Kevin how to win the prank war? The worst he can come up with, Kevin’s already taught me to expect and retaliate against like a champ. Plus, I guarantee you I’m more devious than your entire unit put together.”
Logan offers me a hand, which I take by giving him my bag. “Should I be offended that you were telling Poppy about how nimble he is?”
“No,” I tell him. “But if you wanna keep her from moving out of the state, you should take this week and do something with it.”
“I’m planning on it.” I’ve known him long enough to know that Logan’s not joking in the slightest.
I walk into the house, feeling like maybe Kevin knew exactly what he was doing with his will and bucket list, after all.
Now I just have to figure out what he has planned for us.