All I Have Left (22 page)

Kelly laughed curling my hair. “Hold still or I will burn you,” she was snapping the straightener for effect.

“Okay, okay…damn. I just don’t know how I manage to get roped into these situations all the time.” I smiled as Frankie grabbed my face to apply make-up to my swollen eye.

“Evie, it’ll be fun and you know it,” Frankie gave me this look that reminded me of Grayson, persuasive as all hell. “Besides, our little brother is finally home, you’re free from Shane, we have lot’s to celebrate and we always go there to celebrate.”

“I wouldn’t say I’m free and you know that.”

Neither one of them said anything. They knew it was only a matter of time. Shane Lawson wasn’t a man who ever settled on being told no.

“Fine, but I’m warning you, if some jerk guy grabs my ass tonight or Shane shows up,” I eyed both of them. “I’m personally holding the both of you responsible.”

They just laughed, it was hardly funny.

“I doubt Grayson will allow that to happen.” Frankie sounded utterly confident this wouldn’t be a problem. And deep down, I knew that would be true. “And,” Kelly added, “Larry won’t let Shane in the bar. He knows what happened.”

It was a reminder, if the bruises weren’t enough of a display, that we lived in a small town. Everyone knew.

Around nine, we were ready to head out. They managed to get me into a white sundress and cowboy boots.

Josh whistled when he saw us walk into the living room, I rolled my eyes.

Grayson, well, he had yet to stop staring. That sort of attention I’d take all day long.

He smiled, of course, when I approached him. “Ready?”

“After you.” He said, waiting for me to walk in front of him. I knew that plan. It was so he could watch me walk in front of him.

“Enjoy the view.” I shook my ass a little as I walked, just to tease him a little for the cooler incident at the fields.

He laughed. “Oh, I am…”

As soon as we walked into The Point, it felt right. I could feel myself vibrating from the bass coming from the speakers, country music blaring. Frankie led the way to the far right corner where we usually sat. Where we’d been sitting since we convinced Larry, the owner, to let us in The Point when we were thirteen.

I usually liked to get a drink in me, and people watch before dancing. Frankie was bouncing up and down, her usual bubbly self, and Kelly was looking for the boys who had disappeared when we walked in; I assumed they went to the bar.

The bartender came over and I ordered my usual, Coors Light. Kelly got a rum and Coke, and Frankie a Long Island Iced Tea.

It was hot and sticky in the bar and I was relieved to see Larry, the owner, opening the doors that led to the stage.

I was incredibly thirsty and downed my beer within five minutes.

“It’s really hot in here,” I tried to yell over the music.

“Yeah, I know now. Where did the boys go?” Kelly asked, looking around, assuming they’d be back by now.

“Right here,” Josh replied grabbing Kelly from behind. She laughed. It was so good to see them so happy and here. Now that they both graduated I hoped that they would be around more often but now that Josh had a job in Arizona now, I knew that wasn’t going to happen.

I could see Grayson and Ethan leaning against the bar, talking with Larry, more than likely warning him about Shane.

I was on second beer when I gained enough courage to attempt dancing. I grabbed Frankie and we made our way to the dance floor.

“Oh, I love this song!” she screamed when “Down On The Farm” came on. We knew the song well, sort of like a theme song for us.

We made our way to the center and began dancing. I was swaying my hips when I felt two hands on my waist.

I knew it wouldn’t take him long. He turned me, his left hand on my hip, the other in my right hand. Grayson knew how to dance, product of two older sisters. He led me around with ease, smiling down at me.

It seemed effortless for him as though our bodies were one as we moved. His hand would occasionally glide up and down my side, sending shivers down my spine. As he did this, his hand grazed my breast and I leaned back into him. He continued his ministrations and I loved it.

He took a firm grip on my waist as the song began to pick up speed and I was really getting into it. If felt good. I arched my back into him, putting my mouth right up to his ear, letting my rapid breathing hit him. I’m not sure I was thinking right then.

He stared deep into my eyes, practically panting as he leaned down to my ear. “You’re playing with fire, Evie. Don’t do this with unless you’re ready,” he warned, pulling back to look at me.

He had every right to say that to me. If I wasn’t ready, I had no business turning him on. I had no business making him believe I was ready. The thing was, deep down, I was ready. I had been ready.

The look on his face was something I had never seen before in him. He looked very much like a man now, no longer the boy I grew up with.

His eyes, rugged and somber, offered me a reminder of what was at stake this time. If I acted on this, if he did, this time there was no walking away. What we did now would hold more meaning than either one of us knew.

He hesitated before doing so, but he pulled me closer, his mouth was at my neck and I could feel his ragged breath on me, wetting my neck. When the song ended, I still hadn’t said anything but needed air.

He led me out to the stage, now just filled with tables and additional seating when there wasn’t any bands playing.

As we stood there, side by side, shoulder to shoulder, leaned against the railing on the deck, I thought a lot about us as a whole.

Everything had led up to right now. I remembered that night vividly with Grayson and anytime we were alone these days, the memories took over. It wasn’t something I could forget. Ever. Even if it was brief. I didn’t want to forget. I wanted to remember every minute detail, every embrace, every touch.

I had to kiss him. I couldn’t wait any longer.

Turning to face him, I pushed my whole body flush against him, he froze, probably surprised by my sudden audacity. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him.

It was the first time our lips had touched in three years. If I could have captured that feeling it gave me, I would have, as the sensation sang through my veins. It was like coming home.

Without much warning, his hand was in my hair and he spun me around so I was up against the railing, every inch of his body pressed firmly against mine as his hips brushed against mine revealing his obvious excitement at my public seduction.

He pulled back and looked at me directly in the eyes and before I could say anything his lips were on mine, desperate, hungry, frantic with his need. I nearly fainted at the feel of his lips, seducing my mouth, so soft and warm. When his tongue finally met mine, I could taste the beer on him and remembered a little more from years gone by.

A Friday night baseball game, the lights, the wet grass and dusty clay soaked knees. Behind the dugout, my back against the fence, our bodies pressed together. I remember our first kiss at fifteen, two people fumbling with feeling they didn’t understand.

Maybe it was the kissing, or maybe it was my mind trying to keep up but I couldn’t breathe and pushed back on his chest.

He pulled back, gasping for air. I was shocked, not really comprehending what just happened, or what I was feeling.

“Sorry, I had to do that.” I looked at him once more, licking my lips.

He nodded, his eyes on the deck, his hands suddenly shoved into his pockets.

“Wanna get a drink?”

He nodded and smiled taking my hand and walked to the bar. We stood there a few minutes, waiting for the bartender to come our way and I could feel Grayson’s eyes on me the whole time. He hadn’t spoken since we were out on the dance floor, which was making me extremely nervous. Especially after that kiss and both of our reactions to it.

I was too embarrassed to look at him, afraid of what he might say, or feel.

What if he was having second thoughts?

What if he thought he was some kind of rebound?

Every time we’ve been together like that, there’s always been someone else. The thing was, there has never really been anyone but him. It’s
always
been him.

He didn’t say anything. Nothing. Just smiled. The rest of the night passed in an alcohol induced blur and I don’t think I stopped smiling once. I swear we danced to every song and I had no complaints. I couldn’t get close enough to him and was intent on making up for lost time.

The sun had long since been swallowed by the day when we left The Point, the night was still warm, the humidity still very much present. I could hear the cicada singing in the background as I got inside Grayson’s truck.

With the windows rolled down, the way the air smelled, the wet humidity, the smell of the summer flowers in bloom, it all reminded me of the way things used to be, a much simpler time and the way they would be now that Grayson was here, with me again. I vowed then to never let him go again.

Grayson only drove about a half mile when he suddenly pulled off the highway onto a dirt road between some over grown trees. My stomach dropped a little, uncertain.

What in the world is he doing
?

Pulling forward about another hundred feet down the road, he turned the truck off, his hands and head resting on the steering wheel.

“I think I need to sober up a little. Got anything in mind that can help me?” He asked in the most seductive voice I have ever heard, his cheeks flushed from the alcohol.

He pulled back sitting back against the seat, his head resting against the back window. He turned to look over at me, his eyes slowly raked over my body as he ran his hands through his hair.

Now I knew what Grayson was hinting at when he asked if I had anything in mind and I couldn’t help it any longer. I blamed the alcohol.

I unbuckled myself and practically launched my body on to his lap, he grunted when I fell onto him but smiled anyways. “Mmmm, that’s a good idea.”

I maneuvered myself sideways on his lap, my legs on the bench seat where I was once sitting, my arms slide around his neck.

There was a small part of me that was trying to block out Shane and what he made me do in his car. I had to get over that. This wasn’t Shane. This was Grayson.

He placed both his hands on either side of my face as he pressed his lips to mine. It didn’t take long for our kisses to become urgent again and full of desire. This time there was no one around. We didn’t have to stop, if we didn’t want to.

One of his hands slid down my neck, the other gripped the nape of my neck as his kisses deepened. His right hand continued to move south until it was on my thigh, then started moving north sliding up under my dress, but slow enough that if it wasn’t something I wanted, I could stop it.

I leaned into his embrace further, wanting everything he was giving. I moved to kiss the sensitive spot under his ear—then trailed wet open mouth kisses up and down his neck. I shifted a little to get a better angle that only made me rub against his hips. I felt the reaction he was having to this.

His breath caught and he groaned softly as he threw his head back against the back window. “Jesus Christ…Evie…I don’t want to stop.”

I felt the same and took that as encouragement, taking advantage of his exposed neck, trailing more kisses along his neck and grazing my tongue over him as I did so. He pushed his hips into me again, letting me feel exactly what I was doing to him.