Full Share (Shore House Book 1) (25 page)

Mila walked in the front door as if she lived there. She breezed through the two-story foyer, not even looking up at the oval-shaped staircase with the iron banister. It didn’t register in her mind; she’d been surrounded by beauty for so long.

Rob was pouring himself a glass of Scotch when we walked in. The way he steadied the bottle with two hands suggested it wasn’t his first. “Hey,” he said and barely pulled himself away from his current state to join us.

“When did you start drinking today?” Mila asked. I’d never have questioned him.

“Pretty much as soon as I woke up.” He took a sip. Based on his lack of facial expression, the Scotch went down like water. “But I slept until three.”

“Mila.” Rob’s father walked into the living room and pulled her into a hug. “Rob didn’t tell me you were coming by.” He loved her, too.

“Do you know Nora, Mr. Holloway?” Mila motioned to me. Recognition lit up Rob’s dad’s face.

“Well of course. From parents’ weekend at the University of Delaware. How are you?”

“I’m good.” That was all I had. I was overwhelmed by the two-story stone fireplace and his perfectly matched tie and suit jacket.

He turned back to Mila. “Tragic about Thomas. What a shame.”

“I know. It’s devastating,” Mila responded, and Rob took a sip of his Scotch behind them. His dismissal of his father hadn’t subsided since college.

“Such a waste. That boy had such promise.”

Mila nodded, and I followed her lead. I’d probably do well to mimic her the rest of my life, at the very least over the next twenty-four hours.

“We’re heading out, Pops.” Rob left his empty glass on the end table near the couch.

“Who’s driving?” Rob’s dad appeared equally impressed with him.

“I am,” I said and took a step toward the door.

“Well, be careful. One tragedy is more than enough for this town.”

We filed out. Me leading, Rob behind me, and Mila hugging Rob’s dad again before climbing into the back of the car.

“What an asshole,” Rob said as I pulled out of his driveway.

“He’s trying,” Mila said before turning to me. “Make a right at the stop sign.”

“Trying my patience.” Those were the last words Rob spoke. His silence the rest of the ride was an eerie reminder that the world was no longer the same.

We met Stone at the bar. No one had heard from Heather. I’d texted her to make sure she knew about Tank, but she didn’t respond. I parked next to Stone’s car. Jack’s motorcycle was nowhere in sight.

“Where does Jack live?”

“He used to live two doors down from Tank, but his parents moved to Florida and he has an apartment in the city now.”

“DC?”

“Yes. The school where he teaches is in the city.”

The thought of Jack in a room full of seventh graders warmed me.

We occupied a corner of the bar everyone had to pass through to get to the bathrooms. We were a disgusting bunch. Fear and disappointment wrapped in anger and hidden behind dead eyes fixed on rounds of shots delivered too quickly to count. I stopped drinking after the second round. I was the one with car keys, and I was the one who knew Tank the shortest amount of time. I’d drive their drunk asses around.

“Doing shots?” Jack’s voice was in my ear. He pressed against the back of me.

I sat up straight, my body immediately responding to his closeness. Even looking like he hadn’t slept in a week, his presence was a relief. I didn’t like anyone else missing, especially Jack. “This one’s for you.” I moved to get up, and Jack held me down.

“Stay there. I like you right next to me.”

I stopped lingering on Tank’s demise for a minute and focused on Jack in front of me. There was no place I’d rather be than right next to him. I just wished it were for any other occasion than this one. “How are you?”

He downed the shot and winced at the final drops. “Unbelievably shitty.” He sounded drunk. He leaned back and stared down at the floor behind my stool. “I’m just thankful I’m not working. No child should be around this.”

In many ways we were still children. It wasn’t fair we were around it, either. There was an undertow of anger. It could be heard in the impact of the emptied glasses slammed on the bar and the way Stone glared at me. His disgust seemed reserved for me alone.

“You pissed him off,” Stone said as I walked by him on my return from the bathroom.

“What?”

“
You
pissed him off. I could barely calm him down.”

I still didn’t understand the weekend Tank had been so angry. “I don’t know what I did. He never told me.”

Stone rolled his eyes, and I returned to my stool. “Whatever,” I heard him mumble.

I couldn’t get far enough away from him. I’d tortured myself that entire night until I’d seen Tank the next morning.

This wasn’t my fault. We were going to watch the meteor shower together.

A guy bumped into Stone on his way by. Not really a bump, more of a shoulder rub. The guy didn’t seem like an asshole. It was either an accident or he had a death wish, because people didn’t look more murderous than Stone. He was in a constant aggressive stance. Except tonight. Except toward me.

To my utter shock, Stone shrugged the contact off and barely paid attention to the slight. Rob, however, did not.

“What the fuck, dude? Didn’t you see him sitting there?” Rob was in the guy’s face. They were about the same height, but everyone seemed to have a few pounds on Rob.

I’d never seen Rob get into a fight before. Besides Blaire, I’d never even heard him in an argument. He was dedicated to people liking him.

The guy stopped walking and scrutinized Rob. “You got a problem, crack head?”

Rob was a bit more disheveled than usual. Dark circles framed his eyes beneath hair that was long and unruly beyond trying too hard to seem carefree. “You’re my fucking problem,” Rob said, and the guy pulled back to throw a punch, but Stone cold-cocked him before he touched Rob. The guy didn’t fall. It was impressive. His friends—as in six friends—were upon us before I knew what was happening.

It wasn’t as much of a fight as it was a beating. Jack went down. Stone went down. I lost track of Rob, and for once I missed Heather. She was a bit of a street rat and not one to shy away from a bar fight. We could have used more people.

We survived because of the off-duty police officers drinking on the opposite corner of the bar the whole night. Mila explained to the cops about Tank, and Jack and Stone sat obediently with their faces bleeding and their mouths shut. Somehow Rob walked out of the chaos without a mark on him. He abandoned us and moseyed out the side door with a cigarette behind his ear. He was unbelievable, and I wasn’t letting him leave Jack and Stone there. I stormed after him.

“What the fuck, Nora! How can he be gone? He was more alive than any of us.” Rob leaned against the wall outside. He’d totally forgotten about the last ten minutes. Stone and Jack were inside with the others trying not to get arrested, and Rob was lighting a cigarette on the side of the building, completely oblivious to their situation.

“What are you doing?” He pulled me into a hug while I shook my head in disbelief. “You should be inside. Dealing with the fight
you
started.”

The side door opened, and Blaire walked out. She stopped in front of us as I pushed Rob away in disgust. She stared straight into my eyes, willing her hatred to penetrate me, and I really didn’t care. I no longer cared what Blaire thought. What anyone thought.

“Figures,” she said and walked over and hit Rob on the shoulder.

The rest of our party followed Blaire into the parking lot. They split into cars to move to the next bar that we had no business being in. Jack’s head was cut and already bruising. Stone’s knuckles were all broken open.

“I’ll drive you,” I said to Jack as Mila, Blaire, and Rob climbed into Stone’s car. I couldn’t be near Rob and Blaire.

The tension subsided. I relaxed with Jack in my car.

“He liked you, you know?”

I took a deep breath and turned the car to follow Stone out of the parking lot. “Where’s your motorcycle?”

“I took the Metro. For a while, I thought he was in love with you.”

I always just felt loved by him. Except . . .”I wasn’t sure he didn’t hate me the past few weeks.”

“No. He loved you. Deep down, Tank loved everyone. He always saw the good in people.”

“Yes.” The tears formed in my chest, crawling up and choking me. I swallowed back the sadness.

“But you, he loved more than most. The first day he saw you standing on the beach he stopped in his tracks and said, ‘Thank God, she’s here.’” Jack turned toward me in his seat, and I was grateful for Stone’s car in front of me to force my eyes to the road. “I figured he was going after you, but you were different. He kind of adored you.”

His words were hollowing me out. “Can we talk about something else?”

“Yeah.” Jack fidgeted in his seat. I just wanted him to be comfortable.

“How’s your head?”

“Hurts.” He touched the cut above his eye again. “Dumbass.”

“Rob started it,” I said defending the guy who’d punched him.

“I was talking about me.” He leaned his head back against the headrest. “I wish we were at the beach. I wish Tank was there singing opera or walking through the house naked. I wish I could crawl into your bed and sleep with you tonight.”

The two feet between us in the car left me cold. I could feel him lying next to me in my bed. Even the thought of him getting out of my car terrified me. I needed him more than I realized on the drive to Mila’s.

We drove past the Hyatt Regency, and I stared at it as we passed and then turned to Jack while we stopped at the light. “Just sleep?” I asked.

Recognition settled on his face. “I promise.” He smiled for the first time today. “Unless you beg me.”

I turned the car around and pulled into the parking garage attached to the Hyatt.

Jack held me close in the elevator.

“I’m tired of crying,” I said out of nowhere.

“Me, too.”

He was sobering up a little and much steadier on his feet. I leaned into him. The key card to our standard room was in the palm of my hand. We walked the hall, and my exhaustion was replaced with the anticipation of being alone with him. It terrified me. Tonight couldn’t be the night. Tank thought it was a big deal, and it was.

I paused just outside the room. Jack was unbearably close. His heat poured off him and warmed me beside him. “Just sleep.” I was saying it more to myself than him. Why was I even here?
Why not tonight?

His face was cut. He’d been punched. He’d lost his best friend forever and he was drunk. That was why not tonight.

Jack grabbed my hand as I slid the key card into the lock. “Wait.” He leaned down until his lips were right next to my ear. “Kiss me now. Before we go in. If you don’t, I’ll drive myself crazy thinking of the way you taste.” I turned to him, ready to go get back in the car, but then he added, “I promise,” and I held still. “On my honor. Just sleep.”

His lips slipped down to my mouth. His hands cupped my head. He waited there while the heat from his body melted me. He licked my bottom lip, and I inhaled, fighting for air. I pressed my lips against his. He forced me to the wall behind us and pinned me there. I pulled him closer, knowing tonight was impossible. I didn’t care. His tongue in my mouth made me forget every promise I’d made to myself. I pressed against him, quieting the waves of need flowing across my skin.

Maybe just a blowjob. We didn’t have to have sex.

I reached down and rested my hand flat across the zipper of his shorts. He was hard as I stroked him through the fabric. Jack lowered his head and regarded my hand there as I fought to breathe.

He rested his hand on top of mine. “You’re testing my honor.”

Not tonight.
I returned my hand to my side.

His chest heaved and he leaned against the wall next to me.

I faced him, still buried in sadness. “Are you okay?” I rested my hands safely on his stomach.

Jack nodded. “For the first time in six days, I thought of something other than him dying.” My heart broke for him. “I thought of how your lip quivers right before I kiss you.”

Jack followed me into the room. We didn’t turn on the lights. He went to the bathroom, and I pulled the covers back on the bed and closed the curtains. I laid in our bed with the six white pillows and waited for him to come make me feel whole.

He took off his shorts and T-shirt and climbed in behind me. He slid his arm under the pillow beneath my head and wrapped his other arm and leg over the side of me. I was covered with Jack.

“You fit perfectly with me. You’re so tiny.”

“Don’t break me.”

“I won’t, Nora Hargrove.”

AND THEN THERE WERE SIX

T
he line was out the front door of the church and snaked around the side of the building. Funeral home employees came out and plucked the elderly from the line one by one so they wouldn’t have to wait in the sweltering sun. They brought us water and apologies from the family, but none if it mattered.

When my spot in line reached the front door, Heather joined us. She stepped in front of me and I waited for the people behind me to say something, but unlike the bathroom line inside a bar, this was a somber event. I turned away when she spoke and hoped no one thought I was in some way connected to her.