Life After Taylah (22 page)

“Neither does Avery,” Nate snaps. “Her mother went missing and was never found, her father is an asshole and her brother is messed up, but do you see her carrying on and drinking herself stupid? Your past only defines you if you let it.”

My heart sinks and I take another step back as Korey looks at me, and Lez also turns his gaze my way.

“I . . .” I choke out. “Do you mind if I just go to my room now?”

“Jesus, Nathaniel,” Lez barks, turns to his son. “What the hell is wrong with you? Look, you’ve upset the girl. Wasn’t your business to share her family situation.”

Nate turns to me and his eyes widen as he realizes what he’s done. He’s thrown me in the middle of a toxic battle by using my experience.

“Shit, Avery,” he begins.

“Can I just lay down?” I say, my voice a little harder.

“Of course, honey,” Korey says, glaring at Nate.

She brushes past him and puts her arm around me, leading me down the hall. I hear Nate curse but I don’t stop or turn around. Korey leads me down a hall and we stop at a large, wooden door. She opens it and I step into a gorgeous room that’s exactly like the rest of the house—wooden walls, wooden floors. There’s also a fireplace, a double bed, and some gorgeous paintings on the walls.

“This is our guest room. I’ve made it up for you.”

“Thank you, Korey,” I whisper, my throat tight.

“I’m sorry about what Nate said,” she says, touching my shoulder. “It wasn’t his place.”

“It’s okay, I just . . . when it was put like that it made me realize how truly screwed my family is.”

“Don’t say that. He was comparing for his sake, not yours. Don’t let him bring down your family.”

“He was right.” I laugh bitterly. “They are a mess.”

“You know what else he was right about?” she says, smiling down at me. “That you didn’t let it ruin who you are. I don’t know you well, but you seem like a lovely girl, Avery. Be proud of that.”

“Thank you.” I smile, feeling my lip wobble.

“Have a wonderful night. Would you like me to bring your cup of tea in?”

“Please,” I croak.

She disappears from the room and comes back a moment later with a cup of tea. She places it down on the beside table and then turns to me. “If you want to shower, there are towels in the bathroom which is just over from you.”

“Thank you,” I say again.

“Goodnight, Avery.”

“Goodnight, Korey.”

~*~*~*~

“S
hit, Mom, I get it okay?” I bark, skidding my chair out and pacing the room.

“Your marriage is on the rocks, Nathaniel,” she says, her voice hard. “You need to consider what you can do to fix it.”

“Fix what?” I bark. “You have no idea; none! She drinks, she argues with me and she leaves my daughter in a dangerous state. Do you think I’d even be here if it weren’t for the fact that I’m out of ideas?”

“And I understand that,” she begins.

“Do you?” I scoff, cutting her off. “Because I don’t think you do.”

“She’s still your wife. You still made a choice.”

“I know!” I roar, slamming my fist onto the table. “I fucking know what I did. I brought my daughter here so I could go home and sort this shit out.”

“To leave her,” she protests. “You’re not even going to try.”

“I’ve been fuckin’ trying for years now. Don’t pretend you haven’t seen it falling to shit.”

“I have seen it’s tense, but all marriages get that way.”

“So you’re telling me that if Dad was laying on the couch all the time, drunk, leaving his children in danger, that would be completely okay with you?”

“No,” she snaps, running her hands through her hair. “But I would try. I would try to fix it; I would try to get him help.”

“You think I haven’t?” I bark. “You think I haven’t busted my ass to try and get her some help?”

“You’re away all the time. How can you possibly help her?”

I lose my shit then, hard. “What is it you’re asking me?” I bellow. “To give up my career?”

“No, but you could take them with you.”

“She doesn’t want to come.”

“Have you even asked?” she argues.

“Of course I’ve fucking asked.”

“You two,” Dad says, barging into the room. “Enough! You have a goddamned guest who is already sobbing in her room, not to mention a little girl who could wake any second and hear everything you’re saying. Grow up.”

Fuck. Avery is sobbing? Shit.

“Avery is upset?”

“Of course she’s upset,” he snaps. “You insulted her entire family in front of people she hardly knows. How would you feel?”

“Fuck,” I say, walking down the hall.

“It’s not okay for you to go in there, Nate,” Mom says. “Your wife wouldn’t agree.”

I spin around, glaring at her. I love my mom, I truly do, but she’s a hard woman.

“I upset a friend tonight. I’m going to see if she’s okay.”

“Wouldn’t bother, son,” Lez says. “She has instructed to be left alone.”

Like hell she is.

“Fine, I’m going to bed then. This conversation is done.”

“Nathaniel,” my mother begins, but I throw a hand up, cutting her off.

“Goodnight,” I bark, before disappearing into my room.

Fuck it all.

A
warm nose runs down my cheek, rousing me from my sleep. I blink a few times and it’s dark out; not a light to be seen. I can feel the hard, muscled body beside mine and I shiver instantly.

“Nate?” I whisper.

“Sorry, baby,” he murmurs, running his nose down my cheek and over my jaw. “I fucked up. I made you cry; I was wrong.”

“You hurt me, Nate,” I croak.

“I know,” he says, wrapping an arm around me and pulling me closer. “And I’m sorry for that. It wasn’t right.”

“No,” I rasp. “It wasn’t.”

“Things get tense around here and I lose my shit—it isn’t your fault. I shouldn’t have come here.”

“They care about you,” I say, rolling to my back. “They are only trying to help.”

“They have no idea,” he says, his voice a low whisper. “No fucking idea how hard I’m trying to fix the unfixable.”

I fall silent and he keeps running his nose over my face, breathing me in. “You’re all I have left, Avery. Don’t give up on me.”

“I never said I was giving up,” I say, my voice barely above a whisper.

He stokes a thumb over my cheek and leans down, kissing me softly. I open up to him, needing to feel him, needing to remind myself what I’m doing here. Why I’m risking my life and my career.

The moment his tongue touches mine, I remember. It’s not because of lust, or desperation, it’s because of a soul-binding connection that I can’t turn away from—it’s because he makes me burn, deep inside my heart, and it’s a burn I can’t escape from.

“Nate.” I gasp as his mouth goes down my throat. “We can’t. Not here.”

“No, baby,” he says, sucking on my neck. “We can’t, but it doesn’t mean I can’t let my mouth touch you for a second longer.”

I close my eyes and let him kiss me all over. His mouth travels down my neck, over my shoulders and then slowly goes back up. He kisses me some more before pulling back. I can hear his deep breathing in the silence and I know it’s taking everything for him not to take this that step further.

“How did you get in here?” I ask, running my hand over his shoulder and down his arm.

“I came through the window.” He laughs softly.

“You broke into your own house?”

“Something like that. I’d break into a damned prison if it meant I could feel you.”

I close my eyes and nuzzle my face into his neck. “You should go. If we get busted . . .”

“Mmmm,” he murmurs.

“Nate.” I giggle softly.

“On it, baby. Just one more kiss.”

He kisses me deeply, tongues tangling, hands roaming, breaths coming in short, hard pants—then he gets up and disappears back through the window.

God, will it ever stop feeling like this?

“W
e’re here for your awesome dip,” Kelly says, walking in and throwing himself onto my couch. Liam comes in close behind him, followed by Max and Keanu.
What the hell is Keanu doing here?

“Are you boys right?” I ask, pulling a handful of beers out of the fridge and walking over, handing them all one.

“We thought we’d come and join you. It’s football night and we all know how much you love football.” Max chuckles, leaning back and throwing his feet up on my coffee table.

“You know, Maxy,” I grin, “for a cop, you’re awful grubby.”

He gives me a look as the guys start chuckling.

“Maxy.” Kelly laughs.

“Fuck off, surfer boy,” Max grunts.

“Language, Max,” I say, chastising him. “You’re in the presence of a lady.”

Liam and Keanu both snort at the same time.
Nice
.

“I’m ordering a pizza,” I say, seeing the boys aren’t leaving any time soon. “You guys care what we get?”

“Pepperoni and mushroom,” comes a chorus of voices.

Okay then
. I walk into the kitchen and lift my phone to dial a pizza. I see a message from Nate. He’s been away for just under a week for motocross, and I’ve been missing him . . . a lot.

Nate –
I’m home. When can I c u?

Avery –
The guys r over. We can’t tonight.

Nate –
Guys?

Avery –
Your brother, Kelly, Max and Liam. They decided football was at my house tonight. Sorry.

Nate –
My brother gets to admire your sweet ass but I don’t get to see you?

Avery –
I’ll try to get them out as soon as possible.

He doesn’t text me back and I feel bad. A huge part of me wants to go and kick all the guys out, but that won’t do me any good. They’ll get suspicious and ask questions. I cant invite Nate here, because there’s no way I won’t give him a desperate
fuck me
look and that’s going to go down like a big ton of bricks. So I’m in a bit of a screwed situation.

I order the pizza and go and sit with the guys while we wait for it to arrive. We’re watching television, waiting for the football to come on, when some news about surfing pops up. I smile at the girl on the screen. It’s a world-famous female surfer, the first in the country to make it in the big league. Her name is Dante, and she’s so stunning it’s hard to look at her and not get sore eyes. I’ve always admired her.

She’s got this long, blond hair that’s so influenced by the sun that it has at least five different shades, like she’s spent hours at the salon. It’s got darker bits of her natural color, which is somewhat like a light brown, then it’s got a range from honey-blond to white-blond scattered throughout. It’s gorgeous. Her eyes are steely-gray, and against her suntanned skin it just takes your breath away. I envy her; she got hit with the good stick.

“I love Dante.” I sigh. “She’s amazing.”

Kelly looks at me, giving me a half-grin before turning his eyes to Keanu who, I shit you not, is scowling at the television. Uh-oh
. Competition.

“She’s fuckin’ up herself,” he grunts.

“Calm down, big guy,” I say, trying to ease the mood. “She’s just a girl.”

“She ain’t just a girl,” Kelly says. “She’s a fucking champion surfer. She’s going to take Keanu out of his number one spot this year.”

“She is fuckin’ not,” Keanu growls, turning to glare at Kelly.

Kelly laughs and leans back, winking at me. Okay, what am I missing? The doorbell rings and I jump up quickly, rushing over. I collect the pizzas from the young, gangly boy and give him a little tip. He deserves it, poor kid.

I take the boxes into the kitchen and find some napkins. Kelly comes in and leans his hip against the counter.

“You need help?”

“To serve pizza?” I laugh. “No.”

He chuckles and lifts a box, groaning as he breathes it in.

“So, what’s with Keanu and Dante?” I ask, pulling out some glasses.

“You didn’t know?”

I shake my head, giving him a confused look. “No . . .”

“They’re like the ultimate competition for each other. Keanu despises Dante, and vice versa. She’s threatening to take him out of his place and he doesn’t like that. He doesn’t think a girl should be surfing, and his pride certainly doesn’t like that she could win. It wasn’t always like that though, from what I hear; the two went out once.”

“They did?” I gasp.

He nods. “Yup, but it didn’t end well. At least, that’s what I heard. You don’t even want to be in the same room as them now; they go at each other throats constantly. It’s fuckin’ annoying.”

“Why is he so threatened by her?”

Kelly shrugs. “Keanu is good at what he does. He’s the best male surfer in the country, but when it comes down to the overall championship he doesn’t want to be outdone by a girl, let alone a girl he fucked for six months.”

I scrunch up my nose. “Right.”

“Come on, enough about that. Let’s get some food in. I’m starving.”

I roll my eyes and help him carry everything out. I’m about to sit down when my phone chirps on the countertop. I rush over quickly, reading the message.

Nate –
Come upstairs.

Huh?
I turn to the guys and mumble, “Excuse me, I’ll be back in a second.”

They nod, but are too focused on the game to worry. I step into my room and gasp to see Nate, standing by my window. My heart stops beating as I take him in—God, I’ve missed him. I let my eyes drag down his body, taking in his boots, his faded denim jeans that hang on his hips, that tight black shirt that stretches across his chest and then those piercing eyes that take my breath away all over again. I rush forward, leaping on him, wrapping my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist.

“How did you get in here?” I gasp, peppering little kisses over his cheeks.

“Climbed through the window. Fuck I missed you, Dancer.”

He walks us backwards, then he uses his boot to kick my bedroom door shut before pressing my back against it.

“What are you doing?” I whimper as his mouth finds my neck.

“Fucking my girl.”

“But they’re all downstairs, and . . .”