The Key West Anthology (45 page)

Chapter Thirty

Avery

I could sense a shift, a change in the way he looked at me. Even the kisses we shared were so full of passion. It was hard to explain, but the man that was here before me now was not the same one from the night at his shop.

As he hovered over me, our bodies joined in the most intimate way, his gaze never wavered. He looked back at me with such intensity.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered before his lips met mine. Our tongues intertwined as he rotated his hips, grinding against me. He pulled back, and his stare once again found mine. “This should have been our first time,” he whispered as he pushed himself deeper inside me. My breath hitched, and I dug my fingernails into his shoulders.

“Oh my God,” I gasped. “Mm.” A moan left my lips just before he covered my mouth with his. Immediately the rocking of his hips picked up as he began thrusting into me harder and faster, his muscles tensing beneath my fingers with his vigorous movements.

“I’m so close, baby,” he groaned out before rolling his tongue with mine. He gripped my hips and pulled me tighter against him just as my body tensed around him. The most delicious sensation took over as an intense orgasm ripped through me.

He swallowed my moans as he drove into me before his own orgasm hit.

“Avery,” he moaned.

After he calmed, he shifted to the side to relieve me of the weight of his body. Looking down at me, he brushed away the hair that was falling in my face. “Are you okay?” he asked. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

I smiled at his thoughtfulness. “No, you were perfect,” I assured him.

The smile that spread out over his face sent chills throughout my body and a warm sensation straight to my core. He was happy, and it was a beautiful sight to witness.

***

“Well aren’t you just a pleasant bunny?” Quinn said.

“More like a crabby patty.” I narrowed my eyes at Callie as she placed the chocolate shake in front of me. She pulled her hand back quickly as if I was going to attack her.

Quinn snickered, and Harper just laughed. She didn’t care who heard her.

“Kade left his morning, she’s pregnant, and I’ve heard pregnant women get horny, like all the time,” Harper stated as she picked up my spoon and swiped a spoonful of the whipped cream off the top of my tall glass.

I swatted her hand away and redirected my glare to her. “Drop the spoon.”

Harper laughed so hard she started coughing, and now it was Callie’s turn to laugh.

“Do it again, Harp, I wanna see you lose an arm,” she said.

Harper held her hand out in front of her face and flipped Callie the bird. In turn we all started laughing.

It was true I was moody. Kade flew out this morning, and I had yet to hear from him. I was worried, and I wanted to know he was okay. The idea of him showing up at Jenna’s parents’ place only to have them slam the door in his face broke my heart. I wanted them to accept him and tell him everything was going to be all right. He deserved closure, and I swore if they hurt him I would hop on the first plane and fly to Vermont to give them both a piece of my mind.

“Have you heard from him?” Jett asked as he slid into the booth next to Quinn. I instantly felt the absence of Kade. No, we hadn’t been together as a couple long, but from the moment he said he wanted to try being together, I let my heart finish falling. There was no saving me.

I shook my head. “Nope, have you?”

“No,” he said as he dipped a tortilla chip into the salsa and lifted it to his mouth.

I mindlessly reached out and grabbed a chip of my own. When I bypassed the salsa and dipped it into my shake, I heard an “eww” and someone whispered, “Nasty.” I lifted it to my lips and smiled as I placed the salty sweetness against my tongue. It was the perfect mixture.

“That has got to be a pregnancy thing,” Callie said. “That’s just weird.”

Easton and Jude walked up then, and I felt a little saddened. Kade was the only one missing from our little group.

“Ever had corn chips in your ice cream?” Jude asked as he stared at me while I continued to dip the chips into my shake.

I shook my head while enjoying being able to disgust Callie.

“It’s good,” he confirmed. “A little salty and a little sweet.” He licked his lower lip and let his gaze wander to Callie. My God, those two and the dirty fantasies they have about one another.

“I’m actually in the mood for nachos. Got any cheese?” I asked Jude around a mouthful of chips. “Spicy nacho cheese, actually, and black olives.”

“This is my restaurant, Avery, we have everything,” Jett announced proudly.

“I’ll make you some nachos, Avery, and they’ll be the best damn nachos you’ve ever had,” Jude assured me as he stepped back, offering a wink before turning around and walking toward the kitchen.

“What about me?” Callie hollered after him.

We all watched as Jude looked back over his shoulder, a smirk covering his mouth. “Why, Cal, if I make you dinner, will you offer me dessert later?”

Easton and Jett chuckled, and every girl at the table smiled brightly. Well, every girl but Callie. Instead, her cheeks grew red and she turned to face the group, choosing to avoid Jude’s sexually laced words. I had no doubt those two would be explosive if they would just give in to the tension that had been boiling between them for months, if not longer. They were both always watching each other when the other wasn’t looking, and Jude was always on the lookout when any other guy came within a few feet of Callie. They really just needed to lock themselves up in a room together for a few days. It was almost too hot to watch.

Chapter Thirty-One

Kade

I don’t think I’ve ever been more nervous than I was the moment I pulled up in front of Lori and Paul’s home. My hands were shaking, I was sweating like crazy, and I felt like I was going to puke at any second.

I had no idea what to expect. Having them slam the door in my face would be the hardest outcome to accept. I hadn’t really thought about what I would do if that did happen. I just had to hope for the best. I was so close to backing out, but I knew I would only regret that decision. Needing just a little push, I picked up my phone and dialed Jett’s number. He was a no-bullshit kinda guy, and I knew he would be the shove I needed.

“What’s up? How did things go?” he asked, bypassing the hello.

“I don’t know, man,” I said. “I can’t get my ass out of the car.”

Silence set in, and I knew he was waiting for me to go on.

“What the hell do I do if they refuse to talk to me? What if they slam the door before I can explain why I’m here? I don’t know if I thought this all out too well.” My heart was racing as I rambled.

“Brother, you can’t do this to yourself. You fucking hopped on a plane to fly thousands of miles to ask their forgiveness. Damn it, Kade, you deserve forgiveness. If they can’t offer that, then fuck them. Get your head on straight, get your ass out of that car, and knock on the fucking door. If they don’t give you the chance to speak, then it’s their loss. You did your part.”

He pushed me, just as I thought he would. I let my gaze wander back up to the brick home to my left.

“Jude cooked dinner for your woman and baby tonight.” His comment immediately caught my attention. “I’ve never heard those types of moans from a woman just enjoying a good meal.”

Fucking ass was playing hardball, offering up a game he knew would pull me out of my own head.

“While she was eating, he ran out and grabbed a bag of Fritos. And then they sat down in a booth and shared a big-ass bowl of ice cream while dipping the chips. Apparently they share a love for a mixture of salty and sweet.” The asshole chuckled. He knew exactly the effect his words would have on me.

“Fuck you, man,” I growled.

“Hurry your ass up and get back to your girl. She misses you, man. Leave your fears and reservations on the doorstep. Go in there with your head held high, because you have nothing to apologize for. You loved Jenna, she loved you. Shit happened, and in the end she chose to get behind that wheel. You did not force her to do that. Whether you choose to believe it or not, Kade, you did not cause that accident.”

My throat burned like wildfire.

“Clear your mind and do what you went there to do. Go make peace.”

A silence took over for a few seconds before I heard the line go dead. Jett gave me the motivation to move forward. He did exactly what I needed him to do. I silenced my phone, slipped it into my back pocket, and opened the car door.

My mind raced with things to say as I walked up the path to Jenna’s parents’ home. Pausing outside the door, I took one last calming breath and raised my hand to knock.

Just as I pulled my hand back, the door came open. Paul stood in the doorway, staring at me with a look I couldn’t decipher.

“I was wondering how long it would take you to get out of the car,” he said, catching me off guard. “I’ve sat in my living room watching you coach yourself for the last forty-five minutes.”

I shrugged. “I was a little nervous,” I admitted without hesitation.

He stepped to the side and held out his hand, indicating I could enter. As I walked around him, my heart sank.

There were pictures of Jenna on the walls of the entryway and the stairway leading upstairs, like a collage of her first eighteen years of life. My stare landed on a specific picture from a night I remembered well—our junior prom. Jenna wore a silver dress, her hair hanging over her shoulder in a bunch of long curls. I stood next to her, wearing a huge smile I barely recognized anymore. Her hand rested over my heart, and she was looking up at me with a matching smile.

“You know, she told us that night was one of the best nights she ever had.” Lori’s voice startled me, and I looked over my shoulder.

My eyes were clouded with unshed tears. “Mine too,” I confessed. We had an amazing time, and nothing could have made it better. It was also the night we had sex for the first time and a perfect night I would always remember.

“Why don’t we go into the living room?” Paul offered.

I followed the two of them out of the foyer and into a large sitting area surrounded by windows.

“Have a seat,” Lori said as they took the love seat on the opposite side. “I can say this visit is a surprise. Not unwelcomed, just unexpected.”

“I’m sorry to drop by without announcement, but I’ve wanted to find you two for years now,” I confessed. My head began to race again, and my stomach tensed. When I looked up, I could no longer hold back the memories that rushed through me of the night of the accident and all the years that followed.

“I wished for years that it would have been me that night instead of Jenna.” My vision clouded again as I spoke. “I used to sit alone on the beach at night, demanding to know why God took such an amazing person. Jenna deserved to live because she had so much to give.” I swallowed past the lump in my throat. “I spent years drunk and angry. I’ve wasted my life, and she would have thrived. She would have saved so many by now, because she was going to save the world. She was the one that kept me straight back then, and without her, I just fell apart.”

I could no longer hold back the tears. “I’m so sorry I didn’t save her.” A sob ripped through me as I hung my head and buried my face in my hands.

“Son,” Paul whispered as he placed his hand on my shoulder. The touch startled me, and I looked up. He stood next to me, his eyes kind. “You couldn’t have saved her.”

He took a seat next to me as Lori sniffled.

“We were wrong to blame you. We were wrong to refuse to see you, but it was too hard. You were a constant reminder of what we had lost. Jenna loved you, Kade, and every time we saw you—” His voice cracked, and he had to clear the emotion from his throat. “—it just made it harder to heal. It made it harder to accept that we would never see our beautiful girl again.”

I nodded, because I understood what he meant. That was the same reason seeing them had been hard for me. It had been hard to drive by their house or even hear their last name. Everything about them was a constant reminder of the fact Jenna was gone.

“The guilt you feel is unnecessary,” Lori said as she wiped tears from her eyes. “You need to let it go. You need to move on and live your life. Jenna would want that.”

“I’m trying, but I had to make this trip first.” I cleared away my own tears with the Kleenex Lori held out in my direction. “Then I’m gonna visit Jenna.” I shrugged. “Something I’ve always been too much of a coward to do. It’s time.”

“Are you married, Kade?” Lori asked.

I shook my head. “No, a girlfriend,” I said, “and a baby on the way.” I couldn’t help the smile at the mention of our little bitty. The acknowledgment that I was going to be a father felt damn good.

“Congratulations,” Paul offered.

“Thank you.”

We sat around and talked more about Jenna and the years she did have and their memories of her with me, like the times she and I would fall asleep on the phone together at night only to wake up the next morning with the receivers still stuck to our ears.

Her dad used to hate that, but now he laughed about it.

As I left their house around midnight, I felt as if the weight I had been carrying for years had now been lifted.

When I walked into my hotel room, I had a strong urge to hear Avery’s sweet voice. It was late and I really should have let her sleep, but I just needed a few minutes.