Ace"You ever been down to the Gulf before the last time we tried to go?" I break the silence that's encompassed us since we left Laurel Springs an hour ago. You give Violet and me a series on Netflix, a pizza, and a beer, we can talk all night. Apparently, you put us in my truck on a road trip and it's fucking crickets. "No, this is as far south as I've ever lived, and I've never visited the beach or ocean before."This is the first I've heard about this being as far south as she's ever lived. We've never talked about things like this. I take the plunge and ask the question. "Where are you from, Violet?"The windows are down, and within the first thirty minutes she'd pulled her dark hair into a braid. Now she's holding back escaped tendrils with her palm. "Oklahoma," she answers above the whipping of the wind. "How did you end up in Alabama?"This drive has loosened my lips and I'm asking all the questions I always wondered about. There's a good chance she won't answe
Ace"No Anthony! Don't you dare!" she screams as I pull her from the dry, sandy beach, toward the crashing waves on the shoreline. I try not to notice the way her tits shake in the cups of her bikini as we push and pull one another. Try not to notice the beaded nipple against the fabric. It wouldn't take much for me to pull her into my arms and crush her against my chest."C'mon, I'll protect you." I grin at her, grabbing hold of her hand and coaxing her to where the waves and beach meet. "I don't know if I trust you, Ace."I give her my best grin. "Violet, you trust the fuck outta me. It's why we're sharing a bed."Her face blushes a pink shade that matches the skin peeking out from beneath the turquoise bikini she's wearing. The very bikini that had made me do a double take when she'd walked out of our bathroom this morning. Even though she and I have been hanging out, it's typically in sweatpants and t-shirts. What's covering her body today isn't leaving much to the im
Ace"Do you think this is okay?" I turn my gaze from where I'm looking out of our glass balcony doors to the sound of Violet's voice. She stands framed in the doorway of our suite, in the most beautiful dress I've ever seen her in. Having the sister I do, I know a thing or two about dresses. She could give Whitney a run for her money in the southern debutante category.Violet is a vision of a wet dream in this pink/peachy thing with a hem higher in the front to show off her muscular thigh, lower in the back to help showcase the tan she got today. Her arms are on full display and the lace cut outs at the top are playing peak-a-boo with her perfect cleavage. Her long hair is down – I hardly ever see it that way, but it's curly (which I've never seen) and she's got this dark stain on her lips. The stain gives me ideas about how that dark color would look smudged at the corners, or maybe smeared up and down my cock as she goes down on me. "Anthony?" Her voice is full of uncertainty,
VioletAnthony hasn't mentioned the kiss from last night, and I haven't either. To be honest, I'm not sure how to bring it up. If he can't remember it or if he did it because he was drunk, and it meant nothing…it will devastate me.That's not to say it didn't affect me. I went to bed with my lips tingling and spent all night convincing myself not to cuddle up next to his warmth. By not mentioning it, I figure I'm saving us both the embarrassment – him for doing it and me for thinking it might have meant something."You look amazing." Anthony's voice is hoarse as his green eyes sweep up and down my body. I can feel it in the fiber of my being. My skin pricks with awareness, and I can feel my breasts swell against the lace of my bra. I didn't start having actual physical reactions to men until this one came into my life.This dress is the prettiest thing I've ever owned. An aqua blue color with a lace overlay on top, flowers running up and down it. Whitney went through her closet
VioletThree Weeks Later"That's all I have for y'all today." The teacher at the front of the class checks her watch. "I know it's fifteen minutes early, but let's go ahead and cut out. I'm sure we've all had a long day."When I started night classes, I wasn't sure what to expect since before this I didn't have more than a high school education. There was a fear I wouldn't measure up to the other students, but I learned quickly we all had our own stories. Meeting Karina Holland changed my academic life. She'd tutored Leighton in one of the subjects she needed some help with, and when I told her off-handedly I wanted to go back to school, she'd made it happen. As I put my backpack on my shoulders and pick up my bottle of water, she stops in front of me, a welcoming smile on her face."You doin' okay, Violet?""I am." And I mean it. The last few months have been difficult, but I'm happy with this life I've carved out for myself. I'm doing better than I ever imagined I would be.
VioletTonight has turned out to be super long. Rolling my neck around on my shoulders, I reach over to the bedside table and grab my cell phone, checking the time. A little after midnight. It's a good thing I don't have to work tomorrow, because I can't get my brain to shut off. I wonder if Anthony's having the same problem I'm having.V: Abs of steel, you awake?Immediately I see the three little dots on my phone, indicating he's awake and typing a message.A: Yeah, I can't sleep after what went down with Caleb.V: We're in the same boat. A: Come over, we can watch TV or something.Those were the words I wanted to hear. Being stuck here by myself with nothing to distract my brain made me think of everything I could have done differently for the last ten years of my life. Things that have no bearing on my life today are all I can think about. Pushing the covers off my body, I get out of bed. Looking down at myself, I realize I need a pair of sweatpants and a bra under t
VioletBreakfast rush is over, allowing Leighton and I to lazily fill the syrup dispensers and talk about what's been going on in our lives. Since the wedding, I feel like all of us have been balls to the wall. We haven't hung out in forever, and after what happened between Anthony and I a few nights ago, I'm wondering if I want to discuss it with my friend or not."You and Ace looked pretty close at the wedding." She hits my elbow with her own as she cuts her eyes at me.Stupidly I wonder if she can see what happened between us all over my face. I can feel my cheeks heat, and my thoughts are plunged back into how I felt on top of him with his hand caressing my entire body. It would be a lie if I said I have thought about anything other than that particular situation since it happened. Pulling myself out of the memory, I give her a look."Just because you're married and pregnant doesn't mean that everyone else has to be too," I joke with her, secretly super happy she and Holden
Ace"Requesting back up at the bottoms, down by the boat ramp."I can hear Tank's voice on the radio. It seems amused, tired, and inquisitive as he requests another patrol car to come help him. I'm in the area, so I pick up the radio and call in my position. Flipping on my lights, I accelerate so that the police package in my cruiser responds. Carefully, I make my way through the bottoms, and in minutes I'm pulling in behind his car, turning off my siren.Getting out, I take in what I see in front of me. Tank's got what appears to be a teenage guy and a teenage girl leaning against the back of his patrol car. He doesn't have them cuffed, so I'm assuming it's not that big of a deal, whatever went down, so now I'm wondering why he called for backup."What's going on?"He turns to me so that we face each other, but neither of our backs are to the kids. "I was doing a round down here, making sure nobody was loitering or doing anything they weren't supposed to be doing, when I saw
CruiseFive Years Later"Molly's asleep." I press my wife up against the door to our bedroom, spreading open-mouth kisses along her neck as we grind against one another. Pulling back, I push my hands up her tank top, palming her breasts, moaning as I feel her nipples peak against her bra. "I paid Kelsea her stupid-ass babysitting fee, she's gone. We're alone." I can hear the annoyance in my voice. It's been an on-going argument between the two of us, how I'd watched her for free as a kid, and now she charges us.We've been out with friends and family, had a DD, and both of us have had a little too much to drink. Her with the margaritas she likes to indulge in with the ladies, and me with the whiskey Morgan and I were shooting straight with my dad."God, I want you." She rakes her nails across my neck, down my back, and fists my shirt in her hands.I want her too. Molly is three now, born within the first two years of us getting married, and we've finally got this parenting th
Ruby"Where are you taking me?" I watch as Caleb drives through the streets of downtown. This fall night is cool as rain falls from the sky. It's not sheets like the day he shot the armed man, but a steady drumming against the roof of the Jeep."You'll see." His deep voice has a secretive lilt to it, one that I've come to know well in the year we've been together. He's not great at keeping secrets, but when he does, they're the best kind.As he turns in front of The Café, I grin. No matter what's happened inside the building or in front of it, this is still one of our favorite places to go, to be. On any given night, we can walk inside and find any number of friends or family inside. It's darkish in there tonight, but I figure maybe the electricity is flickering because of the rain storm we're in. Earlier in the day, the school had lost power.He snags a parking spot near the door. "Don't touch the door, I'll come around for you. I don't want you get wet."Since the first nig
RubySeptemberBack when I bought this dress so many months ago, I had assumed I would wear it for Valentine's Day, but because of Caleb's schedule we were never able to make a special date work. He never did take me to that dinner, but we've had so many other special moments that I truly can't complain. Tonight, however, I'm thrilled to be wearing this dress to watch him get an award for bravery."You look absolutely gorgeous." He comes up behind me in the mirror as I'm applying a layer of lipstick."You don't look so bad yourself." I turn around in his arms, helping to straighten his dress uniform.I don't think Caleb has ever looked as hot as he does right now. There's something about him being so buttoned-up that I'm loving. "It's cutting off my circulation." He pulls at the fabric around his neck."You're fine." I slap his hands away. "Are you nervous?""Not really," he says with a shake of his head. "Nerves was playing for the college football championship. This is
RubyI'm lying on my couch, re-watching some TV show I've seen a million times, trying to figure out how to get through to Caleb when the doorbell rings. At first I ignore it, not wanting to disturb my brooding, but then I hear his voice."Red?" It's unsure and soft as he knocks on the door this time. "I know I don't deserve for you to let me in, but I'm asking you to. Please?"For a moment I think about ignoring him, I think about letting him sit out there and sweat. Give him the same type of reaction he's given me, but I realize quickly one of us has to be the bigger person. That person is me, because I know he's hurting and I know he's dealt with the situation he's been thrust into the best way he knows how.Opening the door, I stand there with my arms crossed. Until I see what he's carrying in his hands.The ugliest looking cupcakes I've ever seen in my life."I finally realized why he made them, even though they looked like shit," he gives me a slight smile. "It's the
Cruise"How'd you get in here?"My dad is waiting on me, probably ready to rip me a new one, just like Ruby did. I'm so not in the mood for it tonight."You don't need to know how I got in here." He gets up from where he's sitting on my couch. "Instead, what we need to do is talk about how we're going to get you to where you need to be.""What the fuck is that supposed to mean? This is me.""This isn't you, we both know that. I didn't raise you to be a fuck face. You haven't been answering my calls, your mom's, Kelsea's, or come to find out Ruby's, so let's talk about this Caleb. What the fuck is going on?""Nothing." I grind my teeth together, not wanting to do this with him."We've done this once before son, and we won't do it again. Do you remember when your friend died? Remember when you pushed everyone away? How'd that work out for you?""How does having a murderer for a son work out for you?" I fire back at him. "Because I'm on administrative leave for committing
RubyI'm sitting in my car watching Morgan and Caleb eat through The Café window. This is what I've been reduced to. It's been a week since the shooting, and so far, Caleb's refused to see me. I went to see him the other night, and it was a bad scene."What are you doing here?" Caleb opens his door, arms crossed over his chest. "I figured me not answering any of your calls let you know I'm not up to talking to anyone right now. Including you."Not gonna lie, this hurts. Seeing him like this hurts, hearing him talk to me the way he is hurts. But I won't give up on him. I promised Kelsea months ago that I would be here if he needed me, that I could handle whatever was thrown at me."You need me," I talk against the tightness in my throat."I need to be left the fuck alone. You. Mom. Dad. You all need to leave me the fuck alone.""We won't," I shake my head standing my ground. "We won't leave you alone to deal with this by yourself.""Fine, then if you won't leave, I will."
CruiseThe July sun is beating down on the pavement as I make my drive around the streets that make up Laurel Springs. It's been a boring day, for the most part, but I'm not stupid enough to think it'll last. Lately it's been slow and I've been feeling a lot like the other shoe might drop. This nagging feeling hasn't let go for the last week, but I know eventually either that shoe will drop or I'll get over it.Rain came through over an hour ago, but it did nothing to cool the day down. It's now a sauna outside. In certain parts there's actually steam coming up off the road. Behind the sun that's moved in, you can see more clouds behind. A dark hazy threat looming in the background, more storms are moving in. The stillness of the day threatens to break wide open when they do.Because of the heat that's been baking the ground and asphalt for days, most people are inside this afternoon, enjoying the air conditioning and not wanting to have heatstroke. Probably one of the reasons th
CruiseI love the smile on Kelsea's face, love even more that I'm the one who put it there. "You excited Kels?" I grin into the rearview as we make the drive to Birmingham."So excited, like I knew you knew him." She bounces in her seat. "But I didn't really know!"Him references my college roommate Slater Harlow, known by everyone who watches professional baseball as Savage. He's a formidable force on the baseball diamond, having the best season of his career. We're not as close as we once were, because life took us two totally different directions, but we still hang out every once in a while. Typically I like to keep the fact I know him from just about everyone, because I know he values his privacy. Now though? Kels is old enough to go to a major league game, and I'm doing my best to impress Ruby."I've known him a long time." I think back to our college days, how both of us had been so damn homesick. Him more than me, since I could at least head home on the weekend. Slater w
RubyIt's a hot summer day, as I walk onto the practice field. Since school let out in early June, I've been catching up on sleep, taking a summer class, and spending as much time with the man in my life as I can. Neither Mason nor Caleb are here today. Both are on duty, so another parent has offered to help the girls practice. Karina is sick with a summer cold and me? I'm here, not sure what the hell I've gotten myself into. Kelsea and I are spending the afternoon together, beginning with me picking her up. So we'll see how this goes."Ruby!" I hear as I shield my eyes and look out along the field. Kelsea is running toward me, her backpack bouncing as she runs."Hey Kels," I greet her, a real smile on my face. She and I haven't had a ton of time with one another, but as Caleb and I have gotten closer, the same has been true for the two of us. "You ready?" I wave to today's coach as she walks beside me."I am, it's hot out here." She pushes her hair back from her forehead.Ta