Scorched
Page 30“Yeah,” I murmured, heading to the fridge. “It came out of nowhere.”
Sydney moved to the sink, where she wrung her hair out. “We checked the weather. Wasn’t calling for anything until this evening.”
“We didn’t even get far,” Kyler complained. “As soon as we saw those clouds rolling in, we started to head back.”
I pulled a bottle of water out of the fridge and tried to force myself to pay attention to the conversation, but honestly, I didn’t give a fuck.
Sydney straightened and turned around, frowning. “Where is Andrea?”
“Taking a nap.” My hand tightened on the water bottle until it crackled.
Her brows rose. “I think I’ll go check on her.”
I raised the bottle to my mouth, having no idea what Andrea was going to say to Sydney. God only knew. After her steps faded, Kyler eyed me from where he stood. “What’s up?”
“The sky,” I replied.
He rolled his eyes. “Did we miss anything interesting today?”
“Uh-huh.” A knowing look crossed his face. “I guess Andrea was just worn out from the exertion of hanging out in the pool?”
“Guess so,” I muttered, finishing off the water. “I’ve got to get out of these wet clothes.”
Kyler said something, but I wasn’t paying attention. I headed upstairs as the thunder continued to rumble outside. I almost started toward Andrea’s bedroom, but figured Sydney was with her. Stripping off the swim trunks, I grabbed a pair of shorts and dragged them on. I sat on the edge of the bed, blowing out an aggravated breath.
Rubbing my temples, I closed my eyes. Maybe I was off when it came to Andrea. Yeah, she wanted me, and today proved that, but it didn’t mean she wanted more. Wait a second. Did I want more? I already knew the answer to that.
“Fuck,” I muttered.
That was pretty much the only word that summed it all up.
Andrea
The storm subsided briefly and then came back with a vengeance. Rain pounded the roof and the pool was starting to overflow. Water lapped over the edges, seeping through the deck boards. Lightning cut through the black sky and thunder shook the cabin.
I stood by the window, watching the sky light up like someone was setting off fireworks from the cusp of Seneca Rocks. I blew a breath out and watched it fog the window.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I tried to shake those three little words off. At no point had I ever entertained the idea that Tanner’s sudden interest in me had anything to do with long term. He was a…virile man, and I’d turned to putty in his hand—literally. I shouldn’t feel any regrets, but I did.
I always did.
Because for once, I wanted to be…I wanted to be something more than just a hookup. I wanted to be…worth more. I wanted to not feel the need to sneak downstairs and get a drink. I wanted to not be feeling this way. Resting my head against the cool glass, I sighed.
Truth was, I wanted to be with Tanner. I wanted to lose myself in him, give away a little piece of myself and not to think past that moment.
Dinner hadn’t been too awkward as Tanner pretty much seemed to forget that I was sitting in the same room as everyone else, and afterward, we’d all gone down into the media room. The boys had had an epic air-hockey death match, and about an hour ago, I’d left, claiming to be exhausted. I hadn’t looked to see if Tanner had watched me leave, because I was pretty sure he hadn’t.
I’d thought my little speech in the kitchen about it not being a big deal would’ve smoothed things out, but I had the distinct feeling I’d made it worse. And I had lied. It was a big deal. The way he’d handled me, how he touched me, had erased every incident I’d ever had with a guy before. He’d made me forget. Everything. One could not put a price on that. One could not pass up that kind of opportunity.
But I had a feeling that I had without realizing it.
Moving away from the window, I sat on the edge of the bed and stretched my legs out. I had that habit—a habit of making things worse without really even trying. Like when I’d changed my majors. I could’ve gone with a nursing degree, then at least it wouldn’t have been like I was tossing away nearly four years of education. There were more examples I could give myself, but I really didn’t want to travel down that depressing road tonight. I stood and headed for where I’d left my purse on the dresser. Opening it up, I poked around the red bottles until I found the one with the sleeping pills in it. I’d just started to pop the cap when there was a soft knock on the bedroom door.
I guessed it was Syd, so I dropped the bottle back in my purse and padded over to the door, opening it. My eyes widened.
Tanner stood in the doorway, his hands planted on the frame, head bowed. A moment passed before he lifted his chin. His eyes were a cobalt blue, intense as they immediately latched onto mine. My breath caught in my chest.
“I lied,” he said.
“What?”
His hands slipped off the frame as he straightened. “I lied earlier. While we were in the kitchen. What happened between us in the pool? It did mean something to me.”
Chapter 10
Tanner
The moment those words came out of my mouth, I knew how true they were and there was no taking them back.
When I’d come upstairs, I hadn’t planned on stopping at her bedroom, but it was like my brain had shut the hell down and I found myself standing in front of her door. There was no way I could go to sleep with her thinking I didn’t give two shits.