Page 47 of Free Fall

“Farmer,” Reid snaps. Then, the whole room erupts into laughter again.

Yeah, the guys are having a ball with this. It’s just good fun though. Reid is their leader. There’s no way anyone would do anything to piss him off on purpose. That’s just not how it works here at SHH.

20

After the guys get dressed, all the players split up into cars in the parking lot and we head out of town. It isn’t until we’re a few miles out that I think to ask where we’re going. I just assumed we’d be going to Reid’s house since it’s his birthday, but we’re headed in the other direction.

“One of the guys on the team, his uncle just bought a cabin out on the lake, so we’re headed there,” Cade says from the driver’s seat. Lex is sitting next to him in the passenger seat and Reid is sitting in the back with me.

“Oh,” I say. That’s a surprise.

“Don’t worry,” Lex says. “I grabbed your suit if you want it. You left it in the car from the other day when we went to the beach.”

I smile at him through the rearview mirror. As I do, Reid’s phone goes off. He swears and pulls it out, sighing when he sees the name on the screen. “What?” he answers.

Yikes. I wouldn’t want to be the person on the other end of the line.

“We’re on our way to the cabin.” He pauses, and I hear a high, tinny voice. “No, we’re not turning around to get you. Aren’t you getting a ride with Chelle or something?”

I look away, out the window. It’s definitely Sasha on the other end of this phone conversation.

He hangs up after that, not even bothering to say goodbye. Lex turns his head. “You have to do something about that.”

Even though Lex is speaking clearly, I’m not sure what he’s trying to tell Reid to do about his girlfriend. It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell these guys what she did to the area Reid roped off for us, but I don’t. I handled it. “Do something about what?” I ask. I figure if they’re going to talk about it in front of me, they can at least give me the courtesy of telling me what it is. Also, I’m nosy. Especially if it has something to do with Reid and Sasha.

He’s so much better than her.

I look up to him, hoping to convey what I’m thinking with my eyes, but he avoids my stare. “That’s my business, Lex.”

Lex just shrugs and turns back around in the seat. The car is pretty quiet after that. Cade doesn’t even turn the radio on, but my heart starts beating in my ears when I feel Reid touch my hand that’s pressed against the seat. It’s just a whisper of a touch, but it doesn’t stop. I look down with my eyes, trying to avoid any sudden movements. Sure enough, Reid is pressing his pinky into mine. I swallow, the butterflies in my stomach threatening to shoot right out.

He turns my palm over and drags his fingers across me. I sit there, motionless, definitely speechless, as he touches me. He’s flirting with me. Coming on to me even. When I do sneak a peek his way, he’s not looking at me either. He’s glancing casually out the window like playing his rough fingertips over my hand is just something he does.

Holy shit.

He plays with my hand the whole way to this cabin on the lake, which, by the way, isn’t a cabin at all. It’s freaking humongous with several bedrooms, a game room, copious living areas, and a huge dock out the back that leads right out onto the lake. When we get there, people are already inside partying. The guy at the door is taking five-dollar bills, so he can get the place cleaned after we leave. That’s actually a great idea.

I pull out my wallet to pay, but Reid puts his hand over mine, grabs a twenty out of his own wallet and pays for all of us as we walk in even though the guy tries to tell him he doesn’t have to pay. Disregarding the guy’s objections, Reid puts the twenty in his hand and doesn’t look back. We follow after him as he heads straight for the kitchen for a beer. It’s late afternoon now, and the sun is hanging low in the sky. The back room is all windows with sliding glass doors, so it’s easy to see the beautiful horizon with its orange and pink hues. It’s going to be a spectacular sunset out tonight. I really wish Jules had wanted to come. She was so confident and had fun at the dance, but maybe that alongside the game just took it out of her. In a way, I can’t blame her. A month ago, I would’ve pitched a fit if the guys told me they wanted me to come to this. I would’ve done everything I could to get out of it, including wearing the rattiest clothes I own.

They saw through that shit though.

The party is really fun for about forty-five minutes while we play beer pong out on the back deck. I’m actually pretty good at it which shocks the shit out of the guys. In a way, I get better the more I drink. I think it’s because my inhibitions are crumbling. I’m not wondering what other people are thinking of me, which I tend to do a lot even though I act like I don’t. However, the party starts to get shitty for me as soon as Sasha shows up. She marches right up to Reid and chastises him about not giving her a ride. He ignores her as we play. Right now, we’re on opposite teams, and with the way we’re both being super competitive about it, you would think there’s something else at stake.

“Jeez, lay off him,” Cade says. “It’s the guy’s birthday.”

“I know,” she snaps. “And I had something planned I don’t want him to miss.”

I take a huge gulp of my beer after that. She hasn’t even acknowledged my existence, which is fine by me. If she kept ignoring me, that would be fantastic. In fact, if she let Reid go, that would be even better.

Eventually, when Reid ignores her enough, she grabs her friend Chelle’s hand and announces that they’re going to go get drunk, so that they can pull off what she has planned later. Lex lifts his eyebrows after they’re gone. “What exactly does she have planned?”

“Fuck if I know,” Reid says.

His gaze meets mine. There are sparks there. Definitely. He makes my lower stomach heat. I know he’s with Sasha. Technically. I guess there’s no technically about it when a couple is boyfriend and girlfriend, but what about the fact that they are two people who shouldn’t be together? What about if I think the guy who has a girlfriend wants to be with me?

I line up my shot, take it, and drop it in the front cup. I throw my hands in the air. “Winner, bitches.”

I’m teamed up with another guy from the team. He and I slap hands as we watch Cade and Reid down the rest of the cups left over.