Page 82 of Unbidden

“Okay, what kind of game?” V asks.

“Hmm.” Tinsley thinks for a minute. “How about we tell each other what our favorite memory is?”

“Easy enough,” V says with a smirk. “You in, Sage?” she asks with a raised brow.

“Why not?” I shrug.

Tinsley claps with excitement. “Yay! Who wants to go first?”

“I will,” Victoria says with a dreamy look in her eyes. “So, there’s this town called Stowe in Vermont. It’s a classic mountain resort town known for their slopes. Apparently back when my parents were dating, that’s where they first said ‘I love you.’ Anyways, we go every year, right? Well, usually we go skiing and chill around the fire at the house they rent. Last year, I got sick of all the love in the air, so I decided to try something different. I found out that you could zip-line in the winter. I spent hours zip-lining through the trees while snow covered everything. Since it was winter, it wasn’t packed. I remember the wind on my face, hair whipping around, freezing cold, but I had no desire to leave. Then on the last line about halfway down, it started lightly snowing. I’ve never felt like that before, so connected to nature. I hate the outdoors for the most part, but in that moment, I completely understood how someone could love it. I cannot wait to go back this year,” she says with a sigh.

“That sounds amazing. I’ve never tried zip-lining before,” Tinsley replies.

“Neither have I,” I second.

“Don’t worry. I’ll drag you with me this year. I made a list of the best places in the world to go zip-lining, and I want to hit all of them at some point. See if I can recreate that feeling,” she tells us, still looking far off. “Anyways, your turn, Sage.”

“My mom loved the Fourth of July. Honestly, she loved summer in general. We would go camping whenever we could. Take a tent and pop it up somewhere and swim, then have a fire and do the whole s’mores thing. But every year for the Fourth, we would try somewhere new. Going to towns that had little Fourth of July parades and whatever else they had planned. Then she would rank the towns from most patriotic to the least. ‘Never settle in a town that doesn’t love our country, Sage. We may go through dark times, but in the end, we all want the same thing.’ Plus, she just loved fireworks. Anyways, I guess my favorite memory is from this last summer, the last time we went camping. We always had a blast, and I hate that I’ll never have that again with her,” I tell them honestly while trying to discreetly wipe a tear from my eye.

“Well, fuck,” V says.

Tinsley sniffles and picks up her phone.

“I know we aren’t your mom, but dang it, we’ll make sure you have a good Fourth of July and carry on your mother’s tradition. I’m going to make a list of the best places within an hour of us so that way we can choose,” she says while still looking at her phone.

“That’s a great idea,” V tells her.

“You guys, we don’t have to. I’m sure whatever you guys normally do will be fine,” I reply.

If I’m even here.

“Nope, I’ve made up my mind. This Fourth will be one for the books,” Tinsley tells me with conviction in her eyes while setting down her phone.

“Your turn,” I say softly.

“I love ice skating,” she starts with a gleam in her eyes. “There’s nothing like it. Speeding around on blades, cold biting my cheeks—ugh, it’s so exhilarating. I took lessons when I was little but stopped. Anyways, about two years ago now Reed, Keaton, and I went to Vancouver. We were supposed to meet our parents there, but they never showed. I spent the first couple of days on the mountain with the boys, but I really wanted to go ice skating. I never said anything though, because let’s face it, ice skating is totally not their thing. But on the last night, Reed and Keaton woke me up and told me to get out of bed about midnight, and they convinced me to let them blindfold me. When they took the blindfold off, we were standing in front of an empty ice rink, not a soul in sight, the lights on with clean ice. God, I must’ve skated for over an hour without stopping, and the whole time, Reed and Keaton just sat there in the cold and watched. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so loved before then. Don’t get me wrong. I know they love me, but they knew what I wanted more than anything but wouldn’t ask for.”

“Jesus, who knew the Yates boys had hearts?” I murmur.

“Dammit, now I kind of want to hug one of them.” V sighs.

Tinsley and I laugh.

“Yeah, I don’t think Reed would enjoy that, but Keaton, on the other hand…,” Tinsley teases.

∞∞∞

I roll over in bed and see Tinsley still knocked out cold. I look to the little sitting area she has in her room and find V still on the couch where she passed out last night, the blanket I covered her with now halfway off her. I slide out of bed as slowly and quietly as possible so I don’t wake either of them. After doing my business in the bathroom and splashing my face with water, I head downstairs.

I head to the kitchen, desperate for some coffee, only to stop dead in my tracks at the sight in front of me.

“I can feel you staring, Sage,” Reed rumbles.

“Sorry, I thought I was imagining things,” I mutter.

I take in Reed while he can’t see me, watching his shirtless back ripple with silent laughter, his muscles rolling with each fluid movement. I peek lower and find black mesh basketball shorts low on his hips. I snap my eyes up when he turns to look at me.

“Good morning,” he offers.

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