Page 14 of Meet Me in the Valley
“Loser skinny dips at Torren’s spot. If I win, you take Audrey and Isabel down with you. If you win, I’ll take the boys. Deal?”
Oh, this is too good. I have full confidence that these boys will be jumping into the lake wearing nothing but their bruised egos.
I got this.
“You’re on, Harper.”
Hands and fists slam down on the table, spilled beer sloshes all around, and adrenaline courses through my veins. One thing about Logan and me is that we are competitive—and not in a healthy way. It makes our friendship whole. I feel the fire burning off of his skin as his eyes flicker back and forth between me and the rest of the game.
Audrey’s Pop is next to me, neck and neck with my dad across from him.
“C’mon, Pop! You got this!” I encourage.
In one cool swig of beer and a swift flick of his wrist, Pop flips his cup on his first try. The table erupts with a roar, and I take a second to register the fact that Audrey’s grandpa absolutely murdered his round.
“What the fuck?!” Logan’s eyes blow wide and his eyebrows shoot to his hairline. He grips his hair with both bands in utter disbelief, nearly knocking off his veil.
Pop gives me a wink, and I’m off to the races. The beer glides easily down my throat—a skill I gained during my college days—and I line the brim of the cup up with the edge of the table. Flip and a miss. Shit, I’m rusty.
I look up to see Logan’s beer already gone as he starts his flip. I stammer for a split second at the sight of excess beer dripping from the corner of his mouth, trailing down his chin.
Has he always had full, kissable lips?
“Tia! Go!” Audrey screams at me from down the table.
“Shit.”
Damn him with the distractions. There’s no way in hell I’m losing this bet. Logan looks so stupid with Audrey’s veil on I can’t hold back my laugh. Everyone is shouting, and the pressure is on as we flip and flip, failing every time.
“God, you suck at this,” Logan teases me with his contagious laugh that’s completely taken over my body.
My shoulders shake, my eyes leak with tears, and my face hurts from smiling so hard.
“You’re one to talk! You suck just as much!” It’s a weak comeback, but I’m having too much fun to care.
Just as my cup is in midair, a rowdy commotion erupts in front of me as Logan’s cup is already brim-side down.
Fuck.
I look up to see the boys jostling Logan back and forth. Despite the chaos, his eyes stay playfully locked on mine. The smug look on his face pisses me off, but I laugh anyway because… well … it’s Logan. His face lights with mischief, raising his eyebrow at me in challenge. My eyes zero in on his mouth again, mesmerized as those full lips tilt into his signature crooked grin that brings women to their knees. Literally.
With an effortless seduction, he mouths to me, “You. Naked. Tonight.”
Chapter Four
LOGAN
There’s a rugged beauty to Texas hill country, wild and untamed in its own right.
But then there are the California valleys—endless, lush waves of green cradled by towering mountains—too vast, too breathtaking to be captured in a picture frame or trapped on a gas-station postcard.
No, these valleys were meant to be breathed into—and in return, they breathe life right back without reservation. It’s the way my adrenaline spikes in time with the number on my speedometer, pushing the needle forward as I relish the nippy wind whipping against my clothes. It’s the way I feeltrulyat home carving around these bends.
I’m only giving them what they deserve. Me, on the back of my first bike I put together at fifteen, wheels kissing the pavement at full speed while cloaked under a neon moon. Tonight, the valleys welcome me home, and I’m grateful that I’ve never taken their wonder for granted.
I bob and weave at every turn, muscle memory steering me straight to Mr. Torren’s property. Although he’s no longer with us, I’ll forever be grateful to this little piece of sanctuary he shared with me all these years.
When the concrete road shifts to dirt, steel gate already opened, my mouth automatically curves into a smile to be back here. My bike slows, and I plant both feet in the dirt at the top of the hill behind Tia’s dad’s SUV. Cutting off the engine, I take off my helmet and shake out my matted hair. I blow a too-long piece of hair hanging over my eye out of the way–clearly, I’m overdue for a haircut.
