Page 76 of My Favorite Secret
I collapse the easel, having seen Mom do it many times. “The boys have arrived.” I work hard to keep my voice level. I want to run to them, but I also don’t want to appear too eager in front of my father.
“We’ve been cleaning for a while. Why don’t you have a break and take a walk with them along the beach.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. I’ve got a handle on everything. Just be back for dinner in one hour.”
I kiss my dad on the cheek. “Okay. Love you.”
“Love you too, honey,” he calls as I leave the conservatorium.
I head through the house and out the front door, finding the two brothers still in the Jeep, laughing over something. As soon as they see me, the engine switches off and they step out.
“Walk with us,” Felix says.
Before I can respond, each brother takes one of my hands in theirs, matching our scars, and leads me through the gardens.
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.” Tyler threads his fingers with mine. “Good day so far?”
“It’s been a little sad sorting through Mom’s belongings. But I’m happy now that you’re both here. I missed you two.”
Tyler’s lips brush against mine. “We missed you.”
Not wanting Felix to feel left out, I reach up and kiss him as well.
“We used to have a lot of fun at this beach house,” Felix says as we walk by the tennis courts. “Swimming in the pool. Playing card games in the library. Late night movies.”
I could never forget. This beach house holds some of my favorite childhood memories.
“Tell me what memories you have,” Felix says.
“Sprinting competitions on the beach, always losing to you both because I’m terrible at running on sand. Hide and seek in the attic.”
“Your answers are disappointing me, Red. Surely there’s something else you remember the three of us doing. A game we always got in trouble for playing.”
My stomach leaps, realizing where they’re leading me. We turn a corner in the garden, and I’m suddenly filled with both fear and excitement as I see the hedge maze looming in front of us.
I haven’t been to this part of the property in years, ever since Felix and I stopped being friends. The hedges were overgrown back then and my mother deemed the maze unsafe to play in. Five years later, the hedges are in far worse shape. They’re tall and let little light in. I can barely see past the entrance of the maze.
“Tyler and I were talking during our drive up here,” Felix says. “We agreed that chasing you through the maze is our favorite childhood memory.”
Butterflies spread through my stomach, lower, to my groin, remembering those chasing games. “It’s my favorite memory too.”
Letting go of their hands, I approach the entrance, feeling my heart rate pick up. Half the fun of playing within these hedges was fearing the unknown. Imagining monsters would jump out at me. Always wondering what lurked around each corner.
A cold chill spreads through me as I step into the maze. It’s like entering another world in here where no one on the outside exists. It’s so dark. Everything smells damp and of earth.
Felix’s arm slips around my waist while Tyler strokes my cheek. My eyelids flutter at their touch.
Lips brush against my ear, followed by Felix’s deep whisper. “You’re about to get fucked in this maze, Harper.”
I gasp. Excited. Fearful. Desperate to know which one of them will take my first time.
Tyler strokes a thumb over my bottom lip. “Felix and I want to play catch and kiss again. Although, the kiss part of the game seems a little tame now that we’re all grown up. We were thinking catch and fuck. You like the sound of that?”
My pussy throbs, answering for me. A moan slips from my mouth.
