Page 55 of Ember Meadow
Chapter 19
A Group Gathering with Shots
Brushing away a straypiece of auburn hair that fell straight onto my face when I opened the door, I try my very hardest to collect myself. Although, it’s not working very well so far. The alcohol is causing my vision to sway and I feel like I’m standing on the surface of the sun. Maybe if I focus really hard, I won’t look like I feel.
Miles looks a little disheveled too. I step back and take him in. Sexy gray sweatpants cling to his hips, shoved awkwardly into a pair of dusty cowboy boots. It’s an effort not to look at his ass. He looks like he threw on the closest wrinkled black t-shirt he could find. His hair is mussed, like he rolled out of bed and ran his hands through it a couple of times.
His lips are moving and I realize I haven’t been listening at all. “What?” I say, squinting at him as if it’ll help me think better.
“Jesus Christ,” he sighs, rubbing his temple with his hands. “I said, are you okay? I saw a big flash of light coming from the cabin, so I came running over here as fast as I could. I thought someone was breaking in and setting it on fire or something.”
Flash of light? “I’m not sure what you saw, but we are all fine here,” I say, suddenly remembering there are other people here. Other people like his best friend. Maybe he won’t notice?
“We?” Busted.
“Yeah, I’m halfway done with the construction thingies so I invited my brand new friends over to celebrate so that’s what we are doing. And you can’t be mad at me because it’s my cabin. I bought it. It’s not yours.” I hear my words slurring but I can’t stop them from tumbling out of my mouth.
“Who’s at the door?” Parker yells from the living room. I ignore him, keeping my eyes on Miles and a tight smile on my lips.
“Oh yeah, and Codie found Parker on the streets and brought him too. They brought Tequila and card games,” I say.
Miles’s face falls as he looks down at the ground. For a second there, he almost looks sad. But as soon as his gaze lifts back to mine, there’s only anger there.
“Mac, are you drunk?” He asks.
“No.”
“Yes, you are.”
“No, I’m not.”
“I can tell that you are.”
“Areyoudrunk, Autry?”
“No I’m not–” Miles sighs, hands on his hips. “Nevermind. I was just coming over to make sure no one was setting the cabin on fire. I’ll let you get back to your little drinking party with Parker.”
That’s all it takes to set me off. “Excuse me? It’s not a party, I’m not eighteen years old. And it’s not just with Parker, he just came later on because one of my friends has a crush on him, not me by the way. I told you it was with my friends, but Erin brought her boyfriend so now there’s five of us. Five people isn’t a party, it’s a group gathering. With shots.”
I know I’m not making any sense, but now I’m too pissed off to care. Who does this guy think he is, waltzing over to my fun night to crash it and judge me?
“Fine, I’ll let you get back to your group gathering with shots. My mistake,” Miles’s tone hardens with each word. What reason does he have to be mad at me?
“Yeah, it is your mistake. You can’t just come over here and ruin my night with your judgment and your ass-hugging sweatpants. The whole point of this was so I didn’t have to think about you any more and now you’re here, in real life. Cowboys aren’t even my type. It’s not fair.”
Oh crap, did I say that outloud? Maybe he didn’t hear me.
“What?” Miles freezes with his arms crossed. He definitely heard.
“Nothing. I didn’t say anything,” I deadpan.
Miles and I face off in the doorway, neither of us uttering a word. But it feels like an entire conversation passes between our gazes. I can feel the heat radiating off of him. Or maybe it’s coming from me.
I’ve always been pulled to him like a magnet. A moth to the flame. I can feel it as I stand here right in front of him. A pull so strong I have to physically resist taking him in my arms. It’s a bad idea. We have a history, and even though it’s been better lately, I know he’s not my biggest fan.
There are some other reasons too, but I’m having a hard time remembering them right now.
“You know, I remember when you were all smiley and kind and funny. What happened to that Miles?” I take another step closer to him until we are almost touching.
