Reclaiming Us Read online

  “Absolutely nothing, that’s what. Have you talked to RJ today?”

  “Earlier. He called to tell me good morning.” I smiled, remembering the rest of our conversation.

  “I’m not sure if Ty has any plans, but maybe we should do something tonight?”

  “Sounds good. I’ll check with RJ and see what he wants to do,” I agreed as we finally pulled into the mall’s parking lot.

  “What if we skip job hunting and watch 17 Again? It’s still playing, and Ty refuses to watch some chick flick with me.” She was drumming her thumbs against the wheel and staring at the main entrance of the mall as she spoke. “Gosh, Zac Efron is such a hottie. I would so do him.” She smiled all dreamy eyed.

  “Oh, Lord.” I groaned between laughing.

  “What?”

  “Nothing. You’re nuts you know that? Come on. Let’s get this over with.”

  Filling out job applications at two boutiques, two fast food restaurants, and the movie theater, left both of our fingers cramped and locked up, so we called it a day and headed to the pretzel place and snagged a table in the corner of the food court.

  “So, do you think any of those places we applied at are going to call?” I asked, pulling apart my pretzel and popping a piece in my mouth.

  “Not really.” She shrugged. “It looks like most of the college kids that came home for the summer snagged all the decent jobs. And I’m sorry, but I am not flipping burgers. I refuse. My daddy can bitch all he wants, but there is no way.”

  I laughed, knowing Lilly was dead serious.

  “So . . .” She eyed me curiously.

  “So . . .” I mimicked, staring back with one eyebrow raised.

  “By the lack of confiding in your best friend, I have reason to believe you and RJ still haven’t done it.”

  I groaned then glanced around, hoping no one heard me.

  “Do you think you’re going to before you leave for school?”

  “I hope so.” I propped my elbow on the table and rested my cheek in my palm. “I’m not sure. He makes it so hard to control myself when we’re making out; I have no idea how he restrains. He’s a guy for goodness’ sake.” I leaned closer to Lilly. “Isn’t it painful for them if they don’t . . . you know?” I could feel my face burn with embarrassment.

  She nodded, giving me a conspiratorial look. “That’s what Tyler says. But, listen, when it does, make sure you’re careful.” She took a sip of her Coke. “I’ve already had a couple of close calls, and let me tell you, that is not something you want to have to face. Not at this point in your life when you’re getting ready to head off to college.”

  “Lilly,” I whisper-screeched. “You never told me about that.”

  She waved me off. “It was over before it ever happened. But it can totally fuck with your mind.”

  “Weren’t you using protection? I thought you were on the pill?”

  “I am on the pill.” She repeated. “But we aren’t exactly careful with using condoms all the time—”

  I held my hand up to stop her. If I didn’t, she would probably offer more information I wasn’t prepared to handle. I did not need her to go into different positions and whatever else she and Ty did together. “I’ll keep that in mind, thanks.” I needed a sip of my drink, hoping it would cool my overheated body.

  “Hey Lilly—hey, Addie.” Tanner and Jaxson, two of our football team’s running backs greeted as they approached our table. Tanner was cute in a geeky‑jock kind of way, and Jaxson was Savannah High’s flat out gorgeous All‑star running back, but that was merely an observation. He had transferred at the beginning of the school year, and since we had three classes together, we had become pretty decent friends. I sometimes got the feeling that he liked me as more than a friend, but I had brushed it off. Jaxson knew I was dating RJ.

  “Hi, guys, what are you two doing here?” Lilly asked the boys, and I just looked up, smiled, and offered a small wave.

  “Not much.” Tanner shrugged. “Just hanging out, thinking about maybe watching a movie or something.”

  Sitting there, I studied Tanner and the way his body slightly leaned in closer to Lilly. The way he never took his eyes off her, it was obvious he had a thing for her.

  “Oh, yeah, what movie are you guys watching?” She ate a piece of her pretzel, totally oblivious to the way his eyes smiled as he looked at her.

  “Not too sure yet, we just got here a few minutes ago. Did you ladies maybe want to join us?” he asked nervously.

  Subtly, Lilly jerked her head up in his direction and cocked an eyebrow questioning, asking him if he was stupid or something. Everyone knew Lilly and I were spoken for. That never really stopped the guys from trying, but only when our boyfriends weren’t within a three‑mile radius. If Ty and RJ ever caught wind that some guys were trying to move in on their territory, they wouldn’t hesitate to beat their asses.

  “Thanks, guys, but we were going to head out soon. Tyler and RJ are waiting on us.” She glanced at her empty wrist. “Oh, look at the time . . .” She shifted her eyes to mine, her expression telling me to help her. “We better get going.” Her chair screeched across the concrete floor as she stood. “Nice seeing you, guys, hope you enjoy your movie.”

  Looking away, I pressed my lips together, silently chuckling. When I looked back at the guys to say good-bye, I knew it was time we got the heck out of there. Jaxson wore the same look of infatuation Tanner had seconds ago, only his eyes were locked on me.

  “Bye, guys.” I waved and Lilly locked her arm with mine. Failing miserably at not trying to be so obvious that we were making a break for it, she leaned into my side and whisper-yelled, “What the hell was that?”

  “What was what, Lils? Tanner likes you. Tanner has liked you since we set foot on Blue Jackets territory.”

  “Oh, shut up. Don’t say stupid shit like that.” She pulled me closer to the exit.

  I laughed softly again. “Well, it’s the truth.”

  “Yeah, yeah, whatever. Let’s get the heck out of here.”

  “Hey, what are you boys doing?” I asked, sitting on the arm of the couch, the sound of bullets exploding, making me flinch every few seconds.

  RJ and Tyler were glued to the flat screen television as they commanded their fighter jets through some hostile virtual mission. RJ’s jet shifted left, and his body tensed while his fingers hit buttons in a rapid-fire. Then, he shifted on a hard right, and his shoulder bumped into my side. Happy brown eyes met mine. RJ smiled, and I stole a kiss.

  “Hey, babe, I thought you and Lilly were hanging out at the mall and applying for jobs?”

  I shrugged. “We did, but we got bored, so I thought I’d stop by.”

  “We’re just hanging out.” His controller vibrated, and he turned back to the game. With the volume cranked up high, it wouldn’t have surprised me if a deaf person heard the explosive booms.

  “I can see that.” I didn’t really expect an answer. When he and Tyler got like this, it was easier to wait until one of them crashed.

  Tyler took advantage of RJ’s lack of attention, shot down his fighter jet, and then fell back into the couch laughing hysterically. “Ha! Got you, motherfucker—take that!”

  “Fuck you, Gibs.” RJ laughed, tossing his controller onto the table. As he circled his arms around my waist, he used his nose to push my shirt up and kiss my belly. “Hmm, delicious,” he mumbled against my skin as he fell back, bringing me with him. I giggled and craned my neck to look up at Tyler, who had already jumped up out of his seat.

  “That’s my cue! I’m out. Besides, if you’re here that means Lilly is alone, and I’m needed.” He winked. RJ held his fist up and Tyler met him in a fist bump. “You two up for a movie tonight?”

  “Sounds like fun. Lilly and I were just talking about that earlier. Why don’t you check with her and have her call me.” I replied and looked down at RJ.

  “I’m down for whatever. Give me a buzz when you get in.”

  As soon as we heard the door
shut, RJ pulled my leg over the side of his hip, and his warm tongue pushed its way past my lips. I locked my finger around one of his belt loops and pulled him closer to me, my heart pounding out furious beats. The entire room felt warm against my skin, and I wanted to melt when RJ trapped my bottom lip between his teeth.

  I wanted him. I knew I did. But I was still holding back—not that I wanted to as he rolled his hips, grinding his hard-on dangerously close to where I wanted him. He scattered my thoughts and chipped away another piece of my reservations.

  A ripple of lust trilled through me, and my hands found the strip of skin on his lower back between his shirt and waist of his jeans. I wanted to rip his clothes off. Say the heck with it and let him take me right there on that old, brown couch. His hand roamed slowly down my side, creeping lower until it snuck under my shirt and cupped my breast.

  “RJ . . .” I breathed out and popped the button on his jeans. As he massaged me, I tugged his zipper down and dipped my hand in the front of his jeans. Something had to give. Either we needed to stop or go all the way.

  RJ kissed his way across my jaw and down my neck, sending a wave of shivers down my spine and making me hot everywhere. My mind and body were at war with each other, and I was finding it harder and harder to justify not jumping him.

  “Addie Mae, babe.” RJ’s lips moved between his kisses. “We gotta . . .” He groaned. “Stop.” He palmed my breast one last time before sliding his fingertips down my stomach and straightening the hem of my shirt. I wanted to tell him not to stop, that I was ready, but I knew pushing him would be unfair. Each time things got heated, I knew he was hanging on by a thin thread.

  RJ leaned his forehead against mine and locked our hands together. He closed his eyes, trying his best to control his breathing. “I know, babe. Believe me, I know.”

  The sound of the front door clicking again had us both going from horny, sex-crazed teenagers back to cool, calm, and collected young adults in six seconds flat.

  “RJ, honey, I’m home,” his mom called.

  “Hey, Mom,” he called back, his eyes roving over me one last time to make sure everything was where it should be as he re-buttoned his own jeans. When he was satisfied all traces of the effect of what we were just doing were gone, he stood, held out a hand to me, and led me into the kitchen.

  “How was work?” He kissed his mother’s cheek. She softly pressed her hand to his cheek and smiled.

  “Very productive. Your father managed to interrupt me only three times today.” She giggled before his mom turned to me, “Hi, Addie, how are you?”

  “I’m great, Mrs. Watson.” I gave her the biggest smile I could. The first time I met her, I was so nervous, but now I pretty much considered her a second mom.

  “RJ told me you finally decided on University of North Carolina. You must be so excited.”

  “I am. A little scared, too.”

  “Well, that’s normal! I’m sure you’ll be just fine, Miss Valedictorian. Give it a few weeks and you’ll forget all about being home sick.” Without barely taking a breath she added, “Son, there’s some mail for you,” and pointed to the counter.

  The second my eyes locked onto to that white envelope, my insides went rigid. I hadn’t mentioned anything about my plans for the future. I was never academically adept, and I did what was required, which was just enough to keep my mom off my back. My brother AJ was the smart one.

  Two weeks after Tyler and I graduated, my dad offered us both labor positions with his construction company. I knew I couldn’t leave Addie, and even though Tyler swore he was waiting for me to get my shit together, I knew he wasn’t ready to leave Lilly either.

  It wasn’t what we planned to do. No, ever since the third grade, Tyler and I had talked about joining the Air Force together. We wanted to command jets above hostile areas and shoot down the enemy as we saved civilian lives. Addie knew about what Tyler and I talked about, but she didn’t know we were thinking about enlisting or that we had made an appointment to meet with a recruiter.

  Another thing I had been hiding was my applying to the University of North Carolina. Deep down, I knew my acceptance would be a long shot, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Things were changing at a speed I didn’t want to keep up with. A part of me hated that Addie just graduated and all we had left was the summer together. That, combined with my not having concrete plans for my future, put me in a revolving mind fuck.

  Staring at the shiny embossed label and the size of that envelope didn’t help, but if I didn’t get accepted, it wouldn’t be that big of a deal. The Air Force was my dream choice.

  “RJ, what—” I gave my mother that look to “drop it” and slid the envelope under some junk mail before Addie noticed. She cleared her throat. “What are you and Addie doing tonight?” She seamlessly switched direction.

  Addie propped her elbows on the counter. “Yeah, what movie did you want to see?”

  It was a gutsy move laying my hand on the very top of her thigh with my mother standing a mere ten feet away, but when her breath hitched and our eyes connected, it was well worth my recklessness.

  “Doesn’t really matter as long as I get to spend time with you,” I whispered close to her ear.

  She bit her thumbnail and that damn innocent look drove my dick wild. It was a good thing my back was facing my mother.

  I shook my head and chuckled. “Come on. Let me walk you out so you can go get ready. I’ll be by to pick you up in an hour or so, is that good?”

  “Yeah, that works. I’ll see you soon.” I gave her a kiss.

  “See you soon.”

  The movie started at eight, so I left my house close to seven, leaving enough time to stop by the gas station before picking Addie up. I barely rapped my knuckles against the hardwood door when it swung wide open.

  “Come on; let’s get out of here before they start asking questions.” Addie grabbed my hand and dragged me toward my truck. We rounded the bed to the driver’s side where she scooted in and sat right next me.

  “What the heck’s gotten into you?” I asked, turning the key in the ignition.

  “Change of plans, there’s a party at the beach.”

  My grin matched Addie’s smirk.

  “I take it Ty and Lil are going to meet us there?” I had wanted it to be just us, but there was no way I was passing up a party.

  “They’re gonna meet us out there.”

  “Cool.”

  Her palm came to rest at the top of my thigh. I glanced down then back at her.

  Tonight just might be the night.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?” The shift of her eyes told me she knew what I was thinking.

  “You’re always so curious.” I smirked, baiting her and knowing damn well she would try to deny it.

  “Am not.” She stuck her tongue out at me and tried to hide her smile.

  “Am, too.” I chuckled, keeping my eyes on her.

  “We sound like two toddlers arguing.”

  “We do.” I laughed again and brought her hand up to my lips. She sighed softly then let her thoughts run away with her.

  “One day when we’re married and I’m a principal down at the elementary school and you’re some big shot CEO of your daddy’s company, I’m going to still be the boss.” She wiggled her finger in front of my face. “And I’m going to make sure to tell all of our children that mommy is the boss. No matter what their daddy says.”

  “Is that right? And what makes you think I’m going to be a big shot CEO? I’m not cut out for that like AJ is. Not much for sitting behind a desk, either. I’m more of a get my hands dirty kind of guy.” I snuck my hand between us and tickled her tummy.

  “RJ!” She squealed out, laughing.

  “Hmmm.” I moved my hand to wrap it around the front of her neck to bring her head closer to my lips. Once my need to kiss her was temporarily sated, I put my eyes back on the road and drove.

  “Why wouldn’t you want to be the boss of your dad’
s company, I mean you and AJ could be co-bosses, right?”

  “I guess we could. Thinking about it, it doesn’t sound half bad,” I lied, it sounded completely and utterly unobtainable. What I really wanted was to fulfill a lifelong dream of flying fighter jets alongside Ty, but until I knew where our paths were headed, she didn’t need to know any of that. No sense in making her worry.

  We drove the last few minutes in a comfortable silence, soaking up the feeling of just being together. By the time we got there, the party looked to be in full swing. Addie clapped her hands, bounced in her seat, and kissed me on my cheek. “Hurry up, let’s go.”

  She scooted closer to her door, but I grabbed her by the wrist, stopping her. With a mind of its own, my hand snaked around the back of her neck, gently pulling her closer to me. Staring into her soft blue eyes, I whispered, “I love you, babe,” then fused her lips to mine.

  She breathed a soft moan into my mouth and straddled my lap. I felt her soft palms caress my face, and she held on as she kissed me with an unfamiliar need. I slid my hand down her body until I hit the hem of her red sundress, and then I started the slow trek up, now skin to skin.

  BOOM!

  BOOM!

  BOOM!

  The sound of a fist pounding on my window made me jump, startling the fuck out of Addie and me. She bumped her head against the top of the cab, and it felt like my heart surged to the top of my throat while beating a million beats per second.

  “What the fu—” I barked toward the window.

  Ty was standing there with a shit eating grin and his arm lazily wrapped around Lilly, who didn’t look a single bit sorry for interrupting Addie and me.

  I shook my head, pressed the heels of my palms into my eyes, and let out a deep breath. Addie just giggled and slid back to her side as she fixed her dress back into place. How the heck did this girl act like she wasn’t even the slightest bit bothered by our interruption?

  After a quick kiss, she was out of the truck and hugging Lilly. Begrudgingly, I followed.

  “You’re such a fucking jackass.” I half-jokingly punched Tyler’s arm.

  “Yeah, yeah, come on, it’s party time. There’s plenty of time for screwing later.” He chuckled, and Lilly stole his cowboy hat from his head and placed it on hers. He turned to Lilly. “You know what you gotta give me now, don’t you?” Tyler warned and made a show of shoving his tongue down her throat.