Dare You To (Pushing the Limits, #2)(90)

Noah breaks from the group when he sees Beth. She releases me      and falls into his waiting arms. They whisper to one another. I don’t like how      he holds on to her and don’t like how long he’s holding. That doesn’t look like      brotherly love to me. I stare at his girl. Why is she so damned happy to see her      guy hugging someone else?

When he lets her go, Noah extends his hand to me. “S’up.”

I take his hand and squeeze extra tight. “Nothing. You?”

The moment I squeeze, Noah grins and squeezes back. “Chill,      bro. Beth says you’re good, so that makes us good.”

Beth hugs the Latino guy and laughs as he playfully talks in      Spanish. “That’s Rico,” says Noah. “Relax. We’ve got your back.”

“It’s Beth I’m worried about. She shouldn’t be here.”

Noah loses the easygoing front. “No, she shouldn’t.”

Beth glances over her shoulder and flashes me that joyous      smile—the one I’ve only seen a handful of times.

“Is she wearing a ribbon?” Noah asks in clear disbelief.

Feeling proud, I answer, “I gave it to her.”

“Fucking wonderful,” Noah mumbles as he eyes Isaiah. “Don’t      stay long.”

Noah returns to the group and pulls his girl onto a hammock      strung along two posts in the ground. The hammock swings gently back and forth      as they lie together. Propped up on an elbow, Noah focuses on her. “Echo, that’s      Ryan. Ryan, this is my girl.”

Message received. Screw with his girl and he’ll screw with me.      “Nice to meet you.”

Echo sits up, but Noah snakes an arm around her waist and drags      her back down.

“Beth brought a guy who has manners,” Echo teases him. “See,      it’s not so hard.”

Noah pushes her hair over her shoulder, then runs a finger      along her arm. “I’ve got manners, baby.”

“No.” She swats at his hand and laughs. “You don’t.”

Disgust weaves through me as I register what I’m seeing. Scars      cover Echo’s arms. I rub a hand over my face. What the hell happened to her?      Noah continues to tease Echo and she continues to laugh, yet his tone as he      addresses me is a menacing threat. “Stare any longer, Ryan, and I’ll kick your      ass.”

“Noah,” Echo reprimands. “Don’t.”

Beth returns to me. “What did I say about staring?”

“I apologize,” I say directly to Echo.

Echo smiles. “See? Manners.”

“Come on,” says Beth. “Let’s get you a beer before you give      them a good reason to kick your ass.”





Chapter 46

Beth

I MISS      LAUGHING.

Most days I can find something amusing to make my lips      flinch up. Sometimes it will be funny enough to make me chuckle. But I miss      laughing. Really laughing. Laughing to the point that my insides hurt, my chest      aches, my face is exhausted from holding the smile.

For effect, Rico stands in the middle of the circle of lawn      chairs and in slow motion reenacts how Isaiah and I kept him from being busted      for underage drinking this summer by distracting a pair of cops with a very bad      mime routine.

“I’m hiding in the bushes and if the police step back,      they’d be on top of me. Beth’s just standing there,” Rico chokes out between      laughs. “Her arm stiff at the shoulder and her forearm dangling back and forth      like a pendulum. The cop asked if she needed medical help. He thought she was      having a seizure.”

Everyone, including me, bursts into laugher. Rico composes      himself to spit out the rest. “And she breaks her self-imposed silence and says,      ‘I’m a mime, you moron. Why do you think I’ve been doing all these retarded      moves?’”

Everyone laughs harder and as our group gasps for air Rico      glances at Ryan. “Incluso el nino blanco       se esta riendo.”

I’m not fluent in Spanish, but I know enough to pick out the      words white boy and laughter. My heart shivers when I      catch Ryan at the tail end of a chuckle. He’s always cute, but he’s breathtaking      when he laughs.

Rico lifts his beer to his lips, then tosses it across the      yard. “I’m out.”

Isaiah tips the cooler. “We’re all out, man.”

“Isaiah, help me snag some of Antonio’s stash, then we’ll      hit the mota.”