Until You (Fall Away Series)(61)

“Thank you, Jared.” Her voice was almost a whisper, sweet and sincere. “Thank you for asking me to do this.”

My throat tightened.

She reached up and unhooked the necklace from my rearview mirror and slipped it around her slender neck. Her face was thoughtful but comfortable.

The air turned warm, and it was just us.

Tate and Jared.

I combed my hand through my hair, shaking off the déjà vu feeling and opened my door to the cheering crowd.

I stopped and looked down to the floor. “Waking the demon…” I murmured. I don’t know why I picked that song to race to, but it just occurred to me how it fit.

“Thank you, Tate,” I whispered, looking over at her.

“Tatum” didn’t fit. It never did, really.

She was Tate and always would be.





“So are you two friends yet?” A very drunk Madoc hooked his arm around my neck at the bonfire after the race.

I knew who he was talking about.

“I wouldn’t go that far.” I took a sip of my warm beer and kept my eyes forward.

Tate and I had exchanged pleasantries when I arrived, but I knew I’d have to talk to her again tonight.

I was bound and determined to get that necklace back. I had to see my father tomorrow.

“I’m sure it’ll work out,” he sighed nonchalantly. “Now that she’s got a boyfriend, I think you’ll both move on to more interesting pastimes than hating each other.”

The cup cracked in my hand. “She doesn’t have a boyfriend.”

“She will,” he spat back, and I could hear the smile in his voice. “He’s going to try to put his hands on her tonight.”

No.

Tate and Ben weren’t together tonight as friends. I knew that. But Madoc saying it out loud made my stomach burn with rage.

“You see all those guys?” He jerked his chin and waved his hand to the group that Tate and Ben were chatting with. “They all want to put their hands up her skirt. You know that, right?”

Just breathe.

“And sooner or later,” Madoc continued, “she’s going to let one of them.”

Damn him.

I swallowed and relaxed my grip on the red plastic cup.

Madoc walked away, having done the damage he came to do.

I knew he was just trying to mess with my head, but he was right, and my race high drained out of my head in a steady stream.

She would never forgive me.

She had a future, and mine was questionable.

But I looked over at Tate, who immediately glanced up at me across the fire, and it was like trying to walk away from the water that you knew you needed to live.

There was no choice but to drink.

Before I could get my head zoned into what the hell I was going to do next, I felt arms circle my neck.

“God, I’ve missed you.” A sweet-smelling body pressed against me and soft, moist lips groaned against my neck.

Piper.

I calmly unwrapped her arms. “I hear you’ve kept busy with Nate Dietrich,” I challenged, but I didn’t care.

She came around to face me. “We went out a couple of times. But I’m all about you,” she said, leaning in. “I even have a surprise for you.”

“And what is that?” I humored her.

“Oh, goodie.” She clapped her hands together. “You’re interested.”

“Do you see that girl over there?” She pointed across the bonfire to a redhead in short, black shorts and a fitted tank.

“What about her?” I asked, not sure where this was going.

“How about you, me, and her go back to your house?”

What? I blinked, not sure if I’d heard her right.

Did she just offer—

“I’ve already worked it out. She’s game. We can all play, or…” she lowered her voice, “you can watch.”

I closed my eyes and ran my hand down my face.

Jesus Christ. A f*cking threesome. Was she serious?

My heart jumped, and I felt my jaw twitch with a nervous smile I didn’t let out.

A threesome was something I hadn’t done yet, and what guy wouldn’t want that?

An image of myself in bed with two girls flashed in my mind, and my stomach dropped when both girls looked like Tate.

I looked at Piper and then to the girl across the area, who was sexy as hell and giving me her “f*ck me” eyes, and I wanted to punch something.