CROSS (A Gentry Boys Novella)(8)

“You do like pigs, don’t you, Erin?”

“Only when they’re on my plate. Preferably in the form of bacon.”

“Ah. You wounded me.” I could hear the smile in his voice. He wasn’t wounded. He sniffed theatrically and let the mockery drip from every word.

“Like hell,” I snapped.

“You did.”

“Okay.” I spun around. “How did I wound you Stone? How is that even possible?”

He pretended to pout. “You don’t like me.”

“You don’t like me either.”

“Yes I do,” he said quietly. “You’re just fine.”

I exhaled with exasperation. “Well, maybe you’re not.”

“What does that mean?”

“I’ve never seen you be anything but selfish. You don’t hesitate to drag other people down with you. You don’t even notice when they suffer for it.”

He sounded genuinely amused. “What people?”

I felt my face getting hot. If Conway heard this conversation he wouldn’t like it. But I couldn’t seem to close my mouth. “Like that time you got Con to go along with breaking into the school to steal all the teachers’ chairs and throw them into the town pool.”

He laughed. “Ah, yes. Tenth grade was fun.”

“Fun? Conway got suspended for three days.”

“So did I. And it was fun. We used the time off well, a marathon gaming session of Deadly Combat. I won.”

I made a noise of disgust. “Vintage Stone Gentry. Never ever thinking of anyone but yourself. Why can’t you at least give him a chance?”

“Conway? A chance for what?”

“Something better. He’ll never have it if he’s always trying to keep up with you.”

Stone slapped his pack of cigarettes against his palm. “That what you think? You imagine that I’m some kind of anti-Christ who you have to rescue Conway from? Conway, my brother. Jesus, all these years you’ve known me and you really think I don’t give a damn about anything.”

“I think you only give a damn about your next piece of ass,” I shot back. My voice had risen and I paused, swallowing, before continuing in a lower tone. “I think you care about getting drunk and screwing around and forever avoiding anything that looks like work. As for Conway, I think you don’t want him to do any better than you. You don’t want him to have anything you don’t have.”

Always in my mind, but never had the words come out of my mouth. For two years Stone and I had stayed at a tense distance. I braced myself for what would come firing out of his mouth. He would say that I held Con back, that I stood in the way of Con’s fun. After all, Stone had rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath often enough in my presence for me to understand that was how he felt. He didn’t believe in girlfriends or loyalty. He certainly didn’t believe in love.

Stone surprised me though. He didn’t return the insults. He crept two silent steps closer and stood so closely I had to crane my neck to look up at him. In the dark he was just an outline. One that smelled of smoke and peppermint and the same aftershave his brother used.

“You’re wrong,” he said curtly and then stalked away.

I didn’t realize I’d been holding a breath until I exhaled and heard my heart pounding.

Suddenly I felt bad. Stone wasn’t exactly sensitive. But I had the uncomfortable feeling that I’d hurt him a little. I’d gone too far. Sure, Stone had faults but who the hell was I to challenge him over how he felt about his own brother? If someone had said something like that to me about my sisters I’d be ready to claw their eyes out.

A whole mess of shouting and backslapping erupted at the tunnel.

“How’s that dust taste, *? Gentry wins!”

When the noise died down I heard Con’s voice say my name but something cemented me to the ground I was standing on. Inside my head I heard myself calling out to him, running over and leaping into his arms. It was what I wanted. Yet still I stood there.

“Erin?” Conway asked and he was closer. I could hear the worry in his voice. Even in the best of times it was never wise to go wandering around in the desert if you didn’t know what you were doing, where you were going. This was an unforgiving place, filled with unforgiving creatures.

“Here,” I called and held my arm out, relaxing with a sigh when his hand found mine. A few dozen yards away other Emblem teenagers, people I’d known my whole life, howled like wolves and collided. They would be pairing off now. Stone was probably already leading Courtney, or whoever his nightly choice was, to the nearest backseat. It didn’t bother me. As Conway’s arms circled me I gratefully buried my face in his strong chest as he started absently stroking my hair.

“Why were you all the way over here alone?” He kissed the top of my head.

“I’m not alone now.” I spread my palms across his broad back, running my hands up and down, then lower. I both heard and felt his sharp intake of breath as I sank to my knees in the gritty sand, pulling him down there with me. Immediately his hand was under my shirt and we were kissing with eager hunger.

“Erin,” he groaned as I straddled him.

“Yes.” I kissed his neck, lightly, teasingly, the way he liked it. “I’m ready, I swear.”