Page 26 of Undeniable

“Hey, Brendon,” I said. “We should… we need to talk.”

NINE

James

Thirteen Years Ago

I could still taste her.Sweet and floral with a hint of spice. She was more than I imagined. And the way her body felt under my hands was enough to send me spiraling. Which was exactly what I was still doing.

I’d been looking forward to our graduation party—hosted by our moms for me, Forrest, and Ivy—but I was spending my time either watching Ivy or searching for her.

The same thing I did at prom only a few nights before.

Somehow it hadn’t come up—probably because I hadn’t asked—who Brendon was taking to prom. But when I saw him approach Ivy, then smile at her and put that gaudy corsage on her wrist, something inside of me snapped.

I wanted her something fucking fierce.

The feelings had been growing the week before, but I hadn’t reconciled them until that exact moment. And it was all I could do not to tear Brendon’s hands off every time he touched her.

After watching her all night, I’d had enough when he caressed her fucking face and leaned in like he was going to kiss her.

Pulling her into the locker room was the most sane thing I could think of doing at that moment. To get her away from him and all to myself was my only train of thought. And like I hadn’t needed anything before, I needed to know what her mouth felt like on mine. I needed to know what she tasted like.

“You lookin’ for someone?” Ms. Sharpe, Ivy and Forrest’s mom came up beside me.

Thinking on my feet, I told her half the truth because I couldn’t very well tell her that I was looking for her one and only daughter because I couldn’t stop thinking about what her tongue would feel like in other places.

“Umm… for Ivy, actually. She asked me to get her a drink and then disappeared.”

“Oh, she’s probably in the shed around back. I asked her to grab me a few more chairs a couple minutes ago. She may actually need some help.”

Thank you, Ms. Sharpe.

“Great,” I said with a smile that hopefully didn’t read as creepy as I thought it might. “I’ll go find her.”

Quickly, but not quick enough to cause suspicion, I rounded the side of the Sharpe’s house. They had set up the tables and food at the front of the house so people could easily come and go as they pleased or stop by when they drove past. Which meant the back of the house was deserted but for their dog. Lucky lay in the sun between the chicken coop and the rose bushes.

Lucky didn’t so much as move a muscle or raise her head as I trudged past.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” Ivy’s voice carried outside of the shed, and I laughed at her frustration as I pushed the metal door open. The Sharpes called it a shed, but it was a decent-sized metal building they used for extra storage.

“Need some help, Killer?”

Ivy whipped around quickly and ended up knocking over several of the plastic folding chairs. She gasped and her hand covered her heart.

“Holy shit, you scared the crap out of me,” she berated me, and while she did, I took her in.

Her red hair was braided in twin rows, the bottom of which hung over both of her shoulders. Her white dress flared out at her knees and picked up each time the wind blew in the perfect direction. The freckles along her nose, arms, and shoulders were all on display, and I couldn’t help but imagine kissing every single one of them.

There were thousands of freckles covering her body, and I didn’t care how long it would take. One day, I would kiss every single one.

She reached for the chairs, straightened them, and turned back to me.

“What are you doing back here?” she asked, out of breath, probably from moving the crap now piled against a wall to get to the extra chairs near the back.

“Looking for you.”

She threw her arms out to her sides. “Why?”

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