Page 31 of The Road to Finding Us

As soon as I’ve gained my balance, I swiftly climb up.

“Is that necessary?” Lily shouts from below me, jutting one foot out.

All I do is smile as I swing over the top of the fence and start my descent. As soon as I’m a safe distance from the ground, I let go, falling the rest of the way and landing gracefully on my feet.

“Showoff,” Lily mutters, flicking her hair away from her shoulder.

“You love it.” I tap the tip of her nose, giving her my best smile.

Her eyes narrow, and then she slaps my hand away and turns around. “Let’s go, slowpoke.” She doesn’t bother to whisper anymore, allowing her voice to carry through the woods as I follow her lead.

Neither of us talk as we travel the short distance to the water. Eventually, we make it through the clearing of the trees, the sprawling lake coming into view. The water sits still, barely a ripple to be seen. Lily’s flip-flops make loud slapping noises against the wood dock as we make our way down it.

Once we reach the very end, the two of us silently slip our shoes off and sit down, letting our toes dip into the water. There’s a loud zipping noise as Lily unzips her black backpack. She pulls out a bottle of wine, holding it out to me in offering.

I shake my head at her. “Ladies, first.”

She rolls her eyes. “So now you’re attempting to be a gentleman?” She unscrews the top and brings her plump lips to it. I’m far too fascinated with watching the way her throat works as she drinks.

I catch myself after staring a few seconds too long. “I’ve always been a gentleman.”

Lily pulls the bottle from her mouth and hands it to me. Our hands barely brush as I take it from her, guzzling down almost half the bottle to try to take the edge off. Being this close to her has my senses in overdrive. It feels all kinds of wrong to be out here with her all alone—a wrong that also feels right. It has me thinking thoughts I shouldn’t be having. She’s my best friend’s sister, and I need to constantly remind myself of that.

Maverick is the kind of friend you only have once in a lifetime; I can’t mess that up because I want his sister.

But damn.

I. Want. Her.

I want her more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life.

And right now, it’s hard to think of anything else. I set the wine bottle down between us, taking her in next to me. Both of her tan legs dangle off the edge of the dock, slowly moving around in the water. She has on her normal pair of jean shorts, short enough that when she bends over, I get a peek at the bottom of her perfect ass cheeks, causing all the blood to rush south no matter how hard I try to will it not to. She has on a baggy T-shirt, loose enough to hide the curves I know she has. Even in the simplest of outfits, she’s stunning. It’s in the way she carries herself. She’s extremely confident, but it never comes off in a way that makes it seem like she’s better than anyone else. She’s just unapologetically herself, and accepts every other person as they are—one of her most beautiful qualities.

Her long dark hair runs all the way down her back. So long it almost brushes along the wood when she leans her head back and looks at the stars.

I force myself to pull my gaze from her before it becomes too obvious. I reach for my own backpack, unzipping it and pulling out the container of Fireball I stuffed in there. The fiery cinnamon taste burns my tongue as I drink, but I welcome it, swallowing until I feel the buzz I desperately need settling in.

“Don’t hog it all,” Lily mutters, annoyed. She reaches out and snatches the Fireball from my hands, taking a few gulps of it herself.

I don’t respond. Instead, I lean all the way back until my head rests against the hard wood. I stare up at the stars, marveling at how clear the sky looks out here. Lily’s hair brushes against my shoulder as she adjusts herself into the same position.

We don’t say anything for a long time, both of us lost in our own thoughts and riding the buzz. The only sound is coming from the cicadas in the trees.

The silence is eventually broken by Lily.

“Aspen?”

I turn my head to face her, newly aware of how close she is lying next to me.

“Hm?” I hum, my eyes raking over her features. I take in the way her dark eyelashes almost touch her brow bone when she looks at me. The way her lips are slightly parted, showing off a sliver of her teeth. The small scar above her eyebrow that she got last summer at the pool when she ran into the side during a game of water basketball.

I soak it all in, until she speaks again, shocking me with her question. “Truth or dare?”

17

Lily

Present

---