Page 28 of Sweetest Hate

Some of the guys were fucking around in the water, but I was in a mood, stewing as I stared out across the lake with my legs submerged in the warm water. Wearing a sleeveless tank, my shoulders had begun to burn an hour ago, but I was too distracted to care. Yesterday I'd avoided Kellan for the rest of the day after I'd found him. He'd been gone for half of the day, and I'd seemed to be the only person who'd noticed. He hadn't been anywhere around the property, and some of the banks were steep. I knew he could swim, but the dark water covered all kinds of hidden dangers like stumps of trees and who knew what else. I hadn't been able to staunch the worry that had gripped my stomach after several hours had passed, and he was missing while his car was still parked out front. No one knew where he'd gone, and I refused to ask Quinn, who would've inevitably given me the cold shoulder anyway. What choice did I have except to worry? It was a natural reaction whether I gave a shit about him or not. And then I'd found him on a hill nestled in the trees, painting of all things. I hadn't pegged him as an artist and definitely not a good one.

A sharp pain shot through me when an elbow jabbed my side, forcing a curse through my lips.

Blake snapped his fingers in front of my face. "Earth to Arsen."

Scowling, I looked over at him. "What?"

His brows shot high. "What crawled up your ass?"

"Not my ass. My fucking side, you dick." I rubbed the now tender spot and glared.

Blake smirked. "You sure? You seemed like you were brooding pretty hard over there before I even touched you."

The truth was my mind was on Kellan. My gaze scanned the group of people bobbing in the lake. He was driving me fucking crazy, especially when he was shirtless, throwing a frisbee with his friends and some of mine. His blond hair hung down in wet strands, a wild mess flung in tangled ropes across his forehead. I wouldn't be sharing that information with Blake and give him a reason to run to Piper, who would read more into the situation than necessary. "I'm fine. What's up?"

"The beer's gone." He knocked on the hard plastic lid.

I glanced at the cooler that had been full when I'd brought it down. Since I hadn't touched a single bottle, I was unsure how that was my problem. "So, go up to the house and grab some more."

"Yeah, that was the last of it. You literally put it in there." Blake eyed me as if he was attempting to work out a puzzle. That would never happen.

I locked down my conflicted feelings about Kellan and flipped through my memory of filling the cooler with ice and bottles. Distracted by Kellan, who at the time had been talking to Quinn, I had moved on autopilot.

Pulling my feet out of the water, I stood and slid on my flip-flops. "I'll run to town. I need to grab some stuff anyway."

That was a lie. What I needed was to remove myself from this environment for a little while so I could clear my head.

"Want me to ride with you?" he offered, and I glanced down, shaking my head.

"Nah. Stay and babysit. I won't be long." The dock creaked beneath my feet as I headed toward the cabin to grab my wallet from my room.

After I'd stuffed it in my pocket, I made my way back to the bottom floor and sighed when Quinn caught my eye. He glanced at my keys in my hand. "Headed out?"

"Quick beer run," I clipped. "Sorry to burst your bubble."

"Would you mind grabbing another case?" Had Quinn just had the nerve to ask me for a favor? "I just need to go get the money from my room."

My first instinct was to tell him to get his own shit, but I had enough on my mind. Another showdown with Quinn wasn't worth it and would only make things worse. "Just hurry up."

He offered a single nod. "Be right back."

As he took the stairs two at a time, I leaned against the log wall and stuffed my hands in my pockets. The back door opened, and I recognized the sound of his laugh before I even saw him. Kellan stepped inside with a useless towel tied around his waist, trailing puddles of water as he entered the house, followed by Shawn.

"Here." Quinn's voice tore my attention from the pair that were howling with laughter over a joke I hadn't heard. My pain-in-the-ass stepbrother handed me a large bill. He turned toward the kitchen, yelling, "Kellan, you still want some beer, salt, and stuff to make burgers?"

Kellan's head snapped up, and once he spotted Quinn, he headed for us.

When had I agreed to buy Kellan anything? I scowled. "I'm not your fucking errand boy."

Quinn glanced at me again, rolling his eyes. "Fine, take Shawn."

"No can do," Shawn yelled from the kitchen. "I promised Sophie I'd… Well, you really don't want to know."

Quinn glanced at Kellan, and I stiffened as I saw the idea swirl in his head. "Fuck. Kellan, can you…"He paused to take a deep breath as if he was seriously struggling with the idea. "Can you go with Arsen?"

Kellan stopped next to us and went rigid. "Why?"

"Look, youknowI wouldn't ask, but one of us has to stay to babysit this bunch. So, if Arsen goes, I can't. It's not that far. Come on, bestie. You'll be back in just a few minutes." Quinn shot me a hard look, and I held back the scoff itching the back of my throat. If Quinn was trying to warn me off Kellan, it wasn't necessary.

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