Page 40 of Refusing Kendall

He shows me where to put my feet and wraps my arms around his middle, “Hold on as tight as you want. I won’t let you fall.”

I can’t make myself do anything but nod against his back. He kickstarts the bike. As it vibrates beneath us I try to keep from hyperventilating.

Closer than the others, Maverick must see my anxiety. He kicks the stand down on his bike and comes over to us. Grabbing my face between his hands, he has to talk over the revving motors, “You ok?” I give him a shaky smile. The kiss that I’m gifted with is long and hard. When he breaks away, he kisses the tip of my nose, “Don’t be scared, doll. Lucas knows what he’s doing better than any of us. Plus, he knows that we’ll feed him to the wolves if anything happens to you.”

Oddly enough, him just taking the time to try to soothe my nerves actually helps. In a move so unlike him, he boops me on the nose and shoots me a genuine smile. He hops back on his bike, and the four of us slowly make our way out of the barn. Of course, Teagan and Goose take off in a race just as soon as they are clear. They make it look so easy. Lucas holds my hands against his chest before we’re moving too. Mav sticks close to us, but I’m easily distracted by the beast underneath my ass. My legs are squeezing Lucas’ tight, and I don’t think anyone would be able to pry my arms away from him at this point.

Lucas handles the bike like a pro. Which, if he’s been doing this his entire life, then it’s close enough to say that it’s true. We take a trail that leads back into the woods behind the barn. I’m expecting it to be rough with lots of bumps throughout, but it’s not. It’s pretty smooth, and after a few minutes, I try to relax some, which has me questioning when I became such a coward. What seems like forever ago, I wasn’t scared of anything. I’d do everything the VanPelt boys did. Whether it be pushing Brian VanPelt to drive faster in his old Camaro or jumping off the rope swing into the creek, more often than not, butt naked on a dare. Ever since the accident that took them from me and this world, I’ve been too afraid to try new things. The four of these fucking amazing guys were my first step back into finding myself again. It’s true what everyone says about certain people bringing out the best in you. I have four very sexy living proofs of that.

At that thought, I release the stranglehold I have on Lucas. Straightening my spine makes it to where I can feel the chill of the wind on my face over his shoulder. A smile plays on my lips, especially as he tosses one of his own back to me. A little while later, just as I’ve gotten used to it and started having fun, we’re pulling to a stop.

There’s a small creek running to the right of us, and a short outcropping of rocks on the bank. I’d bet that in the summer time, this would be the perfect place to cool off. They’ve probably been here dozens of times.

Goose and Teagan beat us here and already have a blanket laid out on the cold ground. As Lucas helps me off the bike, and we make our way over, I see Maverick pull a thermos out of his bag with enough cups for the five of us. Lucas sinks down onto the blanket. He stretches his legs out and leans back onto his elbows. I don’t know if it’s the adrenaline from the ride or his pure sexiness, but it makes me not give a shit if the other three are here or not. Whatever. I’m not trying to make things awkward, but I’m also not about to walk on eggshells either. What’s life without a few risks?

I move one foot to each side of his legs, so that when I fall to my knees I’m straddling him. He’s only got half a second of reaction time before I slam my mouth against his. The blanket could be set on fire right now, and I wouldn’t notice. Lucas is my world in this one moment.

It’s only broken as Teagan whistles softly, “I call dibs for her to ride back with me.”

I laugh against Lucas before pulling away from him. His eyes are bright, and his lazy smile holds promises for later. There’s nothing I would love to do more than capture that look to keep with me forever. Lucky for me, I tucked my phone into my pocket before we left. He sits perfectly still without changing, allowing me to fulfill my wish.

Mav pours us all some hot chocolate in the cups they brought. He makes Teagan complain about twenty times, before he produces a bag of tiny marshmallows from his bag for him. Come to find out, they aren’t here for the cocoa. I’m quick to learn as Goose unzips his bag to hand me a small marshmallow shooter. I stuff my pocket full of the soft spheres and take off running. Never in a million years would I have thought these to be as fun as they are.

I’m able to snap a few more pictures of the guys goofing off with smiles on their faces before they turn their attention on me. Then it turns into an all-out war. By the time we crash back onto the blanket, there are tons of marshmallows everywhere, and we’re all laughing.

For the rest of the afternoon, we bask in the warmth provided by the sun’s rays as we go exploring the creek and talk about Lucas’ birthday this weekend. It isn’t until the sun starts to sink behind the top of the tree line that it starts to get chilly again. Sitting propped up against Mav, he feels it when I involuntarily shiver.

“Time to go,” he tells us.

Goose is the first to jump up and reach out for my hand, “Ride back with me?”

Teagan moans and groans about beating him to it as I nod and take his hand. Once everything is packed up and we’re back on the bikes, I press my lips against the back of his neck causing him to shudder, “I love you, Grant.”

He takes my hand and presses his lips against my palm, “As I you, babe. Now, hold on. We’re going for a ride.”

Rock In A Hurricane

We finish out the holiday and head back home. One of the things that’ll keep me motivated through finals and the last of the guys’ games is knowing we’ll be going back to spend the Christmas holidays with Lucas’ family as well.

The guys help bring their team to victory for the next two games, which leaves them with only one remaining for the regular season. It also means they are gone every single day for either practice or some sort of team meeting. With the security system now in place at the house, it seems to have discouraged whoever was pulling the stunts. I want to automatically say that it’s the slut bunny and her friends, but I seriously don’t think they’re smart enough to pull it off enough to get away with it. Either way, the only disturbances that I’ve experienced have been from my friendly neighborhood ghost with flickering lights.

Today I sit in my usual seat for the guys’ last game. If they win today there’s talk of a championship. I’m nervous as hell for them. Not only because they need this win, but also the weather could hinder everything. It’s been raining cats and dogs for days. Both the field and the stadium are thoroughly soaked. It’s only misting at the moment, but the sky holds the promise of a downpour at any second. That’s why I’ve got a sweater, school hoodie, raincoat and a poncho wrapped around my body. Seemed like it might have been a bit overkill this morning, but I’m thankful for it now.

Surprisingly, the rain hasn’t deterred anyone from showing up today. It’s still just as full as it usually is, and the crowd is deafeningly loud as the guys take the field. The sky waits until the end of the second quarter before the buckets in the clouds tip over and try to drown us. My heart jumps into my throat several times as I watch the players on the field in front of me. They’re slipping all over the place as they try to stay in position and do their jobs. Every single uniform walking back into the locker room at half time is slathered in mud from top to bottom. Even the ones not playing today have somehow managed to get nasty as fuck on the sidelines. When the band takes the field for their halftime show, their uniforms don’t fare any better. The only thing they have working in their favor is that the rain has settled back down to a light mist now.

It doesn’t even feel like a full twenty minutes before the boys are back out on the field again. I relax some seeing that none of their faces show the anxiety that was visible when they left. Three minutes in, just as I’ve calmed my nerves, Goose takes a hard hit. My hand covers my mouth to mask my gasp. It may not have been so bad if it was just one of the guys from the other team, but he took it twice. One hit high above the waist, and one below. The referee blows his whistle and tosses a flag on the ground, but the damage is done. Goose is holding his left knee and isn’t getting up. I feel as though I can hear his howl of pain all the way over to where I’m sitting.

Mav, Teagan, and Lucas hover next to each other on the sidelines. My insides are fucking jelly as I watch the coaches and medical team kneeling beside him on the field. When a stretcher is brought out next to him, there’s the threat of me actually puking. I know it’s bad when he can’t even limp off the field with help. I watch as Maverick goes to him once he’s on the sidelines. They are barely able to say two words before the game picks back up, and Goose is hauled off back towards the locker rooms.

I’ll never be able to sit here and watch the rest of this without finding out if he’s okay. Almost as if he’s inside of my head, Mav turns around and sends me a short nod before putting his helmet back on. I can’t be sure how rude or aggressive I am as I try to work my way from my seat to the walkway. There’s only one thing on my mind, and that’s making sure Goose is okay.

Once I’ve made it through the throngs of people and up the stairs, I take off in a dead sprint to the other side of the arena. I probably get more than a few dirty or strange looks, but I don’t care. My breathing is ragged, and I struggle to catch my breath when I flash my team badge to the security guys outside the locker room. They nod quickly and let me inside.

Following the voices, I find them huddled inside one of the little rooms off to the side. Goose is strapped down on the stretcher in the middle while a medical team works over him. That’s all I get to see before one of the secondary coaches steps out of the room and shuts the door, leaving only a crack for me to see through. Which he quickly steps in front of with his huge body.

“Is he ok?” I ask desperately.

The broad-shouldered man crosses his arms over his chest, “I don’t know how you got in, miss, but you can’t be here.”

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