Page 23 of QB Keeper
“I was just showing Tanner this jersey dress I made for him. He,” she pauses, swallowing roughly, “wants to give it to this girl he likes.”
Riggs’ face relaxes and he gives me a sly smile. “You fucking dog. Did you bag yourself one of those Harvard bookworms? I bet you they’re freaky as fuck in the sack. I guess you’d already know that, though, since you’ve been doing the ol’ pump and dump all over campus for the past three years.”
I cringe, because the last thing I want to do is talk about fucking other women with Grace around. Not even to save face in front of my best friend. “Something like that,” is whatI settle on. “Uhh, thanks for making it for me, Bunny,” I say, turning to her and taking the piece from her hand.
“No problem,” she says quietly, turning back toward her table. I want to reach out for her. Hold her. Tell her I love the jersey and can’t wait to see her in it. But I can’t do any of that. Not in front of Riggs.
“C’mon, man. Let’s go get some grub then call a few girls to hang out with later. Earmuffs, baby sis,” he says to Grace, and without turning back to us, she loosely puts her hands over her ears. “I haven’t gotten my dick wet in three weeks. I hope you saved some pussy for me while I was gone.”
I choke on a cough, because he’d fucking murder me right here if he knew that the only pussy I’ve been inside recently was attached to his sister. “There’s plenty left for you,” I croak.
“Nice,” he says, reaching up for a high-five, which I’m able to play cool long enough to return. I follow him out of the room, hoping to catch her eye as I go, but she keeps them glued to the table, not moving until we’re out of sight.
Fuck.
SIXTEEN
GRACE
I siton the edge of the dock, kicking my bare feet as I look out over the water. After Riggs interrupted Tanner and me last night, I pulled myself together long enough to go downstairs and eat dinner with our families. I sat quietly, pushing the food around my plate as I listened to my brother blather on about all the college girls that were home for the summer and wanted to hang out with them. We exchanged a few secret glances, but other than that, we didn’t speak at all. When I couldn’t take being around him and not feeling his body near mine any longer, I quietly slipped away to my room and tossed and turned all night, barely getting a wink of sleep because every bad scenario of what he could be doing played on a loop in my head.
I’ll admit, I was jealous. The thought of Tanner spending time with anyone but me made me irrationally upset, considering we agreed that this was just going to be a physical thing for the summer. But that’s not where I’m at anymore. As much as I tried to stick to the plan, I think it was inevitable. There was no way I could’ve stopped it.
I fell in love with Tanner Lake, and I want him to be mine and mine alone. I don’t care what I have to do or who wehave to piss off to make it happen. Nothing else matters to me right now. Just us. I know he’s feeling it, too. I can tell by the way he kisses me. The way he takes care of me. The way he makes love to me. He doesn’t have to say the words out loud because I can feel it.
At the beginning of the summer, when we first started this, I had everything planned out. Then life happened.He happened. What was important to me then, seems absolutely trivial now that I’m considering a future that may include Tanner and me actually being together for real.
That’s why I’m considering alternative options for what I’m going to do in a month when it’s time to leave for school. I know it’s crazy, and I shouldn’t derail all of my plans just because I fell in love, but I don’t care. I’ve waited my whole life to get Tanner to see me as more than his best friend’s little sister, and now that he does, I can’t just pack up and leave him behind.
I’ve had my apprehensions about going to CCA since the day I got accepted, but I wanted to give it a try. I wanted a change from the boring life I was living here in Hope Harbor. I wanted to hang out with friends and go on dates with guys who didn’t know their arms and legs were in danger of being ripped off their bodies if they touched me. I wanted something new.
But all of that has changed now that I’ve fallen for Tanner. Do I still want to be a fashion designer? Yes. I can’t imagine waking up one day and not wanting to make clothes. Nothing makes me happier than losing myself in the feel of different fabrics, and finding ways to make them into unique pieces that make whoever wears them feel beautiful and confident. I’d never give that up, but staying closer to home doesn’t mean I’d have to. I got into schools in Boston and New York, but chose California because I didn’t have a reason not to. Now, I might.
I’m not saying I’m going to just throw it all away andfollow Tanner wherever he goes, but if he’s willing to give this thing between us a real shot, I’m okay with rearranging some of my initial plans to make it work. In the end, I’ll still be designing clothes, so how I get there doesn’t really matter to me.
I hear the gravel behind me crunch under the tires of Tanner’s car as he pulls down the driveway to the lighthouse, and my stomach does little flips of excitement. I’m kind of nervous to have a talk about our future with him, but we need to do it so I can think carefully about my next move. I know he’ll look for me here, so I try to calm my nerves as I continue dipping my toes into the cool water, watching as it ripples away from me in large circles.
“Bunny,” he says, walking toward the dock. I stand, wiping the dirt from the back of my shorts as he approaches quickly. He doesn’t slow down, crashing into me and digging his hands into my hair before taking my mouth in a searing kiss. I’m caught off guard, stiffening at first, but it isn’t long before I’m melting into him, pleading without words for him to keep going. Unfortunately, he pulls back, but slides his arms around my waist and leans his forehead to mine. “Thank God you’re here. You didn’t answer my text. I was afraid you wouldn’t show up.”
“I was with my mom when it came through, so I just read it quickly then shoved it in my pocket. I guess I forgot to reply. I’m sorry,” I tell him. The truth is, by the time I got to my car to drive here, my mind was racing in so many different directions, I didn’t even think about it.
“It’s okay, baby,” he says. “I’m just glad you’re not pissed at me. I swear I didn’t talk to any girls last night. I didn’t even drink. I just waited until Riggs was occupied, then I snuck out and went home. I didn’t want to wake you by calling or texting, so I waited until today.”
I can’t say I’m not relieved to hear him say that, because part of me was a little worried that maybe I’d been readinghim wrong and that he doesn’t feel the same way I do. But the other part of me, the part that is completely connected to his mind, body, and soul, is telling me that there’s no way he doesn’t love me the way I love him.
He leans down, ghosting his lips over the delicate skin of my neck. I tilt my head, giving him full access as I grip onto the fabric of his t-shirt.
“I want to fuck you all night long,” he mumbles before licking a hot line across my throat. “I want to be so deep in your pussy, you’ll feel me there forever.”
Forever.
The word echoes in my head, warming me all over as it flows through me. I want forever with him so badly; I don’t give a single fuck what I have to do to get it. I don’t care that I’m only eighteen or that my brother is going to be mad that we went behind his back. I don’t care that it’s reckless to change my college plans to be closer to him while we start building our life together. I can still achieve all of my goals right here in Massachusetts with Tanner by my side.
“I have—” I stutter as he sucks at the sensitive skin under my ear. “I have something I want to tell you.”
“Okay,” he mumbles as his lips move across my shoulder like he can’t decide where he wants to taste me the most. “Can it wait until after? Or should I stop?” He brings his hand up my body, stopping at my breast to pinch my nipple through my shirt, and all of a sudden, nothing else matters right now. I can tell him my plans later.
“It can wait,” I whimper. “Please take me inside.”
