Page 82 of Honey Undone
The four of them were hanging over the bleachers, picking at food and talking as Rhea braided Kaia’s hair. Not a single one of them noticed me approaching, their eyes on the field in front of them. Adeline’s hair was loose around her face and frizzy from the heat, and her skin was still flushed, all pretty and pink from practice.
“One day we should tie all their cleats in knots,” Cosy said without looking up from what she was reading.
“Then how will they run laps and get sweaty, Cos?” Rhea said like it had personally offended her.
“Listen I know you hate him but there’s not a damn thing wrong with Loveday when he’s damp and his mouth is shut,” Kaia said. I turned my head to take in what they were watching to find the entire male rugby team running laps in the hot sun.
“Ladies,” I said, leaning on the bleachers. “What are we doing?”
All four of them jumped out of their skin and started laughing uncontrollably.
“I call it hog patrol,” Kaia said with the sickest smile.
“That’s disgusting,” Cosy said with a grumble.
“Hot dog cart? Quick lunch, piping hot?” Rhea added to the hilarity while Adeline slid across the bleacher toward me. “Two for one special?”
“How many hot dogs do you think I could shove in my mouth?” Kaia asked.
Rhea tilted her chin up and started to count on her fingers.
“Ignore them,” Adeline whispered, her fingers hooking under my chin to bring my lips to hers. “Thanks for coming to get me, I need to go home and change quickly.”
“Anything for you.” It slipped out before I could stop it but it made her blush and suddenly I didn’t regret a damn word. “Mind if I steal your girl?” I looked around Adeline to the others.
“Only if you feed her,” Kaia said and by the smirk on her face there was an innuendo there somewhere that I couldn’t find.
“I’ll make sure she’s satisfied,” I said without hesitation.
“God, will you two stop?” Adeline groaned.
“Come on,” I grabbed her by the waist, pulling her down off the bleachers into my arms and shuffled her back to my car. Two hours later, Adeline was fed in every sense of the word. Dressed in jeans and a barely there top that showed off her perfect stomach.
Once we got to the Hollow everything was a blur, it seemed to be where you could find any of them on any night. But tonight, the place was packed.
“You know the DJ isn’t horrible.” Adeline knocked back a gin and seven before smiling at my comment. My fingers pressed into the front pocket of her skin tight jeans and held her against my chest as I whispered in her ear. “I still prefer live music better.”
“It’s dance night,” Her voice was muffled by the sounds of Boone ringing the obnoxiously loud bell above the bar when someone ordered a Hollow, some disgusting concoction made of jello and nine different liquors. “It's the only night of the week Brighton will let us play pop music,” she whined. “Sunday worked hard to get us dance night, don’t you dare complain!”
“I’m not,” I raised my hands in the air and instantly hated the lack of contact. “Where is Sunday anyways?” I asked.
“She works nights this week at the hospital,” Adeline explained, but was quickly distracted. “Oh my god, I love this song,” she squeaked, darting in a zigzag line with my hand in hers straight toward where Rhea and Cosy occupied the dance floor.
That close to the speakers, the music was so loud it vibrated through my bloodstream and made everything feel fuzzy as Adeline ground herself upagainst me and the lights made everything unbearably warm. But with the music playing and my girl in my arms, it was easy to enjoy the small moment of bliss that the noise level provided.
“I’m going to get some water,” I said to her, kissing the hollow of her neck before slipping back into the sea of dancing bodies to the bar. I slid in between two bodies and nodded to Boone who filled a glass for me.
“Jensen, this is Wren.” Boone pointed to the guy next to me. He held out his hand to me with a bright, cheesy smile on his face. Framed by a set of deep dimples and paired with fluffy uncontrolled blonde hair that he’d stuffed under a black backward cap, he looked like he just stepped off the set of Point Break. “Best friend, liability, absolute joke of a human being.”
“There’s no shame inbeinga good time,” Wren winked.
“He acts like he isn’t the first to cause trouble,” he said to me.
“What’s with the flag?” I asked, pointing to what looked like a miniature red flag poking out of the buckle of his hat.
“Oh,” he smiled even wider, “some girl has been handing out ‘red flags’ to men that try to hit on her… I personally don’t think I deserved it. I’m head to toe with green flags.” He motioned to his crisp white shirt and jeans.
I laughed, staring at him for a moment longer trying to figure out if I’ve seen him before. His big blue eyes darted between me and Boone. “I don’t play for them, if that’s what you’re trying to place. Boone and I know each other from the academy. We were paramedics together before he ran off to France to be a cook…”
