As I drew up next to her, I looped an arm around her waist, halting her before she could win. She kicked and struggled, trying to reach the single dogwood where Vader waited, shaking his entire body on the rocks beside it.
The harder she fought to escape, the tighter my grip got. She was smiling and laughing as she turned to face me, pushing on my shoulders and causing her slim body to rub against me in all the right and wrong ways.
“Let go, you big cheater,” she laughed.
“Says the woman who started before the count.” I grinned at her.
The green of her eyes was so pale in the sunlight that it nearly vanished into the whites. Her lips gleamed. Her hair sparkled. She was breathtaking. One-hundred-percent Maisey, stripped to her bare essence. Very few people saw her like this anymore. She usually hid behind makeup and perfectly styled hair, years of old insecurities ensuring she took her time getting ready each day. But this was the Maisey I’d first called my friend, and I couldn’t look away.
The amusement on her face slowly faded the longer I stared.
She licked her lips, and my body responded. With her pressed against me, it was hopeless to disguise the reaction, and when she inhaled sharply, I knew she’d felt it.
Her throat bobbed, and the tension between us grew, a charge waiting for the right moment to ignite. I longed to kiss her. To take whatever she was willing to give.
Then reality hit me in the back of the head like a slap. I’d promised I’d keep my hands to myself if she took this leap with me, and here I was, breaking that promise for at least the fourth time already.
I moved my hands so they circled her waist, and her eyes darkened. Her chest heaved as if she’d run a mile. So damn sexy. Inviting.
But I had to prove to myself, as much as to her, that I could ignore whatever this was that had flamed between us. So, I planted my feet in the sand and rocks and tossed her backward in the direction we’d come. She laughed and screamed at the same time, right before she hit the water with a huge splash.
I didn’t wait.
I hauled ass toward the dogwood, hoping to leave the scorching heat of desire in my wake.
Chapter Thirteen
Maisey
RUIN THE FRIENDSHIP
Performed by Taylor Swift
FOURTEEN YEARS AGO
HER: I’m down at the river with the bait. Where are you?
HIM: I’m not gonna make it.
HER: Oh. Okay. I’ll just let the worms go, then. What’s wrong?
HIM: Liza left.
HER: I didn’t know she was traveling again. When will she be back?
HIM: She won’t be back. She left us for good.
HER: What are you talking about? She’s marrying your dad. They’ve got the date set and everything.
HIM: She wanted to postpone it. Wanted to go build another damn school first. They argued. She left. And he told her if she walked out, not to bother coming back. She left anyway.
HER: Where are you? I’m coming over.
HIM: Don’t come. I’m not good company.
HER: Are you in the treehouse? I’ll be there in five minutes.
PRESENT DAY