The Southern Nights Series Page 10

  I crease my eyebrows. “Kam, I don’t think—”

  “Come on, Laney. This is probably the worst day of my life. I don’t want to be alone.” He looks at me with raw emotion.

  I know it took a lot for Kam to admit that. And he must really be hurting if his defenses are down.

  “Okay.” I give in. How can I say no to such a bleeding plea? “Lie down.”

  Kam situates himself on the three-cushioned couch so I can slide up next to him. I rest my head on his chest as he wraps both arms around me. He smells like rain. We’re scrunched pretty tightly, but somehow we make it work. We lie there just listening to the storm. Thunder cracking and lightning brightening the room every now and again.

  After a while, I start to drift off, warm and secure in Kam’s embrace.

  “Hey, Lemon,” Kam says just before I fall asleep.

  “Yeah?” I murmur.

  “Nice shirt.”

  Kam

  THE RELENTLESS BUZZING wakes me up.

  “Shut it off,” Laney mumbles sleepily, swiping at my face.

  “It’s across the room.” I snuggle up next to her in an attempt to go back to sleep. I’m too comfortable to move. The buzzing eventually stops, and I drift back to sleep.

  It then starts again. Shit.

  “Kam,” Laney whines, and I finally give in. It’s annoying the crap out of me, too.

  “Fuck, okay.” I clumsily uncurl myself from her body. It’s not exactly easy to maneuver in just a towel, but I eventually make my way off the couch without flashing her and swipe my phone from the top of the washing machine. I groan. Fifty missed calls and umpteen text messages. A majority of them from Sam, some from my parents, and a few from my coach. As I hold the phone, it rings again. ‘SAM THE MAGIC MAN’ flashes across the screen. I growl, aggravated. I just don’t want to deal.

  “Sam?” Laney asks sprawled out on the couch. I have to take a few deep breaths. She looks beyond edible wearing only my practice jersey. I can’t believe after all this time she still has it, let alone wears it. It was a pleasant surprise when she opened the door last night. I honestly didn’t know where else to go, and I knew Laney would be the one person who wouldn’t hound me. She’d make me feel like a normal person. She always has. She never was caught up in the celebrity, or the status, or the juggernaut that is ‘Kamdyn Ellis.’ She’s always just seen me.

  “The one and only.” I make my way back to her.

  “What are you going to do?” She pulls her legs up so I can sit, and I catch a peek of her skimpy boy shorts when she shifts. What I wouldn’t give to just lose myself in her body for a few hours. The way I used to.

  “Kam?” She pulls me from my daydream.

  “Going to do?” I answer distracted. “I have no idea. I know what I would like to do.”

  “And what’s that?” Laney sits up straight. Her long, dark hair is messy and tangled; it looks like we spent the night doing more than just sleeping. I wish.

  “Disappear.”

  “So, why don’t you? Maybe some time to yourself will be good for you.”

  “I don’t want to be alone,” I say unwaveringly.

  She stares at me as if she knows exactly what I’m getting at. Her big, blue eyes twinkling. I want to disappear—with her.

  “We could go to your father’s cabin by the lake. It’s remote,” she suggests without skipping a beat.

  “We could do that.” The use of the word we makes me feel lightheaded. Laney and I spent a bunch of weekends up there the summer we were together. Both with and without my father. “You’re okay with getting out of here?” I want to make sure this is what she wants and it’s not just some pity party for me.

  “I’m good.” She grins. “I could use a change of scenery.”

  “What about Steve?” I ask.

  “I don’t think Steven will care. He broke up with me last night.”

  “Sorry.” I tell her. Not really. Really, I’m fucking elated she got rid of that Yankee idiot.

  “Don’t be.” She sighs. “I didn’t see a future with him anyway.”

  I shoot her a shit-eating grin.

  “Don’t even go there.”

  I can’t help it. “Told you so.”

  “Put a sock in it, All-Star,” she says sourly. “If we’re going, let’s go.”

  “Decision made.” I try to sound upbeat, but worry, doubt, and fear are slowly oozing through the cracks of my resolve. I don’t want to lose my entire career—everything I worked for, my lifelong dream—because of some stupid bullshit that never even happened. I rein in my anger and focus on Laney’s face. If anyone can ground me, it’s her.

  “Let’s get dressed.” She nudges me with her foot, then stands. I just follow her with my eyes. Does she know how grateful I am? Do I even have the courage to tell her?

  “Thank you.” I clear my throat as she hovers over me, her bare thighs right at eye level.

  “What are friends for?” She smiles, then disappears into her bedroom.

  Friends . . . ?

  #AlabamaAllStarAssault is trending on Twitter. My life as I know it is over.

  “Give me that.” Laney snatches the phone from my hand. “We are disappearing, remember? That means no phones or computers or Twitter or Facebook.”

  “How shall we ever survive?” I jest, glumly.

  “We’ll eat, drink, and be merry,” she says dryly as she turns on her car. It’s a little, red, sporty thing with two doors. Definitely not conducive for a six-foot-three college athlete. My knees are practically touching my chest. “There’s a reason it’s called comfort food.” She pulls out of the parking lot.

  “I don’t think much is going to comfort me,” I say as we drive past my house. I pull my hood over my face and slouch down as she speeds by. There is still an entourage of reporters camped out on the large front lawn.

  “Vultures,” Laney spits.

  “Appropriate comparison,” I add disheartened.

  It takes two and a half hours to get to the cabin, but we need to stop for food and supplies if we are going to disappear comfortably. About an hour and a half into the drive, Laney pulls up to a food store. She knows it’s the closest grocery chain for miles.

  I feel some apprehension when we walk into the busy market. I don’t want anyone to recognize me. And luckily, no one seems to take notice of us as we start to stroll the aisles.

  “What do you want to eat? What will make you feel comforted?” Laney jokes.

  I grin. What a loaded question that is. You—stripped naked in the freezer aisle.

  “Um . . .” I keep my dirty thoughts to myself. “What’s that sandwich your dad used to make?”

  “Which one?” she asks as she throws a couple bags of chips into the cart.

  “The one with the cheese and the sauce he used to bake.”

  “Oh, Reuben.”

  “Yeah. That one.” I snap my fingers.

  “Okay, I’ll grab the ingredients and some other stuff for lunch and dinner. I’ll stock up just in case we are missing for a few days. Can you grab another cart and get drinks?”

  “Sure.” Missing for a few days with Laney? Yes, please.

  We meet up at the checkout aisle. She has a cart full of food that looks like it will last us a few months, not days. And I have enough Gatorade to hydrate an elephant. I grabbed Laney a few bottles of Snapple Iced Tea because I know she likes that brand. No southern sweet tea for this girl.

  I will never understand.

  Once the groceries are loaded into the car, we make the last leg of our trip to the cabin. It’s midday by the time we get there. The house is nothing extravagant, but it sits right on the lake and has a killer view. There’s even a boat dock. I couldn’t tell you how many nights Laney and I hung out on those wooden planks just talking and gazing at the stars.

  “Well, you wanted to disappear. This is definitely as close as it gets,” Laney remarks as I open the front door. The inside décor still has my mother’s touch. Flower-patterned
furniture and plush throw rugs over the hardwood floor. In the divorce, my mother got the house I grew up in and my father got the lake house. He doesn’t come here often—I think the last time was Fourth of July last year. The town puts on a huge fireworks display over the lake that’s pretty impressive.

  “Okay.” Laney slaps my back. “You grab the bags, and I’ll start lunch.”

  “I can do that.” It takes me three trips to bring in all the food bags. By the third trip, Laney is practically done with prepping lunch.

  “You’re fast.”

  “I’m hungry.” She pops a piece of lunchmeat into her mouth.

  “How come I only like the Reuben sandwich that your father makes?” I grab a piece of meat for myself. “I’ve tried them a few times, and they’re never quite the same.”

  “Because he uses pastrami instead of corned beef, Russian dressing instead of Thousand Island, and muenster instead of Swiss.”

  “Is that it?” Intrigued, I eat another piece of pastrami.

  “Yup.” The oven beeps.

  “Ten minutes and lunch is served.” Laney picks up the sandwiches she constructed on a baking sheet and pops them in the oven. She washes her hands and then comes to lean against the counter next to me, staring at the oven. Now what?

  There’s some heavy-duty silence as the seconds tick by. I watch her as she watches the oven.

  “What are you looking at?” she asks with an uncomfortable smirk.

  “Nothing. You . . . I guess.”

  “Why?” She glances over at me.

  I can’t help it. I have to ask. “Were you wearing anything besides panties under my jersey last night?”

  “It’s my jersey,” she corrects me. “And why do you care?”

  “Because I’m curious.” I smile. “Do you wear it often?”

  Laney fights not to look at me again. “I wear it often enough.”

  I turn toward her. Our bodies an inch away from each other. “Do you think about me when you wear it?” I probe.

  “Think about you how?” She turns her head and wets her lips. My blood simmers.

  “You tell me?” I lean in closer; her sweet scent and seductive mouth have a magnetic effect.

  It takes Laney an eternity to answer, trapping us in this oppressive stare.

  “I never stopped thinking about you,” she admits, timidly. The one thing I have always loved about Laney is her self-confidence. She’s tenacious, and independent, and assertive, but what never fails to make me crumble is her honest vulnerability. I’ve only seen her expose that side to one other person—her father. So, I feel privileged when she’s brave enough to open up to me.

  “I never stopped thinking about you, either,” I more than willingly divulge. I don’t even give her a chance to process my response as I grab her by the neck and smother her with a hot, hungry kiss. A kiss I have been suppressing since the moment I laid eyes on her at the beginning of the semester.

  In true Laney fashion, she doesn’t back down or try to break the connection. Instead, she opens up to me almost like a flower waking up to the sun.

  She moans as I grope her body, putting my hands wherever I damn well please. Wherever they are yearning to touch. A blast of possessiveness shoots through me as we tear at each other’s clothes. There’s no rhyme or reason at the moment, just blinding passion and insatiable want. I rip her T-shirt as I yank it off her, exposing her perky little breasts and silky skin. Like I’ve never touched a woman before, I attack her neck and fondle her over her bra. It’s a little, black, lacy thing I’m positive she wore just to drive me crazy. Speaking of teasing, I skim my fingers along the lace, yanking it down to free one nipple. I twist and roll it relentlessly until Laney is clawing at my back, begging for more.

  I assail her mouth, trapping her face with my hands until neither of us can breathe.

  “Kam, Jesus.” She pants, grinding against me.

  “I need you, Laney. I need you so bad.” I am beyond desperate.

  She nods frantically with her eyes closed and cheeks flushed. It’s all the agreement I warrant. I lift her right off the floor and plant her on the countertop. Crushing my lips against hers, I struggle with one hand to remove her shorts. Once off, she moves to unbutton my fly—rip it open is more like it. I barely have time to grab my wallet out of my back pocket before she is yanking my jeans and underwear all the way down my thighs. I’m tingling from head to toe with need as I hastily remove a condom and sheath myself with it. There’s one lingering moment before I take her that resonates through the whole house. One heated heartbeat of yearning that passes between us before I grab her and sink into the most euphoric tightness I have ever known.

  Pure. Ecstasy.

  “Kam,” Laney sighs with a firm grip on the back of my neck.

  That one word sends me soaring. My name spilling irrepressibly from her lips.

  “God . . .” I grind out, unable to control the urges streaming through my system. It doesn’t matter how long we’ve been apart or how many other women I’ve been with; no one makes me feel the way Laney does. Nothing compares to her scent, or her skin, or her sighs.

  “I want you to come.” I grip her hair and let loose. “I’m dying to feel it. It’s been too long.”

  “Kam—” She rolls her hips and draws me closer as I thrust as deep as I possibly can, over and over until it happens, until her muscles spasm and she lets out a strangled moan, delivering exactly what I demanded. Her uninhibited pleasure. Her climax slingshots me straight to the edge, the buildup almost catastrophic. I lift her off the counter and pin her against the refrigerator, sprinting after my own abandoned pleasure.

  With Laney’s arms and legs wrapped tightly around me, I lose control. I let go of all the stressors and come violently, as if this climax was locked away for three and a half years and only Laney could set it free.

  I moan feebly into her neck as my leg muscles tremble. I’m completely sapped.

  Laney kisses my temple and runs her fingers through my hair until I look up at her. I have so many things I want to say, but I can’t seem to articulate any of them. Before I even have a chance to try to communicate what I’m feeling, an ear-piercing sound rocks us back to reality.

  “Lunch!” Laney exclaims as she tries to wiggle out of my hold.

  “Shit!” I set her on her feet and grab for the oven mitts as the sound of the fire alarm shreds our eardrums. I pull out the burnt Reubens as Laney opens the front door and windows.

  The alarm stops after I wave a mitt in front of it while trying to pull my pants up at the same time. Once everything settles down, I look over at Laney. She’s wearing my T-shirt in place of the one I destroyed, and a big fat smile. She then erupts in laughter. It is kind of funny.

  “At least we know the fire alarm works,” she says as she slips her arms around me.

  “It most definitely does.” I embrace her, kissing her head.

  Laney

  I SLEPT WITH Kam.

  I knew it was inevitable. I knew what I was doing when I suggested coming to the cabin, but I couldn’t resist him anymore. I barreled straight through the forbidden door, and there’s no going back now.

  I clean up after lunch, throwing the paper plates away and wiping the counter. The first batch of Reubens went into the garbage, obviously. The second batch was made with no interruptions. Thank God. I needed a breather. I needed to process everything that just happened, and I knew one sexual advance from Kam and we would be in the same predicament all over again. I feel hyperaware of everything now, as if my body flipped a switch and Kam is the electricity running through my veins.

  “Hey, Laney,” Kam comes bounding down the stairs. “Look what I found.” He smiles brightly flipping a football in the air.

  “The extension to your hand?” I ask flippantly.

  He chuckles. “How’s your arm, Lemon?”

  “Rusty,” I admit as I throw the sponge back in the sink.

  “Well, let’s see what we can do about that.” He sp
anks me on the ass arrogantly as he walks by and straight out the front door.

  I follow him outside, and for a few, wistful moments, I watch as he palms the ball expertly with a look of elation on his face. Kam personifies the term ‘love of football.’

  “C’mon, Lemon!” He tosses the ball to me while I stand on the front porch of the house. “Let’s have a catch.”

  “I haven’t thrown a football in a long time,” I inform him, walking down the stairs holding the ball.

  “That’s okay. You had a great teacher.” He grins shamelessly. “It’s as easy as riding a bike.”

  “Says the professional quarterback.” I flip the football around, reacquainting myself with the leather.

  “I’m not pro yet.” Kam puts is hands on his hips. His T-shirt pulling tightly across his chest, outlining the sculpted muscles. The same muscles that were just pressed up against me. That body makes me forget how to freakin’ think.

  “Soon enough.” I place my fingers between the laces, the way Kam taught me, and launch the ball at him. It actually spirals pretty nicely, but my aim could use a little work. He needed to take a step to the side in order to catch it.

  “Not bad, Lemon. Not bad at all.” He smiles brightly as he throws it back. His spiral is way prettier than mine.

  “Maybe it is like riding a bike.” We lob the ball back and forth. I lost count how many times Kam and I did this when we were together. Just hung out and watched the sunset over the lake while throwing the football around. It was so simple, yet meant everything.

  “Lots of things we used to do are just like riding a bike,” he insinuates.

  I catch the ball then flutter my eyes. But I can’t deny he’s right. Our chemistry is still off the charts, maybe even hotter now than it was before. I actually get butterflies in my stomach just thinking about it. Thinking about how he touched me, and kissed and completely overtook me.

  I fire the football back at him.

  “Geez, Laney.” He catches it in the crook of his arm. “That one had some power behind it.”

  I actually giggle like a little girl. What the fuck is wrong with me? The control Kam has over my panties is ridiculous.