Edge of Chaos (Love on the Edge #1) (16 page)

Lord, he
acted
like a twelve-year-old.

“It sounds fun to me!” Lindsay chimed in, and Dash and I shook our heads at the same time.

“Fine.” Dash sighed. “Let’s go.” He swished back the rest of his beer and slammed it on the table.

After my invite was received with a laughing decline from John and Paul, I left a ten dollar bill on our table for Diana. Dash stopped Justin outside the door by placing a hand on his chest. I held my breath as Justin’s eyes turned to slits.

“Just for the record,” Dash said, “you may not want to call a man who chases tornadoes for a living a scared little bitch. It could come back to haunt you.” He walked to his truck, and opened the door for Lindsay.

I grinned despite myself, but it instantly faded when Justin caught my eyes.

“What a fucking tool,” Justin said. “I can’t wait until this semester is over and you don’t have to study or run in the same circle with this guy anymore.” He brushed past me without a second glance and climbed into his truck. My heart sank at his words. He’d never approve of my friendship with Dash, and if I admitted the truth now, he’d force me to choose between them.

I opened the door of Justin’s truck, the conditions revolving around my relationship smothering me, and I wondered what it would be like to be Lindsay for just one night.

The moon shone bright silver against the night sky and a cool breeze made chill bumps burst on my arms. I rubbed my hands back and forth on them, wishing for my jacket. The grass nearly came up to my knees as we made the long walk to the bridge. Dash had a flashlight he’d brought from his truck, but other than that the stars and moon lit the path before us.

Justin carried a six-pack he’d picked up at the gas station on the way over. He’d already cracked open a beer, and every time he took a drink my stomach churned. A fine line rested between a fun Justin and a blowup-worthy Justin on a normal day. When he drank too much that line disappeared. I prayed by us actively doing what he’d suggested that Dash wouldn’t have to see it.

“You know,” Lindsay said, “I heard that the lady was pregnant and that’s why he pushed her off the bridge.” She clutched Dash’s hand and giggled.

“That’s awful.” I had no clue how she could find that notion funny.

She whipped her head around. “You’re so sensitive. Lighten up.”

Justin tossed an empty bottle on the ground. “She really is! God, Blake, you need to learn how to let things go.”

I hung back a beat and picked up the bottle to throw in the trash on our way out. Whenever that would be. Lindsay and Justin may be enjoying themselves, but both their attitudes were borderline juvenile and I found myself exhausted at the high-school feel of it all. I seriously considered turning around and driving myself back to Bailey’s to enjoy another Native Amber and a big-ass burger. I smacked my forehead when I remembered I hadn’t driven and I’d most likely have to drive Justin’s truck home with the way he tossed the beers back.

“Not that any of the stories are true,” Dash said, suddenly beside me. “But that one is particularly gruesome.”

I spun the bottle slowly in my hand. “Right? Thank you.” I shook my head. “You’d think I cried over a puppy commercial.”

He motioned his head to the side. “Come on, I’ve never chased a ghost before. You’ll have to show me how.”

“Ha! I haven’t, either. Well, not since I was little. And back then we basically stood around and made each other jump at random times.”

Lindsay giggled from several yards ahead of us, drawing our attention. Apparently Justin was a riot. Funny, he hadn’t made me laugh in a long time. Maybe I’d just heard all of his jokes.

Oak trees bordered the land across the old bridge and there were a few scattered amongst the tall grass on the side we approached from. The railing was made of rusty old metal spaced out in large Xs with a flat piece on top, and wooden planks connected the walkway. Black Bear Creek trickled underneath it more than forty feet below, a slow and steady stream that added to the crickets chirping in the night.

Despite the dark rumors surrounding it, I’d always enjoyed the bridge as a kid. Probably because I’d watched a thunderstorm roll in from the west one time. The afternoon sky had lit up with white-hot lightning strikes and illuminated the thick cumulonimbus clouds—which back then I’d called “the big scary ones.” Everyone else had grabbed their bikes and hauled ass home, but I’d stayed behind and watched the storm unfold until it rained so hard I had to walk my bike home.

Of course I had. How had I not known from the beginning I was born to study storms?

The shattering of broken glass cut through my thoughts, and Dash and I picked up our pace, catching up to Justin and Lindsay who stood in the middle of the bridge.

Justin peered over the railing. I followed his gaze and sighed. He’d tossed an empty over, and it’d smashed on a huge rock sticking up out of the creek. Another beer down quick. I swallowed hard instead of chastising for the broken glass.

“Nice,” Dash said sarcastically, and I sucked in a breath. He was unaware of the lengths I took not to trigger an eruption from Justin.

“Something wrong, chase-boy?” Justin turned toward Dash, his eyebrows drawn.

Dash smirked. “Not a thing. So where is this ghost of yours?”

Justin motioned toward the railing. “A girl has to stand where she did in order to draw her out.” His words bordered on the thick side, and I tried to do a mental recap of how many he’d had tonight.

“‘Course. Makes sense,” Dash said and tossed me another
are you serious
look. I grabbed two beers out of the pack Justin had set on the bridge. I handed one to Dash and shrugged. Living in the moment, plus if we drank them then that made two more Justin couldn’t.

“Ew, I’m not doing it! I’ll ruin my heels, plus my skirt isn’t really climbing material. Blake, you have to! You can’t mess up those old boots any more than they already are.”

The hack about my boots only stung a little. I glanced down at the scuffed black leather, my jeans shoved into them. They were well broken in, just the way I liked them, and they were damn sure more comfortable than the four-inch red pumps she wore. How did she even make it through the grass without falling or at least getting mud on them?

“No thanks.” I took a generous pull on my beer, then scrunched up my face and glared at the bottle. Justin had picked the cheapest, skunkiest beer he could find.

A light mist fell around us, and Dash and I both instinctively looked at the sky. No storm clouds indicating anything major would drop down on us other than the light sprinkle.

“Oh, you’re no fun!” Lindsay whined and stomped her foot, drawing our attention back to earth. Did she really just do that?

“Come on, Blake. You used do it all the time,” Justin said.

“When I was ten!”

Justin threw his head back. “Ugh, you were more fun back then. Now, you’re just . . .”

A hot anger simmered in the pit of my stomach. Him and Lindsay were a perfect pair tonight, and I wanted to tell them both to go to hell.

“Boring,” he finally finished.

Dash flinched beside me, and Lindsay’s mouth dropped.

The anger soared to a roaring boil. “Boring? Your idea of excitement is not getting killed in a COD match,” I snapped, my thoughts traveling to the bedroom and how he’d only make love to me one way—flipped over and fast.

Justin’s face turned a dark shade of red, and the muscle in his jaw flexed. “Don’t be a bitch.” His eyes dared me to take his bait for a fight.

I shook my head.

Fuck it.

I smacked my beer down on the wooden plank and walked to the railing. The metal was slick against my palms with the light mist of rain but I ignored that. I was
not
boring, and maybe it was the fact that I had three beers in me, but I was damned if I’d let him call me that.

“Blake, don’t,” Dash said as I hitched my foot within the X shape, climbing up until I straddled the wet beam. I completely ignored him and the cold wet metal soaking through my jeans.

I pushed onto my feet and tried not to think about plummeting off the railing. Instead I assured myself that the wonderful air barrier between me and a forty-foot drop to the creek below would be sufficient protection. Rolling my eyes, I slowly turned my back toward them and looked outward, not down.

The air flowed past me in a steady not-at-all-threatening breeze, and the fine spray of rain kissed my cheeks. My heart pounded against my chest as I held my arms out horizontally, and it wasn’t from fear of a damned ghost, either. It was exhilarating being up this high, the night sky laid out before me with crystal stars shining through the broken string of rain clouds.

“Blake!” Justin screamed so obnoxiously his voice cracked the silence worse than a clap of thunder, and I startled—clearly his intention.

The railing, slick beneath my boots, seemed to tilt, and I quickly lost my footing. My heart in my throat, I windmilled my arms until I somehow managed to fall backward instead of head first into the creek far below.

Where I expected the hard, wooden bridge to break my fall, a warm body sank beneath me. My head knocked back against Dash’s chest, his arms gripping me as the momentum from my fall jerked us to our backs. I heard the thunk of his body take the full impact, but all I felt was . . . safe.

Then embarrassed. And then pissed off.

Justin and Lindsay roared with laughter, but Dash’s lips were at my ear, his breath warm on my neck.

“Are you all right?” he asked, his arms still held me against him.

I did a quick internal check and, besides my pride hurting something fierce, I was practically melting in his embrace. God, could I be more of a damsel in distress?

“Fine,” I said over Justin and Lindsay’s laughter and rolled off Dash to kneel beside him. “You’re the one who took the hit, are you okay?” I eyed him, but he’d already jumped up, his T-shirt didn’t even have a wrinkle in it.

He kept his mouth shut, the fire in his green eyes so hot they were molten.

“I’m sorry I nearly crushed you,” I said before I could stop myself.

He shook his head and brushed some dirt off the side of my thigh before he cut his eyes to Justin.

“You’re too easy, Blake.” Justin smacked his thigh as if my falling was the funniest thing he’d ever seen.

Dash walked toward Justin, stopping an inch from his face. “She could’ve been killed, you fucking idiot!”

I gasped and reached out for him as if I could pull his words back. It
so
wasn’t worth it.

Justin’s happy face quickly turned to a scowl I knew all too well. “She’s fine. You didn’t have to be the hero-boy and catch her either. Don’t be such a tool.”

“That’s hilarious coming out of your mouth,” Dash snapped.

Justin crossed his arms over his chest and lowered his voice to where I just barely made it out. “You should stop worrying about Blake so much and focus on yourself.”

“You have no idea who you’re threatening.”

Lindsay clicked up between both of them, swishing her hips as if she were going to ask one of them to dance. I didn’t understand how she could be oblivious to the severity of the situation, but perhaps it was because I knew Justin better. “We’re out of beer,” she practically purred. “Can we stop this testosterone match and get a girl a drink? Blake’s fine, right?” She eyed me and I nodded, stepping closer to them.

The tension in Justin’s shoulders melted and my heart slowed a fraction. He turned and looked down at Lindsay. “I’ve got another six-pack in my truck.” He motioned his head and walked back the way we’d come.

“All right! Come on, Dashy!” Lindsay didn’t wait for Dash but hurried after Justin in the short-stepping way one can only do in pumps like hers.

I stood frozen, shocked that Justin hadn’t taken a swing at Dash. Maybe he wasn’t as drunk as I’d thought, or maybe he knew how upset I’d be if he did.

“Blake are you coming?” Justin called, looking over his shoulder.

I pointed at the empty beer bottles on the bridge. “Just want to gather these first.”

He kept walking. I didn’t move until he and Lindsay were barely shadows through the darkness.

I let out a long breath and knelt to pick up the bottles. Dash helped, grabbing two from the other side of the bridge. “Thanks,” I said as we stood and walked slowly back to the trucks. I stopped in the middle of the tall grass. “I’m so sorry.”

Dash craned his head back to the sky. “You know I hate it when you do that.”

“Do what?” I asked.

“Take the blame. Say sorry for things out of your control.”

“I just wanted tonight to be fun. I wanted you two to like each other.”

“He’s a complete dirtbag, Blake. The way he treats you . . .” He clenched his eyes shut. When he opened them again, he registered my completely defeated expression.

He took a deep breath. “I don’t think I’ll ever like this guy. But I’m willing to try.”

I swallowed hard to stop the tears from reaching my eyes. Justin wouldn’t be as courteous of my wishes. Dash was too good a friend, and I put him in a situation—again—where he could’ve been the subject of Justin’s rage. The morning I’d hidden him in my closet flashed in my eyes. I seriously didn’t deserve him.