Fighting (38 page)

We
drove until we found the parking lot of an out-of-the-way upscale junkyard /
mechanic's shop.  Ethan parked the bike on the street and as the sun wasn't
even close to rising yet, it was deserted.  We popped the lock on the fence and
snuck inside.  I was impressed because it was actually kind of organized with
fixed vehicles on the left side of the lot and trashed vehicles on the right. 
We scanned the left side for an ideal vehicle and Ethan pointed to a truck, but
my eyes were glued to a four wheel drive SUV with a removable hard top.  And it
was black, my favorite.  I ghosted up to it and peered in the window
excitedly.  I turned around and Ethan was standing directly behind me, looking
over my shoulder.

"It's
stick!" I cried out happily.

"It
doesn't take much to make you happy," he said.

"Not
when the promise of it is so sweet, I feel it in my teeth."  I scrunched
my nose a snapped my teeth at him twice.

He
smiled and urged me around to the driver's side door.  He popped the lock,
pushed me into the driver's seat and kneeled by my side to pull out the wires
below the dashboard.  He walked me through how to bypass the ignition and flip
the engine on using the wires.  I was wearing a huge, eager smile and when he
glanced up at me, he shook his head and laughed softly.  He jogged around to
the other side and stowed our bags in the backseat.  He wiped down the bike
clean of our prints and hopped in with me.  I shifted into gear and left the
parking lot behind.

I
found the highway that took us in the general direction of the coast and
stopped at the first twenty four hour gas station I found.  I waited by the
pump as he ran in to pay for the gas and a map.  He pumped the gas and I spread
the map over the hood of the car.  He ran his finger along the map to show me
the route we needed to take.

Once
back inside the car, I said, "You sleep."

He
rubbed his eyes tiredly.  "You sure?"

"No
worries."

"Wake
me if you get sleepy," he said.

He
crossed his arms and reclined in his seat so that he could relax.  I turned to
the radio and saw that it had one of those cigarette burner adapters for an MP3
player.  I twisted in my seat to grab mine and hook it up.  I set it to play my
yoga playlist because I loved the music and it would probably be soothing to
Ethan.  I drove back onto the highway and we were officially on our way to the
coast.  I glanced at Ethan and his eyes were already closed.  I rested my hand
on the gear shift ball and hummed along to the music.

In
the hard light of day, it was difficult to reconcile our relationship changing
when I spent all of this time under the impression that he didn't have feelings
for me.  But then suddenly he did?  I was trying not to be a total girl and
overanalyze everything he said or did, but it was so easy to fall into that
trap.  I was still wary of settling if he was just in it for fun but I wasn't
about to ask his intentions.  

When
the sun had risen in the sky, we were almost halfway there.  He woke up and fiddled
with my music playlist and changed it to hard rock.  We didn't talk much and
what we did say was mostly inconsequential.  We were supposed to talk about
what happened between us and the things we said in the heat of the moment.  We
were completely alone and encased in privacy, so this was the perfect
opportunity to talk but we were both silent, which wasn't exactly a good sign. 
I waited on him to bring it up but he was content to ride in silence.

I
was hoping that he wouldn't change his mind about me, because I didn't think I
could make myself forget the brush of his lips over my skin or the feel of his
fingers threading through my hair.  I would never be able to escape the memory
of the way he looked down at me as he hovered his body over mine.  There simply
was no turning back for me now.

"This
is it.  The town," Ethan said. 

"Finally,"
I muttered.  "Where do you think the others are?  They haven't called,
have they?" I asked, suddenly aware of just how loud the music in the car
was. 

He
riffled through my messenger bag until he found the burner cell.  He flipped it
open and checked the call log.  "Nope."

We
lost some time trying to find the cabin because we didn't want to stop and ask
for directions, wanting to stay as low profile as possible.  It was isolated,
but the neighbors weren't terribly far away.  I pulled into the long driveway
and we both sat up straight and took notice of two things.  One, both the house
and the view were beautiful.  Two, there was already a car in the driveway. 

Ethan
didn't take his eyes off the other car as he drew his weapon.  I slowed our SUV
to a crawl and lifted the hand brake.  I left the engine running and we shared
a loaded glance before slithering out and stealthily approaching the car. 
There was no one inside, so we circled the perimeter of the house, looking for
anything suspect.  I motioned for Ethan to follow me to the deck at the back of
the house.  We swept along the wall toward the sliding door and froze when we
heard it open.  I saw a foot push through the doorframe and we both aimed our
guns toward where the guy's head was going to be.  And then we both relaxed.

"One
of these days, I'm going to shoot you on accident," I said.

Spencer
jumped a foot in the air and whirled on us, his steak knife two seconds from
whizzing through the air and toward my head.

"Dude,"
Spencer yelled, affronted.  He bent at the waist and put a hand over his heart
like he almost had a heart attack.  Then his face cleared and he straightened
and pointed at us with his index finger.  "Dude!" he cried out
happily.  He ducked his head back inside and yelled, "August, Alex and
Ethan are here!"

We
heard a squeal from inside and I chuckled.  I flicked the safety switch of my
gun back on and tucked it in my jeans almost out of habit.  "Anyone else
here yet?" I asked.

Spencer
shook his head.  "Just me and August.  Brooks is supposed to show up
either tomorrow or the next day.  Haven't talked to him because we didn't
really hit any problems we couldn't solve on our own."

August
sprinted out onto the deck and right into our arms, hugging us simultaneously. 
"Missed you guys!" she chirped. 

Whoa. 
That was the loudest I'd ever heard her speak.  Spencer must have rubbed off on
her.

She
stepped back and took us in.  "You guys get here okay?  No problems?"
she asked.  I wanted to laugh because she sounded like an attentive hostess
whose home we were visiting for the holidays. 

"We're
still alive," Ethan said.  He skimmed his hand down the back of my arm and
I quickly crossed my arms and stood out of his reach, which wasn't nearly as
subtle as I was going for.  Ethan gave me a peculiar look but let it slide.

"I'll
park the car and get our bags," he said.

He
turned to leave and I stared after him 'cause the view wasn't bad there,
either.  I turned back around and Spencer was oblivious to his surroundings, as
usual.  But August was looking at me curiously and instantly, I felt panic,
thinking that she somehow knew about me and Ethan and our early morning tryst. 

I
steadfastly ignored her and wound my arm around Spencer's.  I directed him
toward the house and told him to give me a tour.  August followed after us and
I prayed she wouldn't ask any questions that I wasn't ready to answer yet. 
Because hell, I didn't
have
any answers.

"Pretty
straight forward setup.  One level, but very spacious.  Only four bedrooms, so
a few will have to share but the beds are big so that won't really be a
problem."

Ethan
came inside with our bags and zeroed in on my arm around Spencer's.  He blinked
at me blankly and then turned to August. 

"Which
rooms have you guys already taken?" he asked her.

"The
first two on the left.  There are two more across the hall from those you guys
can use.  We'll figure out who will share when Brooks and Ollie show up,"
she said.

Without
even glancing at me, Ethan said, "That's okay, we'll just --"

"Move
our bags when the time comes," I hastily interrupted.  I quickly stepped
forward and stole my bag from him, which was really our bag, but it felt like
mine.  "I'll just get settled in my room."

I
fled the room and escaped into the first empty bedroom I found.  I pushed my
door so that it was almost touching the frame and fell heavily to my new bed. 
And then I realized that I just gave August the perfect opportunity to question
Ethan.  I sprung up from the bed and all but ran back into the living room,
feeling uncharacteristically jittery.  Ethan passed me on my way out of the
hallway and I avoided his eyes.  He didn't say anything and I glanced back to
watch him enter the last free bedroom.

I
found Spencer in the kitchen and hopped up on the counter.  My feet kicked
around and drew his attention.  If I was fidgety enough to attract Spencer's
attention, I knew it was too much.  I took care to calm my nerves and movements
and focused on his face.

"So
what's good to eat around here?" I asked.  "I'm starving and I'm sure
Ethan is, too."

"I
just put two steaks on the grill for August and me.  That's why I was walking
out to the deck with a knife in my hand.  There's really nothing else here
except for canned foods.  We've been eating so much fast food, I promised her
I'd cook her a steak when we made it here," he explained.

"That's
sweet," I said.

He
made a face.  "It's delicious is what it is.  And sorry, but we're not
sharing."  He handed me a soda and a glass of ice.  "So how was your
trip with Ethan?  Anything new to report?"

"Like
what?" I asked, flirting with being downright paranoid.

"Like
bullet wounds or stacks of cash," he said.

Ethan
and August chose that moment to wander into the kitchen.  Ethan opened and
closed cabinets until he found the cups. 

"Nope,"
I said.  "Well, actually we do have a lot of leftover cash.  Other than
that, absolutely no news to report."

Ethan
was lowering a cup to the counter when he froze his movements for an entire two
seconds.  He kept his eyes on his hands and resumed filling his glass with
ice.  He snagged a soda and left the room without so much as recognizing our
presence with a glance.

"Any
good take out around here?  Maybe delivery?" I asked August.

"We
ate some Chinese take-out last night that was amazing.  I'll get the menu for
you."

She
left in search of the menu and I let my vision blur the gorgeous view of the
ocean though the sliding door.  And then it hit me just how sick I was of being
trapped in rooms, looking through glass at beautiful images that I couldn't
touch.  I palmed the counter and jumped off, heading straight for the deck,
blind to my surroundings.  I sat down on a deck chair and removed my boots and
socks.  I rolled my jeans up and put my hair in a loose ponytail to combat the
strong breeze, then put a foot on the first step down to the ocean but was
stopped by a hand. 

"Going
to the ocean?" August asked.

"Yeah,"
I said.  "Been a really long time since I've been to the coast."

"I
have some shorts you can borrow."

I
looked down at my rolled up black skinny jeans that I'd be wearing for hours. 
"That'd be great," I said gratefully.

I
followed her inside and Spencer pointed to the menu August had left on the
counter.  "Oh, right," I said. 

I
went in search of Ethan to ask what he wanted for lunch.  He wasn't in sight,
so I went straight to his room.  His door was shut, and we had been deprived of
actual privacy for so long that I almost walked right in.  I stopped myself
just in time and raised my fist to knock on his door.  It opened before I made
contact and he looked at me expectantly.  He didn't pull me inside the room or
touch me, like he did early this morning.  He just watched me vacantly.

I
felt a massive weight settle in my gut and I actually considered the horrific
thought that I dreamed everything that happened between us. 

"What
do you want for lunch?" I asked.

He
backed away to sit on the edge of his bed and fixed his stare on the menu in my
hand.  "Chinese," I said, offering up the menu for him to grab.  It
took me a moment to realize he was ten feet away and not within reaching
distance anymore.  He made no move to come toward me and my feet felt like
cement blocks.  I held it out for another awkward second before I placed it on
the desk near the door.

He
clasped his hands together and looked at the floor.  I literally bit my tongue
to keep from saying anything stupid or infuriating as he continued to sit there
mutely.  My throat felt like it was closing up so I knew I had to leave. 
"Let me know what you want," I said weakly.  I pivoted on my heel and
left.

"Alex,"
he called.  I stopped and twisted my neck to look at him.  "We need to
talk," he said grimly.