Jack Hammer (11 page)

15

CHELSEY

I LEARNED A FEW THINGS ABOUT MYSELF
at the farm party with Josh. One: I can’t handle my liquor. Like, at all. Like, I should never be allowed to smell it, much less drink it. I don’t think I’ll be doing the whole drinking thing again for a long time, if ever.

Two: I’m completely incapable of turning down a dare. As in, I couldn’t have said no if I wanted to. The adrenaline. The rush of doing something so completely against my character—it was a hell of ride—a ride I never wanted to get off of.

But the biggest thing I learned, was Blaine cared about me. Regardless of the things he said to me when he went all Incredible Hulk on Josh, he cared. He said I was nothing to him. He said those words, and I could tell by the conviction in his voice he meant them when he said them.

His words hurt. They sent me on a downward spiral for the rest of the night. From that point on, I drank whatever was handed to me. I was a smart girl. I knew everything I was doing was stupid, but that’s what Blaine did to me. He turned me into a stupid mess of a girl—one who wanted to make bad choices just to show him I could—just to make him crazy.

The four-wheelers roared into the night as different people raced each other in a pit full of mud. I’d heard of people doing the mud bogging thing. I mean, I did live in the south after all, but I’d never seen it firsthand. It actually looked like a ton of fun.

“I’m jealous of four-wheelers,” Josh slurred at my side.

I turned to face him, and he was shaking his head.  His soft smile did absolutely nothing for me. It was nothing like the mysterious smirk Blaine gave me. It didn’t make me wonder what he was thinking. Honestly, I didn’t care about what Josh was thinking at all. The only reason I was even there was because I’d promised Lynn I’d try to have fun.

“Why?” I asked.

“Because you haven’t taken your eyes off of them all night,” he said. “I want some of that attention for myself.”

I hated when he talked to me like that. He’d been flirting all night, and all night I managed to blow it off. But the more he drank, the more vulgar he became. The more vulgar he became, the more he touched me. And the more he touched me, the more I found myself pulling away from him.

His hands felt wrong against my skin—they felt clammy and gross. The spark I felt when Blaine touched me was absent, and it made me feel dirty and cheap. Although, that could’ve had more to do with the outfit I let Lynn pick out for me.

My jeans were too tight, and my shirt was too low. I found myself constantly pulling it up to hide the tiny bit of cleavage Josh kept staring at. All in all, my night of fun was a bust, but at least the liquor Josh kept feeding me took the sting of boredom away.

“I just think it looks fun,” I mumbled, shrugging.

Again, his eyes moved over my chest prompting to me to adjust my shirt for the hundredth time.

“You want to ride one?” he asked, licking his thin, cracked lips.

“Oh no, I couldn’t,” I replied.

“Oh come on, Chelsey,” his slur deepened. “Live a little.”

Peer pressure was a bitch. Still, I shook my head and looked away at the scene in front of us.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I said into my cup.

“I dare you to drive it.”

And that was all it took.

A thrill I hadn’t felt all night, except for when I was arguing with Blaine, filled me. The alcohol swimming in my veins loosened me up and made my decision making abilities moot.

I giggled. “Don’t dare me, Josh.”

His brows lifted when he realized he was getting somewhere.

“Fine,” he breathed. “I double dog dare you.”

I laughed. “What are you, five?”

His eyes wrinkled with his laughter. “Nope. It’s just I can see the excitement in your eyes, Chelsey. I know you want to ride it.”

He said
it
as if he was talking about something sexual. A disgusted chill moved through me.

And then he stood and started toward the guys who were basically running the four-wheelers. I was right on his heels.

“No, Josh. Just forget it. This is stupid.” I was out of breath from trying to keep up with him. That, and from the excitement that was blooming within.

“Don’t be such a chicken,” he goaded.

I followed behind him until my feet were sinking into the mud of the pit—until we were standing beside one of the four-wheelers, the engine humming and ready to be revved up and driven.

“I’m not doing this,” I said, as I watched a girl wrapped in pink camouflage climb on the other four-wheeler, a daring smile on her lips as she looked over at me.

“You are. You want to. Just do it,” he urged.

I bit into my bottom lip, the excitement within exploding and forcing me to move. And then I was climbing onto the cushioned seat and straddling the four-wheeler.

It vibrated between my legs sending a jolt of sensation through me that made me smile. I tried to listen as a guy everyone called Swamp Cat went over the gears and how to drive it. I had no idea what he was saying. All I know is when they said
go
I flicked my wrist and hit the gas.

The four-wheeler jerked as I took off, the wind whipping my ponytail around. For a few brief minutes, I felt more alive than I had in my entire life. The engine rumbled with life. The rush of cool air over my skin cleansed me. And the coursing adrenaline made me feel higher than anyone at the party.

It was great. Better than great. It was amazing.

That was until everything went wrong and I felt myself flying through the air. The adrenaline was replaced with fear as the world turned and twisted before my eyes. And then the world went black and I was met with a never-ending silence.

The ground was hard beneath me. My lungs ached to breathe. My heartbeat was ripping through my body at a high rate of speed, but still, I refused to open my eyes and acknowledge what I’d just done. I’d wrecked some poor guy’s four-wheeler, and I was sure I broke something in my ankle. The pain radiated up my calf and throbbed with the beat of my heart.

And then I sensed him. His familiar scent invaded me and his warm breath moved over my face sending calm through my core.

Opening my eyes, Blaine was staring down at me, worry etched in his brow. He was breathing hard, his breath coming out in white puffs of smoke in the night air around us. His calloused fingers moved over my cheeks, wiping mud from my face, leaving warmth in their stead.

“Chelsey,” he whispered.

His voice cracked with emotion I didn’t understand, and then he was touching my face again.

I blinked as the world around us came back into focus, and suddenly the sounds of everyone who was standing around us came in clearer and clearer. I pressed my hands into the ground at my sides to push myself into seated position, and mud squished between my fingers. My eyes moved over Blaine’s concerned face before I let them slide over to the four-wheeler lying on its back beside us.

“Oh my God,” I rasped.

I could hardly believe I’d done something so stupid—that I’d put myself in so much danger. But a dare was a dare, and I was dumb enough to go along with it.

My head spun, and I reached out to smooth away the sharp pain that moved across my skull. The buzz from the alcohol Josh fed me had dissolved from the shock of the accident, and slowly twinges of pain moved into the rest of my body as I moved to stand.

Eyes of strangers stared down at me, but it was only Blaine I could see.

“Let me help you,” he said, reaching under my arms and lifting me to a standing position.

His voice was quiet, his eyes softer, and I knew something had changed from the last time we spoke.

“You’re bleeding,” he said.

Reaching down, he pulled his shirt over his head and off his body, revealing a perfect set of olive-colored abs. They rippled and flexed as he balled his shirt up and placed it against the side of my forehead to soak up my blood.

My eyes roamed over his skin and a heated blush covered my cheeks. He smirked down at me as if he knew my train of thought.

He leaned in, his blue eyes darkening. “Don’t look at me like that, Little Doe. You don’t understand what you’re eyes are asking me for.”

I didn’t respond. Instead, I let him swoop me into his arms and carry me toward the parking area.

“Shit. Is she okay?” Josh asked, running up beside Blaine and me.

“Get the fuck away from her. I’ll deal with you later,” Blaine said.

And something told me had he not had his arms full of me he would’ve made good on his earlier promise to beat the crap out of Josh.

I lifted my head to say something to Josh, but before I could, Blaine stopped me.

“Shhh. Don’t talk. I’m taking you to the hospital.”

Real panic set in. I couldn’t go to the hospital. My parents didn’t know I wasn’t home. Already they were driving me crazy with their rules. They’d gotten worse since the police brought me home from my date with Blaine. I didn’t think I could take it if things got even stricter at home.

“No!” I called out, pressing my hand to Blaine’s chest. He looked down at me with question in his eyes. “My parents will find out,” I clarified.

He pulled open the passenger’s side door of his car and set me carefully inside. I felt terrible about getting mud on his seats and floor, but he acted as if he couldn’t care less.

“Chelsey, I’m sorry, but you’re going to the hospital.”

And then he shut the door in my face before I could argue and ran around to the driver’s side door.

He slid into the car and brought his engine to life, the roar much louder than any four-wheeler, and then he peeled away from the party, leaving Josh and everyone else behind without a second thought.

16

BLAINE

EVEN THOUGH IT WAS THE LAST THING
I wanted to do¸ I called Chelsey’s parents. It’s not like I had a choice since the hospital was going to anyway. She was just three weeks shy of her eighteenth birthday, which meant legally they had to call.

She wasn’t too happy about it, and she begged me not to be the one to call, but I wasn’t a bitch boy. I wasn’t about to drop her at the hospital like a sack of potatoes and not be there for her. I knew her mother wasn’t going to be too happy she was with me, but it was a chance I was willing to take.

I’d decided after her accident I wasn’t going to let her out of my sight. Then I decided in the silent car on the way to the hospital that I wanted to be with her, and being with her meant dealing with her parents—showing them I could be good for her. Leaving her to clean up a mess alone wasn’t good for her. It wasn’t the responsible thing to do, and for Chelsey I wanted to be responsible.

I stood to the side as the doctor examined her head, and my abdominal muscles tensed every time she flinched in pain. I didn’t like that shit one bit. Every time it happened I wanted to drive back to the farm and beat the shit out of Josh for allowing this to go so far. He should’ve protected her better. He should’ve been smarter.

“Well, Miss Ford, we’re going to need to x-ray that ankle and get a CT scan just to be on the safe side,” the doctor said.

He made notes on his clipboard before looking up with a confident smile. Chelsey nodded and tucked a muddy, stray piece of hair that managed to escape her ponytail behind her ear. The doctor patted her on the back before leaving us alone in the room.

“Thanks for bringing me here,” she said.

She was nibbling on her bottom lip and avoiding eye contact.

“What were you thinking, Chelsey?” I asked. “You could’ve killed yourself.”

She looked down and twisted her fingers in her lap. “I was thinking I wanted to do something fun. Lynn says I never do anything fun. Plus, I needed something to take my mind off some frustrations in my life.”

I shook my head and sighed. “What’s so fucking frustrating in your life that you put yourself in danger to escape it?” I asked.

I was beginning to feel frustrated myself. Now that my anger had subsided and my high had vanished I was thinking more clearly. All I could think about was how much worse it could’ve been.

“You,” she whispered. “You frustrate me beyond belief.”

My stomach felt as if it dropped, and I swallowed hard to clear the knot in my throat. Everything that happened from the moment I helped pick up her books flashed through my mind. I felt desperate to be close to her—to touch her skin and feel her against mine.

I moved closer, running my finger down the side of her face and over a crusted piece of mud that was stuck to her flushed skin. She looked up at me—her eyes clashing with mine. I watched as she swallowed hard, her throat moving up and down.

“You’re pretty frustrating, too, you know?” I rasped.

I didn’t stop at her cheek. Instead, I let my finger drift down the side of her neck where her pulse was banging against her delicate skin.

“I am?”

I moved closer again, my thighs brushing against the bed she was sitting on. Losing my fingers in her muddy hair, I used the heel of my hand to lift her chin.

“Very. You make me crazy, Chelsey.”

My honesty was deafening. It echoed off the walls and cut through the silence of the room around us. Again, she nervously began to nibble on her bottom lip as she looked up at me through her dark lashes. She had no idea the affect she had on me.

“Like that,” I said, pulling her bottom lip from her teeth with my thumb. “It drives me crazy when you bite your lip like that. It makes me think about kissing you again, and that’s something I can’t do.”

She licked her lips before releasing a hard breath that I felt against the pad of my thumb.

“You can’t?” she asked as her brow dipped in confusion.

“No.”

“Why not?”

She surprised me with her question. I could tell by the acceleration of her pulse and her dilated eyes that she wanted me to kiss her.

“Because I’m afraid if I do, I won’t be able to stop.”

I leaned in closer. Her sweet scent mixed with the earthy smell of the dirt caked on her swirled all around me. She blinked, her big, brown eyes glazed over and stimulated, and she leaned in closer to me, as well.

“I don’t know that I’d want you to stop,” she whispered.

I was close enough to feel her soft breaths against my mouth, and I swallowed hard just thinking about pressing my mouth to hers.

“You don’t know? Maybe we should try it out and see what you think then?”

I didn’t wait for her to respond. Instead, I moved in, pressing my lips to hers and swallowing the tiny moan that slipped from her. Running my tongue long the seam of her lips, she gasped, letting me move in and taste her.

My tongue swirled around hers—so soft and sweet—sending shivers down my body in a way no other girl ever had. I groaned when she cupped my cheek before losing her fingers in the hair on the back of my head.

I took my time, showing her with my kiss what she did to me—showing her how crazy she made me. And again, she gave as good as she got, thrusting her tongue into my mouth and sucking on my bottom lip.

My body hardened, and knew I was getting entirely too carried away in the hospital. Not to mention, I expected her parents to show up at any minute.

Pulling away, I pressed my forehead to hers and caught my breath with closed eyes. She continued to rub the side of my face before she leaned in once more and pressed a soft, chaste kiss to my lips.

“Chelsey?” I opened my eyes and looked into hers.

“Yeah?”

“You’re mine,” I stated.

I didn’t care if I sounded demanding. I only cared that she knew from that moment on she was mine. As in, no other guy was taking her anywhere else. I didn’t care about what her parents thought. All I cared about was marking her with my lips and keeping her as my own. We’d deal with the rest later, once I knew she was okay and safe in her bed.

“I am?” She grinned up at me and released a tiny chuckled.

I didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”

“Does that mean you’re mine?” she asked, her eyes moving over my face and looking right through me.

I nodded. “Definitely. I have been since the first moment I saw you.”

Cupping her cheeks, I pulled her face to mine and kissed her again, finalizing the beginning of our relationship with the deep caresses of my tongue against hers. She gripped my hands on the sides of her face and kissed me back.

Commotion sounded from just outsider the room we were in, and we jerked apart when the door flew open revealing her parents. They stood there looking back at us with appalled expressions.

I stepped away from her bed, thankful I’d remembered to put my shirt back on regardless of the fact that it was covered in Chelsey’s blood.

Lifting my chin, I didn’t blink as I matched her mother’s stare.

“Mr. and Mrs. Ford, my name’s Blaine. It’s nice to finally meet you.” I held my hand out to her father who looked down at it like it was a poisonous snake.

I swallowed hard, and dropped my hand to my side when I realized he wasn’t going to shake it. Her mother’s eyes moved over me as if I was the trash her maid had taken out the week before, and I looked down at my bloody shirt with disdain.

“Chelsey,” her mother’s voice rang out. “Say goodbye to your little friend. It’s bound to be the last time you ever see him.”

I lifted my head swiftly, my eyes clashing with Chelsey’s, and I knew in that moment that it didn’t matter what her parents said. She was mine, and I’d do whatever it took to see her again.