I fought back tears. “Not ready.”
His hand squeezed mine gently before he lay down beside me on the worn wooden planks. His hand stayed in mine. Even though I was sweating from the heat wave, his shoulder pressing against mine was comforting. I wanted nothing more than to curl up in his arms and stay there. But then he’d know for sure something was wrong; right now he only suspected.
“When you’re ready to talk?” he asked carefully.
“I will.” When I was ready. The back door opened.
“Hey! What are you two doing? There’s pizza!” Ethan shouted from the door.
“How did you get here before them?” I asked, turning my head so I could look at him.
Miles grinned. “I called them from the car.”
I smiled over at him. “Go eat. I want to stay out here a bit longer.”
His eyes searched mine. He had his thinking face on, the one that made the small wrinkle between his eyes. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah.” I squeezed his hand and let him go. He got to his feet then quietly went inside.
I looked up at the fading light again, enjoying the quiet. For a whole three seconds. Ethan towered over me on the dock.
“Beautiful, let’s go,” Ethan told me in his smooth, smoky voice; it rolled over my ears like fog. Ethan was a cutie. His square jaw and straight nose made him good looking. His straight, black, jaw-length hair was back in a ponytail to keep it off his face in this heat. Five silver hoop earrings ran up the lobe of his right ear. His usual black jeans and shirt were now black cargo shorts, a black tank and his black army boots. I grinned up at him. He had to be roasting. Those chocolate eyes met mine and his smile faded. “You okay?”
“Yeah, I just feel like lying here,” I said, turning back to look up at the sky. “It’s a pretty sunset.”
He looked up at the sky and then back down to me. “Yeah, but it’s fucking hot. Want some company?”
I shook my head. “Nah, I’m good. Go eat. I’ll be in soon.”
He shrugged. “Alright.” He headed back inside. I closed my eyes and listened to the frogs croaking. It was quiet for a few minutes.
“Red!” Isaac dropped next to me, shaking the planks beneath us. I smiled as he rolled to his side and braced his jaw on his fist. “What’s up?”
Isaac. Isaac was… well, Isaac. As Ethan’s twin, he had the same straight nose and handsome square jaw. Besides sharing the same athletic build, that’s where the similarities ended. Isaac wore bright colors, his hair was a vibrant blue with darker blue streaks. He was going for a Cookie Monster thing.
“Nothing, just enjoying the sunset,” I told him.
He moved to his back and looked up at the sky. “Huh, it is pretty.” He pointed up to a streak of peach and pink light. “That streak is pretty nifty.”
I smiled. “Aren’t you hungry?”
“Yeah, but Miles said your voice is messed up for good,” he explained. “I wanted to see if you’re okay.”
“I’ll live,” I muttered.
He bumped my shoulder with his. I bumped him back, starting to smile again. “You’re gonna knock me off the dock.”
He moved to his feet and squatted next to me. “Nah.” He reached down, slid his arms under me and lifted me off the planks. Surprised, I squeaked and clung to his shoulders.
“Put me down,” I told him as he straightened and headed towards the house.
“Nope,” he chimed with a smile. “It’s hot, and you’re sulking, so you’re going in with me.”
“I’m not sulking,” I muttered.
“Are too,” he countered. I shot him a glare. He just grinned back at me. Okay, he might have a point. But I think I’m entitled to a little sulk today. There was no point in arguing, we were almost at the house anyway.
The back door opened and Asher walked out. His ocean eyes ran over me, and I mean ocean; he had light blue, dark blue and white flecks in his eyes. They reminded me of a wave crashing. Asher was your classic boy next door, only with model good looks, high cheekbones and a sharp chin. His sandy-blond hair was shorter than this morning. He must have gone to get a trim today. “Are you okay, Ally?” he asked in his rich baritone. His voice was like rich hot chocolate to my ears.
“Yeah, Isaac is being an ass,” I told him.
“Yeah, but we keep him around anyway.” Asher chuckled as he held the door open for Isaac.
Isaac ignored him as he walked in and put me down near the dinner table. “’Cause I’m awesome,” he stated before taking a plate and sitting down.
“Yeah, that, and I’m a sucker,” I shot back. Everyone chuckled as I sat down.
As the night went on, no one seemed to notice that I wasn’t talking as much as usual. At least until Zeke showed up.
He was muttering under his breath as he walked through the great room. I was in the kitchen dishing up ice cream when he went to the sink.
“Hey,” Zeke said in his deep, gravelly voice. Zeke was huge. There was no way to get around it, or him. He was a full foot taller than me; at least he used to be. In the last few months he’d grown a couple of inches and he’d bitched about it the entire time. With his wide shoulders and barrel chest he was hard to miss. A wide, strong jaw and wide cheekbones helped make him even more intimidating. Well, that and the fact he glared at everyone with those sky-blue eyes of his. His black hair wasn’t very long, but it was long enough that you could tell when he’d been running his hands through it. Even though it was roasting, Zeke still wore his black jeans, shirt, boots and wallet chain. I had no idea how he could stand it.
“Hey, want some ice cream?” I asked without turning around.
“Maybe later.” He shut off the water and dried his hands with a paper towel. “How was your doctor appointment?”
I focused on scooping ice cream. “Fine.” My voice had grown raspy. I sighed and took a drink from my now ever-present water bottle.
He turned and faced me then leaned against the counter at my side. “Fine?”
“Yeah.” I finished the bowl I was making. I could feel his stare as I looked over my shoulder towards the others. “Isaac.”
Isaac got up, came into the kitchen and took the ice cream bowl from my hand. “Thanks, Red,” he said sweetly, giving my cheek a raspberry. I rolled my eyes as I began to make my own, while Zeke continued to stand there. He wasn’t pushing, just waiting for me to tell him.
“My voice is permanently damaged,” I muttered as I added cherry ice cream to the chocolate in my bowl. “Now we’re trying to stop more damage.”
He cursed.
“Pretty much,” I muttered as I added Cool Whip.
“What about the other scans?” he asked, keeping his voice quiet.
I looked up and met his blue eyes. Lie or admit I’m not ready to talk? I had already told Miles, so… “I’m not ready to talk about it.”
His brow drew down. His jaw clenched. Usually he would demand that I tell him right away. This was… new. It was several heartbeats before he took a deep breath. “Okay. When you’re ready…”
“I’ll tell you,” I promised. Zeke pushed away from the counter and went to the dinner table with the guys, searching for the remaining pizza.
“How was work?” Rory asked Zeke.
I started looking for the chocolate sprinkles.
After the guys left, I headed upstairs and took a quick shower. I pulled on a cami and cotton pj bottoms before I pulled out my futon. Hades lay down beside me, his head on my stomach so I’d scratch his ears. My head was running in circles again. The guys had been a great distraction, but now… I picked my phone up off the desk and called Jake.
He answered on the third ring. “Hey, sweetness.”
“Hey, sexy.” I smiled. “How are things?”
“The usual,” he grumbled. “Derrick is still flirting with anything that has tits.”
I raised an eyebrow at that. “Still?”
“Yeah!” he snapped. “This time it was the chick at the freaking ice cream shop.”
“What happened?” I asked. That didn’t sound like Derrick to me. Whenever I hung out with them, Derrick only had eyes for Jake. Did something change?