“Asshole.” She punched him in the shoulder before she remembered what he said about being achy. Honestly, she didn’t know how on earth he found the strength and fortitude to come with her. When she was sick, she wanted to do nothing but curl into a ball and sleep until her body felt like it hadn’t been railroaded over. “Oh no! I’m sorry.”
He grinned and swiped the back of his hand over his forehead. “No harm done. Seriously, no offense, but you hit like a girl.” He bent and whispered in her ear again, his hot breath sending delicious shivers down her spine. “My favorite girl.”
Those words should not have sounded so dark and naughty, especially in her parent’s house when Trace wasn’t even well. “The bathroom is just right down the hall to the left. Do you want to splash some cold water on your face?”
“Why? Am I a hot mess?”
“Never. Although, hot yes. I could bring you a cold cloth…”
“Stop worrying.” He captured her hand and brought it to his lips. She shivered again as he traced his overtly warm lips against her knuckle. “Everything is going to be fine, my goddess. And I still want you to give me a few of those sexual favors later.”
“I think you should rest later.”
“I can sleep when I’m dead.”
“No way. I need you tomorrow. Seriously.” She pressed her lips together. “You can stay over tonight, if you want, but you have to get some rest. I want you to feel better, not worse. We can save the pleasure for tomorrow night, after we conquer the world- or at least Twin Falls, ten-year reunion. Who even has ten-year reunions?”
“Now don’t go getting sensible on me when we’ve come up with this great plan. If some dorkus didn’t plan it to strut her vain self in front of everyone, we never would have met.”
Ash froze. “You know, you have a point.” Geez. She really shouldn’t be a weepy, girly, melting mess inside at those words. She recovered quickly and flashed Trace a devious grin. “You might want to wash your hands. My brother is a bit of a man whore. Who knows what you contracted during that bro handshake.”
Trace laughed and the sound filled up the whole hallway. God, she’d miss that laugh. What the hell? No, no way. She couldn’t go there. Not when she still had an evening with her family to get through. She was not going to give in to the tears that suddenly threatened or do an evaluation as to why that thought made her body ache like she was the one who was sick.
“I’ve never had an STD before.”
“No?” She furrowed her brow suspiciously.
“No.” Trace held up his hands in a gesture of innocence. “Although, how bad can it really be?”
“No. No, no, no,” Ash giggled. She swatted at Trace one more time. “Go and wash up in the bathroom. Take your time. Feel better. Hell, take a cold shower if you need one. I’ll just tell my mom that she’ll need a strong dose of deodorizer before anyone can go in there again.”
“Did you just make a poop joke?” Trace scoffed in disbelief.
Ash burst out laughing. “Yeah, I guess I did. It’s this place. My brother is already a bad influence on me.”
She swore she could hear Trace’s laugh even after he’d walked away and shut the bathroom door. She stayed there, staring at the empty hall like a lovesick fool. Of course, he popped his head out of the bathroom and scared her half to death. Mostly she was just embarrassed to have been caught, still there, like some weird creepy statue.
“Maybe there’s hope for you yet,” he mouthed before he shut the door behind him.
CHAPTER 12
Trace
Trace leaned back in his chair, absolutely stuffed.
Considering he came with no appetite, the food was amazing. He’d certainly eaten enough. Ash kept sending him looks, silently asking if he was going to make it out alive. He kept sending looks back, reassuring her that everything was going to be okay.
He’d somehow managed to survive getting his ass kicked at every single game he and Ash and Jason played before dinner. He didn’t mind. Losing was just fine by him, because it was even better to sit there and watch Ash giggle and smile and laugh. She came out of her shell with her brother. She was funnier, not so proper, not wound up so tight.
It made his chest hurt- in a good way, being there with Ash and her family. He’d never been invited, as a boyfriend, to a girl’s house to meet her parents. It never got that far. Most women weren’t interested in him as a person. They were interested in him as a dollar sign. Even before he made his money, the invites weren’t forthcoming. He’d been too young then, not interested in anything beyond a few dates and a good time. He’d never used anyone though. He made sure his girlfriends were on the same page. It was ironic, that later the tables were turned on him and he couldn’t find something or someone real, even when he wanted it.