I heard splashing by the shore as Jase waded into the water, his bare chest on display. I swam towards him. “I’m fine. Told you.”
Jase hauled me into his arms. “I think that’s enough daredeviling for tonight.”
I wrapped my arms around his waist. “Think Mitch and Isaac will keep their traps shut?”
Jase shook his head and nuzzled my neck. “If they don’t, I’ll shut them for them.”
I ran my fingers through his longish, dark hair. “What does it say about me that I support that move?”
He chuckled and kissed me as he strode towards the shore. “That you’re my girl.”
“I am, aren’t I?”
“Forever and a day.”
My stomach gave a healthy flip as if I’d taken another tumble from the rope swing. “Forever and two days.”
“Deal.”
Isaac chuckled. “Does she wear his balls on that necklace of hers?”
Jase smirked at him. “I know you’re jealous that you don’t have a girl as hot as mine, but you don’t have to be so obvious about it.”
“Whatever,” he muttered, but I swore I saw a red stain rise to his cheeks.
Mitch studied me as if I were a bug. “How the hell did you do that?”
“You should’ve taken gymnastics with me in elementary school like your mom wanted.”
Jase snorted but pulled me in closer to his side.
“Oh my God, Laik. Did you just flip off that rope swing?” Marisa’s voice cut through the night as she stepped out of the trees, readjusting her clothes.
Scott wrapped an arm around his girlfriend and shot me a grin. “Of course, she did. She’s a badass.”
“And I have video proof, so that fact will live on in infamy,” Lisbeth said, holding up her cell.
Scott mirrored the move with his phone. “Jax just texted. There’s a party at the farmhouse. We should go.”
Jase frowned at Scott. “My brother’s throwing a party?”
“Said your aunt was looking the other way for the evening.”
Jase’s aunt, Gillian, was always left to look in on Jase and Jax when their parents went out of town for their sister Serena’s cheer competitions. Even though Jax was twenty, and Jase was eighteen, their parents didn’t trust them not to wreck the place. They could’ve trusted Jase, but Jax was a whole other story.
“He’s su
ch an idiot,” Jase grumbled. “I’m not covering for him this time. Can I stay at your place tonight? Your mom won’t mind if I crash on the couch.”
She wouldn’t. She was so wrapped up in her world; she probably wouldn’t notice if I didn’t come home for days. The Grangers weren’t like that. Jase’s parents, Kay and Chip, cared. Even if their family wasn’t perfect, their love for each other was clear as day.
Only lately, that love seemed to be fraying around the edges in a way that gave me a stomachache. There were more raised voices and storming out of rooms. And it almost always revolved around something Jax had done. I nibbled on the corner of my lip. “Maybe we should go. We can make sure nothing gets too out of control.”
A muscle in Jase’s cheek fluttered. “There’s no way it won’t get out of hand. I should just call the cops now and get it over with.”
Scott flipped Jase off. “Don’t cockblock. Some of us want to have fun tonight.”
I glared at him.