AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What did I do?” I whispered harshly against her cheek, out of breath because God knew whatever I did, the majority of the time it was the wrong thing when it came to Kristen. I didn’t want to fuck this up.
“You stuck up for my bestie.” Her face was calm, lips plump from our mutual mauling and glistening wet.
“Uh huh. Okay. Well, let’s get back to the thank you then.”
She glared, and this time I shuffled us around, thankful we were on the opposite side of the parking lot where the truck and the dumpster were in case anyone came out and saw us. I let my hand cradle her head, protecting her as I pushed her against the hard wall this time, letting my body fall against hers and pressing back.
This girl could be my everything. I didn’t care that she was sixteen and I was seventeen. I wanted to spend every moment I wasn’t playing football with her. I wanted to get back to our tree house and I wanted to make out with her like it could be the last time she granted me this physical space of her presence.
“I hate that we fight and I hate that I hate you,” Kristen said between kisses and wandering hands.
“We don’t have to be like this, snapping at each other nonstop.” I felt her hands roam up and down my chest, settling on my hips and belt loops of my jeans.
“I know, I can’t help it.”
This time I let my hands wander, circling her waist and cupping just under her bra, feeling her up. I yanked on her shirt and let my hand skim her soft stomach before venturing farther. Her breast filled my hand and curved nicely in my palm.
“Damn, Pebbles.” I rubbed a finger over her nipple, earning me a moan and wet open-mouthed kiss that sucked my tongue into her mouth. How easily she made me lose control.
The vibration of my phone pressed into my hip between us.
“Don’t answer it.” Her hands were on me and the phone continued going off.
“One second. Damn it.”
“Shit.” Kristen’s phone was buzzing now and the mood was quickly simmered down from its earlier boil.
I pulled the phone from her back jeans pocket and saw Hunter’s number on it. I handed her the phone, looking confused.
“Hunter?” She pressed the button and answered the call. Her face paled and her eyes rounded, filling with tears.
“What is it? What the fuck is going on?” I watched her pull the phone away, hands shaking. My hands ran down her shaking arms and I shook her to get her attention focused. “Kristen, Pebbles, talk to me.” I was worried and clueless.
“We need a ride to the hospital. Damn it, why didn’t he look for us?” She sniffed and tears dropped from her eyes like falling stars in the night sky.
“Why? Who? You gotta talk to me Kristen.” My panic increased and I didn’t care who found us in the moment or what happened next as long as I could fix it. I needed to fix whatever this was.
“Taylor. Hunter took her to the emergency room. The gumbo had seafood.” I didn’t know what this meant until she elaborated further. “She’s allergic to it. She didn’t have an epi-pen on her.”
“We need to find a ride to get over there. Come on.” I grabbed her hand and ran back inside the dinner, telling Jeremy and Becky they needed to drive us over right then. I was shouting at Jeremy, who wanted to finish his soup first, and I threatened to make him wear it if he didn’t get his ass up and get the car. I didn’t waste time giving him a choice as I threw money down on the table, everything I had in my wallet, and ushered Kristen, who felt icy cold next to me, inside Jeremy’s car. The girls sat in back and I sat in front, yelling directions to Mercy General in Poughkeepsie across the bridge close to twenty minutes away. Jeremy was whining about his probationary license until I locked eyes with him and he shut up, driving.
The entire ride over I felt Kristen slipping away from me. I wanted to hold her hand, but she’d pulled so far emotionally away, as if burned, and wouldn’t relent. It was worse when we got to the hospital. I attempted to put my arm around her and calm her down, but all I got was a dirty look like I was some kind of pervert, and pushed to stand away from her, which I respected.
The only answer I got was a hissed reprimand that if we hadn’t been making out this would have never happened. I knew that wasn’t true, but there was no convincing her once she got the idea into her head. The most important thing right then was making sure Taylor was going to be okay. Maybe she blamed herself? I blamed myself even though I knew eating seafood wasn’t something either of us could have prevented. The rest would come later, or at least I hoped it would.
We waited for hours crowding in the waiting room. It would seem we were further apart now more than ever. Taylor pulled through her allergic reaction just fine, and I was back to being the Devil incarnate without an explanation. Girls made no sense to me at all.
7
Kristen
I was tired from the work week and blew off morning yoga when Taylor texted me the night before to say she wasn’t going in the morning. See… it was already happening: ditching me for dick. I told you it would.
The pounding on my door, however, needed to stop. Whoever was there was lucky I was wearing my pajamas. The rest was a crapshoot, between not having my morning coffee and dragon breath. Taylor and Louisa stood outside my door. Taylor was holding a picnic basket large enough to cover their faces. They peeked around the corner of wicker and a red checked napkin grinning with these stupid smiles too early in the morning which meant one thing… we were going over to Hunter’s jobsite to bring him lunch. Predictable and so cute I feared I had a cavity forming in one of my molars. I did the accounting books for the dentist in town and wondered if I could bump up my six-month cleaning to somewhere around tomorrow.
“Ah, hello Louisa and my best friend turned traitor.” Greeting them, I ushered the girls inside, grousing and in no mood to be friendly.
“Don’
