AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Hey Pika ... I guess I can't call you that anymore, can I? I joke, grabbing his shoulders when he finally puts my feet back on the ground. His arms are full of muscle, and I know he has been breaking hearts since I saw him last.
"Not so little anymore, that's for sure. How the hell have you been?" Is he asking because Colton hasn't told him that we saw each other recently? I am out of the Reeve brother loop now and don't know what to expect from them.
"I've been really good. I opened a flower shop believe it or not." It feels surreal talking about my business, but the more I settle into it, the more proud I become of the path I am on.
"Colton mentioned that he saw you there. I will have to stop by soon."
"Oh yeah? Do you have a special lady in your life?" It's intrusive but I can't help but fall into old routines. I want to know the men that have sprouted from the boys I once knew.
"No special lady for me, but Lucas is married! Can you believe it? He found someone to deal with his annoying ass for the rest of her life."
I change my attention to Lucas, who is knee deep in conversation with Colton. I catch a few words about putting and driving and something about birdies. I don't want to interrupt their bonding moment, so instead I turn my attention back to Ashton.
"She probably tasted your mom's cooking and knew she had to stick around." I push his shoulder and he pretends to stumble backwards, no way that my small amount of force could move a person as big as him. I still can't believe he is nineteen. The build of his body and chisel of his face makes him look older than he is but without any facial hair, he still has a youngness to him.
"Do you want to come in with us?" Ashton asks and I move my gaze to Colton to see if he heard the question. Our eyes talk without our mouths moving. I wish my eyes could say all that I haven't been brave enough to speak out loud - the biggest one beingI'm sorry. The words never seem to be able to come out when I am around him. And now, being around him and his brothers brings me back to the time before I had to apologize in the first place. It's almost enough to erase it from my mind.
When Ash invited me to the corn maze, I almost didn't come along. This place brings back memories, especially ones with Delaney Thorne. For three years of my life, I spent most of my time with her. And getting lost in the rows of corn at night was one of my favorite ways to spend it. Finding her in the dark, searching for her lips with only the moonlight to guide me and her laughter bouncing around the field. I always found her, one way or another. We always find each other, like a flower searching for sunlight. Even now, here she is, doing her best to avoid me and failing miserably.
I move my body behind her, pretending like it's the crowd forcing me this close. She smells amazing, like flowers, fresh autumn air and bad decisions.
"Should we use our old strategy when we get in there?" I ask, whispering against the shell of her ear. The shiver that shakes her body is a good sign. I still affect her.
"I wouldn't exactly call it a strategy, Colt. We would get as lost as we possibly could and then wait until right before closing and somehowwander back out." She turns her head towards me, and I can feel her breath on my lips, a warm contrast to the chilling night air.
"You forgot a step." Her throat strains with a hard swallow and my eyes watch the movement, my tongue coming out to lick my lips.
"Do you need a reminder?" It's taking every part of me to not reach out and kiss her. I want her lips on mine and fuck if it's not making me ignore everyone around us. My brothers, the crowd of strangers lost in their own conversations. None of them matter. It's just her and I.
"It's our turn!" Ashton's voice causes Delaney to blink, her dark eyelashes fluttering with the rapid motion.
She turns away from me, but not before I see how quickly her chest is rising and falling.You can't hide it from me, Delaney. I know you better than you remember.She links her arm with Ashton's and my fists light on fire with the desire to punch him.
Hard.
In the face.
We file into the starting point of the maze, one of three possible entrances. The goal is that you find your way to one of the other openings to exit from. The rough cornstalk leaves dangle into the pathway, brushing against us as we enter.
After a few steps, we are at our first intersection. Left, right, or straight. The odds split on which way to go, the scales even.
"Which way guys?" Delaney asks, the excitement in her voice building. This has always been one of her favorite things, and even though some things about her have changed over the years, this is one that hasn't.
In true Reeve brother fashion, we all choose differently and Delaney plants her hands on her hips ready to lecture us about getting along or some shit. Lucas, being the oldest, wants to go right because he thinks he is always right of course. Ashton wants to go straight, keeping on the easiest path. And I want to go left. Because she left me or because
"We have to agree! We can't go three different directions - that defeats the point of us sticking together."
"Which way do you want to go?" I ask, knowing she can convince us all to follow her if she says the word.
"I don - well, at first I thought left." Her eyes meet mine with her answer because it's the same one I gave.
"Then let's go left," I take a step towards her in a show of support.
"We could always split up and make it interesting. Race to the finish. The losing team buys the first round of drinks after?" my little brother chimes in, always the competitive one, turning anything into a game if he can get away with it.
"Dibs on Ashton's team," Lucas takes charge in his typical oldest sibling way.
Delaney wastes no time linking arms with Ash and pulling him in the opposite direction of where she said she wanted to go, moving straight into the maze without looking back at me or Lucas.
