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Chapter 2
We spent almost two hours in the car together before pulling into a gravel parking lot. If I hadn’t been paying attention, I would have missed where he was going to get off of the road, but I caught it at the last second. The parking lot was tiny and snuggled tight in some trees, but he managed to get his little car up into it without any problem.
Leaning forward in my seat, I tried to see exactly where we were going, but I’d never been there before. Everything was lush and green, but I had no idea what he was planning. My heart fluttered hard in my chest as I tried to fight down my excitement.
My jaw dropped open when I saw that the only other vehicle in the parking lot was a limo. Kaleb and Jackie had beaten us there, and my heart started to pound in my chest as I thought about being reunited with my boys.
“I had really hoped that we’d get here first and I would have some time with you to myself. But I think that the guys were just as eager to see you as I was.” Brett grinned at me as he pulled smoothly into a spot by the limo, then leaned over and took me by the chin. “You have no idea how good it is to see you, Rose, really.”
The touch of his fingers on my skin was searing hot and I gasp, my eyes focusing on his. Everything about Brett was sexy and being this close to him made it impossible for me to think straight.
I leaned forward, not even knowing what I was doing, and I brushed my lips against his. He sucked in a breath then snaked his hand from my chin around to the back of my neck, pulling me closer and deepening the kiss.
My heart was pounding so hard that it felt like it would burst in my chest, but neither one of us pulled back until there was a rap on the hood of the car.
Gasping, I sat up, looking straight ahead to see who was there. Jackie and Kaleb were lazily leaning against the hood, watching us.
“My rogues!” I unbuckled as quickly as possible and threw open the car door, my feet skidding on the gravel as I ran to Kaleb and Jackie. Jackie was closest, and he swooped me up in his arms, spinning me around and then pulling me close. I tilted my head to him, wanting to catch a glimpse of his gorgeous blue eyes, and I was rewarded with a kiss.
When I pulled back from him, my head was buzzing and light. Kaleb looked shy, and I walked up to him, wrapped my arms around his neck and leaning my head on his chest. His heart beat out a steady rhythm and I snuggled closer, enjoying how it sounded.
“I have missed you so much,” I told him, finally looking up at him. He leaned down and lightly kissed me. “But I loved the poetry,” I continued, when he pulled away. “Thank you.”
“You are worth every word and more.” He slipped his arm around my shoulder and I turned to face the other two rogues. Brett had gotten out of the car and he and Jackie were leaning against the hood watching us, both of them smiling.
“So where are we? What’s the plan? And where in the world are we?” Even though I’d tried my best to pay attention when we pulled up, all I knew is that we were in some kind of forest. Or, rather, the parking lot that people would use to go hiking in a forest.
I’m asking too many questions when I need to be quiet and let the three of them tell me their plan, but I’m just so excited. It’s hard to focus when I’m surrounded by the three of them and I realize with a start that I can’t stop grinning.
The trees in the forest were huge and very old, forming a complete canopy over the parking lot. All around us I could hear birds singing, and leading off of the parking lot were a number of hiking trails. Some of them had blue markers, some red, and others yellow. I thought that I remembered correctly from when I’d go hiking with my dad that the colors had to do with how difficult the trail was, but that’s all I remembered.
It had been a long time since I’d been hiking, and even though my feet itched to get on a trail, I wasn’t prepared. In fact, the last time I’d been out in the woods was at Taylor Prep when I’d run and hid, leaning up against a tree until I knew that it would be safe for me to go back.
That was before the rogues and I really found each other. Before we knew that we could face whatever Taylor Prep threw at us and come out on top.
“Well, we wanted to get some time alone with you before we went back to school.” Kaleb squeezed my shoulder as he spoke. “Even though we technically could get back to campus this morning, we figured that some time alone with you was a much better option than getting moved in and dealing with the harpies.”
“Do you mean that we get to spend a few hours out here together?” The thought was exciting, and I stepped away from Kaleb, taking a deep breath of cool and crisp air as I did. “Whose idea was this?”
They all looked sheepish for a moment, then Kaleb raised his hand a little. “I thought about it while I was writing you one afternoon, Rose. I thought that getting to spend time with you in the woods, away from everyone, would be…”
“The delight of my soul, the thing that made my wandering heart still. To spend time with you, alone in the woods, would bring me a happiness that I’d never had,” I finished for him. I’d read the poems that he’d written me so often that the words were practically engrained on my heart.
He raised an eyebrow. “You remember what the poem said.”
“Of course. I remember them all.” It was an incredibly intimate moment with Kaleb, but when I glanced over at Jackie and Brett, they didn’t seem bothered. It was amazing to me that the four of us could be so close and could share so much without anything getting in the way.
I’d never experienced this with anyone before, and to have this closeness and affection with three of the hottest guys I’d ever seen? Well, I didn’t know how I’d gotten that lucky, but I sure wasn’t going to complain. There was something about just being near the rogues that made me incredibly happy, and I didn’t want to give it up.
As long as I was out there in the woods with my rogues then I could easily pretend that we didn’t have to worry about anything from the harpies. We could all just be happy and enjoy our time together without worrying about the fact that we did, eventually, have to go back to Taylor Prep.
The thought of Amelia and the other harpies drifted into my mind and threatened to dim my happiness, but I pushed them from my mind. I was with my boys, the harpies were nowhere in sight, and there wasn’t anything that could ruin my time with the three of them before we went back to school.
“So, what’s the plan? What’s first?” I was itching to get started and to do something with my boys. Luckily, I’d worn jeans and sneakers today, so no matter if we were going to go hiking or not, I was totally ready for the day.
“I get you first.” Jackie walked up and took my hand, pulling me out from under Kaleb’s arm. My heart skipped a beat at the way he claimed me in front of the other two. “You and I are going to go on a little hike, Rosita, just the two of us.” The way he was looking at me made my heart flutter and I swallowed hard, my body already aching for his touch.
“I love hiking.” Linking my fingers into his, I smiled at Brett and Kaleb. “See you guys in a bit.”
