“Rip Callahan, did you miss me?” She giggles, her eyes glassy from her buzz, and I can’t help but think she looks cute as hell.
“So much,” I murmur as I press my lips to hers.
“Hey, you’re not drinking?” she asks when I pull back.
“I’ve had a couple,” I admit.
“Oh, no, that won’t do. We’re celebrating.” With her hand laced in mine, she starts to tug me toward the bar. “Let’s go, ladies. We have to get some drinks into these fuddy-duddies,” she calls over her shoulder.
I hear my sister squeal and then Sara’s laughter as they encourage Colby and Corbin to follow us. I don’t have to look back to know my friends are following along behind their girls just like I am. There isn’t anything we wouldn’t do for them.
An hour or so later, we’re all sitting around a table at the hotel bar, trying to decide where to go next. It’s just after midnight, but this city doesn’t seem to ever sleep, and we’re here to celebrate so that’s what we’re going to do.
“Oh! I love this song,” my sister says, pulling Colby from his chair next to her and out to the dance floor.
My hand that’s resting under the table on McKenna’s thigh gives her a gentle squeeze when she does a little shimmy in her chair. I open my mouth to ask her if she wants to dance when she pushes her chair back.
McKenna stands and reaches for my hand. “Dance with me.”
She’s a little wobbly on her feet, and I’m feeling my buzz pretty heavy. That doesn’t stop me from sliding my arm around her waist and pulling her into the middle of the bar, wrapping my arms around her.
“Rip, this is a fast song,” she says, smiling up at me.
“I want to hold you.”
“Yeah, but this song is sexy.” She sways her hips, turning in my arms, pressing her back to my front. Reaching back, her hands clamp around my neck, and I bend my head, kissing her neck. “Oh.” I hear her say when she grinds against my hard cock.
“That’s all you, Kenna,” I whisper in her ear. My hands grip her hips, and I pull her close, making sure there’s no question as to what I’m referring to.
I can’t tell you the name of the song or even the words. What I can tell you is that McKenna sways her hips to the beat, and she’s driving me wild. I wrap my arms around her waist, holding her close.
Damn this woman.
I allow myself to get lost in her. We’re the only two people in the room. Just me and McKenna savoring the feel of our bodies pressed close. My lips trail up her neck, and the taste of her skin explodes on my tongue. Drink after drink, song after song, we dance the night away. I lose track of time as the six of us hop from bar to bar and club to club. I don’t take my hands off of her the entire night. Part of me has to be touching her. I crave the feel of her skin. Even with the buzz of alcohol thrumming through my veins, I know this will forever be the best night of my life. The night I finally got to treat her like she was mine. Not behind closed doors. Out for the world to see.
There is no coming back from this. I no longer have to pretend, and that’s freeing. Tonight marks the night that McKenna Dawson becomes mine.
Chapter 16
McKenna
The shrill sound of a cell phone has me peeling my eyes open, only to shield them from the sun. Damn, I should have thought to shut the blinds last night. While that sounds like a grand plan, I’m not even sure how I ended up back in my room.
Wait. Am I in my room?
Squinting, I survey the room and see my suitcase next to the closet door. I sigh in relief as the phone stops ringing.
I’m not much of a drinker, so last night was not only out of character for me, but I’m miserable today. My phone rings again, and I groan. I’m never drinking again. Never.
“I’ll get it,” a deep voice says from beside me.
I freeze. I know that voice. What the hell did I do last night?
Cautiously, I look over my shoulder to see Rip in nothing. Holy shit, he’s buck-ass naked as he climbs out of bed to go in search of my cell phone. My head is fuzzy. What the hell is going on? He comes back with the phone to his ear. And lord have mercy, the full-frontal view, even with my brain not firing on all cylinders, is better than the back view. I know I’m staring, but I can’t seem to stop. Rip is… wow.
“She’s right here, Agnes. We’ll catch the next flight. I’m going to grab us tickets now.” He pulls the phone away from his ear and sits on the bed next to me. “Babe, it’s your grams,” he says, handing me the phone. I blink at him a few times, taking him in. There’s worry in his features, and my heart drops to my stomach.
Something’s wrong.
There are so many questions floating through my mind. What’s he worried about, why’s Gram calling, and why is he here sleeping with me, and why is he naked? I don’t have to ask any of them as the phone is thrust into my hands. I peek under the covers to see if I’m clothed. “Hey, Gram,” I say as I try not to cringe at the fact that I, too, am naked under the sheets. Oh, God. What did we do?
“Mac,” Gram says, her voice cracking, pulling me out of my mental fog. Something’s seriously wrong. That’s when it registers that Rip told her when he was walking back into the room that we would be on the next flight out.
I sit up straighter, not bothering to hold the sheet over my chest, letting it pool at my waist at the broken sound of her voice. “What’s wrong?” I can barely think over the pounding in my head, and at this point, I’m not sure if it's last night's alcohol consumption or the fear and sadness in Gram’s voice.
“It’s your grandfather. We had to call the ambulance. We’re at Mercy General. He’s had a heart attack.”
“W-What?” I croak. I want to say more, but I can’t seem to form the words. I feel Rip’s hand on my naked back as he pulls the phone from my grasp.
“Agnes, how is he?” he asks. I sit here as the words she just uttered to me bounce around in my head.
Not Gramps. No, this can’t be happening.
“McKenna and I are on the next flight home. We’ll see you soon.” Rip ends the call by dropping my phone on the bed, only to put his to his ear. “Mom, hey, can you do me a favor?” I listen as he explains the situation, asking his parents to go be with Gram until I can get there. No, until we can get there. Ending the call, he pulls me into his lap. “I’m going to get you home, baby. We need to get dressed and get to the airport.”
There’s so much going through my head right now—my worry for Gramps, the fear that we could lose him. Then there’s the fact that I’m naked, sitting on Rip’s lap who is also naked. I’d be lying if I said the feel of his skin against mine and the way his arms hold me tight was uncomfortable. It’s anything but.
I nod, wrapping my arms around him as the tears begin to fall. Naked bodies be dammed. I need this. I need the comfort he’s offering. I was gone to college for so long. So much time was missed with my grandparents, with Gramps, and now I might lose him. That’s not how this was supposed to happen. We were supposed to work together, at least for a little while, until he retired and spent his days doing whatever he and Gram wanted to do. This isn’t how it was supposed to go.