“Damn straight.” Brea laughs.
The sound of honking behind us has us both turning our heads over our shoulders to see who it is, when we spot Wes pulling up the driveaway. Kinsley is sitting next to him, hitting the horn as she waves enthusiastically.
“She lives for this, doesn’t she?”
“Oh, God, yes!” I giggle.
Hoisting my suitcase out of my trunk, I set it on the ground as I see Graham and his large frame out of my peripheral. My knees get a little weak just being near him, but I force myself to get it together.
Giving in, I glance over at him, and I feel like I could come on the spot at the way his arm flexes holding his gym bag in his hand. Rubbing my lips together again, I drink in his tan skin over his broad chest to his handsome face. His light brown hair almost looks underneath the sunlight.
I hate that he’s wearing sunglasses. I wish I could read the look on his face when he sees me.
“Hey,” he croaks.
Hearing the crack in his voice causes sweat to break out over my skin. It’s already warm outside, with the humidity the weatherman said it would get close to ninety degrees today. The heat I feel rushing through me isn’t just from the warm temperatures, but everything to do with having his eyes on me once again.
“Here we go again.” Brea giggles from behind me, causing a grin to spread out over my face.
“Hey, Graham.” I smile.
His eyes rake over my body, before meeting my eyes. I swear for a minute I hear him mutter “shit,” but I can’t be sure if it was him or a voice in the distance.
“Want me to help you with that?” he asks, pointing to my suitcase, sounding more confident this time.
Looking down at my suitcase and back up to him, I tell him thank you as he steps closer to me. He smells so good and it reminds me how hard having him around this weekend is going to be.
He smells clean, like fresh linen, and something else that’s uniquely Graham. It’s hypnotizing and arousing, all at the same time.
“It’s good to see you, sunshine. You look good.”
The mention of my nickname causes my heart to drop. I force a smile on my face to hide the way it hits me hearing him call me sunshine again.
I want so badly to wrap my arms around him and melt into his body, the way I always would when he called me his sunshine.
“You do too,” I mutter. “You happy to be going back to Chicago?”
As soon as the words leave my mouth, I realize how nervous I am to hear the answer. I almost wish I could press rewind and take it all back.
Lifting his arm, he runs his hand through his hair looking somewhere behind me, before he looks back down at me.
“Not as happy as I am to be home.”
The way he says home eases some of the restraints I had around my heart, making it easier to breathe easier again.
“Good.” I smile. “We’re glad to have you home.”
We’re loaded up and on the road by ten in the morning. The RV Wes was able to get for us is beautiful. It has so much room, which is good considering we have five guys and four girls along for the trip, we need it. We have a long drive ahead of us, so I park it at the table with the girls. The guys took over the living area, watching ESPN highlights on the TV.
“Are you guys going to tell me what we have planned for tonight?” Ellie asks, her eyes bouncing to each of us for any sign of who’s going to spill it.
Ellie’s the most low-key out of all of us. She’s not much of a partier, so I’m sure she’s wondering what the heck we have in store for her when we get there.
The truth is, I don’t have the slightest idea what Kinsley has up her sleeve. She’s been tight-lipped about everything.
“Do you trust me?” Kinsley asks, a devious smile on her face.
“I do…” Ellie says slowly, her eyes narrowing at Kinsley. “Although I’m starting to wonder how much I should be trusting you.
“Please tell me you didn’t do anything crazy like get strippers or something,” Ellie says hesitantly. Her eyes glance to Callum, who’s sitting behind Kinsley, making sure he didn’t hear her before shooting back to Kinsley.
Kinsley barks out a laugh and I can’t help but chuckle at the comment. Callum would lose his shit if Kinsley had her near a guy, much less shirtless.
I almost wish she would because it’d be entertaining to see.
“Are you serious?” Kinsley asks, deadpanned. “I’m not trying to ruin our trip here, Ellie. We both know Callum wouldn’t like the idea. At all.”
“I wouldn’t like what?” Callum asks, silencing everyone.
Everyone except me, of course.
“Oh, we were just saying you wouldn’t mind if we stole Ellie for the night. Took her out to the strip club, let her experience her last night as a single woman. You know, make sure she’s sowed all her wild oats before she’s a one-man woman for the rest of her life.”
I grin, knowing exactly the reaction I’m getting from him.
Callum growls, shooting a look over at Kinsley before looking back at me. He’s trying to tell if I’m joking or serious.
“C’mon, Callum, let her live a little.” I giggle, winking at him.
Glancing over at Graham, I bite my lip when I see the grin on his face. He shakes his head when his eyes connect with mine, seeing through me, knowing I’m pushing his buttons.
“I don’t think so,” Callum says, serious. His words are firm, unwavering. “I won’t share her. Not with anyone.”
His eyes look to Ellie. “Ever,” he says, punctuating the end.
Ellie slides out from where she’s seated in the booth to where Callum sits on the other side of the walkway, sitting on his lap. His arms are around her waist, holding her to him in a move that’s both possessive and protective.
Callum’s feathers can be easily ruffled, especially where Ellie is concerned. He knows damn good and well not only would we never disrespect him, but she’d never agree to it anyway.
It’s still fun to see how uptight he can be when we talk about it.
I find myself staring at the way he runs his hands up and down her leg as the other is wrapped in her hair. He takes her in a deep kiss, and I immediately look away, feeling like I’m eavesdropping on their private moment.
I’m surprised when I see Graham’s eyes looking back at me. He glances over at Callum and Ellie, before looking back to me again.
I’m jealous of Callum and Ellie’s love. They’ve been through a lot, but he would do anything for her. He’d take on the world to protect her. She’s his world.
I wonder if Graham is thinking about the same things I am. How seeing them together reminds me so much of us and the way things used to be when we were together.
The possessive nature in which Callum wraps his fingers in Ellie’s hair, kissing her with so much passion, you feel like if you stand too close, you’ll sense the light flicks of the fire snapping from them and soon you’ll be engulfed in the same flames.
For a moment, I picture myself sitting in Graham’s lap, his arms banded around me, holding me against him as I wrap my arms around his neck. We hold each other with so much force, we leave little room between us.
I can almost feel his breath feather over my skin, as our bodies rock against one another. My eyes flutter closed as I imagine his lips on mine and his tongue seeking entrance into my mouth. His moan hitting my ears the moment our tongues connect.