The Best Man Read online

  Nick grinned at me over his shoulder before pulling his shirt back on.

  I shifted my eyes and saw that Andy and Samuel were standing on the other side of the fire, a few feet away. Andy was smiling and laughing with a couple people who loosely formed a circle there on the grass. Samuel was scowling at me over the top of his cup. I raised my eyebrows in question before he caught me watching him and turned his head toward a pretty brunette who was standing to his left. I turned away from the sight and took the plate of food that Nick offered me.

  Nick and I sat in a couple chairs by the fire while we talked and ate our dinner.

  It was easy to laugh as we recalled certain teachers we both shared in high school. I felt truly bad that we hadn’t gotten to know each other earlier, but Nick shrugged off my apologies as unnecessary. During our conversation, my eyes traveled back over to see Samuel and Andy talking with their heads bowed toward one another over by the keg. Nick turned his head to follow my gaze.

  “Can I get you a drink?” Nick asked politely. I blushed, knowing I had been caught looking less than attentive.

  “Whatever you’re having is fine.” I smiled, giving him my attention once more. He walked over to where Andy and Samuel stood. I pretended to watch the fire as I glanced at the three men from the corner of my eye. Nick chatted with them both for a bit, but he returned quickly with two bottles of water. I raised my eyebrow in question.

  “You said whatever I was having,” Nick laughed. “At my last party, things got a little out of hand when a couple of guys had too much to drink and started acting like assholes. I thought it would be smart to keep a clear head tonight in case I need to defuse anything like that again.”

  “Water is great,” I said and twisted the cap. Nick tapped the top of our bottles together in a sort of “cheers” and took a long drink. I watched his throat constrict as he swallowed and thought again about how ridiculously handsome he was.

  “Why is it that some girl hasn’t snapped you up?” I asked quickly. Nick smiled and set his drink aside.

  “Who’s to say I’ve found anyone I’d like to let try?” Nick lowered his hand and started tracing a small circle on my exposed knee. “Same question, back at ya,” he asked softly. My breath caught a little at the feel of his warm fingertip on my skin. “How in the hell are you still single?” I licked my lips and looked over at him. The fire played over his raven hair and lit his sky-blue eyes with dancing sparks. Those eyes were very studiously staring at my mouth.

  “Nick. Let’s do a few!” We were interrupted by the voice of the guy I recognized as the lead singer of Nick’s band. Nick shook his head at me in apology and then got up, only to return with a five-gallon bucket that he flipped and placed between his feet. The chairs around the fire were filled with his band members and a few guests who were lucky enough to have grabbed the seats fast enough. Other people closed the circle as the sound of acoustic guitar filled the air. Nick grinned at me and lightly slapped a rhythm on the bucket with his hands. Songs which I guessed were on their new album were played in an acoustic set that brought hearty applause from the guests.

  After three songs, Nick moved the bucket from between his knees and grabbed my hand. I looked at him in confusion until he pulled my arm and tossed his chin up to indicate that I should stand. I stood and smoothed out my short skirt with my free hand. Nick put his hands on my hips, turning me in front of him and pulled me down to sit on the edge of the chair between his legs. I smiled and leaned back into the warm circle of his arms. The rest of the band played on, not minding that his simple percussion no longer accompanied them.

  I shivered when I felt Nick’s warm breath on the side of my neck. He leaned forward and inhaled deeply beneath my ear. “You smell really fucking good,” Nick whispered. I smiled and turned my head to look at him. Our faces were close, and I decided that wasn’t entirely a bad thing. I had been waiting to see if he’d make the first move. I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth, and his eyes watched the action eagerly. “I’d like to kiss you right now,” Nick said plainly.

  My heart sped up, and I was sure my cheeks turned pink. I nodded a bit, trying to let him know I wasn’t opposed to the idea.

  “I would...” Nick grinned and kissed the soft material on my shoulder instead. “But I feel like we are in a goddamned fishbowl.” I turned my head to follow his gaze and saw Samuel, once again staring and frowning darkly.

  “Ignore him.” I shook my head. “Samuel and Andy slip into overprotective big-brother mode whenever I’m interested in a guy. My father probably even put them up to keeping an eye on me tonight.”

  “Whenever you’re interested in a guy, huh?” Nick grinned at me. “And...are you? Interested in a guy?”

  “I’m trying to figure that out.” I shrugged and laughed. He laughed too. I pushed aside the tiny voice in the back of my head that reminded me I might be interested in the wrong one. Samuel had told me to consider Nick. Damn it. I intended to do just that. “Come with me,” I said, standing with a sudden determination. Nick looked confused until I offered my hand. “Let’s take a walk and get out of the fishbowl for a little while.”

  The wicked smile that pulled across Nick’s face would have made any girl’s knees go weak. I pointedly ignored Samuel while I led Nick toward the darkened tree line. We hadn’t made it far from the yard before Nick threw his arm over my shoulder and pulled me into his side.

  “How far are we going?” he asked with the firelight fading in the distance. His words held a double meaning I could not ignore.

  “I haven’t decided that yet either.” I smiled. I turned out from under his arm and started walking backward, farther into the shadows provided by the trees. Nick grinned and kept moving toward me. We both stopped, and I groaned when I heard loud footsteps following our path.

  “Emelia?”

  Samuel’s voice was rough as he called my name loudly, and I cringed. Nick huffed in annoyance and rolled his eyes before putting his hands in his pockets to retrieve his pack of cigarettes. He stepped slightly away to light one, and I frowned and turned toward the sound of our approaching visitor.

  “What do you want?” I asked. I could hear the frustration in my own voice.

  “I need to talk to you.” Samuel stormed into sight. He looked angry, and I took a step forward to meet him.

  “Can it wait?” I hissed in a loud whisper. He should be able to guess it wasn’t exactly an opportune time.

  “No. It’s important,” Samuel said stubbornly. He practically glared at Nick over my shoulder and straightened his frame. I shook my head. I doubted anything Samuel had to say to me was all that vital. This was the equivalent of him chasing a boy off my porch, and we both knew it. I narrowed my eyes at him, completely pissed off that he would ruin my time with Nick. Especially after he had been more than clear last night when he suggested I should explore my options.

  “Nick?” I asked, not removing my eyes from Samuel’s face.

  “Yeah, babe?” he replied.

  “Her name is Emelia...” Samuel clenched his jaw, and I watched his fists tighten at his sides. It was completely irrational for him to be behaving so poorly. Maybe he thought he had to make up for lost time in the overprotective department. “And hey, Mr. Sensitive? Think you could lay off the smoking for a bit, huh? Her mother died of cancer, for fuck’s sake.”

  “Samuel!” I gasped, surprised by his harsh announcement.

  “I didn’t know that.” Nick immediately dropped his cigarette to the ground and crushed it beneath his heel, shooting a guilty glance in my direction.

  “That’s right. You don’t know a thing about her, do you? You don’t know her at all.”

  “Samuel,” I warned, gritting my teeth. “Stop it!”

  “I’m trying to get to know her, man,” Nick muttered. “And I know it’s making you crazy.”

  “Nick?” I cut in, desperate to put an end to what felt like the beginning of a very bad situation. “Would you mind if Samuel and I had a few m
inutes alone, to talk? We can continue...our date...when I’ve finished. I’ll meet you at the bonfire.” I intended to give Samuel a piece of my mind and didn’t want Nick to have to witness it.

  “That’s fine,” Nick agreed, but he didn’t sound pleased about being dismissed. I didn’t miss that his shoulder nearly knocked into Samuel when he walked past to leave us alone in the woods. Not trusting myself immediately, I turned and stormed off a few feet into the deeper growth of the forest. I heard Samuel following me. Deciding I had gone far enough for my voice not to carry across to the ears of the partygoers, I rounded and faced him.

  “What in the hell is wrong with you?” I asked angrily. “You are not my father, Samuel. And I’m pretty sure that even my dad has acknowledged the fact that I am an adult!”

  “If you want me to treat you like an adult, you should act like one. It’s reckless and irresponsible for you to wander away from a party with a guy you barely even know.”

  “Good Lord! Thanks for the tips on ‘Stranger Danger,’ Sergeant Dalton. In case you’ve forgotten, Nick and I went to school together. It’s not like we just met.”

  “You don’t know him well enough. He could have led you away and...done anything out here. He could have taken advantage of you, and no one would be around to help...”

  “How in the hell do you know I wasn’t the one trying to take advantage of him? Huh?” My voice rose, and I moved forward, putting both hands against Samuel’s chest to give him a solid shove backward. “I’m a woman, damn it! Not a little girl! Maybe I like to be kissed. Did you ever think of that?”

  Samuel’s fingers wrapped around my wrists firmly. Instead of me pushing him backward as I’d intended, he tugged me, and I stumbled into his chest. I was breathing heavily and had to tip my head up to look at his face.

  “So that’s what you were looking for out here? You wanted to be kissed?” Samuel’s voice had dropped dangerously low. He sounded almost menacing.

  “Yes,” I retorted stubbornly.

  “Fine,” he snarled.

  Before I realized his intent, Samuel bent his head and pressed his lips to mine. The immediate spark of awareness that surged between us caused me to stand stock-still for a moment, completely surprised and unsure what to do. But when Samuel dropped my wrists and pushed his hands into my hair, angling my head to press his mouth more fully against mine, all bets were off. Samuel was actually kissing me. My mind didn’t need to make decisions. My body acted on its own. My hands clutched at his shirt, and I pulled him closer. He groaned against my lips, and I opened my mouth, anxious to swallow the sound.

  Kissing Samuel was more than I could wrap my mind around. It was everything I ever dreamed of...and yet nothing as I imagined it would be. Seeing him kiss Mary Beth on his back porch had in no way prepared me for the heat that scorched me from the crown of my head to the tips of my toes, churning and swirling and melting my bones and muscles until all that was left was a quivering mess of need. The way his fingers pressed into me made it obvious he was burning just the same as I was. I reveled in finally having absolute proof that he felt this unexplainable connection between us just as surely as I did. It wasn’t guesswork. I couldn’t misinterpret the way his body pressed urgently against mine. His lips were soft but demanding...firm and unyielding. He sucked my bottom lip between his teeth and bit lightly before pulling a breath away.

  “Goddamn it, Emelia. Slap me. Push me away. Tell me to stop.”

  “I don’t want you to stop,” I whispered, pushing my face forward to search for his lips again. He groaned but gave in to me. I felt myself moving backward, and I clutched his shoulders instinctively to stop my fall. But then I realized he was moving me. I knew it when I felt the rough tree bark scratching through the thin sweater on my back. Samuel pushed his whole body against me then, and my head swam.

  “If you knew half of the things going on in my mind right now, you wouldn’t be saying that.” His words sounded agonized.

  I couldn’t speak. I needed more of him. I was dizzy with want when I pushed my hands up into the back of his hair and pulled him toward me again. This time, Samuel used his tongue to tease my mouth open and deepened our kiss. He tasted like spiced rum and limes...and I couldn’t get enough of him. I hadn’t had a single drop of alcohol, and yet I felt completely intoxicated. His hands had left my hair and were moving up and down my hips torturously. I shuddered when I felt evidence of his arousal pressed firmly against my stomach. It was a heady and powerful feeling to know he had that reaction to me. Me. At long last, he wanted me just as much as I wanted him. I bit my lip when his mouth pulled away from mine to slide down a scorching path on my neck.

  Everything about the moment was perfect. It all felt so very, very right.

  Until the words he muttered against my skin brought me back to reality. His mouth sucked and nipped at my neck while he fought a battle with himself and whispered harshly against me. “This is wrong,” he moaned. “This is so fucking wrong.”

  His words were as effective as being doused with a glass of ice water. My fingers moved to his chest where I began to use all my strength to push him away from me. It took a moment for Samuel to realize my intentions. When he did, he stepped away quickly. His chest heaved. His hair was standing in wild directions designed by my passionate grip. His cheeks and lips were as dark as I knew they would be. But his eyes...were clouded with guilt.

  How could he think such an amazing moment between us was wrong? That what we were doing was a mistake? I had been foolishly celebrating my childhood romantic fantasies being fulfilled in a very adult way...And Samuel was the same as he had always been. He didn’t want me then. And he didn’t want me now.

  Then, because he was the one who suggested it, I slapped him. I slapped him as hard as I could. My palm stung, and my heart hurt. His head snapped to the side, but he stood motionless. Samuel didn’t say a word as I shoved my way around him and left him standing there with his own remorse to keep him company.

  I was still breathing heavily when I stomped my way out of the wooded area behind Nick’s house and entered the warm circle of light provided by the fire pit in the center of the cleared yard. I licked my lips and looked around with wide eyes, searching for the man I had sent away minutes before when Samuel came looking for me.

  I met Andy’s gaze first. He looked alarmed when he took in my appearance, but I shook my head frantically, stopping his feet from moving to me and sending him the message that I was not in the mood to talk about it. He frowned and turned his eyes to the tree line behind me instead. I finally saw Nick talking with a group of friends closer to the house, and I took a deep breath and walked over to join them. The conversation stalled when I stepped up, and I smiled apologetically up at Nick.

  “Sorry,” I muttered. “I wondered...if you might be able to give me a ride home?”

  Nick frowned down at me with a worried expression on his face but nodded easily. “Sure. Let me just run in and get my keys.”

  I walked around the side of the house, not wanting to risk seeing Samuel again before I left. Nick jogged down his front steps with his keys jingling in his hand. He opened the passenger’s-side door of his van for me, and I climbed into the seat wordlessly.

  After we bumped our way down the rocky drive and pulled onto the main road, I chanced a look over to Nick. His features were illuminated by the white glow from the dashboard lights. He looked straight ahead as he drove, giving me no indication as to what he might be thinking about my strange request to leave the party.

  “I’m honestly sorry,” I mumbled. Nick turned to look at me then and favored me with an understanding smile. “I really did want to see your cover art tonight. You can email it to me.”

  “I’ll get the address from Andy.” Nick nodded. He lifted his hand as though automatically reaching for a cigarette before stalling his fingers and placing them empty on his leg. “I’m guessing you and Samuel aren’t getting along, again.”

  “You could say that,” I mutte
red.

  “It’s fairly obvious that you two have a...volatile relationship,” Nick laughed lightly. “I think we were all impressed you haven’t killed each other by now.”

  “He makes me very angry,” I admitted. Nick reached over and offered his hand. I took it easily and stared down at the way his fingers wrapped around my own. It was meant as a comforting gesture. But I didn’t feel comforted. I was just more annoyed that Samuel had managed to ruin my evening. Nick pulled up in front of my house and turned off the engine. When he shifted in his seat, he didn’t drop my hand immediately. He just looked at me for a moment in the semidarkness. “I’m sorry I made you leave your party.” I couldn’t stop apologizing. Nick squeezed my hand in response.

  “There was only one person there I cared to see anyway,” he hinted. I turned a sad smile up in his direction. Nick took a deep breath and then his features hardened to a more serious expression. “The guys wanted to have this party as a send-off. We leave in two days for LA, and I probably won’t be back for several months. Things are going to get pretty busy.”

  “Yeah.” I nodded. “You’ll have fun though. You’re going to be great. I just know it.”

  Nick smiled at my compliment and looked at our joined hands once more before he spoke again. “I’ve already gotten a taste for how fake it can all be. How caught up people get in the glamour and everything. That part of it isn’t for me. I’m not like that. I want to make music and have a good time, but I don’t want to lose myself in the craziness. Does that make sense?”

  “You seem like you’ve got a pretty good grip on reality,” I said. “I think you’re going to be fine.”

  “Reality...” Nick said softly. He pulled our hands up between us and lowered his head to brush a soft kiss across the back of my knuckles. “That’s why I’m so glad I met you again.” He smiled. “I need real people in my life...to keep me grounded...to remind me of what’s important. Someone like you, Em.”