Christina Lee - Whisper to Me

Bennett laughed and ran his hand through his unruly hair.

“Avery was coming in to get a new tattoo,” he said, scratching the back of his neck. “So I had the whole thing planned.”

The dude was a tattoo artist. Cool, my kind of people. And he obviously worked with Nate’s friend. Back in the day, I may have even hit on a girl like Jessie. There was something sexy about a tattoo on a girl. A piercing, too. I knew just where I’d place one on Rachel.

Fuck, I needed to rein in my dirty thoughts before I had to excuse myself.

Bennett grasped Avery’s hand. When he kissed her palm she closed her eyes with a sigh.

I sure as hell hoped we weren’t going to have to be around a bunch of fucking lovebirds all weekend. I got it now, though, I really did. When you loved someone it was hard not to want to show it. And if Rachel ever agreed to be mine, I’d show her every single damn day. But shit, right now I didn’t want it thrown in my face every five minutes how much I couldn’t have her.

I looked over at Dakota and Shane, who were now standing on the periphery of the room, listening to the proposal story. At least they were still single. Nate, too.

God, since when had I ever given a shit about any of this stuff? I used to think it was stupid as fuck. That guys just put on a show to get into a girl’s pants. I’d never understood it. Until I fell for Rachel. And now she had me pussy-whipped, and we weren’t even dating. How in the hell had my world become so twisted?

Avery turned to Rachel. “I wanted to get a tattoo of that one quote I told you about a couple of months ago.”

“The one with the roots?” Rachel asked.

“Yeah.” Avery nodded. “It wanted it on my hip above the heart.”

“Cool,” Rachel said, taking a seat on the couch, followed by Ella.

“So I got the transfer paper ready to be applied to her skin,” Bennett said, smiling down at his girl.

“Dude, I would have been trembling at that point,” Quinn said, adjusting his cap. “Nervous as fuck.”

“Oh, I was definitely shaking in my boots,” Bennett said.

“Hold the phone,” Rachel said. “I don’t get that. You obviously know that the person you’re dating loves you, wants to be with you. Why do guys always get so nervous about popping the question?”

“Probably because we’re putting it all on the line. Our feelings, our pride,” I said, wondering where in the hell this foreign line of thinking was coming from. “When you ask someone to be yours, you’re talking about the rest of your freaking life.”

The whole room went silent and all eyes fell on me. Shane’s, Dakota’s, and Rachel’s, especially.

“Sorry. I guess that’s just how I imagine it would be.” I shrugged and shoved my hands deep in my front pocket. “Not that I know a damn thing about it.”

“Yeah, really, bro. How in the hell would you know?” Dakota said, laughing. “Your love life consists of bringing a girl home and then making sure she leaves by dawn.”

I felt heat crawl up my neck. Fuck, Dakota. Was I really as bad as she’d just made me sound? Normally I would have laughed right along with her. But today her lame-ass joke irritated the shit out of me.

“Leave him alone, D,” Shane said, coming to my defense. “He hasn’t brought any girls home since he’s been living here with you guys, has he?”

I could feel Rachel’s gaze on me like a wall of heat. I was afraid to turn in her direction. Afraid that my eyes would somehow betray me.

“The way Kai described it is pretty close, actually,” Bennett said, skating right over the awkwardness in the room. I could have kissed the dude. “So maybe he does know what that feels like.”

“Nah, just guessing,” I mumbled. “So, let’s hear the rest of this story.”

“Yeah, c’mon, I’m dying over here,” Dakota said, and I glowered at her.

She just glared right back. I was so going to slice into her when I got her alone.

“Anyway,” Bennett said. “I placed the transfer on her hip and then handed her the mirror to take a look.”

“I should have known just by how unsteady his fingers were,” Avery burst in. “Instead of the quote I was expecting, it said, Will you marry me, in bold black letters.”

Bennett bit his lip and looked down at his feet. Like he’d heard the story told a zillion different times but was still uncomfortable sharing it.

“Holy crap, asshead,” Rachel said. “Did you fall over or what?”

“To say that I was shocked would be an understatement,” Avery said, kissing Bennett on the cheek.

“Whoa, dude. Nice one,” Shane said, giving Bennett a fist bump.

“So then he dropped to one knee,” Avery said, grabbing for her guy’s hand. “And the rest is . . . private.”

“Yeah, so private, they didn’t want anyone disturbing them for the next hour,” Jessie said.

Everyone laughed.

Rachel propped her feet up on the ottoman, looking more relieved than she had all day. “So, when’s the big date?”

“We haven’t decided any of that yet,” Bennett said.

“We’re just hanging out, going day by day.” Avery sat on the other side of Rachel on the wraparound sofa. She pushed down on the cushion and looked around at the space. “Nice place, by the way.”

“Thanks,” Dakota said, handing out plastic cups. Shane went around the room pouring everyone a glass of Sangria. We did a toast to Avery and Bennett and then to new friends.

We spent the rest of the hour talking and getting to know one another. Bennett asked where I had my piercings done and whether I had any tattoos. I told him about the tattoo shop in town I frequented and the body-modification expert I trusted to put holes in my skin. He asked whether I’d ever considered getting ear gauges and I told him it wasn’t my thing.

“I hear you,” he said.

Dakota looked at the kitchen clock and said, “Are we ready to head out?”

Nate had rented a huge utility vehicle with a third row of seats. Shane, Rachel, Dakota, and I followed behind them in my truck. The Artisan Music Center was packed and we had to park far away in an auxiliary lot.

We removed the blankets and the cooler filled with snacks and sodas from the trunk. You couldn’t bring your own alcohol into the park, but you could buy beer and wine inside for a hefty price.

As we moved through the long line at the entrance to the stage, Rachel looped her arm through mine. It was the first time she’d touched me all day, and I grinned at her appreciatively.

“Your friends are cool,” I whispered. Anxiety crossed her features and she nodded. “Don’t worry, Turtle. It’ll all work out.”

We found a spot near the back of the lot, which was tough, because the lawn was already jam-packed. We spread out three blankets and the girls sank down on them while the guys went to stand in line for beer and wine. Jessie waved to someone she recognized a few blankets over and then strode away to chat with them.

“So awesome to see you, Rachel,” Ella said, patting me on the leg. “And to meet your best friend.”

Dakota smiled. “Yeah, took you long enough to introduce us.”

I shrugged, but my stomach was buzzing with anxiety. “It’s not like we all live in the same city or go to the same school.”

“Rachel only invited me to visit that one time, and the weekend I came up, she said you guys were busy.”

Well, shit, here we go. Did this topic have to come up so soon? We’d just sat down for fuck’s sake.

“Yeah?” Avery said, looking at me with a skeptical gleam in her eye. “When was that?”

I gave her the slightest nod of my head, hoping she’d get the hint that there was something I wanted to keep private. But I wasn’t sure if she noticed or not.

“Over last winter break,” Dakota said, and I dipped my head, pretending to straighten my corner of the blanket.

“Maybe we’d already headed home to our families,” Ella said, thinking it through.

The first band began their set, and I was glad for the distraction as people stood and began swaying to the noisy riffs of the music. Then some drunk dude tripped over the blanket in front of us, also providing a temporary respite.

“Anyway,” I said, hoping for a change of subject. “Still trying to wrap my brain around the fact that you got engaged, Avery.”

“I know,” she said, spreading her fingers to admire her ring. It was a round stone and looked dainty and vintage. “Can you believe that shit?”

“It’s so romantic,” Ella said dreamily, removing the cheese and crackers from our cooler. “You guys are so in love, it’s sick.”

“Us?” Avery said, her eyebrows rising to her hairline. “Have you taken a look at you and Quinn? You guys barely come up for air when you’re in the same room.”

“Shut up, dickhead.” Ella laughed and tossed a stray grape in Avery’s lap.

While Avery and Ella had a mini grape war, Dakota leaned over and whispered, “I really like your friends. I can see why you hang with them. Outside of the fact that you all have the same potty mouths.”

“I’m glad you do,” I said, smiling warily. I would have been much more relaxed if I hadn’t been keeping secrets from my best friend and college friends. Damn it, how did I allow myself to get into this situation?

“Tell us what’s happening with you,” Ella said, after offering some cheese and crackers on a paper plate. “And what about these hot boys you’re hanging with? Have you hooked up with either of them yet?”

I cringed, and Avery gave Ella’s knee a not-so-subtle nudge.

“What?” Ella asked innocently.

I tried to do damage control before the conversation got any spicier. “For starters, Kai is Dakota’s brother—I thought I’d told you guys that, but maybe you hadn’t put two and two together.”