Page 30 of Rescue

He goes, and I slump against the brick wall of the hotel. Haylee mimics my pose. “You doing okay?”

“My brother,” I say, by way of explanation. She peers at my face for a minute as if she can sense there’s more to the story. For a second, I’m tempted to tell her everything. The accident, the horrible scene in the hospital when my brothers found out about all of my secrets. The weeks I spent at Horizons, trying to get my shit together. But then I think of the way Reed just looked at me, worried, scared, certain of my inability to take care of myself. I think of Haylee looking at me that way and suppress a shudder.

“You want to get out of here?” she asks, surprising me.

“Yeah?”

She grins, bumping my shoulder with hers. “I’m pretty hungry. And you clearly need a break from the Ransom machine.”

I’m surprised to hear the sound of my own laugh. I thought I was beyond laughing today.

“Come on,” she urges, slipping her sunglasses up on top of her head. Her eyes are red rimmed and small. Definitely a hangover. And she still looks gorgeous. “I need some food.”

“Then let’s get some food.” I hold out my hand, holding my breath. But then she takes it, grinning, and I suddenly feel a hell of a lot better.

***

Three hours later, Haylee and I sneak down the hall toward her hotel room. I’m pretty hammered, to be honest, and from the way Haylee needs to stop every few minutes to giggle, I think she might be too.

“Shh,” I say, leaning against the wall. “I told you my brothers will totally kill the vibe if they see me.” I laugh a little myself. “That’s kind of funny. That they’ve turned into the vibe killers. And I’m the one who has a vibe.”

Haylee giggles again, holding my arm. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

I snort, clapping my other hand over my mouth, and she slides her hand down from my arm to my fingers, clutching them tightly. “Let’s go.”

Somehow we manage to get down the rest of the hall and into her room. It’s smaller than mine, just an armchair, a desk, and a bed. A really comfortable-looking bed.

Haylee is standing against the door, breathing heavily, a huge grin on her face.

“I feel better,” I say.

“I know. You’ve been saying that for the last two hours.”

I probably have. After we left the hotel, we found an open pub serving food. We ate bangers and mash, washing it down with the brown ale the city was famous for, and talked about anything except for my brothers. Something about being with her made me forget how shitty I felt only an hour before. Something in how she smiled at me, the way her eyes sparkled up at me when I made her laugh. I have spent so much of my life being the quiet one, the sullen one. What did Cash always say? Emo. It was nice to be the one making the pretty girl laugh for once.

And the beer helped too.

Once our tipsiness turned to sloppiness, Haylee suggested we go back to her room to raid the minibar. I didn’t tell her that getting wasted in the middle of the afternoon—on a show day, no less—was out of character for me. And definitely something my doctors at Horizons would have frowned upon. Because I didn’t want to think about that, not when Haylee was holding my hand, leaning into my shoulder, her body warm and close to mine. Not when she was laughing like that.

“So,” she says.

“So.”

We stand on opposite sides of the room, watching each other. Something seems to crackle in the air between us, some energy I haven’t felt in a long time. Something like wanting. “You ready for that drink?” I finally ask, my voice husky in my ears.

“I’m ready for something else.”

I’ve crossed the room to her before I can even think about what I’m doing, and then she’s in my arms, her hands in my hair, and I’m kissing her.

Holy shit, I think, the force of the current that runs from her lips to mine strong enough to cut through the alcohol haze. Her lips are soft and full below mine, but they turn insistent almost immediately, pressing back against mine as if impatient. I can barely think straight, she feels so good. Her body is soft and seems to fit against mine as if it was made to be there. My hands are in her hair, that glorious long hair, and it’s like silk between my fingers. “Lennon,” she murmurs against my mouth, her voice making my heart speed up. I run my tongue lightly along the edge of her lips, and she moans, and it’s probably the best sound I’ve ever heard in my life.

“Is this okay?” I ask, pulling back enough to look down at her face. Her eyes are wide and a little wild.

“Are you kidding?” she asks, her voice like a growl, and I can’t help but grin. She’s adorable.

“You’ve been drinking.”

“So have you.”