The Maddox Brothers: Beautiful Burn Part 23

"What do you think? Want to share a Shirley Temple?"

"I thought you said you were tired of the bar scene."

"We don't have to go. I don't want to encourage old habits."

I pulled my hand away. "I'm not an alcoholic, Tyler. I can be around liquor without drinking."

"I didn't say you were."

I narrowed my eyes. "You don't believe me."

"I didn't say that, either."

I squeezed his hand, tugging him forward. He resisted for the first few steps, and then gave in. A woman pushed through the door, her heels clicking down the concrete the same way we'd come. Her ankle rolled, and she nearly fell but regained her balance, grumbling curse words until she turned the corner.

Tyler pulled back as I reached for the door with my free hand. I stumbled backward, leaning against him before pushing him away.

"I was kidding, Ellie," Tyler blurted out. "I don't think we should go in there. We can find something else to do."

"At ten o'clock in this town? We go in here, or we go back to headquarters," I said, pointing at the door. Its chipped black paint was the perfect prologue to what awaited us inside.

I reached for the door again, but Tyler resisted. Just as I began a scathing review of his reluctance, he touched my cheek, looking down on me with concern in his eyes. "Ellie."

I turned my face away from his touch. My new job and my new life were due to my stubborn pride. Not even being disowned by my parents could make me get my s.h.i.t straight. My luck was better when I made my own decisions apart from external influences, but I found myself wanting to do things just to make Tyler happy-the sort of stupid, vapid s.h.i.t Finley did when she liked a guy-things that definitely weren't me. But then again, I wasn't sure who I was anymore. Maybe Ellie two-point-oh would skip the bar to play it safe and hide from temptations at headquarters.

I frowned. "C'mon. O'Doul's, mocktails, and people watching. We can laugh really loud like we're drunk and slap the table a lot. No one will ever know."

Tyler was still unconvinced, but I pulled him through the door anyway. A small group of barely legal women sat at a table by the door. A few couples were at the end of the bar near the bathrooms, and a few older local men were peppered across the bar stools. Tyler pointed to the table we had sat at when I was here with Finley and Sterling. The thought of Sterling made my skin crawl. He hadn't intended to f.u.c.k me any more than I'd meant to be f.u.c.ked when I went to his house that day, but Sterling was the embodiment of rock bottom for me, and I was okay with never seeing him again.

"Hey, you okay?" Tyler asked, sitting next to me. He patted my thigh, bringing me back to the present. I both loved and loathed when he touched me like we were that familiar, as if I belonged to him. Tyler was my new addiction, like flirting with fire on the mountain, loving the danger and waiting for the burn.

"Yeah, why?"

"You just look a little uncomfortable."

"A couple of O'Doul's and I'll be fine."

Tyler smirked. "Good luck getting some liquid courage with non-alcoholic beer." He stood, leaving me alone to order at the bar.

I picked at the last bits of polish left on my nails. Finley had always been the one to make sure I had a regular manicure, even if she had to make an appointment from the other side of the country, but now that I couldn't afford one, I sort of missed it.

My phone buzzed in my back pocket, and I pulled it out, seeing Finley's silly, beautiful face. I pressed the red b.u.t.ton for the second time that day and put my phone away.

"You're looking awfully forlorn," Tyler said, setting a bottle on the table in front of me. "Here. Drink up. Annie told me that Wick had already warned her that if we came in together to remind me not to get kicked out."

"What an a.s.shole. He ruined our entire night."

Tyler breathed out a laugh. "That's exactly what I said."

"Really?" I asked, dubious. Tyler nodded. "We are spending way too much time together."

"I was just thinking we needed more days like today."

"Tyler..."

"Don't say it. I know."

"Ellie?" a high-pitched voice called from across the room. "Oh my G.o.d! Ellie!"

I turned to see Paige weaving through tables to get to mine. She bent down and threw her arms around me. Her blue hair was now fuchsia, and she was beautiful as ever. Her tiny features remained soft as she smiled sweetly at me. She was still searching for someone, wearing a cropped tank top and frayed denim shorts to display her tattoos. Her right arm, the blank canvas, was now marked with black lace serving as leaves to a coral-colored rose.

"That's new," I said.

She grinned and then pointed to her nose. "So is this."

I frowned, unable to ignore the thought that Paige was changing too much, too fast. She was already drunk, her eyes were bloodshot, and purple circles darkened the thin skin beneath her lower lashes. She wasn't more than twenty-two or -three, but already tired of the bulls.h.i.t life kept throwing at her. We were going in opposite directions, and I wondered if I'd been the last straw. Finley had always said that I ruined people, and I could see the turns Paige was taking, all downhill.

"I'm so glad to see you," she said, a new nose ring shimmering as it reflected the multi-colored lights above. "I went to your house. Jose said you took a job and moved out."

"True."

"Where? New York City? L.A.?"

"The Rocky Mountain Alpine Hotshot barracks, actually."

Paige turned her head like a confused puppy. "The what?"

"I'm a photographer for The MountainEar. I'm following the hotshots this summer."

Paige giggled and nudged my arm. "Seriously. Where did you move to?" Her eyes bounced between Tyler and me, and then recognition lit her expression. "So you're ... living together?"

"Not exactly," Tyler said. "Unless we say we're also living with nineteen other guys."

Paige tightened her bottom lip, but then she tried to relax, forcing a smile. "You couldn't call?"

"I don't have your number," I said.

"Really? I thought I gave it to you." I shook my head, and she blinked. "Well, I can give it to you now. Where's your phone?"

"In my pocket."

Paige shifted her gaze from me to Tyler, and then back. She sat in the chair next to me, her shoulders sagging. "I've missed you. You look great. You look happy."

I smiled. "Thank you."

Her eyes glossed over. "What are you doing later?"

"I rode into town with Tyler, actually," I said, feeling guiltier with each word that came out of Paige's mouth.

"Oh. Well ... I could take you back. I have a car."

"I'm on call, Paige. I'm really sorry."

I could see the hurt all over her face, in the way she looked to the floor, the way her mouth twitched.

"You warned me, didn't you?" She looked up. "I've been waiting for you this whole time and you told me not to. So stupid," she said, shaking her head and looking away. She wiped her cheek quickly.

"Paige," I said, reaching for her.

She pulled away. "There is only one person who's a bigger wh.o.r.e than Tyler Maddox in this town."

"Taylor?" Tyler said. I could hear the amus.e.m.e.nt in his voice, and my cheeks burned with anger.

"Me," I said.

Paige laughed once. "You don't even try to deny it. What does that feel like?"

"Pretty s.h.i.tty," I said. "Happy?"

Paige's face crumbled, and an escaped tear fell down her cheek. "No. Not for a long time." She stood and walked out, and I grabbed my pointless beer and took a long swig.

"Ignore her," Tyler said.

"It's not funny," I snapped. "There is nothing funny about me using her and casting her aside like everyone else in her life."

"Whoa. I'm sorry. I thought I was on your side."

"You should go back to yours," I said. "People get hurt over here."

"You don't scare me," Tyler said, leaning in. "Stop being so d.a.m.n stubborn. I'm good for you."

"What if I'm bad for you?"

He tipped his bottle until it clinked against mine. "Just what I look for in a girl."

I sighed. "I feel like I need to drink something stronger."

"Just one?" Tyler asked. He wasn't really offering, and I could see the patience in his eyes as he waited for me to make my own decision.

I considered his question, and then perched my elbows on the table, holding my head in my hands. "You're right. I shouldn't."

"All right, time for us to head out." Tyler stood, bringing me with him.

By the time we reached the alley, Tyler had already given me a cigarette from his black pack and was fishing for a lighter.

"What the h.e.l.l?" Tyler said, stopping mid-step.

He was staring at the sky, and I retreated beneath his arm when a loud boom echoed across the sky like thunder. A rainbow of colors rained down, and I gasped. Another rocketed up, exploding in golden sparkles.

Tyler looked at his watch, pressing a b.u.t.ton that ignited the face so he could see the date. "I'll be d.a.m.ned."

"July 4th? How did we miss that?"

"s.h.i.t, I've gotta call Trent. It's his birthday."

Tyler led me to the street, his arm still hooked around my shoulders. We watched the fireworks for close to an hour before the finale lit up the night sky.

Tyler hugged me to him.

"Is it lame that I'm thinking about how many fires the fireworks could potentially start?" I said, looking up at the incredible bursts of light.

Tyler turned to look at me. "Is it lame that I want to kiss you right now?"

I could still see the fireworks in my peripheral, feeling a bit sentimental. This was a particularly poignant Independence Day.

I closed my eyes, and Tyler leaned down, touching his lips to mine. What had started out as sweet and innocent quickly changed, and I gripped his T-shirt in my fists. When I pulled him against me, I could feel him harden inside his jeans, making me moan in his mouth.

He took a step back, still holding me in his arms. "That was awesome and unexpected."

"We should definitely go home," I said, breathless.

He held up his keys. "I was thinking the same thing."

CHAPTER FIFTEEN.

My body jerked me awake, my eyes wide and staring at the ceiling above while I panicked for just a moment, trying to recall where I was, and whose arms were around me. In my dreams, I had been on a yacht in Sanya with Finley, feeling the hot sun on my olive skin and looking at the world through a pair of five-hundred-dollar sungla.s.ses.

I touched the heel of my hand to my forehead, already mourning the carefree feeling I had on the imaginary boat with my sweet sister.

My cell phone buzzed, and I reached over to retrieve it from the wooden nightstand someone had cut from a log. Finley was texting me. The previous texts were of her looking bored on a beautiful beach, slathered in suntan lotion on the bow of Andiamo, or effortlessly beautiful while she shopped on Hainan Island. The last few texts were the increasingly impatient requests for me to contact her. I read over the saltiest one that she'd sent since she'd left, and couldn't help but smile.

Ellison, text me back. I want proof of life, or else I'm getting on the next plane to Denver so help me G.o.d.

I typed a response but let my thumb hover over the SEND b.u.t.ton. Sending I'm alive, I'm happy, I miss you wouldn't be enough.

Tyler's lips touched my temple. "Send it." He cleared the hoa.r.s.eness from his voice. "She's worried."

"She'll want to call me."

"That's a bad thing?"

"She'll know something's wrong. She can read me, even halfway across the world."