Ricochet (Addicted, #2)

by Krista Ritchie

I want to love Lo without people telling me that our love is too much.

Most of my childhood stories involve him. I can count very few where he isn’t present. Family trips, he was there. Reunions, he was there. Calloway dinners, he was there. My parents might as well have adopted him. Hell, my grandmother bakes him her special fruitcake for no reason at all. She’ll mail it to him every so often. He charmed her somehow.

Even when I was a kid, Lo would put his hands on my cheeks and kiss me really quickly, and we’d burst into laughter afterwards. He’d end up chasing me through the fancy parties that our parents brought us to, trying to steal another. I’d always let him catch me.

“Hey,” Lo breathed, brushing his fingers against my chin. He gently tilted my head towards him, and his parted lips looked ready to kiss me. I waited for him to close the gap between us, but instead of taking me in his arms and mimicking the film, he spoke. “In a competition between me and this...” He jabbed his finger towards the movie. “I’ll win. Every time.”

When he runs, he looks beautiful. As though no one can touch him, as though he’s leaving behind a burning world and heading towards a peaceful one. His cheeks will sharpen; his eyes will narrow in determination.

Just when I think he’s going to take off running, actually listening to my request, he does something quite different. He bends down, lifts up my legs and hoists me on his back. “Grab tight, love.” My hands wrap around his neck, and he speeds off. The wind whips my brown hair, and I listen to his easy breath as he carries me away from the chaos and towards the city where we live. I’ve ridden on his back before. When we were kids. When I couldn’t make it up the Great Sand Dunes in Colorado. When I forgot to wear closed-toed shoes in the Costa Rican rain forest. When I just needed a lift. He was always there.

Our I love yous encompass years of heartache, of hurt, of laughter and pain. And every time we say the words, I feel the rush of our childhood. I couldn’t imagine ever losing that.

“Who the fuck are you?” Aaron spits. Ryke motions to a server and points to his placemat, silently asking for food. Then he faces Aaron with narrowed eyes. If Lo was here, I think he’d appreciate the backup. We’ve never had it before, and I have to say, it’s kind of nice. “Loren Hale’s brother,” Ryke tells him. Aaron chokes on a laugh. “Bullshit. Lo’s an only child.” “Then don’t believe me. I don’t really fucking care. But you start messing with his girlfriend, and then I will care.”

Just as I rise, Aaron begins to push his chair back, about to stand too. But then Ryke points at him with his knife. “You follow her, and I’ll slit your fucking throat,” he deadpans.

“Do you always say fuck?” she asks. “I don’t think I’ve ever been around you where you haven’t said it at least once.” “What can I say? It’s my favorite fucking word.” He flashes a dry smile.

I think we’re all old enough to feel the scars of our upbringing. Now we just have to find a way to heal.

“You’re right,” he says softly. “You don’t need a man, Rose.” He pauses and I barely hear him whisper, “But you do need me.”

“A little bird told me you were upset.” Rose lets out a choked cry. “Are you crazy?” She places her hands on his arms that hold her face but doesn’t force him away anymore. “You’re talking to birds now?” His lips twitch into a weak smile. “I’d talk to any woodling creature if it gave me answers about you.” “Would you walk through fire for me?” she deadpans. “Yes,” he accepts the challenge. “Brand my name on your ass?” “Possibly.” “Drink cow’s blood in my honor?” “You’re so fucking weird,” he says with the biggest grin.

“That girl is practically my daughter-in-law.” He sets a firm hand on Aaron’s shoulder. “If I hear you did anything to her, you’ll wish all you had to deal with was my son. Now get out of my fucking face.”

“You’re officially in my spank bank.” I fantasize about Lo every day. He’s my number one, go-to image. “You’ve always been in mine.”

I wish Lo was here. He’d make me feel better. Maybe not even with sex. He’d just smile, kiss me, tell me I’m beautiful and say, “Fuck them.” Because at the end of the day, we were the only thing that mattered to each other. All I needed was him.

“In fact, you should stay away from any guy who doesn’t make you come at least twice before he fucks you. Keep that in mind.”

“If you don’t tell me, I’m going to be worrying about it all fucking month, Lil. And Ryke hasn’t fully comprehended the fact that I’m going to eventually come home. And when I do, I’m going to be with you again. We’re going to have to start talking and reforming a better relationship.

“We divorced,” I mutter. “I thought you weren’t going to want me back.” His voice lowers to a pained whisper. “Why would you think that?” I lick my dry, chapped lips again. “Couples who divorce usually don’t get remarried.” Of course, we’re not actually married. But he’ll understand the metaphor. He’s used it before when we were teenagers. We played house most of our lives. It’s kind of fucked up, but I guess that’s just us. “I’m remarrying you, Lil. Fuck, I’d remarry you a hundred times until it stuck.” I pinch my eyes again. “Yeah?” “Yeah.” “Even if I make you miserable?” There’s a long pause before he murmurs, “You don’t make me miserable. You make me want to live. And I want to live with you.”

“Trust me, Lily.” He cranes his neck over his shoulder to look at me, and Cleo backs up a little, leaning against her seat again. “I promise that I’ll find her. I won’t let anything happen to that girl, okay?” Confidence and determination pulses in his eyes.

He steps closer, his foot halfway on the ledge as they straddle the side of the fucking mountain. His nose touches hers as he gets into her face, shouting. Her chest puffs out and she yells back. Their voices begin to echo through the ravine but not loud enough to make out words or syllables. And then she puts her back against the ledge and says something to the local man. He nods, and Ryke screams at her, “NO!” We can all hear the fear and anger writhing in his voice. But it’s too late. She dives. Right. Off. The fucking. Cliff. Headfirst. I hold my breath, my lips parting as my jaw drops. Not even a full second after she dives, Ryke impulsively jumps right in after her. This…is not good. Both Lo and I are going to lose siblings in one day.

“You know what he said to me?” Daisy says. “He told me that I was going to crack open my skull, bleed into the ocean, and be eaten by sharks. And then he goes and jumps in after me.” She lets out an irritated laugh.

My chest constricts. “Am I…” What if I’m a trigger. Oh God. “No, Lil,” he tells me with a short laugh. “You’re the opposite. You’re my stability…my home.”

swells. A part of me feared that he’d return home too changed and too different somehow. All my terror evaporates and shushes to bed. He’s still Lo. He’s still mine.

The hardest part about the whole ordeal has been being away from him. It has nothing to do with sex, I realize. He’s my best friend, my whole world, and losing that hurts more than losing a body to grind on at night. Seeing him reminds me that he’s not gone forever. Even if it may feel like it sometimes.

“Anything else new?” Lo asks gently, but now that I look at him, I spot the fear pulsing behind his eyes. He worries that I’ll be the changed one. I feel the same, but I know, in time, that I’m going to be different. Everyone eventually grows up. But if there’s anything I know for certain in this world—I never want to change without Loren Hale. We have to try to evolve together.

Finally, he tugs the shirt over his head, and he fixes his hair with his fingers, watching my expression which goes slack-jawed. I squint, hoping this isn’t some sort of Skype Photoshop enhancement. “Are those real?” I end up asking, my fingers subconsciously running over his muscles on the screen. As though I can really touch them. Damn, I want to. I have to back away from the screen again. I think Lo received a pleasant view of my nose hairs. He gives me a strange look and then laughs. “No, I painted these on just for you.” Now shirtless, Lo cannot stop grinning. I cannot stop staring. His abs are ripped. Six-pack definition. He was muscular before, but they were not sharp like that. His lean muscles curve and even have that sexy dip by his waist, as though leading my way to his cock.

I am transfixed by Loren Hale, my everything. “I love you,” he says again, “and no other man will ever say those words and mean them the way I do.”

He runs a hand through his hair. “I thought you’d cheat on him and break the guy’s soul,” he admits. “I didn’t think you could do it. And I was wrong.” He pauses and then his eyes meet mine, and I see Lo in them. “I’m sorry for being an asshole, for not understanding…I think that he needs you as much as you need him.” He nods to himself, as though realizing how right those words are as he says them. So, he may not be rooting for me exactly. But he’s supporting our relationship. That’s even better. I can’t help but smile. Ryke actually smiles back. “You’re okay, Calloway.” With this he pats my shoulder and then turns around, heading for the warmth of the indoors.