We stood still like that for a moment, and then we both let our legs give way, falling gently to the ground. Nathan looked up at me, and I leaned down, kissing his lips, already red from how much he’d used them on my skin.

He smiled, and then slipped my panties down my legs.

“It’s a little late for that, don’t you think?” I said with a smirk.

He grabbed my hips and pulled me on top of him. I straddled his legs, leaned up, and then slowly, carefully, we fit perfectly together once again.

I was out of practice, but Nathan moved with me, slower this time. He pulled me down to kiss his lips, and then sucked my lower lip into his mouth, between his teeth, applying the smallest bit of pressure. I moved faster, and pressed against him harder, and then my whole body tensed, the orgasm holding on longer than I expected it to.

Finally, I collapsed against his chest, and he wrapped his arms around me.

“Does it make me crazy that I think the end of the world is the best thing to happen to me?” he said, touching my face.

I smiled, wishing I could say the same.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Miranda

It was sitting on the table like it belonged there, like a flower vase, or a pen—or a toy. Zoe was playing Go Fish on the floor with Elleny, and there was a fully loaded 9mm Glock not five feet from them. I picked it up and checked that the safety was on—it wasn’t.

“Are you f—whose is this?” I said, holding up the handgun. “What dumbass left a loaded gun without the safety on next to the kids?”

Nathan walked into the kitchen, likely just out of curiosity, because I knew he wouldn’t be that stupid. Scarlet came in right after, followed by Joey.

“Oh. That’s mine,” Joey said. “Well, I brought it up from downstairs. I just had to take a leak. I was coming back to get it.”

I made a show of pointing to the safety. “What if one of the kids had gotten ahold of this? You ought to have your ass whipped!”

“I’m sorry,” he said, stunned at my anger. “I just put it down for a second. It won’t happen again.” He picked up the gun from the table, and went outside through the laundry room.

Scarlet and Nathan traded glances.

“Thanks for saving me the trouble of a lecture,” Scarlet said. “You’re becoming quite the mama bear.”

“Yeah,” I said, pissed off that I was still pissed off.

I went out the front door and stood on the porch, hoping some fresh air would help. It was getting hotter. Not only did being hot make me cranky, but it also reminded me of summers here with my dad. The dad I would never see again because his girlfriend ate him.

A gunshot rang out, and I caught Joey aiming at some cans on a fence from the corner of my eye. He shot a few more times and then walked to the fence to reset the cans.

I walked over to him. He didn’t acknowledge me.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “That was a little harsh.”

“A little harsh? I half expected your head to start spinning around and pea soup to start spewing from your mouth.”

“Don’t be such a baby. It wasn’t that bad. Are you telling me Dana never yelled at you?”

“No. As a matter of fact, she didn’t. We got along really well.”

“Well, you probably didn’t leave firearms lying around when you were with Dana.”

“Probably not. It was a stupid thing to do, I get it.”

I glanced up at the sky, recoiling from the bright sun. I wasn’t sure, but it had to be getting close to June, if it wasn’t already. I could already feel beads of sweat forming along my hairline. God, I missed deodorant.

Joey lifted the Glock with both hands, aimed, and fired. Bam, bam, bam, bam. Four cans in a row cartwheeled off the fence.

“Nicely done,” I said, shading my eyes with my hand. “Can I try?”

“No. This gun is allergic to bitchiness.”

“Are you calling me a bitch?”

“No, I said you’re being bitchy. There is a difference.”

“Not really.” I took the gun from him and held it in front of me. I shot once, missed, and then hit the next three.

“Not bad,” Joey said.

“I’ve been practicing with Bryce.”

“I know. I’ve seen you.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, you’re getting pretty good.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. You’re still being bitchy.”

I frowned. “You’re still being a dumbass.”

Joey frowned, too. His tan T-shirt was already soaked with sweat. His arm muscles strained and glided every time he moved them, and I couldn’t help but wonder what the rest of him looked like.

“Why are you so mean all the time?” he asked, spitting on the ground next to him. “Is it because you’re trying to hide that you want me?”

Ick. He was so arrogant. “I wouldn’t want you if you were the last man on earth.”

“That’s just hateful.” He was a little hurt. I could see it in his eyes, and to my surprise, that softened me up a little.

I sighed. “I just don’t want you to know that I . . . I like you. A little. Not a lot.”

“You like me,” Joey said, more of a statement than a question.

“Not a lot,” I qualified.

“Haven’t you and Bryce been together since birth?”

“Close.”

“He doesn’t like me.”

“Not really, no,” I said, shaking my head.

“Is that why? Because he knows how you feel about me?”

“I don’t know. I don’t even know how I feel.”

“You just said you like me.”

I shrugged. “I like everyone.”

“No you don’t.”

“That’s true.”

Joey put the gun on safety, showed me, and then took a step closer. He was so close that I could feel his breath on my face, and see the sweat glisten between the thick, dark whiskers of his five o’clock shadow. He was so unlike anyone I would normally be attracted to, but then again, I didn’t know whom I would be attracted to because I’d been with Bryce for so long.

“I like you, too,” he said. And then he walked away, leaving me in a puddle of holy shit and inappropriate thoughts.

After several moments, I walked to the porch and sat on the top step. The storm door opened and closed, but it wasn’t until I saw two perfect legs that I knew who it was.