Strike: Bases Series (Book Two) Read online

  “Thank you,” I reply. I want to ask him how he’s back here and why he didn’t tell me, but I’ll save those questions for later.

  “Do you mind if I see that?” Jake asks.

  Dad hands him a piece of paper. “Questions to ask potential employees.”

  I smile at Dad. “Did you Google that?”

  “I did, it’s amazing what you can find on the internet.”

  “Don’t look too hard, Mr. Boyd, you might get in trouble with the wife.” My jaw drops but Dad lets out a hearty chuckle, one I haven’t heard in a long time.

  I’m going to let Jake slide on that one.

  “Well, I play a hand in my new hires,” Jake states. “Do you mind if I sit in and help if need be?”

  “That’d be great,” Dad quips before I get to say anything. Not that I was against it, Jake is successful.

  I, on the other hand, hired women who sleep with a specific guy and his thick country charm.

  I bat away thoughts of that day and focus on Jake’s carryout containers from Manicho’s subs. I planned on calling Colson’s bluff, that he didn’t want me but wanted to punish me. And in spite of him wanting to fuck me out of his system, I wasn’t going to be tossed away like my sister, Veronica, and every other girl he’s screwed around with since highschool.

  But when he didn’t budge, a bravery that I never knew I had transformed me into something I’ve never been: reckless. I wanted to see Colson snap into a million pieces before me. I wanted to see if the vulnerable seventeen-year-old boy that I fell in love with still existed after all this time.

  Because the man that has stood in front of me for the last several weeks is cold-hearted and selfish. He is relentless in his vendetta to acquire and triumph over his need for me underneath him. I have to remind myself that it wasn’t just him that changed, I did too.

  I have my fuck buddy in the same room as my father, for fuck sakes.

  We eat our food on Dad’s desk. I listen to both of them talk about football and baseball, shocker, and how Dad wants to expand the brokerage territory throughout the whole state. Jake feeds into his words, encouraging and suggesting, and while I should be paying attention, I can’t.

  I can’t because I’m too busy wondering why Jake and I never worked. He fits in so perfectly with my dad, but even so, that important spark was missing. We have amazing sex, the best of my life though I would never say that out loud, and he is a great guy. Problem is, he has Colson Hayes tendencies of seeking out the prized pussy, winning it, and moving on.

  When we’re finished eating, Jake and I clean up, and a moment later, our first interview shows up. She’s petite and young, long blonde hair with legs for days. Colson-fuckable.

  Next.

  “Evening, y’all,” she greets with the biggest and cutest smile I’ve ever seen. “I’m here for an interview.”

  Jake walks over to greet her. Another shocker. “Afternoon, Ms. Turnstone, right?”

  She beams at him with a chuckle. “Right, I’m Jolene. It’s nice to meet y’all.” She comes over to shake my hand, and I compel myself to act like an adult and not blurt out “nope.” Jolene takes Dad’s hand, and he offers her a seat next to mine.

  “I just love this office,” she praises, looking over the decade-old blue paint and pictures of fish that Dad put up when he was on a fishing kick.

  “Thank you,” Dad replies. “Needs some work but not many people come in here besides me and my daughter.”

  She smiles at me. “All it needs is a woman’s touch. Why if you just watch HGTV, I’m sure you’ll just find loads of ideas that you could use.”

  I force a weak grin. “Absolutely.”

  “My mama loves that channel. She’ll just watch it all day long.” She continues on about decorating, directing her attention toward Dad, who couldn’t give a flying shit about the subject, when Jake pulls up a chair behind me.

  “She’s a no for me,” he mutters in my ear. I cover my mouth with my hands to hide a smile, also using it as a cover to ask my next question.

  “How are you here right now?” I ask him.

  “I missed you. Plus, I finished that big deal I told you about early, had a few days to spare.”

  “I’m glad.”

  “I’m glad you’re glad,” he whispers. “Now, let’s get rid of this chick. Jolene,” Jake asserts in a normal tone, taking back over the conversation. “We’d like to know a little about yourself. What kind of experience do you have in the real estate field?”

  I’ll sum it up for you that she has none. She legit ratted herself out and said she just added it to her resume when Jake asked her what kind of brokerages she’s worked for.

  The second person that came in for an interview was a sharp looking middle-aged man who looked like Josh Duhamel but with facial hair. Jake made his interview last ten minutes less than Jolene’s talkative ass, telling me that we were trying to stay away from the asshole tool bags in the world.

  Guess he didn’t notice his wedding ring.

  The next was an older woman who asked Dad if we would train her on the position and the fourth was too busy eye fucking Jake, so I quickly ended her interview in the middle of one of her sentences.

  When the fifth candidate came around three hours later and I was ready to pass out in my chair, I was surprised when the woman, who looked to be around my age, knew the ins and outs of real estate. She came in with a pencil skirt and white blouse, leather binder, and glasses. She was attentive, answered every question perfectly, and would be a great asset to Dad’s company.

  And she had an engagement ring on.

  She was perfect.

  Dad told her that we’d call her back with a decision like he did the other four, and we call it a night. I kiss Dad goodbye, and Jake follows me back to the apartment. I’m so worn out from the week that I barely get my shoes off before my body bounces off my mattress.

  Jake removes my socks and pants, tucking me in while he slides in beside me. I thank him for the help, he gladly accepts and pulls me into his warm chest.

  “You’re doing good, Freshman,” Jake tells me. “You’re taking on too much though.”

  I yawn. “I’m okay.”

  “Let me take you out tomorrow.”

  “It’s Friday, I have to tutor Jace.”

  “After.” He tucks his face into my neck, and my body shivers in response.

  “Okay.”

  He presses a kiss to my sensitive skin. “You’re drifting from me.” My brows furrow, and I turn my head to look at him.

  “What do you mean?”

  “We’ll talk about it later. Sleep.” And I do. Wrapped in the arms of a man that would never purposely hurt me.

  Ten Years ago

  Sleepy Pine was our go-to spot every year when we need a break from baseball and softball. All of us come up here, a good hour drive from Freemont, and stay in Rebecca Hanson’s family cabin. It's a lakefront property that isn't big enough to fit all of us inside, so we load up a bunch of food and pop up tents along the lake.This year, some people brought up their significant others or a friend, so there are a few people I don’t recognize, but it doesn’t matter.

  What does matter is my ten attempts to tell Gavin to turn down the fucking music before someone calls the cops. A bunch of senior citizens and small families live and visit here, it’s not a party scene, which is what Gavin is making it. Thank God I removed the fireworks from the back of his truck before we left or we’d all be in handcuffs.

  Lighting my blunt, I lean back against the wood cabin in the shadows of the night. The night is warm, but a fire is blazing in the pit, where many of the girls surround it making s’mores. Gavin has two tables set up for beer pong, and a small group is dancing amongst themselves, but I find my wandering gaze seeking out a redhead with toned legs and a banging body.

  She appears around the fire, wearing a white Freemont hoodie with her hair down and gray sweatpants, leaning over Taylor’s shoulder to tell her something. She looks like a bu
m, a hot one, and I take a hit of my weed and inhale.

  She’s been dodging me all week since Liam’s party, and I let her. She needs space, I need to get my head on straight, and we both have things we need to take care of.

  Surprisingly, I’ve respected her wishes.

  I haven’t texted her about our history paper even though I won’t be able to hold off much longer because it’s due soon. But I wanted her to...I don’t know, see that I can chill the fuck out on her, I guess. We’re coming up to the end of the school year, I don’t need her pulling some dumb ass shit with my grades or trying to bust my chances at a scholarship, so I’m going to settle down a bit.

  Shit is getting too real right now.

  Something out of my peripheral vision catches my focus, and I look over to see a guy staring at me, pointing at my blunt.

  “Hey man, can I get a hit of that?”

  “Fuck off,” I deadpan. He scoffs and shakes his head, mumbling “asshole” under his breath before leaving me alone to enjoy my shit.

  I return my regard again to Sawyer, who’s laughing with a bunch of the girls from her team as she pops a marshmallow in her mouth. I haven’t seen her around Gavin much tonight. Maybe his constant partying and being half in the bag most weekends is getting on her nerves. Or maybe she’s not as super clingy as I thought she’d be.

  I consider the latter, I’ve never seen her hanging on him or begging for his attention. She doesn’t do that annoying high-pitched whine like other girls do when she wants him to listen or interrupt him when he’s with the guys.

  She just gives him space.

  Abrupt wails sound from in front of the cabin where red and blue lights reflect off the trees and ground.

  The fucking cops are here.

  Everyone starts panicking, but I drop my blunt and beeline toward Sawyer. People run in front of me, someone yells for another to get rid of the beer cans, like that’s going to fucking help.

  It’s Gavin and his loud music that is about to get everyone busted with a phone call to their parents.

  Sawyer looks around for Gavin, but he’s probably already split. We’ve had the pigs called here before, and he’ll take up his hideout in one of the treehouses a few houses down. He and I have hidden up there a few times before without incident, and I fucked a few side pieces on the floorboards, too.

  I grip Sawyer’s hand and pull her towards the lake. It's away from the firelight, the moon is the only thing dimly lighting up the area. She doesn’t fight me, I’m expecting her to tell me to let her go to Gavin or she doesn’t want me to touch her.

  And fuck if I know why the hell I’m doing this.

  Once we hit the sand, I head to the right. Last time I was up here I found a little hidden cave-like area in a sand dune. One of the many kids that lives around here probably made it, and it would definitely do for now.

  Sawyer follows me quietly, without peppering me with a thousand and one questions. It’s probably her fear that’s silencing her into compliance. Can’t say I’m not grateful for it because I’m trying to locate the damn burrow in the dimness of the night before the cops start searching the area.

  I find the shallow cove, pulling her inside with me. She finds one of the walls and leans against it for support, tucking her legs under her butt. I notice her body is trembling, and I know it’s not from the lake’s cool breeze. She’s not used to sneaking away from pigs or security guards. Shit, she most likely lied that she was coming up here to her parents.

  “We’ll be safe here,” I tell her. “Don’t worry about it.”

  She tucks her hands into the pocket of her hoodie, looking outside the sand-made hideout. “My parents don’t know I’m up here.”

  See, shocker.

  “Well, we’re far enough away from the cabin so—”

  “Did you see Gavin?” she blurts. Before I can answer, her head snaps to me. “Won’t they come looking down here?”

  Slowly, I shake my head. “We’re further down the beach and—”

  “But wouldn’t they think that people would be hiding?”

  “Yeah, I guess but—”

  “Oh my God... “ She looks back outside the cove. “My dad is going to kill me.”

  “Bases,” I assert, getting her attention. “We’re going to be fine here.”

  “But how do you know? They could want to round everyone up and—”

  “They have better things to do,” I convey. “And they don’t know how many people are here.”

  “But my student I.D. is in one of the tents and—”

  “Alright, that’s enough,” I chide, rubbing my temple. “This isn’t a murder investigation. They came because the music was too loud.” Her chest rises as she takes a deep inhale. The sound of waves and Sawyer’s heavy breathing are the only two things filling the silence.

  We might be here awhile.

  Sitting down in the cool sand, I tuck my legs in to make sure we wouldn’t be seen if shards of light come down this way. Sawyer inches closer to me, brushing our knees together, but that’s as far as she goes.

  “I don’t know how you live like this,” Sawyer whispers, pulling her knees into her chest. I concentrate on the dark waves that crash onto the shore. I don’t want to see what color the moonlight makes her hair or how it glows along her skin.

  I’m a fucking human, for God’s sakes.

  “Do what?” I edge out.

  “Live so rebelliously,” she imparts. “I’m about to have a heart attack.”

  I inwardly scoff, weeks ago I had her called into Principal McMahon’s office, and now, I’m wanting to soothe away her worries.

  This chick is changing everything, and I don’t have the willpower anymore to make her do what I want her to do, which is still to break up with Gavin. Honestly, with the way he’s been acting and the way she is, it’s probably destined to fail anyway. All I have to do is sit back and watch it crumble.

  I dig my fingers into the sand, letting it cool my skin and restrict my hands so I keep them to my damn self. “You get bored here, Bases. Gotta think of ways to entertain yourself.”

  “Read a book,” she vouches. I roll my eyes even though she can’t see it.

  “You need to live a little.”

  “I’d rather live in a hole where it’s safe.”

  “You could live in here, but the kids who built it might want to charge you rent.”

  “I can deal with kids,” she replies. “It’s my own age group that I can’t seem to relate to.”

  “You’re doing just fine,” I deadpan. And she is, especially when half the girls in school want to bleach her hair and watch it fall out for still dating Gavin.

  Rumors of her and I have fallen short on the gossip mills, so she has that going for her right now. For me, on the other hand, it’s increased the number of girls standing by my locker nonchalantly trying to talk to me throughout the day.

  “I have Mandy and—” A sharp yell stops her from speaking anymore.

  “Let’s go a little further,” the deep voice orders. “Then circle back around.” Sawyer shuffles back like a caged animal, her back hitting the wall behind her. There wasn’t much space to hide, and if the cops do come down here, they’d really have to point their lights on the right spot to find us.

  “Bases,” I whisper. “Relax, we’re not going to get caught.”

  “You don’t know that,” she snaps in a whisper. “I should’ve never come here. I just thought that it’d be fun, and I’ve never gone somewhere this far without my parents. Plus I’m going to be eighteen in a few weeks, and I didn’t think that—”

  I do it before I put too much thought into it, wanting to take her mind off the police raid at the cabin. I grip her chin and twist her face to the side, pressing my lips to her cheek. Her body freezes, and I fight every urge in my own to keep myself from acting upon any more stupid impulses.

  This is Sawyer Boyd, she isn’t going to cheat on her boyfriend.

  She isn’t going to kiss me bac
k.

  She isn’t going to feel anything for me.

  I break the kiss as my last thought filters through my brain. She can bitch at me for kissing her, that she has told me time and time again to not touch her, but it got her to shut the hell up for a minute at least.

  “There,” I say finally. “Something else to think about.” Her hand comes up to her face, and she brushes the spot that my lips were just at.

  “Why did you do that?” she stutters.

  I shrug, looking away from her. “Just wanted to help.”

  I need my blunt that I carelessly tossed aside for a girl that isn’t anything to me.

  “You don’t help unless there is something in it for you,” she retorts softly. I shake my head even though what she’s saying is true.

  I’m realistic, and what’s a solid and hardstone fact is that Sawyer will never be mine, even for a night. And even for an hour, I don’t trust myself around her. Before, she was only seeping into my thoughts, I wanted to own her just to throw her away. But now, she plagued them. She wasn’t a thought but a consumption of what-ifs playing out that needed to choke on themselves.

  “You’re different,” I vaguely reply. She waits a second before she responds.

  “Because you’re on a warpath with me?”

  A soft scoff leaves my lips. “Warpath?”

  “You told me that...you were coming for me.”

  “Ah, yeah, that.” I sink my fingers deeper into the sand. “Well, you did fuck up my thing with Principle McMahon.”

  “You started it,” she mumbles.

  “This again?”

  “Just saying…”

  “I warned you against it.”

  “Which means I should’ve listened because you said it, right?”

  I smirk. “Normally people do, Bases.”

  “You don’t scare me.”

  “I’ve noticed.” Another shout pierces off somewhere, but it's further away now. They weren’t going to come down any further to look for stragglers.

  “Thanks, for getting me out of there.”

  “Sure.” I nestle closer to my side of the wall, knowing that we don’t need to stay here much longer. That once we walk out of here, it’ll be back to reality.