Serenity Falls(58)

I go to speak but don’t have the chance. Wes walks up, wraps an arm around me, lifts me in the air, and takes my seat before sitting me on his lap. He hands me the bottle of water before he wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me against his chest. His other hand sits comfortably on my thigh, gently stroking it up and down. “What’s goin’ on, ladies?” Wes asks.

Sarah smiles at us, and with that, I decide to let our conversation go. I look at him and force a smile. “Nothin’.”

He looks between Sarah and me, not believing my answer. “Did I interrupt something?”

As I say no, she says yes. We both begin to laugh, as he looks between the two of us, no longer skeptical but confused. “Y’all were talking about me, right?”

I snake my arms around his neck as I nuzzle his neck, inhaling his scent. “Oh yes. I was telling her about how sexy you are, and the amazing time we had in the woods.”

Against my lips, I can feel his pulse racing in his neck. “Well, please continue talking about how great I am,” he jokes, lifting me with him as he stands. He places me on my feet. “I’m gonna go and see what Reid is up to.”

“Have fun.” I smile at him as he turns to walk away.

“See, I told you. You are good for him. He’s happy,” Sarah says, watching his retreating form.

Now that it’s just Sarah and me again, I sit and attempt to steer the conversation in another direction. “So, are you and Liam finally graduating this year?” I ask, just as Liam appears. He launches out of the tree line on his dirt bike and comes to a stop a few feet away from us. I raise my hand, waving him over. Sarah turns to see who I’m looking at. When I finally catch his attention, his eyes flick to me, and then to Sarah. Smiling, he turns off the rumbling dirt bike and makes his way over toward us. Sarah turns her attention back to me as she leans back in her chair with a humph and continues. “Yeah. We’ll finally be graduating. It seems like I’ve been working my as—” She trails off, screaming with laughter as Liam effortlessly lifts her out of her seat, tosses her over his shoulder, and slaps her butt. Her arms fling around his waist as she holds on tight. “Liam, put me down. Please, put me down?”

“What are the magic words, Sweetness?” He laughs as she playfully slaps his ass.

“Put me down, now, fucker?”

“Nope. Need me to give you a hint? How about King Fucker?”

“Oh… my… gosh… Please put me down?”

“Say it,” he coaxes.

“No way,” she protests, laughing.

He draws his hand back. “Say… it…”

“Fine. You want me to say it. I’ll say it then. King Fucker.”

“That’s right, and don’t forget it.” Liam gently taps her ass.

I toss my head back, laughing at the sour expression on Sarah’s face. “You think this is funny?” she asks, as he flips her over before stealing her seat. Her hands rest high on her hips as she stands there silently fuming.

Liam reaches out for her hand and pulls her onto his lap. She struggles within his hold as she tries to get up, but his firm grip is unyielding. I laugh harder as she works with determination to scramble free. I wipe the tears away as I puff my cheeks out, trying to regain control of my laughter. “You know, Sarah, you could have saved yourself the hassle if you just would have called him ‘King Fucker’. It’s not like it was that bad. He could have picked worse things for you to call him.”

He leans his head back against the chair, his eyebrows dipped in, looking deep in thought. “You’re right, Kenleigh. I could have made her call me ‘King of the Cocks’.” He lifts an eyebrow at Sarah, daring her to argue with him.

“Yes… or that…”

“Shut up, Liam. Me and Kenleigh were just talking about graduation,” she says as a hint of a blush reddens her cheeks. Her efforts to change the subject don’t go unnoticed by me.

Sarah and Liam have lived next door to each other all their lives. When they graduated high school, they were accepted into Texas State in San Marcos, and now with their impending graduations creeping up, I’m curious as to where they will go from here. “Are y’all gonna stay in the San Marcos, Austin area, or are you guys looking into somewhere else after you graduate?”

“I’m not sure about Liam, but I was considering moving to Ft. Worth,” she replies with a sheepish shrug.

“Really?” Liam asks, confused. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch the subtle movement of his hand tenderly stroking Sarah’s thigh. “Why wouldn’t you wanna stay around Austin, around home?”