14. Oakley

14

OAKLEY

We don't spend a lot of time watching hockey. Mostly, we watch the Carolina Blue Hawks' games because that's where Haze's brother's boyfriend coaches. It's in quiet support of his brother. I know just enough about hockey not to look like a complete idiot. But only because Haze has been forced to watch it his entire life. We would watch games when he attended in case he ever made it onto the big screen over the rink. That meant we couldn't not learn something about the sport.

I'm not sure I'm actually interested in hockey. I mean, they wear tight pants, so that's nice. And if you've ever seen them stretch before a game, you know that I've thought many dirty things about these men.

It is a rather impressive game. Their skill on skates is extraordinary enough alone. But they're constantly trying to fight, take each other's heads off and crush each other like pancakes against the boards—all while chasing this little black puck and getting it into a net blocked by a beast of a person in thick pads.

I don't have to be interested in hockey to find it fascinatingly violent.

On my left, Levis' attention is split between his phone and the television. I think he's just hanging out with us because he doesn't have anything going on right now. He likes hockey better when we go in person. But right now he'd much rather be talking to his girlfriend.

I try not to let it bother me. It doesn't bother me. I'm just jealous that I don't know how to find that. Well, not a girlfriend—no thanks—but a relationship. Someone to text with all the time. Someone who wants my attention. I want to be on the other end with a guy like Levis who is smiling at his phone as he texts me.

Instead, I attract the creeps like Daniel/Jason. What did I ever do to piss off karma? Where is the fairness in this?!

A sound like a pop thunk makes the three of us look toward the front window. Haze leans forward to get a clear view across the road just as Briar comes down the stairs and opens the front door to look.

"What're they doing?" Levis asks.

"I think… that's a bow and arrow," he answers.

"In the front yard?" Haze asks. "They're going to kill someone."

"No. Along the side of the house. I'm guessing they have a target I can't see," Briar says.

I scoot forward on the couch so I can look out the window too. The amount of time we spend watching the Van Dorens is probably criminal. But they're fascinating. And gorgeous. In our defense, we're not the only ones who watch them all the time.

"I'm tired of watching them from here," Briar declares as he pushes the door open wider. "I'm going to see if they're friendly."

Haze gets up to follow him out. I'm content to remain where I'm at, but when Levis gets to his feet, he grabs my hand and pulls me along. "Time to socialize, Oak," he says.

I scowl at him. I'm awkward and weird when I try to talk to other people! It's just embarrassing.

It's Saturday, so I'm not surprised to see everyone outside. All seven Van Dorens in their various degrees of sexy as hell in different stages of undress. Goddamn. I may drool.

"Hi," Briar says a few feet ahead of us, stopping on the sidewalk outside their house. "I'm Briar." He glances behind him and gestures. "Haze, Levis, and Oakley. In case you didn't see us walk out the front door, we live across the street."

I'm decent at recognizing them at this point. Except the triplets. If any multiple births look alike, it's these three. Even their hair seems to fall just the same as the other two. I wonder if they do it on purpose.

I pay attention when Myro introduces the triplets. Ellory is wearing a black tank, Avory is wearing a white tee, and Imry isn't wearing a shirt at all. I watch them just long enough to repeat that in my head. Ellory black, Avory white, Imry skin. Okay, committed to memory. They're not allowed to ever change.

When I look up, my heart catches in my throat. Loren's sitting on the deck with their father, his eyes locked on mine. Why's he watching me? I'm suddenly self-conscious. Do I have something in my teeth? Is my hair a mess?

Actually, my hair is always a mess. That's not new. But he's so put together, maybe he hates my mess. Is my presence making him angry?

"Did I see you have a bow?" Briar asks and I turn my attention away from Loren.

"Yeah!" Imry says. "You know how to shoot?"

"Nope but I've been dying to learn for ages."

"Come here," Voss invites, offering Briar the bow in his hands. "Are you right- or left-handed?"

"Right."

Voss nods and hands him the bow. I watch as he shifts Briar with his hands on Briar's hips, tapping his feet apart with his own. Voss's explanation is quiet as he teaches Briar how to hold the bow, explaining how to stretch and aim.

They go through the motions, Voss buddy shadowing him as if he were another skin. Briar nods occasionally and asks questions. I'm a little baffled about how he can stand there with a hot guy pressed against him and concentrate. Does he feel Voss's dick?

I shift and try to slyly decide if they're pressed that close. It's hard to tell from this angle, but hell, that's all I'd be thinking about. Just slightly pressing my ass back. Maybe a little rub.

Okay, obviously I'm a little horny right now. It's been a while. Since before Daniel/Jason. Still, I can't stop the warmth in my belly as I watch how close Voss stands as he teaches Briar. And damn, Briar is stupidly unaffected.

Straight men, I swear!

The first pop thunk makes me jump. I'd been so engrossed about imagining chemistry between them, I'd missed the moment it went from teaching to shooting.

"Nice," Voss praises. "Try another."

This time, he's not standing behind Briar, but to his side. He shifts Briar's arms a little, still quietly coaching him, and then backs away. Briar lets it go and this time, it hits the rings. The outside rings, but still the rings.

Briar looks at us with a beaming grin.

"You're a quick student," Voss says. "Go ahead and shoot some more."

I shift beside Levis to get a closer look at the target. It's at the other end of the house and I recognize it as what they'd been building the other day.

Prickles on my neck make me realize that I'm still being watched. I glance at Loren again and sure enough, his eyes are locked on me. Is he trying to make me uncomfortable? Am I uncomfortable?

Chewing the inside of my lip, I press my arm to Levis's. He drapes his arm around my shoulders, his attention still on Briar. He's smiling, nodding along to Briar's progress. Honestly, I'm big impressed by how close he is to the center already.

"Have you shot a bow before?" Voss asks, eyes narrowed.

Briar laughs. "Not in real life. I have in video games. VR."

"I'm a little jealous that you're so good at it so quickly."

"Trust me, there's not much I'm good at this fast, so I'm going to take this win where I can."

"We've got some pizzas being delivered," Imry interjects. "I can add on a few more if you'd like to hang out a while."

Briar nods, looking in our direction. "Yeah, sounds cool."

Haze is crouched on the ground on Levis's other side, watching Briar shoot. He shrugs his agreement. Levis and I do the same.

"Anyone else want to try?" Voss asks when Briar hands him the bow and heads down to retrieve the arrows.

I most certainly do not. That's far too much distraction with a man pressed against me. Considering I'm slightly heated just watching two straight men shoot, I'm certainly not in the mood to be touched by a hot stranger right now.

Haze decides he'd like to try, though. I watch as Voss repeats the process that he performed with Briar. Haze isn't quite so good right off. He goes through the quiver of arrows twice and only hits the target twice. He spends a good ten minutes with Imry searching the tree line for the arrows that didn't even hit the target.

After lunch, Haze gives it another try, and only has to hunt missed one arrow. Maybe he was hungry.

Then Levis decides he wants to try. He hasn't shot since he was a kid, so he welcomes Voss's guidance. He's an even better shot than Briar. For the next half an hour, we watch Briar and Levis try to outdo the other.

The entire time, Loren watches me. I'm not sure he looked away at all. My stomach continues to twist and flutter. My heart races.

By the time Briar and Levis call it a draw, the Van Dorens have pulled out cornhole boards. I'm not very athletic or coordinated when it comes to physical activity. I could likely pull the bowstring, though. Then again, it's been a long time since I tried to do anything that required any kind of strength.

While they occupy themselves with cornhole, I wander to the bow and pick it up. It's not wooden, but one of those new ones with lots of physics involved as strings go over levers and whatever.

I turn when a shadow falls next to mine and my breath catches to find Loren there. Watching me. I set down the bow, unsure if I should have been touching it.

Loren picks it up and hands it back to me. "Do you know how to shoot?" he asks.

Holy hell, his voice! I've never heard something so… like the night. Dark, quiet, hypnotic, maybe a little dangerous.

I shake my head. "I'm not sure if I can even pull the string back," I say.

"You can," he promises, nodding.

I'm not so confident, but his encouragement is enough to make me try. Even if I make a fool of myself. How embarrassing will it be if I can't?

I lift my left arm holding the bow and grip the string with my two fingers. There's immediate resistance, but it gets more difficult as I pull back. Holding it in place makes my arms shake.

I'm holding my breath as I try to control the snap back as I slacken the string. Jesus, I'm out of shape.

"Want to shoot?" he asks, and my eyes meet his.

I can't look away. I'm not sure if it's the beauty of his eyes or his voice, or maybe just the way he looks at me. Swallowing, I shake my head.

"If you're not comfortable with me teaching you, I can get Voss," Loren offers.

"Why wouldn't I be comfortable with you teaching me?" I ask.

He shrugs. "I make most people uneasy."

The way my heart clenches at those words. Loren says them as if he's only commenting on the color of the sky or the weather. Not like it bothers him. Maybe it doesn't. Or maybe he's been living with that for a very long time and has grown numb to it.

"You can teach me," I say before I realize what I'm saying. "I'm not uneasy."

Loren's head tilts to the side a little. When his lips curl just a bit, my stomach flutters for real. I bet he's breathtaking when he smiles.

I watch him, feeling slightly lightheaded, as he moves around me. He's bigger than me, which I don't think is particularly hard. I feel his heat everywhere when he steps close. His hands are gentle on my wrist as he brings up my arm, shadowing my grip with his.

My heart races, and his breath brushes over my neck, raising chills along my body. I glance down, praying to the fucking universe that I'm not obviously hard right now. I think the tight underwear I'm wearing are working for me.

"I can adjust the tension if it's too much," Loren offers, his voice low in my ear.

I shiver at the way his voice moves through my body. He steps backward, his grip on me loosening. Twisting around, I look at him over my shoulder, letting the string go slack again. My muscles cry in protest. My arm feels like a noodle.

"Do I make you uncomfortable being so close?" he asks.

I shake my head.

"Are you sure, Oakley?"

Fucking hell, the way he says my name!

"I'm sure," I say. No, let's be honest. It comes out in a whisper.

Loren steps closer, pressing a little more fully into my back. It doesn't last long, which is fortunate because I'm on the verge of groaning. My palms are sweaty when he reaches for my hands again. If I shoot an arrow, it's likely going to go through a window.

"Let your muscles learn the correct hold," he murmurs.

My muscles are trembling. Swallowing my tongue, I nod and try to concentrate on what I'm doing. Standing still. Perfectly still. Just how he has me.

His hand on the bow lets go and rests on my hip. Yep, that makes my dick jump in excitement. I risk a glance down and note that the hint of a bulge is definitely present.

"Not so stiff," he says. "If you're rigid, then the shot will be too stiff. You need to be strong but fluid. Like the bend of the bow."

"That's kind of poetic," I say quietly.

He chuckles, the sound grips my balls, and I swallow my moan. Yep, I'm far too horny for this.

Letting my arm fall, I slacken the string and set the bow down against the side of the house where I'd initially found it. "My arms are limp noodles," I say as an excuse. "I definitely don't have the muscle tone for this."

His eyes drop to my arms and then down my body. I try like hell not to shift self-consciously, well aware that my dick is truly trying to chub right now.

"Your muscle tone is perfect," he says.

My cheeks heat. "Not for a bow."

"I disagree," he insists.

I glance at the bow. Part of me wants to prove him wrong. To show him I absolutely don't have the strength. Stupid self-deprecation has me picking up the bow and an arrow and returning to where I'd been standing.

Loren stands at my back. Without words, he guides me, but his hands fall away once he's sure I'm in the right position. I don't take long to aim because my arms are already shaking. Taking a breath and letting it out slowly, I stare at the target along the shaft of the arrow.

When my breath fully releases, I let the arrow go.

Thunk .

Lowering the bow, I stare. It's dead center. Not possible. I look at the bow as if it betrayed me. That's just not possible. It's not!

Looking at Loren over my shoulder, I nearly swoon. He's smiling at me. Smug. Magnificent. I was right—a smile makes him breathtaking. He's definitely taken my breath from my lungs and I can't inhale for the life of me.

I'm not even sure I want to.