Catch Twenty-Two Read online

We’re not even five minutes into our date and we’re already off to a horrible start. I can’t blame her though. She’s once again in my truck, no doubt forced by her nan to spend time with me when she’d probably like nothing better than to be spending the evening with Rowdy.

  “Listen,” I sigh, closing my eyes.

  I want to bad-mouth the foreman, tell her that’s he’s bad for her, demand that she stop spending so much time with him, but where does that leave me?

  I’m not able to make her smile the way he does.

  I’m not capable of forgetting about what I have to go home to every night, which makes it impossible for me to be light and carefree.

  As much as I hate to admit, Rowdy is perfect for her. The six-year age difference is a little creepy to me, but who am I to judge?

  But one night, this night, I want to just let go of everything. Let go of the pain, the anger, and the guilt that swims in my gut for leaving my mom alone all day only to leave again to go to the fair.

  I just want to toss it all out the window and just be carefree for a couple hours.

  “What, Zeke?” When I open my eyes, I find Frankie’s searching. I don’t know what she’s looking for, but I seize the moment and reach for her hand.

  “Can we just forget everything that’s happened between us?”

  “Everything?”

  “All the bad stuff,” I clarify. “Just for tonight let’s just be Zeke and Frankie, two teenagers wanting to have a good time.”

  “No insults or snide remarks?”

  “None.”

  “Promise?”

  “I promise.”

  She nods, a small hesitant smile pulling up the corner of her mouth.

  After putting the truck in gear, I reach for her hand again, and just like the first time she allowed it, I feel blessed that she’s letting me touch her. Our combined hands rest in the center of the seat the entire drive to the county fair.

  “Wow,” Frankie says, awe filling her voice as she leans forward to look out the windshield. “It’s much bigger than I thought it would be.”

  I’ve been coming here every year for as long as I can remember. Mom and Dad would make a point to spend at least one night here letting me eat junk food and waste money on carnival games, no matter how many times the rigged games left me empty-handed. The last two years, I spent with friends, too old to suffer the embarrassment of tagging along with my parents.

  This year, I didn’t even bother calling any of my buddies from school. Hell, I haven’t spoken to anyone really since summer break started unless I ran into them while I was getting supplies in town. It’s nothing personal on my end or theirs. Summer is filled with long hours and exhaustion for most of us. We’ll pick right back up when the fall semester starts.

  I can’t imagine what all of this looks like to Frankie’s fresh eyes, but she seems excited, the glint of the flashing carnival lights reflecting off her eyes.

  “Ready?” I squeeze her hand to urge her into motion.

  She grins, a wide smile that transforms her face from the sullen girl that approached me when I first pulled up in the driveway into the happy girl that grinned at me while we were working together before Rowdy made his appearance.

  We keep close, but after we round the front of my truck, she doesn’t reach for my hand again. I like to think it’s because she’s too busy taking in the sights and sounds of hundreds of people enjoying the pop-up fair that mere hours ago was nothing but an old, dusty field.

  “What do you want to do first? Food, rides, or games?”

  Her eyes widen, darting back and forth as she moves her hands from the front of her jeans to the back pockets.

  “Crap,” she mutters, her cheeks tinting pink.

  “What’s wrong?” I take a step closer, but she takes a step back. I thought we’d made progress earlier, if anything calling a truce for the night, but she can’t seem to want to get away from me fast enough.

  “I didn’t expect you to show.”

  “Yet, here I am.” I spread my arms at my sides, trying my best to get her back to smiling and looking forward to our night.

  “I didn’t think you’d show,” she repeats. “I didn’t bring my wallet.”

  “Frankie,” I sigh.

  “We don’t have to leave. I don’t really want to do any of that stuff to begin with. I can just watch you.”

  She grins to reassure me but it doesn’t reach her eyes.

  “This is a date, pretty girl.” Taking a chance, I run my knuckle down her cheek until she’s looking up at me. “Even if you had brought money, I wouldn’t let you spend it.” She blinks up at me. “Is that how guys treat you on dates back in Colorado?”

  She snorts, an unladylike sound that makes my own lips curl up in a smile. Despite the distance between us lately, Frankie doesn’t pretend to be anything other than herself around me.

  “Dates?” She rolls her eyes. “I’ve never been on a date, unless you count the class field trip in third grade where Mr. Monroe forced me to safety-partner up with Chandler Cooper as a date.”

  “Was he a gentleman?” I ask, rolling my teeth between my lips to keep from laughing.

  “Ugh.” Her eyes roll again, even more dramatically this time. “He spent the whole day picking his nose. It took all I could do not to gag the entire time.”

  “Well,” I clasp her hand, forcing it into the crook in my arm and turn her back toward the fair, “I promise not to pick my nose, and I’m honored to be your very first real date.”

  I can see her eyeing me skeptically from my periphery, but I don’t acknowledge it.

  “Maybe if I’m lucky, I’ll even get a goodnight kiss for my trouble.”

  She chuckles, but the husky sound lets me know that she may not be completely opposed to the chance.

  We start with chili dogs and tater tots, topping the meal off with a funnel cake—county fair staples—before I introduce Frankie to my subpar abilities on the games.

  “I figured you’d be good at sports,” Frankie whispers when yet another perfectly aimed basketball bounces off the rim.

  “These things are rigged,” I tell her.

  “Yet you still keep playing.”

  She grins when I hand more tickets to the man working the basketball throw.

  “I’m better at football, but I saw the way you were eyeing that unicorn.”

  Her eyes flash to the white and rainbow decorated stuffed toy hanging from the gridwork at the side of the game.

  “Aww.” She flutters her eyelashes as she draws her hands up to her chest. “And you’re going to go broke trying to win it for me?”

  “Do you want it or not?” I ask, but there isn’t an ounce of irritation in my voice. Hell, I’ll spend every last dollar I have if it means I get to hear her sweet laugh every time I miss.

  “Not really,” she finally answers. “I’m a little old for stuffed animals.”

  So much for the romantic gesture.

  I throw and miss my last shot, but before I can offer up more money, she grabs my hand and pulls me away.

  “Maybe you’d have better luck with the ring toss.”

  “Those are games for babies,” I murmur.

  “Yet, that little boy just won a dragon.” She points to the snot-nosed, freckle-faced kid waving his new toy around like he just won a million dollars.

  He hands it to a little girl in a stroller, and we both watch as she clutches it to her chest with a wide, toothless grin.

  “Seems he’s better at wooing than I am.”

  “Are you trying to woo me, Zeke Benson?”

  Her perfect smile hasn’t left her face since we walked into the gates and man do I feel like a king keeping it there.

  “I’m doing my bes—”

  “Zeke?”

  Frankie tips her head to the side so she can see past my shoulder, but I already know who’s approaching us. I knew I wouldn’t be able to get around this damn fair without running into someone from school.

  I h
old Frankie’s gaze for a long moment before sighing and facing those approaching us.

  “Hey, man.” Paul, a guy from school claps me on the back. “How’s your summer been? Haven’t seen you at all since school let out.”

  “From the looks of it, he’s got a very good reason to have kept to himself,” Jason, another buddy says as he notices Frankie’s hand in mine. He nudges me with his shoulder. “Introduce us, jackass.”

  A small smile touches Frankie’s lips, but it’s nothing like the way her face was lit up a few moments before our interruption. She’s no more interested in these guys than I am.

  “Frankie, these are a couple of guys from school. Jason and Paul, this is Frankie. She’s visiting her grandmother this summer.”

  “I’m Cheryl,” a girl from the junior class interrupts, holding her hand out to Frankie before Paul can clasp her hand, no doubt he planned on kissing her knuckles. I don’t know what’s worse, Paul trying to hit on her or this girl standing between us.

  “Frankie,” she says as they shake hands.

  “This is Suzanne and Tricia,” Cheryl says as two more girls join us.

  I don’t step closer to Frankie like I want to. The action would speak too loudly in this group, but keeping my distance only gives Cheryl exactly what she’s looking for. She doesn’t touch me, but she slides so close to my chest, I doubt a single piece of paper would fit between us. Cheryl has been vying for my attention for years, but her older brother is one of my closest friends and that makes her off-limits, not that I’m attracted to her, anyway.

  “Wanna ride the Ferris wheel with me?”

  She bites her bottom lip, doing her best to act sexy, and I’m an asshole for not mentioning the speck of pepper lodged in her teeth.

  “No,” I state simply. “Frankie and I were about to hit the haunted house.”

  Frankie’s eyes widen, but Paul distracts me again with another clap on my shoulder. “Come on, girls. Let the man enjoy his date.”

  I want to snarl at the way his eyes rake over Frankie before he urges them all to walk away with him.

  “They seem like nice people,” Frankie says when I watch them to make sure they actually leave us alone.

  “Just kids from school,” I assure her. “So how about that haunted house?”

  I clasp her hand, refusing to let my friends derail our evening.

  “It’s the end of June,” Frankie stammers as I tug her along. “Isn’t that stuff better suited for Halloween?”

  “This is Mormon country,” I remind her with a grin. “Other than a few Trunk or Treat events at the local churches, this haunted house is the closest thing we get to celebrating pagan holidays.”

  “I’d rather not.” She digs her feet in when we near the mouth of the haunted house.

  “What?” I turn around to see legitimate fear in her eyes. “Are you scared?”

  “Don’t tease me. I just don’t like scary things. Haunted houses, scary movies, I don’t see the point in them.”

  “It gets your adrenaline going, and when it’s over, you get to feel ridiculous for being a little spooked by idiots wearing rubber masks.”

  “Can we just skip it? The Ferris wheel seems like a good idea. I can sit at the concession stand while you ride it with that girl.”

  Dammit, doesn’t jealousy look good on her.

  I pull her against my chest. “One, I’ll keep you safe from the boogey monsters. Two, if anyone is riding the Ferris wheel with me, it’d be you. Now come on.”

  Before she can argue further, I hand over our tickets to the guy manning the front of the haunted house.

  “Any heart problems?” We both shake our heads. “Are you pregnant?”

  “No,” Frankie snaps, but the guy doesn’t seem offended. He merely steps to the side and allows us to enter.

  I chuckle when she stiffens the second we step inside. We’re immediately wrapped in darkness. The air inside is stifling, but I expect it. I come into the haunted house multiple times each year. I’m betting it’ll only be once today. Frankie isn’t going to do this twice. I’m shocked she didn’t refuse to begin with.

  “Hold my hand,” she whispers and her fingers brush the front of my stomach as she seeks me out.

  I clutch her hand quickly before it can go any lower. She’d quickly find out just how much I’ve been enjoying her company all evening if that happened.

  She squeals like a maniac when a goblin-masked idiot steps around the corner. By the time we make it to the room with the witch stirring a cauldron while she just stares ominously in our direction, Frankie is a ball of nerves. Her hand trembles in mine, and she’s so close to me, I might as well be carrying her. I’m loving every second of this, and I’m sure she can sense it when I cover her back with my front and wrap both arms around her and pull her in tight.

  “I won’t let them get you,” I vow.

  She doesn’t respond immediately, but when I lean forward, I see her eyes darting all over the place, waiting for the next person to jump out and scare her. Since I’ve been in this haunted house a hundred times, and nothing ever changes around here, I know we’re about twenty feet from the exit, but I’m also aware of the nook off to the side. I don’t waste a second turning Frankie in my arms and pushing her against the wall to the right.

  “Wh-what are you doing? Let’s get out of here.” She can’t look me in the eye, too terrified that the trip inside isn’t over and she’s going to be scared again.

  “I’ve got you,” I whisper as I watch her eyes dart all over the place.

  Chapter 18

  Frankie

  “L-Let’s get out of here,” I urge again.

  I don’t have to go into detail how terrified I am. He’s a smart boy. He can tell by the tremble in my hands. He can probably smell my fear, but he doesn’t seem to want to budge.

  The creepy green light that has created the terrifying ambiance since the moment we stepped inside makes his face eerie and ghostly, but when I shift my focus to his green-specked hazel eyes I don’t feel as frightened anymore.

  “What are you doing?” I whisper when he seems perfectly content just to look down at me.

  There’s distance between us, but I’m still stuck between his hard body and the wall at my back.

  A shrill scream echoes around us, and I immediately know that the guy with the Jason Voorhees mask just scared the people walking through the haunted house right behind us.

  We’re hidden in the shadows, a little alcove where the hazy lights don’t quite reach, and I look around Zeke’s silent body as three people walk toward the exit door. They don’t even look in our direction as they leave.

  “Have you had fun tonight?” he asks as his fingers trail down my arms.

  A wave of chill bumps makes me shiver, but I don’t think it’s fear that’s drawing them to the surface this time. He wraps his pinky fingers around mine, and the move seems more intimate, more important than the hand holding we’ve been doing all evening.

  “Frankie?” His breath is warm on my face, but he’s still not touching me anywhere but those two fingers. “Have you had a good time?”

  “Yes, until you brought me in here of course.”

  His laugh is low and husky. “I’m glad you’ve had fun. I’ve been looking forward to tonight for a long time.”

  “You have?” We’re both whispering, and I have no idea why, but it just feels right in this moment.

  He nods, the movement of his face creepier in the green light than I’d like, but his body is blocking anything that might try to scare me, and I have a feeling, just by the way he’s looking down at me, that he’s not interested in my fear any longer. Zeke Benson has something else on his mind, and just the anticipation of what that might be sends a thrill of excitement through me.

  “Are you cold?” he asks, not letting the shiver go unnoticed.

  I shake my head as he digs his teeth into his lower lip.

  “Do you want to get out of here?”

  He answer
s his own question by taking another step closer, and the action makes me have to tilt my head back even further to maintain eye contact with him. He still doesn’t touch me any other place than my fingers, but the heat of his body is enough to ignite the sparks that have been firing for him all night.

  “What are we doing?” I feel a desperate need for explanation. I don’t want to read him wrong. I don’t want to get our wires crossed, like I apparently did with our kiss in the truck.

  I also don’t want him to see the pure desire for his lips on mine again when he looks at me, so I turn my head, swallowing to try to push those feelings down. We’re at least a half a mile from the truck and if he’s mean to me right now, I know I’d never make it away from the hundreds of eyes that will follow me there if he hurts me again.

  Already dreading the worst, I attempt to tug my hands from him, but rather than release me, he clasps my full hands in his and shifts us so my arms are behind my back. His breath comes out harsher, sharp pants on my cheek as he bends his knees to line our faces up better.

  “Zeke?” I whisper, his name a plea, a prayer not to hurt me again.

  “Your heart is racing,” he says the second he presses fully against me.

  “I’m scared,” I confess. There’s no sense in denying it.

  “Of the haunted house or of me?”

  “Yes.”

  He chuckles, but it doesn’t sound like he’s making fun of me, and I can’t analyze anything when he presses his soft lips to my throat.

  I whimper, the sound escaping my mouth before I even register the action enough to stop it.

  “You smell amazing, fresh and perfect.” He runs his nose down the column of my neck. “Innocent yet willing.”

  Oh, God. Did the temperature in here just go up twenty degrees?

  My legs tremble, but Zeke either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care. He also doesn’t let me crumble to the dirty floor either.

  I flex my hands in his, begging without words for him to let me go, but he doesn’t respond the way I expect him to. Instead of releasing my hands, he steps even closer, shifting his thigh between my legs and pressing harder against me. The action presses my chest further into his, and I inwardly wonder if he can feel the sharp points of my now peaked nipples against his chest.