Broken Pieces (Cape Isle, #3): A Cape Isle Novel Read online

  “I need to cool off. Meet you out there,” I mumble as I walk quickly through the sand.

  Yeah, cool off in more ways than one.

  I sigh as the cool water hits my thighs. It's not that I have never noticed how attractive Zack is, trust me I have, but I have also known him my whole life. He is my best friend and I refuse to screw that up by acting on my foolish thoughts. I mean, what would happen if we slept together? It would be awkward and I would lose my best friend forever. That's not going to happen. I would rather suffer through seeing him with other women and knowing I can never be like that with him, than risk losing him.

  Zack joins me in the water and looks over at me with a smirk on his handsome face. I cock my head to the side and try to figure out what he's smiling about. Surely he can't read my mind but if he could, he would probably be mortified. He moves closer and I squeal as he picks me up.

  “Zack, no!” I scream, as he tosses me through the air. I come up out the water spluttering and wiping the hair out of my face and open my eyes, watching as he laughs.

  “Oh you are so going to pay for that,” I warn, making him laugh harder.

  “What are you going to do, Angel, throw me in too?” A chuckle is released from deep within his throat.

  “I'll get you back when you least expect it.”

  He laughs again and tosses me a football.

  “You don't scare me,” he says with a wink.

  * * *

  We spend the rest of the afternoon playing in the water, and by the time we make it back to my place, I'm wiped out. I sit down on my couch and stretch my legs out in front of me.

  Zack looks down at me and shakes his head. “Totally useless,” he says with a smirk. “I'm taking the dogs for a walk. You want pizza for dinner?”

  I nod my head and close my eyes. “Sounds great.”

  I hear him laugh as he walks towards the front door and calls the dogs over to him.

  “Take a nap. I'll be back soon.”

  I nod my head and scoot down lower on the couch. Spending all day in the sun and the ocean always makes me sleepy. I can't count how many times I've fallen asleep on my beach towel.

  I hear the front door open and then shut. I can hear my phone beeping with a text, but I'm too damn tired to get up and get it. I roll onto my side and drift off to sleep with thoughts of Zack rubbing sunscreen on my back.

  SHIT!

  This is going to be a problem.

  * * *

  I wake up a short time later and lazily blink open my eyes. I hear Zack talking to someone, who I assume is the pizza delivery guy, and stretch my arms above my head and groan. The front door closes and Zack walks back towards the kitchen.

  I lift my head and look towards the window. It's almost dark outside. How long did he let me sleep?

  Reluctantly, I swing my legs off of the couch and stand up, stumbling my way towards the kitchen, while rubbing my eyes. Both of the dogs greet me first and I smile as I scratch the tops of their heads. I look up and notice that Zack has both of his hands laid flat against my kitchen island, his head down. His body is tense and I immediately know something is wrong.

  “Zack, what is it?” I whisper.

  He doesn't respond for a few seconds and I move towards him again.

  He suddenly looks up and pins me with an angry gaze.

  “When were you going to tell me?” he asks in a low voice.

  I stop moving towards him and cock my head to the side in confusion. “Tell you what?”

  He slides my cell phone towards me. “When were you going to tell me?” he repeats.

  “I don't have the slightest idea what you are talking about. So how about you clue me in,” I say getting angry at his confusing questions.

  He points towards my phone and he looks even angrier. “When were you going to tell me that your fucking ex-boyfriend has been fucking stalking you for almost a fucking year,” he roars.

  Oh, he's really pissed. I don't think I have ever heard him this mad. I almost laugh at how many times he said the word ‘fucking’, but I know that won't help right now.

  “How did you know?” I ask, quietly

  “Your damn phone wouldn't quit beeping,” he says shaking his head.

  Ok, now I'm pissed. “You went through my phone,” I yell.

  His head pops back up and he pins me again with his gaze. “Oh hell no,” he says as he starts walking towards me.

  I back up a few steps and my eyes get wide. I have never seen Zack like this. Sure, I've seen him mad before, but nothing like this. If I'm being honest it's a little intimidating. So why am I getting so turned on the closer he gets? This is going to be a serious problem.

  Chapter Four

  Zack

  I WALK TOWARDS LEXIE AND I don't know whether to strangle her or hug her body against me. I am so mad at her for not telling me what's been going on with Jared, but I'm also scared to death that something could have happened to her.

  Why didn't she tell me?

  I'm supposed to be her best friend, yet she doesn't feel the need to talk to me about something this serious? It just doesn't make sense. On that thought, I mentally kick my own ass. I’ve been hiding my feelings for her for eighteen years. I quickly push my own short-fallings to the back of my mind: I can only deal with one thing at a time right now and this is more important.

  I watch her eyes get wide, as she takes a step back.

  “You don't get to be angry right now,” I say in a low voice.

  She stops retreating and places her hands on her hips. “And why not? You went through my phone,” she snaps.

  “It wouldn't stop beeping. I thought it may be important. I glanced at the screen and saw Jared's name and then I saw what he was writing. So yes, I picked it up and read them, but I shouldn't have had to do that. Why didn't you tell me?” I ask, stopping once I get right in front of her.

  She lowers her eyes to the floor and shakes her head. “I didn't want to bother you with that. It started when I first came home and then he stopped for awhile. He started up again right around Christmas and then Nick got hurt. It's been easier to just ignore him. It's just text messages and calls.”

  “Right now it's just text messages and calls. What if it develops into something more? He is obsessed with you Lexie. Is that why you moved home?”

  She shrugs her shoulders and continues to look down.

  “Please look at me,” I whisper.

  She slowly raises her face to meet mine and I can see tears welling up in her beautiful blue eyes. It feels like a punch to the gut. Lexie rarely cries and I don't want to be the reason for her tears.

  “Angel, please don't cry. I'm sorry I snapped at you,” I say, reaching forward to grab her tiny hand in mine.

  She shakes her head and looks over my shoulder. “I'm not crying because of you. I just want him to leave me alone. He was so mean towards the end of our relationship and now he just won't leave me the hell alone,” she says in a broken voice.

  I pull her body against mine and hug her. “We will go get you a new number tomorrow. That way he can't contact you anymore. I don't think he's stupid enough to show up here, so don't worry about that. I just wish you would have told me sooner. I would have been here for you. You know that, right?”

  She nods her head against where it's resting against my chest. “I know. I just feel stupid about the whole thing. I don't know why I stayed him with as long as I did,” she mumbles.

  “Don't feel stupid. We all make decisions that sometimes aren't the best, but you learn from those mistakes. It's all part of life.”

  She pulls back and looks up at me. She no longer has tears in her eyes, but she still looks sad and I hate that. I hate that she has to feel one ounce of pain over a man who wasn't good enough for her in the first place.

  “What mistakes have you made?” she asks.

  I move one hand from her back and use it to cup her face. I run my thumb over her cheek and I hear her breath catch. I had planned on talking
to her tonight about my feelings towards her. I had planned on coming clean and telling her how deeply I was in love with her, but how can I do that now? How can I lay my heart on the line, while hers is hurting right now? The answer is I can't. I can't fucking do it.

  I sigh and shake my head. “That's a story for another day.” I lean down and brush my lips against her forehead. I linger a second longer than is acceptable and soak in the smell of her mixed with the ocean before pulling back.

  “Are you hungry or do you want to shower first?” I ask as I let her go and walk around the counter.

  She doesn't answer and I when I look back at her questioningly, I see that she is looking at me with a curious expression.

  “Lexie?” I prompt.

  Her eyes meet mine and I see her mind working, trying to figure something out, but I just don't know what that something is. She clears her throat and seems to shake herself out of her thoughts.

  “Let's go ahead and eat. I’ll shower before bed.”

  I nod my head and grab two plates as she makes her way to the refrigerator. “Do you want a beer?” she asks.

  “Yeah. Thank you.”

  I fix a couple of slices of pizza on our plates. “Want to eat outside?” I ask, turning to look at her.

  “Yeah, sounds good.”

  I follow her to the backdoor and outside. I set our plates down on the outdoor table and sit down. She sits across from me and slides my drink over to me. Popping the top off, I take a healthy swallow, before turning back to look at her. She seems off. She's quiet and I can tell she's thinking about something important. I don't know if her mind is still on Jared or something else, and I'm too afraid of upsetting her to ask. I wait for her to take a bite of her pizza, before picking mine up and doing the same. Leaving her alone with her thoughts, I just hope she will come to me when she's ready to talk.

  * * *

  After we’ve eaten our pizza, we sit outside having a few more drinks before going back in. Lexie asks me to stay one more night and I know I should say no, but I can't. I want to hold her body close to me while she sleeps. She goes to take a shower while I put the pizza box away. I hear the water cut off and make my way to her bedroom. Moving to the dresser drawers, where I know she keeps a change of clothes for me, I grab a clean pair of underwear and a t-shirt before knocking on her bathroom door.

  “Angel, I'm going to take a shower.”

  “You can use mine. I'm almost done.”

  I nod my head even though she can't see me and sit down on the bench at the end of her bed, running my fingers through my hair.

  Why do I keep doing this to myself?

  Why can't I just tell her how I feel?

  I'm stuck in this place where I can hold her and touch her, but I can't feel her lips move against mine. I can't tell her I love her and I can't slide my cock into what I know will be heaven. I literally ache to be with her sexually, but it's not just that. I am so deeply in love with her and I just want to be with her. I sometimes wonder why she can't see it. On that thought, I reach down and readjust myself, before she walks out of the bathroom.

  The door opens and I look up.

  Lexie walks out in just a towel. Steam billows out of the door behind her and drops of water cling to her skin. Fuck, what I wouldn't give to lick them off. I shake my head and look away. Why would she come out of the bathroom just wearing a towel? Is she trying to torture me? I know the answer to that is no. Lexie has no clue what she does to me and that's my own fault for never telling her.

  “I'm done. The shower's open.”

  I nod my head, still adverting my eyes away from her as I stand up. I quickly make my way towards the bathroom and shut the door behind me and I am immediately surrounded by her smell. Laying my clean clothes down on the counter in the still foggy bathroom, I strip down and turn on the water. I check the temperature and step in. Leaning forward, I brace my hands on the tiles, as the water beats down on my head. I need to get control of myself. I promised myself that I would talk to her soon and I will, but I need to handle this with care. It would do no good if I pinned her towel-covered body against her dresser and devoured her lips, which is just what I was thinking of doing. I take a deep breath and with her smell still everywhere, it makes me even harder. I reach my hand down, giving my cock a squeeze. I moan as I think about sliding my hands under her towel and touching her pussy. I think of how wet I could make her and how sweet she would taste.

  My hand moves faster and my breath comes out in harsh pants. I'm going to come in Lexie's shower and there isn't a damn thing I can do about it. I'm too worked up.

  Is this weird? Probably so, but at the moment I just don't care.

  I think of how it would feel to sink my fingers inside of her. How warm and wet she would be for me. I think about spreading her folds and licking her until her back bows off of the bed and she comes on my face. I grow even harder in my hand. I can feel myself slick and wet from the shower and drops of pre-cum leaking out of me. I open my eyes and look down, envisioning that it's Lexie's hand moving over me. I squeeze myself tighter and I feel my spine starting to tingle. I come with a harsh groan and Lexie's name on my lips. I stay under the water for a long moment, trying to collect myself. I make sure everything is cleaned up and there is no trace of what I was doing in here, before washing myself and getting out. I should feel bad, even a little embarrassed maybe, but I don't. I slide on my boxers and my dick twitches again against the material. I could still go another round just thinking about her. I tell my over-eager ass to calm down as I make my way out of the bathroom.

  She already has the lights turned off. The lamp on my side of the bed is on and she is laying on her side facing my way. Her eyes are open and she follows my every move, as I climb into bed. I roll to my side and face her, and for a moment we just stare at each other in silence. I have no clue what she is thinking, but her mouth is unsmiling and she looks deep in thought.

  “What's on your mind, Angel?”

  She blinks a couple of times and looks down at my t-shirt. “Why are you wearing a shirt to bed?” she asks.

  I quirk an eyebrow at her in question. “Is that what you were thinking about so hard over there?” I joke.

  She shakes her head and continues to stare at me.

  “Do you want me to take it off?” I ask with a chuckle.

  She nods her head yes. I sit up and pull my t-shirt off, tossing it towards the bottom of the bed, before laying back down. “Better?” I ask with a smirk.

  She nods and gives me a half smile.

  “So, are you going to tell me what you are thinking about?” I ask.

  She reaches out and puts her warm hand on my chest and it takes everything in me to hide my reaction to her touch. She scoots closer and I put my hand on her waist. She's quiet for a second, before looking up at me.

  “Did you just jerk-off in my shower?”

  Oh fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck! Why can't my best friend have a filter? How am I supposed to answer this? She studies my face so intently and I know she can see my panic and then my embarrassment. Fucking shit.

  “Umm…”

  “I mean, its totally okay if you were. I was just wondering,” she says, quickly.

  I feel her shift under the covers and rub her thighs together and I study her face a little closer.

  Her cheeks are flushed.

  Holy fucking shit, Lexie is turned on. She is turned on thinking about me getting off in her shower.

  I decide to be honest. I mean, she heard me moan, so there is no sense in lying to her.

  I clear my throat and tentatively nod my head. “Yeah, Lex, I did.” My voice is a little deeper than normal and I know she hears the change.

  Her eyes have gone half mast and her breathing has changed. I'm laying so close to her that all I would have to do would be to move an inch and my lips could be on hers, but I don't do that. I wait to see what her response is going to be. Her legs move roughly against each other again and I get hard just thinking about her b
eing wet.

  “Did it feel good?” she asks, quietly.

  Why are we having this conversation? This can’t possibly lead to anywhere good.

  I give my head one little nod in answer.

  The next thing I know, her lips are on my neck. She's tentative and soft. Am I fucking dreaming right now? Did I fall in her shower and hit my head? What in the fuck is happening?

  “Angel, what are you doing?” I ask hoarsely.

  She leans back and looks at my face. “I don't know, but I'm way past turned on just thinking about it and I need to come.”

  Oh my God, she's trying to kill me.

  Chapter Five

  Lexie

  I'M REALLY NOT GIVING MUCH thought to what I'm doing and I really hope it doesn't come back to bite me in the ass. All I know is that since dinner, I have started noticing things in the way Zack looks at me. Has he always looked at me that way or is this new? I can't figure out what it means, but I want to find out.

  When I heard his deep moan while he was in the shower, I’d wanted to go watch. I didn't, but it took everything I had to stay in bed and listen. Was it creepy that I was listening? Probably so, but I don't care. It turned me on to think of him pleasuring himself and I wanted to watch. I'm curious like that, but I don't think he would have appreciated me busting up his alone time, so I lay here and now I am hornier than I have ever been in my entire life. I need to do something about it… now.

  Sure, I could probably just go into the bathroom like he did and handle it myself, but he's laying here and he smells so good and his skin is so warm and this is Zack. I trust him, but at the same time I wonder if I'm about to fuck up my entire friendship just for an orgasm.

  “What?” he asks.

  “I'm turned on and I need to come,” I repeat.

  He grabs my hair and pulls me back so he can look at my face. He has never been rough like that with me before and I can't help but moan in response. He studies my face for a long second.

  “Do you just need to come or do you want to come for me?” he asks, quietly.

  “You,” I whisper. “I need to come for you.”