Balanced in Love (Written in the Stars Book 9) Read online

  Brody laughs. “I wish you could’ve seen the look on your face.”

  “These two,” I gesture between them, “Hid under my window, tapping on it with a stick so I’d wake up and look out. I thought it was a ghost, coming to get me. I was terrified.”

  Brody is laughing so hard, now, his face is red.

  “Yeah, but you forgot what happened next,” Ethan adds.

  “What was that?”

  “You hopped out of bed, put your fists up, and started yelling. You said, “Get out of here, ghost. Don’t make me hurt you.” You put your little fists up.” He mimics the gesture. “You were so cute in your little pigtails and your Wonder Woman nightgown, trying to look tough.”

  “Yeah, I was tough until I backed out of my room and ran downstairs to find Dad.” I shake my head.

  “Sorry, sis. We were just having fun. You’ve pranked us plenty of times, so I’m sure you got us back.”

  “True. In high school, when you wouldn’t let me have the car for my driving lesson, I told Sarah Schneider you had herpes.” I shrug.

  “What? I always wondered what happened with her. She just quit returning my calls.”

  I cross my arms, raising one shoulder and letting it fall. “You deserved it. Besides, she was awful.”

  “Well, she had awful big…,” Gabi narrows her eyes at him, and he pauses. “Personality. She had big personality.”

  The last stop on the tour is at a haunted pub. Ethan and I are straggling behind, at the back of the group as we make our way into the building.

  “Hey,” he nudges my shoulder. “You look lost in thought.”

  “I was just thinking about that story, Emilie, and how she gave up her own happiness for her family. She was so young. It’s tragic.”

  “Lucky for you, you’re a twenty-first century woman. You don’t have to deal with all those old-world rules.”

  Maybe not, but I know how she must’ve felt. I feel completely torn. If I follow my heart, I feel like I’d be betraying my brother. If I don’t, I’m not sure I’ll ever find anyone who makes me feel the way Ethan does. He knows everything about me, and being with him feels so right, even if I know it’s wrong.

  Ethan looks ahead to make sure no one sees us, then leans down to whisper. “Taylor, I promise your birthday will be anything but tragic.”

  We tip our tour guide and grab a big, round table in the back of the room. The guys grab us drinks from the bar and we hang out for a while, talking about the tour and telling ghost stories we’ve heard. One drink blurs into another, and before I realize what’s, I’m feeling pretty darn good.

  The music changes, and an Ed Sheeran dance song comes on. “I love this one!” I throw my hands in the air, grab Gabi’s hand and drag her over to a small dance floor in the middle of the bar. I am dancing with my best, waving my arms in the air and grinding my hips back and forth. I close my eyes, lost in the music and cut loose. I’m vaguely aware of people around me. At one point, I feel a hand on my hip and think Ethan must be on the floor with us. My inhibitions are too low to care that he has his hands on my hips, grinding against my back for the whole world to see.

  When Gabi grabs my wrist, my eyes fly open.

  “What?”

  She tugs on my arm, bringing me closer to her. She’s glaring behind me, and when I turn around, it’s not Ethan standing there, but some guy I’ve never seen before.

  “What’s your problem? We’re dancing, over here.” He puts his hand on my shoulder and I realize it’s this creep who’s had his hands on me, not Ethan.

  I shrug him off. “I thought you were someone else.” My adrenaline must be up because my head is clearing up, just a little.

  The guy doesn’t back down. “Come on, baby, we were having fun.” He’s tall, probably six-two, and big. He’d be kind of cute if he wasn’t being such a handsy jerk. He tries to put his arm around my waist.

  “I said, no.” Gabi and I both take a step back.

  The guy steps forward again, but before he can reach us, a hand claps down on his shoulder and whips him around.

  “She said no, asshole.” Ethan glares at the guy.

  “What’s it to you, bitch?” The guy leans in.

  Ethan rears back, then stops, shaking his head. “Get out of here and leave the lady alone.”

  The guys scoffs. “You gonna make me? It’ll take more than your puny ass.”

  Brody and Noah step up behind Ethan. “You come for one of us, you get all of us,” Brody says.

  “Whatever, pussy.” The guy turns and Ethan starts after him, but Brody and Noah hold him back.

  “No, dude. He’s not worth it.” Noah says, patting him on the shoulder.

  Ethan steps forward and takes my shoulders in his hands. “You okay?” He scans my face, his eyes darting between mine.

  I nod. “Yeah. I got confused. I forgot where I was and didn’t realize what was happening.”

  He nods, putting his hand in the middle of my back. “You didn’t do anything wrong. He was an asshole.” His words don’t match the tightness of his jaw. He looks over at Noah and Brody. “You ready to get out of here?”

  They nod, Brody sliding an arm around Gabi’s shoulders as they shepherd us back to our table where Elle’s waiting for us.

  When we leave the bar, there’s only enough room in the car for four passengers.

  “You go ahead. I’ll get another one,” Ethan replies, holding up his phone.

  “You sure?” Noah asks. Ethan nods.

  Brody steps forward and kisses my cheek. “Keep an eye on my little sister. Don’t let her get into any more trouble. She’s had enough for one night.”

  “Don’t worry. I won’t let her out of my sight,” Ethan reassures him.

  “Thanks, Bro.” Brody says, climbing into the car. Ethan nods, shutting the door, then turns to me.

  “Let’s get out of here.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Ethan

  We hop into a rideshare and head back toward the highway. Taylor is in the backseat beside me, and she’s definitely had more to drink than I realized.

  I lean forward to the driver. “Hey, bud. Is there any place open we can stop off at to grab some donuts or something? I want to get some sugar in her to help her hangover.” I crook my thumb at Taylor who’s looking out the window at the sky as if she’s never seen stars before.

  “She’s not gonna vomit in my car, is she? I can’t have that, now.” The guy looks in the rearview suspiciously.

  “No, sir. She’s not, I swear.” I chuckle. “I just want to get her a piece of cake or something, so she doesn’t have a headache tomorrow.”

  “All right, then. There’s a bakery right up here. Good one, too. Open late.”

  “If I give you an extra twenty, can you pull in and let me grab something?”

  “Sure thing.”

  He pulls into the small parking lot. “Taylor, I’ll be right back. You just stay here.”

  “O-kay.” She sing-songs, still looking out the window.

  I get out and cross the parking lot, but I don’t even make it to the door before I hear my name. “Ethan! I’m coming with you.” Taylor is out of the car and right behind me.

  “Okay, come on.” I can’t help but chuckle. I open the door and follow her in. “We’ve gotta be quick. The guy’s waiting for us.”

  “Quick. Yes. Got it.” She thrusts a finger in the air, emphasizing her agreement.

  Okay, except for the scare she gave me at the bar when that asshole wouldn’t get off of her, I’ve gotta say, drunk Taylor is pretty damn adorable.

  “Ooh, look at them all.” She puts her palms on the glass case, her eyes going wide like she’s six.

  “Which one do you want? Anything you like.”

  “Can I help you, sir?” The young brunette behind the counter asks.

  “Whatever she wants. What’ll it be, Tay?”

  She points to a chocolate mousse cake. “That one.”

  “You got it. Make it two of
those, please.” I smile at the clerk, and she nods.

  Taylor makes her way down to the next case, pointing to some sort of bar with strawberries and cream. “That one!”

  “You want that instead?” The clerk asks, stopping what she’s doing.

  “Just give us two of each, please.” I grab a couple of bottles of water and take Taylor’s hand, pulling her over to the register.

  “You want napkins?” The clerk asks, putting everything in a bag.

  “And forks, please.” She rings us up as I dig in my wallet for some cash.

  I feel Taylor’s eyes on me and look down at her. She puts her hand on my jaw. “You’re so handsome.”

  I grin. Probably a good thing we didn’t ride back with the others.

  Taylor looks at the clerk, her hand still stroking my jaw. “Isn’t he handsome?”

  The clerk smiles. “Yes, you’re a very cute couple.”

  Taylor laughs, looping her arm through mine. “We’re a cute couple.”

  I shake my head, digging out an extra ten and stuffing it in the tip jar. “Thank you.”

  “Have a fun night, you two.” The lady replies and I somehow manage to maneuver a very unsteady Taylor, along with our bag, back to the car without incident.

  Back at the house, everyone seems to have called it a night. I’m kind of glad. Taylor has sobered up a little on the drive back, but she’s still feeling no pain. The last thing I need is for her to blurt out something Brody isn’t ready to hear.

  I park her cute little ass on a barstool in the kitchen and pull the bottled water and four boxes of cake out of the bag.

  “No,” she shakes her head. “I want to eat it on the beach.”

  “On the beach?”

  “Yeah.” She shimmies her shoulders back and forth as she starts singing Cake by the Ocean.

  The lyrics start rolling through my head, and now all I can think about is licking frosting off of her. Fuck.

  “It’s my birthday. I want cake by the ocean.” She hops off the barstool and wraps her arms around my neck, leaning into me. “Are you going to give me what I want?”

  My lips quirk up at the side. “Is that all you want?”

  “Not. Even. Close.” She stretches up on her tiptoes, and I can’t help myself. I capture her lips. It’s reckless and dangerous and damn if I don’t care. With every day that passes, it’s harder and harder for me to deny this woman anything she asks of me.

  “Come on,” I say, breaking the kiss. “Let’s go have your cake.”

  She smiles a wide, megawatt smile. I step out of my shoes, and roll up my pants to the knee, then lean down to take her shoes off. She steadies herself with one hand on my back as she lifts one foot, then the other. I pick up the cake and a couple of forks and grab a beach towel off the railing as we cross the back porch onto the boardwalk.

  The beach is spectacular tonight. There’s a light, warm breeze, and the moon is full, illuminating the peaks as the waves crest in the water. We spread out the towel and both sit down, each taking one of the boxes and a fork.

  “Oh, my god, so good!” She moans as she takes a bite of the strawberry.

  “Let me try?” I gesture to the box and she holds up a forkful for me to take. “Mm, that is good. Let’s try the chocolate. Here you go,” I hold up a bite for her. She opens wide and takes it, letting her head roll back as she chews.

  “So good!”

  I take a bite. “That one’s awesome, too.” We take turns feeding each other bites and taking bites from our own boxes.

  When we’re done, I walk over to a recycling bin and drop our trash. When I return to the towel, Taylor isn’t there. She’s up, walking toward the surf. I jog over to her, not sure what she’s up to.

  “What are you up to over here?”

  “Just wanted to feel the water on my toes.” She steps forward so the waves are splashing around her calves as the tide crashes. She wiggles her toes, sinking deeper into the wet sand, and smiles up at me. “It’s nice here.”

  I nod, looking out at the water. “It’s been a good week.”

  “What happens when we go back?”

  I look down at her. “What do you mean?”

  “You know. All the sneaking around.” She looks around like someone might hear her, even though the beach is empty, then whisper-yells. “The sex.”

  “Oh,” I laugh. “I think this is a conversation for when you’re a little more sober.”

  “I might rather not be able to remember it if you’re going to tell me it all just stops.” Her brows wrinkle, her bottom lip jutting out.

  I step forward, running my thumb along her bottom lip. “That’s not what I meant at all.” I brush her hair back from her beautiful face. “I like being with you, Tay. I want to keep seeing each other.”

  “Yeah?”

  I nod. “Yeah.” I scan the beach again, making certain no one is around, then lean in to taste her lips. “Is that what you want, too?”

  She nods. “I want it all.”

  “All?”

  “I want you, but I don’t want it to cost you your friendship with Brody. I don’t want things to be weird with you and my parents.” She shakes her head and looks away. “But people always say you can’t have it all.”

  I put my finger under her chin and tip it up until she’s looking at me. “Do you trust me, Taylor?” She nods. “Then let me handle it. I promise, I’ll figure it out.” She smiles, her blue eyes sparkling in the moonlight.

  “Can we go back now?”

  “Sure. Come on.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Taylor

  I wake up in my own bed, alone. I hear the shower running, and realize Ethan must be in there. As I sit up, the night starts to come back into focus. We went on the ghost tour, then went to a bar. I remember Ethan getting into a fight with some guy, and us eating cake on the beach. Afterwards, we came back to my room. I lift the sheet and look down at my naked body. Okay, yeah, that part was definitely not a dream.

  I shake my head and realize how desperately I need coffee. I find a pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt and make my way downstairs to the kitchen. Through my still-sleepy haze, I see Brody standing at the counter with his back toward me.

  “Hey,” I croak out.

  He jumps, and I hear a squeal, and realize Gabi was standing in front of him, at the coffee maker. An overturned mug is on the counter next to her, coffee spilling across the counter and onto the floor.

  “Sorry. Didn’t mean to startle you.”

  “You didn’t. I mean, you did, but it’s fine. I’m fine. We’re all fine.” Gabi’s words come rapid fire as she reaches for a dish towel and mops up the mess.

  “Glad to see you’re among the living this morning.” Brody looks me up and down. “How bad is it? Do we need grandpa’s world-famous cure-all?”

  “Ugh, no. Nothing is bad enough for that.”

  “I don’t know. I’ve been so hungover that I’ve used it a time or two. I think it’s the raw eggs and cayenne pepper that make all the difference.”

  I shudder. “No way. Just coffee, thanks. My head’s not too bad, actually. We stopped for cake on the way back. I think that helped.”

  “Hey, there you are.” Ethan joins us in the kitchen. His smile is like a sunbeam, and I instantly feel perked up. He realizes we’re not alone and quickly tries to recover. “And there you guys are.” He nods at Gabi and Brody. “How is everyone this morning. Is our party girl feeling any the worse for wear?” He gives me a nod and steps over to retrieve some juice from the refrigerator.

  “Not too bad, actually. I think the cake worked wonders.”

  “Sugar is great for minimizing a hangover. I made you take a couple of aspirin, too, when we got back.”

  “Thanks for looking out for me.”

  “Are you kidding? When we were at the bar, he went all superhero on that asshole.”

  “So, I didn’t imagine that?” I shake my head.

  “No. Some asshole was pawing on you a
nd wouldn’t leave you alone.” Ethan’s jaw ticks.

  “Yeah, we told him to hit the bricks.”

  “Enough about all that, though. It’s our last day, and tonight, we have a special dinner planned for you, birthday girl.” Gabi beams.

  “My birthday isn’t technically until tomorrow.”

  “I know, but we’re all together now, so we’ll celebrate today.” She leans on the counter. “So, birthday girl’s choice. What do you want to do today?”

  “Anything?” I ask.

  “Anything you want,” Ethan answers. “What’ll it be?”

  His gaze is so intense, I have to wonder if Gabi or Brody notice.

  “Well, I’ve always wanted to try parasailing. I saw some people doing it up the beach. Do you think we could give it a try?”

  “Sounds fun! I’m game.” Gabi shrugs.

  “Whatever you want to do, right, Ethan?” Brody replies. “What are big brothers for if they can’t spoil their little sister on her birthday?”

  I don’t miss how the color drains from Ethan’s face as he nods. “Right. Anything for Taylor.”

  Gabi catches my eye. “Brody, will you call and make the arrangements? I need Taylor to help me with something.”

  “Yeah, but, help you with what?”

  She puts her hands on her hips. “Girl shit. Or did you want to talk about our…”

  “Whoa! Stop. Enough. Okay.” He waves his palms back and forth. “None of my business. Jesus.”

  “I’ll make the arrangements. I’ll text Marcus and Noah and see everyone else is in.”

  “In for what?” Noah and Elle walk in and we catch them up.

  “Parasailing? Oh, hells yeah!” Elle enthusiastically offers for both of them.

  “The princess has spoken. Sign us up.” Noah agrees.

  I follow Gabi into her suite at the end of the hall, and she closes the door behind us. “If you don’t want Brody to find out about you and Ethan, you better cool it. You two were being pretty obvious last night.”

  “We were?” I don’t remember anything that overt.