Sing For Me by Rachel Schurig

Will

Apparently, most of my family got a second wind while we were shutting down the fire, because we find a bunch of them still up in the living room at the lodge, planning their late-night activities.

“Night swimming,” Nix is saying. “We haven’t gone night swimming once this whole trip.”

“It’s too cold for night swimming,” Lyric argues.

Silas sees us come in. “Hey, guys, tell them that we should play Ghost in the Graveyard.”

“We always play that,” Violet whines.

“Ghost in the Graveyard, Ghost in the Graveyard,” Silas starts to chant, Cade and Presley joining in.

“What’s Ghost in the Graveyard?” Eva asks, and everyone goes quiet, staring at her.

“It’s only like, the best game ever,” Everly tells her, black curls bouncing around her face in her excitement.

“I forgot we had a newbie,” Nix says, rubbing his hands together. “Now I think we have to play it.”

“You guys,” I cut in. “Eva might not want to play that game.” Ghost in the Graveyard is basically a game of tag, played in the dark and with teams. It involves a lot of sneaking around in the woods and trying to scare each other—maybe not the best option for someone dealing with PTSD.

“Oh, you have to play,” Santana says, grabbing Eva’s arm. “It’s so fun. You’ll love it.”

“I bet we can get the parents to play,” Fox points out. “Aunt Paige for sure.”

I sit down on the rug next to Eva. “It’s a fun game,” I tell her in an undertone so no one else can hear. “But it’s a little scary.” I give her the basic rundown and when I’m finished, I’m surprised to see her eyes shining with excitement.

“That sounds awesome. Let’s do it.”

My eyebrows go up. “You sure?”

“Definitely.”

Santana overheard her. “Eva’s in!” she squeals, and I know there’s no going back now. Once Aunt Paige’s girls have something in their head, it’s impossible to stop them.

Fox volunteers to be the ghost first and the rest of us divide up into teams of four. To no one’s surprise, Aunt Paige readily joins us—she’s the queen of this game. Hell, she’s the queen of most of the games we grew up playing. My mom and Aunt Haylee decide to take advantage of the empty house and stay in to share a bottle of wine but the other adults all agree to play.

“So basically, we’re ghost hunters,” Santana explains to Eva. If I had thought my little cousin was obsessed with the pop star before, it’s nothing on the hero worship that shines in her eyes since the campfire. “The ghost hides and we all have to search for them. And when you find the ghost, you shout, Ghost in the Graveyard! And then everyone has to run back to the safe base and the ghost tries to catch you.”

She says it all so fast that I doubt Eva can actually understand half of it, but she laughs and holds up her hands. “I’ll follow your lead.”

Santana begs to be on our team and I recruit Silas to join us. As we make our way towards the woods on the edge of the property, Eva’s hand finds mine in the darkness. “This is a little creepy, isn’t it?” she asks as we make our way into the woods.

“Try to avoid my mom whenever possible,” Santana says happily. “She likes to jump out and scream in people’s faces. Totally terrifying.”

“She made Silas pee his pants once,” I say in a stage whisper and my brother smacks me.

“I was seven! Who the hell tries to scare a seven-year-old?”

It does feel eerie to be out in the woods. The farther we move away from the house, the quieter it gets. My family is spreading out through the trees and we can hear the faint sounds of their whispering and the rustling of leaves and branches.

Eva leans closer to me. “How long does it usually take to—”

Off to our left, someone screams. “Ghost in the graveyard!” Rose yells from nearby. “Run!”

I think we’re probably too far from the commotion to be in much danger of getting caught, but I still grab Eva’s hand and start running back to the base while Silas does the same with Santana. “Oh my God,” Eva laughs, out of breath. “Why is this so scary?”

“Because someone is chasing you through the woods at night.”

“Yeah, but it’s just Fox,” she argues. “He’s not the least bit scary.”

“Is that right?” a sinister voice asks from a foot away and Santana lets out a shriek.

“He’s here, he’s here! Run!”

I grab Silas by the shoulder and push him behind us before sprinting off with Eva.

“You asshole!” he shouts at my retreating back and I can hear him stumble. “I’m your brother!”

“There are no brothers in Ghost in the Graveyard, kid!” I call back.

When we make it back to the base, Santana smacks my arm. “That was really mean, Will!”

I raise my eyebrows at Eva. “You think I’m mean?”

Her grin looks a little wicked. “All’s fair in Ghost in the Graveyard.”

“Yes, Eva!” Aunt Paige says, giving her a high five. “That’s the spirit!”

Thanks to my interference, Silas gets caught and becomes the new ghost so Fox takes his place on our team. “You’re in so much trouble,” Si says to me as he stomps off to the woods to hide. “I know where you sleep, Will.”

“Love you, Si!” I call after him.

Silas is actually really good as the ghost—the kid moves like a ninja. He catches Uncle Reed’s team within just a few minutes and Everly becomes the next ghost.

Everly has more trouble catching hunters and she remains the ghost for several rounds before finally catching her mom. Everyone groans when we see the new ghost. Aunt Paige has been known to hide in the trees during this game and takes great pleasure in sneaking up on people. I have a feeling she got caught on purpose just so she could be the ghost and scare the shit out of us.

The deeper we get into the woods, the more ominous the silence becomes. “She’s up there somewhere,” Fox says in a low voice, eyes glued to the tree canopy above us. “I just know it.”

“Keep an eye out for any holes or abandoned structures,” Santana says. “Mom loves hiding in stuff like that.”

“Your mom is a little crazy, isn’t she?” Eva asks.

“Oh, she’s totally crazy,” Santana agrees, grinning. “It’s the best.”

Just then, from somewhere nearby, we hear a sudden shouted boo! followed by a high-pitched scream. “That was totally my dad,” I laugh as footsteps start to pound through the trees. “Come on.”

We dart around trees, Fox looking back every so often to check over our shoulders. I’m pretty sure most of the yelling and pounding of footsteps is ahead of us but there’s no guarantee Paige won’t double back and nab us. She’s wily like that.

Eva’s hand jerks in mine and I look over just in time to see her go flying over an unnoticed tree stump. “Shit,” I cry, stopping mid-stride to go back for her.

“I thought it was every man for himself!” Santana calls over her shoulder.

“The difference is he likes her,” Fox tells her in a sing-song voice.

“Save yourselves,” Eva shouts after them, breathless with laughter, and I kneel in the dirt next to her.

“You okay?”

“Fine.” She pulls herself into a sitting position. “That stump came out of nowhere.”

“Stretch out your leg for me,” I tell her, hands immediately going to her hip. I would hate myself if she exacerbates her injury because of a dumb game. She does as I say, stretching out her leg and turning it this way and that.

“All good,” she proclaims. It’s dark in the woods but there’s enough moonlight filtering through the trees for me to see her smile. Just like the first time I saw it, I catch my breath. She’s so beautiful. And she’s happy. She’s having a good time here, with my crazy family, and that makes me feel a swelling of pride.

“This has been the best night,” she murmurs, as if reading my mind. “Thank you for bringing me here, Will.”

I swallow, the urge to kiss her so strong my hands tremble. “I’m glad I did.” She holds my gaze and something in her expression shifts, like she’s sensing the intense direction of my emotions. “Eva,” I murmur, moving closer.

But then she reaches out and slaps a hand over my mouth, her eyes widening in fear. She mouths something but it’s too dark for me to make out, so she jerks her chin to the left. I glance over and see Paige prowling through the underbrush, only a few yards away.

Thinking fast, I pull off my hoodie—which just happens to be dark navy, and throw it over our heads. We huddle under the sweatshirt, our faces close together, and I try not to laugh. “Shh,” Eva chastises me. “You’re going to get us caught.”

“I’m going to get you caught,” I whisper back. “I can definitely run faster than you.”

Her eyes narrow and she pushes my chest, knocking my head from the shelter of our hoodie tent. I look up and see my Aunt Paige standing right there, looming over us. Shit.

But Paige doesn’t tag me. Instead, she gives me a little wink, nods at Eva’s still covered head, and makes a kissy face. I burst out laughing and Eva pinches my leg in protest. “Thanks, Paige,” I whisper and she nods, grinning, before stalking off through the woods in search of her next victim.

I duck back under the hoodie, still grinning, and face Eva. “What the hell?” she whisper-shouts, but I don’t answer. Instead, I take my aunt’s very good advice and press my lips to Eva’s.

She responds to me immediately, kissing me back, and everything goes from funny to overwhelmingly good in about two seconds flat. I should have been kissing her this whole time, I think dazedly. Fuck being friends—why had we done anything else but kiss like this since the day we met?

She pulls back after a moment, eyes twinkling as she smiles up at me. “So is our time-out continuing then?”

It takes me a second to figure out what she’s talking about. The friendship time-out that she’d asked me for that night in the hot tub.

I’m shaking my head before I even consider my answer. “No,” I say, my voice husky and low in the silence of the dark woods. “I don’t want a friendship break, Eva.”

Her eyes widen, the smile slipping from her face. “You don’t want—”

I reach out to cup her face in my hands, needing to take that rejected look from her eyes. “I don’t want a friendship break because I don’t want to be only friends. Not anymore.”

She studies my face, her expression unreadable, and my heart gives a huge lurch. What if she doesn’t want this?

“If you’re still worried about things, we can go slow,” I add quickly. “We can take as much time as you need. I just…I want you, Eva.” She has to be able to hear the bare need in my tone.

Please want me back.

“I don’t need to go slow,” she whispers, and I pull back a little to read her face, hardly able to believe she just said what I think she did. She returns my gaze, steady and even. Sure. “I want you, too, Will. I want us to be more than friends.” She swallows and her next words come out a whisper. “I want to be yours.”

I have her up and in my arms before she can take her next breath. She squeals as I start walking through the woods. “What are you doing?”

“Taking you to my room.”

Her voice is breathless in my ear. “What about your hoodie?”

“Fuck my hoodie.”

I have her body pressed so close to mine I can feel her trying not to laugh. “What about the game?”

“Definitely fuck the game.”

She giggles and presses soft, hot kisses along my jaw line and I groan, wondering just how rude it would be to lay her down in the leaves and dirt and have my way with her. “I can walk, Will.”

“Not letting you go.”

She squirms in my arms, her much shorter legs dangling in front of me. “I’m going to trip you.”

“Fine, then.” I swing her up and over my shoulder, fireman style, and she squeals, smacking my back. “Will!”

“This will go much faster if you shut up and let me take the lead.”

“Wow. That’s quite a line to drop on a girl you’re about to take to bed. I should probably let you know that I’m not into the whole blindfolds and chains thing.”

I laugh as I barge my way through the undergrowth. This feels so good. Laughing with her, her body close to mine, the promise of what’s going to happen when we get inside tantalizing my imagination.

I take us on an arching path through the woods that should bring us closer to the farmhouse. The last thing I want to do is come within sight of the lodge where everyone has no doubt gathered by now for the next round of the game.

“Won’t your family wonder where we are?”

“They’ll figure it out, Eva.”

That has her stilling over my shoulder. I stop walking just before the tree line and slide her down my body, wanting to see her face. “Does that bother you? If people know?”

She shakes her head, but I can see uncertainty in her eyes.

“What is it?”

“It’s just…your dad is going to know.”

My forehead furrows. “You don’t want my dad to know we’re together?”

Her cheeks are turning pink, the color spreading down over her collarbones. God, I want to find out how low the blush goes. “Not that we’re together. But that we’re, you know, going to do it.” She lowers her voice on the last two words and I bark out a laugh.

“Seriously, Eva?”

“He’s Cash Ransome, Will!”

“Very much aware.”

She huffs. “I’m just saying.”

I take pity on her and grab her hands. “Eva, no one will judge you for spending time alone with me. They’re all dying for us to get together.”

That makes her face brighten. “They are?”

I snort out a laugh. How does she not see how crazy about her the entire family is? “Pretty sure they like you more than me.”

Her grin grows wider. “I am pretty great.”

I trace my thumb across her cheek. “You really are. A giant nerd, but pretty great.” I love the way her eyes dance when I tease her. Love the way she looks up at me. Love the satisfied little noise she makes when I cup her cheek in my palm.

I’m pretty sure I love her. And that realization doesn’t even scare me anymore.

“Are you okay now? Ready to go inside?”

She nods. “Very ready.”

I don’t pick her up again, even though I want to. Instead I hold her hand and lead her out of the woods, the farmhouse dark in front of us. Off in the distance, I can hear the muffled shouting of the continuing game. But I’m not thinking about that now. All I’m thinking about is the woman beside me and the moment I want to make perfect.

Upstairs, I take her right to my room. If I have anything to say about it, this will be our room for the remainder of the trip. Because I have a feeling that once this happens, I’m not going to want to go a single night without her in my bed.

We face each other in the dark, the only light shining in from the moon overhead, both breathing hard. There’s a hint of vulnerability in her eyes and I remember how hard it was for her to remove her shirt that night in the hot tub. And how amazing it had been when she’d finally done it. How brave that was, her taking that step to show herself to me. She humbled me then and she humbles me now, standing here in this room.

Not wanting her to have to make the first move this time, I lift my shirt over my head, loving the way her eyes widen as they track over my skin. Then she shocks the hell out of me by leaning over to turn on the bedside light. I had assumed she would want this to happen in the dark, at least the first time, since she’s still self-conscious about her scars. But when she looks back to me, I don’t see a hint of doubt. She looks eager, excited, like she can’t wait for whatever is about to happen.

“Your body is way too gorgeous to hide in the dark,” she says, her grin a little mischievous, and God it makes me want to devour her.

“I could say the same thing about you,” I tell her, and her grin only grows deeper. I love this side of her. The teasing, brave, slightly wicked side. I’m so glad I get to be with her to see it.

I cross to her in two strides, grabbing her without warning, and toss her onto the bed. She squeals, the sound abruptly cutting off when my lips cover hers. “You’re wearing too many clothes.”

“There’s a pretty easy solution for that, you know.”

I laugh against her mouth and reach for the hem of her top.

I’d expected it to be fast, desperate. It feels like I’ve wanted her for so long, like I’ve been dying to reach this exact moment. But now that it’s here, all I want to do is savor it. I want to explore every inch of her perfect skin, want to bring her to the edge over and over again. Want to find out exactly what she likes, what noises she’ll make when I press my lips right here, or slide them down just there.

I want this to never end.

When I reach for my wallet for the condom, she grabs my wrist, stilling me. “I’m on the pill. And I’ve been, you know, tested. Since the last time I did this.” Her cheeks flame with that color I love, clearly embarrassed, but she never drops my gaze, never mumbles or trails off. Instead my brave girl looks right into my eyes and tells me exactly what she wants.

“I’ve been tested, too,” I say, voice so husky I barely recognize it. I search her eyes. “Are you sure?”

She nods. “I want to feel you.”

I let out a low groan as I lower myself over her. “This is probably going to be embarrassing,” I mutter. “I’ve never been without a condom before. I’ll probably last about three seconds.”

She blushes harder. “Me neither.”

As soon as I press into her wet heat, I shudder. “Definitely going to be embarrassing,” I mutter through clenched teeth. She laughs under me, around me, and just that movement has shivers running up and down my spine. “Three seconds might have been too optimistic.”

“Hey.” Eva reaches up to cup my face, making me look down into those perfect green eyes, so filled with need and love. “There’s no pressure. We have all night, Will.”

“We have longer than that,” I growl out. “We have all the time in the world.”

Even now, even like this, buried inside her, the sight of her grin takes my breath away. “All the time in the world,” she agrees. And then she kisses me, and I stop worrying about embarrassing myself. I stop worrying entirely as I begin to move in her. There’s no room for anything else in my head except for this, how good it feels, how intense, how fucking perfect.

And when she whispers my name against my ear, the sound ragged and so filled with pleasure, the moment she finds her release, a joy I didn’t even know I could feel explodes from deep inside. I hold on just long enough to watch her—God, nothing is more gorgeous than Eva in this moment—before I follow right along with her, her name on my lips, peace I’ve never known settling into my soul.