He slid his arm around her as they walked out of the door. “Sometimes there are more important things to do than to eat breakfast,” he said as he kissed her temple and pulled her in tight.
A shiver of happiness went through her when she remembered what they’d been doing when they woke up instead of breakfast. “Truer words were never spoken,” she said, looking up at him.
“Watch out!” he said and yanked her against the window of the dry cleaner. The Van Sant Bakery sign advertising their lunch specials flew past them, bouncing along the ground in the wind.
“Holy crap!” Avery said. “We need to get that before it hits someone.”
“Stay here. I’ll get it.” Lucas ran back and picked up the blackboard as it blew against the traffic light pole outside Hardy’s.
Avery couldn’t believe how strong the wind had become since they arrived back in town. Hillside’s windstorms usually did nothing worse than spread tumbleweed across town. That’s why Mr. Hardy put out brooms. She was beginning to wonder if they should put out boards and nails for people’s windows. The sky was already getting dark. Could Mr. Hardy be wrong today? He had missed the downpour the other night.
Lucas hauled the sandwich sign back to the bakery and tugged it inside while Avery told Mrs. Van Sant what had happened.
“Mr. Hardy predicted another windstorm, so I should have known better than to not secure it,” she said. “Thank you.” And then her eyes widened as she looked at Lucas. “Lucas Black! I hear that you single-handedly propelled the Hammers toward the playoffs! Hey, everyone—look who’s here!” She pointed at Lucas.
Lucas looked deeply uncomfortable. “No, ma’am. It was a team effort. I couldn’t have done anything without Colin Stone’s skill, that’s for sure.”
But it was like no one listened. Mrs. Van Sant beamed as people clustered around him. Avery was thrilled to see people she’d known her whole life get up from their lunches and high-five Lucas and shake his hand and congratulate him. Until Billy Seymore got up and took his turn in congratulating him. What was he doing here?
“Congrats, son. You’re doing the Hammers proud,” he said, tipping his head to one side in a way that Avery thought was totally condescending. “You remind me of me at your age.”
…
Lucas all but recoiled at the words. Those were the very words that had gotten him into trouble to start with. The first guy who came around with his old weights set.
“Thank you, sir,” Lucas said blankly, shaking the offered hand and then immediately turning his back on him. “What do you want to eat?” he asked Avery.
“I’ll have a tuna melt, please,” she said to Mrs. Van Sant.
“I’ll have the same,” he added.
“It’s on the house,” Mrs. Van Sant said, casting a glance between him and Avery.
“No. It’s okay. I’ll pay.” Lucas took out a twenty dollar bill and laid it on the counter.
“Your money is no good here, Lucas Black. It’s on the house,” she said with a smile.
“No!” Lucas said loud enough for people to turn around. He lowered his voice. “Please. Let me pay.”
Avery had turned to him with a frown. “It’s okay, Lucas. Mrs. Van Sant—”
“I don’t want any free stuff, okay? Please. Take my money.” He knew he had gone off-the-charts rogue. People were looking at him, and he had no idea how he was going to explain his outburst to anyone, let alone Avery. “I’m…I’m sorry. I just…” He suddenly felt claustrophobic in the small bakery. It was too hot and too busy, and everyone was looking at him. “I’m sorry,” he said in a low voice. “I’ve got to…just…”
He had to get out of there or he would burst. He opened the door and walked a few paces back up toward Hardy’s. As soon as he was out of view, he stopped at the entrance to an alley and took a deep breath. Several of them.
What a fucking fiasco. What had he done? He’d been in such a good mood, and he’d blown it because nice people had offered him a sandwich. But he’d been on red alert when that guy told him that Lucas reminded him of himself, and then he’d thrown a kind gesture back in their faces. He was such a tool. And probably the kind of thing Coach had talked about when he’d gone to dinner at the Stones’ house. Shit. If what Coach had said was true—that people would talk about players’ bad behavior—he didn’t want to be known as the guy who freaked out at getting a free sandwich. It just cut a little too close to home.
He took out his phone to text Avery, to apologize and tell her that he’d see her back at the store, but before he had a chance to, his phone kicked up a notification from the Brady’s Balls Facebook page. He would have ignored it, but his freaking name was at the top of the post. “Lucas Black brings the Hammers home with a…” He crouched down with his back against the wall and clicked through to see what the post was. The rest of the headline was “victory.” The video was of him scoring his second touchdown. It had been a good one. He’d taken Avery’s advice and varied his speed through the open corridor to the end zone, tripping up three defenders, who he faked out with his speed changes.
He smiled and watched it again, his stress levels returning to normal.
Suddenly, Avery walked past the entrance to the alleyway. He jumped up.
“Hey. I’m sorry I freaked out. I don’t know what’s wrong with me today.”
“It’s fine,” she said. “Thank you for lunch, though.” She held up a little paper bag in one hand and a fist of change with the other.
He pocketed the change. “Not sure why I suddenly took a strong position against free food,” he said, putting his arm around her shoulders and falling into step beside her. “Who was that guy who said I reminded him of him?”
Avery nodded her head back toward Hardy’s, and they started to walk. “He’s a friend of Mr. Duchamp—the man who sponsors the Hammers. Billy Seymore?” She said the name as if it were a question. “What’s going on, Lucas? Are you okay? You know Mrs. Van Sant was only offering you a sandwich for bringing her sign back, right?”
Shit. He groaned inwardly. He was such an idiot.
“Yeah, I’m sorry.” He had to lie. “I just don’t like people looking at me. Being the center of attention. It freaks me out.” Instantly, the memory of him being carried around the football field by the players and coaches after winning the trophy flashed through his head. He had to stop lying. He was beginning to think that once one bad thing happened in your life, the more you covered it up, the more of a dick you became. He stopped in his tracks, hating himself.
“Can we agree not to talk about football tonight?” He dropped his arm from around her shoulders, hardly able to touch her while he was lying. “Let’s talk about anything else in the world, okay?” He knew she’d be happy at that, and he knew he was being deceitful.
“I’d like that,” she replied, searching his eyes for something he hoped she couldn’t see. He leaned down and kissed her.
Her hands went to the side of his face as she kissed him back with the reserve that was appropriate for being in the middle of Main Street. His knees felt weak anyway.
He pulled away, the need to apologize for anything and everything uppermost in his mind. Before he could say anything, thunder rumbled outside town.
“We should get back to the store,” Avery said with a frown. “It was just supposed to be another windstorm today, but this feels different.”
“Remember what happened last week, though? There was a windstorm first, and I definitely remember getting caught in the rain.” He grinned. “I’m actually one hundred percent okay with that happening again.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Avery’s heart jumped at the mention of that night and the unbelievable kiss that had rendered her completely unable to concentrate on anything the week after.
She wanted to say, “Me, too,” but she was still getting over the fact that she had already
asked—or demanded—he kiss her twice before.
They pushed into the store together. “Mr. Hardy!” she called. “Did you hear that thunder?”
“I’m sure it’s nothing, dear,” he said, emerging from the back and wiping his hands on his Hardy’s Hardware apron. “It’ll probably skirt Hillside entirely. I think Pecos had a storm on their forecast this morning. I’m going to pop home. Mrs. Diaz said she left something on my doorstep, and I don’t want it to blow away.”
“Take your time—we’ll be fine here,” she replied as he went through the door. She threw Lucas his sandwich.
He caught it easily with a smile. “You want to eat in the back?” he asked. “You’ll hear if anyone comes in.”
“Sure,” she said. But she was getting to know that smile. That was the one that made her stomach pang. That was the one that said he was about to kiss her.
He held out his hand, and she took it. He walked several paces before she realized she’d forgotten her sandwich. “Wait a second!” she said as she ran back to the counter to get it. “Sorry,” she said as she retook his hand.
“I’m not getting between a hungry girl and her food,” he said, leading her into the back.
She put her sandwich down on one of the workbenches and pulled out a stool to sit on. Lucas took the next door stool, and they knocked knees as they tried to swivel around so they could eat. She giggled.
“Hey,” Lucas said, leaning forward and putting his elbows on his knees.
She did the same, mimicking his posture. “Hey back.”
Inside, her whole body was smiling. He was going to kiss her, and she realized, all at once, that she could kiss him whenever she damn pleased. She jumped down from her stool and stood between his legs.
He straightened and tipped his head back slightly, putting his hands on her waist. She leaned into him and put her lips against his. He opened his mouth under hers, and their tongues touched. It was like a flash of lightning inside her. Her breath hitched as she kissed him, pressing her mouth hard on his, wondering if she was being too forward, too brazen. She just wanted to be as close as humanly possible to him. He wrapped his arms tight around her as he pulled her to him.
Then he stood up, picking her off the floor as he did, and deposited her on the counter, his legs still in between hers. He dragged her to the edge and wove his hand in her hair and slowly pulled it through as he kissed her.
He pulled away, looking at the strands as his fingers brushed through them. “Your hair was the first thing I noticed about you,” he said. His hand dived in again, this time staying pressed against her scalp, as he pulled her face to his.
After a few seconds of bliss, she pulled away, trying to catch her breath. “So what do you want to do tonight?” she asked.
“This,” he said, kissing her again.
She pushed him away and giggled. “Sure, sure. But what else?”
“Is there anything else?” He nuzzled her neck and gently bit her earlobe. She tipped her head to allow better access and then overrode the shivers that were running down her spine. She moved out of reach.
Lucas immediately stepped back and helped her down. “Sorry. Okay, I’m not sorry at all, but I’m going to let you eat your lunch.” His hair was adorably mussed, the way it had been that morning, and his cheeks were flushed. In that second, she felt herself falling in love. The way he’d stepped back as soon as she’d leaned out of the way—Blaine had always tried to “persuade” her to stay. The way Lucas obviously felt the same as she did when they were kissing. The way he was always honest with her. The way he wasn’t scared to talk about her mother. Oh God. She had it bad.
The store bell jangled, and he stepped back. As she went out of the repair room, there was a weird rattle. Maybe a display had fallen over. She went out into the store. “Hello?”
The door was swinging open. Wow. There was no one in the store. It must have been blown open. She ran to it and pushed it on the latch. Lightning flashed as she did, and she looked outside at the suddenly dark street. There was no one in sight.
She opened the door again to look down toward the gas station, but the door flew out of her hand and smashed against the wall, cracking the glass. Before she had time to react, another flash of lightning lit up Main Street. Seriously, it was dark like it was the evening already.
And then she saw it. A huge circular cloud across the intersection moving toward them. “Lucas!” she shouted. “Help me.” Shaking, she grabbed the things outside and threw them into the store, not caring that they spilled over the floor. It had been nearly three years since the last tornado. They’d been at her aunt’s for a visit, but when they came back, she remembered seeing the whole Lowes strip mall in the next town in ruins.
“What is it?” Lucas asked as he came running from the back with his sandwich in his hand.
“Tornado!” she shouted against the wind and pointed to the swirling cloud forming above the clinic. “It looks like it’s coming this way. It’s huge.”
The door slammed against the wall again, and this time, the glass shattered, covering her with tiny pieces.
Lucas grabbed her and pulled her into the store. “Get back.”
Something flew down the street. As Lucas tried to pull things away from the window, she poked her head out to see what it had been. Lucas yanked her back as one of the library’s recycling dumpsters scraped along the sidewalk.
She looked around helplessly. What could they do to save the stuff in the store?
“There’s nothing we can do now!” Lucas yelled. “Look.” A funnel cloud looked as if it were being pulled down to the ground with a string. “Get in the stockroom!” he shouted.
She ran back and opened the door to the small closet. But he wasn’t behind her. “Lucas!” she half screamed. “Lucas!”
He appeared. “It’s okay.” He pushed her inside and closed the door. Instantly, the roar of the wind reduced to a low hum. “I grabbed water and my sandwich. We’ll have to share.”
“I can’t eat,” she said between chattering teeth. “Have you been in a tornado before?” she asked.
“No, just drills back home. Sit.” He pointed at the floor. “It’s going to be okay. I promise.” He sat next to her and wrapped his arm around her.
She appreciated his words but knew he couldn’t possibly know that it’d be okay. “Mr. Hardy has never been wrong about the weather. Not until this week anyway.” It made her feel off-kilter. It was just wrong and really scary.
…
Lucas needed to distract her. “Tell me something that no one else knows about you,” he asked against her ear.
A package of napkins fell off the shelf and landed on her head. He stood up and sat behind her with his legs around her so he could protect her if anything else fell. He’d done a quick scope out, and the heavy boxes were at the back of the stockroom, thank God. “C’mon, tell me.”
She hesitated, but he gave her time. “Something no one else knows? Not even Lexi?”
“Sure,” he said, wrapping his arms around her and clasping them around her middle. It felt like the floor was shaking beneath them—more like an earthquake than the wind. He held her tighter, maybe more to quell his own fear than hers.
“Okay. You know the speed camera on the road north of here?” she said.
“Er, yes,” he said. This wasn’t exactly the kind of revelation he’d been looking for, but whatever kept her thinking about something else.
“I call him Stan.”
He was silent. What was she talking about?
“When my mom died, I felt like I was invisible to everyone except Lexi. No one outside the family talked to me. People’s eyes slid away from me at school because they didn’t know what to say.”
His heart hurt for her. He wished he’d known her back then. Wished he could have held her as she cried and just have been there for her.
“When I was running errands, I would deliberately speed there, so that it would flash up my speed on the display. Sometimes it felt like it was the only thing in the world that acknowledged me. That told me I was visible.”
He squeezed his eyes shut. That was literally the worst and most real thing he’d heard in his life. He leaned over her and put his head next to hers. “I wish I’d been here. I would have seen you.”
She pressed her cheek against his and choked a laugh. “I don’t know. I was a mess.”
“I think I would have loved messy Avery, too,” he said before filtering his thoughts. Before he could examine the source of his words, their whole world shook around them.
“I’m scared,” she said.
“Me, too.”
Avery pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around them. The walls of the room waved in front of his eyes; despite the fact that there was an upstairs to the store, he was sure he could see daylight between the walls and the ceiling. He was scared. This was bad. How could he keep her safe? The corner of the ceiling peeled up. Shit.
He pushed her onto her side and slid her across the floor. “Get under the shelf!” he shouted. She moved fast and managed to get herself under the lower shelf. She held her hand out to him. He grabbed it but didn’t try get in behind her. He was worried that if he destabilized the shelving system, it wouldn’t keep either of them safe. Instead, he lay down, holding part of the unit that was screwed to the floor. He lay facing her, holding her hand with his other.
Wind roared around them, but he kept his gaze on Avery. She was intermittently squeezing her eyes shut and then opening them to stare at him.
Suddenly, there was one more swoop of wind and then dead silence. “Are you okay?” he asked, moving closer.
“I’m so sorry I brought you here,” she said through tears. “If it hadn’t been for me, you wouldn’t be here.”
His heart just about broke. “Are you kidding me? Right now, you’re the best thing in my life.” He made himself laugh at her. “I’d rather be right here, right now, than anywhere else.” He paused. “Except maybe the Super Bowl. But aside from that.”
The Love Playbook Page 18