Without You

by Kelly Elliott

  Will glanced at the door and then turned back to me. He walked up to me and took my hand in his. We began walking to his truck.

  “Wait—are you leaving?”

  “I have to get back home, Lex. Are you still planning on going to the party tomorrow night?”

  I nodded my head and barely said, “Yes. I thought we were going together.”

  He stopped and leaned against his truck as he smiled. “We are.”

  I rolled my eyes and looked away before glancing back at him. “What did my father say to you?”

  He grabbed my hips and pulled me to him. I was shocked he was being so forward with his affections, especially knowing my father or mother could see him at any moment.

  “He asked me how long I’ve been in love with you. Then, he asked again if we’ve had sex.”

  I slammed my hands up to my mouth. “What?”

  He laughed. “That was about my reaction, too.”

  “He didn’t!”

  “Yeah, he did. I was just glad as hell that I could honestly tell him we haven’t had sex…yet.”

  My heart dropped, and I felt sick. “Will, please don’t let him change anything between us. If I have to go to another college…well, I want us to be together before we leave for school.”

  He closed his eyes and then opened them. “Lex, I don’t want to have sex just because we’re afraid.”

  “I’m not afraid, Will. I love you. I know what I want, and I want you. I’m tired of waiting.”

  Will licked his lips, and then he let out what sounded like a growl. “Fuck, Lex. I want you, too, but I want it to be special.”

  He looked my body up and down and pulled me closer to him, so I could feel just how much he wanted me.

  “You have no idea how hard it is to wait,” he said.

  I leaned up and went to kiss him when something hit the back of my head. I quickly turned around to see Luke standing there.

  “What the hell, Luke?” I picked up the Nerf football and threw it back at him.

  “Gunner is going to kick your ass if he sees you pawing on her,” Luke said.

  “Shut up, Luke. Gunner knows about me and Lex,” Will said.

  Luke’s face dropped. “No shit?”

  I smiled and leaned back against Will as he wrapped his arms around me.

  “He’s okay with this?” Luke asked.

  Will stiffened behind me, and then he relaxed a bit. “After he threatened to kill me if I ever hurt her, he gave me his blessing.”

  I spun around. “He threatened to kill you?”

  Will laughed as he placed his finger on my chin and pulled my lips to his. “I love you, Lex,” he whispered before kissing me gently. “I’ve got to go. I’ll call you when I get home.”

  I smiled. “I love you, too. Be careful driving.”

  I took a step back and watched as Will got into his truck. He waved and took off down the driveway. When I couldn’t see his truck anymore, I turned and glared at Luke.

  He held his hands up. “What? You’re like my little sister, Alex. I’m gonna protect you even if it means beating the shit out of my best friend.”

  I grinned. “You should be more concerned about Michael Clark and Grace.”

  Luke’s smile faded, and he pushed his hand through his hair. “I hate that guy. I don’t know what Grace sees in that ass.”

  “Me either.”

  Luke slowly grinned. “So, Uncle Gunner knows. You finally tell him?”

  “Uh, no. He caught us kissing in the barn.”

  Luke started laughing. “Shit. I would have given my right arm to see Hayes’s face.”

  I giggled as I walked up to him and pushed him in the chest. “You’re so mean.”

  He threw his arm around me, and we headed back to my house.

  “Alex, if he ever hurts you, I hope you know you’re going to ruin a damn good friendship.”

  I punched him in the stomach. “He won’t.”

  He dropped his arm as we walked into the house. “For his sake, I hope not,” he whispered.

  Grace, Maegan, Libby, and I all sat on Will’s tailgate as we watched Colt, Will, and Luke load a trailer with square bales of hay. Luke stopped to pull his T-shirt off, and he threw it down on the ground.

  Maegan and Libby both sighed.

  “I swear, Grace, your brother has the body of a god. What I wouldn’t do to have my legs wrapped around him,” Maegan said as she fanned herself with a piece of paper.

  Grace looked at Meg. “Gross, Meg. I just threw up in my mouth.”

  I giggled, but then I noticed how Libby shot her head over and looked at Meg. Both Libby and Meg had a thing for Luke. He was getting ready to head off to his second year at A&M, and from what Will and Colt had said, Luke had his fair share of girls falling over him. He was totally clueless when it came to Meg and Libby liking him.

  I bumped my shoulder into Libby’s. “You getting excited about heading to A&M?”

  She smiled. “Yeah, I’m pretty excited about it.”

  Meg looked over and let out a sigh. “Crap, I really wish my parents weren’t so hell-bent on me going to Baylor.”

  Grace started laughing. “Please, bitch. The only reason you want to go to A&M is because Luke is going there. Hence, the reason your daddy won’t let you go to A&M.”

  We all started laughing.

  “Right? I wonder if I have any chance of hooking up with Luke before the end of the summer,” Meg said.

  Grace jumped off the truck, and as she turned to look at Maegan, she put her hands on her hips. In that moment, I saw Aunt Ari all over Grace’s face.

  “Jesus H. Christ, stop with the talk about my brother. I can’t take it. It’s disgusting, Maegan.”

  I peeked over at Libby, and she was staring at Maegan. I glanced back out and noticed the guys were nearly done. I leaned over to Libby and said, “You should go offer them a drink of tea.”

  She quickly looked at me. “Yeah?”

  I smiled as I nodded my head.

  Libby wasn’t shy by any means, but when it came to Luke, she was beyond shy. Last year, Luke had kissed her behind the bleachers before he headed off for college. After Will had found out about the kiss, he’d punched Luke, but then Luke had explained that he hated himself for kissing Libby. It wasn’t because he hadn’t wanted to kiss her. It had just made their friendship awkward. They used to spend a lot of time together, but Libby and Luke’s friendship hadn’t really been the same since.

  While Grace and Maegan were busy going back and forth, Libby jumped down and grabbed three bottles of tea before making her way toward the guys.

  “Where is she going?” Maegan jumped off the tailgate.

  “Taking tea to the guys.” I looked at Grace and winked.

  Grace rolled her eyes and put her finger in her mouth like she was gagging herself. I chortled and jumped off the tailgate. I needed to distract Maegan for a bit to give Libby a chance. I wasn’t playing sides by any means. I just knew that Maegan wanted to sleep with Luke only because she knew Libby liked Luke a lot.

  “What are y’all wearing to the party tonight?” I asked.

  Grace was the first to answer, “Oh my gosh, I found the cutest dress in my mom’s closet. It’s all vintage and shit. I’m totally wearing it.”

  “Jean shorts and a T-shirt,” Maegan mumbled as she watched Libby.

  I looked at her. “You of all people wearing just shorts and a T-shirt?”

  Maegan glanced back at me and smiled. “Yep. I’m so sick of dressing up for these country bumpkins, only to have them talk about fences and cows. God, I can’t wait to get out of Fredericksburg and Mason. I just want to be in the city.”

  My heart sank a little when Maegan talked about leaving. She and Grace wanted to leave Mason as fast as they could while Libby and I dreaded leaving. Mason was my comfort zone. It was where I felt happy, safe, and loved. I hated the few times I’d been to Austin, and I hated UT also. It was too big and had way too many people. Grace was over the
moon about going to UT, especially after she’d found out that Michael Clark was going there.

  I glanced back over and saw Luke talking to Libby. I turned back to distract Maegan, but I was too late.

  “Oh, hell no. Libby is not moving in on my man,” Meg said.

  She was about to take off, but then Grace pushed her.

  “Stop it, Meg. You know how much Libby likes Luke. Why are you going after him so hard? If you want to have sex with someone, plenty of guys are waiting in line here in Mason or in Fredericksburg.”

  Maegan’s mouth dropped open. “Excuse me?”

  Oh shit.

  Grace said, “Tell me you aren’t after Luke just for sex.”

  “Go to hell, Grace.”

  Maegan turned and started walking off, but then Grace grabbed her arm.

  “Meg, I’m serious. All you ever talk about is wrapping your legs around him and how great he probably is in bed. Do you seriously think Luke is interested in screwing you?”

  Maegan pushed Grace’s hand off her arm and smirked. “You seriously think Michael is interested in screwing you?”

  “Stop it. Now,” I said. “Just stop this. Meg, Libby is just asking them if they want some tea. Stop being bitches to each other and make up. We have a party to get ready for.”

  Grace glared at Maegan.

  Meg looked at Libby and Luke and then turned back to Grace. “Fine. Just so you know, Grace, I like Luke and not just because I want to sleep with him.” She turned and started back toward the ranch Jeep.

  I let out a sigh and looked at Grace. “Why did you say that?”

  She shook her head and walked closer to me. “Alex, you know as well as I do that Meg only wants to sleep with Luke because she knows Libby likes him. Meg has been jealous of their friendship for years.”

  I knew she was right, but I didn’t want to be pulled into this argument that had been going on for the last few years.

  I let out a sigh and said, “I don’t think Luke is going to sleep with or even go out with either one of them, so let’s just drop it.”

  I turned and started making my way toward Will. He was covered in sweat, and my body ached for his touch. The closer I got, the more turned-on I got. I bit down on my lower lip, and I was pretty sure I let out a moan.

  I looked over my shoulder to see Grace hadn’t followed me. She pulled out her cell phone and started texting someone. I glanced back to see Will smiling at me.

  When I walked up to him, he grabbed me and pulled me in for a kiss. I didn’t even care that my brother and cousin were standing there. I wrapped my arms around Will, and as he picked me up, I wrapped my legs around him.

  “Motherfucker, put my sister down now,” Colt said.

  I pulled my lips from Will’s. I turned to Colt and smiled.

  “Seriously, Alex, get the hell off of him.”

  The last thing I wanted to do was piss off my brother. He’d go running back to our father and tell him. I looked back at Will and pouted as he slowly let me down.

  He put his lips to my ear and whispered, “I can’t wait any longer. Tonight, baby.”

  Holy crap. I was sure my heart had stopped beating.

  I had no idea what he’d meant by that, but I was sure hoping that he’d meant tonight would be the night he made me his.

  “You going to the party tonight, Lib?”

  I looked over at Luke, who was trying to act like he didn’t really care what Libby’s answer would be.

  She shrugged her shoulders. “Not sure. Jason Stone asked me to meet him there.”

  Luke had been getting a drink of tea when he choked on it. “What? Jason Stone asked you out, and you said yes?”

  I glanced at Will. He was smirking and nodding his head.

  He grabbed my hand and said, “Come on, we’re finally done. I need to get home and take a cold shower. It’s hot as hell out here.”

  Colt was already walking ahead of all of us as he texted on his phone, and Will and I began following him.

  “I didn’t say he asked me out.” Libby started walking next to me.

  Oh, she is good. I tried to hide my smile, but all I could think about was how Maegan had no idea what she was up against.

  “Um…yeah, ya did. You just said that Jason Stone asked you to meet him there.”

  I watched as Luke walked next to Libby while he frantically pulled his T-shirt back over his head.

  Libby shrugged her shoulders. “So? That’s not a date, Luke. What do you care if it is a date anyway? I heard you making plans to meet up with Hope Kirkland.”

  Luke started laughing. “Hope? Please.” He rolled his eyes, and then he began walking backward as he looked at all of us. “Hey, I have an idea.”

  “No,” Will, Libby, and Colt all said at the same time.

  I began laughing. Luke was always coming up with these crazy plans. He had gotten us all in trouble more times than I could even remember.

  “Come on, y’all. Let’s all meet at the river first. We can hang out a bit before we go to the party. Are Lauren and Taylor going?”

  “Yep,” Libby said.

  “Shit. No alcohol if they’re going to be there,” Luke said.

  Since Lauren and Taylor were the youngest, Luke would insist on no alcohol anytime they were with us. It would drive Lauren mad, but Taylor couldn’t care less. She’d never had the desire to even try a beer.

  “How can you say that? Colt isn’t that much older than them, and you don’t care if he is there,” Libby said.

  Luke shrugged his shoulders. “Colt’s a guy. He’s different.”

  Libby stopped walking.

  Will moaned, “Great. Here we go.”

  I giggled as I hit him lightly on the side.

  “Luke Drew Johnson,” Libby said.

  Luke smiled that big ole smile of his that could melt all the girls’ hearts. He stepped up to Libby and lifted his hand to her hair. “You have a piece of hay in your hair, Isabella Gemma Hayes. Don’t call me by my full name, sweetheart. Only my mama can do that.”

  “You’re such an ass,” Libby said as she pushed him away.

  Luke lost his balance and began falling back but not before he grabbed Libby and took her down with him. He fell right onto his back, and she landed right on top of him. The way Luke was looking at Libby had me blushing for her. He looked like he wanted to…kiss her.

  Will must have noticed it, too, because he quickly picked Libby up. “Are you okay?”

  She said, “Yes,” and then she looked at me.

  The flush on her cheeks caused me to smile at her. She quickly walked off and headed to the Jeep. I turned back, only to find Will had Luke by the shirt.

  “Don’t ever look at my sister like that again, Johnson. I’ll fucking beat your ass, you hear me?”

  “Will!” I walked up and pulled his hands from Luke’s T-shirt. “Libby pushed Luke. It was just an accident. Will, stop it.”

  Luke seemed stunned, and I wasn’t sure if it was because of what Will had said to him or if it was because it had finally hit him that he had feelings for Libby.

  “This is going to be one interesting summer.” Colt started laughing as he walked toward his truck.

  I couldn’t help but watch every move Lex made. The way she smiled drove me crazy. The sound of her voice warmed my body. I closed my eyes and tried not to think about how we would be going our separate ways in less than two months.

  “Open your eyes, dude. It creeps me out.”

  I opened my eyes and saw Colt standing there. I smiled and laughed. “What are you gonna do when we all go to college?”

  Colt let out a sigh. “Not sure. I guess I’ll get bigger and stronger since I’ll be working on the ranch more.”

  I glanced over toward Lauren and then back at Colt. “What’s going on with you and Rachel?”

  He rolled his eyes. “Hell if I know. She told me yesterday that I was too romantic and that she needs to be more independent. I don’t even know why I’m dating her.”


  I smiled slightly. Colt had gotten trashed a few weeks back, and Luke and I had kept him in my barn until he sobered up. If Gunner had seen Colt like that, he would have killed his own son. Colt never really drank, but when he’d seen Lauren out on a date, he’d lost it. He’d admitted to Luke and me how much he liked her.

  “Colt, can I ask you something?”

  He nodded his head. “Always, Will.”

  “Why are you trying to avoid how you feel about Lauren?”

  His face dropped. He quickly looked at Lauren and then turned back to me. “What are you talking about?”

  “Colt, when you got shitfaced a few weeks ago, you told Luke and me that you had feelings for Lauren.”

  He dropped his head back and let out a sigh. “Fuck. You didn’t tell Alex, did you?”

  “No.”

  Colt ran his hand down his face. “Good.”

  “Why don’t you want her to know?”

  “Want who to know what?” Lauren asked as she came up.

  She kissed Colt on the cheek, and his face instantly turned red.

  “Um…” Colt looked at me as he struggled for something to say.

  I smiled. “Colt likes a girl, and he won’t tell her.”

  Lauren turned to Colt and tilted her head. “I thought you and Rachel were going out. Did y’all break up?”

  Colt gave me a dirty look. “Will’s just screwing around. You meeting anyone at the party, Lauren?”

  Lauren stared at Colt for just a little too long before she looked toward the rest of the girls. “No. I’ve officially given up on guys.”

  Colt and I both laughed.

  “Why?” Colt asked.

  Lauren turned to Colt and then glanced at me. When the tears filled her eyes, I instantly got pissed.

  Someone hurt her.

  Colt lifted Lauren’s chin up, so she would look at him. “What happened?”

  Lauren sucked in her bottom lip and shook her head. “Nothing,” she whispered.

  “I swear to God, Lauren, if you don’t tell me right now…”

  Lauren quickly wiped a tear away. “Colt, it’s okay. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get all emotional. Just drop it. I’m going to head on over—”

  Colt cut her off, “Lauren.”

  I walked up to her. “Lauren, please tell us what happened.”