“No. What do you want?” he asked, completely disregarding my question. I really looked him over. Serial killers couldn’t be that pretty. I would know if something was that off with him. I bit back laughter and looked away from those shining blue-gray eyes.
I glanced at the menu. “Anything with chicken.”
He ordered and I looked around, confused. My overactive mind needed to know what is going on, but I let him lead our date. He pulled up, grabbed our food, and we were on the road again. When we left the Seattle lights behind, I lifted a brow at him.
“Should I be concerned?”
“Most definitely.”
I grinned at him. With my history, I should be worried. With him I was excited. My stomach growled as we turn on to a different road. I spotted a sign.
“Louisa Boren Lookout?” I asked.
He shrugged as he parked the car. “I know you don’t get the chance to leave campus a lot. I wanted you to be able to see everything.”
My brows shot up at his kindness. I faced the front of the car; the headlights were on, but the sun was still barely peeking through from our height. The trees below us were circled around a body of water. I almost forgot I was in Washington. For a minute I was back home, and this time everything was good.
“Wow,” I said.
“The food or the view?” I looked over, finding Liam passing me a paper sack. I laughed once and took it from him.
“I’ve eaten fast-food before,” I deadpanned.
“But everything is better in Washington,” he said.
“I think you’re right.”
I stared at the water below as I took a bite of the sandwich, he handed me, thinking. He was right. Everything was better here. The sun fell completely behind the top of the trees as I finished my food. I’d never felt so at ease. Everything was just…right.
“So, what’s your favorite—the food or the spot?” I asked.
“Can I say both?” he asked, winking at me, and my heart fluttered. “The spot.”
“You grew up around here, right?”
“I did. I know what you’re thinking…this place wasn’t popular like that. I came here after a lot of games. It helped me think.”
I nodded knowingly. First dates are awkward. It doesn’t matter if you’ve kissed, slept in the same bed, or even gone on one of those awkward reality shows where you married a person without knowing them. They. Are. Awkward.
I fidgeted with the straw from my cup. He came into my life at the speed of light—quickly and immensely present. From the very first night we met, when he slept on the floor beside my bed, I knew something would be different about him. At the time I thought he would be a friend. Now, he was more.
“So, when does the season start?” I asked. It was better than asking about the weather, right?
“A few months.” He hesitated. “I’m not playing.”
“What? Why? Because of your arm or whatever?”
“I’ve played off being injured way too long,” he said with a side grin.
“You mean you weren’t ever hurt?” I asked, surprised. I thought athletes were obsessed with their sport.
“I was. A long time ago. That’s a tale for another day.” He shrugged his broad shoulders and looked straight ahead at the only place that brought him peace. “Come on,” he said.
I watched him grab our drinks and leave me behind, sitting in the car. He sat on the edge of a rail that overlooked the scenery. Now would be a good time to tell him I hate heights. The girl inside me that was screaming about new experiences joined him on the rail. I took my drink from him, smiling.
“Thank you,” I said, unsure of what I was really thanking him for. The drink. The courage. The new experiences. Being here made me vulnerable, but in a good way. He was opening me up to something new and scary. Something I would have never tried if he hadn’t brought me here. I bonded with him in a way I never had before. It forced me to trust him.
“You look terrified.”
“I’m not,” I said. I didn’t bother looking behind me. I held his gaze, knowing I could fall to my death at any moment, and tried to keep my heartrate in check.
“Most people are scared of heights.”
“Are you?” I asked.
“Fucking terrified,” he said, and his eyes lit with amusement.
“Then why the hell are we sitting here?” I laughed.
“Because I couldn’t think of a better place to do this.”
Before I could process what, he meant, his lips pushed against mine. Stunned, I had to tell myself to relax before I could truly let go. I dropped my shoulders and parted my mouth slightly, letting him in. He was put on this earth to kiss, and I hoped my nerves didn’t push him away. He leaned back, resting his forehead against mine. Our chests rose and fell in sync.
“Do all kisses have to have a story?” I asked, biting my lip.
He griped the railing, thinking. “Nah. Just the first few. I just have hook you, so you’ll remember the good ones. Everything after is mediocre at best.” He was grinning a shit-eating grin and I pressed my lips in a hard line.
“You’re an ass.”
“I never claimed to be anything else,” he responded. He looked into my eyes, and he knew I didn’t mean it. He was the nicest person I had ever met, no matter what he thought. He glanced at his phone, letting out a curse.
“I need to get you back…but I want you to come over tomorrow night. There’s a party.”
I gave him a pointed look. “I’m sure there is.”
“I’m not drinking. Gabby will be there,” he said. When I didn’t look convinced, he leaned in and pressed his lips to mine quickly. “I need a chance to redeem myself. I’m not always like that.”
“Fine. But if something else happens, there will not be a next time,” I said.
“Nothing will happen. You have my word.” He held his hands up, defending his actions.
I narrowed my eyes at him, not sure I liked where this was going. I’d only had one person who kept their word in my entire life. People let you down’ it was a part of who they were. My stomach was in knots; I wasn’t sure if I liked this guy or if it was my anxiety, but something didn’t feel right to me.
Twenty
Cars were already spilling out of the driveway. I navigated around them, stopping short of the back lot. Music was blaring as I walked inside, girls everywhere. Most of them looked the same. Long legs, fake eyelashes, and bleached hair. I ducked my head down and walked upstairs, not wanting to get sucked into a conversation with one of them. I couldn’t imagine pretending to care right now.
I bumped into someone as I walked upstairs. I looked up from the grey tennis shoes. Gabby. She was giving me a hard look, still not sure if she’d forgiven me.
“Liam.” She said my name as hard as she could. I almost laughed at her attempt to be firm; it was comical. Tyler walked from his bedroom, looking between the two of us.
“Gabrielle,” I said, grinning.
“I haven’t heard from Autumn since yesterday,” she deadpanned. Her eyes narrowed.
I shrugged my shoulders. “I’m about to go get her.”
“Were you nice?”
“Yes, I was fucking nice. I messed up one time. Will I ever live that down?”
“We’ll see. By the way, I was rooting for you.” She shrugged her shoulders and walked back into Tyler’s room.
“What is she like when she doesn’t like someone?” I asked Tyler.
“I wouldn’t want to know.”
“Yeah, then don’t screw that up,” I said, laughing. He had a habit of getting too serious for the wrong girl, and it fell apart faster than it began.
“No offense, dude, but the last person I want to take relationship advice from is you.”
“Relationship?” My brows shot up. He had only known the girl for a few weeks.
He shrugged, looking around nervously. “Whatever it is, I don’t need advice from you.”
“That’s where you’re w
rong. Do not screw this up…she’s Autumn’s friend.”
His face twisted with humor, mocking me. “You really like her? Like, really? Not just a ‘get her into the bed and drop her’ kind of thing?”
“No offense, dude,” I said, quoting him. “I’m not talking about my feelings with you.”
“You just answered my question,” he said as I walked off. I lifted my middle finger before I went into my room.
I tossed my athletic clothes into my bathroom and walked into my closet. Pulling out a grey Henley from my dresser and jeans from a hanger, I dressed quickly. I wasn’t sure why the hell I invited Autumn over tonight. I was trying to prove to her that I was more than my behavior last time, but was I? I tended to try to fix things without thinking it through. I would never admit that out loud, so I put my shoes on one by one and was out the door as fast as I’d arrived.
When I got to her dorm, she was waiting for me. Her long, auburn hair was curly and hanging to her waist. Her shorts were short, and her shirt was snug and low-cut. I tried to look everywhere but at her tits. Something about her screamed innocent. I’d spent enough time with her to know she was no Mother Teresa, but something about her in this moment made me want to look away. She looked up at me with big doe eyes, studying me. I was being fucking weird. She could tell.
“Ready to go?” she asked, and I realized I’d been standing here like some creep without saying a word. Just staring.
“Uh, yeah. After you.”
“You’re being weird,” she said as we got into my waiting car. She tugged her seatbelt on and flipped her hair to the side, pushing it out of the way. When she did this, her tits stood out more. I started the car, looking straight ahead. I didn’t know how I never realized she looked like this.
“I’m just being me.”
She made a low, humming sound. “You’re right. You’re just weird.”
A soft chuckle escaped my lips. She didn’t know how nervous I was all of a sudden, and I sure as hell couldn’t understand it. I’d never been this far with a girl, and now I could feel her stare as I awkwardly navigated back to the house. This was a bad idea.
A honk. I looked behind me at the truck, and then back at the light. Seeing that I was holding up traffic, I pushed the pedal harder than intended. Autumn shot forward.
“You can take me back,” she said, composing herself. I glanced at her, finding her face flushed red, and then back at the road. I was turning on to my street.
“Is that what you want?” I was panicking.
“You haven’t looked at me or talked to me the entire drive. You’re acting weird. Even for you. I can see you don’t want me here.”
She was staring at me curiously. She wanted me to talk to her. I ran my hand down my face, scanning our surroundings. The cool air had forced everyone inside tonight. Not even a single straggler was on the lawn.
“What’s your favorite color?” I asked. Her brows knit together as her eyes focused on me.
“Why do you ask?” I smirked. She was always so suspicious. As if telling someone her favorite color would lead to identity theft.
“You wanted to talk,” I deadpanned. The side of her mouth lifted in a small smile. She looked embarrassed, and I wanted to tell her she shouldn’t be.
“Blue. Like the kind of blue, I’ll spend hours arguing with someone for calling it green,” she said, smiling. I believed that Autumn could argue with a wall and win. “What’s yours?”
“Just blue,” I joked.
“What’s your favorite class?” she asked, taking her bottom lip between her teeth.
“English,” I said. That earned me an eye-roll. “Yours?”
“History.”
“Ouch. See if I add a class to be near you again,” I said, pretending to be offended. Her eyes narrowed into slits.
“I knew it!”
I shrugged, laughing at her expression. It was a mix between surprised and annoyed. “It is helping my GPA, though.”
Her stare was intrusive as she picked me apart, wondering if I was telling the truth. While she was fixated on one tiny detail, I was aware that no one was in sight. Her tiny outfit, her laughter, her smell, being this close—it was all becoming too much.
“Where are you?” she asked. I looked over at her. Her leg was propped under the other one, and she was leaning against the door.
“Right here.”
She pressed her lips together, giving me a pointed look. “Where do you go when you get quiet like that? Sometimes you just stare off at nothing.”
“I was thinking I like talking to you.”
Smiling she looked down. Her loose red curls fell in front of her face, creating a wall between us. Leaning over, I pushed the strands from her face. She looked at me, and I was hooked. Without permission I closed the gap between us, pushing my lips against hers. The kiss was quick, and over as soon as it started. I pulled back a little, looking at her. Her eyes were closed, and her brows knitted together as she opened them to look at me.
“And kissing you,” I said.
“Is that all you think about?”
I pulled completely away, not trusting myself anymore. My sight drifted from that damn low-cut shirt, and then back to her face before I could help it.
“Not hardly.”
“There’s so much I don’t know about you,” she said. She was nervously picking at her nails, avoiding eye contact with me. What went in this girl’s mind? Questions after questions, I assumed; maybe she thought about everything she didn’t know and ways to find out.
“There’s a lot I don’t know about you,” I said, repeating what she had said. That got her attention. Her eyes snapped up, studying me.
“Why do you change the subject when I bring up baseball?”
“Why do you get nervous when someone brings up your family?” I asked, and I immediately regretted it.
“Touché,” she said. She bit her lip and stared forward. Students were trickling into the house, but all I could think about was the girl next to me. She brought her hands to her forearms, rubbing them.
“Are you cold? You aren’t in Texas anymore.”
“I’m seeing that. I’m fine,” she said, smiling at me.
I patted her leg, hoping I wasn’t crossing a line. She eyed me before letting a soft smile escape.
“Let’s get this over with,” I said, nodding to the house.
“Wait,” she said. “It’s just…I never had a lot of friends. I don’t trust anyone, you know?” She was looking down, picking at a strand of hair.
“Me neither,” I said honestly. I was looking forward, nothing in sight; only my thoughts filled my mind. “I was in an accident last year.”
“Were you hurt?” She snapped her head in my direction.
“Not as bad as the guy driving.” Everyone knew. At some point, I thought I could outrun it. Eventually everyone in my life would be new. They wouldn’t know what had happened. Here I was, telling the one person in my life who didn’t know.
“Let’s go inside,” I said, taking the chance to question away from her. Maybe one day.
Twenty-One
The noise of the party couldn’t drown out the loud silence of the boy next to me. His brows were clenched together, forming a line. Even now, he was beautiful. My breath hitched each time I thought something nice about him, but I reminded myself no one could hear my thoughts. My secrets were safe with me. Still, the thought of letting go, fully trusting someone, wasn’t easy for me.
“Are you okay?” I asked. We were stopped near the door, not fully submerged in the party yet. The corner of his mouth lifted slightly as he looked at me.
“Never better,” he replied, but I could see that wasn’t exactly true. I lifted my hand and placed my pointer finger softly between his brows.
“Loosen up,” I said. This earned me a smile.
Before I could protest, his hand was on my lower back—gently pulling me closer before he pressed his lips to mine.
“Better?” he aske
d. His face was softer, and his creased eyebrows were a distant memory. However, my face was the color of my hair. I didn’t take my eyes off him because I absolutely loathed attention. I simply stepped back, letting his hand fall, and shrugged.
“You’ll have to do better than that.”
“Is that an invitation?” he asked, and my jaw dropped. Small arms snaked around my body. Surprised, I turned, leaving Liam to himself. Gabby was smiling at me with two drinks in her hand. One was stretched out to me.
“You’re here!” she shouted, and I wondered how many of these she’d had. I grabbed it, smiling appreciatively at her.
“So are you. What is this?” Her smile fell as she realized I wasn’t as enthusiastic as she was.
“Margaritas,” she said, giving me a pointed look. “I thought everyone in Texas loved these. That’s what the internet said, and everything there is true.”
I laughed out loud at her. “Nice. Stereotyping. Did you really make this just for me?”
“Well, yeah.” She shrugged.
I held it to her, clinking her cup to mine before taking my first sip. To my surprise, I pulled her in for a hug.
“You’re the nicest person in the world, Gabby.”
“I’m stealing her,” she yelled to Liam behind me.
“Bring her back,” he said. Standing right behind me, he was watching me intently. His hands were shoved into his pockets as he stood around his friends, not listening to them. His pinky wrapped around mine discretely. “Are you okay?”
I nodded before Gabby grabbed my other hand, dragging me in the direction she was going. His face went soft again, smiling at me. Something had shifted tonight. Maybe it was only in me, standing in my own way the whole time, but I felt free.
I held his gaze, kicking myself for coming here. Out of nowhere, I wanted to be alone with him. I wanted all his secrets. I wanted his touch, his taste. I wanted him.
Shit.
“So, what do you think?” Gabby asked. I turned to face her.
“About what?”
“The drink,” she said, and her brow lifted.
Looking between her and the drink in my hand I lifted it, pouring the rest into my mouth. Her eyes went wide as she laughed at me.
The Autumn Leaf Page 11