Beth’s mouth dropped open. “You said you love it when I sing!”
“I’m the exception to the rule.”
She smiled. “True. God, I’m gonna miss you so much, Park! Why do you have to go to stupid Cornell? It’s so far away.”
Parker frowned. “You know why.”
Parker’s parents had met at Cornell and it was his mother’s dream for Parker to go there one day. Unfortunately, Cornell wasn’t where Parker wanted to go. It wasn’t even in his top three—but it’s not like he could deny the wish of his dead mother.
“Seriously? Come on Park, you can’t tell me that your dad will actually force you to go to Cornell if it’s not really what you want. I mean your mom mentioned it a million years ago. Who knows if she’d even still feel the same way?”
“Exactly,” Parker said quietly.
Beth was silent for a moment and Parker looked over to see her chew on her thumbnail. He could tell she was worrying that she’d said the wrong thing. She hadn’t. But that was the problem with bringing up his mother and college. No one would ever know what she would’ve wanted.
Parker sighed. “All I know for sure is it was my mother’s dream for me to go there, and it’s kinda hard to argue with at this point.”
Beth’s voice was soft when she spoke again. “Yeah, but what’s your dream, Parker? What do you really want? That’s what college is all about. It’s time for us to chase our dreams and find out who we truly are.”
If only he could just tell Beth what he really wanted . . . that she was his dream . . . going to school with her, starting a life with her . . . Those were the answers to her questions, but he still couldn’t bring himself to say them out loud. Instead, he smiled and spoke softly. “I envy you, Beth. You’ve always known how to go after your dreams. It’s harder for some of us.”
“Oh my God, are you serious right now? You not only got into Cornell, but Harvard, Brown and Yale. It must be so hard being brilliant and having to choose between so many Ivy Leagues.”
Parker grinned at Beth’s sarcasm. “Point taken. But I’m going to Cornell, so can we just drop it?”
Beth crossed her arms. “I just don’t get why you applied to those other schools if you want to go to Cornell so badly?”
“They were my safety schools.”
“Oh please, you’re graduating top of your class and your parents both went to Cornell. You’re a legacy. Cornell would never snub you. What other excuses you got?”
Parker sighed, knowing Beth was just getting started. She was always passionate when they discussed college. He knew she was just trying to help, but it only made things worse since he couldn’t tell her how he really felt.
Beth seemed to sense his unease and took mercy on him. “Look, I know we’ve had this conversation a million times, but just promise me you’ll think about it, okay? You wouldn’t have applied to those other schools if somewhere deep down you didn’t want to go there.” Beth reached across the center console and took Parker’s hand. “College is a big decision and it should be one you make for yourself.”
“I know, but . . .” Parker’s throat tightened as he tried to say his mother’s name. Even after all this time he still had trouble talking about her.
Beth squeezed his hand. She didn’t say anything but she didn’t have to. It was one of the many reasons Parker had fallen in love with Beth. She knew how to be there for him. She knew when to talk and when to listen.
Parker didn’t really know how to talk about his emotions when it came to his mother. His father never spoke about her, except to say that she’d wanted him to go to Cornell. Plus, Parker was so young when his mother died that sometimes he couldn’t really remember her. And that feeling of loss made it hurt all over again. But Beth was always there. Just being near her was a comfort to Parker. Since they were four years old, Beth had been by Parker’s side, holding his hand and now his heart. She was his other half. And perhaps that’s what Parker hated more than even Jared, the looming future that threatened to tear apart the steady comfort that Beth brought to Parker’s life.
Jared was just the beginning. Soon college would take Beth away from Parker, and then she’d meet someone else and become their other half forever. The notion made Parker’s eyes burn and he swallowed back the lump in his throat.
Beth’s steady pressure remained on his hand and she spoke in a quite voice. “Your mom would want you to be happy, Parker.”
He swallowed hard and nodded. If that were the case, Parker’s problems would be solved. He knew exactly where he’d go to school. He’d stay in Boston, go to Harvard and never leave Beth’s side.
Beth
Beth continued to glance over at Parker during the lacrosse game. He’d been quiet since their conversation about college. And quiet for Parker always meant there was something wrong. To everyone else it would seem normal. Parker wasn’t a super talkative guy with most people. But Beth wasn’t most people. She knew Parker better than anyone. They’d been best friends since they could walk and if the two of them weren’t bickering or laughing, something was up.
If she was honest with herself, she’d noticed Parker starting to withdraw ever since she started dating Jared. At first she just thought it was that she was splitting her time between her best friend and boyfriend so of course things would be a little different. But that distance she’d started to feel in the beginning now felt like it had grown into the Grand Canyon when she wasn’t looking. How did that happen? How could two people who knew everything about each other suddenly feel like strangers?
But she’d always known it would happen. She knew Parker would eventually meet some girl, that Beth would undoubtedly hate because she wouldn’t be good enough for him—no one ever would. The fact that it hadn’t happened yet was a miracle. But Beth knew it was only a matter of time. Soon it would be college that would take him away.
Parker was a genius. He wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps and go to medical school. He’d probably become the world’s youngest brain surgeon or cure cancer or form some incredible program like Doctors Without Borders or something. That’s just how Parker was. He was brilliant and handsome and kind. And it would break Beth’s heart when he left her. But she’d had him all to herself for eighteen years. It was really more than she could’ve asked for.
Beth was relieved when Jared came into her life for many reasons. Besides being her super hot boyfriend, Jared was a good distraction from the crushing pain of what life without her best friend would be like. It was better that Beth start to distance herself from Parker now. It would make it easier in the long run. And she really did like Jared. He was funny and gorgeous and he had that edge of mischief and mystery about him that always made her nervous—but the good kind of nervous.
Jared was hoping to go to college at Syracuse on a lacrosse scholarship. It was only five hours away and Beth was already making plans for how to visit him on long weekends and breaks. Caroline rolled her eyes every time Beth mentioned it. She always said, “You gotta leave high school behind, Beth. That includes your high school boyfriend.”
To an extent, Beth knew Caroline was right. But it was hard. Beth already felt like she was losing so much. Her sisters had all grown up and moved out. And now, in a few short months, Parker and practically everyone she knew from high school would be leaving to go to different colleges. Beth needed something to cling to. And Jared was a pretty fine guy to hold on to. Beth knew it was probably naïve to think that her first love would last. But if she didn’t at least hope it would, then what was the point?
5
Parker
Parker was convinced his ass was frozen to the bleachers. Would it kill Stanton to spring for seat cushions for the aluminum bleachers? The tuition should certainly cover it. Parker rubbed his hands together before jamming them back in his pockets. The game was almost over. Stanton was killing Thornton Park, with Jared leading the slaughter. Every time he scored he came over and blew Beth a kiss. It made Parker’s pork tacos t
urn sour in his stomach. And if that wasn’t bad enough, Caroline had just slinked her way up the stairs to join them in the bleachers.
Caroline pushed her way between Parker and Beth and sat down. Parker grumbled to himself as he slid over to a new freezing portion of bleachers to make room.
“How’s hot stuff doing?” Caroline asked nodding to the field.
“He scored six times!” Beth replied, beaming.
Caroline raised her eyebrows. “Whoa! Did you pledge to match his scores in the bedroom or something?”
Beth blushed and giggled.
Parker stood up. There was no way he was sitting through another Jared-is-a-jock-god swoon fest.
“Where are you going?” Beth called.
“To get some air,” he grumbled.
“Uh, we’re outside, genius,” Caroline called. She turned to Beth. “Seriously, how is he the smartest person in our class?”
Parker swore under his breath, but kept going. He grabbed himself a coffee at the concession stand, but then he felt guilty for not getting one for Beth, which meant he had to get one for Caroline, too. He went back and got two more coffees, balancing the three cups precariously as he weaved his way back to his seat. This time he sat on Beth’s opposite side before handing out the coffees.
“Thanks,” Beth said, giving him a little shoulder nudge in appreciation.
Caroline took her cup without thanks and dumped in a heavy pour from the flask she always carried. She offered it to Beth, who added a timid shot to her cup and then offered the flask to Parker. He shook his head. It’s not that he didn’t drink, but as a rule, he didn’t drink things from unmarked containers—especially things from unmarked containers belonging to Caroline Voss.
Parker wasn’t Caroline’s biggest fan. Ever since she’d come into Beth’s life a few years ago she’d been nothing but trouble. She was always taking Beth to crazy parties and introducing her to drugs, alcohol and boys, or sometimes all three at once.
Sophomore year, Caroline snuck Beth into a shady club in Boston and then left her to go home with some random guy. Caroline had no regard for Beth or the fact that she was wasted. By the time Beth found a phone and called Parker she was hysterical. To make matters worse, she had no idea where she was. Parker had spent two hours checking every club in Boston until he found her sobbing in a parking lot. It was the one and only time he and Beth had ever truly fought. He’d been out of his mind with worry. Any number of terrible things could have happened to Beth while she’d been drunk and alone, and he told her so in a not so polite manner.
After Parker took Beth home from the club and sobered her up he’d laid into her about Caroline being a reoccurring theme in Beth’s poor choices. Beth hadn’t spoken to Parker for a week after that. And that’s pretty much what solidified Parker’s method for dealing with disagreements when it came to Beth—complete and utter avoidance.
But look where that had gotten him. Sitting next to the girl he loved, cheering for her douche bag boyfriend. Way to go, Park!
Maybe he should’ve taken a hit from Caroline’s flask. It would’ve helped to dull the pain in his chest and made the last few minutes of the game more bearable. Currently, Jared was blatantly flirting with a group of freshman cheerleaders on the sideline. How could the guy be that stupid? Did he forget his girlfriend was in the stands?
But it seemed Jared could do no wrong in Beth’s eyes. She always gave him a free pass. But that sure as hell didn’t mean Parker had to. “Too bad Stanton doesn’t hand out scholarships for flirting. Jared would be golden.”
Beth ignored the dig.
Parker kept going. “The school should really hand out vaccines to inoculate the student population against his pickup lines.”
Beth laughed. “The student body is safe because I’m Jared’s antivirus.”
Parker nearly puked in his coffee cup. Beth said nauseating things like that about Jared all the time. It made Parker’s skin crawl. And not just because he was insanely jealous. But because Parker was sure that Beth deserved better.
Despite the fact that Jared flirted with everything that moved, Parker had a sneaking suspicion something was going on with him and Caroline. A few weeks ago, Parker had seen Caroline drop Jared off at his house late at night. Parker had casually mentioned it to Beth the next day but she said they were probably just at Caroline’s working on their chemistry assignment together since they were lab partners. Yeah, they were working on their chemistry all right.
Parker didn’t buy it for a second. But since Beth didn’t seem concerned, Parker had no choice but to let it go. Until last week, when it happened again. Parker was taking the trash out around midnight when he saw Jared get out of Caroline’s car. Jared walked around her sporty red BMW and bent down to peer in her window. Their heads were awfully close for a few minutes before Caroline finally drove away. And when she did, Parker was left standing on the sidewalk with Jared glaring at him. For an awkward moment, they’d both just stared at each other, silent warning burning in their eyes. Then Jared had turned and gone inside, and they hadn’t spoke since.
Parker didn’t know what to do. Every time he tried to talk to Beth about Jared she brushed it off. He was afraid if he pushed the issue she would figure out it was because Parker had feelings for her, and that was not how he wanted it to come out. Not after he’d hid it from her for so long.
6
Beth
After the game Beth ran onto the field and gave Jared a big hug. He made a show of picking her up and spinning her around. Then he pulled his helmet off and kissed her long and hard. He was sweaty and the kiss tasted salty, but damn it was good. Jared knew how to kiss. He put his lacrosse stick under her hips and picked her up. She sat on it like it was a bench as he pulled her closer to his height and crushed her lips with his.
Beth was breathless when Jared finally put her down to the hoots and hollering of his teammates. Jared high fived them while Beth blushed scarlet. She still wasn’t used to such public displays of affection, which sometimes seemed odd since she wanted to be an actress and had kissed plenty of people in plays. But that was different. She wasn’t Beth then, she was just playing a part. This, however, felt real and like maybe it should be more private. But it seemed Jared didn’t feel the same way.
He was all about PDA. It was like he wanted the whole school to know Beth was his, like making her wear his lacrosse hoodie, or the necklace he got her with a charm of his jersey number on it. She wished she could tell him he didn’t have any competition. It’s not like there’d been guys beating down Beth’s door to date her before Jared showed up. But admitting that would just make her sound pathetic. Plus, she didn’t really mind the attention. It was nice being someone’s. Well most of the time it was nice.
After kissing her, Jared did the thing Beth hated most. He put his sweaty lacrosse helmet on her head, messing up her perfectly straight blonde hair. She’d spent an hour with the flat iron to get it just right and he always messed it up with his sweaty helmet. The other thing she hated about his post-lacrosse game ritual was that she always spent the rest of the night lugging his helmet around. But Jared was in particularly good spirits after such a great game and it was hard to be mad at him when he was grinning at her like that. God, that smile should be illegal. It made her want to do all sorts of things she knew she shouldn’t.
“What do you say, gorgeous? Wanna join me and the boys to celebrate our win?”
Beth looked back to the stands to see if Parker was still sitting there but she couldn’t see anything over the crowd on the field.
“Do you have a better offer?” Jared teased pulling her in by her hips.
Jared’s sensual touch snapped Beth’s attention back to him. “No, I was just looking for Parker. I told him I’d help him pack for Colorado tonight.”
Jared rolled his eyes, and Beth pulled the helmet off her head.
“Parker’s a big boy, Beth. Besides, I think I need you more,” he said laying on his sad puppy dog eyes tha
t he knew she couldn’t resist.
Jared had the most brilliantly expressive brown eyes Beth had ever seen. Beth had brown eyes too, but where hers were a dark muddy brown, Jared’s were more the color of burnt honey. His eye color changed with his moods. When he was happy they seemed to glow almost gold. When he was angry, they were dark, like storm clouds had rolled in. And when he wanted something, like he did now, his eyes got big and milk chocolaty. Beth had made the mistake of telling him she could never say no to those eyes. She was starting to regret her honesty.
Beth put her hands on her hips and pinned Jared with a look. “Do you always use your powers for evil?”
Jared grinned wickedly and picked her up like she weighed nothing. “Always,” he said kissing her.
Parker
Parker walked down to the front row of bleachers and leaned against the railing overlooking the lacrosse field. He didn’t know why he did this to himself. He could watch Jared maul Beth from the back row of the bleachers just fine. But for some morbid reason he always found himself moving closer to get a better look.
At first Parker didn’t realize Caroline had approached him and her sultry drawl startled him. “Hey, broody. Why so serious?”
Parker gave her a sideways glance. He knew Caroline was baiting him. This was what she did and he wasn’t going to play her little mind games. Parker blew out an icy breath and continued to stare out at the field.
“Listen, Parker. I know we’re not really friends, but I have a feeling that if we work together we could both get what we want.”
Parker huffed a laugh. “And what would you know about what I want?”
“You don’t think it’s a secret, do you?”
When Parker didn’t respond, Caroline laughed. “Oh, that’s precious. But even a blind man can see the way you look at her. Hell, you’re so obvious I’m sorta stunned she hasn’t figured it out by now.”
The Boyfriend Series Box Set (Books 1-6): YA Contemporary Romance Novels Page 82