I hesitate, staring at her, drinking her in. I never want to forget this moment, but maybe she’s right. Maybe this will never work.
But that kiss…
“Give me a memento,” I tell her, sounding like a complete ass. All I do is demand things from her, but I’m greedy for whatever she wants to give me. “Something so I can remember this night.”
She contemplates me, her gaze thoughtful. I stare right back, mesmerized by her beauty. I’m a sucker for a pretty girl.
And this girl is absolutely gorgeous.
Slowly she throws back the covers and gets out of bed on the opposite side from where I’m standing. She rounds the mattress, approaching me slowly, peeling off the hoodie she was wearing. The hoodie I want. Shedding it reveals that she’s wearing nothing but a dark gray sports bra underneath, showing off her tiny waist and her flat stomach. Black leggings complete the look, clinging to her long legs.
There goes my dick again, twitching like crazy.
“Here.” She shoves the sweatshirt into my chest. “Keep it.”
Surprise courses through me and before she moves her hand away, I circle my fingers around her slender wrist, keeping her there. I can’t believe she gave the hoodie to me, but I’m still greedy. “I want one more thing.”
Her brows shoot up. “What is it?”
We watch each other for a long, silent moment, our gazes never straying. She can figure it out. I don’t need to say it out loud. “You know,” I murmur.
She tilts her head, but otherwise remains quiet. It’s like I’m witnessing her realize her power over me. There’s a sudden gleam in her eyes that wasn’t there before, and she licks her lips, her expression determined as she rises up on her tiptoes and slips her other arm around my neck.
Now it’s Ava who’s kissing me, and holy fuck, she’s pouring her all into it. Her tongue darts between my lips, sliding against my own. I let go of her wrist and wrap my arms around her waist, pulling her in close to me, letting my hand wander down. Resting it just above her perfect ass, before I learn the shape of her backside with my fingers.
She ends the kiss as fast as she started it, breaking the connection between us far too soon for my liking. Grabbing hold of the front of my long-sleeved T-shirt, she jerks my face down to hers and murmurs, “Don’t ever talk to me again.”
Ava releases my shirt with a little push, and I take a step backward, nearly tripping on the discarded sweatshirt. Bending down, I grab it, then yank it on. It smells like her. Fuck, I’ll never want to wash this thing, and that’s kind of disgusting.
“Go,” she says, crossing her arms. Defiance is written all over her, and I know I’m done arguing with her for the night. Maybe even forever. “Leave.”
Before I say or do something I’ll regret, I go to the door and rest my fingers on the handle, glancing over my shoulder one last time. “Come find me when you’re ready,” I tell her. “You know where I’m at. We were made to do this, Ava.”
Her chest rises and falls, rises and falls with every shaky breath. My gaze flickers to her tits, watching them move. They’re small, but they’re a handful, and that’s all I need.
But I’ll probably never get a chance to touch her again.
“Goodbye, Eli,” she says crisply, like nothing could ever give her more pleasure than telling me see ya later. The words, the tone of her voice are both final.
I slip out of the room. Slip down the stairs and out of the cabin. It was too easy, breaking into their place. And it was just as easy sneaking out of it.
If Ava Callahan thinks she’s getting away from me that easily, she’s got another thing coming. Like I told her, we’re meant to be.
She just doesn’t know it yet.
Now
Nine
Ava
Fall
This year so far doesn’t suck.
Since I’ve started high school, each year I’ve been told it’s the worst year. The hardest one. Freshman year, you’re scared out of your mind. Your mentality is stuck in the eighth grade. You have no idea what you’re doing.
Sophomore year, you’re stretching your wings and damn it, you think you’re ready to take flight. You rebel a little bit, testing the limits set upon you on a constant basis. You turn sixteen during this school year. If you’re lucky and you time everything right, you get your driver’s license pretty soon after your sixteenth birthday. License + car = freedom. I got the license and the car, but I still somehow ended up riding with Jake a lot. Pretty much for the rest of my sophomore year.
Junior year, and I’m a new woman. I’m on the varsity cheer team. Still not sure if that was a positive choice or not, but too late to turn back now. I’m taking some pretty hard classes, including advanced chemistry, advanced math and a world religions class that’s super interesting, but won’t be easy. I think a boy is interested in me, and he’s cute. Sweet. He’s my age, and he’s a football player, which is probably a huge negative, but for once in my life, who cares? Not me. Dad won’t mind. Jake probably will.
Jake and his friends can suck it.
The boy just asked me to wear his jersey tomorrow at school for game day, and I said yes. It was an easy decision. I didn’t even hesitate.
But.
The only boy I can think about is Eli.
It’s so messed up. Beyond messed up. We were at that camp together over two months ago. I shouldn’t be thinking about him. At all.
It’s like I can’t stop my thoughts from drifting to him and what happened between us that night, when he broke into the cabin and snuck into my room. I remember the way he kissed me. His soft lips. His hot tongue. I remember how his body felt, pressed to mine. I remember all of it.
That moment is burned on my brain like a curse.
Just as I vowed, I haven’t spoken to him since. We kept our distance for the rest of camp. I didn’t bother looking in his direction, and I’m not sure if he looked in mine, but it doesn’t matter. Once it was over, I went home. He went home.
That was it.
Of course, we’ve seen each other around because in our small community, you can’t avoid people forever. Eventually, you run into someone, whether you want to or not. He was down by the docks at the lake near the end of summer when I saw him for the first time since the camp. Looking good in a tight T-shirt and board shorts, wearing a baseball cap backwards.
Ugh, that’s such a weakness for me. I don’t even understand why. As in, why are boys so cute when they wear their hats backwards?
I found out around late July that he was working at one of the boat rental places for the summer. It’s a place our family never goes to, on the other side of the lake, so that’s why I didn’t see him much. He was busy making that money. Probably flirting with every cute tourist girl who came in too.
Not that I’m jealous. Nope, not me.
Now that we’re all back in school—and we don’t even go to the same high school—I won’t ever really see him. Which is fine by me. He’s playing football, and I’m cheering at games, so our Friday nights are otherwise occupied for the next eight to ten weeks minimum. Plus we have to attend our classes on a daily basis, and we both have practices almost every day. I have friends, and we like to hang out together a lot, so that takes up a lot of my free time. I might even have a boyfriend eventually, so really there’s no point in thinking of Eli Bennett. We are never going to happen.
Never.
That’s what I need to keep telling myself.
“Sitting around daydreaming again, huh?” My best friend Ellie nudges me in the ribs with her too pointy elbow.
“Ow. Stop.” I send her a dirty look, but she knows I don’t mean it. She’s my absolute favorite person in the whole world. I tell her everything.
Well. Mostly. I didn’t tell her about Eli and what happened between us. I wanted to, I just…
Didn’t know how to find the words. Didn’t want to hear her lecture or tell me what a mistake it is, thinking about Eli.
So it’s my li
ttle secret. I have a feeling I’m Eli’s secret too, and I’m okay with that. I don’t want his friends to know what we did. It’s best left in the past, right?
That’s what I keep telling myself.
It’s lunchtime and we’re sitting in the quad at one of the picnic benches our group likes to hang out at. I spot Jake with his friends, and they’re all laughing and pointing at various girls as they walk by.
I don’t even want to know what that’s all about, and I’m not going to ask.
“I heard a rumor,” Ellie says, and I’m immediately set on edge. I hate rumors. Our school is small, and gossip spreads like wildfire. For some reason, people love to talk about me, even when I’m not doing anything particularly exciting. Though they never actually talk about me as an individual. They usually refer to me as Jake’s little sister or Drew Callahan’s daughter.
That’s been going on pretty much the entirety of my life.
“What did you hear?” I ask carefully.
“That Wyatt asked you to wear his jersey tomorrow.” Ellie smiles at me, excitement dancing in her brown eyes.
“Oh. Yeah. He did. Who told you that?” I try to match her smile. I want to look as excited as she does. But I’m sort of forcing this.
God, why am I forcing this?
“He did. And you said yes, right?” Ellie asks.
“Of course!” My voice is so loud, it feels fake.
Ellie claps, bouncing up and down on the bench we’re sitting on. Then she grabs hold of my shoulders and gives me a shake. “This is so freaking awesome! He’s had a crush on you for months.”
I frown. “He has?”
She nods, glancing over her shoulder like she’s suddenly afraid Wyatt is standing behind us. “We worked together over the summer, remember?”
“Right,” I say, slowly, trying to wrap my head around this. I’ve always liked Wyatt, but only ever saw him as a friend. I figured that’s how he saw me, considering he’s on the varsity football team and is probably threatened by Jake on the regular.
“When we had shifts together, he’d talk about you all the time. Like, all the time. After a while, I just came right out and asked him if he liked you, and he finally admitted that he did. But he was worried about—”
“Jake,” I finish for her, irritation filling me. Wyatt seems fairly close with Jake and the rest of his friends. I know Jake says plenty of things about me to his “bros,” threatening them that they need to stay away from me.
Most of the time, I’m fine with it. I think Jake’s friends are a bunch of douchebags. They’re all attractive, though. Every single one of them.
But I’m just not interested. I don’t particularly care for douchebags.
With the exception of one.
Tilting my head back, I sigh, gazing at the endless blue sky.
“Yeah,” Ellie says with a little sigh of her own, and I swear I see stars in her eyes. As if she might have a crush on Jake. Ew. “Your brother ruins everything.”
“He so does.” We both start laughing, but I’m kind of exaggerating. Jake is very protective of me, which I appreciate. His friends are assholes, and he knows it. He firmly believes none of his friends are worthy of me, which is sweet, but also annoying. I don’t want to get with any of them, but I also don’t need Jake to screen my potential boyfriends.
Then there’s my dad…
He intimidates everyone. Almost every boy on this campus has deep admiration and respect for Drew Callahan, and that’s another hindrance. Boys on the football team are afraid to talk to me. Afraid of the wrath of their superstar coach. My father is intimidating.
Though that’s never stopped Eli from going after what he wants.
Such as me.
“I think you two would make a cute couple,” Ellie says.
I blink at her, frozen in place. “Who?”
She rolls her eyes. “You and Wyatt, silly.”
Relief hits me, and I exhale shakily. I thought Ellie was talking about me and Eli.
Yikes, that’s annoying. Eli. Ellie. Ellie. Eli.
Ellie is her actual name. Ellie Mae Jessup. She’s short and has long dark hair and equally dark eyes. She’s adorable and fun and my rock, just like I’m hers. We’ve been best friends since I moved here, and I’m so grateful for her friendship.
But if she ever found out what happened between Eli and me, she would probably shit ten bricks.
“He’s nice. We’ve been friends since freshman year. We always have a class together,” I say, trying to make conversation. Trying to forget about Eli and concentrate on Wyatt. Cute, sweet Wyatt with the dark brown hair and the matching brown eyes.
“Right, and he’s probably always had a thing for you too. Finally, he made a move.” Ellie takes a sip out of her water bottle. “You’ll have to cheer for him extra loud at tomorrow’s game.”
“Oh, I will,” I say distractedly as I glance around the quad. “Where is Wyatt?”
“I don’t know.” Ellie shrugs. “But I see your brother talking to a girl.” Ellie waves a hand in Jake’s direction.
I squint into the sun, then shade my eyes with my hand. He’s talking to Hannah Walsh. I know her. She’s in leadership with me, and she’s really nice. A senior like my brother. The shy artist type, she paints a lot of the signs we hang all over campus, and they’re beautiful.
I can feel my lips growing tight. He’d better be nice to her.
Ellie and I talk about everything and nothing, just like we usually do, but I’m distracted. I keep thinking about Eli. What’s he doing? What’s he up to? How’s school going for him? It’s his senior year, so he should feel on top of the world. Does he have a girlfriend yet? Is she pretty?
Do I know her?
Annoyed with my wayward thoughts about a boy who shouldn’t matter, I shove them firmly into the corner of my brain where they belong.
“You’re going to the game tomorrow, right?” I ask Ellie. For about the thousandth time since I tried out, I wish Ellie was on the cheer team with me. But she insisted that wasn’t her thing, and I know deep down that she’s right.
Ellie is a runner. She does cross country in the fall and track in the spring. She likes to run long distance, where I can barely finish the fifty-yard dash. I learned just how out of shape I was when I first started going to cheer practice over the summer. We had a three-day camp at the high school in July and that completely wore me out. I was using all sorts of muscles I didn’t even know I had. And stunting? Pfft.
That shit is hard.
“I’m definitely going to the game,” Ellie says with a firm nod. “I’ll miss sitting with you.”
“Please, you won’t miss me. You have plenty of friends.” Ellie is well liked. She’s easy going and friendly to everyone. Whereas I tend to voice my opinions a little too much, whether they’re considered good or bad. And when they’re bad, people tend to feel a certain way about me. Being an opinionated girl means people sometimes think you’re a bitch. Just because I can express myself.
Oh well.
“But it won’t be the same. We’ve watched the games together since freshman year. Since the seventh grade,” Ellie reminds me. Once Dad started coaching, I was always going to the high school football games. The Callahans live that ‘Friday Night Lights’ life every fall. “Maybe I could sit with your mom for a little bit.”
“She’d love that. She’ll be there with Beck,” I tell her. Seventh grade, we always sat together with Mom and Beck and watched, talking the entire time. Eighth grade, we started walking around and hanging out by the snack shack, talking to our friends that were there. The boys would join us.
Those were fun times. Giggling with my friends. Flirting with the boys. Wishing one of them would notice me, though most of the time, they never did. Or they stayed away thanks to my dad or Jake.
I’ve always enjoyed going to football games. They’re a Friday night ritual. A Friday night habit. But actually watching the game?
Nah. Kind of boring. Not that I’
d ever tell Dad that.
“Hey.”
Ellie and I both glance up to find Wyatt standing by our table, a slight smile curving his lips. He’s got on a navy T-shirt and khaki shorts, and his hair is a little long on top, so it lies across his forehead and almost hangs in his eyes. His smile is gentle, and his gaze is kind, and I immediately scoot over, making room for him.
“Join us,” I tell him with a smile, sending Ellie a look that says, don’t say a word.
I don’t want her to embarrass me. Or Wyatt. This all feels too new, too fragile. One wrong thing said or implied could have it shattering into pieces.
I want to make this happen. At least give it a try. Maybe Wyatt could help me forget Eli once and for all.
“Thanks.” He settles in next to me on the bench, his solid warmth radiating toward me, drawing me in. There’s something very calm and comforting about Wyatt.
Eli is nothing like that. Not calm. Definitely not comforting. My thoughts and heart are chaotic just thinking about him.
“You guys ready for the English test tomorrow?” Wyatt asks.
Ellie groans. “Not even close. I didn’t read the book. I can’t believe she’s giving us a test this soon into the school year!”
Wyatt laughs. “But it was a summer assignment.”
“Yeah well, I’m not big on reading boring books during the summer. I have other, better things to do,” Ellie says with a smile aimed right at Wyatt. “Like work.”
Right. Because they worked together.
Huh. They almost seem like they’re…flirting.
Nah. Ellie wouldn’t do that.
“I’m not ready either,” I add, just trying to be a part of the conversation, though I’m not worried about the test. Not really. I skimmed the book because Ellie is right—it was totally boring. Mrs. Walters has been my advanced English teacher since freshman year, and I’ve sort of figured out her testing strategy. I always manage to pull an A out of that class.
Sometimes, I’m not quite sure how it even happens, but I don’t complain.
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