by Sally Henson
“He's on his way … finally.” She's happy for him but disappointed he's not here already. I get it. Lane was preoccupied with a deer last night, and I didn’t get to see him.
Haylee tells Cam and Lane about Stacey. They give Tobi a hard time. Neither believes she'll show up anyway. I’m not so certain of that.
Cameron gets started cooking the hot dogs over the crackling fire. The wood has burned down enough it’s ripe for hot-dog cooking. “I have an announcement.” Cam’s usual loud voice has a hint of uncertainty in it.
We’re all staring at him. He looks at Haylee, standing right next to him, and then to Lane. “Haylee and I are going to be dating. Are dating.”
“That is if no one has a problem with it. You know, because of rule number three.” Haylee stands tall and confident. A little unlike her quiet self.
“What?” Tobi acts like she’s shocked. The back of her wrist presses against her forehead. “Rule number three? I thought we disbanded rule number three over lunch a while back?”
My body doesn’t move, except my eyes. I look back and forth between Haylee and Tobi and Cameron.
Lane steps forward with his hand out to Cam. “Congratulations, man. I’m happy for you.” He hugs Haylee and asks, “You’re sure about this?”
“Hey!” Cam pops him in the shoulder.
Wow! They’ve got more guts than I do.
Lane whispers to me while the others are talking. “Are you ready to tell ‘em about us?”
I fervently shake my head, keeping my eyes on them. My hands go up toward the fire to help warm my body that’s beginning to chill now that the sun has sunk way past the horizon.
“It’s no big deal. They’re not going to be mad, if they’re dating.”
I don’t answer, so he walks away to get something to eat.
Cam makes his way around the fire pit to stand beside me. “Aren’t you going to give us your blessing, Regan?” His words drip with mockery.
My head whips up to him. “Blessing?”
He puts his arm on my shoulder. “It was your rule, after all.”
I clear my throat. “Of course, Cam. You should know I was wrong about rule number three.” I fold my arms across my chest and stare into the fire.
He flicks his head backwards. “I should know a lot of things.”
I scowl and lean away from him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He shakes his head and takes the cooked hot dogs over to the buns.
Tobi brings me a plate of food. Discreetly, she tells me she’ll keep Lane busy so I can go inside and take care of my business. As soon as I'm out of sight, I sprint into the house and get Lane’s birthday present from under Tobi's bed. Before anyone comes in, I sneak out the front door and strap it into his truck bed. Tobi and I planned all this ahead of time, including the straps to hold it in place. When I get back to the fire pit, it’s as if nothing unusual is going on, though I'm so excited I can hardly contain myself. Even Cam’s weird comments are overshadowed by what’s going to happen later.
Rex’s headlights move through the smoke as he pulls into the drive. Tobi’s eyes light up, while her body seems to grow a little taller. I watch them greet each other on the rocky driveway. No public kissing. He does look nice, with his faded blue jeans and cowboy boots. I don’t know why, but I always expect a southern accent to come out of his mouth.
Rex has all kinds of pictures of his hunts on his phone. Lane drools over them as Rex shows him elk, all kinds of game, and even mountain lions he’s shot, protecting the cattle on the ranch he used to live on in Montana.
Tobi's October playlist plays from one of those outdoor speakers that looks like a rock in the landscaping. I'm singing in my head, rotating like a rotisserie beside the fire. There’s something so comforting about the smell of wood burning and the crackling of the logs.
“Boo!” I jump and Tobi rolls with laughter. After she calms down, she thinks about my well-being. “You know I have jackets and sweatshirts in the mudroom.”
I smile back, knowingly, answering her without words.
She rubs her palms together and then raises them to the fire. “That's what I thought.” She turns her focus on the flames of the fire. Rex and Lane approach us, talking about the fancy custom-made knife Rex had in his truck.
“You cold?” Lane whispers through my hair. I nod my head, and he wraps his arms around me, holding me tight to him. How could I have ever thought that having his arms around me like this was “nothing more than friends”? We’ve been doing this for a year … maybe longer. But I’m trying to act like that’s all it is, even though Cam and Haylee are nowhere to be found.
Tobi clears her throat. I look over at her and she flashes a smile.
“Where's Cam?” Lane wonders.
“And Haylee?” Rex adds.
All four of us laugh. We know they sneaked off.
Rex drops his voice. “We should split up and search for them. Make sure they're okay and haven't gotten lost.”
I turn slowly with wide eyes and look up at him. He’s standing on the other side of Tobi with his arm curled around her waist. Rex is such a shy, quiet guy, I’m surprised he said that out loud. Tobi looks up at him and giggles. I’ll have to admit, this is an amazingly brilliant idea.
“You’re so considerate, Rex.” Lane reaches over and slaps him on the shoulder. I can hear his smile through his voice. “Regan and I’ll check the horse barn.”
Tobi stomps her foot. “What? No way, I want the horse barn.”
Lane grabs my hand and we take off running toward the barn. “Sorry, we're already on our way,” Lane sings back to her. I know she can hear me cackling. Lane one-upped her this time.
“Jerk!” Tobi’s shriek only makes us laugh harder.
16
Regan
As soon as we get out of the light of the fire, I start to slow, but Lane surprises me and keeps running. When he stops suddenly at the entrance to the horse barn, I nearly run into him. He leans close to my face, places his finger to his lips and shushes me before a giant smile spreads across his face.
It’s dark enough I can't see his dimples, but I'm sure they’re exposed and I imagine his crystalline eyes dancing in excitement. His excitement spreads to me, too. We stand silent, listening to our surroundings. He steps inside the barn, I stay. The horses stir, blowing out their nostrils, sensing a presence. I don't hear anyone else, only the tree frogs and crickets.
Quietly, I step inside and search for Lane. It's dim, hard to see inside even as the half-moon shines in the sky. My feet shuffle against the dirt floor and I hold my hands out in front of me so I don't run into a wall. The horses move again, snorting as they step. My heart beats strong in my chest. I think Lane’s near the horses, hiding so he can jump out and scare me. I'm able to make out some shadows as I near their stalls.
I turn to make my way to the door and his voice calls out softly, “You're getting colder.”
I'm not able to pinpoint where he is, but he's close. I stop and listen. Hay and horses mix with the dirt stirred from the horse’s hooves and my feet, swirling in my nose. No cologne, nothing to give Lane’s hiding spot away. I do a one-eighty. It's a better view from here. The moonlight’s getting brighter. At the T, I turn left, toward the tack room; he could be in there.
Adrenaline shrieks through my body when a hand wraps around my wrist. I let out a stifled screech of surprise.
He chuckles. “You’re so hot, you’re on fire.” He’s being more flirtatious than usual. I flick his chest with the back of my hand. He laughs again, wrapping me up in his arms for a long, sweet kiss.
It seems too long since our lips have touched. Pressure builds inside of my chest—I feel like I could explode. My heart is even more excited than it was when I fell, more than the anticipation of finding him.
“Mmmm. That's better.” He says this sometimes after he kisses me and it’s been too long since our last kiss.
It’s definitely been way too long. “What's bett
er?” I slide off his chest to the ground beside him. “What do you mean when you say that?” I know what he means, but I want to hear him say it.
Lane turns on his side to look at me. He can’t really see me, though—only shadows. His fingers pick up a few locks of my hair, twirling it around, playing with it. “You know when you take the first bite of your favorite food? You savor it, it's like, 'Ah'—satisfying”
“I'm your favorite food?” I snicker.
“Not my favorite food.” He chuckles. “More like—my favorite everything.”
Oh. My. Love. It’s a good thing I’m not standing up because I just melted into a pool of dreaminess. Is this Lane, my best friend?
He leans over and gives me a peck on the cheek. “When I haven't seen you for a while, I just ... feel better after I kiss you.” He kisses my cheek again. “It’s a relief.” He kisses my lips.
When he says things like this it feels unreal. Like I’m watching a movie and bumps pop up all over my skin. He's the best. “Really?”
“Yes, ma'am,” he purrs. “You know what else?”
“What?” I twine my fingers with his.
“I love couples’ hide-and-seek.”
I giggle. “Me, too.”
We enjoy each other for a while. Indulging in kisses and comfort and excitement. He tells me funny stories about his roommate’s band.
His birthday present pops in my mind, and I get super excited. “I have something for you.”
“What do you have for me?” He teases my rushed words.
“A birthday present.” I can hardly contain myself. I know he’s going to love it.
He slides his hand up and down my bare arm. “You're cold.” He pulls me closer to warm me. “Slide your arm under my shirt.” He holds his flannel shirt open for me.
I snuggle closer and rest my arm around him between his T-shirt and flannel. Ah, warmth.
“It's not my birthday yet.”
“I know. I wanted to surprise you, but I can't wait to give it to you.” My voice is a little higher pitched than normal because I'm so excited.
He leans close to my ear. “What is it?”
“It's a surprise.”
“Maybe.” He kisses my nose. “I can.” He kisses my forehead. “Persuade you.” He kisses my cheek. “To.” He kisses my nose again. “Tell.” He presses his lips to mine.
I think I sigh out loud, but I don’t care. His fingers tangle in my hair. I’ve missed him. A lot. Our lips fuse and move together. Volleyball’s almost over, and I’m hoping our weekends will consist of much more kissing time together. Our parents haven’t noticed anything different between us. And Cam and Haylee still don’t know. Even Stacey’s kept her focus from Lane and me being an item lately. A few more months and Lane will be home for Christmas break, and I’ll get to see him every—single—day.
“Regan.” Haylee's soft shout from the darkness interrupts us.
We try to ignore her and go about our business.
She calls out again. “Lane.”
We’re still too busy to respond.
“Regan.” The horses shuffle and snort at her presence. Haylee’s not giving up. Lane growls.
“Lane.” She calls out, again. I growl.
I whisper softly in his ear. “Maybe we stay quiet and still.”
Lane agrees by kissing me like crazy.
Haylee calls for us again, this time a little closer.
I think I could stay here all night.
“Where are you?” Haylee’s voice is closer.
I murmur, “What if she catches us?”
“Don’t worry about it.” He moves his lips on mine, hugging me even closer.
The horses snort and stomp, but I ignore their scuffle. Heat radiates through his T-shirt, making me nice and toasty. The mix of chocolate and winter mint between us tastes delicious. Mmm, this is the best kiss ever.
“Finally.”
My heart leaps into my throat when Haylee’s voice pops up right next to me. It’s too late to deny what we were doing here.
“Didn’t you hear me calling for you?” Haylee’s flashlight is shining right in my eyes, blinding me.
I try to separate myself from Lane, but he won’t let loose of me.
“We were a little busy.” Lane’s voice is light and coy and not helping me mask our actions.
I punch him in the gut. Not too hard, just hard enough he lets me move. “Uh, Haylee, uh.” I scramble to my feet. “This is—”
Lane finishes my sentence. “Exactly what it looks like.” But that is NOT what I was going to say.
“Lane!” I narrow my eyes and stare at him. Why does Haylee keep her light in my face? I turn and lower the flashlight in her hand.
“They know, Regan. It’s no big deal.” He begins to pick the hay out of my hair.
I feel my eyes bug out with a flush of heat stinging my cheeks. “What do you mean?” I look to him and then to Haylee.
Haylee’s head falls back. “Oh, come on, Regan.” She looks at me. “I don’t know why you wouldn’t tell us.” She shines that stupid flashlight in my eyes again.
My shoulders fall as I look down to my feet. “I didn’t want you guys to get mad at me.” I glance up at her. “I mean, it was my rule, and well …”
She grasps my arm and starts leading me out of the barn. “I thought something was going on way before Lane told Cameron anyway.”
I stop and turn back to Lane. My stomach quivers. “You told them?” The tip of his betrayal presses between my ribs, ready to slice through my flesh and pierce my heart. Please say no. Tell me you didn’t go behind my back.
His hand squeezes my shoulder. “I had to tell Cam. It was getting too hard to keep it from him.”
My quivering stomach begins to twist and harden.
“He kind of already knew, anyway. And he’s been able to keep it a secret, even from you.” His fingers pick a few more pieces of hay off me. I just stand there and let him do it. I can’t believe he would do this.
Haylee clears her throat. “Um, Stacey’s here. So, can we get a move on?” She tugs on my arm.
“I can’t believe she showed!” Lane dusts off the back of me and then laces his fingers with mine.
The heaviness in my body has me slowing down. Maybe I can stay here until she’s gone. “Is Tobi with her? Cam?”
“Yeah, I snuck off to find you.” She huffs and pleads. “We need your help.”
“Me? I said I was leaving if she showed up. You ready to go, Lane?” I’m already on edge after finding out that Lane told Cam and Haylee about us. If I have to stay here and deal with her, it’s going to ruin all the amazing kisses Lane shared with me.
He squeezes my hand. “We can't leave Tobi alone.”
“I'm not feeling it.” I try to persuade them.
“Regan.” Haylee sounds like my mom getting on my case. “Are you going to feed your best friend to the big, bad wolf?”
My whole body does an eye roll. The hot dog I ate earlier is threatening to blast its way out of my stomach. I let go of Lane’s hand. Not only am I not sure how I feel about his keeping his little secret of telling Cam and Haylee, I’m not going to go through any more crap from Stacey than I have to.
He grips my hand tighter.
I growl at him. “Come on, Lane. You know she's going to take one look at you holding onto me and whip her phone out—snapping pictures and texting every minion she has. And the gossip will begin.”
“She's going to talk anyway. Let's give her something to talk about.” He lets loose of my fingers to reach around my waist and pulls me to his body.
I push him away. “You don't have to live with it. You're leaving tomorrow and I'm stuck putting up with it every day. And come Monday, Dad’ll be asking twenty questions when he gets home from work after being bombarded with photos of us together like this.” Stacey has this effect on me. She causes waves of emotions to rage inside me and it’s only escalating by Haylee’s catching me kissing Lane and Lane’s blabbing to Ca
m.
He reaches for me. “Regan—”
I move away. “No, Lane. If I stay here with that viper, you're gonna have to keep your hands to yourself.” My voice is cold and harsh.
He holds his hands up as if protecting himself from an attack.
My shoulders drop with a puff of breath. The knots between the back of my head and neck are giving me a headache. My fingers slip under my hair, kneading in an attempt to rub out some of the pain in my muscles. I growl to myself. He's making me feel bad.
“I'm sorry.” In a softer voice I plead, “Let's just leave.” My arms dangle at my sides.
He answers me by moving to the other side of Haylee, away from me.
Haylee wraps her arm around mine and drags me, almost kicking and screaming, to the fire pit. I don’t understand why I need to be the one to deal with Stacey. She hates me the most. And I can’t even deal with her because if I do, she takes it out on Susanna and Abby. Not only that, I don’t need her finding ways to make Dad suspicious of me and Lane.
17
Lane
The scent of smoldering wood weaves through the layers of atmosphere as we trek through the grass in the dark. We approach the group of teens. The bonfire is nothing but bits and pieces of chunked wood turning to coals. A smile flits briefly across my face. I must have been making out with Regan longer than I thought. Not long enough to overcome this situation we’re now in, obviously.
Cam greets us with his loud boom. “Look who's here.”
“Hey, Stacey. How's it going?” I try to come across as nice and friendly as possible.
“Why hello, Lane. You're looking ... fit.” Stacey's words drip like molasses, but they smell of sulfur hanging in the air. She looks me up and down like I’m a piece of meat and she’s starving.
I glance to Regan. She acts like she might brand Stacey’s wandering eyes with hot coals from the fire pit.
Haylee distracts her. “Hey, Stacey.”
“Haylee, I didn't notice you there. How’s your mom?” Her words slur as they slip between her lips.