Except for Maverick. He was staring at me, all right, but I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. He pushed off from against the doorframe. “I’m coming too.”
I widened my eyes but Roman and the guys didn’t seem surprised. But then again, Maverick went to parties. Just like they did. Just like Savannah did. And probably Flynn.
I was the only one who no one expected to go because everyone in the whole wide world apparently thought I was still a child. I was the only one who’d stick out like a sore thumb.
I glanced over at Willow who was pinching her lips so tightly together it looked painful as she reached for a cardigan hanging on the coat rack. “I’m coming too.”
I gaped at her in shock. Scratch that. I wouldn’t be the only one sticking out. And while I wasn’t in love with the idea that I was almost certain Maverick and Willow were only going to make sure I was okay, I was tickled pink to be going to my first real party.
Roman turned to Savannah with a grin. “You coming?”
She glanced over at me and I caught a flash of worry before she conceded with a sigh. “Yeah. I guess.”
“I don’t need babysitters,” I told her.
She ignored me, and I tried to ignore the way all three of my bandmates were eyeing Savannah like she was a celebrity as she led the way out the door.
“Don’t forget us!” Isla was already rushing past me, dragging Flynn along behind her.
He gave me a wink. “My girl loves a good party.”
Okay so at least they weren’t tagging along as some sort of misguided notion that I couldn’t handle a party.
I scoffed as Maverick gestured for me to go before him. Pssh. I could totally handle a party.
Eight
Maverick
Yup, it was official. This was the worst idea ever.
There were two kinds of people who shouldn’t play drinking games—lightweights and people who can’t lie. Both of these described Callie to a tee, and it showed.
I was sitting on the edges of this circle of idiocy, a bonfire by the lake’s pier the only real light on this dark, cloudless night. My grandparents had a cabin near here, so I knew this lake well. The pier was on the far side, far enough away from the homes that lined the other shores that no one complained when high school kids came up here to party.
Well, not until the music got too loud or some dumbasses took a boat out and caused too much noise that traveled to every shore.
But it was still early enough that we weren’t in danger of being busted. I leaned forward, my elbows resting on my knees as I watched the bad decisions unfold before me.
Callie was drunk. And she was only getting drunker with every sip.
“Never have I ever...” The blonde out-of-towner who was crashing this townie party toyed with a lock of her hair as everyone waited for her to finish. “Cheated on a test.”
I breathed out a sigh of relief, but Callie took a swig.
I arched my brows, but it was Willow who was sitting beside Callie—not playing and not drinking—who said what I was thinking. “You cheated? When?”
Callie wobbled on the log where she was perched. “First grade.” She held up her beer bottle and squinted in a way only very drunk people squint. It was a squint that said the world wasn’t entirely in focus. “In my defense, I didn’t know I was cheating. The teacher accidentally gave me the answer key.” She widened her eyes as she addressed the crowd. “I was ignorant of my crime, but ignorance is no defense.”
She used her bottle to make her point and liquid sloshed over the edges.
Willow winced. I cringed.
It was time to get her out of here. Maybe if I told her there was karaoke going on near the parking lot...
Or maybe I could tell her that her friends were looking for her.
They weren’t. Savannah was off with her friends from school, and Flynn and Isla were off making out somewhere. The guys from her band were nowhere to be found, and I was pretty sure Callie wouldn’t want them to see her this way.
Not that she knew it now. But I was almost certain she’d thank me tomorrow.
Only Willow was still on Callie babysitting duty, and she looked as miserable as I felt.
A hand on my shoulder stopped me before I could make my way over to Callie. “What are you doing over here?” April asked.
I glanced up. She was eyeing this crowd with a wrinkled nose. There wasn’t anything wrong with this crowd, they just weren’t her friends. Our friends. All of whom were crowded around some blankets and coolers spread out under the pier.
I didn’t answer. She didn’t seem to really expect one.
“Oh no,” she said with a laugh. “What is she doing?”
I turned in time to see Callie leaning back to drain the last of her bottle and then...tipping backward. She disappeared behind the log, only her feet sticking up in the air.
Willow sighed and dropped her head into her hands as I rushed into action.
“Let’s go, Callie,” I said, sliding my arms beneath her legs and her shoulders and scooping her up.
“I don’t wanna go,” she mumbled.
“Yeah, but it’s time,” I said. I was vaguely aware of April huffing in annoyance behind me, telling me I didn’t have to leave just because Callie couldn’t handle her beer.
Callie lifted her head and grinned at me. “I like you.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at her cheerful drunkenness. Of course she was a chipper drunk. “I like you, too.”
A lot. A crazy amount. But yeah, I should probably just stick with ‘I like you, too’ because I was pretty sure she liked everybody right now. And even if she liked me, she didn’t like me. Not the way I liked her.
I glanced over to see Willow giving Callie an indulgent smile even as she spoke to me. “She doesn’t drink often.” She bit her lip as she thought that over. “Or at all.”
I nodded. “I suspected as much when she got drunk on her first beer.”
Willow’s smile wavered. “Will she be all right, do you think?”
I nodded. “I’ll make sure she gets home safe.”
Her brows arched. “Are you sure? I can see if Flynn’s still—”
“I got it.”
She gave me a level, searching look before nodding. “Okay. I’ll go tell the others so they don’t worry,” she said. Her eyes narrowed and I realized she was glaring at Roman and his buddies, who were surrounded by girls.
I glanced down at Callie. I hoped she didn’t notice. But judging by the way her head lolled against my shoulder, she wasn’t noticing much of anything.
“Will you be okay?” I asked Willow.
She waved me off with a little smile. “I’ll be fine.”
“Maverick.” Callie’s head tipped back and she was grinning up at me—this adorable, goofy grin that made me think maybe fairytales were real and some people actually got their happily ever afters.
No one’s smile had ever made me happy before. Up until Callie, I hadn’t realized happiness was contagious.
“You have two heads,” she said with a laugh.
I arched my brows and saw Willow wincing as I started to walk away.
“I’m going to take you home, okay?”
She sighed and snuggled up against me. “Okay.”
I held her tight. I shouldn’t be enjoying this. I mean, I wasn’t happy that she was drunk, and I hated the fact that she’d felt like she’d had to come to this party because she thought she’d had something to prove.
But holding her in my arms? This was nice.
I held her tighter, and she sighed again as she rested against me. “Mmm. This is nice,” she murmured.
Not for the first time, I felt like she was reading my mind. I smiled down at her. “You’re nice.”
She laughed like I’d honestly said something funny. “I guess I am. But sometimes...” She lifted her head to whisper in my ear. “Sometimes I wish I wasn’t.”
Her breath on my ear had my lungs catching. Crap. I was alre
ady head over heels for this girl, but holding her close like this, having her whisper in my ear...and knowing I couldn’t kiss her?
This was some cruel and unusual punishment right here.
I reached my truck and pulled the door open, then I set her gently on the passenger side seat.
I went to shut the door, but her head was still resting against my shoulder and she tilted over with me as I backed away. “Whoa,” I said as I straightened her. “You ready to go home?”
Her eyes widened with alarm. “I can’t. Not yet. My parents would kill me if I came home like this.”
I studied her for a long moment. “Do you want to go to a friend’s?”
She smiled but it was a sad one. This one did not make me happy. “All of my friends are here.”
“What about the girls you eat with every day?”
“They’re just my lunch friends.” She screwed up her face in a look of consternation. “And these guys...” She waved a hand toward the party raging behind me. “These are my work friends and my band friends. I don’t have regular friend-friends.” She tilted her head to the side, her brow furrowed. “Is that weird?”
“I don’t think so,” I said. “But then again, you’re talking to a guy who only has teammate friends.”
Her lips curved up. “And work friends.”
I gave a huff of rueful laughter. “And work friends.”
Her gaze met mine and I felt it like a jolt. I couldn’t have looked away if I’d tried. She leaned forward her voice low. “Sometimes I think maybe it means there’s something wrong with me.”
My heart twisted and I wanted to tell her that there was nothing wrong with her. That she was perfect. But it wasn’t my place, and I wasn’t sure she’d believe me. “How so?”
“Because everyone thinks they know me, but I don’t feel like anyone knows me. And I wonder if maybe I don’t know how to let people know me.” She arched her brows. “You know?”
I nodded slowly. Because oddly enough, I totally did know.
“People see you and they see tough guy, football player, maybe player-player...” Her brows arched up like that last part was a question.
I winced as I shrugged. Was I? Not anymore. Had I been a player? I didn’t know. I never really thought I was playing anyone. If anything, I usually felt like the one being played. I’d never met a girl who really wanted to get to know me, and I’d never been with a girl who saw anything more than my status on the team. “I don’t want you to think of me that way,” I said.
She nodded as if that was answer enough. “How do you see me?”
I opened my mouth and closed it. In the pale glow of the moonlight, this girl shone. She was light and joy and kindness and optimism and...she was perfect. My throat grew unexpectedly tight as she eyed me expectantly.
I cleared my throat. “I don’t think you want to hear the answer to that right now.”
Her eyes widened.
“Not if we’re going to be just friends,” I added.
She blinked, her lips parting. Which made it impossible to not think about kissing her.
“Oh.” She blinked again and her lips curved up in a mischievous smile. “Really?”
I nodded. “You’re beautiful, Callie. And you should be with someone who not only sees how gorgeous you are, but who tells you every day.”
“No one’s ever told me that.” Her brows came down, and her gaze grew thoughtful. “They see me as so sheltered and naive and sweet.”
I tried not to laugh at the way she said ‘sweet,’ like it tasted sour. The urge to laugh died as I realized who she was talking about. Not ‘they,’ but him—Roman. She hated that he saw her that way. And I couldn’t deny that he did. In fact, I was almost positive he did, and for a very good reason.
“But, Callie,” I started.
She looked over at me and her lips were still stuck in a pout. Her eyelids drooped and I was actually worried she might fall over from exhaustion.
I wanted to kiss her. I wished I could pull her into my arms and let her fall asleep as I held her tight. But I couldn’t, so I finished my thought even though it wasn’t what she wanted to hear. “But you are.”
She blinked. “I are what?”
“You are sweet.” I reached out and pushed some hair behind her ear. “And I don’t know your family or your life, but it seems like maybe you are kind of sheltered.”
She frowned but she didn’t protest. “And naïve,” she added with a sad sigh.
I smiled because I couldn’t not. She was so stinkin’ cute it hurt. “That’s not necessarily a bad thing. There are some people, some kids in our class, who had to grow up way too quickly. They didn’t get to be sheltered.”
She nodded slowly, and then she peered at me like she was trying to read something on my nose. “Is that what happened to you?”
I shrugged. “Maybe. Sort of.”
She stuck out her lower lip and then waved a hand like she was royalty. “Explain.”
“I guess, uh...” I cleared my throat. “I guess when my mom died I grew up.”
She blinked. And then she frowned. And then...oh no.
“Are you crying?”
She was. Tears streamed down her cheeks and her voice wobbled when she spoke. “I’m sorry you lost your mom.”
I gave another huff of amusement, not because my mom was dead, obviously. But my dad and I had barely cried over her death—we were men. Men in my family did not do tears. Not often, at least, and not in front of other people. “Callie, please don’t cry.”
“Okay.” But she was still crying. She sniffed. “I’m still crying, aren’t I?”
I nodded.
“You’re not.”
I gave a grunt in the affirmative.
“Why not?”
“Well, one, I’ve had four years to grieve. And two, my family isn’t big on showing emotions.”
“Oh.” She sighed. “That’s sad.”
“Is it?”
She nodded and then reached over to pat my chest. “You can’t keep it all in here, Maverick.”
I could have sworn I felt her touch deep down inside my chest. My ribcage tightened beneath her palm and my heart squeezed.
She peered up at me. “What is going on in there?”
I widened my eyes. “Excuse me?”
She patted my chest again and the ache in my chest grew painful.
As if she knew it, she leaned forward and rested her cheek next to her palm. Her face was pressed to my heart.
“I wish I knew you,” she whispered.
“You do.”
She shook her head, and I got a whiff of shampoo and beer. “No. I don’t know you. Not really. I think there’s lots more to you then you let on.”
I stood there in silence because...was there? Maybe. I liked to think so. But no one had ever wanted to know before. Everyone thought they knew me at a glance, and I was fine with that. I had a good thing going. Girls liked me—typically—and guys wanted to be me. So why mess that up by opening my mouth? I’d just ruin my own image.
She pulled back to study me. “Maybe it’s better your way.”
Her soft words startled me. Mainly because she sounded so serious. Also, she was staring at me like she could see right down into my soul. It was alarming. “What do you mean?”
She patted my heart again. “You keep it all inside and that’s kind of sad, but then people think that you’re mysterious, right? Like maybe they don’t know everything about you.”
I arched a brow. “Mysterious, huh?”
She nodded. “But with me...” She waved a hand in front of her face in a scrubbing motion. “People think they know me.”
“But they don’t,” I finished for her.
Her smile was so slow, so sweet, so...just for me. It made my heart leap in response.
“They don’t,” she said.
I reached out and touched her hair, brushing it back from her face. A stupid excuse just to touch her cheek. I shouldn’t because this was
hard enough without torturing myself with touches. But I did it anyway and the light touch made her smile grow. So yeah, it was worth it.
No matter what happened tonight, it was all worth it.
“Hey, Maverick?” she said, her voice high and breathy.
“Yeah?”
Her eyes widened and she placed a hand on my chest again, but this time she used it to push me away—as she leaned forward and threw up at my feet.
Nine
Callie
Worst. Idea. Ever.
I moaned in misery as Maverick found an old T-shirt and used it to wipe my mouth.
At least I hadn’t puked on the guy. Just...at his feet.
I slumped back in the seat with another moan.
Yeah, that made it all better.
He hovered over me now, his eyes filled with concern. “Better?”
I nodded. Oddly enough, I was a little better.
Miserable, but better. At least the truck’s cab had stopped spinning. “I’m sorry.”
He ran a hand over my hair, and I moaned again but this time in relief. His skin was rough but cool, and it felt amazing. Well, as amazing as anything could feel right now.
“Let’s get you home, huh?” His voice was all low and rumbly, and only the thought of how rank my breath must be kept me from leaning forward and resting my head against his chest again.
That had been nice.
Really, really nice.
He started to walk away and panic hit me smack in the chest. “Wait.” I reached for him, getting a handful of his T-shirt and hanging on. He was everything solid right now, and not just because he wasn’t swaying or spinning like the rest of the world had been for a second there.
He was here and he wasn’t judging, and he didn’t expect me to smile, and he didn’t expect me to flirt. He was taking care of me and I...I had no idea how to tell him how much that meant to me. “Thank you.”
He leaned over and surprised the heck out of me by kissing the top of my head. “Don’t thank me. We’re friends, right?”
“Friends,” I repeated. But it didn’t totally feel right on my tongue.
Never Have I Ever Land: A Sweet YA Romance (Fall in Love Like a Princess Book 3) Page 6