“Are you even listening?” Julian said.
I snapped back to him. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”
The song ended and everyone started to leave the floor. “Forget it. I’ll get us a drink. Want something?”
“Sure.”
Julian kissed my hand before he turned to walk over to the refreshments table. Dejected, I walked to the back of the gym, then outside to the small courtyard where the pep rallies usually occurred.
I did not expect to find Jack sitting on one of the tabletops. Immediately, my heart beat faster, my palms felt damp.
“Hey, Anna,” he said.
“Hey.” I glanced around. We were alone. “I just saw you dancing with Renee.”
“Yeah. Lucy knows her. She wanted to come, so we doubled.”
“Who’s Lucy here with?” I hadn’t even seen her.
“Steve Preston.”
“Wow.” I imagined Steve floating around in a dream as Lucy’s date. It was how I’d feel with Jack. “That’s cool. For him.”
“And I saw you with Julian LaSalle,” Jack fixed those blue eyes on me, and my head grew light. “I thought you said your boyfriend wasn’t in shop class.”
“He’s not my boyfriend,” I managed to answer. “I’m just doing a feature on him for the newsblog.”
“Your subject seems very interested,” he said. Was it possible he cared if Julian was interested in me? “Hey, about my dad—”
But a loud voice cut him off. “Jackie, my boy!”
Brad and Rachel strolled out and the guys clasped hands. “I talked to Coach, and he’s onboard with letting you join the team,” Brad continued. “So what’s the holdup?”
“I don’t know.” Jack shifted, suddenly uncomfortable. “I don’t really have time for sports.”
“It’s one semester!” Brad argued loudly. “I need a good wide receiver and with the way you run, you’re it.”
Rachel took my arm and gently pulled me aside.
“I like your hair,” she said with a smile. “So you and Julian…?”
“Thanks, and no. I mean, we’re just friends. But I think we’ll get to say we graduated with a superstar before it’s all over.”
“And what about Jack?” She smiled in that knowing way. “I saw you talking to him just now. Looks like it’s your night, girl.”
“Is it?” I studied her face. She was Miss Guy-wisdom, after all, being the future Mrs. Brad Brennan. Eye-roll suppressed. “But I don’t understand why. What happened?”
Rachel shrugged. “You’re not hiding behind Gabi anymore. You’re curious and open. And you’ve always been pretty. Guys like that.”
I shook my head, but we were away from the group now. She pulled me close, my confusion back-burnered in favor of her scoop. “Get this—you are going to die.”
I looked back and caught the reflection of light off a flask Brad was slipping from his breast pocket. He handed it to Jack, and I lost interest in whatever she was about to say. Getting suspended was not going on my permanent record.
“I’d better get back inside,” I said.
“Forget about that. Nobody’s going to bother Brad. Listen to what I found out.” She leaned closer, lowering her voice. “Lucy got pregnant!”
“What?”
“That’s what my mom said. That’s why they’re so old to still be in high school. Mr. Kyser shipped them off to their grandmother’s in like Tacoma or someplace last year. Well, he shipped her off, and Jack went with her. Moral support or something.”
“What are you talking about?” My head was spinning.
“The twins!” she cried. “They’re turning nineteen next month. Didn’t you get the invite to their party?” I had not. “So Lucy had an affair with her teacher, got pregnant, got expelled. I’m sure he was fired. Could’ve gone to jail if their dad had gone after him. Instead he shipped her into seclusion. Very hush-hush.”
Apparently not hush-hush enough. I shook my swirling head. “No way. People don’t do things like that anymore.”
“Welcome to the Deep South.” Her eyebrows went up knowingly as she nodded.
I had to say, if anyone would have the story, it would be Rachel’s mom. And I hated to think of Lucy going through something like that. But why would Jack be sent away, too?
“Who cares?” I said. “Sometimes high school girls get pregnant. Big deal.”
I started back to the gym, but just as quickly, Jack caught up to me. I stopped when his hand gently caught my arm. “Hey, wait a sec,” he said.
Warmth flooded my body, starting at our point of contact. “Hey,” I said softly, remembering my dream.
“You headed back inside?”
“Yeah,” I said. “I-I can’t get in trouble here.”
“I’m sorry.” He released my arm. “It’s just Brad is so insistent.”
I still wasn’t sure how to take Rachel’s story, and I hated that now I understood why he didn’t want us to get involved. But it was hard to care about any of that when he touched me. “It’s okay,” I said. “You don’t have to leave. I was just going back in—”
“Are you really not dating Julian?”
And there went all my logic. I studied his beautiful face and measured how much of a mistake it would be to say no. I knew in the center of my being this was my last chance to walk away and be okay with it. That if I took his hand, and he ultimately walked away, I’d never get over it. If only he wasn’t so sexy…
Just then Julian appeared in the doorway. “Who moved the party?” He laughed, entering the courtyard and clasping hands with Brad, who slipped him the flask.
“Now how will I get home?” I said.
“Let me take you.” Jack was holding my wrist again, and I was gone.
“I don’t know if I want you driving me either,” I said. “You’ve been drinking, too.”
“Just a few sips. I’m fine, I promise.” His blue eyes held mine. “Please? You’d be helping me out here.”
“Helping you?” That didn’t make sense. “But… What about Renee?”
“I’ll see if she can catch a ride with Lucy and Steve. Look, it’s the only way to get Brad off my back about damn football,” he smiled, and I melted even more. I was doomed.
“I don’t know,” I started, but I knew I was going with him. “Julian might get his feelings hurt, and I don’t want Renee mad at me.”
“Let me handle it.” He was off talking to Julian in an instant, and I was just standing there watching him. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. My heart was flying in my chest, and I knew I wasn’t in control of this anymore.
Rachel walked over smiling sideways at me. “You okay, Anna? You look dazed.”
I shook my head and looked down, embarrassed. Julian made some mock-protest about me breaking his heart, holding his chest, then he walked over to join us.
“You’re leaving me, Sunshine?” The smallest hint of disappointment in his voice killed me. Stupid, shitty timing.
“Not if you don’t want me to.” I hated that I only half-meant my words.
He studied my face for a moment, and my chest hurt at the expression in his eyes. Julian…
“It’s okay,” he said, his usual, easy laugh back. “If you want to go with him, I won’t stop you.”
Jack returned to the courtyard, and my eyes went from him to my date. “Do you want me to stay?”
Julian pressed his lips together. Then he leaned forward and kissed my head. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t.”
He waved me on, and I hesitated, almost deciding to stay until I saw Renee watching the whole thing, her eyes following Julian as he left me. I was sure she’d happily take care of him, and I told myself it was better that way. Then I took Jack’s hand.
“See you Monday,” he said to the group, and we walked to the lot where his Jeep was parked.
“Want to take the top off?” he asked.
“Um, no. My hair.” I silently wished we lived someplace where the weather didn’t turn my hair
into cotton candy.
“I like it that way.” He reached up and slid a piece off my neck. I felt a tingle as his hand gently grazed my shoulder. “But I like it the other way, too.”
“What? A complete mess?”
“I’ve never seen it a mess.”
“Have you ever looked at me?” My nose wrinkled.
“I don’t think I’ve stopped looking at you for three weeks.” My stomach did a double-flip. The thought of him checking me out was too much.
I cleared my throat, picking at my skirt and trying to recover. “Where are we going?”
“I was thinking we could head down to the beach?”
“The beach?” I knew where that would lead, and I was trying not to get emotionally involved too fast. Yeah, right. “O-okay.”
He smiled and turned the wheel toward the Gulf Road, and in less than ten minutes we were running across the still-warm sand toward the water. Our shoes were left at the wooden boardwalk lining the state park.
We both stopped at the water’s edge, staring out at the black horizon, and he caught my hand. I was breathing hard from the run and the anticipation, and for a moment, all I could do was stand there, looking into the distance, contemplating the future.
He turned and gently pulled me a half-step, and I was in his arms. A glint of blue, and his mouth covered mine. My lips parted, and the faintest taste of whiskey touched my tongue. I trembled as his hands traveled up the sides of my dress to my shoulders, then lightly cupped my cheeks. His lips moved to the corner of my mouth, then my jaw, and a tiny noise slipped from my throat. I was tense and electric, and all I could think were his soft lips touching me, my fingers exploring his hard stomach through the thin cotton shirt he wore.
His mouth traveled to my ear, where he kissed me lightly before whispering. “Let’s sit.”
Taking my hand, he sat in the sand and pulled me onto his lap. I watched as he unbuttoned his shirt, revealing his lined chest. Then he took my hands and placed my palms flat on his warm skin. Gorgeous.
“Now you,” he said.
His arms circled to my back. I was breathing fast as he slid my zipper down, and my straps fell to the sides. I was sitting in my bra facing him in the silver moonlight, my hands still on his chest. My head was so light, I could barely breathe. This was all new to me, and there was no way I was stopping it. My shoulders shook, and I looked down.
“Are you afraid?” he whispered.
I shook my head no, lying. He cupped my chin, tilting my face up, and looked into my eyes. The breeze blew his golden hair around his cheeks, and I was convinced this was what an angel looked like.
“How old are you?” he said.
I bit my lip, not wanting to tell him I was only seventeen. Instead, I closed my eyes and leaned into his mouth again. Our lips parted, and his tongue found mine, circling as his fingers traveled across my skin, leaving goose bumps in their wake. They moved around to the front, tracing fiery lines along the edges of my bra. I shivered, and he stopped and pulled back, blue eyes meeting mine once more.
“I should take you home,” he said, studying my face.
I was trying hard to keep it together and failing badly. All I could think of was his warm skin against mine and how much I wanted to press our bodies together.
“Really?” I said, wishing my voice didn’t sound so timid.
“Yeah,” he breathed, sliding the straps of my dress back to my shoulders and my zipper back in place.
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I guess my mom is expecting me early. We’re headed to my nana’s tomorrow.” Then I cringed. God, I was such a baby talking about my nana while making out at the beach with the hottest nineteen year old I’d ever seen in my entire life.
“Where?” he asked.
“Navarre. On the panhandle.”
He nodded. “I know where it is.”
My body was so buzzy and light as we walked back to the Jeep, I was sure I was levitating. Then we were inside and speeding back toward my house.
“I liked talking to you the other night,” he said. “Maybe we could do that again sometime.”
Talk? Was that was all he wanted now? Did my nervous stupidness somehow ruin my chance? Could I try again?
“I don’t know,” I said, trying to think of a way to seem more adult.
He glanced at me, hair blowing around his face. “I’m sorry I hijacked your night. I hope I didn’t spoil your plans.”
“No way. You didn’t.” Then I caught myself. Be cool. “I mean, it was unexpected. But not spoiled.”
“And you definitely don’t want to go out with me.”
“What?”
“Lucy said you were very firm about it.”
“Oh my god, she totally misunderstood.” My hands went to my forehead. “I just didn’t want her telling you that I told her to ask you to ask me out.” What did I just say? “I mean, I didn’t want you to get the idea that I was over here talking about you nonstop or something.”
“So you never talk about me?” He started to smile again.
I paused, not knowing the right thing to say. Just because I didn’t talk about him didn’t mean I hadn’t been thinking about him constantly.
“I don’t really have anyone to talk to about you,” I said.
“So you would talk about me if you had someone to talk to. About me.” He was making fun of my confused statements, and I smiled then.
“I guess.”
“You’ll go out with me then?” His voice softened.
“You already asked me that,” I said.
“But you never answered.”
“I didn’t?” I frowned, trying to remember.
“Okay, you did, but I didn’t understand your answer. What did you mean you didn’t know?”
“Honestly? I don’t understand why you want to go out with me.” I looked at my hands clasped in my lap, wondering why I had to ruin everything.
“Why wouldn’t I?” He laughed.
“I’m not like you.”
“Right. You’re a girl. I like girls.”
“No, I mean. You’re from a different world, a different set of people. And I don’t know a lot about that kind of stuff.”
“I have no idea what stuff you mean.”
“I mean, like going to fancy parties and talking about development and business.” I didn’t even go into my obvious lack of sexual experience.
“Hey,” his tone changed. “About my dad, I’m really sorry. He drinks too much, and he was way out of line.”
“Don’t apologize. I’m sure it’s a legitimate question these days with the way things are and all.” I thought about the story Rachel had told me about Lucy.
“He was rude, and he embarrassed me,” Jack said flatly.
“Yeah. I was a little embarrassed, too.”
“So will you forgive my rude family and go out with me again?” We were in my driveway, and he came around to help me out.
“Your sister’s not rude.”
“What do you say?” Jack stopped me as I landed in front of him. I couldn’t believe this was happening. I looked up and his blue eyes were right there, waiting for my answer.
“Okay. I mean, of course! Why wouldn’t I?”
“Awesome.” He smiled and kissed me lightly on the mouth. My heart stopped.
“I’ll come by tomorrow,” he said, walking me to the door.
“But I’m going to be at my grandmother’s in Navarre.” Yes, that sounded far more mature.
“Okay. I’ll bring the boat down. I can put out in the Bay and meet you in the Sound.”
Oh my god. And oh my god, his boat. Could I count on Mom and Nana to be cool?
“I don’t know. I mean, my mom will be there and my grandmother…”
“I bet they’re nicer than my dad.”
Couldn’t argue with that.
“Call you tomorrow,” he said.
I nodded, studying his gorgeous face. Images of us kissing on the beach filled my head, and my whole
body grew warm. I wished he would kiss me again, slower like before. But he was back in the Jeep and driving away before I’d had a chance to ask him how he knew where I lived.
Chapter 6
The next morning I was pushing Mom out the door.
“What time did you come in last night?” she complained. “I didn’t hear you.”
“Not late,” I said still packing. “I didn’t even look at the clock.”
It was true. I’d floated in the house on a cloud and washed my face with stars and rainbows hovering around my head.
“I love Julian.” Mom’s eyes were still closed over her coffee. “I might steal him for myself.”
“Yeah, about that.” I stopped moving then. “I don’t think I’m going out with Julian again.”
“But he’s so cute and funny!” My mom was whining. “And he’s an artist. Artists are so romantic.”
“Earth to Mom? Remember that fella who hangs around the house? We call him ‘Dad’?”
“For you, baby. There’s no reason why you can’t be with someone romantic.”
“It’s not that,” I said choosing my words. “Julian’s great and all, but… well… there’s somebody else I’m thinking about, and I’m kind of hoping that things work out with him instead.”
“Who?” Mom was slowly waking up and her eyebrows pulled together.
“Umm… I don’t think you know him.”
“Name, please.”
“John, or Jack Kyser?”
“Kyser.” Mom frowned. “Is he related to the Kysers who own East End Beach?”
“They don’t own East End Beach. His dad just developed a lot of the land down there. And yes. That’s his dad.”
Mom’s eyebrows went up. “How in the world did you meet him? I heard those guys live out on Hammond Island and never… mix.”
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