by Jordan Ford
Her sweet embarrassment is so adorable. I can’t help smiling at her as I shake my head. I mean, there’s Snap Dragon, but she’s my secret to keep. “Do you have a boyfriend?”
She pauses, then whispers, “Maybe.”
“Maybe?” I frown. “What does that mean? Maybe? Who is this guy?”
“No way!” She laughs, looking mortified. “This is my own private thing. I’m not telling you or anyone about him.”
Weird answer, but okay.
“What if you want to go public?”
She shakes her head. “Can’t see that happening any time soon.”
My eyes narrow as I try to figure this one out. She’s got a secret boyfriend. Sounds kind of shady to me. It’s weird how protective I feel. I don’t even know this girl and I’m worried that some guy might hurt her.
Clearing my throat, I bob my head and try to sound more casual than I feel. “Well, when you do, I want to meet the guy. Make sure he’s good enough for you.”
She snorts, then laughs. It’s a cute sound, and I grin at her when she nudges me in the stomach and says, “You’re crazy.”
“Crazy cool.”
This makes her laugh a little harder, and I bask in the sound. Damn, she really is cute.
As her laughter dies off, she gives me a stunning smile. “Thanks for distracting me. I really didn’t want to unload all this stuff to Savvy. Knowing her, she’d try to get Johanna and me together for some kind of mediation. She’s just so up in my face all the time. It gets really annoying. I don’t want her to be my mother. She can’t fix everything.”
Her sharp, edgy voice gives away how much the situation annoys her. Again, I’m stumped for what to say.
The phone in my pocket dings with a message, and I pull it out to check. It’s from Griffin. He’s wondering where I am and if I’ve finished my phone call. That was my excuse to leave the house. I was going to call Hayes. But then I heard Lettie scream, and…
“I better go.” I sigh. “Griffin wants to know where I am.”
She winces and peers down the roof, her body tensing. “You can just leave through my room if you want.”
“I can jump down. It’s not a big deal.”
“No!” She grabs my arm before I can move. “I mean… please don’t.”
My grin is no doubt a little cocky when I tip my head. “I can make it.”
“And you could break your arm, or your leg, or your back.”
Her words freeze me. I see Hayes in my mind, broken and twisted on the concrete.
“Please, just leave through my room,” she pleads.
All I can do is nod.
She gives me a relieved smile, then goes tense again, no doubt wondering how she’s supposed to get back through her window without falling.
“I’ll help you.” I smile and maneuver my body so I can catch her if she slips. Keeping my hand on her back, I guide her up to her window and then jump in after her.
I can’t help checking out her room as I walk through it.
Books are stacked everywhere—on the floor by her bed, crammed into shelves, in a pile on her desk. There’s a laptop open beside them, but the screen is black. I glance to my right and spot her dresser drawers with a large framed photograph on top. Oh man, that has to be her mom. She and Lettie look so alike. Brown, straight hair, the same smiles. Lettie looks young and happy. This must have been taken before her mom got sick.
It reminds me of better days with my mom, when it was just the two of us, and I suddenly miss her with a sharp pang that hurts. I should call her tonight. Check in.
Lettie stops by the door, her fingers curled around the handle. “Thank you. I should have said that before, but thank you for saving me…again.” She winces. “I promise I don’t have a death wish.”
I stop beside her, probably too close, but I want to smell the fruity scent of her hair again. I take a subtle whiff while gently squeezing her wrist. “Are you going to be okay for the rest of the afternoon?”
She nods and gives me a sweet smile. “I’ll be fine. I’ll just escape into a book so I don’t have to think about reality for a while.”
Her words make me think of Snap Dragon. I bet these two would get along great. They seem to have a lot in common. Bookworms and all that. I suddenly feel bad for kind of flirting with Lettie when Snap Dragon is the girl I really want.
What is up with me and bookworms?
I’ve never been attracted to that type before, and in less than six months, I’ve found myself mixed up with two of them.
I must be going crazy or something.
Letting go of her wrist, I step back from Lettie and try to put some space between us. I saved her life. I made her feel better. End of story. Nothing more’s going to come from this. I won’t let it. Because I won’t jeopardize what I have going with Snap.
20
Jace vs. Bass
LETTIE
Jace steps back so I can open the door.
Is it weird that I kind of don’t want him to go?
He’s been so nice to me this afternoon. Sitting on the roof, talking to him—it was freaking amazing. He made me feel better. His arm around me felt secure. Like I was safe and nothing bad could touch me.
Watching him leave is going to suck.
But he needs to go.
Because… well, I’ve never really had a boy in my room before, and also I’m in love with Bass. Not Jace.
Turning the handle, I pull the door open and smile at Jace, until I hear footsteps on the stairs and everything disintegrates around me.
“What the…” Savvy points at me and then Jace, her confusion almost comical.
“Oh, hey, Sav.” Jace gives her a confident smile.
How does he do that?
She’s about to go mama bear ballistic.
“What is he doing in your room?” She balks at me, then looks to Jace. “I thought you went outside to call your friend. How did you even get up here?”
My mouth drops open and I don’t know what to say. How do I save Jace? How do I save me?
“Um…” I blink and look up to him.
He just winks at me and grins. “I climbed through her window.”
“Yeah, right.” Savannah rolls her eyes and crosses her arms.
I have to press my lips together not to laugh out loud.
Jace shrugs. “I wanted to make sure she was okay. She seemed kind of upset, so after my call, I snuck up here to check on her.”
Savannah almost looks hurt by this, and I have no idea why. He did something nice for me. What is her problem?
Jace clears his throat and looks down at me. “Glad you’re feeling better.”
“Thanks.” I smile. “Thanks for the…talk.” I swallow and feel kind of awkward, so I step back into my room. “See ya later.”
“Ciao for now.” He waves at me and brushes past Savannah.
“Wait a second,” she sputters, chasing him down the stairs.
I feel kind of bad leaving him to it, but following after him will only lead to more drama, and I’ve had enough for one day. I trust him not to tell Savannah about me dangling off the roof. Surely he wouldn’t.
Leaning against my door, I gaze at the window.
“I trust him,” I murmur, finding it a weird emotion considering I barely know the guy.
But he seemed genuine enough.
I don’t know his full story. Savannah told me he’s staying with his cousins, but I don’t know why. I wonder where his parents are. I hope one of them hasn’t died or something.
A shiver runs through me and I inch to my bed, slowly picking up Mom’s camera. I should YouTube a tutorial video about how to clean this camera properly.
Sitting down at my desk, I wake up my screen and notice no new messages in my inbox. I should probably email Bass about my morning, but I don’t really feel like it right now. I don’t want to tell him about Jace. In this weird way, I almost feel like I cheated on Bass today, but I didn’t. I mean, not really. Jace was just ho
lding me to keep me safe on the roof. We didn’t kiss or anything. He was just being a friend.
I should tell Bass. He’d probably be grateful that the guy helped me out.
But still…
I don’t want to.
With a short huff, I open up YouTube and start hunting down the right tutorial, but quickly get distracted by Mojo and watching clip after clip of Best Movie Kisses and Best TV couples, and drowning in a sea of romance, all the while trying not to dream about what it’d be like to kiss Jace.
21
Humans Are Complicated
JACE
I tumble off my board and crash into the ocean, water shooting up my nose. I kick hard to reach the surface again, pull in a mouthful of air, then quickly get dumped on by a fresh sea of foam. I duck below the surface, my lungs burning as I kick to my board and risk resurfacing.
The set rolls by me and I catch my breath, swiping a hand down my face. Usually that kind of thrill would make me laugh, but I don’t feel like laughing this morning.
I’m out here on the water alone, missing Hayes…and Snap Dragon.
She didn’t email yesterday.
In fairness, I didn’t email her either.
It just kind of felt weird. I didn’t know what to talk to her about when my mind was crowded out by Lettie. I’m still pissed at the way her friend treated her and wish I could do something about that. It’s the emotion I want to cling to the most, but unfortunately, it keeps getting overrun with the feel of Lettie tucked up against me. Her sweet smile keeps floating through my brain, and I seriously don’t want it there.
I was just being a nice person yesterday, nothing more.
So why the hell did I dream about her last night?
With a huff, I paddle out a little farther, until I hear someone call my name.
Glancing over my shoulder, I squint to see who it is, then tense and clench my jaw.
Great.
“Jace!” Savannah calls again, so I stop paddling and wait for her to reach me. “Hey.” She puts on a friendly smile, but I can instantly tell it’s not genuine. She wants to continue our conversation from yesterday. The one where she chased me down the stairs telling me I shouldn’t have been hanging out in Lettie’s room. That’s not my place or my job.
I scowled at her for that and then got a bark from Griffin, asking what was going on. He was just protecting his girl, but it pissed me off that he stood up for her without even knowing any of the facts.
In the end, I walked out while Savannah was explaining about the whole me in Lettie’s room thing. I was just leaving Clifton Terrace (the high-class suburb Savvy lives in) when Griffin caught up to me in his beat-up truck and offered me a ride home.
“So…” he began.
“Really don’t want to talk about it, man,” I interrupted, and he left it at that.
I should have known Savannah wouldn’t be able to drop it. She’s obviously kind of uptight and in your face when she’s worried about something.
Forcing a light tone, I give her a closed-mouth smile and ask, “What do you want, Savvy Sue?”
She groans and tips her head to the sky. “I wish you’d never heard Harley call me that. That name is reserved for two dads. That’s it. Aidan’s and mine. No one else is allowed to use it.”
I smirk. “Aw, come on. That’s no fun.”
She snickers and shakes her head, then goes quiet, looking all worried again. Crap, we need to get whatever she wants to talk about over with.
“Seriously, Sav. I know you didn’t paddle all the way out here to surf with me.”
She frowns. “Maybe I did.” I give her a pointed look and she rolls her eyes. “Okay, fine. I want to know what’s up with my sister. She stayed in her room all yesterday afternoon, and I couldn’t even get her out for dinner. What happened yesterday? Is she okay?”
Looking away from Savannah, I try to decide how to answer. The sun sparkles off the water and I focus on the light gems, squinting and buying myself a few seconds.
“She’s not in trouble, is she? I mean, she seemed really upset when she got home yesterday.”
I’m not sure how much to say. I don’t want to betray Lettie’s trust or anything, but Savvy seems kind of desperate for an answer.
I cringe and wipe the salty water off my lips. “It’s not really my place to say. I don’t know how much she wants you to know, but she’s not in trouble. She’s just…having a hard time.”
“Why?”
“That’s her story to tell.”
“Yeah, but she won’t tell me!” Savannah points at her chest, nearly tipping off the board as she gets all aggravated.
I grab the edge of her board to help her out and soften my voice. “So, respect that. If she doesn’t want to tell you, she shouldn’t have to.”
“But I’m her sister!”
I scoff. “No you’re not.”
“What? Yes I am!”
“No, you’re her mother hen. You’re her superior in the house who is constantly in her face. She doesn’t like it. She needs a friend.”
“I am her friend. I mean, I want to be, if she’d just let me!”
“Sav, you’re like a mother-sister-friend. She can’t even define you. You’re so busy trying to fill all the gaps, and it doesn’t work like that. Just pick one role, and not the mother one.” I point at her.
She goes stiff and frowns at me. “I’m not her mother. I’m not even trying to be.”
“Well, she doesn’t know that.” I shrug. “Why do you think she wanted to hang out with a practical stranger yesterday instead of coming to you? You need to start treating her like an equal. She’s not a kid anymore.”
Savvy’s expression crumples. She looks kind of injured by my words and turns away without even saying goodbye. I watch her paddle back to shore, riding in a couple of baby waves but not actually standing for any of them. Picking up her board, she tucks it under her arm and storms up the beach. I can’t tell if she’s pissed or depressed.
Shaking my head, I turn back to the water—the least confusing thing in my life right now. That’s one amazing thing about nature. You can count on it to do what it’s supposed to do. I mean, sure, it can be unpredictable, but generally speaking, tides come in and they go out. Waves roll toward shore. You catch them and it makes you happy.
But this whole human relationships thing…
That’s one complicated mess.
It seriously makes me wonder if I’m just better off alone.
22
Escape to the Outdoors
LETTIE
I grip my Kindle and shuffle around on the bed. My book is getting so good right now. My heart is pounding, my emotions on overdrive.
He’s got to get to her on time. He has to save her, and then finally she’ll confess what she’s figured out while being lost in the woods. She’s in love with him. She’s sorry for running away and being an idiot. Then they’ll kiss, and I’ll get my happy ending.
Anticipation continues to swoop through me as I speed through the book. I should slow down. I should soak in all the awesomeness, but I can always go back and read it again. Right now, all that matters is finding out what’s going to happen.
I tap the screen and flick to a new page.
And then there’s a knock at my door.
I frown and glance at the wood, wanting to ignore the interruption. I’m reading! Don’t disturb me! I’m finally not thinking about Jace or stressing about Bass. I’m in my escape zone.
“Lettie?” Savannah calls against the wood.
Go away!
I sigh and look longingly at the words.
“Lettie, are you in there? Please don’t ignore me.”
Tipping the Kindle to lean against my chest, I turn to look at the door. “Yep. What’s up?”
The door sweeps open and Savannah stands in the frame, a big beach towel wrapped around her. Her hair is wet and sticking to her bare shoulders. She must have just been surfing.
Surfing.
Jace.
Dammit! Really? I’m thinking about him already? It seriously does not take much.
I brush my thumb over the back of my Kindle, desperate to escape again.
Savannah places her hands on her hips and asks, “Do I mother you too much?”
What? Where the hell is this coming from?
I so want to avoid this conversation, so I gaze up at the ceiling and start playing with my hair, pulling a long strand up in the air until it’s completely straight, then letting it float down to my bed again.
“Look, if I do, I don’t mean to. I just…want you to be happy.”
I swallow and glance at my sister.
She inches toward my bed, obviously looking for a seat. “Please talk to me. I just want to be—”
“You can’t be Mom, okay?” I interrupt her, but I can’t look at her face while I keep talking. “She was the one I talked to and now she’s not here. Please don’t try to fill her shoes.”
“I’m not.” Savannah plunks down on the end of my bed, no doubt leaving a wet butt print.
This frustrates me, so I end up snapping out a reply. “Yes you are! You do it all the time, treating Louis and me like kids. Teaming up with Dad like you two are the parents. You’re not! You’re not Mom, and you never will be!”
Savannah’s forehead wrinkles with a frown, and she looks down at her lap.
Oh crap, I’ve hurt her feelings. Why can’t I ever word things the way I want to? I’m not trying to be mean, just honest.
The thing is, she is like that, and it drives me crazy. She just can’t see that she’s doing it, and I don’t know how to tell her. She looks kind of crushed right now, and this is what I was trying to avoid.
I don’t know how to make it better, though. Do I apologize? I didn’t say anything wrong. It was just the truth, but…
Biting down on my lip, I sit up and scramble for the right words, but I don’t even have to say anything.