“All joking aside, how would you feel about taking a little break for a few hours?” I looked over at him with my brows raised.
“What did you have in mind?” He grinned an adorable boyish smile.
“Well, I was thinking first, I could take you out someplace nice for dinner, and then maybe we could go bowling, and then we can take a walk around the park.” It all sounded so nice, and I was hopeful that it could be just the thing to take my mind off West for an evening.
Dinner was amazing. Stetson picked a lovely little sit down place in the middle of town that boasted having some of the best Italian food around, and they didn’t disappoint. As usual, Stetson had me laughing through most of the meal, and just as I’d hoped, I didn’t think of West once the entire time.
After we had sufficiently filled our bellies, we were walking toward the bowling center a few blocks away when we made the spur-of-the-moment decision to stop in for some ice cream. We were in line when Stetson’s name was called out from behind us. We both turned and I saw Patrick making his way toward us with a smiling Bri attached to his hand. I smiled wide when they came to a stop in front of us.
“Pat,” Stetson said before they got into their whole guy greeting thing. I turned my attention to Bri.
“Hey, what are you guys doing?”
“We just went to the movies and I was really wanting some ice cream,” Bri offered. I heard Patrick and Stetson talking animatedly amongst each other and Bri gave some insight into what they were discussing. “Patrick is having a party tonight at the house. Nothing too big, but it should be pretty fun.”
“I don’t know, I still have a lot of homework to do. I’m kind of taking a break right now, but I really should get back to it.” Bri frowned her disappointment.
“Oh, come on. You can always come hang out for an hour or so and then do it. It’s not like it’s going anywhere, and it’s a Friday night. You have all weekend to get back to it.” She did have a point, and it had been a while since I’d left the house. Even when Stetson and I hung out, we usually didn’t drift too far from his couch or mine. Netflix was a big part of our relationship.
I looked and saw Stetson eyeing me expectantly. I could tell he wanted to go, and I didn’t want to be the kind of girlfriend that held him back from having a good time with his friends. Besides, like Bri said, I had all weekend to get back to my homework. One night off couldn’t hurt.
“Okay,” I conceded. Stetson smiled before pulling me into his side and giving my temple a quick peck. Then he turned back to Patrick.
“Alright, man lead the way.”
I was in the middle of talking to Bri about her relationship with Patrick when I heard my name. I turned toward the sound and came face to face with a grinning West. My mouth parted in surprise while he gently made his way through the crowd over to where I was standing. He didn’t hesitate to pull me into a hug. After a few seconds of holding each other, we both seemed to realize that our hug was lasting a little longer than it should and we pulled apart. That’s also the moment it seemed to dawn on me that he was there, at my school.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“My roommate’s brother was throwing a party and he wanted to come up. I just kind of tagged along. I can’t believe you’re at a party.” He chuckled and then I saw him look behind me. Before I had the chance to turn around to see what had captured his attention, a pair of large arms wrapped themselves around me. Stetson’s familiar cologne washed over me along with the distinct stench of beer.
“Babe,” he slurred into my ear. I smiled as I moved out of his grasp and turned toward him. I could tell by his slanted eyes that beer wasn’t the only thing he had decided to partake in at the party, and I tried not to let my disappointment show. Just because smoking of any kind had never been something that I was interested in, that didn’t give me the right to lecture him about it. Still, he knew I wasn’t fond of the stuff.
I glanced back and saw West still standing there. His eyes were focused on Stetson, and it was obvious he wasn’t impressed by what he was seeing. “West, this is Stetson Moore, my boyfriend. Stetson, this is We-”
“Weston Blake, yeah you play for Houston, right?” Stetson replied from behind me. Was I imagining it, or did he sound just a little more sober and a lot more irritated?
“I do,” West answered.
“How do you know my Lennon, here?” I hated the extra emphasis he added to the word ‘my’ when he said that, and based on the tick in West’s jaw I noticed, I’d say he didn’t particularly care for it either. Rather than voice that opinion though, he just flashed a smile that I knew he usually only reserved for people that didn’t know him. It was his fake smile that typically adorned newspapers and online articles about him.
“We go way back,” West said before glancing my way. That’s when his genuine West smile made it’s appearance, complete with the dimple that I adored. “Since we were kids.”
“Really?” Stetson asked surprised. Then he turned to face me and I didn’t miss the accusatory gaze he directed my way. “Funny, I’ve never heard her mention you before.” If that little insight bothered West, he was quick to mask it.
“Yeah, we’ve been a little out of touch as of late. I’ve been pretty busy with football season.”
“Didn’t that end in December?”
“Actually, we made it to the playoffs. Went all the way.” I knew that wasn’t news to Stetson. He had been sitting right next to me while I watched that game. I wasn’t sure exactly why he was pretending he didn’t know, but I had a pretty good guess.
“Well, if you don’t mind, I think I’m gonna dance with my girlfriend now.” Stetson took me by the hand and led me away from West out to the main room where a lot of other people had gathered to shake their butts and grind on one another. Neither option sounded appealing, but I also didn’t want to make Stetson upset. He was drunk, and the last thing I wanted was for us to cause a scene.
“Who was that guy?” He asked as he pulled me close to him.
“Just a friend.”
“How come I’ve never heard about him?” I shrugged my shoulders.
“I didn’t think it was imperative for you to know about all of my friends.” He frowned at my attempted humor.
“The guy ones, yeah.” He glanced over and the way his eyes narrowed let me know he was staring West down. I tried to ease some of the tension that I could feel radiating off of him.
“Hey,” I said soothingly. Then I cupped his face in my hands, which basically forced him to look at me and nowhere else. “I’m with you. I promise you don’t have anything to worry about. We’re just friends.” He didn’t seem all that convinced, and I couldn’t exactly blame him. Even I didn’t believe me.
He pulled me even closer and rested his forehead against mine. “Can you do me a favor, Len?” He asked sincerely. I nodded my head.
“Of course, anything.” He raised his head and let his eyes roam over my face. He looked so serious, it was a little unnerving. I had never seen Stetson behave the way he was in that moment and it made me shift uncomfortably from one foot to the other.
“Can you just not see him or anything without me? I know that I’m acting like a jealous boyfriend, and I’m sorry, but I just really don’t like the idea of you being alone with that guy.” I swallowed hard as I stared back at him. I hated what he was asking of me, but I couldn’t say I was all that surprised. West had warned me that he wouldn’t like the idea of us being friends.
“We’re just friends.”
“Then it shouldn’t be too hard to put a little distance between you. For me, Len. Please.” The look on his face made me feel incredibly guilty for all the times that I had seen West while I was dating Stetson. I was supposed to be his girlfriend and yet I was spending so much alone time with another guy.
So, I made a decision. In hindsight, it was the wrong one, but when you’re nineteen sometimes the right decision doesn’t always present itself clearly. So, for the sa
ke of my relationship with Stetson, I agreed.
“Okay.”
“Promise me, Len.” I hesitated for only a second before slowly nodding my head.
“I promise I won’t see him anymore.” Stetson smiled before he leaned forward and gave me a sweet kiss on the lips. I wanted to look back at West. I wanted to somehow tell him with my eyes what I had just done, but I didn’t.
Thirty
Over the summer, I officially introduced Stetson to my family. I had been a little nervous about taking him to Leering since I knew there was a pretty good chance that West would be there, but eventually I got over it. We had been dating for almost a year by that point and we had started getting more serious as of late so I knew it was time that he met everyone.
From the moment we arrived, he was a hit. That didn’t really surprise me though as from what I had seen throughout our time together, Stetson didn’t really meet anyone that he couldn’t call a friend ten minutes later. He had a gift.
Jameson adored him and I felt like it was fairly safe to say the feeling was mutual. He had even insisted on me taking him into town so he could buy my baby brother a few things, one of which was a cowboy hat that matched his own.
From that point on, I became chopped liver. I didn’t mind though, it was nice getting to see him with my family. He seemed completely at ease. Even when Dad was trying his hardest to be intimidating. Stetson just took it all with a happy, easy smile on his face.
The second night we were there, it was time for him to meet my extended family. Mrs. Blake and Katie joined us for dinner at my parent’s favorite restaurant. I saw Katie throw a wink my way about halfway through dinner which was her subtle way of saying she approved. Mrs. Blake seemed smitten too. Especially when he confused her for Katie’s sister at the beginning of the meal. I had to laugh while he apologized repeatedly.
By the time we all went home that night, I was exhausted. Stetson and I curled up on my bed while he picked a new documentary on Netflix for us to watch. I made it about five minutes in before I passed out. When I woke up sometime later, I noticed that Stetson had taken it upon himself to tuck me in and turn off all the lights before leaving. He really was such a great guy, and it was times like those that I was convinced I really had done the right thing by pulling away from West.
Our third morning there, Dad took it upon himself to Bogart Stetson for the day, not that he was complaining. Stetson had expressed an interest in fishing and Dad was eager to show off his new boat and ‘techniques’. So, with a quick peck on the cheek, I watched as my boyfriend walked off into the early morning air with my father.
When I stepped back inside, Mom was at work making a large lunch for when they returned. I offered my assistance, but all I got instead was her waving me off insisting I would only be in the way. With little else to do, I decided to go for a run.
Before long, I ended up at the Blake residence. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to see Katie for a bit so I trotted up the steps and knocked. Mrs. Blake answered and told me Katie was still up in her room. So, I made my way up the staircase. I glanced toward West’s old room as I passed it, but didn’t give it much more attention than that. The more I kept him out of my mind, the easier it was to avoid him, and I had been doing so well.
I tapped on Katie’s door before slowly opening it. I saw her still in bed with the covers pulled high over her head. I smiled as I shook my head and stepped further into her room. Some things never changed. She had always slept in so late when we were in high school together. I can’t help but wonder how she ever made it to any of her classes.
I walked over to the bed and sat down. “You know, I was hoping to take you shopping today, but if you’re just going to be a bump on a log then I’ll just have to go on without you.” I smiled to myself, but after a few seconds, Katie didn’t respond. That was very unlike her. Katie loved few things in life and they could all pretty much be summed up into clothes and shopping in some form or other.
I nudged her to try and get her attention and that’s when I noticed that she was much fluffier than usual. I pulled back her comforter and saw that her bed was empty. She had moved around the pillows to create a makeshift version of herself. I stood up from her bed and glanced around the room like that would give me some kind of insight as to where she could be.
I would have just texted her or something, but since I had been out for a run, I hadn’t bothered to bring my phone with me. I thought about asking Mrs. Blake if she knew where she was, but then I remembered that she had told me she was in bed still. So, she would be no help. I stayed there for a second longer when I heard a sound coming from outside the window. I walked over and looked down to see Katie crawling up the side of the house.
I opened her window and poked my head outside. “You know, the front door would probably be much easier,” I said. Katie screamed before she started to fall backwards. Thankfully, she caught herself at the last second. The glare she shot me when she righted herself gave a whole new meaning to the phrase, ‘if looks could kill’.
“What the hell, Len?” She whisper yelled as she climbed through her window. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to see you actually.”
“Does Mom know I was out?” She asked looking around with wide eyes. I shook my head.
“No, she thought you were still asleep.” Katie let out a breath of relief before she fell back onto her mattress. “Where were you anyway?” She sat back up and looked at me.
“If I tell you, you can’t say a word.”
“Ooookay,” I replied slowly. A giddy smile broke out across her face and it was infectious.
“I was with Sebastian.” It took a second for her words to register.
“Rivers?!” I nearly shouted. She quickly shushed me before nodding her head. “I thought he moved to Florida or something.”
“He did. He’s visiting like us.” I was still too dumbfounded to actually put together a decent thought. All I could get out was one simple question.
“How?”
“Well, it’s kind of an ongoing type thing.” When I didn’t comment, she went on. “So, last summer after Matt and I broke up, I was feeling kind of down and I went into town to do a little retail therapy. You were off somewhere, and we ran into each other. We had lunch together to just kind of catch up and one thing led to another.”
“Oh my god,” I said too surprised for anything else. I had no idea. She had never said a word. She looked guilty.
“I wanted to tell you,” she said. “Really, I did, but he made me swear not to. At first I wasn’t into the idea, but the longer we kept meeting up, the more enjoyable it became. I really loved the whole secrecy of it. It made it like a thousand times more exciting.” I knew exactly what she meant.
“So, anyway, we met up a few more times before you and I left, and that was supposed to be all there was. Then I came down for Christmas break and he was back. We just kind of met up again, and kind of fell right back into the same old routine.” I couldn’t believe it. Katie was horrible at keeping secrets. In all the years I’d known her, I don’t think she had ever kept anything to herself.
“I just can’t believe you kept a secret.” She laughed.
“I know.”
“So, are you two like together now?” I asked and she quickly shook her head.
“Oh god no. I could never date him. He’s more like a fling type of guy.”
“What?” I honestly had no idea what that even meant. She thought about it before she answered.
“Okay, so there are two types of men in the world. There are the ones that you can totally see yourself ending up with. Like I mean full on house in the suburbs, driving a minivan, perfect family kind of guy. Then there are the guys like Sebastian Rivers. The ones that will never commit because they honestly don’t need to. They will never be the kind of guy you bring home to meet the family. They are the ones you have fun with.” I frowned.
“That sounds sad. Don’t you want the first guy?�
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“Of course I do, but I’m also nineteen. I am nowhere near ready for my happily ever after yet. So, until then, I’m going to have fun.” That made me frown even more. I couldn’t help but think of my own situation. I was barely nineteen and in a committed relationship with a guy that I was still too scared to sleep with. What did that mean for me?
“Hey, everyone is different, Len,” she said, like she was reading my mind. “I think you and Stetson are so great together, and I think it’s so amazing that you’ve already found your happily ever after.” I looked over at her with my brows furrowed. “Haven’t you?”
“Is it bad if I say I don’t know?” I asked, and it was her turn to look surprised. “I like him. Really, I do. I think he’s the sweetest guy, and we have a great time when we’re together, but I just can’t help but feel like there’s something missing.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know.” That was a lie though. I did know. I knew with every fiber of my being. I wasn’t completely happy with Stetson because a part of me was still very much hung up on West. I just couldn’t admit that.
“I think it’s normal to be concerned. This is your first real relationship, Len. So you don’t really have anything to compare it to. Naturally, that’s going to make you wonder if something is missing, but believe me, you and Stetson are perfect together.” She smiled so sweetly and I nodded my head in return.
“Thanks Katie.”
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