Between the Boys (The Basin Lake Series Book 1)

by Stephanie Vercier

  “Well, I believe in you, and I don’t just want you to coast by. I’m always going to be here for you.” And then she kisses me, and I ease right into her.

  “So, you aren’t mad about the apartment and the scholarship?” I slip in when we both take a breath.

  She shakes her head, though I’m not convinced. I might actually push her to answer in more detail, but her hands are at my waist and unbuckling my belt—no way I’m going to endanger what’s coming.

  I’m pretty much immediately hard as we kiss and she loosens my tie and unbuttons my shirt. My hands are on her thighs and then under her dress as I pull down her tights and panties, desperate to have as few layers of clothing between us as possible. I lift her body up and over mine so that she’s straddling me.

  I feel like my pants are about to explode from the pressure of my rising hard-on, and I awkwardly reach under her to unzip myself and then wiggle out of my boxer briefs. I hold her hips as she rises her body before easing herself over me. There is no resistance, our bodies fitting perfectly together, the relief as well as the pure pleasure that envelops us palpable.

  Her hair is soft as I drag my hands through it. I don’t want to take my heavy eyes away from her as she rhythmically moves above me, allowing me to fully penetrate and dwell deep inside of her. The friction between us results in feelings I wouldn’t know how to describe in words, only knowing that I never want to lose this, never want to lose us.

  I can tell by the feel of her body and the look on her face that she rolls into a string of orgasms that turn me on so much that I can’t hold back any longer. Holding her steady at the curve of her hips, I say, “I love you so much,” and then release myself into her.

  “I’ll love you forever, Evan,” she says, holding my face in her hands as we kiss.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  PAIGE

  Winter Break

  The next two weeks move quickly. There is an even stronger bond between Evan and I now, and I keep putting off reacting to the fact that he lied to me about my scholarship and perhaps even tricked me into moving in with him. I go back and forth about it in my own head, not wanting to tell Natalie or Amelia for their take on it, fearing what they’d say, that they might even think he’d been a little creepy for doing it.

  There are other reasons I don’t want to push the discussion, one being that Evan is doing so well with his tutors, especially a guy named Jake who happens to be a psychology student. The last thing I want to do is steal Evan’s attention away from finals, and as the day draws nearer for us to fly back home to Basin Lake for Christmas, I seem to have lost the will to confront him at all.

  I’m in a good mood once I’ve taken my last final and done my last shift at Appalachian Roasters until January. I’m at the apartment packing my suitcase and feeling excitedly nervous about seeing my family again. The plan is for Evan to drive me to the airport this evening for my flight back home before he comes back to Well’s Creek for another two days of finals. I would have caught a ride with Natalie to Charlotte, but her parents had insisted she head home yesterday instead of later today so they could all go out to the coast together.

  That gave me another reason to convince Evan I’d just take a later flight so he and I could go together, but he insisted it wasn’t fair for me to miss out on two extra days with my family because of his testing schedule. And even though I was really looking forward to getting on the flight with him, I end up agreeing because I have, in truth, really missed my family.

  My phone, face down on the bed, chimes just as I’m finishing loading up my suitcase, and I smile, thinking it must be from Evan. But when I turn my phone over, I’m a bit taken aback to see Garrett’s name flash across the screen.

  Are you flying home soon?

  My stomach gets all heavy, and my heart starts to beat hard and fast. I haven’t heard a word from him since we’d broken up, but that hadn’t stopped me from thinking about him or getting updates on his dad through Mom. When Garrett would come to my mind, I’d not only remember those things I missed about him but also of the things he’d done to keep Evan and I apart. I’m at the very least conflicted about him, and yet I’m still grateful for his text. A part of me thought I’d lost him forever and that our friendship could never be fixed.

  Me: Flying into Spokane tonight. Are you heading back too?

  Garrett: Not for a couple of days. How would you feel if I picked you up from the airport? You could come to WSU for the night.

  Oh, no.

  Me: Is that a good idea?

  A good ten minutes pass before my phone chimes with his response.

  Garrett: Only as friends. I miss you, and I think I’ve gotten over it.

  Only as friends.

  I miss you.

  I miss him too, and I’ve got to believe we can salvage a friendship that’s lasted for eight years.

  Me: Okay. We can catch up. Where would I be staying at WSU?

  Garrett: Awesome! I’ll get you a hotel room, just for you. Or you could stay with one of my teammates’ girlfriends.

  Me: No hotel. Too much $$$ for you. I’ll stay with one of the girls.

  Of course it might be awkward staying with some girl I don’t even know, but one night on someone’s couch couldn’t hurt if it would allow Garrett and I some time to really talk.

  I text him my flight information, and he agrees to be at the airport waiting for me. When I call my mom and tell her my change of plans, she asks the same thing I asked Garrett. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

  “He’s been my friend since fourth grade,” I remind her. “It’ll be fine.”

  “If you’re sure,” she says. “Have a safe flight and a safe drive with Garrett. Call me if you need me to come get you though.”

  “I will, Mom.”

  When I hang up, I wonder if she’s right, and I’m already a little sad at the idea of missing that extra day with her. Maybe I’ve made a mistake. Maybe it’s just too soon.

  I know I should tell Evan my plans with Garrett as we’re walking into the airport in Charlotte, but he wouldn’t be okay with it. Besides, it would just be one more thing to cram into his mind when he needs to focus on finals.

  “I love you,” Evan says, nearly absorbing me into a giant hug right outside the security checkpoint.

  “I’d say the same if I could breathe,” I joke, and he loosens his grip on me. “Better,” I say. “I love you too.”

  The kiss that follows makes every nerve in my body tingle, and it’s difficult for both of us to finally part.

  “I’ll see you in a couple days,” he says and then just stands there watching me as I get into the security line, and he’s still there when I get to the place where I’ll have to turn down one of the big hallways toward my gate. I offer him a final wave, still tasting his lips on mine.

  As I watch Charlotte grow smaller from my window seat, I already miss him.

  Garrett is waiting for me at one of the security exits at Spokane International Airport, which is like a sleepy little ghost town in comparison to the one in Charlotte, especially this late at night. He has a smile as big as the ocean on his face and is dressed in his usual jeans, work boots and a heavy wool coat.

  “Hi.” I gently wave to him, unsure even now of whether I should hug him or if that would be too much.

  “All I get is a wave?” He chuckles before stepping forward and pulling me into a hug.

  His coat is a little damp, but he smells clean and fresh. Garrett could always get dirty working on the farm or playing football, but he always cleaned up well. I close my eyes and can’t deny that it feels good to be near him again. For so long, we’ve been friends and shared so much of our lives with one another, and I can’t really imagine a world without him in it.

  “How are you?” I ask as we pull away from one another and he takes my carry-on luggage.

  “Doing okay,” he says. “I do miss you, but I’m dealing.”

  He looks upbeat enough to me, and I think he’s
probably moved on. It’s what I wanted to see in him, but it makes me afraid to confront him about what he said to Evan. I just want things to go back to the normal that existed before he, Evan and I became this sort of strange love triangle.

  We make small talk as we move through the airport, but it’s not until we get outside that I notice all of the snow on the ground.

  “It snowed!” Spokane is hit and miss when it comes to major snow events, and Basin Lake isn’t much different.

  Garrett laughs. “Yep. You couldn’t see it from the plane?”

  “I was in the aisle seat, so I couldn’t really see.” But I’m not sure I’d have paid much attention from the window seat either. I was nervous about seeing Garrett again, and if the pilot had mentioned the weather, I hadn’t noticed. Once we’d landed, I’d been on my phone, calling Evan and my mom to let them know I made it safely.

  He opens the passenger door of his familiar Chevy truck, and I climb in, remembering how closely I sat to him the last time we were together and knowing that will never happen again.

  The roads are fairly clear as we head toward WSU, a country station playing quietly on the radio. It takes us about an hour and a half to get to Pullman, time we’ve spent talking about our classes, football, our families, and the new friends we’ve managed to make. Garrett doesn’t ask about the guy he assumes I’ve fallen in love with, the reason for our breakup. And I certainly don’t bring it up, knowing that Evan still wants to tell Garrett about he and I being together. It’s a lie by omission really, but that doesn’t make me feel much better about it.

  Like Spokane, Pullman is covered in a blanket of white. I haven’t been here since taking a tour of WSU early in my senior year, and I can’t really imagine myself here now because doing so means I might never have found my way to Evan.

  “You like living here?” I ask him as we drive through what is currently a fairly quiet college town, hopeful he’s settled in nicely.

  “It’s fine. I mean, I miss home of course, but things are good, and I’ve got some amazing teammates.”

  I open my mouth to say something about Evan, about how he might not be Garrett’s teammate, but he’s certainly still his best friend.

  “Well, I’m glad things are working out here,” I say, self editing.

  He gives a very muffled response, and I’m not sure he said any actual words at all. Then, after clearing his throat, he says, “You’re hungry, right? We can stop in at Grady’s… it’s just up ahead, and I’ll vouch that they’ve got veggie burgers for you.”

  “That’s considerate,” I say, my lips tugging upward into a big smile. “And yeah, I’m pretty much starving. Airplane peanuts don’t do much to stave off hunger.”

  He laughs in agreement it seems and then pulls alongside the curb on one of Pullman’s small downtown streets. Grady’s neon sign burns red in the darkness of winter.

  I’m unlatching my seatbelt when I feel him looking at me. When I turn to him, I think I see longing in his eyes… no… fondness maybe? I smile back. He’s my friend, and I’m fond of him too, will always be no matter what. I don’t wait for him to open my door, but he insists on taking my hand, holding it a few ticks too long after I’ve stepped down from his truck.

  Grady’s, a bar and grill type restaurant, is half empty when we walk in.

  “Everyone has abandoned ship,” Garrett says, guiding me further into the restaurant that is all wood. Wood walls, floors, posts, bar, chairs and even the beams on the ceiling. “Once finals were over, everything emptied out,” he adds.

  “Yeah, same thing in Well’s Creek,” I say thinking about Evan being left behind, probably one of the last to get his finals over with.

  As soon as I’ve spoken, I begin to notice people nodding their heads at Garrett in recognition, a few of them waving or saying a quick, “hey.”

  “You know a lot of people,” I say once we reach the back of the restaurant.

  “Comes with the territory of being on the team.”

  WSU is most definitely a football school.

  We sit down in a cozy booth, and I’m just settling in when the waitress appears and says, “Same as always, Garrett?” He nods, and I just order the veggie burger he told me about with a side of onion rings.

  Garrett gulps down half of the Coke she brings out, cracks his knuckles and then says, “So…”

  I smile, taking a few sips from my own carbonated beverage, and then respond, “So… what?”

  “We haven’t really talked about us… umm… breaking up,” he says, his face turning a shade of red and his tongue tying itself up toward the end of his sentence.

  “I know.” I look down into the tiny rising bubbles in my Coke. “I figured you kind of hated me for it.”

  “No, I could never…” I look up, and he’s relaxed somewhat after broaching the subject. “It’s still hard for me, Paige. You know, once you’d gotten accepted into WSU, I figured you and I were kind of meant to be.”

  Maybe in a different time or a different place, a world without Evan, we would have been.

  “I’m sorry,” I say. “You know I still love you no matter what, right? Even if it’s not a romantic love.”

  He folds his hands on the table and presses his lips together. “That’s still hard to hear,” he confesses. “Especially with you being so close. I really want to kiss you, and it’s kind of taking a lot of effort to keep from trying.”

  “Garrett…” I sigh. He’s making my heart ache. I want him to be completely over me so that he can move on and find his own happiness. “You’ll find someone better,” I assure him.

  “Have you found someone better?” he asks without missing a beat. “I mean, are you still dating that guy?”

  “Garrett—”

  “You don’t want to talk about it, do you?” He pushes back from the table. “I probably don’t want to hear it anyway. It’s immature, but I kind of want to punch whoever it is.”

  “No you wouldn’t,” I say, hating even the idea of him wanting to fight with that “guy,” who just happens to be Evan. “You and I just have to get back to being friends and moving past all of this.”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  Our food arrives and we somehow manage to move our dialogue to more trivial matters, like new-model Chevy trucks he’s been drooling over and my plan to run a marathon someday—I figure if I can handle the heat and humidity of a North Carolina summer, I can certainly run twenty-six miles. We laugh about things that we did as kids and trade notes about what our fellow Basin Lake classmates are up to. And before we can run out of anything else to say, Garrett’s friends, either already at Grady’s or just coming in, begin to join us. Eventually, there are three extra guys and one extra girl making our booth very cozy.

  It ends up being a really good night, and I’m hopeful about my future friendship with Garrett. He sets me up in that spare room he promised, vacated by a girl who has gone to Seattle for the holidays. Her roommate, a tall redhead with big brown eyes, assures me a friend of Garrett’s is a friend of theirs. I swear there’s a starry look in her eyes when she says it, and I’m pretty sure Garrett has someone crushing on him.

  I sleep great, and the aforementioned roommate lets me get in a hot shower before Garrett picks me up. We have breakfast at this super cute place at the edge of town, and then he drives us up to Basin Lake. A fresh layer of snow makes the Christmas decorations downtown even more festive.

  Garrett drops me off at my house so that I can see my family and unpack. We’ve planned to meet up in a few hours to hang out some more, something I might have been iffy about had we not gotten past the whole breakup talk and settled back into our old friendship, a bond that I only hope to strengthen.

  “Hey, honey!” Mom is already out the front door before I’ve even made it to the porch, braving the snow in her slippers.

  “Hey, Mom! I’ve missed you.” It’s so good to have her arms wrapped around me again and to see her at home instead of in the hospital when Grandma had been
so sick.

  Once we’re inside, Kate charges down the stairs to give me a giant hug while Claire, as usual, is more reserved, but she does confess she’s missed my presence at least. I peek into Grandma’s room to say hi, and she promises that she’ll get her “old bones” down to the main floor later so that we can all have dinner like a family. Lucille eyes me from her cat bed in the corner of the room and purrs soft rumbles when I walk over and bend down to pet her.

  It’s weird being back in my room, but a good kind of weird. It’s so much more reflective of my style than the very boring one in our apartment in Well’s Creek. But boring doesn’t matter much to me as long as Evan is around, and besides, I’d pretty much moved into the master bedroom with him anyway. I give him a call and leave a message, figuring he must be stuck in a study session or something.

  I unpack my suitcase and then change into a heavier sweater, some thick leggings and boots that I’d left behind once my trajectory had gone from WSU to Well’s Creek where very cold weather is more rare. While Grandma had said she’d get her old bones down for dinner, I risk intruding and knock on her door again. She’s actually quite welcoming and we end up watching two episodes of the Gilmore Girls before she falls asleep, Lucille doing the same.

  “I’m going to go hang out with Garrett for a while,” I announce as I enter the kitchen where Mom has been teaching Kate how to make sugar cookies. I’m aware it’s eating up the extra time I’d meant to spend with my family, but I feel like rebuilding my friendship with him is just as important.

  “Oh, so last night went okay?” Mom looks all concerned while Kate looks positively jealous.

  “Everything is totally fine with us,” I assure Mom who knows we’re broken up and Kate who I realize still thinks we’re a couple.