“Every time we do this, I always think of horror movies,” LaLani said, cuddling up next to Danny.
Brady laughed. “No one has ever died on one of my hayrides. There are no men with chain saws or axes waiting for us.”
Ayla turned to me. “He didn’t say anything about people with creepy masks or vampires or werewolves.”
I grinned at her. “Don’t tell me you’re scared.”
She wrinkled her nose at me. “No. I don’t get scared.”
“Is that so?”
“Yep. I’m like the queen of horror movies. I think Dre and I have seen pretty much every classic one ever made.”
“You only watch the classics?” I quirked an eyebrow.
“No. We go to the newer ones, too. It’s just there’s something iconic about the old ones, you know. Like Nosferatu, it’s a silent vampire movie with Max Schreck, Alexander Granach, Gustav von Wangenheim…I don’t know, there’s just something freaky about the old silent films. Like, you can see what’s happening, but there’s no distractions. Or I love pretty much anything with Bela Lugosi in it.”
“Maybe you’ll have to introduce me to some of these,” I said, entwining my fingers with hers.
“Any time. I own a ton of old horror movies,” she said. Her thumb brushed against the back of my hand, sending shock waves through my body.
The scent of her coconut shampoo drifted in the air around us as the wind picked up. We watched the scenery pass by while the tractor brought us farther into the woods. The sound of crickets and frogs chirping filled the night.
I shifted next to Ayla so I could wrap an arm around her shoulders, and to my surprise, she nestled up next to me so that her head rested against my chest. God, I was so aware of her. The way her hand fit perfectly in mine. The scent of her hair. The way her eyes crinkled when she smiled. I loved the sound of her voice when she got excited about something. Or how her brow furrowed when she was pissed.
I swallowed hard as my hand stroked her hair. She moved closer to me, her arm slipping around my waist. She turned so that she stared up at me. With trembling fingers, I traced the side of her face. The skin there was soft. In the soft glow of lantern lights, I found myself leaning closer to her. Last night’s kiss had been perfect. But I wanted another one. To prove what I felt wasn’t a fluke.
She didn’t move, but instead watched me. I cupped her chin, then lowered my mouth until my lips brushed hers. I heard the surprised exhale from her, but she didn’t pull away. Her mouth moved against mine, hesitant and unsure at first.
I deepened the kiss, slipping my tongue into her mouth. A soft moan escaped her, and I felt heat racing through my body. My pulse quickened as I drew her into my lap, trying desperately to get closer to her. Her fingers curled into my hair at the nape of my neck.
Fuck. What was I doing? This wasn’t real. We weren’t real.
Did I honestly want to fall for someone who in a couple of weeks would be gone from my life? Yeah, I’d agreed to put on a show, but was this going too far? If I wasn’t careful, I’d ending up falling for her and breaking my heart in the process. I’d seen what a high school romance had done to my parents; did I want the same?
I pulled back, trying to distance myself from her. But one look in her eyes made me realize I didn’t want to let her go.
Confusion splayed across her face. “I—um, well—I’m sorry. I guess I got kind of carried away,” she said.
I cleared my throat. “Yeah. Me too. Sometimes I forget we aren’t…” I didn’t finish, realizing the others might hear us.
She nodded, turning to look at the lake instead. Was she mad at me? I wrapped the blanket back around us, then let my arm settle on her shoulders once more.
Tonight I realized there was a lot more going on between us than the blackmailing. My heart thudded against my chest like a drum line solo.
I was falling for Ayla Hawkins, and I had no idea what to do about it.
After the kiss we shared, I kind of thought it might be mutual. But now she wouldn’t even meet my eye. Maybe she was trying to distance herself—like I should be trying to do.
Fuck. I was in too deep and needed to back the hell up, or we’d both end up getting hurt.
When the wagon got back to the house, everyone hopped off. I helped Brady grab all the blankets and brought them into the laundry room.
He flipped on the light, and we tossed them into the wicker hamper next to the washer.
“So, Ayla’s your fake girlfriend?” Brady stared me down. “That kiss looked pretty real to me. Just who are you trying to fool?”
I shrugged. “Didn’t realize you liked to watch people make out.”
“And you’re changing the subject. Come on, Luke, we’ve been best friends since elementary school. Look me in the eye and tell me you don’t like her.”
My fingers knotted into my hair. “Everything’s really complicated. I don’t know what to think or feel right now. I wasn’t expecting this.”
“Expecting what?” Brady rested his arm against the doorjamb.
“To feel anything. Look, when this first happened, I was pissed and trying to save our asses. I wanted to hate her. But then I started to get to know her. She’s not at all what I thought, Brady.”
He smiled. “And you like her.”
I covered my face with my hands. “I don’t know.”
“I think you do.”
Of course, he was right. But I wasn’t ready to admit anything yet. At least not out loud.
Chapter Eighteen
Ayla
My fingers drifted to my lips, where Luke had kissed me. I could almost still feel his mouth on mine. But that wasn’t all I’d felt. I squeezed my eyes shut. No. This plan was backfiring in ways I’d never imagined. Because when Luke kissed me tonight, there’d been this pang in my chest. A spark that could ignite a damn forest fire. Although if I was being honest, it’d been there before that. He’d come to my rescue tonight like some knight in shining armor. And the other night in the tree house when we’d stayed up most of the night talking—I’d gotten glimpses of this extraordinary person who was nothing like the guy who stood in the halls mocking people.
I wasn’t supposed to like him, or fall for him, or get close to him. He was my ticket to the class presidency, nothing more. My way to secure funding for the newspaper so Mr. Fairchild couldn’t just take it away from us—so I wouldn’t lose my chance at a scholarship. Then why did it suddenly make me sick to my stomach to think about the election ending and us going back to the way things were?
“Hey, there you are,” Chloe said. She looped her arm through mine and walked with me toward the driveway. “So, you and Luke?”
“I don’t know, Chlo. I’m so damn confused. How could this ever work out? I mean, look at who he hangs out with. We’re not on the same level. We don’t belong here.”
She frowned at me. “That sounds kind of stuck-up. So not everyone here is our biggest fan, but almost all of Luke’s friends, with the exception of Jack and Jenna, were totally awesome to us tonight. Besides, Brady kind of asked me to hang out again sometime, and I told him maybe we could do something with you and Luke.”
My eyes widened. “Seriously?”
“Yes.” Her cheeks reddened. “I didn’t come here thinking Brady would want to do anything with me. I figured he’d only extended an invitation because you’re my best friend and you’re dating his best friend.”
“Oh, God. We’ve infiltrated the jock-holes,” I said, covering my face with my hand.
She snorted. “Funny. That’s not what I meant.” She tugged me closer to Luke’s car, and we leaned against the hood. “The thing is, what if we’ve been kind of wrong about these guys? What if Luke really likes you and you blow it because you don’t give him a chance?”
And there it was, Chloe’s honesty that I both loved and hated.
I toyed with the strings on Luke’s sweatshirt. “I’m scared. How do I know he’s not just playing along with this whole scheme? Wai
ting to get back at me.”
“Because he kissed you. He didn’t have to kiss you. Twice, I might add. Not only that, but what about the whole tree house thing?” She put her arm on my shoulder and squeezed me. “Sometimes you’ve just got to jump, Ayla.”
“I don’t know.” I glanced at her.
Her blond hair had come loose from its clip, and it hung about her shoulders. She laughed. “Yes, you do. This is our senior year. We have to take some chances. Just think, we’ll be able to look back at these moments and show our kids pictures in our yearbooks of how we dated some of the hottest guys in school.”
I snorted. “Now that that’s settled…”
Over her shoulder, I spotted Luke and Brady heading toward us. “Hey, you ready to leave?” Luke peered at me then turned away.
“Sure, whenever you are,” I said. Why wouldn’t he meet my eye? Did he regret kissing me? Maybe he was embarrassed.
Brady stood next to Chloe. “I’m not sure if Chloe mentioned it, but I wondered if you guys might want to go out together next weekend. Hit the movies or something?” He shifted his attention between me and Luke.
“Are you fine with that?” I asked Luke.
“If I can get work off, it sounds fun.”
But then I thought about all our talks and how he was struggling for money. “Or, if you guys want, we could do a picnic or something instead. There’s this really awesome place a couple hours from here. There are these great waterfalls, and the leaves up there are already turning colors. We could go hiking and stuff. And I could even drive, although we might be a little cramped.”
“Or we could take my dad’s Jeep,” Brady said. He smiled at me, and I was pretty sure he knew what I was doing.
“That’ll be fun. Let me check my schedule at work this week.” Luke opened the car door for me.
I climbed inside then turned to Brady. “Thank you for inviting us tonight. I had a lot of fun.”
“No problem. Just glad to see Luke having a good time, for once. You really bring out the best in him.”
I smiled. Did he really think so? My gaze shifted to Luke, who seemed as surprised as I was by the comment.
“Be careful driving,” Chloe said, leaning in to give me a hug good-bye.
“I’ll see you later.”
I waved as Luke shut my door for me.
He got inside and started the car; he was quiet as if deep in thought as we drove down the hill.
“Luke? Are you mad at me or something?” I finally asked.
His head snapped around. “No. Sorry, just preoccupied.”
“Are you sure? I mean, if this is about the kiss—”
“It’s not.” After we left Mansion Hill, Luke suddenly pulled over and turned to me. “I’m sorry, I’m not trying to be a jerk. It’s just, I’m not sure what to do about all this.” He pointed between us.
I swallowed hard. “You don’t have to do anything. We can go on how we’ve been going on and forget about the kiss, if you want.”
“Okay,” he said, hesitantly, watching me closely.
I bit back the tears. That’s what I got for thinking something might come from this. For believing he’d ever be more than my fake boyfriend. In what reality did Luke Pressler like someone like me?
Just then, Luke’s phone beeped. “Could you check my text for me?” he asked.
Keeping my head down, I reached for his phone and swiped the screen to the side to see he had a message from Landon.
It said, Luke can you come home? Mom left me alone. It’s dark and I’m scared.
There were several other messages from Landon asking where he was.
“We need to get to your house, now,” I said. “Landon’s by himself.” What the hell was going on? Why had Landon been left alone?
“Fuck.” Luke sped across town until we came barreling into his driveway.
When we got there, we found his mom’s car parked in their front yard, the door halfway open with her passed out inside on the front seat. There were open beer bottles littering the floor of the car as well as the yard surrounding it.
“I’ll go in and check on Landon,” I said. Oh, God. Was this what Luke had to deal with all the time? This was totally shitty and unfair.
I knocked on the front door. “Landon, it’s me, Ayla. Are you okay?”
A second later the door flew open, and Landon rushed into my arms. Tears streamed down his face. “Ayla,” he sobbed, and I picked him up in my arms and brought him inside.
On the counter I saw a box of cereal, which I assumed was what he’d had for dinner. There was a blanket fort in the middle of the living room, with a flashlight still on underneath it. Along with several pillows and cushions set up around it.
“It’s okay, I’m here. So is Luke.” I pressed a kiss to his forehead and rocked him back and forth in my arms.
“Mom left me. She said she didn’t want me no more.”
“Oh, Landon. Sweetie, I’m sure she didn’t mean it.” She better not have. What a freaking bitch. Who told their kid stuff like that? “Tell you what. If you want, I can see if you can spend the night at my house.”
He sniffled. “Really?”
“Yep. I’ve got this really freaking awesome tree house that I think you’d love.” I pushed his hair from his face.
Right then, Luke came in, trying to get his mom inside. She cussed at him, telling him he was a piece of shit and just like his dad.
“You and your brother ruined my life. That’s why your dad left,” she screamed, which set Landon off crying again.
“Shh…don’t listen to her, Landon.” I hummed the theme song from Zelda in his ear and went out onto the dilapidated porch with him. Without even thinking about it, I reached for my phone and dialed my parents.
Dad picked up on the second ring. “Hey, kiddo, anything wrong?”
Mrs. Pressler yelled from inside the house, and I heard the sound of glass breaking. “Yes. Can you come over to Luke’s? His mom’s gone off the deep end. Dad, she left Landon here by himself tonight—she’s drunk and taking it out on Luke.”
“I’m coming. I’ll see if I can get a hold of the cops, too,” he said.
“Dad?”
“Honey, this sounds like something more than we’re going to be equipped to deal with. Trust me, okay?”
“Okay.”
“I’ll be right there.”
A few minutes later, Luke came out on the porch, his forehead bleeding. He carried two large duffel bags. “Do you think your parents would be cool with us crashing at your place tonight?”
“My dad’s on his way right now; we’ll ask him when he gets here,” I said.
Luke closed his eyes as blood slid down his head.
“Luke, you’re bleeding,” Landon said, clinging tight to me.
“I know, buddy. I’ll wipe it up in a minute.”
“Don’t you walk away from me, Luke Allen Pressler. Get back in this house.” His mom stumbled onto the porch, carrying a golf club, which she swung at his face, barely missing him.
I hopped down with Landon in my arms and raced into the front yard, nearly tripping over half-empty beer bottles. At that moment, my dad, followed by a police cruiser, pulled into the driveway.
The deputy jumped out and ran up to the house.
“Hey, Landon, why don’t we get into my dad’s car, okay?” I said.
“Will you take me away from here? I don’t want to be here anymore, Ayla. My mom hates us. And we never have enough food to eat. I want to live somewhere else.”
As I rocked him back and forth, a lump lodged in my throat. If I had it my way, Landon would never see that woman again. Luke wouldn’t have to work his ass off to make payments on stuff his mom neglected.
I watched as the cop fought with Mrs. Pressler to get her handcuffed. Soon another patrol car parked on the side of the road and more officers jumped out to help. One of the men escorted Luke to my dad’s car where he had him take a seat in the passenger side.
The doo
r was open, and we heard the obscene words flying from Luke’s mom. “You fucking assholes. You have no right to be here. Get out of my yard. You can’t tell me how to raise my fucking kids. Those spoiled little dipshits called you, didn’t they?” She kicked her legs out. But the cops finally managed to get her into the cruiser.
The officer who’d led Luke over checked his forehead. “What happened?”
“My mom threw a glass at me,” he said, barely above a whisper.
“I think you’re going to need some stitches. Do you have a family member you can call, somewhere you can stay?”
“They can come back to our house,” my dad said. “Luke is friends with my daughter. We’ve got plenty of room for him and Landon to stay on with us until something else can be figured out.”
“Okay. We’ve got to get a hold of CPS as well. They’re going to probably want to investigate everything that happened here tonight. Why don’t you give me your contact information, and I’ll have the worker call you.”
“Sounds good. We’ll get Luke up to the hospital so they can check him out.” Dad shook the officer’s hand.
He handed Dad one of his cards and told him they might have someone come up to the hospital to ask the boys more questions.
Before we headed out, Luke ran back up to the house to grab their bags from the porch where he’d dropped them, and also to get a washcloth to cover his wound until we could get to the hospital. While he did that, Dad called Mom to ask her to meet us up there.
I heard him assuring her that I was fine, but that the boys might need a place to stay for a while.
The car ride to the emergency room was quiet, except for Dad’s Irish music, which played softly in the background. Landon rested his head against my arm, clinging tight to me.
Luke turned in his seat to look at me. “Sorry about all this,” he said.
“It’s not your fault. I’m just glad I was with you.” I reached forward and touched his shoulder.
At last, we pulled up to the hospital. Mom was already there waiting for us. She stood as soon as we came in and rushed forward, accompanied by another lady, who looked as if she’d been roused from bed.
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