“In pain but okay.”
She lowered her shoulders. “A lot happened yesterday, and I haven’t gotten my brain around all of it. Oh wait, I haven’t gotten the image of you in your briefs almost plastered against Nina out of my head.” She huffed as she put one foot in front of the other.
“Montana, please. Hear me out.”
She pivoted on her wedge heel and stomped back to me. Then she poked me in the chest with her finger. “I’m not ready to listen to how Nina had her hands on you. You could’ve backed off. And you only did that when I walked in. What if I hadn’t shown up? Huh? What would’ve happened then?” Her little nostrils flared.
“I was about to leave when you came in. I swear.”
“Seems to me you only added fuel to her fire. Plus, she’ll probably try to grope you again now that you gave her an opening.”
“Montana, baby.”
She stuck her nose up in the air and turned to leave.
“I can give you a ride.” I would have done anything to keep us talking.
She didn’t look back, wave, or anything.
Her neighbor across the street chuckled. “Women, right?” the middle-aged businessman said.
Okay, she didn’t say we were through or that she didn’t want to see me anymore. So I had hope, and I wasn’t giving up.
As I trekked back to my Hummer, I had a thought.
Chapter Twenty-Five
MONTANA
Sprinklers hissed as I passed house after house. The sound reminded me of the day Train and I had wandered down the golf path behind his house. That was the first time we’d started to loosen up around each other. Since then, our relationship had grown so much until yesterday. I expected him to roll by me or stop to offer me a ride again, but the closer I got to school, I realized that wasn’t going to happen. My path to school wasn’t the only way.
On the way home with Mom last night, she’d counseled me that today would be a better day and that I would see things with Train in a whole new light. But when I’d found him outside my house, looking all sexy and apologetic, it had triggered the image of him in his underwear while Nina had her hands all over him. And no matter how sorry he was or how much I believed he was sorry, I couldn’t flip a switch on my emotions. I needed more than ten hours to process things.
Elvira and Reagan chatted as I approached our usual spot on the front lawn. Reagan had her hair up in a ponytail, while Elvira was sporting a headband that pulled back her short brown bob.
“Oh my God,” Reagan said, biting on a nail. “I heard what happened yesterday.”
“Which part?” I asked.
“Austin told me about Nina in the weight room and how Train was trying to convince her to confess her guilt over framing you when you showed up.”
As I listened to Reagan, I debated whether to go back home. Rumors would be all over the school, and I was completely over rumors and whispers and all the other drama. I almost wished I were back at my last school, where I got lost in the thousands of students.
When the bell rang, I sighed. “Let’s go in.”
Elvira hooked her arm in mine. “Are you okay? You’re mad at Train, aren’t you?”
Since they were my best friends and I would eventually tell them about last night, I figured I would get that over with while we walked to computer class.
By the time we entered class, Reagan and Elvira were speechless.
“So I hope Nina and Ferris go to the principal’s office today and confess,” I said.
“Blue hair,” Elvira said. “That’s got to suck.”
As I sat down, my heart hammered, knowing Train would walk in at any second behind us. Yeah, I should’ve stayed home. Maybe two days of not seeing Train would do the trick to get over what had happened.
The warning bell shrilled through the halls. Mr. Salvatore closed the door.
I glanced at Train’s empty seat. Surely he wouldn’t miss school two days in a row. Maybe he was mad at me for walking away.
Mr. Salvatore opened his mouth to speak, when the speaker crackled.
Then a male voice cleared his throat. “Um…”
Reagan glanced at me. My gaze darted to the speaker above the whiteboard.
“Okay.” Train’s voice blared into the classroom. “Can I have your attention? Principal Flynn has given me the green light to steal a few minutes of your time to talk football. As everyone knows, we have a perfect record of wins going into the last two games of the season. We want to keep that record, but we have a tough matchup against Charleston High on Friday. We beat their asses in our first game, but by the skin of our teeth. They’ll want revenge. So I’m asking everyone to come out and support us, not only this week, but next week as well. Make sure you bring your rowdiness and voices.”
His Southern drawl sent warmth directly south.
“Oh,” Train said. “One more thing. Montana Smith, if you’re listening, I’m sorry. I swear I was only trying to clear your name. I went about it all wrong. Please forgive me. My life would suck without you. You’re the only girl I want.”
All eyes swung to me. My cheeks burned, and I’d never been one to get embarrassed easily.
Reagan clapped, as did Elvira.
“Mr. Everly,” Principal Flynn said in the background. “That has nothing to do with football. Now get to class.”
“Wait,” Train said. “I just need to say one more thing.”
Silence filled the room, while tears filled my eyes.
“Montana, I love you,” Train said.
I became a statue in my seat.
Reagan tapped her hand on my desk. “Did you hear that? Wow! That was a cool way to declare his feelings.”
Everyone in class began whispering with the kids next to them.
“Hey, are you crying happy tears?” Reagan asked. “Please say yes.”
My tongue was glued to the roof of my mouth. My palms were sweating, and my throat was swollen.
Mr. Salvatore tried to lecture, when the speaker crackled once again. “Montana Smith, please report to the principal’s office immediately,” a female voice said.
Great. Train had declared his feelings, and I was the one to take the rap. I collected my bag and gave Reagan and Elvira a weak wave.
As I headed to the admin wing, I decided to take the hall in which my art signature had been painted. When I reached the end of the hall and made the turn, I ran into my mom.
She was dressed in shorts and a cotton top with her hair up in a bun. “Why are you crying?”
I beamed from ear to ear. “Train just declared his love for me over the school’s PA system.”
“That’s great. So you’re not mad at him anymore?”
“Maybe a tiny bit. What are you doing here?” She’d said she would call Principal Flynn, but I hadn’t expected to see her.
“When I talked to Mr. Flynn earlier, he asked me to come in. He wants to have a group meeting with you, me, Nina and her parents, and Ferris and his parents.”
Relieved wasn’t even the word to describe how I felt about my name getting cleared. Now I was eager to see if Nina would get suspended or expelled. I wasn’t sure if Principal Flynn had anything to hold over Ferris’s head since he hadn’t defaced school property.
Anyway, Mom and I passed the wall in question. It had been cleaned and had a new coat of paint. But the wall became a dot in my vision when I spied Train standing outside the admin office, chewing on the inside of his cheek.
He was cute when he was nervous.
“Hey, Ms. Smith.” He nodded at my mom.
“I’ll be inside,” Mom said as she went in.
He shoved his hands in his jeans pockets. “Did you hear my message?”
“Maybe,” I teased.
“Montana, you’re killing me. I’m in love with you. And I said I was sorry.”
“I know. Yesterday, I was so angry I couldn’t see straight. Last night, I was in shock when I found Nina and Ferris in that alley. Then when I saw you outside my ho
use this morning, I wanted to kick you and kiss you at the same time.” Tears burned. “I’m just overwhelmed.”
He picked at a strand of my hair that was stuck to my mouth. “You’re the only girl for me.”
“Why did you use the speaker system to tell me you loved me?” Not that I was complaining. I wasn’t. And standing before him with his delicious scent and love in his eyes, I knew he was serious about his feelings. “You could’ve started with that earlier outside my house.”
“Actually, I didn’t know when the right time to tell you was. Austin said girls like to hear those words on a dance floor at the ball. But when you wouldn’t listen to me, I had to find another way to say I was sorry. And as I was talking on the PA system, the mood felt right to tell you I love you.”
Mom knocked on the floor-to-ceiling window, motioning me to hurry.
“I better get in there,” I said.
“Can I kiss you?” he asked.
I blinked.
He flattened his palms on my face as his lips ghosted over mine. “I don’t ever want to do anything to screw us up again.” Then his tongue was in my mouth, and I was melting into a pile of mush.
An hour later, I left Principal Flynn’s office with a permanent smile on my face. He’d suspended Nina for two weeks. Ferris hadn’t received any punishment from Mr. Flynn. Mr. Everly, on the other hand, hadn’t weighed in on if he would take legal action against Nina and Ferris. Regardless, I didn’t have to see Nina for two weeks unless she made an appearance at the debutante ball, which I would bet she would. Nevertheless, my life was looking up. My current mission was to show Train Everly how he had my heart in the palm of his hand.
Chapter Twenty-Six
TRAIN
I stood in the doorway of the Palmetto Country Club, the venue for the debutante ball. I was waiting with bated breath for my girl. I’d planned to pick up Montana, but I was running late. My mom needed my help with some last-minute details in setting up since her arm was in a sling. Montana had called to inform me that she was on her way with her mom. It was probably best that I didn’t pick her up. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have made it to the dance. I would’ve taken a detour to the beach house and locked us in my room for the evening. I couldn’t disappoint my mom, though. I’d promised her I would at least stay a couple of hours before I snuck out.
Ten days had passed since I told Montana that I loved her. After that, life had gotten better. With Nina’s suspension, Montana and I were able to breathe. Sadly, though, I’d barely gotten to see my girl outside of school. I’d had football practice every day after school, and last weekend, my dad and I had traveled up to USC to sign my scholarship papers.
Needless to say, I’d only gotten a quick feel of her curvy body during lunch or in between classes, but I wanted—no, needed—more. Lots more. I wanted to strip her naked and do things to her that I’d read in her mom’s books. Yep, I was a reading fool. All of Ms. Smith’s books had some great sex scenes that I wanted to try on the girl I was in love with. I wanted to experience them with Montana.
Austin and Reagan emerged from his truck curbside, where the parking attendants were helping guests out of their cars. They both waltzed up with Reagan’s arm around Austin’s. My best friend looked as if he had just stepped off the cover of GQ. His white-blond hair was slicked back, his body was dressed in a black tuxedo like the one I was wearing, and he had his everyday cheeky grin plastered on his face.
My gaze flicked to Reagan, who had a lovestruck expression on her face as she lifted her flowing soft-yellow gown to walk.
Austin snapped his fingers. “Stop checking out my girl.”
“She’s beautiful,” I said. Austin and I had known Reagan since the eighth grade, and up until that moment, I’d never really noticed how pretty she was. Or maybe my attention to detail of a woman’s body was in direct correlation to all those books I’d been reading by Casey Stewart, aka Georgia Smith. Montana’s mom was a master at stringing together words and scenes. She described characters in detail and opened my eyes to the way people carried themselves and to their body language, their expressions, and certainly to the sexier attributes of a character.
Reagan blushed. “Thank you, Train.” Then she ribbed Austin. “He can look but can’t touch.”
“Not planning on touching anyone but my girl if she ever gets here.” I searched the other cars waiting in line for a parking attendant. I’d spoken to Montana about thirty minutes ago, but it felt like hours. I’d chewed about every nail on my fingers.
Reagan kissed Austin on the cheek. “I’m going in to find Elvira. I’ll let you two guys talk about hot girls.”
Austin and I shuffled out of the doorway and down onto to the wraparound porch, where I had a better view of the cars pulling in.
Austin removed a small flask he had inside of his jacket, when I spotted Ms. Smith’s Lexus pulling up. I yanked the flask from him and took a swig of whiskey. The expensive liquor barely burned as it slid down to warm my chest. We could always count on Austin’s father for his eclectic taste in whiskey.
Austin snatched the flask from me, when one of the parking attendants helped Montana out of the car. I lost my fucking vision and the ability to stand. Not only that, but my heart galloped so fast, I seriously thought it would jump out of my chest.
Austin rested a hand on my back as he wolf-whistled. “You’re not going to make it. Are you?”
Shaking my head, I gripped the railing. “Not one minute.”
Montana smiled at the attendant as she waited for her mom, and my heart soared to new heights. That fucking smile was enough to make my knees shake, not to mention the off-the-shoulder gown she was wearing that exposed her creamy skin from the neck all the way down to the swell of her breasts.
“Go, man. Don’t let the attendant garner all her attention.”
Adjusting my bow tie, I clomped off the porch and down the steps. When I did, her gaze darted my way, and her smile got even bigger. I kept walking until I almost ripped the attendant’s hand out of hers. As soon as her hand was in mine, my pulse slowed a tiny fraction, and everyone around us blurred.
She gazed up at me with strikingly big blue eyes that oozed all kinds of love and lust. Yeah, tonight would be a night to remember for sure, and the icing on the cake would be Montana and me alone for the entire night at my beach house, provided her mom would give her the thumbs-up. If not, then I would have to kidnap Montana. But I dismissed that idea because before Montana and I snuck out of the ball, I would have a chat with Ms. Smith. After all, I would like to think I was a Southern gentleman.
Montana lifted up on her toes and pecked me on the lips. “Train.” Her voice was breathy. “Where are you?”
I blinked. “I’m having a hard time breathing.” I had to be honest. “You are so fucking beautiful. How did I get so lucky?”
“Well, you’re not lucky yet.” She winked, her long, long lashes sweeping her perfectly pink cheeks.
Her mom cleared her throat. “Shall we go in?”
I hadn’t even seen her mom and still didn’t since I couldn’t take my eyes off my girl. But before I had a chance to escort Montana into the ball, Elvira’s voice popped the bubble around Montana and me.
“Oh my God! I love that dress!” Elvira practically screeched.
Montana said something to Elvira, and the two started chatting like a record on high speed. I was left with Ms. Smith, who I now noticed looked very elegant in her dress. Like her daughter, she had her blond hair twisted up on her head, exposing a long neckline. I could see why my dad had eyes for her. Hell, I couldn’t blame him in the least. I wasn’t sure how my mom felt about my dad dating, but I would bet it didn’t bother her since they were divorced and had been for quite some time. I, on the other hand, hadn’t wrapped my head around my dad dating my girlfriend’s mom.
I extended my elbow to Ms. Smith, while Montana and Elvira locked arms as they went into the ball.
She hooked her arm in mine. “Thank you, Train.”
“Is my dad showing up tonight?” I hadn’t had a chance to talk to my dad about the ball. He and I had football on the brain, especially since we were going to the playoffs.
“I don’t think an event like this is his thing,” she said. “He did mention he donated quite a bit to the cause, though.”
I chuckled. “Not quite my thing, either.”
Back when I was in the ninth grade and my mom had explained to me the basis of the debutante ball and how important it was to status at that time, I’d protested. I didn’t want any part of parading around in front of the rich to say, Hey, I’m a man now, and I can get laid. She argued that the ball wasn’t like that. But my dad and I agreed that the ball served no purpose. So my mom had decided to change things up, adding charities to the program while keeping the tradition of what a debutante ball had been for many years.
Montana’s mom and I strolled into the party behind Elvira and Montana. The room was buzzing with soft music from speakers overhead, kids talking in groups, chatting parents with drinks, and the band tuning their instruments in front of the wall of windows that overlooked the eighteenth hole of the golf course.
Ms. Smith and I settled near a bar adjacent to the door, while Montana and Elvira vanished into the crowd of about two hundred.
“I understand that you’re in love with my daughter,” Ms. Smith said in an even tone.
My stomach did a somersault. “Yes, ma’am.”
I’d said those three little but powerful words to Montana, yet she hadn’t said them to me. Granted, she’d been super mad at me the day I’d told her, and we hadn’t been together since except for school. I suspected she was struggling with how or when to say she loved me. I shouldn’t have been so presumptuous to think she would say “I love you,” but there was no doubt in my mind that she had feelings for me.
“So, Ms. Smith, can I steal your daughter for the evening?”
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