She lifted her chin, studying me like she was trying to get inside my brain.
I pressed my palms together in prayer. “Please, Momma. It will take my mind off Maiken. If I come home drunk, you can ground me until I graduate.”
She mashed her lips into a thin line. “Your father will have a stroke if he finds out.”
“He won’t,” I said.
Momma wagged her finger at me. “Quinn, I want you home by midnight. No later. Do you hear me?” Her tone permitted no argument. In fact, she sounded like she would lock me in my bedroom if I so much as had a drop of liquor on me or was one minute late.
I jumped up and down, and for the first time since my party, that suffocating feeling disappeared. “Thank you, Momma.”
She gave me a stern look that could melt ice. “Don’t make me regret my decision, Quinn Thompson.”
An hour later, Celia and I were walking into Tessa’s mansion, dressed in our bathing suits beneath sundresses with our bags in hand.
“Born to Be Yours” by Kygo and Imagine Dragons belted out of the speakers. One room after the next was filled with kids.
“This party is rockin’,” Celia shouted over her shoulder.
Tessa greeted us at the outdoor kitchen area and shoved two red cups at us. “Drink.”
I arched a brow at my former enemy. “Does that have any liquor in it?”
She rolled her dark eyes. “Are you for real? Of course it does.”
I shook my head. “Not drinking.”
She stuck her hand on her bare hip. Tessa was sporting the tiniest bikini, and she looked fab in the red fabric, which barely covered her boobs. “It’s a rite of passage. Just sip it. Don’t pour it down your throat like you did at your party.” She talked to me as though Celia and I were in Liquor 101 class.
Dustin Lane waltzed up, his swim trunks resting low on his hips. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, showing off his six-pack abs. He ran his long fingers through his thick, wet black hair. “Quinn, how’s Maiken?”
I growled low under my breath. I didn’t want to talk about Maiken. “Good.” I swiped the cup from Tessa and drank a mouthful, then choked. “This is straight alcohol.”
Tessa laughed so hard, she cried.
Dustin kissed her neck. “Babe, that wasn’t nice.”
I snarled at Tessa. “Do you want a repeat of your Christmas party?”
Dustin cocked his head at his girl. “What happened?”
“The water isn’t cold,” Tessa said, still sporting an evil smile. “So do your worst.”
Celia snagged a red cup from Tessa and dumped it in the small sink. Then she took mine and did the same. “We’re not drinking. Come on, Quinn. Let’s mingle.” After Celia’s two-day hospital stay with a severe concussion, I didn’t think she would ever drink again. I couldn’t blame her either.
Dustin wrapped his arms around Tessa from behind and began nibbling on her ear. “You don’t have to be such a witch.”
“Oh, come on. It’s fun to see Quinn get all feisty.”
I stuck my middle finger at her. “Do you really want to revert back to enemies? Because if you do, bring it on.”
Tessa rolled her eyes before she twirled in Dustin’s arms, and then the two began sucking face.
I joined Celia, who was lingering around the packed pool of kids drinking and talking. Outside the pool, more kids lounged on chairs or blankets while a group of boys putted on the makeshift green on the other side of the pool.
Celia tapped me on the arm as we dodged a group of girls huddled together as though they had a huge secret. “Who’s that?”
I oriented my vision. “Who?”
Celia leaned in. “He’s sitting on the edge of the pool. Black hair, sun-kissed skin, flowered swim trunks. And he’s staring in our direction.”
My gaze bounced around until I found the guy she was talking about. “He looks like Dustin.” I couldn’t see his eyes all that well, though, with the late-afternoon sun beaming directly at him.
“Yum,” Celia cooed.
Dustin was a hottie. “I wonder if he’s related to him?”
A hefty boy threw a girl into the pool, and the impact caused a tidal wave. Water went everywhere, including on Celia and me.
Normally, I would get mad, but the water felt nice on my sticky, heated skin.
Celia tore off her sundress, exposing the tiny bikini covering her curves and big boobs. “Let’s go in.”
I was usually the shy one who didn’t like to show off too much skin, but I was becoming braver with age. Maiken had had a lot to do with increasing my self-esteem. Besides, we were there to have fun.
When I removed my dress, Dustin’s lookalike was suddenly in our faces.
Celia straightened her spine. “Hi.” Her tone rose in pitch.
I internally rolled my eyes at my BFF as she went into flirtation mode.
The group of girls who had been whispering shuffled closer to us.
“Hi, ladies. I’m Noah.” He pinned his gray eyes on me.
Celia extended her hand. “I’m Celia, and this is my best friend, Quinn.”
While still looking at me, he shook Celia’s hand and said, “You must be Quinn Thompson.”
Celia angled her head. “How do you know Quinn?”
I sucked in a breath. “Have we met before?” It was a stupid question, but maybe we had.
Noah flicked beads of water, or maybe sweat, from his broad, tanned chest. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
My eyebrows disappeared into my hairline. “From who?”
“Yeah. From who?” Celia parroted.
Noah stabbed a thumb at Dustin and Tessa. “Dustin. He and I are cousins.”
I would’ve bet on brothers. Still, what could Dustin possibly tell Noah?
OMG! My party!
Heat pinched my cheeks as embarrassment set in. He must think I’m easy since I drank too much. Or maybe he just likes me. Or maybe Dustin has a crush on me. A laugh broke out in my head. No way Dustin had a crush on me.
“Well, she has a boyfriend,” Celia said firmly.
Noah stared at me, totally ignoring Celia. “Really?”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Yes. I have a boyfriend.”
One side of Noah’s lips curled. “That’s not what I hear.”
We weren’t in school yet, and the word had already spread about Maiken and me.
I crossed my arms. “My boyfriend may not be here, but he’s still my boyfriend.”
He flicked his head ever so slightly as though he didn’t believe a word I’d said. “Well, Quinn Thompson, see you around.” He strutted off in the direction of his cousin. His long, muscular legs ate up the pool deck until he was seated at a stool behind the bar where Dustin was flipping burgers and Tessa was pouring a drink.
“OMG! What was that all about?” Celia asked.
“No clue.” I was flattered, but that was the gist of it.
Celia’s eyes darted to Noah. “If you ask me, he’s crushing on you for sure. Although I wouldn’t mind crawling up his tall body.”
My phone rang, and I fumbled to get it out of my bag.
Celia looked at my phone. “Go someplace quiet.”
With my phone pressed to my ear, I headed away from the party and toward a cluster of trees in the backyard. “M-maiken?” I stuttered, something I hadn’t done in ages.
“There’s my girl.” His Southern drawl sent delicious shivers down my arms. “Sorry I haven’t called before now. I’ve been practicing and working out and studying. Two days of classes and practice, and I’m already beat to a pulp. How’s the love of my life?”
I was a thousand times better now that I was listening to his raspy tone.
The bell chirped, announcing the end of my second class on the first day of my senior year.
Ugh! Depressing was how I would describe the day so far. I was looking for Maiken any chance I had. I was so used to seeing him strut down the hall or come up from behind and kiss me on the neck or ear.
> Kids spilled out into the halls, and the buzz of voices and laughter ricocheted off the metal lockers. Girls huddled close together. Boys gathered in groups, eyeing the girls close by. Others walked to their next class, looking like zombies out of The Walking Dead.
I felt like a zombie. With Carter and Liam at college, I had the pleasure of doing their chores too. I had to get up an hour earlier to help Daddy with the animals. Four a.m. was not a time to be crawling out of bed when all I wanted to do was snuggle under my blankets and sleep until graduation.
Sighing, I hiked my bag over my shoulder, dodging students as I made my way to AP Biology. Most of my classes that year were advanced placement. I had to keep my head down and study hard if I wanted to maintain my high grade-point average and stay on track for valedictorian. I had ticked the boxes so far for the esteemed honor at the end of my junior year. If I kept up my perfect grade-point average, I shouldn’t have any problems.
I passed Jessica Bento, who was holding a ladder while her cheerleader mate Elise Davis tacked a banner to the wall above a bank of lockers.
Smoothing a hand down her cheer uniform, Jessica’s big blue eyes went wide before she waved me over. “Hey, Quinn.”
I tucked my hair behind my ear, sliding in and out of traffic. “So we’re playing Forest Grove in our first football game, huh?” At least that was what the banner read. They were one of our big basketball rivals, but their football team sucked according to Liam.
She shrugged. “Have you heard from Maiken?”
That was an odd question coming from her until I remembered she had the hots for Ethan. At least I assumed she did since I’d seen them together at my party.
“I have.” Maiken and I had spoken a few times since he’d called during Tessa’s party.
She stuck out her pink bottom lip. “Ethan won’t text me back. I’ve tried to call him too, but he won’t answer.” She puffed out her cheeks. “I don’t know what to do. I’m going nuts. I thought he liked me, but I’m getting the feeling he doesn’t want anything to do with me.”
I sympathized with her. It had been maddening when I’d repeatedly texted and called Maiken the night of my party with no response from him. “Maiken says they’re busier than ever with sports and school.” One week without Maiken seemed like a lifetime of hell.
A boy ran by me, bumping me in the shoulder and almost body checking me into a locker.
“What the hell?” I shouted.
The tall black-haired boy with wide shoulders stopped, turned, and hustled back to me.
I did a double take. “Noah? You go to this school? Since when?” After we’d briefly met at Tessa’s, I hadn’t paid much attention to him. Celia and I had hung out, people watching mostly. In fact, Noah hadn’t stayed at the party that long. He’d left before Celia and I had.
Elise had already climbed down while Jessica and I had been chatting. She flipped her long brown hair over her shoulder and grinned at Noah like she wanted to eat him. I could understand the swooning she was doing. Noah was definitely droolworthy, but he was not my type, even though Celia kept saying he liked me.
Whether he did or not, my heart was taken by a sandy-blond-haired boy who was my everything.
A mischievous grin lit up Noah’s handsome features. “Since today. My mom took a job in town.”
“Are you a senior like Dustin?” I asked.
Elise stared at Noah, her hungry brown gaze piercing into him and pleading for him to glance her way.
Jessica was fiddling with her phone, more than likely trying to get ahold of Ethan.
Noah shook his head, his unruly black hair falling into his eyes. “Junior. But I’m late. I need to get to the admin office. Do you know where that is?”
“I’ll take you,” Elise piped in quickly, flashing a radiant smile.
He finally regarded her with a lack of interest. “Thanks. So, Quinn, do you want to hit that burger place in town after school?”
Elise’s cheeks slowly darkened as she shot daggers at me, daring me to say yes. If I did, she looked ready to cut off my head. Luckily, she had nothing to worry about.
“I told you—I have a boyfriend,” I said to Noah.
He kept his expression neutral. “I understand. I’m just looking for a friend.”
Presume much, Quinn? What a ditz I am.
Elise hooked her arm in Noah’s. “I’ll go with.”
Noah didn’t acknowledge her. Instead, he gave me a pleading look, much like Elise had given him.
I could use another friend. “I can’t anyway. I’ve got a ton of chores on the farm.”
“Farm? Do you have horses? I love horses,” he said, not giving up.
Jessica tapped Elise. “Let’s go. We need to finish what we started, or else Tessa will be chewing our butts off.”
“Noah.” Elise gushed his name, batting her long, thick, mascara-laden lashes up at him. “The admin office is this way.” She stuck out a blue-painted nail, pointing down the hall behind her.
Celia bounced up out of nowhere. Her red lips were set in a tight line, and her eyes were narrowed behind her brown-rimmed glasses. I guessed she didn’t want to wear her contacts. “There you are.”
Noah gave me one last cheeky grin and reluctantly left with Elise tethered to his arm and Jessica leading them.
“Was that Noah?” Celia asked.
“He goes to our school now. What’s with the snarly look?”
“I guess we have several hunky new boys this year,” she said, watching Noah fade around a corner.
I snapped my fingers. “Focus. You’re confusing me. You seemed upset, and now you’re swooning.”
“You’re not going to believe this. Sloane Price is in school, and she has a brother too. A hot, yummy brother.”
Here we go. Now that Celia wasn’t dating Liam anymore, she was on the market and on the prowl. I remembered her exact words: “I don’t want to be tied down. I want to date who I want. So does Liam. I also want to explore more of me.”
Since Maiken had left for the academy, I couldn’t shake Celia’s words, and only because I was praying Maiken wouldn’t meet a girl at Greenridge and feel the same way as Celia and my brother.
“Wait. I thought Sloane moved.”
“Not the point,” Celia fired back. “Hunky brother. Tall, big biceps, to-die-for smile, shaggy blond hair that curls on the edges around his ears, and eyes the color of dark emeralds.”
“So Sloane isn’t moving?” She’d probably convinced her mom to stay in Ashford so she could get revenge for me punching her. “Let’s not forget what she did to you.”
“I did jump on her back,” Celia said, sounding frustrated with me. “Speaking of your party, did you know Sloane’s brother was at your party?”
Considering I hadn’t exactly been coherent, I wouldn’t have noticed. I opened my mouth to ask her again if Sloane was moving or not when a scream tore through the halls, piercing my eardrums.
Some of the kids lingering in the halls cringed and froze while others searched for the girl who had lungs worthy of a horror movie. Just as the girl’s scream died, a loud boom rattled the lockers.
Before Celia and I could move, someone shouted, “It’s a gunshot.”
Suddenly, mayhem broke out. Kids ran for cover and into classrooms. Some even stopped to look, trying to see if anyone truly had a gun.
Celia grabbed my hand. “Let’s go.”
I let her tug me, even though I was certain the boom wasn’t from a gun. “It’s a firecracker.” I raised my voice over the collective squeals that grew louder as we melded into the herd of students.
Another boom echoed, followed by a series of crackles.
Tessa barreled toward us, her arms flailing like a flag in the wind. “Get out of the way. There are pigs chasing us.”
I stopped in my tracks, causing Celia to almost fall into me. “Pigs? What?” I caught Tessa as she was about to run by. “Where?”
More screams followed.
“Oh my God! Ge
t that disgusting thing off me,” a girl squealed.
“It’s one of your pigs,” Tessa barked, showing perfect white teeth. “Why would you bring pigs to school?” Her tone was so high it could shatter glass.
I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes. I didn’t know why I was laughing when she was accusing me. “Now why would I do that?” I was beyond curious who would actually do that and why.
Celia nudged me as she pointed at a girl pinned against a locker by none other than my sweet pig, Beast.
I wiped tears from my eyes, my fit of giggles dying a quick death. My first thought was that Daddy was going to have someone’s head on a platter, and I sure hoped it wasn’t mine. The way bad luck was glued to my butt, I was sure I would be the one to blame.
I strutted toward my pig as the hall cleared out in an instant.
Beast snorted, sniffing the blonde’s leg. So many questions pummeled me at once. It almost made my brain hurt.
“Beast,” I said sweetly. “Now how did you get here?”
“Who cares?” the blonde cried. “Just get the disgusting animal away from me. I hate pigs.”
I crouched down to Beast as I addressed the girl. “They are one of the sweetest and smartest animals.”
Beast pushed his nose into my hand as the blonde bolted down the hall.
“More pigs are coming!” Tessa shouted at the top of her lungs. “Quinn, you’re evil. They’re going to kill someone.”
I gritted my teeth as Godfrey, my spotted black pig, came up to Beast, followed by Momma’s favorite, our white pig, Lola, the runt of the three. Momma occasionally let her into the kitchen when she was cooking a roast. Lola loved carrots.
“Oh, please,” Celia said. “Pigs don’t kill.”
I didn’t have to look to know that Celia had rolled her eyes at Tessa.
“Why do they have numbers painted on them?” I asked.
The only people in the hall besides me were Celia and Tessa, who was hanging on to Celia for dear life.
“How did they get here?” Celia asked.
That was the million-dollar question.
Footsteps clamored down the hall before Dustin appeared and marched up to us. His eyes were wide, but something about his grin was off. “What in the world? Must be a senior prank.” Dustin bent down and petted Lola. “She’s cute.”
My Heart to Keep: A Maxwell Family Saga - Book Four Page 8