Todd grabs my hand, pulling me closer to him. “I’m going to miss you. Promise you will call and email.”
“I already have.” I kiss his cheek. “At least ten times.”
He turns his head, catching my lips with his. I let him linger, softly kissing me. I really like him; he’s cute and sweet, but something is lacking. I have no idea what. Mom and Dad had always loved each other so deeply I could see it in their eyes, even when they argued. I don’t know if I feel that strongly about Todd.
Mind you, I’m still in high school.
“Can we go somewhere where we can be … alone?” He cocks his eyebrow.
Through the shelves, I see the twins spying.
“Yeah.”
We head out of the store and walk down to the park by the creek. The place gives me the creeps, no matter how serene it is. Jack’s dad was murdered here. His real father, Forrest. Mom married my dad a few years later. Mom says Jack looks just like Forrest, and Dad doesn’t mind her keeping wedding pictures up of him. Dad says he and Forrest were friends.
Todd doesn’t notice my unease, but instead takes a deep breath of the fresh, warm, air. “This is possibly one of the most beautiful places on earth.”
I can’t argue that. “Yeah. We come down here every Sunday.”
His arm wraps around my waist and he pulls me against him. “Avery.” His voice is heavy with emotion. “I can’t stay too long. I have a long drive tomorrow, so …”
He rests his forehead against mine. “I wish I’d met you sooner. I wish when I had met you, I’d decked your ex and dragged you away from him so he didn’t hurt you. You’re pretty special, Avery.”
I smile, flattered by his words. He’s exactly what I needed after Milton. That relationship really messed with my head. Thank goodness for Rhett being there for me, and Todd showing me that not all guys are jerks.
Todd kisses me, his fingers weaving into my curls. I’m wearing my glasses, so I slip them off to keep them out of the way. The kiss feels … nice.
He leads me to a picnic table and holds me on his lap. He’s not usually this clingy, but he’s leaving tomorrow at about four a.m. to drive to Oregon for college. Football scholarship.
Rhett left a few days ago with his mom and dad. He’s brilliant. He got into ASU on a full academic scholarship.
I sigh. I miss him.
“Avery,” Todd says. “I have to go.”
I wrap my arms around him, kissing his ear. “You will do great, Todd. But don’t forget, you’ll be a freshman, so don’t be disheartened if you don’t make first string.”
He smiles a warm, genuine smile. “Will you still be my girl if I’m second string?”
“I never dated you for your athletic abilities.”
He kisses me again, a deep, open-mouthed kiss. When he breaks away, he sighs. “I’m going to miss you, but at least I’ll have the most beautiful girl ever to write home to and gloat about to all the guys.”
I laugh. “You’re such a jock.”
He grins, then gives me a quick kiss. “I should get you home.”
Twenty minutes later, I wave him goodbye as he drives away. My brother, Bradley, who’s two years younger than me, and the same age as the twins, sidles up beside me. “Gone?”
“Yep.”
“Dumped?”
I shake my head.
“Whipped?”
I look at him. “Me or him?”
He shrugs.
“Him?” I wince. “I think so. Me, not so much.”
“Don’t like Hottie McJock Star?”
“It’s not that.” I frown, staring down the road. “He’s nice and all, but …” I sigh. “I don’t know.”
“He’s no Rhett.”
I laugh and shove his shoulder. “No.”
“So, everyone’s at the Clarks’.” His blue eyes turn up to me. All of us have blue eyes except Jack. Jack is half Paiute. I’ve heard lots girls say that makes him super-hot. I just think they’re weird. He’s my brother.
“Let’s go then,” I say.
As we make our way down the street, a car horn honks. Turning, we see our adopted older sister, Nova, as she leans from the car.
“Hey brats.” Her dark eyes sparkle as she smirks. “What’s going on?”
“Shouldn’t you be somewhere?” Brad asks. “Like, say, home with your husband and kids?”
She scoffs. “He can handle the brats for a while.”
Nova is like, thirty-something, and married to a prominent council member in the tribe. Mom says she’s doing pretty well for herself, considering she was almost convicted of Forrest’s murder. But she didn’t do it. Mom proved that.
“Nova.” I bend over as we walk along beside the car. “Are you really that bored?”
She groans and pulls up. She jumps out, all high heels and pencil skirt, with her thick dark hair down to her waist, as she walks along beside us. “So I miss you guys. Sue me.”
“How are the juvies treating you lately?”
She shrugs, smirking. “A smartass sixteen-year-old groped me the other day right in front of Rick. He just about lost it. He locked him up for two weeks. No one messes with Rick’s wife.”
I laugh. Her husband is a riot. Her polar opposite, he’s possibly the most straight-laced guy I’ve ever met. Only Nova makes him crack. I heard people from the tribe say they never saw him smile until Nova came along. Ironically, she beat the snot out of him when she was about eight and he was ten. He remembers it, too. She doesn’t, or at least she claims she doesn’t.
“So, heading to the Clarks?” she asks.
“Yeah,” Brad answers. “Mr. and Mrs. Clark are out of town so Mom’s there, watching over things.”
“So, naturally, all of you are staying over.”
He nods, grinning.
We arrive at the house and Mom appears. Everyone says I look like her, but I don’t see it. Maybe it’s the curly blond hair. I think I have a lot of Dad in me though. She waves to us as crashing comes from upstairs.
“Taylor!” she bellows. “If you’ve broken anything—”
“I didn’t break anything!” My youngest brother, Taylor, pokes his head out of Rhett’s window.
“Get out of Rhett’s room!” She points at him.
He disappears.
“Home, sweet home.” Nova wraps her arm around my shoulders.
Inside, the twins sit watching a silly teen flick as they braid each other’s hair. Although they’re the same age as Brad, he has no interest in interacting with them. Brad prefers Rhett or the oldest of the Blake kids.
The twins wave to me, though. We have an unwritten girl bond, having all brothers.
Brad heads upstairs to Taylor, while I sit with Mom and Nova in the kitchen to chat. A lot of girls hate their moms, but not me. My mom is awesome.
“Raise your hands! This is a bust!”
Nova rolls her eyes at Dad’s lame joke as he bursts in the door.
“No one laughed? Not even you, hon?”
Mom shrugs. “It wasn’t funny.”
“Fine, then I won’t share my spoils.” He brings out two boxes of pizza.
The twins roar with laughter, soon followed by the rest of us. Brad and Taylor rush down the stairs.
“What’s so funny?” Taylor asks, then his eyes widen. “Pizza!”
“You gotta laugh at Dad’s joke first,” Nova says, her fake smile plastered on her face.
Brad and Taylor let out loud, obnoxious laughs.
Dad snorts. “None of you have any sense of humor. I’m hysterical.”
He marches over and sets the pizza on the kitchen bench.
We eat together, laughing and having a great time, as always. I love my family, and the Clarks. No one could replace a single one of them.
Especially Rhett. I miss him still.
After dinner, I yawn and head upstairs. The others are going to watch a superhero movie, but I don’t feel like it. I head into Rhett’s room and claim his bed. Taylor usually wants his roo
m—he loves Rhett’s DC and Marvel comic collection—but I want to be near Rhett somehow. His absence over the summer left me lonely. I’d never lived a day without him.
Whipping out my phone, I send him a text. Are you there yet?
I stare at my phone for several minutes, but he doesn’t reply. I sigh and close my eyes.
His bed smells like him, that Old Spice cologne. He said their ad campaigns convinced him to use it. Dork. But I grin at the memory of that crazy conversation.
“Stop sniffing me,” he had said, pushing me away. “I know I smell like the man of your dreams, but you need to cut it out. Our parents are right over there.”
He always made me laugh.
I lift my butt and slide the blankets out from under me. Wrapping myself in his blankets is almost as good as when we’d lie there, face to face, talking about all kinds of ridiculous nonsense.
I grab my phone and text him again. I’m in your bed and it smells like you. Please let me know you haven’t died in a car crash.
I hope it sounds lighthearted. With his withdrawal over the summer, I’m not sure how he will react to it. He’s never ignored me before.
Then, my screen lights up. Rhett.
I open it. Not dead.
That’s it? I pout. The only thing I can think of is that I’ve upset him somehow. Does he blame me for the fight? I hope not.
So, I call him.
His mom answers. “Hey, sweetie. Rhett’s in the bathroom.”
But he just texted me! “Is he okay? He’s been weird lately.”
“He’s just stressed. This is a big move for him.”
“I know. Can I at least talk to him?”
She hesitates. “I’ll see if he can take the phone.”
The line goes silent. Then …
“Avery?”
“Hey, Rhett. How’s the move going?” I chew on my thumbnail. I want to ask him, why are you avoiding me? but I need to build up the courage first.
“Fine. We’re in Phoenix, staying in a hotel. I’m moving in tomorrow.”
“Is it weird being in a big city?”
“Yeah, a bit.”
He’s keeping up his walls. “Rhett?”
“Yeah?”
“I miss you.”
He lets out a sigh. “I can’t do this. Mom.”
There’s a shuffling sound, then his mom speaks. “Hey, Avery. He’s struggling right now. Why don’t you let him settle in before calling him again, okay?”
“What’s wrong?” I ask, tears forming. “Is he mad at me?”
“No. He just needs some space.”
Space? But we’re best friends. We swore when we were twelve with that obnoxious spit handshake. He clogged my bloody nose when I tried out for the volleyball team. I caught him butt naked once when he forgot his towel for the shower. He kissed me under the bushes in his backyard when we were six. He’s always been with me.
“But …” My voice catches.
“It’s not your fault, sweetie. He’s just dealing with things.”
“Tell him … tell him I’m sorry for whatever I did. Tell him I miss him.”
“Okay. Let your mom know we’ll be back in a few days. Bye.”
She hangs up.
I’m left feeling hollow. What happened between us?
Chapter Three
Rhett
Avery’s call threw me through a loop. Mom and Dad know exactly what’s going on, thank goodness. Mom is so sympathetic it almost hurts, and Dad doesn’t talk about it.
They help me move into my dorm room, and Mom cries as she says goodbye. Dad just complains about the heat before giving me a quick hug.
Soon, classes start. I find a job not long after that at a western-themed restaurant. Apparently I look like a cowboy. That’s my dad’s fault.
Then, one day in the library, I see her. Long, dark hair, tanned skin, great smile. She looks nothing like Avery and I love that. Someone I can get lost in while forgetting, and starting anew.
I’m not too good with the whole picking-up thing, though. But she’s alone. She’s smiling because she’s talking to someone on the phone. I check her hand. No ring. Wow, that’s a new one to be worried about, but I’ve noticed a lot of girls here wear wedding or engagement rings. So different from high school.
She glances up and catches me staring.
I look away. I’m such an idiot. I build a tower from my books to hide.
“Hey.”
I look up. She’s leaning against the cubicle.
“Science?” She clicks her fingernail against my textbook.
“Physics,” I answer, my voice shaking.
But she smiles. “Musical theater.”
So not completely different to Avery.
“Age?”
“Eighteen.”
Her eyebrow twitches. “Really?”
I nod. She’s a little scary.
She leans over and I can see right down her tank top. I swallow, keeping my gaze locked on her face.
“Name?”
“R … Rhett.”
She takes my hand. “Anne. Twenty. You’re pretty cute, Rhett. Girlfriend?”
I shake my head.
“Excellent. Want to go out tomorrow night?”
A girl just asked me on a date! “Sure.”
“All right. I swear I’m not a serial killer.”
I try to smile, but I’m completely freaked out.
She smiles gently. “Calm down, cowboy. I’ll be nice, I promise.”
She leans over me, her breasts in my face as she writes down her number. “Text me so we can arrange the details.”
I do, right after class that afternoon.
And she’s nice. We have dinner and go putt-putt golfing. She’s fun, energetic, and smiles the whole time. She thinks I’m funny. At the end of the night, I drive her home. She’s a local, so lives off-campus with her family in a typical housing community.
I rush around to open the door for her and she stares up at me, her eyes sparkling. “Thanks, cowboy. How chivalrous. Not many like you left.”
I shrug. “Well, my dad always taught me that I need to respect women. They’re the stronger ones, after all. They have to push out the babies and raise them.”
Did I really just say that?
She laughs. “You’re so candid.”
She grabs my shirt and pulls me in to kiss me. I’ve never kissed a girl before, except that one time when I was six. But this feels great. She’s soft and smells like a bouquet of flowers.
When she pulls back, she smiles. “Why don’t you call me so we can do this again?”
I nod. “Most definitely.”
She gives me a soft kiss. “Good night, Rhett.”
I watch her go before slipping into the car. I can’t believe what just happened.
Within a month, Anne is my girlfriend.
*
Avery
Rhett hasn’t talked to me in weeks. He doesn’t answer my texts or emails, or anything. Sam sits beside me in the cafeteria, placing her tray down with a crash. “Ave, babe, why so sullen? Missing sexy footballer?”
I frown. My answer should be yes, but … “I don’t think our relationship is working out. The distance is too much.”
“Ah. So distance doesn’t make the heart grow fonder.” She plucks up a handful of fries. “Hey, have you heard from Rhett recently?”
My heart hits my stomach. “He’s still not talking to me.”
“That sucks. He won’t even tell you why?”
I shake my head.
The twins sit opposite me, all smiles and giggles. “Avery, aren’t you so happy for Rhett?”
Rhett? They have my undivided attention. “Why? Did he win an award?”
They both giggle.
“No, silly,” the one on the left, Ruthie, says. “He has his first girlfriend.”
Girlfriend? Why wouldn’t he tell me about this? Why does it hurt so much?
“She’s really pretty too. Look.” Ruthie slips out h
er phone and shows me a picture of the two of them together. A lump forms in my throat. She looks nothing like me. She’s incredibly beautiful.
“Wow!” Sam snatches the phone. “How did Rhett get a hottie like that?”
“Right?” the other twin, Scarlett, says. “He says she caught him staring, then made the moves. Crazy, huh? Donny was always the ladies’ man, and let’s just say he’s pretty impressed.”
My own phone beeps. I fumble to dig it from my bag, hoping it’s Rhett. Hoping for him to explain everything, say it’s a prank, that she’s his cousin or something. But it’s Jack.
Talk?
I don’t reply. “Hang on, my brother wants to call me.”
I rush out of the cafeteria and find a quiet corridor. Then, I call. “Jack.”
“Ave, are you all right?”
“Yes, why wouldn’t I be?”
“Donny just told me about Rhett. Man, that’s gotta hurt.”
“Why would it hurt?” I ask, wanting to know why it did myself.
“I dunno, ‘cause you guys are thick as thieves and he’s been in love with you since forever.”
“He … what?”
Jack hesitates. “What?”
“He … he …”
“You didn’t know?”
“He’s my best friend!”
“Ave, you can’t be telling me you’re that oblivious.”
“But …” I shake my head. “He’s with that girl.”
“Avery.” His voice is gentle. “Because he’s trying to move on. Don’t you get that? He can’t take you dating all these other guys and you parading them around in front of him.”
“But he never said anything!” My heart pounds. I can’t wrap my head around this. Rhett loves me? Why does that thought make me so happy, while at the same time so painfully sad?
“Of course not. He’s Rhett.”
I sigh, sinking onto the concrete. “So that’s why he’s not talking to me?”
“Yeah. Sorry, Ave.”
I want to cry. I rub my eyes, trying to hold in my emotions. Rhett loves me? How is that even possible? I thought he got over that schoolboy crush when he went to junior high and I stayed back in elementary school. But I guess he just did a better job at hiding it.
“Avery, are you okay?”
Loving Avery (Bearville County Book 2) Page 2