“Are you interested in soccer?” I ask her.
“Well, I am now,” she says.
“Skylar!” Baylor scolds her sister. She turns to me and says out of the side of her mouth, “Sorry, she can be kind of direct.”
“I’m sitting right here,” Skylar says. “I can hear you, you know.” She rolls her eyes at her older sister as she brings a piece of deep-dish pizza up to her lips. She stares at me contemplatively as she chews. Then with a mouthful of food, she asks, “What do you plan on doing this summer? I mean you live thousands of miles apart. That’s gotta suck.”
Baylor and I look at each other with raised eyebrows. I’m not sure it ever occurred to either of us what might happen three months from now. I know it never even crossed my mind. I’ve never had a girlfriend before. I never looked into the future. I never needed to consider anyone other than myself.
“Uh, we haven’t really talked about it, Skylar,” Baylor says, giving her the evil eye. “We literally just started dating yesterday.”
“Yeah, but you’ve been totally into each other for a while now,” Skylar says. “I mean, come on, you both ran at the same time every Monday and Wednesday morning over the break just because the other one of you was doing it.” She gives us another eye roll.
“Skylar!” Baylor chides her once again.
I give her leg a squeeze under the table right after she kicks her little sister.
I smile because I never did ask Baylor if she stuck to the pact we made before break. And since she never brought it up with me, I assumed that meant maybe she didn’t. Now I know that not only did she stick to the deal we made, but she talked about me when she was home. At least to Skylar, anyway.
“What? I call it like I see it,” Skylar says, getting up from the table. “I have to pee. Be right back, you two love birds.”
Baylor turns to me. “I am so sorry, Gavin. She’s always been pretty crass. I texted her earlier when I told her you were coming with us and she promised to attempt to be civil.”
“She’s fine,” I tell her. “She’s sixteen, Baylor, cut her a little slack.” I smile and lean close to her. “So, you ran with me, huh?”
She blushes and then nods. “Every time. Even the week we had a bad snow storm, I went to the local gym and got on the treadmill.”
“Me, too.” I lean in and give her a kiss on the spot under her earlobe that has her sucking in her breath. “Do you know how badly I wanted to text you?”
She snaps her eyes to mine. “Really?”
I nod. “At the risk of sounding like a complete loser, I’ll admit that I also looked at your pictures every day,” I confess.
“That doesn’t make you a loser, Gavin. It makes you a romantic.”
“Huh.” I ponder her statement. “I’ve been accused of a lot of things in my life, but never once has anyone accused me of being romantic.”
She giggles and when my dick jerks, I have to remind myself that her sixteen-year-old sister will be re-joining us soon. I lean in close to her ear and let my hot breath flow over her before saying, “It’s you, darlin’. You make me want to be that way.”
I pull back to see that she’s closed her eyes and her mouth is slightly open. God, I can’t wait to get her alone. But it won’t be tonight. She arranged for Tori to sleep in a friend’s room so Skylar could stay with her in the dorm. It’s all good. We’ve been joined at the hip for the past two days and should probably spend some time apart. Then I immediately shake my head at the ridiculous thought.
“So, how long is summer break?” she asks. “Probably a whole lot more Mondays and Wednesdays than winter break.” She frowns.
I take her hand in mine and join them on top of my thigh. “We have a long time to make plans for the summer, Bay. But, I have to tell you that I’m already committed to going to Brazil for six weeks.”
“Brazil . . . wow!” she says, excitedly. “Are you going to play soccer there?”
“I might, but that’s not why I’m going,” I explain. “This was planned at the beginning of last term. It’s a work-study program that will look good on my college transcripts. And, yes, I chose Brazil because they are wicked-good at soccer down there.”
“That sounds like a great experience,” she says, seeming genuinely happy for me.
I’m afraid to tell her what I have to tell her next, but I’ve promised myself to always be truthful with Baylor. I sigh. “Darlin’, I’m going with my friend, Karen,” I say. “If I could change it now, I would, but the money has been paid and it’s non-refundable. If I had known . . . well, I wouldn’t have agreed to it. But I did and now I’m stuck. I’m sorry.”
“Gavin, it’s not your fault,” she says. “It sounds like an incredible experience—”
“What sounds like an incredible experience?” Skylar returns, interrupting Baylor. “You guys having sex?” She giggles. Her giggle sounds like Baylor’s, except that it does nothing to me. Good thing, because that would be pervy.
“God, Skylar, will you quit acting like a toddler? Gavin was telling me that he’s going to Brazil this summer,” Baylor says. “With his friend, Karen. Isn’t that wonderful?” I can tell she’s trying to sound happy about it.
I’ve only known her a short time, but I can already tell when she’s happy and when she’s sad and when she’s full of shit. And I know for a fact that, as soon as I said Karen was going with me, her shit-meter was all but overflowing.
Damn. Now I feel like a dick.
Skylar gets a huge grin on her face. “Friend, huh?” she asks, moving her eyes back and forth between us. “Did you tell Gavin that you’ll be working with Chris at the restaurant this summer?”
Now it’s my turn to suck it up as Baylor stiffens up under my touch.
“Chris works at your parents’ place, huh?” I ask, turning to look Baylor in the eyes.
“Yes,” she says. “He’s worked there for the past five years. I think my dad is grooming him to take the place over since none of his daughters want to run it.”
I look at Skylar. “Oh? You don’t want to run Mitchell’s? What is it that you want to do, Skylar?” I try to make idle conversation so I don’t ball up my fists and shoot steam out of my ears over the fact that Asswipe will be working alongside my girlfriend when I’m five thousand miles away in Brazil. And that her dad obviously likes the guy. A lot.
Hypocrite.
“Run the restaurant? In Maple Creek?” Skylar laughs. “Hell, no. I’m going to the city as soon as I’m eighteen. I have plenty of experience and I’m sure I can get a great job at some swanky place.”
“New York City?” I ask.
Skylar nods. “Yes.” She bounces with excitement. “I love it there. I go whenever my mom or dad has to go in for restaurant business.”
“What about Piper?” I ask. “What is she, twelve? What does she think about the restaurant?”
Skylar rolls her eyes. “She hates it. Dad practically has to force her to help out on the weekends. She says she doesn’t want to be stuck waiting tables for ungrateful customers. But she’s young, so who knows,” says the worldly sixteen-year-old.
The sisters get into a conversation about New York City while I mentally count the days I have left with Baylor before we have to be apart. Why didn’t I just ask her out last term? Maybe I can see if there are any spots left on our work-study trip. I’ll even pay for her to go.
Then I remember, it’s only for people who took a study-abroad prep class. Fuck. There is no way around this. My dad would kill me if I didn’t go. Hell, I think even my mom would kill me if I threw away this opportunity. Going to Brazil will be amazing. Seeing another culture. Maybe even getting to play soccer with some pretty incredible players. I have to go. I know I have to go.
“Gavin?” I look up to see both of them standing up and staring at me. “You ready to go?”
“Yeah, sure.” I scoot my way out of the booth.
Back at her dorm, Baylor and I share a rated PG kiss in front of Skylar when we s
ay goodbye. I tell them both to have a fun day tomorrow. Then I go home and plot how I can get the U.S. to go to war with Brazil in the course of the next three months.
I climb into bed at midnight.
Me: I just wanted to say goodnight, darlin’. Sweet dreams.
Baylor: See—I told you that you were a romantic. Goodnight, Gavin.
chapter thirteen
I refuse to focus on the certainty that we will have to spend the summer apart. Baylor and I talked about it a lot over the past few weeks and I think we’ve mollified our insecurities—for the most part. Baylor said we need to concentrate on now. Live for the moment. Just be ourselves. And she’s very good at getting us to stick to that plan.
She joined an intramural soccer team and I go to every game I can. I love to watch her run around in those short soccer outfits while she gets all sweaty.
I can’t wait to have her getting sweaty underneath me. But we’ve taken it slowly, just like I promised, even though we’ve been pretty much inseparable since we became an official couple. Surprisingly, I’m okay with slow. We haven’t even touched each other below the waist. Makes for a lot of cold showers, but I’m in this for the long haul . . . the checkered flag. I’m not going to screw this up.
“Gavin,” I hear behind me. I turn around from where I’m sitting at the desk in my room and I see Karen.
“Hey, Karen. What’s up?”
She smiles sweetly at me and I, once again, think of how well she’s been dealing with my new relationship. When I told her a few weeks ago that Baylor was officially my girlfriend, she didn’t freak out like I expected her to. She didn’t cry, throw a fit or even so much as pout. I guess she’s more mature than I gave her credit for. I wouldn’t go so far as to say she’s embracing my new status, and she isn’t exactly inviting Baylor to Girls’ Night, but she’s been civil about it, and for that I’m grateful.
“Nothing, really,” she says. “Marcie needed to stop by and return something to Jonesy so I tagged along. I miss you, you know.”
I smile up at her from my desk. “I miss you, too.”
“Then how about you come to our party at the house on Saturday?” she asks. “You can even bring Baylor if you want.”
I raise my eyebrows in surprise. Then I try to envision Baylor at a sorority party.
“Don’t be such a jerk, Gav,” she says. “I do have a heart, you know.”
I laugh at her. “Yes, somewhere in there, I believe that you do,” I tease. “And someday, you are going to find a great guy to give it to.”
“Yeah . . . someday,” she says, looking sad for a brief second. “Gavin, what’s Chris’s last name?” she asks. “Baylor’s Chris.”
I narrow my eyes at her. “He’s not Baylor’s Chris,” I assert possessively. “It’s Samson, why?”
She smiles. “I have a friend who thinks he’s hot, so she has me doing recon for her,” she says.
“Recon?” I laugh.
“Yeah. Wouldn’t you like to see him dating someone?” she asks. “You know, being that he’s her ex-boyfriend and all.”
Now that I think of it . . . yes. If Asswipe is getting laid, he’s less likely to set his sights on Baylor again. “That’s a brilliant idea, Karen. And thanks for the invite, I’ll see if Baylor wants to go.”
“You get laid yet, Gav?” Dean asks during our Friday morning run.
“None of your fucking business, Dickwad,” I reply.
“And that’s a big fat no!” Tim says, laughing, so I push him off the sidewalk.
“How long have you been dating now?” Jonesy asks. “A couple of weeks, right?”
“Yeah,” I say. “Three weeks today.”
Dean elbows me. “Dude, you’re counting? Shit, this is worse than I thought.”
I smack him on the back of the head. “Hell yes, I am. And when you find someone as great as Baylor, you’ll do the same thing,” I say. “But then again, you’ll never find someone like her. She’s one of a kind.”
“Holy shit,” Dean says, stopping our run. “Alert the fucking press! Gavin McBride has been certifiably pussy-whipped.” He starts to run again, leaving the three of us behind. “Sorry guys, I can’t run with you douchebags anymore, I don’t want to catch whatever the hell it is that you all have.”
Jonesy, Tim and I all look at each other. Tim says, “Yeah, but when he’s sixty years old and still tugging the weasel, we’ll have the last laugh.” We bump fists then catch up to Dean to finish our run.
“This is the best steak I’ve ever tasted,” Baylor declares, sitting across the booth from me.
Watching Baylor eat is one of my favorite things to do. It always makes me hard. She savors every bite like it could be her last. I love the way she loves food. I guess growing up in a restaurant will do that. I look at the way she selectively decides which piece of steak to eat next, examining the color and juiciness of it as if determining if the piece of food is worthy of her mouth. It’s not. I can tell you nothing is worthy of those lips and that tongue, and it still blows me away every damn day that a girl like this wants to be with a douche like me.
I study her face and see that she’s got a little more color around her eyes and that the green eye shadow really brings out the emerald flecks in her irises. She’s also taken more time with her hair. She has completely straightened her normally wavy hair, and it’s hanging in a perfect sheen of light-brown gloss down the front of her dress. She’s gone all out tonight for our fancy Valentine’s Day date. She looks stunning. But then again, she looks good all the time. I’m painfully drawn to her astounding beauty.
“You look beautiful, Bay,” I tell her.
She smiles. “Thank you. You clean up pretty well yourself.”
I hope she doesn’t think she has to try this hard for me. “Yeah, but you are beautiful all the time, darlin’—not only when you put on a pretty dress.”
She blushes. I love the fact that she still blushes around me even after we’ve been together for a few weeks.
I laugh when the waitress brings over a side of fries. “What? When did you order these?”
“When you were in the bathroom,” she says. She stares at my empty plate of food and then looks up at me playfully.
“Twenty Questions?” I ask. I wink. She smiles. We play.
“Would you like to meet my parents?” she asks.
“Oh, shit. Really?” I know I must look like a deer in headlights.
“Well, not both of them, they can rarely get away from the restaurant at the same time. But my dad might come for a visit in a couple of weeks.”
“Your dad, huh?” I shift around uncomfortably in my seat.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to,” she says, looking slightly deflated.
“No, no, I want to,” I say. “It’s just that I’ve never done this before, Baylor. What if he hates me? What if he sees me kissing you and beats the crap out of me?”
She laughs. “Gavin, my dad is a huge teddy bear,” she explains. “He really wants to meet you and I know he’s going to love you just as much . . . uh . . .” She gets all fidgety.
Just as much as what? I scream in my head. Was she about to say what I think she was?
“Uh, he really w-wants to meet you,” she stumbles over the words.
I grin at her obvious discomfort. “He wants to meet me, huh?” I ask. “So, you’ve told him about me.”
She nods shyly. “All you have to do is be yourself, Gavin. You really underestimate how great you are underneath your rough exterior.”
Her saying that reminds me of what’s in my pocket. Of what’s always in my pocket because I put it there every single morning. I pull the keychain out and place it on the table in front of her.
Her eyes go wide. “I’ve been looking for that! Where did you get it?” She picks it up and runs her finger over the inscription just like I always do.
“I’ve had it since the day we met,” I say. “You ran off before I could give it to you. Then it kind of grew on me. It’s m
y inspiration. Well, along with this cool chick who’s now my girlfriend.”
Her dimple appears, lighting up her face. “My mom gave this to me on my first day of high school.”
“What’s the significance of the zebra?” I ask.
Her finger traces the outline of it as she explains, “No two zebras are alike. Each pattern of stripes is unique, unlike any other zebra that ever lived. It was my mom’s way of reminding me to just be me. That I don’t have to try and be like everyone else. To stand out.” She laughs. “And apparently zebras can’t be broken. They can’t be domesticated. My mom was always telling me when I was growing up that I was part zebra because she could never tame me.”
She studies the keychain again before handing it back to me. “You keep it.”
“What? No.” I push it back at her. “It obviously means a lot to you. You should keep it.”
Her chameleon eyes grab and hold onto mine. “You mean a lot to me too, Gavin and I want you to have it.”
I take the keychain from her and pull my keys out of my pocket. I remove them from the bottle-opener keychain they are currently on and place them on her inscribed one. I look up at her. “You just tell me when and where and I’d be happy to meet your dad, Bay.”
She smiles brightly and holds the plate of fries up for me to take some.
“You have nineteen more,” I say. “What’s next?”
She says, “I don’t need all nineteen. I only need one.”
“Oh?” I raise my eyebrows.
She looks around the restaurant while biting her lip. I know this look, it’s the same look she had when we were in my truck that night, right before she climbed up onto my lap. She looks back at me, blushing, and asks in a whisper, “Do you want to have sex with me tonight, Gavin?”
Holy. Fucking. Shit.
I’m stunned silent. I have to put her words on instant replay in my head to make sure I heard them correctly. But if my hardening dick is any indication, I’m pretty sure I did.
There’s only one thing I can think of to say to her. I shake my head and answer, “No.”
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