The Summer We Changed (Relentless Book 1)

by Barbara C. Doyle

  I can’t open the window from the outside. It’s probably locked anyway. The cool night air nips at my skin as the breeze picks up. I sit back, thinking about what I can do.

  Before I come up with anything, Will walks through the doorway of his room.

  Only, he’s not completely clothed.

  And by that, I mean, he was clearly in the shower. The only thing covering him is a white towel, and I make a high-pitched squeaking noise when he goes to pull it off.

  That draws his attention right to me.

  His eyes go wide for a millisecond, then he’s rushing over to the window.

  “What the hell are you doing up here?” he demands, one hand holding up his towel, and the other on the chipped sill.

  My eyes are doing their own thing before I can stop them. I mean, there’s practically a naked guy standing right in front of me. I can’t help but look, especially seeing how many muscles he has.

  I knew he was built. But …

  I gulp. “I … uh …”

  Sighing, he steps back. “You climbed to my window, Tess? Really?”

  “I didn’t think it’d be as hard as it was,” I admit sheepishly, finally pulling my eyes away from his torso.

  He has to know I was checking him out, which causes my cheeks to heat up. With my luck, they’re a blotchy shade of red. Good thing it’s getting dark so he won’t see them.

  “Get in here,” he orders, making room for me.

  I slowly, and carefully, make my way in, trying not to brush against him. He’s standing so close, it’s hard not to though. My arm grazes his chest, which is still slightly damp from his shower, and I bite down on my lip. Hard.

  There is nothing soft about him, which makes me feel slightly pudgy. I may even be regretting the three slices of pizza I devoured at lunch.

  Will’s eyes lock with my chin, and his eyes widen. “What happened?” he demands, tilting it up carefully, examining the damage.

  His warm fingers stroke my jaw, and it causes my heart to go haywire in my chest. I don’t even know if he realizes he’s doing it.

  “Um … Ollie tried killing me.” My voice cracks, coming out like a low, inaudible sound.

  He curses.

  “He, uh, failed.” Obviously, you’re standing here alive. I shrug. “It’s just some stitches. And a concussion. It’s really not a big deal—”

  His eyes are hard, his jaw locked. “A concussion? When did this happen?”

  I turn my head, his fingers dropping from my chin. I miss the warmth they gave, but it helps me clear my head.

  “This morning.”

  I notice his fists clench tight. “You didn’t call me.”

  Is he serious? I cross my arms on my chest, walking away from him. “You haven’t called me in days, Will. So don’t lecture me about me not informing you when I needed to go to the hospital.”

  His hands go to his hair, his fingers threading in the wet strands. The actions make the muscles on his chest stretch taut, and I avert my eyes.

  He may be my best friend, but I’m not blind.

  Will’s hot. Not just boy-next-door hot, but drool-worthy attractive. No matter what he wears, he looks good in it. And there’s no denying that he looks good now, his sculpted body showcased just for me to see.

  I may actually start drooling if I’m not careful.

  I don’t know what that says about me for checking him out. But in the pit of my stomach, there’s no guilt for doing it. I mean, he’s in a towel. Who can blame me for staring when he’s practically naked?

  Forcing naughty thoughts out of my head, or at least to the back of my brain, I clear my throat.

  “Can you maybe put some pants on?”

  There’s a stretch of silence between us. I sneak a peek at him, and see him looking down like he forgot he was only sporting a towel. He curses again and then goes over to his dresser, pulling out a pair of black boxers.

  “I’ll be right back,” he mumbles, grabbing his pajama pants from the back of his desk chair as he walks back out of his room.

  I can breathe when he’s out of sight.

  Remember why you’re here, I remind myself.

  Seeing him like that completely distracted me.

  Who wouldn’t be? No wonder Sheri always warned me away from him. I’d be cautious if my boyfriend looked like that, too.

  Busying my mind from overthinking, I peruse his room. It’s the same always. Light gray walls, dark gray patterned curtains, black bedspread. He’s got a few posters on the wall of tractors, and one of some supermodel that’s half naked.

  She’s a redhead. I never wondered before, but does Will have a type?

  Would I look good as a redhead?

  I bitch slap that thought far, far away.

  Just in time for Will to come in.

  He’s still shirtless, but the rest of him is clothed. It helps me breathe a little easier, makes it a little less awkward. Not because seeing him naked is weird, but because it’s embarrassing to try not to ogle him like man candy.

  I fail at that.

  He sits on the edge of his bed, what abs he has bending and causing a ripple of muscle in his torso. I force my eyes away, and look at his desk.

  It’s then I notice a cat-shaped chocolate sitting in a box next to his computer. I walk over, running my hands across the plastic showcasing it.

  “It’s for you,” I hear him say, his voice barely a murmur.

  Does he not want me here?

  My hands go to my sides, fidgeting with the end of my blue unicorn tee. It’s a white unicorn with a rainbow background that says, “Mystical As F*ck.” I have a T-shirt collection larger than most women’s shoe collection.

  Yet another addiction I need to break.

  I let go of the hem of my shirt. “When did you get that?”

  I manage to look at him, biting my lip.

  “Almost two weeks ago,” he admits, shifting his leg so his knee is bent and foot is perched on the edge of the bed frame. He drapes his arm on his knee, giving me a small smile.

  Almost two weeks ago.

  Fourteen days.

  It’s been that long since we last talked.

  The curiosity and hurt is too much for me to keep silent about.

  I have to know. “What happened between us, Will? Why … why have you been avoiding me?”

  His lips twitch. “I’m not avoiding you.”

  I gape at him. Will just lied to me.

  That doesn’t fly with me. “That’s bullshit and you know it! You’ve been around! Even Doug saw you earlier. You couldn’t have just texted me? Something! For all I knew, you were dead.”

  He deadpans. “You’re being dramatic. You just said that your brother saw me. Clearly, that means I’m not dead.”

  I shake my head, trying to wrap my mind around the fact we’re bullshitting each other. When have we ever done that? Why start now?

  “Plus,” he adds, “you could have contacted me. But you didn’t. I’m sure you’ve been busy with Ian.”

  He says Ian’s name like it’s a disease he doesn’t want to catch.

  “What are you talking about, Will?”

  “I saw you two.”

  I stare at him, a dumb expression on my face.

  “At the diner,” he adds in exasperation. “I knew it was going to happen, Tess. I just … I didn’t think it would. I hoped it wouldn’t.”

  He saw us at the diner?

  “Will, I really don’t know what you’re talking about. Ian took me out to lunch to hang out. I hadn’t seen him since then until he showed up to take me to the hospital.”

  His eyes go to my chin again. His lips are pressed tight and his eyes are a dark shade of green. He peels his eyes away from my chin, away from me completely.

  His jaw unlocks. “You don’t have to pretend, Tess. Just admit that you’re with Ian. I’m a big boy, I can take it.’

  His words catch me off guard.

  As soon as they soak in, I can’t hold in my response. It i
sn’t just confusion. It’s anger. “Obviously, you can’t take it. You’re acting like a child, Will! And over something that isn’t even true! Ian and I aren’t together.”

  His eyes widen as he gapes at me.

  Something flashes in his eyes, I don’t know what. I’m too worked up to even try analyzing the way he’s looking at me.

  “Seriously?” I gripe. “You’ve been avoiding me for a week because of your pissing war with Ian? And while we’re on the topic, I found out that you know about what happened between us. Don’t you think your feud with him should have ended after you punched him in the frigging face?”

  He pales.

  “Yeah,” I say dryly. “I heard about that.”

  He stays silent.

  I can’t believe he thought we were together. Why would he—

  Realization slams into me like a freight train.

  Ian said a group of girls were walking by the window at the diner when he leaned in and pretended to kiss me.

  You need to make him jealous.

  It wasn’t a group of girls. It was Will.

  I swipe a palm down my face. “Ian and I aren’t together. We’re friends, honestly. Yes, we slept together three years ago. No, I don’t regret it. And no, I don’t want to be with him. Ian was just being … Ian at the diner.”

  His eyes uncloud, the storm in them fading.

  “You’re not with Ian?” he repeats slowly.

  I shake my head.

  “You don’t like him?”

  “I like him,” I say casually. His shoulders tense. “But not as anything more than a friend. And he doesn’t see me as anything more either. We’re just catching up. He knows I’m a fan of the band. I even got to chill with the guys earlier.”

  He rakes his hand through his hair. “Which is how you found out about what I did,” he concludes.

  “Yep.” I pop the ‘p’ when I say it.

  He just nods.

  I can’t help but pride myself in the fact that Will is jealous. I mean, why else would he avoid me? As sucky as it was, it’s a good sign.

  Is it a good sign? The way my heart reacts says yes.

  “I’m sorry,” he says quickly, swearing under his breath. “I have a lot going on, and that was just the icing on the cake. You seemed … you seemed happy. You haven’t been happy in a while, not really. I figured if Ian was who made you that way, then I wouldn’t intervene. I didn’t want to get in the way of that because of how I feel toward him.”

  How he feels toward him?

  He’s blaming his actions on his hate for Ian. Unless he’s telling me he’s gay, which I don’t think he is, he’s making excuses. Again. Or, does he really not care like I do?

  Mixed signals are a bitch.

  I brush it off, too tired to try to think past it. “Look, I wanted to see you for a reason. I miss you, Will. I don’t like not talking. And my mom told me about the farm. I’m sorry about that. Next time, come talk to me. That’s got to be stressful. You should have somebody outside of the family to talk to about it.”

  Walking over to him, I sit on the mattress right beside him.

  He lets out a long sigh. “I was being an idiot.”

  I nod. “I’m not going to argue with that.”

  He laughs. “Of course not.” He puts an arm around my shoulder and tugs me into him, his lips touching the top of my head.

  Warm sensations travel throughout my body as he kisses my hair.

  I close my eyes. “So, are we good now?”

  He tightens his grip. “We’re good.”

  I pull away a little, grinning big. “Good,” I declare, “because you owe me. And I have the perfect way that you can make up your silliness.”

  He looks cautious.

  “We’re going to the drive-in next weekend.”

  “The drive-in?” he repeats. He goes to say something else, but back pedals. Realization washes over his face. “Your birthday is next Saturday.”

  I nod once. “Yes, it is. And you know what I want? I want you to come see the double feature they’re playing. It’s Ghostbusters back to back. I know you think the second movie pales in comparison to the first—”

  “It does,” he cuts me off.

  “—but it’s my birthday, and that’s all I want.”

  “To see a movie with me?”

  “To see two movies. And eat lots of junk food. We haven’t been there yet this summer, and summer is winding down. We need to go before school starts.”

  He thinks about it for a long moment, like he’s actually contemplating saying no.

  I know him better than that.

  “Fine,” he agrees.

  “And,” I add, grinning at him, “Ian is coming, too. So you’re going to have suck it up and be nice. You both mean a lot to me, and I want to celebrate my birthday with you.”

  He doesn’t hide his distaste.

  “No punching him in the face this time,” I warn.

  He looks away. “No promises.”

  There’s already a few lines of cars when I pull in with my truck. Tess is riding shotgun, filling the spot I’ve missed seeing her in.

  She’s holding, I should say hugging for dear life, a bag of various candy. It’s mostly Hershey bars and those weird crunch things, because somebody picked out all the Reese’s and KitKat bars.

  Hint: it wasn’t me.

  There’s wrappers of candy that she insists she didn’t eat resting in the cup holder between us. Apparently, the candy fairy ate them.

  I back into a spot next to one of the speakers. It isn’t like Tess hasn’t seen these movies a million and one times, so it isn’t like I have to park here. But the spot is somewhat secluded, not to mention it’s close to the concessions stand.

  Based on the way Tess is going, we’re going to need more snacks by the time the movie even starts.

  I can’t help but smile at it.

  I lean toward her, because I notice chocolate smudged on the corner of her mouth.

  My thumb absentmindedly swipes across her soft lips. They’re painted a light pink, only slightly darker than the natural color. She rarely wears makeup, not that she needs any at all, but when she does it’s never overbearing.

  I notice how she sucks in her breath when my thumbs makes another pass across the smudge. It’s gone after the first swipe, but her skin is tempting and I can’t help myself.

  A knock at the window causes her to jump.

  We both look out the glass, seeing Ian and Dylan standing outside my truck.

  Moment over.

  Tess opens the door and hops out, candy still in hand. I wait a few moments before following her lead, meeting the guys on the side of the truck.

  Play nice, I remind myself. It’s her birthday.

  Dylan and I link hands and grin at each other. Even when Ian and I were tight, Dylan and I got along pretty well. He’s a less overbearing version of Ian, which makes me like him.

  Plus, he doesn’t go after Tess. Instant win in my book.

  Tess gives Dylan a hug, and he welcomes it, squeezing her before letting her go only moments later.

  “I didn’t know you were coming!” Tess exclaims, offering him some candy from her stash.

  “I wasn’t going to miss seeing the birthday girl,” he informs her, taking a handful of Hershey bars.

  “Plus, the girl he’s been trying to get is here,” Ian adds, nudging Dylan with his elbow.

  Tess’s eyes light up. “Who is she?”

  Dylan rolls his eyes at her excited face. “Don’t get worked up about it. I’m looking for a one-night kind of thing, not some happily ever after.”

  Tess takes away his candy. “I can’t share my chocolate with people who don’t give up the details. It’s my birthday, after all. I should get all the juicy gossip.” Opening one of the chocolate bars, she waves it in his face, bribing him.

  Dylan pouts, sticking out his bottom lip. It’s all playful though, because soon he divulges the details she’s drooling over.


  That’s how Tess is. She gets what she wants with just a single look. The best part is, I don’t think she realizes she has guys wrapped around her finger.

  Does she know how easily people fall for her spell?

  Does she know how easily I fall every time?

  I hope not.

  Dylan swiped the chocolate from her hand. “Kennedy Miller. Know of her?”

  I eye him inquisitively. “Isn’t that Opal’s friend?”

  “Best friend,” he says, shrugging.

  “Best girl friend,” Ian corrects, as if it makes a difference. I guess it does, for Bash’s sake. For as long as I can remember Opal and Bash were inseparable. I don’t think Kennedy really became her friend until years after Bash and Opal met, and even then, their friendship lacked compared to Bash’s.

  It doesn’t seem smart to go after a friend of a friend, but who am I to judge? I’m literally feet away from my own best friend, and I can’t even go after her.

  “Did you like the group shots?” Tess asks Dylan, giving him another piece of candy.

  I stare at them, no clue what they’re talking about.

  “They’re badass.” Dylan holds up his fist for her to bump.

  She looks at me. “The band hired me to do photos of them for promotional stuff,” she explains. Her voice is sheepish, yet holds a type of excitement that is hard to hear.

  She loves taking pictures, using her camera. It doesn’t surprise me that she’s excited.

  “That’s great,” I tell her, and I mean it. Every word.

  Dylan draws her attention back to him. “When do we get to see the individual ones? Did you highlight my abs in mine? I want them to be the focus. Show the girls what they’re missing.”

  My eyes narrow. “You took a picture of him shirtless?”

  She laughs nervously. “For the sake of art, Will.”

  Dylan rumbles with laughter. “For the sake of orgasm, is more like it. As soon as our female fans see these pictures, our ticket sales are going to triple.”

  Ian shoves him. “We want them to like our music, dumbass. If they think we’re selling porn, it isn’t going to help us any.”

  Tessa smacks Ian’s arm. “My photos are not going to make people think of porn!”

  He lifts his hands. “Fine, fine. Chill, birthday girl.”