“ALYSSA!” BLAKE Cooper’s shout pulled me from my thoughts.
For most of lunch, and while I waited with Alyssa by her classroom, I’d been lost in her beauty. It wasn’t that I’d never noticed it before, I’d always thought her beautiful, but I’d just never really concentrated on all the finer details. Not really. It felt impossible for me to take my eyes off her now.
Blake’s shout had interrupted my study of the swell of her lips. Alyssa turned toward him with a slight smile on her face. His face lit up in return, and I knew the reason—his conversation with Spencer played in my mind.
A smirk played across my lips while I watched the scene play out. Because of the way we were standing, he wouldn’t have seen the way Alyssa’s hand joined with mine or the way my thumb stroked along hers. He hadn’t realised he was already too late to ask her out again.
“What is it, Blake?” Alyssa asked. I could have imagined the trace of annoyance in her voice.
He closed the distance to where we stood fairly quickly. “Can I talk for a min . . .” He trailed off as he took in our pose and Alyssa’s hand tightly clasped in mine.
His eyes flicked to mine and my smirk grew wider. I tried very hard to communicate with only my eyes. Yes, fucker, she’s mine now. You snooze, you lose.
To demonstrate my point, I kissed her lightly on the cheek, earning a blush.
Blake narrowed his eyes at me and I had to stifle a chuckle. Yeah, it was a ridiculous male ego thing, but I couldn’t help but rejoice in the fact that Alyssa picked me over not only him, but over every other wanker in the school. I decided to show off just a little. I wrapped my arms tightly around Alyssa’s waist and kissed her cheek again. “I’ll catch up with you later. Okay, Lys?”
I didn’t really want to leave, especially not with Blake sniffing around, but the bell had already rung for the next period and I still had to get to class. Unfortunately, Blake and Alyssa were in the same room, whereas I was on the other side of the school.
She turned to me and she kissed me hard on the lips. Her tongue snaked out and slid across my lower lip, tempting my tongue forward. I grinned at her when she pulled away. She was staking her claim as much as I had.
“Later, then,” she said to me.
I walked off with a loopy grin on my face. It was amazing how easily Alyssa was able to affect me. If Alyssa’s kiss made me smile though, the exchange I heard between her and Blake made me positively beam.
“So, you and Reede, huh?” Blake asked.
“Yeah.” Alyssa was almost breathless.
“I don’t like it.”
“You don’t have to.” I could hear the bristle in Alyssa’s voice. I risked one last glance back to see her brush past Blake and into the classroom. My grin was so wide it was almost painful.
BEFORE I knew it, the last few days of school had finished, the Christmas holidays had started, and summer was in full force. It would have been nice to say that my summer was filled with lazy days hanging with Alyssa and Josh, or even Ben, and not a lot else, but that wasn’t the case. Like every other school holiday, I’d planned to spend hours and hours at the kart track. Only, when I woke the first weekend after school had let out, I had a surprise visitor—one of Dad’s cousins, Dean.
Dean was . . . unique. For all of my life, he’d sworn that both he and my Dad could have been champions, up there with the greats of motorsport. For years, they’d raced together. Only, Dad had stopped racing before he was twenty, selling the car and leaving Dean, two years his junior, without a vehicle or sponsor and unable to continue in the sport. By the time Dean finally got back into it, he believed he was too old to make anything of himself. For years, he and Dad hadn’t spoken but eventually he came around and started to support my karting career.
When I emerged from my room sometime around ten, he was sitting at the dining table with Mum and Dad.
“You still keen to get behind the wheel of something with a bit more grunt?” he asked when he saw me.
I brushed my hand through my hair and tried to act nonchalant even though I had a suspicion I knew where the conversation might be going. He’d talked a few times about letting me take his VK Commodore round the track on a hot lap or two. “’Course. Why?”
“I’m getting too old and too fat to get the VK around the track and I need someone a bit younger and hungrier to drive the season.”
My eyes widened. It wasn’t just what I’d hoped, it was better. “You’re shitting me?”
“Language, Declan,” Mum admonished.
“Sorry, Mum.” I gave her a sheepish smile before turning back to Dean. “You’ll let me drive your baby?”
“She’ll be your baby on the track.”
“That’s so awesome. When can I give her a go?” My face fell as I considered the fact that I couldn’t go for my sprint series licence for another half a year—not until my sixteenth birthday.
“You can come with me now if you want? We’ve got some testing to do. It’s not actual track time, but it’ll get you behind the wheel for a while.”
“What about licencing? I can’t get my track licence for another six months.”
“Let me deal with that,” he said.
I had no idea what deals he was wheeling, but I wasn’t going to argue if it got me proper track time. “Can I do it?” I looked to Mum to check it was okay. I didn’t even bother checking with Dad; he’d been the one to push me into karting originally, even if Mum had been the one to drive me to every race, practice session, event, and test day.
“It’s okay with me, just so long as you don’t have any other plans today?”
“Just hanging with Lys, but she’ll understand.”
Half an hour later, I’d spoken with Alyssa—who was as understanding as I could expect considering I’d cancelled our plans minutes before I was due at her house—and was heading out to Ipswich with Dean.
Two hours later, Alyssa rang me.
“Are you going to be ’round tonight?” she asked after we’d gotten past the greetings.
I was only half listening to her because Dean was taking the car through her paces with me in the passenger seat. His driving lesson was light years away from the ones Mum had given me. Where she preached safety and caution, his only commandment was speed. Taking us into a back street in the industrial area which housed his garage, he threw the car into a series of doughnuts and figure eights. The momentum caused me to drop the phone. By the time I picked it up, Dean was silently asking if I wanted a go. Despite the fact that I didn’t even have my learner’s permit yet, I was eager. If he was willing to let me control his baby for a while, who was I to refuse? There was a risk we’d get caught by the police, but that would be on Dean—not me.
“Dec, are you even listening to me?” Alyssa’s voice was cold as she tried to get me to pay attention to her again.
“Sorry, Lys. I’ve gotta go.”
“When will I—”
I hung up before she finished the sentence and practically raced for the driver’s seat. Sure I was going to cop hell for it later, but the chance at taking over the car with Dean’s blessing was too hard to refuse.
For the next week, I split most of my days between Dean, learning the specifics of handling his VK Commodore, at the Willowbank drag strip—learning how to handle getting the car off the line as fast as I could—and the kart track, honing my skills ready for my first big race. Even though the kart track wasn’t ideal, the race fundamentals, like picking the racing line, feeling the track, and knowing when to corner and how hard to brake, were somewhat universal.
By the end of the week, I had a special exemption provisional race licence. Dean mentioned something about it being a trial run. That the motorsport body was thinking of lowering the age to fourteen the following year to line up with other international rules. Apparently I was to be one of a handful of test cases across Australia, but I didn’t listen to it all because I had my licence in my hand. That was all that mattered.
Despite how h
ard I had to practise for the next season of racing—in a car for the first time ever—I still had a little down time. Every spare second I did have was spent with Alyssa. Some days she’d come to my place, some we’d go to hers, but the best were when we’d meet at our park in the middle.
When the time I had spare grew from almost full days to less than an hour every couple of days, Alyssa complained about the lack of time we had together, I promised her something special for Christmas. Only, I didn’t know what the hell that was going to be. My mind rolled with a thousand different possible presents to buy her to prove my loyalty.
We’d exchanged gifts for as long as I could remember, but it felt different buying for her as a girlfriend rather than just buying for a friend. I wanted our first Christmas as a couple to be memorable, so the usual presents just wouldn’t suffice.
I’d read through all of the girlie magazines I could—hiding in the back corner of the newsagency of course, because there was no way I would let myself be seen buying them—and they seemed to be full to the brim of ideas at first glance. Most of the ideas just didn’t seem right for her.
Perfume? I liked the way Alyssa smelled. I especially liked the scent of her coconut skin cream and fairy-floss lip gloss.
Jewellery? I had no idea what style she liked, and the limited funds I had to spend would only go far enough to buy her crap that would probably tarnish and break in no time.
Gift card? Too impersonal.
Lingerie? Too personal. Plus, I got a boner every time I even walked past the shop.
Other clothing? It meant taking a wild guess on shape, colour, style, and size. Too hard to get right, and far too dangerous to get wrong.
I searched high and low before deciding on the perfect gift for her— on the last shopping day before Christmas. It represented the three things I wanted to shower her with: my heart, my time, and my love.
Christmas came and went, and I gave Alyssa a photo book of all my favourite pictures of us. Even though I had worried she might think I was just being cheap, she seemed pretty cool about the gift. I wondered whether that was because she could tell I had a little more planned.
On Boxing Day, I had Josh drive Alyssa to the Grand Plaza and drop her at the food court. I met her there, presenting her with two tickets to see a movie. I didn’t really pay much attention to the screen, I couldn’t. Not with Alyssa beside me.
Throughout the movie, I kept distracting her with my desperate need to kiss her and touch her. She never stopped me though, so I assumed she didn’t mind. After the movie, we wandered the shops for a while. When we passed Kmart, I asked her to wait while I ducked inside. After grabbing what I needed, I came back out and offered her the rest of my gift: a chocolate heart and a calendar.
She offered me a confused look as she thanked me for them.
“It’s the three things I want you to have more than anything. My time, my heart, and our future.”
The burgeoning smile on her lips and the tears welling in her eyes proved that the sentimental shit meant more to her than the most expensive present in the shop. I wrapped my hand around hers, “C’mon, let’s walk back to mine.”
CHAPTER FOUR: THE END OF THE FIRST TIME
UNLIKE OUR FIRST Christmas as a couple, our first Valentine’s Day was a disaster.
Even though we’d been dating for about four months, and everyone in the school knew how intense we were about each other, some weren’t happy with it. Blake constantly sniffed around Alyssa, waiting for me to screw things up, and Darcy had been trying to cause a fight between me and Alyssa ever since the school year had started again at the end of January. I’d heard rumours that her plan was to sweep in after the fact, play the good friend, and get the man. It was stupid really, and more than a little ironic, that by the time she was finally interested in me, being with her was the last thing on my mind.
I had no real clue why Darcy had developed her sudden attraction, other than the fact that I was off-limits and no longer interested. Spending so much time training and at the track probably didn’t hurt my case either. The extra work had grown the muscles across my arms and chest, causing them to swell and firm in a way that was appreciated, certainly by Alyssa.
When the bell rang for lunch, I headed up to the racks at the front of the classroom to grab my bag. Shoved underneath the backpack was a huge pink envelope. I grinned as I reached for the card, assuming it was Alyssa doing some over-the-top gesture for Valentine’s.
Darcy moved straight to my side, her fingers twirling in the ends of her blonde hair. “What’s that?”
I rolled my eyes as I grabbed the card. “What does it look like?”
“It looks like someone got a Valentine. Is it from anyone special?”
“What do you think?”
Darcy leaned against the port racks, thrusting her chest out as if I might actually be interested in her because of the action. “I think maybe you should open it.”
I put the card back on top of my bag. “I’m not going to open it here in front of everyone.”
Grinning, she leaped forward and grabbed it from me. “Wait. It’s got my name on it.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” I snatched it back.
She twisted it in my hand. “It’s got my name on it. See?”
I glanced down at the card in my hand with a frown. It did have her name on it. I had no clue why it was under my bag, though. Her books were in a metallic pink backpack, mine were in a Holden bag, to represent my true racing colours. It wasn’t like the bags would be easily mixed up.
With a feeling of suspicion that there was something else happening that I didn’t understand, I handed it back to her. “Well, if it’s yours . . .”
When it was in her hands, she looked around at the little crowd that was gathering around us. Not only the students from our class, but also from the classroom beside us and the ones whose next class was in our room as well.
“Should I open it?” she asked, lapping up the attention. Her voice was too sugary sweet, and it made my suspicions grow even further.
Everyone nodded, no doubt waiting to see which hapless sap wanted to be Darcy’s Valentine.
“It’s yours isn’t it?” I shrugged and grabbed my bag.
She tore open the envelope. “Oh my God, Declan!”
I stopped mid turn as she said my name. The tone of her voice screamed danger.
“What?” My voice was ice as I turned to look at her.
Her body collided with me and her arms wrapped around my neck. She managed to kiss my cheek before I pushed her off. “I can’t believe you got me a Valentine.”
“What?”
A murmur of surprise went through the crowd and I could already hear the gossip mill as it started to grind.
“Darcy, I didn’t—”
Darcy smiled as she looked over my shoulder. “Oh, sorry, Alyssa. I didn’t see you there.”
I spun around to meet Alyssa’s gaze. The frown on her face told me she’d read the worst into what she’d just witnessed. She huffed out a breath, spun on her heel, and stalked away.
“C’mon, Lys, you can’t be serious,” I called after her.
Before I could give chase, Darcy grabbed my arm.
“She’s a lost cause,” she oozed. Her fingers trailed into my hair. “I knew you liked me. I was just silly for not realising sooner that I wanted you too.”
I pulled my head away from her touch. “Piss off.”
She raised an eyebrow at me. “Wow that hurts, coming from the guy who just gave me a Valentine.”
“I’m guessing you set that little scene up,” I hissed at her. “But it won’t help you, Darcy. I may have had a crush when I was younger and stupider, but I will never want to be with you.”
She stood blinking at me. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Dec.”
I could have stood arguing with her, but the more time I spent with her, the farther away Alyssa would get. Without looking back at Darcy, I chased after m
y girl.
When I caught up to her, I grabbed her arm to stop her from running from me again.
“What are you doing, Lys?”
“You didn’t expect me to hang around and watch that display, did you?”
“You know I didn’t give her that card.”
She rolled her eyes. “I know that, Dec. I’m not stupid. I’m pissed that you let her make a scene like that. Do you know how many people saw that? How many people don’t know what that cow has been doing, and will think that you actually gave her a card?”
Her logic didn’t make any sense. Even though she knew I hadn’t given Darcy the Valentine’s Day card, she was still pissed at me. “So?”
“I just can’t believe you’d be stupid enough to let her do that to you. To us.”
“So I’m stupid, am I?”
She tugged out of my hold. “If the shoe fits.”
“What exactly did you expect me to do?”
After making a sound filled with frustration, she paced a short distance away before spinning back toward me. “How about rip the card up the instant you saw it?”
“I thought it was from you, Lys, otherwise I would have.”
“Why would I have left you something like that?”
By now a crowd had gathered around us, mostly eighth and ninth graders snickering at the lover’s tiff between two eleventh graders. Their presence just served to piss me off more and I took it out on Alyssa. “I don’t know, maybe because I thought you actually cared or that just maybe you’d want to give me a Valentine’s Day card. I guess I was wrong, huh?”
“Of course I do, but I thought I’d give it to you in private.” She glanced around at everyone nearby, retreating into herself at the attention. “I’m starting to wonder if you even know me at all.”
“Don’t be stupid, of course I do.”
“Don’t call me stupid.”
I threw my hands in the air and groaned. “You called me stupid.”
“Because you were acting stupid.”
“God, stop being so stupid!” I reached out for her and tugged her into my arms. “Alyssa, you’re the one that I want. The only one I want. Will you just be my goddamn Valentine?”
Declan Reede: The Untold Story (Complete Series) Page 4