“Maybe she’ll call soon,” he said, though his voice wasn’t very convincing.
“Maybe,” I agreed, desperately wanted to change the topic of conversation. “Are you working at the bookstore when you get out of school?”
“No. Tom scheduled Brandy to work, so I thought we could do something if you wanted to.”
Stone’s dad owned Quail Mountain Books. Over the summer, he had agreed to let Stone continue operating the bookstore in an effort to turn it into a money-making business as a tribute to Stone’s deceased twin brother, Luke, who loved to read. It had taken a lot of hard work, but the bookstore had finally begun to turn a profit. Tom Sullivan managed it, and Stone had hired Brandy Morrison, one of my friends from school to help out in the evenings and on weekends.
“Why don’t you eat supper with us?” I asked. “Granny’s cooking Mr. Milton’s favorite: fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and baked beans.”
Stone stared at his bag of chips. “Sounds good. I have a feeling that I’m gonna be starving.”
“Me, too.” I popped a chip into my mouth and watched other students who were having lunch along the benches that outlined the sidewalk in the square-shaped courtyard.
My eyes found Jessie Eldridge cozied up with a football player. While they were never technically a couple, Stone used to date Jessie, and I couldn’t seem to stop the little twinge of jealousy that shot down my spine every time I saw her. I quickly tamped down the unwanted emotion and turned my attention to Stone.
“I have an idea that I wanted to run by you,” I said before popping another chip in my mouth.
He took a swig of orange juice and glanced at me. “Shoot.”
“What do you think about starting a book club?”
“I only read when I’m forced to by overbearing teachers or morbid curiosity.”
“What about an insistent girlfriend?”
He eyed the length of my body, a hint of bad boy in his eyes. “What’s in it for me?”
“Let me rephrase my idea,” I suggested. “What if Quail Mountain Books had a book club and every month a featured book was on sale? And what if we named the book club after Luke?”
I could tell that the mention of Luke’s name had gotten his attention.
“Keep talking.”
“We could add the book club information to the electronic newsletter and maybe even have readings in the store or a blog on the website where readers can discuss the book.”
The bell rang.
Stone groaned and rose to his feet, picking up his trash.
“We can talk about it more after school,” I said, standing up beside him. “You want your jacket back?”
“No, you keep it for now.”
We walked to the trash can, throwing away our bags, and dropped our plastic bottles into the recycling can. Then, Stone grabbed my hand, and his warmth radiated through my palm.
He walked me to my locker and placed a quick kiss on my lips. “See you after school,” he said.
“Okay.”
He turned and walked down the hall, and I admired him from behind until he was lost in a sea of teenagers and the only thing I could see was the top of his head towering above the crowd.
***
When the final bell rang, I rushed to my locker, relieved that school was finally over. Once I walked down the hall, I spotted Stone waiting patiently for me, his backpack slung over one shoulder.
He had already opened my locker, and my backpack was sitting at his feet. I stuffed the books in my hands in my locker and pulled out my English book and a notebook, cramming them into my backpack. I shrugged out of his jacket and handed it to him, and then I reached in my locker and pulled my jacket out, folding it over my arm. I slammed the locker shut and twisted the dial on my combination lock while Stone snatched up my backpack and threw it over his shoulder.
“Do you want to go to your house first or go straight to mine?” I asked.
“Yours. I don’t need to go home first.”
“Okay.”
I glanced up to see Mike Waters, Stone’s best friend, heading in our direction. “Mike, my man, what’s up?” Stone slapped him on the shoulder.
“Not much. Are y’all on your way to Awesome Sauce?”
“No, Granny’s cooking dinner,” I answered. Awesome Sauce was the local teen hangout, and Stone and I ate their often.
“I think I’ll head on over and see if Crimson’s there,” Mike said.
“All right,” Stone said. “I’ll see you later.”
“Later.” Mike walked past us and disappeared down the hall.
“You ready?” Stone asked.
I nodded, sliding my hand in his. He guided me through the throng of students, who were eagerly escaping the grasp of the educational system. Occasionally, someone would shout a greeting to one of us, and we would reciprocate without altering our pace.
The crowded hallway finally spit us out the set of beige double doors at the end of the building, and we escaped into the brilliant, afternoon sunlight. I shielded my eyes with my free hand, searching for Stone’s sleek, black motorcycle. Few students rode crotch rockets, so it was easy to spot.
When we reached it, Stone allowed the backpacks to slide down his arms and land on the asphalt with a soft thud. He put on his jacket, and then, he retrieved my jacket from my arm and held it up for me while I slid my arms in and zipped it up. We each put on our backpacks and helmets, and Stone threw his long leg over the seat and retracted the kickstand.
Once I was settled on the seat behind him, he grabbed my leg and squeezed. Then, he revved up the bike, and we were on our way.
I never grew tired of riding on the bike with him, although he did scare me occasionally. The air was a little chilly, but our helmets and jackets shielded us for the most part.
Stone pulled into Mr. Milton’s driveway. I supposed I should have thought of it as my driveway. Granny and Mr. Milton had gotten married a few months ago, and Granny and I had moved in with Mr. Milton when they got back from their honeymoon. As nice as Mr. Milton was, living with him still seemed strange to me.
His home was quite a bit larger and nicer than Granny’s house, and I had a spacious bedroom with its own bathroom at one end of the house, which afforded me a lot of privacy.
Granny greeted me from the kitchen when Stone and I walked through the front door.
“When’s supper?” I called to her.
“I’m making a cake right now. Supper won’t be ready for a couple of hours.”
“Stone’s with me,” I called. “We’ll be in my room.”
“Okay, honey. Does he carry protection with him?”
“Granny!” I screeched. “He doesn’t need any protection.”
“Just checking,” Granny called. “I was eighteen once, you know.”
“Oh, my gosh,” I mumbled under my breath as I closed my eyes, prepared to die of embarrassment.
“For the record,” Stone whispered in my ear, “I do carry protection.”
“Well, won’t Granny be relieved?” I asked quietly with just a touch of hysteria to my voice.
Stone chuckled as he followed me through the living room, down the hall, and into my room. He shut the door behind us, dropped his backpack, and shrugged out of his jacket. When I had done the same, he sat on the edge of my bed and motioned for me to come to him.
“I’ve been waiting to do this all day,” he said as he pulled me against him, laying his cheek against my chest and squeezing my butt with his hands. I inhaled the scent of his cologne as I wrapped my arms around his neck, my fingers gliding through his smooth, dark hair.
I squealed as he snatched me up and rolled over, pulling me onto the bed with him. “Stone!” I cried, smoothing my hair from my face. “Granny’s going to hear us.”
“Then we better make sure it’s worth it,” he whispered, rolling on top of me and pressing me into the mattress with the weight of his body. His lips came down hungrily on mine, and I reveled in his masculinity, the fe
el of his sculpted muscles beneath his shirt, the way his hands roamed my body as if his need to touch me was insatiable, the guttural groan that alluded to the pleasure he found in my arms.
I shoved him off of me and shot up into a sitting position. He rolled onto his back and his fingertips skimmed the edge of my jeans.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Did you hear that?”
“Hear what?” He tucked his hands behind his head and relaxed on the pillow, his tall frame filling the length of the bed. “I don’t hear anything.”
I listened intently, met only with silence. I released a pent-up breath, relieved that Granny wasn’t about to pop into my bedroom. I exhaled loudly and collapsed backward onto the pillow.
“What’s with you?” he asked quietly.
“I was afraid Granny was going to open the door.”
“I locked it.”
“It’s still weird to be making out, knowing that Granny’s in the other room.”
“You’re eighteen, and based on the conversation we just had, I’m pretty sure she knows that we make out.”
I smacked him in the abdomen, satisfied when a small grunt escaped his lips. “I know, but it’s still weird.”
He wrapped his left arm around my shoulders and pulled me to his chest. “Legally, we’re both adults now.” His right hand deftly unbuttoned my jeans, and I heard the sound of the zipper. His fingertips traced the lacy edge of my panties.
I closed my eyes with anticipation as my heart thundered in my chest. Realizing that his nearness was clouding my judgment, I pushed his hand away and refastened my jeans.
“Relentless, aren’t you?”
His chest rumbled with laughter. “Don’t blame me for being a hot-blooded male. I mean, look at you.”
“I want you to want me because you love me, not because you think I’m hot.”
I turned to face him, and he stroked my cheek. “I do love you, Dara, and I’m ready to take our relationship to the next step.”
“I’m not,” I whispered.
“Why not?”
“I don’t want to end up like my parents. I don’t want to bring a child into this world when I’m not ready for it.”
He gently kissed my lips. “There are ways to prevent a pregnancy.”
“I’m not ready, Stone.”
He put some distance between us. “All right. Then let’s talk about something else because right now, all I can think about is getting you out of those jeans.” He sat up and slid his feet to the floor, his back facing me.
“Are you mad?” Not that it mattered, but if he was, I wanted to know.
“No, I’m not mad. I just need to change the direction of my blood flow, if you know what I mean.”
I laughed. “I made an ‘A’ in human anatomy. I know what you mean.”
I changed the subject. “The prom is less than two weeks away, and I still haven’t found a dress. Do you want to go shopping with me Saturday?”
“I thought I wasn’t supposed to see it ahead of time,” he called over his shoulder.
“It’s a prom dress, not a wedding dress.”
“Oh.”
“I want you to go with me and help me find the perfect dress. I want our prom night to be special, one that we’ll always remember.”
He lay back on the bed, his hands tucked beneath his head, but his eyes met mine. “It won’t matter what dress you buy. It won’t be the dress making you look beautiful. It’ll be you making the dress look beautiful.”
I lowered my lashes, touched by his words. “I still want you to go.”
“I can’t go. I’ve got to run some errands for my parents, and I have to work at the bookstore after school for the rest of the week. I promise that I’ll love any dress you buy.”
“Are you going to run errands all day? We could go when you get finished.”
“I’ll be tied up all day. Sorry, babe. Why don’t you see if Crimson or Scarlet can go with you?”
I was disappointed, but I tried not to show it. “Okay.”
“Now, tell me about the book club,” he said.
“I thought it might be an interesting thing to add for your customers that are avid readers. We could simply call it Luke’s Book Club as a tribute to him. I know you don’t know which book was his favorite, but I thought we could kick the club off with one of his books as the first month’s selection. Every month, you could have a sale on whichever book is the club’s pick for that month.”
“Luke would love that. When we get finished eating, we can go to my house and check out his bedroom if you want to and see what we can find.”
In all the months that Stone and I had dated, I had never been in Luke’s bedroom. I had never asked to see it, and he had never offered to show it to me. It seemed very personal, and I was a bit shocked that he was offering me admittance now. I was surprised to realize how much I wanted to see it.
“Your mom won’t care?”
“No. Mom will think you’re an angel for suggesting this idea. She won’t care if you go in there, but she does like everything to be kept in the same place he left it.”
“I’ve already added a section into the next newsletter, just in case you agreed to it,” I said, turning over on my stomach, so that I could look at his face.
“Then it sounds like we just need to pick out a book.”
“Good. We can have that done by the end of the day.”
***
I thought supper would never end. Between another embarrassing conversation about protection and my eagerness to get a glimpse of what Luke was like, I wanted to grab a chicken leg and eat it on the run. To make matters worse, Stone seemed in no hurry at all, taking Granny’s comments in stride as he assured her he always carried protection and savoring every bit of his meal. He also engaged Mr. Milton in a detailed conversation about the health benefits of tomatoes and praised Granny over every forkful of coconut cake.
When we finally pulled into his driveway, I refrained from running to the front door.
I followed Stone through the silent house as he went to his bedroom to put up his backpack. “Are your parents gone?” I asked, a little nervous about whether his mother would want me in Luke’s room.
“Yeah. They’re at a charity auction,” Stone said as he put his backpack in his desk chair. “They probably won’t be home until late tonight.”
“Are you sure your mother won’t mind if I go in Luke’s room?”
“If she minded, I wouldn’t be taking you in there. Okay, yes, I would, but I promise you that she won’t care.” He grabbed my hand and gave me a quick kiss on the temple. “You worry too much.”
I supposed he was right, but poking around in Luke’s room seemed like a very private matter.
“Come on,” Stone urged, as he tugged on my hand. “Let’s go to his room before you get your nerves in a knot.”
I knew where Luke’s room was, on the other end of the hall from Stone’s, but I had never seen his door open or seen anyone going in or coming out. Stone placed his hand on the doorknob and paused. I could sense that he was conflicted about entering, and I placed my hand on his arm. “If you don’t want….”
“No,” he interrupted. “It’s fine.”
He turned the knob and pushed the door open, his feet rooted to the spot as he acclimated himself to the scene. Finally, he flipped on the lights, took my hand, and led me in the room.
The dark wood furniture gleamed, making it obvious that someone had polished it recently. The bed was neatly made. The navy comforter boasted two, wide lines in brilliant white that reminded me of racing stripes. Matching curtains flanked two windows, which allowed the evening sunshine to flow through the panes of glass.
A pair of wire-rimmed glasses rested upside down on the desktop, their arms outstretched as if he had just removed them. I ran my fingertips along the length of one arm, and my attention shifted to two framed photographs sitting directly behind them. I picked up one photo, smiling at the three boys
who grinned at me with their arms snaked around each other’s necks.
“That’s me in the middle,” Stone said quietly. He then pointed out Luke and Dylan. Stone couldn’t have been more than nine or ten. Seeing all the brothers together caused a shot of melancholy to rush through my body. Knowing that they’d never be together like this again made me realize the pain that Stone and his family must go through each and every day. Knowing that my father was the reason for their pain tormented me, creating another level of agony in my soul as I watched a myriad of emotions cross Stone’s face. His jaw clenched, and he turned his attention away from the photo and pretended to examine the scenery outside the window.
I carefully returned the photo to its proper spot and picked up the photo beside it. Even though he was a teenager in the photo, I immediately recognized Luke, who looked a lot like Stone. It was the girl beside him who caught my attention. Her blond, waist-length hair looked like it had been kissed by a sunset with its streaks of strawberry. Her smile made her whole face sparkle, a happiness that reached the dark blue depths of her eyes. Her flawless complexion and high cheekbones added to her beauty.
“Is this Tiffany?” I asked, watching as Stone’s line of vision dropped to the picture in my hand.
“Yes.” He quickly diverted his attention away from the photo.
“She’s beautiful,” I said. “No wonder you were infatuated with her.”
“I was an ass.”
“You were a teenager smitten by a pretty girl,” I countered. “You didn’t cause the accident. Don’t take any responsibility, no matter how minute, for something that was completely my father’s fault.”
I returned the photo and went to Stone, wrapping my arms around his waist from behind him. “I’m so sorry,” I whispered. “I wish I could make it all go away.”
He faced me, remaining silent and pulling me into his arms. He rested his cheek on the top of my head and hugged me tightly to his chest, wrapping me in his embrace. “Luke would’ve liked you,” he whispered against my temple.
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