by McKayla Box
He shrugs.
“And he told me what you told him.”
He stares at me.
“Thank you,” I say.
He shrugs again.
“And thank you for getting me out of there,” I tell him. “And for doing whatever you did to Derek.”
“Brett got it out of Derek,” he says. “They gave you some homemade roofie. Jake searched the internet and said you'd be fine, you didn't need to the go the hospital, but I wanted to stay and make sure.” He pauses. “They were just going to let her beat the shit out of you.”
“I know.”
“I tried to warn you,” he says. “About all of them. You wouldn't listen.”
“I know,” I say. “I should've. I'm sorry. But your messages were also...mixed.”
He hesitates then nods.
“I don't wanna be told what to do,” I tell him. “I'm not some little surf groupie that's going to stand around and let you direct my life. You need to know that.”
“I think I know it now,” he says. “But I'm not sure I know another way.”
“What does that mean?”
He looks up the shore for a moment, squinting. “You heard the story about me and Derek?”
“From ninth grade?”
He nods.
“I heard about it, yeah.”
“I had to prove myself that day,” he says. “I took shit from that kid for years because my father told me if I ever got in a fight or got in trouble, he'd kill me. So I just took shit from him and a whole bunch of other kids. But then I just got tired of it. And I kicked the living shit out of him that day.”
“Like you did on Saturday,” I say.
“No, Saturday was different,” he says, looking at me. “I wanted to kill him then and if Brett hadn't pulled me off, I would've.”
He says it with such certainty that I believe him.
“But after that day, things were just different,” he continues. “Everyone was afraid of me and no one gave me shit. Ever. And I just leaned into that. It's who I am. I'm in charge. I'm the one everyone looks to for answers. I'm the one that people look to to take care of shit. I'm the one that people expect to do the crazy shit. And every girl I've been with, they needed to be told what to do because they were more in love with the idea of being with me than being themselves.” He pauses. “Until you.”
“So you bring some girl home to piss me off?” I ask. “That's kind of a weird way to show you care about me.”
“Because that's what I do,” he says. “I'm in charge. I need to control everything.” He pauses again, shuffles his feet in the water. “But I don't feel in control around you, Presley. You pissed me off like you wouldn't believe when you told Morgan you'd go to that dance with him. Not because I give a shit about a stupid dance, but because it was with him.” He pauses. “And not with me.”
“Then maybe you shouldn't have acted like a prick after we slept together,” I tell him.
“I didn't.”
“You did,” I tell him. “I needed to get home and you acted like...I don't know what. You lost your shit and your mind.”
He looks up the shore again. “You were choosing someone else. Over me.”
“It was my dad,” I tell him. “Not Derek or anyone else. My dad.”
He doesn't say anything.
“Do you wanna be with me?” I ask him.
He turns back to me. “Do you wanna be with me?”
“Yeah,” I say, nodding. “More than anything. And I'm not afraid to say it. But I'm not going to be at your beck and call. I'm not going to just wait for you to tell me what to do. If that's what you want, then I'm out.”
He steps forward and pulls me into him, kissing me. I melt against him, the water crashing around our ankles.
He rests his forehead against mine. “What I want is you.”
“Then don't act like you own me,” I say, putting my face against his chest. “Act like you want to be with me.”
We stand there for a minute, the breeze coming off the water, as I hug him.
“I could've killed him,” he whispers.
“I don't want you killing anyone,” I say.
“Don't tell me what to do.”
I laugh because it's funny and I feel his body shake and I know he's laughing, too.
I pull back and look up at him. “This is going to be complicated.”
“It already is,” he says.
“One more thing,” I say.
He looks down at me with those icy eyes. “What's that?”
I pull him toward me and kiss him, letting him know exactly how I feel about him, hoping he won't ever forget it. I don't know yet what's in store for us, but I know I want to see.
Finally, he pulls back.
I smile at him. “Don't ever call me New Girl again.”
THE END
Hey Awesome Reader!
Thanks so much for reading FALL, the first book in the Sunset Beach High series. I hope you loved it as much as I loved reading it. If you did, I would OH SO MUCH APPRECIATE it if you'd take maybe two minutes and leave a review at Amazon, telling everyone how much you enjoyed it. Reviews really make a difference! (And then go tell 7 friends about the books!)
And don't worry – the next book featuring Presley, Trevor, and the rest of the Sunset Beach High crew is just around the corner. In fact, WINTER is now available for pre-order by clicking right here and it'll be out August 13th! You're gonna love it – I promise!
MB