by Laura Pavlov
My own little lakeside hideaway. Shaw and Jax knew I came out here to think, but I’d never brought them with me. We’d go to the lake on the weekends all the time in the summer, but never here. This was the one place in Willow Springs that was just mine. Had been for the past four years. I came out here every day when the season was over, and it was probably the one place in this town that I would miss most after I got the hell out of here.
“It’s a place I like to come to get away from everyone. Everything,” I grumbled, angry with myself for bringing her here. I didn’t need her telling her Magic Musketeers or whatever the hell they called one another about this place.
I tossed my backpack on the cluster of large rocks near the hammock and dropped down to sit in it.
Her eyes were puffy, her nose red, and she glanced around and nodded. “I won’t tell anyone about it.”
Damn. The girl always seemed to be able to read my mind. “Thanks. I’d appreciate it. No one has ever been out here that I know of, and I’d like to keep it that way.”
She dropped to sit next to my backpack on one of the large boulders as she stared out at the water. Her phone kept buzzing. She reached in her backpack and turned off her ringer before staring at her screen.
“God. I’m such a fool.”
“I doubt it, Miss Salutatorian,” I said, although the fact that she’d tolerated that asshole for so long was definitely her one weakness.
She shook her head. “So, Alec and Karina have apparently been sleeping together and I’m the last to know.”
“You’re not the last to know. I didn’t know. I don’t think it’s something people were aware of.” I don’t know why I felt the need to make her feel better, but I did.
Her tongue swiped out to wet her bottom lip. “I can’t believe he’d do this to me.”
“Are you really shocked?” I asked. I wanted to know.
Her mouth gaped open. “Of course, I am.”
“Hadn’t they slept together before? That I remember hearing about.”
“Yes. But we weren’t together then. We’d broken up for a few months.”
“How convenient. He’s an asshole, you know it and I know it. Come on, you’re the smartest girl I know, Ace. You’re smarter than him. It probably scares the shit out of him.”
She shrugged. “He’s never been an asshole to me. I mean, sure, we broke up last year and I was upset, but at least he didn’t cheat on me then.”
I shrugged. “The kid is an entitled prick. He thinks he has the right to do whatever the fuck he wants because his parents have money. He was a subpar football player who had a temper tantrum every time he didn’t get the ball. His daddy would wave money over Coach’s head, and he’d get his way. He wants to sleep with Karina, but he also wants to date the prettiest girl in school at the same time. He’s a dick. You’re too good for him.”
Her lips turned up in the corners and she wiped her nose with the back of her hand. A pink hue spread across her cheeks and I internally cursed myself out for calling her the prettiest girl in school. It didn’t mean anything. Everyone gawked over her, and right now, maybe she needed to hear it.
“So, let me guess, you don’t like him then?”
I chuckled. “I’m trying to figure out why you ever did?”
“We’ve just been together for so long, I guess I don’t know anything different. And I feel like an idiot because now I wonder if I ever really knew him at all. And he’s blowing up my phone right now with apologies, but you know what I think he’s most worried about?”
“Not being the center of the universe,” I hissed because I couldn’t stand the asshole.
“Nope. He’s apologizing, but he keeps begging me not to tell my parents what happened because his parents will be pissed. This is what he did last time he was with Karina. He begged me not to tell my mom. I think he’s more concerned with them finding out what he did than he is with me finding out.” Her gaze settled on the water behind me.
“Why would you protect that asshole? Your boyfriend fucked another girl behind your back. Who gives a fuck if his parents find out? That’s on him, not you.”
She nodded as a tear streamed down her cheeks, and I glanced behind me to look at the water to give her a minute to swipe it away. I’d never been a fan of seeing women cry. Hell, I’d heard my mom crying behind her bedroom door too many times to count, and it always crushed me. And seeing Adelaide cry did something to me. The girl deserved better. In all the years I’d known her, she’d always been humble. And kind.
She nodded, pulling her long dark hair over one shoulder. “I can’t even believe I’m sitting here crying like a baby over this. It makes me sick. I’m going to a state school, because it’s what he wanted to do. I’ve planned my entire life around a boy that I don’t even think I know anymore. I don’t even know if I ever did. Or if I’ve been told that we were going to be together for so long that I just believed it.” She pushed to her feet and paced in front of me. “I mean, I have no one to blame for any of this but myself. Oh my gosh, why am I rambling about my stupid problems to you? I’m so sorry.”
“Stop apologizing,” I said, standing up and walking toward the water. I picked up a rock and skipped it across the surface. “I’ve never understood that whole thing with you and Alec. Your moms are best friends, so you two have to be together? That’s fucking crazy. And you’re second in our class, and you’re going to a state school because that’s the only place that your putz of a boyfriend can get into? Don’t you have dreams of your own?”
She picked up a rock and skipped it across the lake and it bounced twice before ricocheting off to the side. “You make it sound like an arranged marriage.”
“Well, isn’t it?”
“No. I mean, yes, our moms wanted us to date. But it happened naturally, at least it did for me. I love Alec. Maybe it’s a different kind of love, like when you have a history with someone.” She stared straight ahead, and I studied her profile. High cheekbones, long waves falling down her back, and her tan face shimmered under the last of the sunlight shining down on us. Her dark gaze turned and locked with mine, and I cleared my throat.
“Loving someone because you have a history with them sounds like more of an obligation. Like the way you have to love your family because you don’t have a choice.”
She laughed. “Maybe. Everyone in our families sure loved the idea of us being together, and I thought I knew him.”
I’d never understood their relationship because Adelaide was liked by everyone, and Alec was such a douchebag. Maybe it was their history, maybe it was something more?
“Hell, I’m not judging you. I’ve been with girls that I have nothing in common with because we just had good sex,” I said with a laugh.
She coughed twice and shook her head. “Uh, no. That’s not it.”
She stared straight ahead, and I studied her. “Should have known. I bet he’s a selfish lay. Seems like the kind of dude who chases his own pleasure and doesn’t give a fuck about anyone but himself.”
Her face hardened and she turned to look at me. Her dark brown eyes full of fire as they locked with mine. “I wouldn’t know. And I’m guessing you’re going to tell me that it’s my fault he cheated on me because I didn’t sleep with him. Get in line. Karina already slammed me with that theory.” She stormed off toward her backpack and turned around again. “No. Apparently Alec felt the need to tell his lover that I’d offered myself up on a silver platter, but he didn’t think I was ready, so he fucked her instead.”
My mouth dropped open. I didn’t know many girls that were still virgins, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was fucking happy she hadn’t given her virginity away to a douchebag. And seeing her all fiery surprised me. Adelaide had always been so even-keeled. Never thought I’d hear her drop an F-bomb. I liked it. Seeing her all worked up and pissed off. Hell, I lived in that state most of the
time, so it was refreshing to see her lose her shit. She turned on her heels and took off down the dirt path. It would be at least a six or seven-mile walk home for her.
I started jogging behind her. “Hey, I’m not the bad guy here. I didn’t say it was your fault. I think it’s cool that you waited. I wouldn’t want you to waste your virginity on an asshole like Taulson. Good for you. It’s his fucking loss.”
She came to a stop and when she turned around, tears ran down her pretty face. Jesus. I was in the midst of a shit storm that I wasn’t even involved in, and the crazy thing—I didn’t mind it.
“It is his loss. You’re right.” She marched back toward me and kept going, heading back to where we’d just been and dropped down to sit on the hammock.
“Make yourself at home,” I teased, trying to lighten the mood. Her world had been flipped on its ass, and I understood that feeling better than most. I’d experienced the same thing just a few months ago, and I was still dealing with it. I’d spent my life sainting a man who in turn was the devil. And my mother had paid the ultimate price.
“I’m sorry, Jett. You came out here to get away, and I’ve totally taken over your space. This is so not me. I don’t even know what’s happening. I feel—I don’t even know what I feel?”
I bent down in front of her, meeting her dark gaze. Pops of amber and topaz sparkled as the last of the light shined down on her. I saw the hurt and the disappointment. Hell, I recognized those feelings every time I looked in the mirror and saw my own reflection. But there was something else there that I couldn’t put my finger on.
“Obviously you’re feeling betrayed. That’s fair. And it’s okay to feel that.”
She nodded. “Why are you being so nice to me?”
I laughed. “Am I not normally nice to you?”
“Well, honestly, before taking AP calc together, you barely acknowledged me.” She tucked her hair behind her ears as she spoke. She wore a white sweater, faded jeans, and some sort of ankle-high cowboy boots that I’d seen her in most days.
“It’s no secret. I don’t like your boyfriend.”
She nodded. “So that means you and I can’t be friends?”
“Seeing as you aren’t together anymore, sure.” I raised a brow.
“Can I tell you something, and you swear you won’t tell anyone.” Her voice was just above a whisper.
I rolled my eyes. “If you haven’t noticed, I’m not big on high school gossip.”
“As much as I feel completely betrayed by Alec, I don’t know—a part of me feels…” She paused and bit down on her plump bottom lip, glancing back at the water.
“What?” I asked. Now she had me curious with how anxious she was to say it.
“Hopeful. It sounds terrible, but the truth is, my mom and Mama T, that’s Alec’s mom. They’ve had this plan for us for so long and I just went along with it. Alec drove the train and I was the passenger. And now, I don’t have to feel guilty about choosing a different path. One that I’m actually excited about.”
Hell, she was speaking my language. “I get that. What does that look like?”
She cocked her head to the side. “I don’t know for certain, but I kind of like that. I don’t see myself being a schoolteacher if I’m being honest. I see myself being a writer. That’s my passion, not that anyone really knows that.”
I nodded. “You are the editor of the school paper, so it shouldn’t be a huge surprise to people that that’s what you want to do. And you could do that anywhere. You don’t need to stay in this shit town your whole life just because you were born here. Spread your wings, Ace. See where they take you.”
She smiled, and I swear to fucking God my chest tightened. What the hell was up with that? Maybe we had more in common than I’d ever realized. Maybe talking to her was easier than talking to anyone else.
“I just might do that. Why do you hate this town so much?”
“I wouldn’t say that I hate it, per se. I’d say that I resent it.” I chuckled and she laughed, shaking her head at my ridiculous choice of words. “The people here are small-minded. They judge you by what you have, not who you are. Well, that is until you become the quarterback of East Texas High, and then you walk on water. But before that, the way a lot of people in this town treated my mom… treated me, I don’t like it.”
“That’s terrible. I’m sorry you and your mom have had to go through that. I feel like in a way this town shaped me for the good, but a lot of things have just been expected of me, you know? Being Ellis and Savannah Edington’s daughter comes with a lot of perks, but it also comes with a lifetime of expectations. Some that I’m not interested in fulfilling or even passionate about.”
“So, you’re not passionate about cheerleading?” I chuckled again, pushing up to stand and crossing my arms over my chest.
“Not even a little bit.”
“Why do you do it then?” I asked because I was surprised to hear that she didn’t like it.
“Haven’t you ever done something you didn’t want to do because someone expected you to?” Her eyes searched mine.
“No. Never. My mom raised me to choose my path, and I’ve done exactly that. Down to the sport I played, the school I choose to attend. It’s all on my terms.”
She frowned. “Wow. I can’t say the same. I cheer because my mom told me I would cheer for East Texas since I was old enough to walk.”
“Maybe it’s time you start making your own decisions about who you date, what you do with your time, and where you go to school.”
“Maybe it is.” She wrapped her arms around her shoulders, just as the sun dipped behind the clouds.
“Come on. I better get you home. I can drop you a block from your house if you want.”
“Why would you do that?” she asked, pushing to her feet and pulling her backpack over her shoulder.
“Because your mother will probably lose her shit if she sees you on the back of my bike. She doesn’t like me. That’s no secret.”
Adelaide studied me, her tongue peeking out to wet her lips. “She doesn’t know you.”
We walked toward my bike and she hopped on the back and I settled between her legs. My dick on high alert once again, sitting this close to her. Breathing in all that goodness.
“Jett,” she said as I started the engine.
“Yeah?” I glanced over my shoulder and waited for her to speak.
“Drop me off in front of my house, please.”
I nodded and my lips turned up in the corners for reasons I couldn’t begin to understand.
This day had not gone as planned.
And I didn’t mind it one bit.
Chapter Nine
POST BUBBLE BURST
Adelaide
When I walked through the front door, the smell of barbeque and cornbread filled my senses. Mama was a fabulous cook. I could hear her talking on the phone, as she usually did when she made dinner. I glanced down at my cell to see a group text from the girls.
Coco ~ We need an update. Quick meeting at Addy’s. Be there in ten minutes.
She’d sent the message two minutes ago and everyone had responded to say they were on their way.
I peeked my head in and waved, motioning down to the basement to let her know the girls were coming over.
She covered the phone with her hand. “Dinner’s in thirty minutes, Adelaide. Don’t be late.”
“I won’t.” I waved over my shoulder and hurried downstairs.
Ivy was the first to arrive, and then Maura, Gigi, and Coco followed in shortly behind her. Ivy set the large notebook down and looked at me for a long moment before speaking. “How are you?”
“I’m okay, actually.” I shrugged. My world may have been turned upside down, but my heart was surprisingly in one piece.
“What did he say? We’re dying here,” Coco asked.
&nb
sp; I shook my head with disbelief. “He admitted it. He said he messed up.”
“He messed up? What the hell?” Maura hissed.
“Wow. I thought he’d deny it,” Gigi said.
“Nope. And he’s been blowing up my phone begging me not to tell my parents what he did because he doesn’t want his parents to know.” I rolled my eyes. “He’s more concerned about them finding out than me finding out.”
“You need to tell your parents what an asshole he is. Your mom thinks he’s so perfect. She needs to know what she’s pushing on you.” Coco stood and paced in front of us.
“That’s what Jett said.”
The room fell completely silent and Coco stopped walking. “Jett Stone?”
I bit down on my lip and tried to stop myself from smiling. He’d made a horrible day kind of fun. “Yeah. Alec and I fought, and he chased me out to the parking lot and Jett was there. I asked him for a ride. We just talked for a bit.”
“Talk about life giving you lemons and making lemonade.” Ivy burst out in laughter.
“He is one fine ass boy. That must have pissed off Alec that you left with him,” Maura said.
“Yeah. He wasn’t happy about it. But he doesn’t get to tell me what to do.”
“Damn straight. Thank god you didn’t give that asshat your V-card. And you rode on the back of Jett Stone’s bike. Jesus. So sexy.” Coco dropped back down to sit beside me.
We all laughed and talked about all the reasons Alec needed to be out of my life. I didn’t know if that would ever really be possible. He was a part of my life no matter how I dissected it. But he didn’t need to be my boyfriend.
Been there.
Done that.
And I wasn’t interested in going back.
Maura’s parents were texting her to get home, and my mom shouted downstairs that dinner was in five.
“Quick dance party?” Coco asked before grabbing her phone and hooking her Bluetooth to the speaker sitting on our media center.
This was her solution to everything that ever went wrong. Coco Radcliff believed dance parties fixed all of life’s problems.