Frayed: A Small Town Sports Romance (Willow Springs Series Book 1)

by Laura Pavlov

  “What’s happening with you?” I asked Gigi. “Is Hayden still trying to get you to go out with him?”

  “I guess. But I think we’re just friends. He came over to watch a movie, and oh my gosh, I wanted to kill Cade and Gray. They came in and grilled him. And then that stupid ass, Gray, plopped down right in between us and reached for the popcorn. Cade went off to bed, and Gray just sat there like the bastard that he is, for the entire movie,” Gigi huffed. Her older brother Cade’s best friend, Gray Baldwin, was a thorn in her side. We all thought he was charming and funny. Gigi not so much. She despised him.

  Coco’s laughter filled the room. “Gray totally cockblocked you.”

  “Oh my gosh, you are so crude. There was nothing to block. Hayden’s kissed me once, and there was nothing there. But that doesn’t mean Gray needs to involve himself. Ugh. I can’t stand that kid.”

  “He is hot though,” Maura said. “And if you get into TU, you’ll have to deal with him.”

  “Don’t remind me. It’s been my dream school forever, but I don’t know if I have the grades to get in. And the only negative thing about going to TU is that freaking Gray is there. I don’t know how that jackass got in there, anyway.” She closed her eyes and clenched her jaw. “It would be so cool if we went there together, Addy.”

  My stomach dipped. We both definitely had the grades. Gigi was fifth in our class, so we were fairly similar on GPAs and we’d both killed it on our SATs, but I was worried about my essay. I should have just answered it the way I knew they wanted me to. Instead, I’d decided to be totally honest, and that just might be the nail in the coffin that kept me from going there.

  “It would be amazing. We could room together. But I don’t want to get my hopes up.” I shrugged.

  Ivy shut the book and glanced up at us, eyes watery. “I can’t believe we’re down to these last few months together.”

  We all leaned forward and grasped hands, as my mother shouted down the stairs that it was time for dinner.

  “The warden beckons. Love you guys,” Coco said as we all pushed to our feet.

  “Love you,” we called out before they walked out the door.

  I took a minute to gather myself. I needed to tell my parents that I had applied to several schools and I had no intention of going to State. My mother thought I was bluffing when I’d mentioned the idea of going elsewhere.

  But I was dead serious.

  I just had to find the right time to tell her.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Jett

  I’d told Adelaide to meet me out at our spot on the lake after school. We didn’t have AP calc today, and I’d had my mom call me out of English a few minutes early so I could come out here first. I wanted to surprise her for her birthday, so I grabbed the flowers from Violet’s floral shop on my way over. When she found out they were for Adelaide, she added a few more of her favorite flowers to the bouquet. I’d never bought a girl flowers aside from Ma and Gram.

  I’d also bought her a bracelet which even surprised the shit out of me that I’d thought of it. Shaw and Jax had gone with me and helped me pick out the charms, razzing me the whole time about it. I wasn’t sure if it was a stupid idea because we were supposed to be taking this one day at a time, but that shit had gone out the window a few weeks ago. I was all in on this girl. I’d never felt anything close to this and I didn’t know what to do with all these feelings. But just like I knew to look out for Ma and Gram as early as I can remember or the way I knew what to do the first time a football was placed in my hands—I knew in my gut that this was right. This thing with us was the first thing that felt right in my life in a long time. And it made no sense.

  Adelaide and I being together made no sense.

  We came from different worlds.

  But right now, I wasn’t going to question it. I was just living in the moment. And she made me feel like a fucking king. Being with her ignited things in me I’d never experienced. Feeling thankful, feeling joy, those weren’t part of my usual demeanor. But fuck it. I was going to feel all of it for as long as I could.

  “Jett?” she called out, and I pushed to my feet, shifting around like some sort of dorky, romantic, shithead.

  “Hey, I’m down here.” My gaze locked with hers and she started running my way. She wore a white dress that hit her mid-thigh, a jean jacket and her favorite cowboy booties. And she looked fucking gorgeous.

  She whooshed into my chest, and I caught her. “Why’d you leave school early? I got your note to meet you out here.”

  I laughed and set her down on her feet. “I wanted to give you your birthday present.”

  If anyone had told me six months ago that I’d be picking up a certain type of flower and personalizing a bracelet and going to all this trouble to make it special for a girl—I’d have called them crazy. But here I was. Doing all the things I thought would make her smile. Hell, I hadn’t even slept with her, and I wanted to give her everything.

  She worked hard at everything she did, and she listened better than anyone I’d ever known. She hung out with people like Lenny and Violet just because she knew they needed a friend. She was good to her very core. And I fucking loved that about her.

  I’d told her things I’d never shared with anyone. Not everything, obviously, or she’d be running for the hills. But I shared parts of myself I’d never thought I’d be comfortable sharing.

  So yeah, I was going to make an effort to make her birthday special. That included having dinner at her home and kissing her mother’s ass because I knew it was important to Adelaide. Never thought I’d go that far for a girl. But I was just getting started.

  Her gaze moved from me to the hammock where a bouquet of flowers sat surrounded by some sort of tan paper with a ribbon around it.

  “Oh my god. You got me peonies?”

  I shrugged. “They’re your favorite, right?”

  “Yeah. I can’t believe you remembered.” She moved over and picked them up, pulling them to her nose and breathing them in. Long dark waves tumbled over her shoulders.

  “I love them. Thank you so much. That was so thoughtful. You aren’t trying to get out of dinner, are you?” She chuckled.

  Hell, I wished I could. I wasn’t looking forward to it.

  “Nope. I wanted to give you your gift before we were at dinner. I’m not big on doing things with an audience.” I reached in my pocket and handed her the little box from Saxe Jewelry Store.

  Her jaw dropped. “There’s more?”

  I chuckled. This girl. She’d be happy with me just coming to dinner. Giving her a bracelet made of twine. I didn’t come from money, obviously, but I’d covered rent for Ma this month and I’d pulled in an extra fight this past week to pay for the bracelet. I was happy to spend it on her. And I had a fight tomorrow, so I’d have more money coming in soon.

  She opened the box and tears sprung from her eyes as she took in each of the charms hanging from the delicate gold bracelet. There was a book charm because I knew she loved to read, a little laptop charm because her passion was writing, a willow tree charm because she loved this godforsaken town, and my jackass friends convinced me to add the little gold jet charm as a reminder that it was from me.

  “Jett,” she croaked. “This is… it’s gorgeous. I love it so much. Thank you.”

  A tear ran down her cheek and my fucking chest squeezed. I wasn’t a sappy asshole, but something about this girl had a way of bringing me to my knees with no warning.

  “Happy Birthday, Ace.”

  I helped her clasp the bracelet around her slender wrist, and it sat next to the tattered rope bracelet that I’d made her for Christmas, and she’d never taken off. I’m sure her mother was having a field day with that monstrosity.

  “I…” She paused, and looked up at me with so much adoration it nearly took my breath away. Dark eyes watery and full of emotion. “I
love you, Jett Stone. I really love you.”

  My tongue dipped out to wet my bottom lip. Hell, I hadn’t expected that. Not because I didn’t feel it. I did. But love was a dangerous emotion. One that could cripple you if you allowed yourself to feel it too much. Too intensely. But I couldn’t stop myself from saying it, because I’d be a liar if I didn’t admit I felt the same way. And I was a lot of things, but a liar wasn’t one of them.

  “I love you, Ace. Happy Birthday.”

  I went home to change because I knew her mother would have me under a magnifying glass, so I may as well not give her more ammunition to work with than necessary.

  When I held my hand up to knock at the Edingtons’ door, it whipped open before I even made contact.

  “Hey there, handsome. Are you ready for the shitshow?” Clementine asked before laughing at herself.

  Damn, she definitely was the rebel of the family.

  I fucking loved it. Every family needed one.

  “I’m ready.” I smirked.

  “Jett, happy you could join us for Ladybug’s special day.” Mayor Edington was a genuine guy who adored his family. It was impossible to miss.

  “Thanks for having me.” I shoved my hands in my pockets and looked up to see Adelaide’s mom staring at me.

  “Come. Sit,” Savannah Edington said, leading us into the dining room before shouting up the stairs for Adelaide to come to dinner. I didn’t miss the edge in her voice and alarm bells were going off. She was up to something and her husband seemed completely unaware, but Clementine locked eyes with me as if she were thinking the same thing.

  “Hey,” my girl said, coming over and wrapping her arms around my middle. “Thanks for coming. Here, you can sit next to me.”

  We dropped down to sit. Her father sat at the head of the table and her mother and sister sat across from us.

  “Forgive us, Jett. My daughter requested her favorite, chicken tacos, not the most elegant meal. But it’s her day.” Her mother shrugged, and I gazed around at the platters of rice, beans, chicken, chips, tortillas, cheese, guacamole, and salsa. The woman didn’t do anything half-ass, that’s for sure.

  “No problem. I love tacos.”

  “So, I hear you’re signing your letter of intent with Texas University this week?” her father asked.

  “Yep. It feels good to know where I’m going,” I said, and Adelaide beamed up at me.

  “Ah… I understand that. I thought Addy knew where she was going as well, but she mentioned now that she doesn’t know if she wants to go there. After all our years of planning.” Her mother’s tone was hard, and her cold stare landed on me.

  My hand found Adelaide’s thigh beneath the table. She placed her hand on top of mine to let me know she was okay.

  Classical music played lightly through the surround sound in the dining room, and the elegant setting didn’t match the casual dinner on the table nor the tension that stirred in the air.

  “You’re bringing this up now?”

  “Well, it seems Jett has something to do with this newfound interest in spreading your wings. You’re going back on everything we planned, Addy.” Her mother turned her attention to Adelaide, and I shifted in my chair with discomfort. If looks could kill, I’d be diving in front of my girl to take this bullet for her.

  “It was never my plan. It was just something you said for as long as I can remember, and I never said anything different. But there’s nothing wrong with changing the plan, Mama. I’m young. You should be encouraging me to chase my dreams.” Adelaide dropped her fork on her plate and the loud clank startled everyone.

  “Chase your dreams? Don’t be so dramatic. Let me ask you, Jett. Is this your doing? Are you a dream chaser?” Her tone was laced with sarcasm.

  “Oh my god,” Adelaide shouted, and tossed her napkin on the table. “Of course, you think it’s his fault. I’ve been trying to talk to you, Mama, but you don’t listen. I don’t want to go to the state school. I’ve told you that, but you end the conversation and walk away.”

  “You never had a problem with it before you broke up with Alec,” her mother hissed.

  “Mother, do you hear yourself? This isn’t about Alec. Nor is it about Jett. This is about me. I’m really happy because I’m finally finding my way. Why can’t you embrace that?” A tear ran down Adelaide’s cheek, and I squeezed her thigh, wanting to pull her onto my lap, but afraid that would put her mother over the edge. I scooched my chair closer, our legs touching, and wrapped an arm around her shoulder to comfort her. I couldn’t help myself.

  “Listen. It’s Ladybug’s birthday dinner. We have a guest. This is something that can wait until later, yes?” Her father spoke, and apprehensively looked up at his wife.

  “I think it’s fairly simple,” Clementine spoke up. “Addy is tired of being told what she wants, and she’s finally making choices for herself. And it’s about time. Women have been repressed long enough, am I right?”

  “Oh Clem, please. I am in no mood for one of your ridiculous speeches. Can you save it for later?”

  “Mama, if everyone stayed silent and waited for a convenient time, there would never be change.” Clementine rolled her eyes before winking at me.

  “You okay?” I asked, looking at Adelaide who sat completely still in her seat. She nodded.

  “She’s fine. What’s that on your wrist, next to the dirty rope?” her mother asked, staring at her daughter.

  Adelaide stiffened and looked up to meet her mother’s gaze. “It’s a charm bracelet from Jett. Isn’t it beautiful?”

  “Ah, so nice. Very thoughtful.” Her father nodded. But it was obvious that everyone was on edge.

  “What are the charms?” Clementine asked, cocking her head to the side, and smiling.

  “There’s a willow tree, a little jet,” Adelaide said, turning to look at me. I pulled my arm back and started eating again since everyone at the table had gotten back down to business, as if they hadn’t just had a huge argument. “A book because I love to read and a laptop because I want to be a writer.”

  Clank.

  Now it was her mother’s turn to drop her fork on her plate and cross her arms over her chest. Her face flushed red, but she didn’t speak. She looked like she might explode, and her husband put his hand on her shoulder.

  What the fuck was her deal? This was all because she wanted to be a writer? Why the fuck did that piss her off? Mrs. Edington was three shades of southern crazy. I wanted to tell her that arranging a marriage for your child and deciding how their life would play out before they were even born was an ass-backward way of thinking. But it wasn’t my place, so I fought the urge to call her out.

  “You’re a great writer, Addy. You could lead the charge for all women,” Clementine said over a mouthful of chicken.

  “Manners, dear,” her mother hissed. She didn’t eat again and stayed quiet the rest of dinner, as she continued to sip her wine.

  Adelaide’s father asked me some more about my plans with school and football, and my girl relaxed a bit beside me.

  We all cleared our plates, and Savannah Edington brought out a chocolate cake with sprinkles all over it. “Happy Birthday and Happy Valentine’s Day, Adelaide. I love you.”

  “I love you too, Mama,” she said, and I saw the sadness in her eyes.

  There were a whole lot of head games going on at this table, and I knew that her mother was not done with the conversation, but she’d wait until I was gone.

  We ate cake and Clementine told us all about her argument with Principal Walker and how he declined her offer to host a women’s rights protest on campus. I laughed my head off as she called him a pretentious, stubborn jackass.

  “I’ve had enough, Clem. Help clear the table and head up to take your shower, please. It’s been a long day.” Adelaide’s mother pushed to her feet and started clearing the table.

 
We all stood, and I helped clear my plate, but Mrs. Edington shooed me off and told me she had it covered. I definitely got the vibe she wanted me to leave.

  “Addy, you need to get your homework done and get showered as well. It’s getting late.”

  Adelaide rolled her eyes and pushed up to kiss my cheek. “Let me run to the bathroom and grab my coat, and I’ll walk you out.”

  I made my way toward the front door, ready to get the hell out of this house.

  “Thanks for having me,” I said to her parents and her sister, as Adelaide ran up the stairs and I grabbed my leather coat.

  “Thanks for coming, Jett. Please come by more often,” her father said.

  Clementine hugged me and her cheeks pinked. I ruffled the top of her head because the kid was fucking adorable. A little hellion, but charming as hell.

  “I’ll walk you out, I’d like to speak to you,” Adelaide’s mother said, reaching for her jacket. Wow. She wasn’t waiting for her daughter to return. She wanted me out of the house now.

  We stepped out on the front porch, and she crossed her arms over her chest. “Listen, I don’t know what game you’re playing with my daughter, but it’s run its course.”

  Her hard stare had me squaring my shoulders. This wasn’t a goodbye-thanks-for-coming-to-dinner, this was a goodbye-get-the-hell-out-of-my-daughter’s-life. Jesus, this woman could give Wren a run for his money when it came to intimidation. Lucky for me, I didn’t intimidate easily.

  “Not playing any games, Mrs. Edington.”

  She nodded. “All right. You want to do this. Let’s do it. Addy tells me you’re a smart kid. You and I both know you’re not good enough for my daughter. Your mother got knocked up as a teenager, and you don’t even know who your damn father is. Sorry, but family matters to me. And I want a hell of a lot more for my daughter.”

  Holy shit.

  The woman doesn’t mince words.

  And my mother was off-limits.

  “You know nothing about me. Nothing about my family.”