by York, Marie
“Too obvious,” I said. “You bring her there, and she’ll know it’s a set up. Plus, I want something a little more private.”
“More private than an abandoned garden?”
“I stumbled upon it, so that means anyone can stumble upon it. And, with my luck lately, I don’t want to take the chance.”
Jimmy finished with the two customers in his line, and then snapped his finger. He pointed at me with way too much excitement. “Dude, I got it.”
I turned to him all ears.
“My grandparents have a lake house about two hours from here. They used to go up there all the time, but my grandfather had hip surgery, so they haven’t been able to.”
“Get to the point,” I said.
“I can get the keys. Tell Kennedy we’re going away for a weekend to relax. Get to the house, bring her inside, say I have to get something out of the car, and leave. She’ll be two hours from campus with no cell service. She’ll have no choice but to hear you out.”
I patted Jimmy on the back, and then grabbed him in a bear hug. “You, my friend, are a fucking genius.” I finally let him go as a customer walked up and gave us a weird look. “When can you get the keys by?” I asked, as he took the guys order.
“I go over there every Thursday for dinner. I can grab them then, and have them to you Friday morning. You head up there after class, and we’ll be an hour behind you.”
“You’d really drive two hours just to drive it back?”
“If it means you two can go back to annoying each other, and not me, then hell yeah.”
I gave his shoulder a shove. “Shut the fuck up. I’m not that annoying.”
He arched his eyebrow at me, then put his hands together. “Oh, Jimmy! She’s not talking to me.” His voice went up an octave. “What am I going to do? Jimmy, can you tell me where she is? Jimmy, has she said anything about me? Jimmy…”
I rolled my eyes. “I get it. Though, I sound nothing like that.”
He shrugged. “All whiners sound the same to me.”
“So, has she said anything about me?” I asked to be a smart ass, but since he mentioned it, it was all I could think about.
Jimmy threw his hands up in the air.
“I’m kidding.”
“No, you’re not. And no. She hasn’t. But she doesn’t have to say anything. Her eyes say it all.
“And what are they saying?” I asked.
“She’s miserable.”
I hated to think she was anything but happy, but a part of me was glad to hear that because it meant I wasn’t alone.
Chapter 20
Kennedy
My brother was an asshole. Seriously, if they gave out awards for Biggest Douche, he would win. I hadn’t seen him since he stopped by my dorm, and, as far as I knew, he was back on his side of the country, but that didn’t stop him from texting me.
Nix: Hope you learned your lesson.
I ignored him and didn’t respond, yet he kept going.
Nix: Stay away from him.
Nix: I mean it. Stay. Away. From. Him.
I wanted to write back, Get a life, but I knew it would only add fuel to the fire. If I ignored him, hopefully he’d go away. I never understood why he cared so much about my life. He had an opinion about everything, and happily shared it with me, always making me feel like I did something wrong. Just because he was older than me didn’t mean he had the right to act like my parent. I already had two, and trust me that was more than enough.
I slid my phone back into my bag and continued toward the coffee cart. I needed my caffeine fix. It had been a couple days since I stopped by to say hi to Jimmy and order my usual. I was afraid of bumping into Beckham. If that night at the club proved anything, it was that I was not to be trusted around him.
But I barely slept last night, tossing and turning as thoughts of Beckham kept popping in and out of my head. They were so vivid and so real; I swear I could feel his hands running up my sides, feel his fingers rolling my nipples into taut peaks. I could smell his delicious scent and taste him with every kiss I pressed to his chest as I worked my way down to his throbbing cock.
Wetness pooled between my legs just thinking about it. An incurable ache that I wasn’t sure would ever go away. Because, even if I let Beckham go, he’d never really be gone. He consumed my heart and devoured my soul. His sexy smirk would always be the vision that came to me when I was searching for a happy thought. And that damn man bun. I never imagined liking a guy with long hair, but nothing made me more content then running my fingers through the soft strands while we watched a movie.
Sadness reared its ugly head as I remembered watching Grease together. How mad I was at him, but then how happy I was to have his head on my lap. I shook the stupid thoughts away. It wasn’t helping my case to move on from him. So, I forced my mind to focus on the presentation I had to put together for my Art History class.
I chose Norman Rockwell because I loved how he captured the American culture within the twentieth century. His paintings were so vivid they looked more like photographs. I wish I had even an inkling of his talent. The best I could do was a stick figure with hair.
I remembered going out to eat with my family and Beckham, and drawing my stick figures on a placemat. Beckham made fun of me and insisted I draw a pair of pants on the poor guy…Dammit. No matter what I did I couldn’t get him out of my head.
The coffee cart came into view, and relief flooded me to see Beckham nowhere in sight. Jimmy stood in his designated place, making coffee and collecting money. He glanced in my direction and spotted me coming his way. A smile spread across his face, and he waved.
With a skip in my step, I waved back. I waited for him to finish with a customer then I jumped in before a line formed.
“Your usual?” he asked with the cup already in hand.
“Yes, please.”
“So, I was thinking,” he said, and I raised an eyebrow. “We should get away for a weekend. My grandparents have a lake house two hours from here. It’s beautiful and quiet and far away from all the bullshit. I think it would be good for you. What do you say?”
A weekend trip away was exactly what I needed. Two hours away from campus and two hours away from Beckham. It could be a weekend where I purged him from my system. Focus on myself and have a good time with someone who had quickly become one of my best friends. I couldn’t imagine a more perfect way to spend my weekend. Anything was better than moping around my dorm.
He handed me my coffee, and I excitedly took it from him. “What do I say? That sounds amazing! When do we leave?” I would go back to my dorm and pack my bag right now if he said so. I just wanted to get out of here.
“I was hoping this weekend.”
“Really?” He nodded, and the corner of my lips tugged upward into the biggest smile. I couldn’t contain my giddiness. I ran around the cart and threw my arms around him. “You’re the best.”
“I know,” he agreed with a cocky smirk. “I see my grandparents Thursday. If all goes well, we can be driving up there after classes on Friday.”
“Perfect! And on the drive, you can listen to me recite my presentation for Art History. I have to present on Tuesday.”
“Only if for the rest of the trip I have control of the radio.”
I tapped my chin and rolled my eyes up as if I was in deep thought. “Deal,” I finally said and held my hand out to shake on it. Jimmy gladly accepted. “Just do me one favor.”
“What’s that?” Jimmy asked.
“If I mention Beckham even once, hit me over the head with the closest object you can find. I don’t want to think about him at all this weekend.”
Jimmy gave me a weird look, but it was a strange request, so I understood his hesitation.
“No, Beckham talk. Got it,” he said, but for some reason I got the feeling that he knew that was never going to happen.
I would prove him wrong. I’d be strong. From the minute I got in the car on Friday, Beckham would no longer exist.
Chapter 21
Kennedy
Friday’s classes seemed to never end. I couldn’t wait to get in Jimmy’s car and disappear for the weekend. I hadn’t seen Beckham since our kiss at the club, but still knowing I could bump into him at any minute, was nerve-wracking. I didn’t want to have to think about where I was walking and at what time. I wanted to be free to move about without panic that I’d see him.
Plus, I knew him. He wouldn’t just slink away so easily. He was sitting low, waiting to make his move. The club was an epic disaster and there was no way he was going to give up so easily. Or maybe he would. Maybe he realized that I wasn’t worth the stress and aggravation. Maybe he cared more about his friendship with Nix than he did about me.
But he said he loved me…
No, I wasn’t doing this. This was a Beckham free weekend and I would not allow him to start controlling my thoughts before the weekend even began.
The professor wrapped up his lecture, and I had my notebook closed and in my hand before his last sentence was even out.
“Have a good weekend, folks,” he said, and I took off for the door.
I headed straight to my dorm to grab my bag. In twenty minutes, I’d be on my way to paradise. As I walked, I checked the weather on my phone. Severe thunderstorms were going to be coming through the area late in the evening, but would break away to sunshine midday Saturday. Fine by me. We didn’t have any plans for tonight other than eating ice cream and binge watching 90’s movies. Jimmy said his grandparents didn’t have much at the lake house, but they had a VCR with old VHS tapes.
I made it to my dorm in eight minutes. I think it was a new record for me. I swung the door open, grabbed my bag, and raced down to the parking lot. Jimmy had asked Erica if she wanted to come, but there was some poetry reading at the coffeehouse tonight she didn’t want to miss.
Jimmy leaned against his Prius, and I skipped toward him. “Time to get this party started,” I called out.
He reached into the car and cranked up the radio. He grabbed my hand and spun me around. My bag slid off my shoulder and I let it fall to the ground as I continued twirling. A few people walked by, and looked at us like we lost our freaking minds, but for the first time in a few days, I felt like I finally found it.
“Did you pee?” he asked as I came to a stop.
I lifted my eyebrow. “Yes, Dad.”
“I’m just saying, once we start going, I’m not stopping.”
“You said it’s only two hours. I think I can handle it.”
“Just checking,” he sing-songed before tossing my bag into the backseat. I stuck my tongue out at him then went to my side of the car.
“So, what’s the town like?” I asked as we got in and settled into our seats.
“What town? We’re seriously going to be in the middle of nowhere. There’s the lake and a few neighbors. Other than that, the closest store is thirty minutes away.”
“Sounds like the start of a low budget horror movie.”
“They haven’t found any bodies in the lake for at least a few years now,” he said, and I swiveled in my seat. My eyes widened as fear gnawed at my stomach. “Bodies?”
“Poor Sally Peterson. Such a sweet girl. May she rest in peace.” He made the sign of the cross, and I was ready to jump out of the car. I didn’t care that we were going sixty-five on the highway. I was all for being in the wilderness, but being in a ghost-infested lake town? No, thank you. A smile spread across his face. “I’m kidding. You are so damn gullible.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “Am not.”
“Am too. You were two seconds away from me turning this car around so you could go hide under your bed.”
“No more ghost stories.” I gave him puppy dog eyes and pouted my bottom lip.
He flicked my lip and laughed. “Does that really work for you?”
It worked with Beckham all the time. He always tried to pretend it didn’t affect him, and then a few moments later, he gave in. I guess I just assumed it would work with everyone.
“Sometimes,” I answered.
“Probably because you look so damn pathetic.”
Is that why it worked with Beckham? Did he think I was some sad, pathetic little girl, and he felt bad for me?
Jimmy put his hand on my head and shook it. “I thought this was a no Beckham weekend.”
“It is.”
“Then stop thinking about him.”
“I’m not.”
“Has anyone ever told you you’re a terrible liar?”
“How did you even know that I was thinking about him?”
“Because you always get this look in your eye when you do. It used to be a happy sparkle, but lately it’s been less sparkle and more sad and dull.”
I shrugged, not because I didn’t know what to say, but because he was right. It wasn’t just my eyes that were sad and dull; it was my entire being. I never thought missing someone so much could completely drain me. I felt empty and no matter what I did I couldn’t make the feeling go away.
“Have you talked to him?” Jimmy asked.
“No.”
“Maybe—”
I held my hand up, cutting off his words. “I don’t want to talk about it.” Talking about it only made me sad, and that was the last thing I wanted. I wanted this weekend to be fun and happy. I wanted to pretend Beckham didn’t exist.
Taylor Swift came on the radio, and I leaned over and turned it up. Jimmy didn’t push the topic. Instead, he scooped up his cell phone from the center console, and sang into it like a microphone.
We spent the rest of the ride singing and laughing. This was exactly what I needed. Two hours later, we turned down a road that brought us into the woods. Jimmy made a few more turns, and we pulled up in front of the cutest cottage with dark siding and lots of windows overlooking the lake.
I got out of the car, and stared across the serene water to the beautiful trees that were slowly starting to change their green leaves for vibrant reds, yellows and oranges. The sun was setting, disappearing into the horizon, mixing streaks of pink with blue.
It was absolutely breathtaking.
“It’s pretty, isn’t it?” Jimmy said, coming up behind me, and wrapping his arm around my shoulders.
“Gorgeous.”
“Come on, let me give you the tour of the house.”
I followed Jimmy inside and glanced around the cozy living room. A fireplace sat in the middle of the room and I couldn’t wait to get a fire going. I just hoped Jimmy knew how to make one because, other than Duraflames, I had no idea how to get one started.
Whenever I went camping when I was younger, Nix and Beckham always were in charge of the fire. I always stayed with Mom and pretended to help setup the sleeping bags while she did all the work. I once asked Nix if I could help and he abruptly told me no. Just like with everything else.
“Oh, crap. I forgot something in the car. I’ll be right back,” Jimmy said, and headed back out the front door.
I continued to scan the room, taking in the warmth of the house. A large light brown sectional sat to the far left and across from it closer to the fireplace was an oversized recliner that I imagined spending my night in cuddled up in a blanket.
“It’s pretty awesome, isn’t it?”
My heart stopped at the sound of his voice. I was imagining it. Had to be. Why would he be here? My mind was playing tricks on me.
I spun around and was faced with the one person I was hoping to forget about this weekend. His hair was pulled back, and his beautiful hazel eyes were intent and focused on me. He looked amazing in a white t-shirt and a gray hoodie that fit snuggly around his biceps.
Desire coursed through me, but I let the anger push it aside. “What the fuck are you doing here?” I demanded.
He moved toward me, but stopped when I glared at him with all the anger that was boiling inside me.
“I just want to talk. You didn’t give me any other choice.”
“Too bad for yo
u I don’t want to talk. I’m leaving. Goodbye, Beckham.”
I ignored the urge to run into his arms and ran out the front door instead. As I came to a stop in the driveway, I watched as Jimmy drove away. He rolled his window down, and a sorry floated out as he disappeared into the early evening.
Fuck. I threw my hands up in the air. What the hell was I going to do now?
Chapter 22
Beckham
It’s not that I expected Kennedy to welcome me with open arms, but I honestly didn’t think she’d run out the damn door. Nor did I think she’d start walking down the dirt road. Her blonde hair trailed behind her as she stomped down the road, her tight ass swaying with each step.
I ran after her, jogging up beside her when I finally caught up to her. I wrapped my hand around her wrist. “Where are you going?”
She snapped her hand away from me. “Home!”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Didn’t you pay attention on the way here? The closest store is thirty minutes away. And some of these houses look delipidated, and God only knows what you’ll find behind those doors.”
Her eyes narrow into the tiniest of slits and anger tugged at the corners. “I’d rather take my chances than spend another second here with you.”
“A little dramatic, don’t you think?”
“No, I don’t. I’ve had my share of drama to last me a lifetime, thank you very much. So if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be on my way now.”
“It’s getting dark. Pretty soon it’ll be pitch black, and you won’t be able to see where you’re going.”
“I don’t care.” She continued storming down the road with determined strides.
I kept pace with her, refusing to leave her out here alone in the middle of fucking nowhere. “I heard a storm is rolling in.” “I still don’t care.”
“Well, I do.” Arguing with Kennedy could last for hours, and I was losing my patience. So, I cut the argument short and grabbed her by the waist and tossed her over my shoulder.
