by Sadie Allen
As Sterling guided us toward Blake and Elodie’s table, I looked down at my outfit and winced. I really didn’t want to get my camisole covered in paint.
“Hey, B and E,” Sterling greeted, his smile wide and teasing.
Blake looked up at us and replied with a grin, “Hey, liar, liar, pants on fire, and Ally.” He was reclined in his chair, ankle propped on his knee, hands folded in his lap.
I eyed his pants, which were brown with striped, asymmetrical patches at the knee, zippers at the pockets, and had some gold button flap thing at the crotch. He had paired it with a gray V-neck tee and a black sweater that had thumb holes in the sleeves.
I glared at him, but before I could blast him, he declared, “Shut up. Your hair is fabulous, and everyone else thinks so, too.”
“But the whispers—”
“Were ones of delight. The blonde is fierce and hot AF,” Blake countered.
“I like your pants and sweater,” I muttered, deciding arguing with him was a lost cause.
“Thanks, love. But I’m going to say it right now … I’m not painting.”
I glanced at Elodie who was unusually quiet. “Hey, Elodie.”
She was hunched over the table, head in her hands, only her eyes moving to acknowledge me.
“Don’t mind her. She’s worried about performing her song on Monday. Raven already started in on her this morning, the thirsty witch, and she’s freaked,” Blake supplied.
I gritted my teeth and searched out Raven. She was on the other side of the room, laughing with Janet and Lana. She must have felt my gaze because she turned to look at me, took note of Sterling’s arm around my shoulders, and sneered.
I decided to do something I had only done once in my entire life … I raised my hand to my face, flipped up only my middle finger, and scratched my nose with it, blatantly flipping her off while glaring daggers at her.
Her eyes narrowed back at me like she wanted to murder me … violently.
I felt Sterling’s heat and his lips at my ear before he whispered, “I saw that.”
I ignored him, watching hatred morph Raven’s features. Then her face went funny. Her eyes widened in panic, and then she went pale as she quickly covered her mouth and ran for the nearest trash can.
The distinct sound of retching and gagging made everyone in the room turn and look at Raven bent over the trash can against the wall. Some gagged and others muttered “gross” and “sick,” while Raven’s two friends and some other girls went over there.
“Serves her right,” Blake muttered.
Mrs. Cook hurried over to the group gathered around Raven and shooed them away. She took Raven by the shoulders and guided her to the hall that led to the teacher’s lounge.
I looked up at Sterling to see his reaction. His face looked funny.
“You feeling okay?” I asked. Maybe he was one of those who got nauseous when he heard someone throwing up?
His jaw clenched, and his lips thinned. He didn’t answer verbally, just nodded and averted his eyes.
I glanced at Blake, who was studying Sterling. Then I checked Elodie, who hadn’t moved from her dejected position. I moved out from under Sterling’s arm and went to sit next to her. Sterling took the seat next to mine and scooted in close, draping his arm over the back of my chair.
“It’s going to be okay, Elodie. We’ll figure something out,” I said as I reached out and squeezed her shoulder.
She just nodded, but it didn’t look like she felt any better or even believed me.
I sighed and thought this was going to be a long effin’ day.
We were in Sterling’s car, driving out of town, but not in the direction of my house. It turned out we didn’t need to build anything today. Most of the props had been donated, and what we couldn’t make, the shop class would. Therefore, we ended up just painting signs and banners for Rydell High, and then blocked out more scenes. I was becoming more confident in this theater stuff once I knew where to go and what to do. I knew we would need to practice more, but I could see the threads starting to weave themselves together.
I looked out the passenger side window, noting the sun would set at any moment. I didn’t need to ask where we were going since, moments later, we were pulling into the lot of Westbank Park.
Sterling cut the engine and said, “Come on,” before he got out.
I reached for the door handle and followed his lead, limping around to the front where he stood waiting on me. When I came in close, he grabbed my waist and hefted me up on the primer gray hood of his car.
“Wha—”
He let me go, and I scooted back farther so I didn’t slide off. The warm metal felt good on my throbbing hamstring, dulling the ache. It probably would have burned if I hadn’t been wearing jeans. I had done too much over the past couple days and was feeling the brunt of it.
He climbed onto the hood beside me and put his arm around me.
“What are we doing?” I whispered. I didn’t know why. We were the only ones out here, and we were outside.
“We’re watching the sun set,” he replied, not whispering.
I cuddled in close to his body as we silently watched the bright orange orb sink below the horizon. The light blue sky streaked in oranges, reds, and purples, giving way to the navy of the oncoming night. Stars began to twinkle in the ever-darkening sky as the sun fell and all traces of its glow disappeared.
At one time, I thought there could never be a more perfect sunset, but I had been wrong. So wrong. This was the most perfect sunset I had ever witnessed and probably ever would for the rest of my life.
“Did you know,” Sterling broke into my silent reverie, “if a person lives to be eight-five, they would see twenty-nine thousand and two hundred sunsets?”
I shook my head that was resting on his shoulder. “No.”
“I think I could sit here and watch twenty-nine thousand and however many more with you.” He rubbed his cheek against my hair, and my heart gave a little leap, probably trying to escape my chest and invade his. I could get used to this, but I had questions.
“What are we doing, Sterling?”
His cheek was still pressed to the top of my head when he asked, “What do you mean?”
I pulled back so I could see his face. Well, try to see it in the dark that had shrouded us.
“Are we dating? Boyfriend and girlfriend? What?” It came out snippier than I had wanted it to, but I was feeling a little panicked.
He was silent a beat, his face expressionless, almost guarded. Then he asked, “What do you want to be?”
I blew out a breath and turned to gaze out at the lake. I knew what I wanted us to be and who I wanted to be. Right now, I had the opportunity to try on this new Ally Everly, to be the open and honest person I never could have been before.
My insides quivered, and my palms started sweating, but I answered him.
“I want to be with you,” I replied in a small voice, eyes still focused on the gentle motion of the water, trying not to wince at how weak it had sounded.
I felt fingers grip my chin, and then my face was turned back toward him. He was so close that his eyes snared mine. I couldn’t look away. I was transfixed by their beauty, and it wasn’t just the unusual color; it was the expression flowing out of them.
“Good,” he said softly then started to lean forward.
Before his lips could touch mine, I blurted, “Why?”
This was something that had been plaguing me. Why was Sterling so interested? Yes, I was pretty, but that was basically all I had going for me.
His brows furrowed, and he tilted his head to one side. “Why?”
“Yeah, I mean, why do you want me?”
He paused, examining my expression, then asked, “Are you serious?”
Was I serious? Of course I was serious. Why else would I have asked a question that had the potential to destroy me? I mean, what if he couldn’t think of anything? What if he answered it the same way he had answered it last night about
Raven? I just didn’t see what he could possibly see in me.
“Yeah.” I sounded annoyed because I was, well, annoyed.
He shook his head and muttered, “I want to wring their necks.”
“Who?” I asked. Now it was me who was confused.
“Your daddy and that douchebag Miles Thorpe,” he gritted out. “Neither one of those assholes helped you see your worth. Your father more than Miles. A guy is supposed to show his woman, whether they’re his daughter or girl, that they’re precious. You tell them, but you also show them by treating them like gold.”
He rested his forehead against mine and continued to stare into my eyes as he said, “Ally, you are amazing. You think you’re weak, but you’re not. You’re strong—”
“No, I’m not,” I interrupted, shaking my head.
“Ally—”
“I tried—”
“I know what you tried to do. I remember the last sunset we watched together, even if you didn’t realize I was there with you. Strong people have moments of weakness, and that was yours. Even rocks crack and break over time with enough pressure. That doesn’t mean you can’t repair those crack and breaks.” He paused to let that sink in. “You’re also smart. And when you forget to be guarded and aren’t bracing yourself for the worst, you’re funny. I’ve been watching you for a long time, Ally Everly.”
I pulled back and inspected his face, gauging whether he was just teasing me or telling the truth. His expression was completely earnest, and hope unfurled and grew inside me.
Sterling reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “I also know you’ve been watching me for a while, too.”
Heat rose to my cheeks, and my gaze dropped to Sterling’s jean-clad thigh.
He dropped his hand from my hair then grabbed both my hands in his and started rubbing them between his own. “It’s getting chilly. We should probably head back.”
I nodded, mainly relieved because I was mortified that I hadn’t been as stealthy as I thought in my Sterling stalking over the years, but also because it was getting cold. The wind off the lake was always chillier.
He continued to warm my hands, bringing them to his mouth and blowing on them before letting them go and sliding off the hood. He then captured my hips and pulled me forward until his legs were between my own. Tilting his head down, a devilish look on his face, he said in a smug voice, “So, it’s official. You’re my girl.”
I smiled shyly and nodded, my gaze never leaving his.
He dipped forward and brushed his lips against mine. It wasn’t an open-mouthed, tongue kiss; it was a slow, soft kiss. A reverent one. A kiss that, if I had been standing, it would have brought me to my knees.
He moved up and pressed another one to my forehead before he moved away and helped me down from the hood and into his car.
He didn’t have to say words. His actions, his kiss, they showed me he thought I was worth something. That he thought I was precious. It was the little things. It was everything.
Sterling walked me to my door, his kiss brief and his face haggard. He had to be exhausted after our late night, and then being gone all day with no sleep.
“I’m gonna go home and crash. Night, princess.” He flicked two fingers, and then he was in his Chevelle, the glow of his taillights disappearing down the road.
The porch light was on, and my mom’s car was in the driveway, so I knew she was home. Dad’s car was still mysteriously absent. The new Ally Everly would get to the bottom of what was going on.
I straightened my shoulders and marched—more like limped with determination—into the house, finding Mom curled up on the couch, watching Grey’s Anatomy.
I strode to the couch and plopped down next to her. “Where’s Dad?” I demanded.
“Why?” She didn’t look at me, her eyes remaining fused to the screen.
Why? Did she think I wouldn’t notice the grand master puppeteer who constantly pulled our strings had suddenly disappeared?
“Um … Because he’s been home at night almost every night for the past seventeen years, yet he hasn’t been home in almost a week?”
“Business trip. He’s having to take lots of business trips,” she said in a tone that was devoid of emotion, her eyes still not straying from the medical drama playing out on the television.
“But—”
She suddenly reached for the remote and clicked off the TV. She still didn’t look at me when she declared, “My back hurts, so I think I’ll take a pill and head off to bed.”
My stomach dropped, and my chest got tight. It got worse with her next words.
“I had to call Russell to get another prescription since I can’t find my bottle of pain meds anywhere.”
My gaze dropped to my hands, and my breath started sawing in and out of my body. It was good she wasn’t watching, or she might have caught my impending panic attack.
“Night, Ally. Love you,” she called, her voice fading.
“Night, Mom. Love you,” I whispered.
I dropped my chin to my chest and squeezed my eyes shut. I was an awful, horrible daughter, and if I could manage it, she would never know.
On autopilot, I got up from the couch, cut off all the lights, and checked the door. Then I staggered to my room and numbly got ready for bed. When the lights were off and I was alone in the darkness of my room, I let the tears of shame and guilt leak from my eyes.
Never. She would never find out what had happened. No one would, except for Sterling, Blake, and Elodie, who already knew. The incident was going in a box, and I was going to bury it so far inside me that it never came out.
And that was how I forgot …
Sundays were church days, so I was shocked when I rolled out of bed that morning and it was way past time to be there. Like, it was over. And Mom wasn’t anywhere in sight. I even knocked on her bedroom door, but nothing. No sound. No nothing. Weird.
So, here I was … foraging for sustenance since it was after twelve, when the doorbell sounded. Confused, because I didn’t know who would be here, I padded to the front door and looked out the peephole.
Sterling.
I jerked the door open and gaped at him. “What are you doing here?” Belatedly, I realized I was still in my pajamas and no bra.
He smiled. “You didn’t get my text?”
“Crap,” I muttered. I hadn’t checked my phone since I had gotten up. It was sitting on my desk in my room.
I invited him to come in, but he shook his head and gestured behind him where a black Ford Explorer was idling in the driveway, Pops in the driver’s seat. His black aviators were trained on us, and he lifted his finger from the steering wheel in a wave. I lifted my hand back.
“You need to hurry and get dressed, and you won’t be able to do that if I come inside.” Sterling raised his brows. Yeah, I got his meaning.
“Just give me a minute.” I turned, not even bothering to close the door, and hobbled quickly down the hall. I pulled the first thing from my closet, which was a thick, white, long-sleeved shirt with two black horizontal stripes, and black skinny jeans. I tied my hair up in a ponytail, not even running a brush through it, just finger-combed it. I did, however, brush my teeth and wipe my face with a facial cleansing cloth.
This was not the Ally Everly of before. That Ally would have felt self-conscious leaving the house without makeup or even her hair down. I was embracing the new me. The blonde Ally who was up for adventure.
I slipped on my shoes, grabbed my purse, wrote Mom a note, and then met Sterling at the door, since he hadn’t moved since I had left.
I kissed his cheek and whispered, “Hey.”
“Hey, princess.” His returning smile was wide and happy, and I loved it. He was so handsome standing there, looking back at me with warm eyes and a relaxed expression, like everything was right in his world.
Hand on my lower back, he guided me to the back driver’s side door and opened it. I jumped at the sight of B & E.
Blake was practically vi
brating in his seat, and Elodie looked like she was going to be sick.
I turned to Sterling. “What is go—”
“Got no time. I’ll explain on the way,” Pops barked.
I looked at him and saw that he had twisted his neck so I could only see his profile while he spoke to me.
In a softer tone, he said, “Hey, Ally, darlin’.”
Sterling closed the door while I replied, “Hey, Pops.”
Once Sterling was back in the front seat and we were motoring out of the driveway, I leaned forward and whispered to him, “Where’s Jack?”
Sterling twisted back and answered, “Jack doesn’t do too well with noise, so he’s with a friend today.”
Sitting back, I watched Pops open his mouth to say something, when Blake burst out, “We’re going to karaoke!”
Elodie groaned.
I leaned forward to place my hand on her knee. “You okay?”
“She’s just nervous,” Blake interjected.
“It’s going to be just like singing in class,” Sterling said from the front.
“I think that’s the problem,” I gritted out to him from the side of my mouth, my focus on Elodie’s ashen face.
“We’ll have it all sorted by tonight. I got a friend back in the town I grew up in; she owns a diner and agreed to host an impromptu karaoke night for us. I got the equipment in the back,” Pops boomed.
“A lady friend?” Blake asked in a sing-song voice.
Elodie whacked him on the shoulder and gave him an “are you crazy” look.
Pops’ rumbly laugh of disbelief filled the cab as he said, “Shit no. Sally is old enough to be my mother.” When Sterling sent Pops a look, he amended, “Okay, maybe an older sister. But don’t tell her I said any of that. I like my balls right where they are.”
I giggled and noticed that Elodie had cracked a smile, the first one I had seen since Friday.
An hour later, we pulled in front of a small diner aptly named Sally’s and all got out of the Explorer. As Pops, Blake, and Elodie headed for the door, Sterling moved to the back to unload the machine and mic. It was a lot smaller than I thought it would be, just a medium-sized white stereo with a rainbow-striped speaker, a small screen on the front face, and two mics attached.
