This Love of Mine (Raine Series #1)

by Bennett, Amanda

  “Hey girly,” Demi’s sing-song voice chimes through the phone and I smile. I like her.

  “Hey Dem! I thought you were coming over later for ice-cream and really bad rom com’s?” I ask. We made plans last week for a girls’ night at my apartment after Demi decided she needs a break from her boyfriend, Tommy.

  “That’s why I’m calling girl, I’m so sorry to have to cancel. Tommy went to Lake Dixon with the rest of the boys and called me a few minutes ago asking me to go get him. He’s too drunk to drive. Again.” She sighs and I can hear the exasperation in her voice. This is almost a weekly occurrence. If uncle Alex knew what his boys got up to he’d literally shit a brick house. That’s probably why they do it at Lake Dixon, it’s a half hour drive outside of town.

  “Do you need me to go with you?”

  “Oh would you mind? I hate making the drive on my own,” she says. I would also hate making the drive on my own. I wonder why Tommy would be so stupid to get drunk when he knows he’s got to drive himself home.

  “I would feel better if you didn’t go on your own. Come get me in 20.”

  She breathes a sigh of relief and says, “You are awesome!! I will totally make it up to you. Besides, you need to tell me what happened at the bakery today.”

  I frown. How did she know about that? It only happened a few hours ago. I swear nothing gets past this girl.

  “Do you mean with Rebecca?”

  “Well yes, but I also want to know what the hell happened with Grayson! But you can fill me in on the way to the lake. I’ll see you in 20 girl,” She ends the call before I can gather my wits.

  What does she mean what happened with Grayson? Nothing did happen. All he did was catch me before I face planted into the bakery floor. It feels weird admitting to myself that his grip was a little tighter than I would expect from a stranger. Although Grayson Carter isn’t really a stranger. I know all about him and his less than spectacular reputation around here. It’s well deserved since the entire school knows his affinity for getting unsuspecting freshman out of their panties. The only place he seems to behave is on the field, or so I’m told. Before today he was a myth to me.

  Before I can get caught up in analysing him and today’s events, my phone dings signalling a text.

  Demi: I’m outside. Move your caboose.

  I giggle at her old school word for “ass” and rush downstairs to her car after locking up. I see her head of brown curls bobbing up and down to some country song before I see her tiny body. She looks miniature behind the wheel of her red Lexus.

  She grins at me as I slide into the passenger seat and doesn’t even wait for me to put my seat belt on before she hits the accelerator. I’m not a nervous passenger but Demi is an adrenaline junkie when it comes to speed. And her car isn’t slow.

  “Spill,” she says, turning the volume down on her radio. “Brody told me that bitch Rebecca tripped you after she saw Grayson talking to you.”

  “What?” I say confused. “Is that what Brody said?”

  She rolls her eyes and raises her eye brows like I’m supposed to know this. In the short time I have known Demi, I quickly learned a few of her tells, eye rolling being her most popular.

  “Why would she do that? I was taking Grayson’s order and he introduced himself.” It sounds silly, like we’re back in high school. Then I remember Grayson telling me the same thing just before her left.

  “Rebecca is a few screws short of a picnic. She’s mean and crazy jealous, especially when it comes to Grayson, which is crazy because they’re friends with benefits minus the friends. But clearly Psycho Barbie didn’t get that memo,” Demi says, the vehemence in her voice clear as day.

  “Well all I did was take his order. I honestly didn’t know it would upset her.” It took me an hour to calm down I was so embarrassed. The way Grayson looked at me didn’t help. Demi wanted to know what happened with him but what do I say.

  “But tell me what happened with Grayson,” she urges. No wonder she knows everything about everyone, she can read minds. I roll my eyes wondering how the hell I’m going to get her to understand that nothing happened with Grayson.

  “Dem, nothing happened. He caught me before I fell and that was that. I ran to the bathroom before anybody could say anything,” I reply irritated.

  She gives me a pointed look, pulling her bottom lip into her mouth as she thinks about what I said. “What did Brody say?” I ask.

  “He said he’s never seen Grayson react the way he did. He said when you ran to the bathroom Grayson flipped out at Rebecca in front of everyone. He also said Grayson had a really hard time keeping his eyes off you,” she replies, looking back and forth between me and the road we’re on.

  “He can’t keep his eyes off anything with boobs. I’m not oblivious to what people say about him.”

  “Those are just rumours Huntley. I’ve known Grayson since we were 5 and he’s not as bad as people say. Yeah, he likes to have drunken one night stands now and then but you can’t hold him entirely responsible when the girls are willing. They know what he’s like and yet they still make him out to be the bad guy. Besides, have you seen that boys’ ass?” she giggles and I smile.

  I would never admit to her that his face almost made me stop dead when I approached his table. His green eyes met mine and held them for a second too long. His dark brown hair fell just above his eyes in that ‘just fucked’ kind of way that made every girl want to run their fingers through it. Yeah, he’s gorgeous. Even I would be an idiot not to acknowledge the fact.

  “Hey,” Demi says, interrupting my daydream, “Where’d you go?”

  I blush, realising she’s probably caught me thinking about Grayson. She grins. Shit, now I know she’s caught me. “Sorry, it’s been a long day and I’m tired. My mind kinda drifted off.” It’s partly true since I am tired but I hope she doesn’t question it.

  “Ok fine, we won’t talk about him anymore but promise me you won’t be too quick to jump to conclusions. Too many people have made their minds up about him before they really know him. Not everything is what you see on the outside, he’s good at hiding what he doesn’t want people to see,” Demi shuts her mouth like she’s said something she shouldn’t have. What does she mean he’s good at hiding what he doesn’t want people to see? Does he have some deep dark secrets? The thought weighs heavy on my mind. I know all about dark secrets. They’re the reason I left so much behind.

  “I promise,” I whisper, wondering if I’ll be able to stop myself from wanting to know the real story behind the infamous Grayson Carter.

  Demi’s mood changes from serious to whimsical in a flash and I’m grateful to escape the melancholy I was about to succumb to. “Um, there’s something I kind of need to tell you,” Demi says next to me. I look at her and see that she’s nervous.

  “Okay,” I say, although it’s more of a question. I have a bad feeling about this.

  “Well I might have given your number to a guy in my Sociology class,” she bites her lip but doesn’t look at me. She knows how I feel about dating. I decided I wouldn’t, at least not until after I graduate.

  “What?” I screech, “why would you do that?”

  “He’s a really nice guy and you need to loosen up a little and have fun! You’ve been here a while already and you still rarely go out, even with me.”

  I close my eyes and lay my head on the headrest, taking a calming breath. I know she means well but she doesn’t know enough to understand why dating is so far off my radar. “What did you say?” I ask, leaving my eyes closed.

  “I told him to call you. He wants to take you to dinner next weekend,” she replies. “And his name is Luke.”

  This is a lost cause. When Demi sets her mind to something not even the force of a hurricane can stop her. I guess one date wouldn’t hurt.

  “Ok fine,” I breathe, “But one date and that’s it.” I turn to look at her in time to see her grin.

  Before I know it we’re pulling up to the property that surroun
ds Lake Dixon. It’s a warm August evening and the sun set a little while ago. Sun sets are my favourite but I missed it, a little too preoccupied with my chat with Demi on the drive over here. It doesn’t take long before we hear the loud music blaring from several pick-up trucks that come into view. They’re all parked backwards in a circle, surrounding a huge bonfire made of wood. We pull over and park next to a blue Ford F150. What is it with these boys and their trucks I wonder. It must be a Country thing.

  The boys are all standing around the fire with plastic red cups in their hands, laughing and singing along to a song I’ve never heard before now. Tommy spots us walking up to them and yells “Well if isn’t my woman!” drawing everyone’s attention to Demi and I. I stifle a laugh when Demi narrows her eyes at her drunken boyfriend. “Thomas Elliot McKinley, how many times have I told you not to call me that!” she yells back, putting her hands on her hips. Demi is only 5 ft 4 but her size is deceiving. This tiny girl can make grown ass men cower. It’s scary watching such a small thing in action.

  “Ah come here baby, you know I’m just teasing,” Tommy coos, stumbling towards us until he envelops Demi in his big arms. They make an odd couple but only because Tommy is just over 6 feet tall with short black hair. He has the typical build for a college ball player – broad shoulders, muscular arms, a trim waist and leg muscles big enough to kick start a small plane. He’s good looking but so not my type.

  Demi kisses him a little too intimately and I have to look away from their public display of affection. I’ve always wanted to know what it feels like to be that loved by another human being. I thought I felt it once but as luck would have it I was wrong.

  A few of the other guys start whooping and shouting cat calls, forcing Demi and Tommy to break apart. Demi blushes and tucks her face into Tommy’s chest, hiding her embarrassment. Tommy looks back at his friends and gives them a death glare, forcing all teasing and sound-making to stop. He turns to me and smiles, “Hi Huntley, thanks for coming with my girl.”

  I smile back and nod, “Sure. Looks like we came just in time too.”

  He laughs and simply shakes his head, pulling Demi to where the rest of guys are standing. My eyes start scanning the faces, taking note of the one’s I recognise and the ones I don’t. I spot Brody as he hops off the tailgate of a truck and come to a standstill when Grayson wonders out from somewhere zipping up his pants. I immediately think the worst and wait breathlessly for a girl to prance behind him. If it was socially acceptable to kick yourself in public then I would. I’ve met Grayson once and I shouldn’t care whether or not a girl will come out from where ever he was. Demi’s words from earlier pop into my head ‘Not everything is what you see on the outside, he’s good at hiding what he doesn’t want people to see’. The timing couldn’t be worse because as he makes his way around to where Brody was sitting I finally get a good look at him.

  Oh.My.God

  The True Religion jeans he has on hug his lean waist and his grey fitted shirt does nothing to hide his well-defined chest. If I had to guess, he’s at least 6 feet tall. That only draws my attention to his broad shoulders and I see now that he’s a whole lotta muscle. Add all of this to a square jaw and full lips and you’ve found the perfect recipe for one thing…Sex On Legs.

  His mouth pulls up in a sexy smirk when he catches me staring and I blush before turning my gaze away. Some people would say I just eye-fucked him and unfortunately, I’m inclined to agree. I may have sworn off all guys but I’m still human and can’t help my physical reaction to such a gorgeous piece of man. The fact that he’s obviously half past drunk should’ve stopped me but nooo I still undressed him with my eyes. Good Lord, what the hell is wrong with my brain right now?

  Demi clears her throat and the blush in my cheeks turns a shade darker. Great now she also knows I was checking him out.