“Hey kiddo, I wanted to check on you. Did you get a new tire yet?” He asks concerned. He’s always like that when it comes to me.
“I went and got one this morning. She’s as good as new.”
“Good. Are you having a good time so far?”
“Yeah, I am. I’m glad I came.” Thoughts of Beau from the moment I ran into him on the side of the road to just moments ago, flood my brain and I can’t help the butterflies that assault me. Then, I remember I wanted to tell him about mom. He listens intensively as I tell him everything Sienna told me. He kinda laughs and shrugs it off. I guess I don’t blame him. I pretty much did the same thing.
We talk for a few more minutes before his lunch break is over. I lie back on the bed and close my eyes for a minute trying to rest. What was supposed to be a minute, turns into almost three hours and the only reason I’m awake is because Sienna plops on the bed beside me.
“So you came ten hours to sleep? What the hell is up with that? Oh, guess who I just talked to?”
“Who?” I ask groggily. I just want to rest, doesn’t she see that?
“Beau,” she beams. “Rob gave me his number, so in turn, I was the best friend I could ever be and gave Beau yours.” I give her a death glare and she hurries and adds, “But only because he asked for it. Your phone should be going off in five, four, three, two—“
Just like clockwork, my phone buzzes and a number I don’t know pops up. I open the message and I am suddenly wide awake.
(337)555-5542: Hope you don’t mind Sienna gave me your number. I just wanted to make sure you haven’t changed your mind about tonight.
He is worried I may back out tonight? Wow, I didn’t realize I’d left that sort of impression on him. I mean, I know how he makes my insides melt and do all kinds of crazy things but I had no clue he remotely felt anything to be worried about me. Just to throw him a curveball, I respond with the corniest thing I can think of after I save his phone number.
Me: Who is this?
Not even ten seconds later, another message pops up.
Beau: You know who this is.
Me: I do?
Beau: I guess I’ll have to remind you later beautiful.
Christ almighty, it’s a good thing I’m sitting down. Beau thinks I’m beautiful? I can’t contain the faint blush that’s now spread across my entire face and Sienna grabs my phone to see what the conversation says.
“Oh my gosh, yep he has the hots for you. Tell me you don’t hate me.” she says.
“How could I possibly hate you? God thinks I’m beautiful.” I practically swoon.
“Did you just call him God?” she doubles over laughing. “Please get drunk and call him that tonight.”
I grab the pillow and throw it at her head which makes her laugh more. “Kiss my ass Sienna. So tell me before tonight so I’m not blindsided, what is this thing with you and Rob? Seriously, fill me in.”
Sienna smiles as she sits beside me and her face lights up. “Well we aren’t anything official yet, but we’ve been talking for a few months now. We started out as just friends. Hanging out with Rob is how I got to know Beau a little better. Rob is sweet, he’s hot as hell too. Well, you will see when you meet him. Surprisingly, it doesn’t bother me that we aren’t officially dating, but he knows I don’t talk to any other guys and he doesn’t talk to any other girls. I guess we’re just waiting to make it right, you know? Does that make sense?” she asks.
“It makes perfect sense. Why rush something that is good for you? That’s the issue with all these stupid guys I’ve been with. They try to rush it and it completely ruins it for me. I am not just looking to give my heart to the first guy to jump up and say they love me, like me or whatever. Maybe I am being too hard or maybe I just haven’t met the one. Who knows?” I think I am way too hard on these guys, but what I haven’t told her is that in the few encounters I’ve had with Beau, I’ve never felt more alive. What the hell is it about him? I don’t know that I’ll ever know, but whatever this attraction is, can’t become too much of anything because at the end of the summer, it’s back to Missouri for me and then I’ll probably never see him again.
“Well, I can’t wait for you to meet him. I want to know what you think. I fully trust your opinion Shay.” She tells me with the most serious look on her face.
“I can’t wait to meet him either. If he makes you smile like this, then he must be special.” I say pulling her in for a hug.
She pulls away and claps her hands together. “I hope this summer lasts forever Shay. This is so awesome and much better than when we were kids. Now, we can actually do things on our own without our parents telling us no!”
“I know, pretty awesome isn’t it? Oh, did you get that job you were looking at?” I ask her out of curiosity. If she starts working, I’ll need something to do with my time while she is gone.
“No, I decided it wasn’t what I wanted. You know I’m getting my Accounting degree, and with as much work as it can be, I want to find the perfect place to work. Some of them are okay, but I want to be able to walk in and know I’ll be happy there.” Sienna is a trust fund baby. Her parents set one up for her and she is taken care of. She probably doesn’t ever have to work, but that’s what I love about her, she doesn’t let the money speak for her. She’s strong-willed, motivated and fully believes in working for everything.
“I was just checking to see if I needed to occupy my day time hours.”
“Oh, you mean with Beau? And sorry missy, you are stuck with me all summer long. I didn’t ask you to come down here for nothing!” she smiles.
“Oh shut it and good!” I tell her as I pick up my phone one more time to stare at the message from Beau. I stare at the time and it’s still early. I’m so anxious to see him. I haven’t been this anxious to see a guy in like, ever. Something tells me this is something that just may break me. Do I want to be broken? If it breaks me, then what happens? I’m clearly overthinking this, so I smile at the phone and set it back down. I eyeball my outfit and imagine his eyes roaming up and down my body.
Chapter 6
My hair is cascading down my back in the most perfect waves ever. Too bad the humidity is probably going to kill it, but for now, it looks so good. My new pair of shorts really makes my legs look longer than they are and this top, is wow. Beau Granger will be drooling when he sees me. I’m smiling confidently in the mirror when Sienna walks in the room.
“Check you out Shay. He’s going to eat out of the palm of your hand!”
“Yeah, we’ll see. Look at you! I love that top, you’re going to have to let me borrow it sometime this summer.”
Her one-shoulder blouse looks amazing on her and I’m kinda wishing I had bought one too. The sun is beginning to set and Sienna hands me a shot glass. “Here’s to a great night and great summer!”
We clink our glasses together and tilt the glasses back. The shot burns going down, but tastes so good. She grabs the keys to her car and we begin the drive out to Rob and Beau’s house. We turn down so many back roads, I’m confused as hell. I’m glad Sienna knows where we are. We have to turn down a dirt road to get where we’re going. I’m suddenly so thankful we didn’t take my car here tonight, I would have had a damn heart attack. We end up back on pavement and in a few more turns, we pull into a driveway.
There are Christmas lights with multi-colored solo cups attached to them strung between trees and they are the coolest thing I have ever seen. The reds and blues are coloring the area around us and in that moment, I catch the eye of God himself. I’m assuming the blonde hair guy beside him is Rob when Sienna blushes and tries to hide it. This is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.
A few more cars pull in behind us and someone just started playing music. Beau casually steps closer to me as Rob grabs Sienna by the hand. I haven’t been introduced to him yet, but that is the least of my worries at this point in time.
“Hey beautiful,” Beau says as he leans in and places a kiss on my cheek.
“Hey,” I manage to sq
ueak out without sounding silly. I’m on edge all of a sudden and Sienna left me alone.
“Want something to drink?”
“Uh yeah, sure. Thanks.”
He grabs my hand and my heart begins beating wildly in my chest. Holy shit, this is intense. Beau leads me to an outdoor refrigerator and opens it for me. There’s everything from beer, to whiskey, to wine in there. “Take your pick, you can have whatever you want.”
I stare at the selection before grabbing a Michelob Ultra. I open the bottle and tilt it slightly back. The first sip is cooling and everything I need it to be. Beau watches me with those sparkling eyes and I feel my face flush. By the time I have the first beer downed, a group of people are setting up a table with cups of beer. Out of curiosity, I walk over to them to see what’s going on.
“Hey doll, you want in?” some guy asks me.
“What is it?” I ask still trying to figure it out.
“Beer pong. It’s easy. You just throw the ball and try to make it into the cups. We’re going to play teams.”
Beau looks at me and starts laughing. “Is something funny?” I ask him.
“No, not at all. I was getting ready to play actually. Want to be my partner?”
“Hell no,” Sienna yells. “She’s my partner. Find your own Beau Granger.” She winks at me and links her arm in mine. What the hell are we getting ourselves into?
“I see how it is Sienna. Hope you’re ready to have me and Rob demolish you ladies.” Beau leans against the table with a smirk on his face.
I stick my tongue out at him and get a little braver. “It’s on Casanova. I’m ready, when do we start this shit.” The crowd around us starts laughing and cheering.
Sienna looks at me and busts out laughing. Funny thing is, I’ve only had one beer, so yet again, I have no excuse. The guys decide to be nice and let us go first. Sienna has the first shot and misses by a mile. Rob blows her a kiss and tells her it’s okay. I grab my ball and stare at the cups before locking eyes with Beau.
“Don’t choke Shay.” Beau tells me. He raises his arms above his head stretching, revealing those amazing muscles of his. I won’t let him throw me off.
I smirk back at him and bring my concentration back to the cups. The ball flies gracefully from my hands and as it cuts through the air, I hold my breath. In one swift swoosh, it lands in one of the cups and I jump up and down.
“I made it!” Sienna high-fives me and looks at Beau.
“Drink up sucker! Ya’ll are going down!” she taunts them.
Beau goes first for their team and once again he gives me a look that should intimidate me. “I’ll get you back for that one Shay.”
Sarcastically, I purse my lips at him as he makes his throw. With ease, it lands in the cup and he points at me smiling. I take the ball out of the cup and drink the beer like a champ. I will not go down like a punk.
The game continues and eventually the boys are crowned the winners. We have to drink their cups plus ours. We drink them then I do something I didn’t think I wanted to do. “I demand a rematch.”
“No way Shay, it’s someone else’s turn.” Beau laughs.
“So, they can wait. I want a rematch.” I cross my arms over my chest and stand my ground.
“What do ya’ll say? Can she get her rematch?” he asks everyone when he realizes that I refuse to back down. They all agree with me and the next game starts.
Halfway into the game. I’m batting my eyelashes more than I should be at Beau, but dammit, I can’t help it. It doesn’t help that besides the beer, Sienna gave me a few jello shots. We are winning by a few cups. Maybe I’m making the balls in now that I’ve loosened up some. This is pretty damn fun.
I’m shit talking Beau and loving every minute of it, when Rob suddenly speaks up. I still haven’t been formally introduced to him yet but that’s still ok with me.
“Wait, what is your name again?” I look around trying to see who he is talking to. After I’ve combed the crowd, I realize he’s staring at me.
“Oh, me? I’m Shayleigh.” I answer with a grin.
Sienna just laughs as she tosses her ball and misses again. Rob continues to study me a little longer before responding, “Shayleigh, hmmm I feel like I know you from somewhere.”
As much as I’ve had to drink I wish I could not laugh right now, but I can’t help it. Rob seems to recognize me and shit, this can’t be good. “You think so?” I ask.
“Yeah, didn’t you live here and then move away?”
“Yeah, she moved.” Sienna pipes up. I’m hoping that ends the conversation, but Rob looks at me a little harder.
“Oh, shit.” He says loudly. “I fucking know who you are now! This just made my fucking night. You’re the one who used to call my man here, Busty Beau.”
The color drains from my face and I suddenly want to down every single cup of beer on this table. Sienna cuts Rob a look, but the damage is done. I’m afraid to look over at Beau, but my eyes betray me and land straight on his. I knew this was too good to be true.
Chapter 7
Beau’s eyes don’t leave mine for a good few minutes. I’m not sure how to feel right now. Everyone is laughing around us, but Sienna grabs ahold of my arm and pulls me close to her.
“I had no clue Rob knew who you were Shay.” She whispers.
All I can do is nod my head. There are no words I can think of. Beau finally breaks eye contact with me and it feels like I’ve been punched in the stomach. Like nothing happened¸ he picks up one of the ping pong balls and throws it towards our cups. Like always, it goes straight in and I grab the cup like it’s the last drink on Earth and down it. Rob goes next and misses. He hasn’t stopped laughing since he figured out who I was. Hell, I don’t even recognize him from when we were younger.
“Fuck, I can’t believe I missed that.” He says still laughing.
The rest of the game seems absolutely torturous. Beau hasn’t looked at me since Rob’s outburst and I am pretty much wanting to go back to Sienna’s. She’s having fun so I don’t want to ruin her night. I can suck it up and for her, I will.
Of course Rob and Beau win leaving us a few cups of beer to drink. I’m feeling like shit so I tell Sienna I’ll drink them all. Beau disappears into the crowd. I have no clue where he’s going and part of me wants to chase him, but I don’t. Rob walks up to Sienna and pulls her in for a kiss. Ugh, stupid love birds. I guess I won’t ever know what Beau Granger’s lips taste like now.
“Hey Shay, I’m so sorry. I didn’t introduce you to Rob earlier.” Sienna says proudly showing him off. She should be proud. He is hot, just like she said.
Rob smiles and pulls me in for a hug. I almost want to jab him in the ribs for ruining everything, but I don’t. “I don’t think I knew you when we were younger.” I tell him.
“No, we didn’t know each other well, but I remember the Busty Beau shit. That was hilarious.”
“I seriously didn’t think anyone would have remembered that. I didn’t even know that’s who he was until Sienna told me.” I tell him.
“Well fuck, this is crazy because all he’s talked about was you since the day he changed your flat tire.” He tells me.
Beau has been talking about me? Hearing that makes my heart flutter but it stops when I realize he probably doesn’t give two shits about me now. “Where do you think he went? I probably need to talk to him and try to at least smooth things out.”
Rob stretches his neck to look around the crowd. There are more people here now than before, so I pretty much expect it when he turns back to me and says he doesn’t know. A song comes on that Sienna loves and she grabs Rob by his waist and begins grinding on him. I lean towards her and tell her I’m going to find Beau. I’m fixing this right now.
It takes a minute or two to maneuver through the countless bodies, but I finally make it through. No luck on finding Beau though. Seriously, how hard is it to locate someone that looks that damn good? Pretty damn hard, obviously.
The urge to pee hits me
and I begin to walk towards the house. I’ll resume my search in a few minutes. There’s a few girls standing outside the bathroom waiting in line and I can’t help but groan. I shouldn’t have drank all that beer and now it’s begging to exit my bladder. I stand there bouncing on my feet trying to get my mind off of it. When the door opens, I can’t contain my excitement when the next girl goes in. After what seems like an eternity, it’s finally my turn. I all but run into the bathroom and the minute I sit down, I’m instantly relieved. As I wash my hands, I hear a voice in the hall that sound familiar. It’s him. My palms begin sweating even after I dry them and I wipe them on my shorts. It’s now or never.
I open the door and can’t find him. What the hell? I just heard him. I don’t see anyone inside, which is weird considering just a few minutes ago there were a ton of people just waiting to use the bathroom. I’m aggravated and I can’t help but groan. I guess I’ll go find Sienna and be the third wheel.
I walk towards the door ready to be greeted by the hot summer air again, when a hand reaches out and grabs mine. I nearly jump as I turn around to see who it is. My heart somersaults in my chest when I see it’s Beau. He leads me into the kitchen and corners me in front of the cabinets. My heart is beating so wildly, I can barely think.
His blue eyes are burning holes in mine, but I don’t care right now. He’s so close I can smell everything about him and he smells like pure country heaven. I open my mouth to try to speak, but he puts his finger in front of my mouth. I swallow and try to regain control of my breath, but nothing is working. I almost wish someone would walk in here right now but at the same time, I don’t want them too.
“You,” he says. “Do you even feel sorry for what you did to me?” he asks quietly.
“I swear, I had no idea that was you.” I squeak out.
“I have no clue why I never recognized you. You made my life hell even after you moved away.”
Dirt Road Summer Page 3
