“Come on, it’s getting late, and my princess needs to go to bed.”
THE SUN IS hot today as I walk for the last time to the garage. The day has finally arrived. I passed my motorcycle test, and I officially have a license to drive it. As I walk into the shop, Henry throws me the keys. I just stare at them. My mind starts racing with images of Shay’s hair flying in the wind on the back of the bike I worked my ass off to put her on. I feel her hands wrapped tightly around my waist, her chest pressed against my back, and her sweet voice in my ear as she tells me to slow down. Feeling like a million bucks as the single key tangles from the chain, I look up into Henry’s proud eyes.
“Congratulations, son, you worked hard. Take care of it.”
I swallow slowly, feeling the weight of all the hard work and time I put into getting my bike running. “Thank you, Henry. I mean that. I can’t thank you enough.”
“I didn’t give it to you. You earned it,” he says, walking over and slapping me on my back. “I bet your girl is going to be surprised.”
I bite down on my bottom lip, trying to suppress the overwhelming need to smile. “Yeah, she’s definitely going to be surprised.”
“MISS STARK, YOU and Cole will be partners for this project.”
“Mrs. Peters, can I request a different partner?” I ask, sitting in front of Cole, groaning.
“No, you can’t,” he answers, tugging on my hair that is lying close to his desk. I think he pulls little strands of it as he plays with it; I always feel when he does it, but I don’t say anything because it actually feels good. After his last pissing match with Jace, though, I won’t let him do it anymore. I strain my neck over my shoulder.
“Don’t play with my hair.”
Cole gives me a smug smile, and I want to slap that look off his face. I bet he requested me. If Jules had this class with me, I would make sure we were partners.
“Okay, this project is going to require you to work outside of the classroom, so if you need your partner’s number, exchange it now.”
“You have my number, right, Starkster?”
“Stop calling me that. I’m not five years old.”
“You know, you’re not very nice to me anymore. You used to love hanging out with me. Now you act like I have some kind of contagious disease. I’m sure that has nothing to do with your boyfriend.”
“Jace has nothing to do with our friendship.”
“Oh, you’re wrong about that, Shay. He has plenty to do with how our friendship is now.”
“You need to get over the fact that I’m not the girl that gives you all her attention anymore.”
“We don’t even throw the football anymore. We used to always play together.”
“Cole, in case you haven’t noticed, I’m not a little girl anymore. Maybe I don’t want to ruin my nails.”
“You don’t give a shit about your nails.”
“Maybe I do now.” I hide my fingernails from his prying eyes. He’s right; I don’t care about my fingernails. He lets out a huff.
“So, my house or yours?” he says.
“Neither. We will have to meet at Starbucks or something.”
“Are you serious, Shay? Does Trailer Boy not trust you?”
“First off, he trusts me, and secondly, he does not live in a trailer.”
“Where does he live?”
The million-dollar question. There’s no way I’m going to let Cole know I have no idea where Jace lives. He will never let me live that down. “None of your business.”
The bell rings, freeing me from his curiosity. Gathering my backpack, I grab my phone to put away when I see a text. Ignoring Cole’s loud mouth behind me as he starts talking football with one of the guys, I open the text.
My Boy: I can’t wait for the day that we can be together every waking moment. I want to lie in the sun with you. I want to watch you dig your cute toes thru the sand. I want to watch the sun set with you every night and make passionate love to you under the stars. I can’t wait for that. I promise you, I’m going to give you that someday. I love you. Have a great day baby. Can’t wait to talk to you tonight.
I put my phone into my pocket and let the warm feeling run through me like it always does when Jace speaks to me. I can’t even imagine my life without him. Butterflies tickle my belly whenever I think about Jace. Love is the most powerful feeling anyone could ever experience. I think a lot of people get that feeling, but what I feel is different. It’s not just a simple I love you that I feel. It’s soul binding. There is no other way to explain Jace and me. We should have never met. We are from two different worlds, even if we are technically in the same city. Fate is the only logical answer. We were meant to be together.
Cole’s voice gets louder. Maybe because he’s practically in my face when I turn from my desk.
“I don’t get you,” he spits at me. I blow him off.
We walk out of the classroom, making our way to the courtyard. Today is intervention day. That means we only have a few classes, but they are extended to longer periods. I’m starting to not like intervention day since it means more time spent with Cole breathing down my neck. Of course, we have to have every class together. Cole is not a dumb jock. He takes all AP courses, and I’m sure that’s due to the fact that he’s mommy and daddy’s golden boy and has to be perfect. Tutors every week to make sure he gets the grade, and he does—barely, but he does.
He couldn’t just be a football player. He had to be the quarterback. When he was younger, that meant hours of practice. Everyone else was going to the beach first thing in the morning while Cole was running drills at the high school.
Since Beau played football, I was no stranger to the game and would throw the ball with Cole. There was definitely a bond there, and maybe if I had never met Jace, we would’ve dated at some point. Who knows?
“What don’t you get?”
“I don’t get how you have wasted so much time with a guy that will never be able to take care of you.”
“Who says I need a guy to take care of me?”
“You know what I mean, Shay.”
“You need to lay off, Cole. You already caused a problem.”
“Aw, did he give you a hard time with our little texting session?”
“Not cute. Why don’t you worry about your own relationship and stop putting your nose in mine?”
“I don’t have a relationship.”
“Aren’t you dating Devin now?”
His face contorts like he just ate an entire bag of lemons. “ Um, that would be a no. Why would you think I was dating Devin?”
“I heard you got rather cozy with her at her party.”
“If fucking her is getting cozy, then yeah, we got cozy. That was a one-and-done.”
For the record, scratch that previous thought. I would have never dated him. He proves that every time he opens his mouth.
“Why do you have to have such a foul mouth? How sad. Is that really how you treat girls? You sleep with them and then push them aside? Doesn’t sex mean anything to you?”
“No, it doesn’t.” He lowers his voice. “It would only mean something if it was you.”
“Don’t say things like that.”
“Why? Is it so hard to believe that I could want that with you?”
I stop walking and look up into Cole’s eyes. “What would you want with me, Cole? It seems like the only thing you want from a girl is to get in their pants. Well, news flash. I have the same parts as all the others. If that’s what you’re looking for, you have plenty of girls that can fill that need.”
“Okay, Shay, you win. You’re so perfect. You were always the perfect one out of all of us.”
“I’m not saying I’m perfect. I’m just saying, that will never be me. I won’t ever be drunk at a party ready to spread my legs for you, or the girl that needs attention so she dances on the tables hooting and hollering to do another shot. I won’t ever be the girl that goes down on you in the school parking lot while I should be in class
. That’s just not me, Cole, and that’s the kind of girl you’re looking for.”
“So, I’m supposed to believe that you’ve been with this guy for five years, and he’s a year older than you, and you’ve never had sex?”
“I don’t care what you believe. Sex isn’t everything when you truly care about someone.”
“No offense, Starkie, but there is no way that your Prince Charming from the hood has not had sex. Maybe not with you, but I guarantee he’s had it with someone. For God sakes, he lives where all the teen pregnancies come from.”
“That doesn’t even make sense. You’re so immature. Just because an area is low income doesn’t mean every teenager is having sex.”
“Keep telling yourself that. I can assure you your boy has dipped it into someone. There’s no way he hasn’t.”
“God, you are such a jerk.” I narrow my eyes at him.
“I’m not a jerk. I’m just realistic,” he yells.
“That’s your reality, Cole, not mine,” I say. He walks away with a dramatic huff. His broad shoulders rise and fall as he laughs at me. It makes me sad. Not because I would ever want anything more than friendship from him, but he’s right. We used to be great friends. He just can’t handle the fact we will only ever be friends.
I shrug my shoulders as I see Devin walk up to him. She leans in, whispering something into his ear. Looking around, he puts his arm around her, and they walk toward the parking lot. I shake my head.
Jules comes around the corner, eating a bag of trail mix. I reach my hand inside the bag and pop some of the yummy toasted almonds into my mouth.
“Did you see Cole and Devin walking to his car?”
“Yeah, I did,” I say, reaching my hand back inside the bag, grabbing some more nuts.
“She’s so stupid. He’s only using her,” Jules says, taking my hand out of the bag. “Don’t eat all my nuts, girl. This is my lunch.”
“You need more than that bony little bag of nuts for lunch, Jules.”
“Not if I’m going to fit in a designer dress for the Golden Globes.”
“You don’t have to be in a designer dress. There are plenty of beautiful shops in LA that will have something for you.”
Looking at me like I’m a nut case, she asks, “Have you lost your mind? I came out of the womb in a dress. There is no way I’m not going big for the Golden Globes. I would have you know, Miss Queen of Converse, there are already peeps contacting my mother about dressing me.”
“Peeps, huh?”
“Yeah, when you get to my level, you can call them peeps.” She smirks, throwing her long blonde locks over her shoulder.
“Oh God, they’ve created a monster.”
“I can be a monster all day long, but I promise you, Starkie, I will be the best-dressed monster you’ve ever seen.” We both giggle and head to cheer practice.
CHEER PRACTICE LASTED two hours today. As Jules and I leave the gym and go to our cars, I ask her, “Did I mention to you Mrs. Peters teamed Cole and me up for our English final?”
“No, does Jace know?”
“No, he texted me in class right after she announced our partners.”
“Are you going to tell him?”
“Of course, I am. Cole and I are going to have to work together outside of class.”
“Jace isn’t going to like that,” she says, throwing her bag onto her backseat.
“No, he’s not, but I don’t have a choice. I told Cole we could meet at Starbucks, and he acted like I was torturing him with meeting at a public place.”
“You’ve got to know that he’s always loved you, Shay.”
“I wouldn’t call what Cole feels love. I think it’s more that he wants what he knows he can’t have, and we both know Cole gets whatever girl he wants.”
“Well, he knows damn well he will never be getting my classy ass,” Jules spits out.
“I think we’ve both been different to him. He’s grown up with us, so obviously that fondness would grow into wanting more. The guy is a walking hormone.”
“He definitely is that. Well, good luck with that disaster.”
“Thanks for the positivity, Jules.”
She puts her sunglasses on and gives me a huge grin. “See you tomorrow.”
I jump into my car and head home.
THE NEXT FEW weeks passed by quickly. I only had to meet Cole at Starbucks twice. Jules was right; Jace wasn’t happy, but he got over it very quickly. That is due to the fact that I’m an overachiever. If I’m honest, I worked hard on the project, so I wouldn’t have to spend too much time alone with Cole. It worked out. Besides his whiny attitude and a couple of spats, we ended up getting an A.
That’s a wrap. I’m done with my junior year of high school and officially now a senior. Jace is now a high school graduate. I’m so proud of him. School didn’t come easy for him. I wanted to attend his graduation ceremony, but he told me no. It frustrates me to no end. Why he thinks he has to keep me in this little bubble I don’t know.
I am excited, though, because Jace says he has something special for me. The first real gift he will give me, or so he says. What he doesn’t know is I have every homemade card and note he’s ever given me, so this really won’t be my first gift from him. Every single one of those has been a gift of his love. Even more so, I love how his writing has changed over the years. He’s gotten fancier and sexier. The first card he made me, the Valentine’s card, is my favorite one to look at. I’m going to show it to him one day to remind him how long we’ve had each other’s hearts. I love them all the same, but that one is the beginning.
Summer is in full swing, except for the fact that I have one semester of summer school. I had to take it if I wanted to free up my schedule for next year. Summer is supposed to be for sleeping in, lying out at the pool, and beach days. One more school year, then I can do what I want. Right now, I’m studying for my final exam for my summer school class.
My Boy: What are you doing pretty girl?
Me: I’ve been sitting in my room for hours studying. Thinking about lying by the pool for a while.
My Boy: Oh yeah… in your bikini ;)
Me: Of course silly… Well, maybe in the nude. No one’s home;)
I tease him.
My Boy: You’re by yourself?
Me: Yes, charity event. Late night.
My Boy: Baby, I got to go… something just came up. I love you. I’ll call you back.
Me: Oh, ok. Love you too.
That was abrupt and so unlike Jace. He never hangs up with me like that. Throwing my phone down onto my bed, I grab a bikini out of my dresser. I have a lot of different ones, so I pick one of my favorites since no one’s home—the hot pink with a little ruffle on the bottom that’s both super cute and revealing. I grab my earbuds, so I can listen to some music, trying to unclog my brain from all that studying. I want to do well on my test, but my brain is fried.
Heading out my bedroom, I grab a beach towel from the linen closet and make my way to the terrace. It’s a beautiful day. I dangle my foot in the chilly pool, but the sun is blazing down, and it’s probably in the high eighties. Perfect for getting some sun. I lay my towel out, put my earbuds in, and lie down.
As I feel myself drift off to sleep, I turn down my music a bit. Off in the distance I hear the roar of a motorcycle. It’s not often you hear one by our house, as it’s pretty secluded in the hills. The sound gets closer, so I take out my earbuds and sit up.
Yes, the motorcycle is definitely close. Getting up, I walk around to the front of the property. That’s when I see it coming up our driveway. I stand next to the front gate, waiting to see who it is. Maybe Beau bought a motorcycle. If so, Mom will be a nervous wreck. The driver stops at the top of the driveway, and I watch as they turn off the loud engine. It’s a guy. He swings his long leg over, getting off the bike. Since I’m home alone and don’t know who the heck it is, I hide next to a bush. The driver takes off his helmet.
I gasp, putting my hand to my glossed lips
. My stomach flutters when I see him. He shakes his ridiculously sexy dark hair and puts his helmet down. Then with long, sexy strides, he starts making his way to the front door. He has no idea I can see him. I walk around the side of the house, ready to tackle him. Taking off running, I jump into his arms and wrap my legs around his waist. We almost fall to the ground.
“Whoa, baby, you almost knocked me down,” he says as he gives my butt a little squeeze.
“You mean tackle. You know how well I can tackle,” I say into his neck as I squeeze him.
He nuzzles into me. I can feel him breathe me in. “You smell like coconuts.”
“It’s my sunblock.”
“Maybe, but you always smell like coconuts.” He inhales deeply. “You always smell like a summer day, baby.”
“Whose motorcycle is that?” I ask excitedly.
He keeps his lips pressed against my neck. “It’s mine.”
I release my death grip from around his neck, so I can look into his eyes. “I’ve been working for quite a while, so I could fix it up. I wanted to surprise you.”
“Is that why you are so secretive sometimes about what you’re doing?”
He looks down into my eyes and kisses my nose. “Exactly why.”
“I love it, Jace! It’s very vintage looking.”
He chuckles as he walks me over to it so I can see it better. “It is vintage, baby. I want to see you on it.” He helps me get on. “Now that’s a vision. My sexy girl on my bike in a little bikini.” He makes me blush. Leaning into me, he says, “God, you smell so good.”
“You think I smell like sunshine.” I look deep into his soulful eyes. We just stare at one another, because that’s kind of what we do. It doesn’t take much for us to get lost in each other. I run my hands through his hair as he holds me up on the bike.
“You’re killing me with this bikini you’re wearing,” he says, breaking our love-filled daze. I swing my bare leg over, getting off his bike and wrapping my arms around his neck.
Labeled Love Page 19
