Live Like You Mean It

by Ava Stone

  She laughed. “What do you have in mind?”

  I shrugged. “You know, the usual. You, me, naked, your legs wrapped around my waist.”

  Leah nodded. “I think that can be arranged.”

  In that case, I slid her arm through mine and led her into the restaurant. The maître d, overdressed in a tux, looked at us with a slight sneer. It was no wonder my dad loved this place. Everyone who worked here was a dick.

  “We have reservations,” I mimicked my dad’s imperial tone. “Preston Campbell.”

  Recognition flared in the man’s eyes at the mention of my father’s name. “Mr. Campbell is already at the table. This way.”

  Then he led us to a table at the far end of the restaurant where I spotted my father instantly. Shit. Just seeing him made my stomach twist. But we were here. Nothing I could do about it now except get through the night.

  “Dad,” I began, squeezing her hand. “This is Leah. My girlfriend.”

  A smile spread across my father’s face as he rose from his seat and reached out to shake Leah’s hand. “Preston Campbell,” he said in the voice he usually used for clients. Ninety percent charming, ten percent smarmy.

  “Nice to meet you, Mr. Campbell,” she said softly as she slid into a seat at the table across from him. God, she was perfect. Beautiful, sexy, polite. Even my father couldn’t find fault with her.

  Dad returned to his seat and gestured for me to do the same. So I took one of the open spots between them and wished to hell I was anywhere else. “Where’s Braden?” I asked.

  “Talking with Jack Price. He’ll meet us when he’s done.”

  Jack Price, huh? I wondered if Mr. Price was talking Braden into not following Dad’s plans for him. Good luck with that. But if he was, I wasn’t about to give the guy away. “Yeah, if he hasn’t been bored to death,” I replied dryly.

  My father ignored the comment and instead gestured to Leah with a flick of his hand. “She the reason you took down all those raunchy pictures on Facebook?” he asked just as the waiter arrived at the table with a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon and began pouring a glass for Dad.

  I felt Leah’s gaze on me, but I didn’t look at her. I narrowed my eyes on my jackass of a father instead. We hadn’t even been there five minutes and he was already trying to fuck up my life. Not that his plan would work. I wasn’t Bryce. I had a mind of my own and never failed to speak it. My father should have known that by now. “Yeah, well, Leah doesn’t have Facebook. So we just send each other raunchy pictures on Snapchat. I don’t think future employers are looking there though, Dad. So we should be good.”

  The waiter dribbled a few drops of red wine on the white tablecloth before making a hasty getaway.

  Leah tensed in her seat. I could see it out of the corner of my eyes. But I refused to react in any way. I refused to let my father think he’d gotten under my skin even a little.

  Dad heaved a sigh as if dealing with me shortened his lifespan. I should be so lucky. “I keep waiting for the day you’ll grow up, Brody.”

  And I kept waiting for the day my father wasn’t an asshole. “Life is full of disappointments, I guess.”

  He shifted his attention to Leah. “So, you’re an unwed mother, I understand?”

  “Excuse me?” she said, with a bit of surprise in her voice.

  “An unwed mother,” he repeated, enunciating each word with precision, even though we’d all heard him just fine the first time. “With no idea who your child’s father is. If you’re hoping my son will be able to support the two of you, you’ve trapped the wrong golden goose, Leah. He’s a loser and he’ll never be anything more than that.” Then he flicked his gaze to me and added, “I hope you’re using a condom. You don’t want to give her another one.”

  Annoyance, fury, hatred all rolled up inside me. But before I could even respond that my use of a condom was none of his goddamn business, Leah pushed out of her chair, placed her hands on the table and leaned forward, her long hair cascading over her shoulders as she looked my father straight in the eyes. “I work very hard to provide for my son, Mr. Campbell. I don’t need anyone to take care of us.”

  “No?” My father shrugged as I stood up as well, glaring at him, not that he even glanced in my direction. “Your choice of boyfriends shows a complete lack of intelligence. If that is a reflection of your decision-making skills, I think you do need someone to take care of you. He’s just a really bad choice.”

  “Dad!” I growled, drawing the attention of nearby tables.

  But his eyes never wavered from Leah. “Just keep your legs open, sweetie. I’m sure the right sap will come along eventually.”

  Leah picked up a glass of water from the table and splashed the entire thing in my dad’s face. “You’re even worse than your son said.”

  My mouth fell open in awe. I’d never seen my father speechless before. He just blinked as water dripped down his hair, nose and chin. Too bad it wasn’t the wine. I glanced to my side to find Leah halfway to the entrance and moving quickly. “Leah,” I called, but she didn’t slow down at all. I started after her, though I wished I’d been able to stand there a little while longer and enjoy the pure shock on my father’s face.

  “Thanks for another memorable evening, Dad,” I muttered as I brushed past wait staff and other patrons on my way after her. I’d reached the maître d stand when my younger brother stepped into the restaurant.

  “Oh! Hey, Brody,” Braden said cheerfully.

  “Fuck you, Braden,” I returned and crashed my fist into his nose. Shit, my hand was mostly better, but that hurt like hell. Even so, I’d have hit him again if I wasn’t chasing after Leah because the only way my father could know anything about her or Aiden was through my damn brother and his big mouth.

  “What the hell!” Braden called out, and gasps echoed behind me.

  But I didn’t have time to even look back. I raced through the entrance and down the little stone path, but didn’t see her.

  “Leah!” Then I caught a glimpse of her pink dress as she hurried down Prince Street. “Leah!” I called again, running after her. I caught her easily since I was faster and she was wearing heels.

  I pulled her against me and wrapped my arms around her. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” I whispered to her. “I tried to warn you.”

  “Asshole,” she grumbled against my chest.

  I agreed with a nod. “He is an asshole.” The very worst kind.

  She pushed against my chest and looked up at me. Tears pooled in her eyes. “I meant you, Brody. You’re an asshole.”

  “What did I do?” I growled. “I begged you not to come tonight.”

  Her lips pursed and she pushed out of my hold. “Yeah. So I wouldn’t find out what you told him about me,” she snapped.

  “What I told him?” A laugh escaped me at the absurdity of it all. “Because I talk to him so often, you mean?”

  Her gray eyes narrowed on me, and I was lucky she didn’t have a glass of water in her hands.

  “I didn’t tell him anything about you,” I finally said. “Braden must have…”

  “Braden?” she echoed, her voice an octave higher than usual. “What did you tell your brother?”

  “Nothing,” I said, though I couldn’t remember if that was entirely true at the moment.

  “Uh-huh.” She turned on her heel and started back down Prince Street.

  “Leah!” I called after her. “Come on. This is what he wants, you know? To ruin my life. Don’t let him do that.”

  But she didn’t stop. She didn’t even slow her pace.

  “You gonna walk all the way home?” I yelled.

  But she didn’t turn around or make any sort of indication that she heard me at all.

  Fuck! I was getting really tired of her walking out on me. I hadn’t even done anything this time. I’d told her not to come. She should have listened to me.

  Shit! I never wore a lot of makeup and my eyes stung from mascara that I’d rubbed into them as I tried to wipe aw
ay my tears. I probably looked like my face had melted off.

  And I almost twisted my ankle in my damn heels, so I’d slipped off my shoes and dangled them from my fingers as I tried to keep from stepping on any rocks or glass. But with my stinging eyes, that was easier said than done.

  It gave me something to think about, however, something other than the awful things Mr. Campbell had said to me back at the restaurant. I wasn’t even sure which thing had been the worst. They were all so vile.

  I just couldn’t understand why Brody would tell anyone in his family about Aiden in the first place. My son wasn’t any of their business. I took care of Aiden and I didn’t ask for help from anyone other than my mom and Mike. I wasn’t trying to trap Brody. And what an awful word that was.

  “Leah?” came a voice from a car on the side of the road.

  Shit. A less busy road and no one would have spotted me. I looked to my right and through my stinging eyes recognized Kevin McEwan in the driver’s seat of some sort of blue car. I swiped at my eyes again. “Just pretend you didn’t see me, ok, Kevin?”

  “Sure.” He stopped his car, hopped out and started toward me. “I won’t ever mention it. You need a ride?”

  I couldn’t help it. I burst into tears.

  “Hey, hey, hey, don’t cry,” he said soothingly and smoothed a hand down my back. “Let me take you home or wherever, ok?”

  It would be better than walking all the way. So I nodded. “Thanks.”

  “Of course.” He slid his arm around my shoulders and led me to the passenger side of his car with such gentleness I would have never expected. Then he opened the door for me and closed it after I was inside.

  I took a staggering breath, trying to pull myself together before Kevin slid into the driver’s seat. It was beyond embarrassing that someone had spotted me walking home, looking the way I did and even worse that it was someone I knew, someone I had to go to class with.

  “Where to?” he asked, pulling back on to Prince Street.

  Home. Maybe. I did not want to answer Mom’s third degree if she saw me like this. “How bad do I look?” I glanced over at him.

  “You could never look bad, Leah. You look…upset.”

  Upset. I was definitely upset. Could I make it upstairs and into the shower to wash all the smears away before Mom saw me and wanted to hear every last painful detail? Maybe. “Home,” I said softly. “Somerset Downs off Berkshire Parkway.”

  “I know it,” he said and made a U-turn at the next light.

  Shit. Brody’s Jeep was just in front of us now. He was going really slowly, like he was looking for me on the sidewalk.

  “This guy,” Kevin muttered. “What is he, eighty? Speed limit’s forty-five.”

  And Brody was going about half that. If I’d still been out there, he’d have talked me back into his car and he’d be swearing up and down that he hadn’t done anything. He certainly hadn’t defended me. I’d had to do that myself.

  “Thanks,” I said. “For taking me home.”

  “Yeah, I’m glad to.” Kevin glanced briefly at me. “There’s some tissue in the armrest.” Then he lifted his elbow so I could reach into the compartment.

  I found a pocket-sized tissue pouch and then closed the armrest.

  Kevin started to pass the Jeep and I glanced out the passenger window. I locked gazes with Brody whose brow furrowed and his jaw tightened, as did my stomach.

  I flicked down the visor to see my reflection and though it wasn’t as bad as I expected, I still looked like shit. I dabbed at my eyes and scrubbed at the mascara streaks on my cheeks.

  “You ok?” Kevin asked, glancing at me out of the corner of his eyes. “You’re not hurt or anything, are you?”

  Physically I was fine. Emotionally, my insides were twisted in a knot and I felt sick to my stomach, but I’d survive. I’d dealt with worse than Brody Campbell before. “I’m fine,” I replied. “I hope I’m not making you late for something.” It was Homecoming. There were a lot of things going on in town.

  He turned onto Berkshire and shrugged. “So I might not get my favorite booth and Duke’s. No big deal.”

  Duke’s? I smiled at him. “You’re not studying tonight?”

  Kevin nodded. “Just like every other night.”

  “But it’s Friday,” I said. “And Homecoming.”

  “Same as every other night to me.”

  Which was why he was a brilliant student and I was a struggling one. He was a nice guy though. A break from constant studying might be a nice change of pace. “Don’t you ever just want to go out and have fun?”

  “Yeah.” He sighed as he cast me a sidelong glance. “Sometimes I do.”

  Oh! We were almost there. “Turn left right there.” I gestured to the entrance to the neighborhood.

  He followed my instructions and took the left.

  “Right onto Selworthy, I said. And then right on to Lydford. It’s the white house.”

  A minute later, we stopped in front of my house and Kevin shifted the car into park. Then he turned in his seat and looked me over, concern and sincerity etched across his brow. “I said I’d never mention this, Leah. And I meant it. We’ll just pretend I never saw you out there and that I never drove you home. But—” he frowned “—you know, if you ever need someone to talk to, I’m happy to listen.”

  Shit. Brody was right. Kevin was interested in me. I could see it on his face. He was the nicest guy. But I certainly wasn’t in any position to encourage him. I didn’t want to hurt his feelings either, not after he’d been so nice. “Thanks, Kevin. I really appreciate it.”

  He nodded. “So you’re coming to the study group tomorrow, right?”

  “Yeah,” I said. “I’ll be there.” Then I opened the door and raced up the front lawn. I cracked the door open, glad not to see any sign of Winston or my mom. I rushed inside and straight up the stairs to the bathroom to clean myself up before I had to see Mom.

  The Sidbury Library could smell better. But it smelled like it always did - musty and like unwashed Freshmen, which did nothing to improve my mood. I’d gone to bed with a headache and I’d woken up with one. That, and a missed call from Brody. Not that I was in any mood to call him back, not after yesterday, not with my emotions still raw.

  I found my way to the private study room Ashley and Kevin had reserved, but only Kevin was sitting at the large conference table. Shit. I wished someone else was there. How was I supposed to face him after last night?

  He looked up from his notes and smiled at me. “Oh! You made it.” And he sounded so normal. There was absolutely no indication in his voice or expression that he’d seen me at my worst the night before. He really was true to his word about pretending it had never happened. I breathed a sigh of relief.

  My cell chirped and I pulled my phone out of my bag.

  Third message from Brody today. Please call. Need 2 talk

  Uh-huh. Well, I didn’t need to talk, not right now. I turned my ringer off. I looked back at Kevin and smiled slightly. “Am I the first one here?”

  “Besides me?” he laughed, then he shook his head. “No. Ashley’s signing us in and Melody went to grab a Coke.”

  And then, as if on cue, Ashley breezed into the room with a small entourage behind her – Melody, Ravita, Carrie, Alan, and some girl I didn’t know.

  “Oh, cool, you’re here,” Ashley said as she brushed past me and dropped into one of the chairs. “Hey, are you going to hear your boyfriend’s band tonight?”

  That Homecoming event in the quad after the game. Even if I was speaking to Brody I wouldn’t be there. “I’m working tonight.”

  “Which band?” Ravita asked as everyone found a spot.

  “Desolate Sun,” I replied, wishing we were discussing something else.

  “Oh!” Carrie leaned forward in her seat as though to take a closer look at me. “Which one’s your boyfriend?”

  “Brody Campbell,” Ashley answered before I could even reply.

  “Maybe we could focu
s on philosophy and not Leah’s love life,” Kevin suggested, trying to save me once again. He was certainly making a habit of coming to my rescue. And I really appreciated that about him.

  Carrie paid him no attention, however. Her hazel eyes actually sparkled when she asked, “Do you know the singer? Jason?”

  At that I couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah. I grew up with Jason.”

  Carrie sighed. Loudly. “He. Is. Hot.”

  “Gorgeous,” Melody added.

  I supposed he was, but when you think of someone as a brother…

  “Oh!” Ravita touched a hand to her chest. “If he could just sing me to sleep every night, I’d let him do whatever he wanted.”

  “Uh, I wanna get back to philosophy,” Kevin suggested.

  “Is he seeing anyone?” Carrie asked like I was Jason’s personal matchmaker.

  “Not really,” I replied, because he hadn’t seen anyone seriously since high school. Still, I couldn’t imagine he’d want me giving out any personal details about him.

  “You suddenly feeling out of place, Kev?” Alan asked, glancing around at the rest of us as if we’d lost our minds.

  “Slightly,” Kevin said.

  “All right, all right.” Ashley sighed. “We’ll work on philosophy.”

  My phone buzzed and I glanced down at it. Leah…

  I texted him back. At my study group. Stop texting.

  I was in a shit mood. It had been a whole day. She wasn’t taking my calls. She wasn’t returning my texts other than to tell me to stop texting her. And I was pretty sure I hadn’t slept a wink all night.

  She’d been out of my sight for all of five minutes and in that time, brilliant fucking Kevin had swooped in like a white knight on a horse and swept her into his car before I even had a chance to get her to listen to me. I’d love to get my hands around his brilliant fucking neck.

  “Hey!” Jason grumbled, propping his guitar next to Daniel’s Korg, but his judgmental eyes were fully on me. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

  The last person in the world I was gonna talk to was Jason Cole. “Nothing.” Besides, we were on break. I could be miserable on my own time, right?