by L A Cotton
“Let me guess,” the guy sneered. “You’re the boyfriend?”
“You should go.” Devon was the picture of calm, but the air crackled around us, thick with tension as the two of them stared each other down.
“Baby,” the guy directed his words at me, acting as if Devon wasn’t even standing there. “Why don’t you drop this loser and come play with a real—”
Blood exploded from his nose with the impact of Devon’s fist. I leaped down off the stool, but I was too late. Drunk Bryan hauled himself at Devon and the two of them went flying into the table. Glass shattered, people screamed.
“Devon, stop!” I yelled, but he punched the guy again. Aware that we were pulling a big crowd, I grabbed Devon and yanked him back. “We need to leave. Now.”
Bryan was a mess. Dark red blood coated his face, and he was swaying from side to side. “Fucking bitch.” He stumbled forward, his fist crushing into Devon’s face. I screamed, and Devon cussed into the chaos while someone wrestled Bryan away.
“Come on. We need to get out of here before security arrive.” I gripped Devon’s hand and tugged him through the crowd. We burst out of the door and into the cool night.
“Fuck,” he ground out, shirking free of my grip. His left eye was angry and sore. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”
“Hey.” I laid my hand on his cheek, careful not to touch the tender spot. “Hey, look at me.”
He looked wild: eyes wide, nostrils flared. He reminded me so much of Rick in that moment that fear gripped my heart in a vise. “Devon, look at me.”
Slowly, he met my gaze. “I don’t know what came over me. I heard him say those things and I... I lost it.” His shoulders slumped in defeat.
“Devon, it’s okay. We should probably get back to the motel though.”
“I ruined everything,” he let out an exasperated breath. “It’s the soundtrack of my life. I always find a way to fuck everything up.”
I didn’t like fighting. Especially after watching Rick come home bloody and bruised more times than I cared to count. But nobody except Rick had ever stood up for me the way Devon just had. He wasn’t my family. He wasn’t obligated to protect me. Yet that’s exactly what he’d done. And as crazy as it was, it was the moment I fell a little deeper for Devon Lions, the boy I wasn’t supposed to want and the boy who had stolen my heart.
Piece by broken piece.
BACK AT THE MOTEL, I tended to Devon’s face. Grabbing some ice from the ice machine by check-in, I wrapped it in a towel and pressed it against his swollen cheek.
“Shit, that hurts,” it came out ragged.
“You’ll need a good story,” I tried to make light of the situation. “Maybe you could say you got beat on by some guys trying to mug a little old lady. Everyone will dub you a hero.”
The corner of his mouth tipped. “Or maybe I could say I was protecting my girlfriend’s honor.”
“Devon.” My eyes shuttered as I sucked in a sharp breath. “I thought we agreed.”
“I know.” His hands curved around my legs as I stood between his and slid up the curve of my ass. “I just... fuck, Macey, I want everything with you.” Devon dropped his head, defeat radiating from him.
Gliding my fingers underneath his jaw, I angled his face to mine. “I just need time.” Time to get used to this. Him. Us. Time to figure out how the hell I was going to tell Rick without inciting World War Three.
But most of all, I needed time to learn how to be someone’s girlfriend.
I placed the ice pack down and looked down at Devon. His cheekbone was already bruised. Ghosting my fingers over the purplish skin, I leaned down and kissed him. “Thank you for what you did at the bar.” Devon winced with the sudden movement, staring at me. “You’re not pissed?”
“Pissed, why would I be...? Oh. Because of Maverick.”
“You said you found them suffocating. I never want to be that for you, Macey.”
“I know and it’s not the same. It’s not something I want you to make a habit of doing but I like that you care.”
“I do.” He dipped his head back in, caressing my lips with his. “I care about you a lot. And I won’t push. As long as I know we’re heading toward a day when you feel ready to tell them, then I can wait.” His hand cupped my face. “I’ll wait for you, I promise.”
I was too choked up to reply. It was unfair to ask him to wait, to hide in the shadows and pretend we were nothing to each other. But he had to know how I truly felt about him because I felt the connection between us every time our eyes caught across a room. I understood now why Rick hadn’t been able to walk away from Lo, and why Kyle had chased Laurie until she finally said yes. Because when you found the person who made you feel whole, the person who made you want to be better, you grabbed on with both hands and didn’t let go. Even if the odds were stacked against you, even if the start of your story was a hot mess, you held onto them in hopes everything would find a way of working itself out.
I brushed my lips over Devon’s, softly at first. But, as I imagined losing him, of being thrust back into the dark place I’d been over the summer, my grip tightened, and the intensity of the kiss grew until he pulled me down onto his lap and we fell backward in a tangle.
“But you’re injured...” I rushed out, not wanting to hurt him anymore than he already was.
His arms tightened around me as he brushed his head against mine and he whispered, “It’s the last thing on my mind right now.”
Chapter 18
DEVON
“Jesus, Son, what happened?”
I wasn’t expecting to see Dad when I came downstairs, but there he was: sitting at the table, drinking his coffee and reading the newspaper as if he did it every morning.
He didn’t. Usually he was long gone before I surfaced, which explained the frown etched on my face. “You’re not at work?” I asked.
“I don’t have to head in until nine. I thought we could have breakfast? But first, tell me, was she worth it?” He motioned to my face, his eyes twinkling in a way I’d missed over the last few months.
“How’d you know it was over a girl?”
“Devon, in your whole life I’ve never known you get into a fight, so either someone really pissed you off or it involves a girl. It wouldn’t happen to be Miss Prince would it?” My face must have betrayed me because he added, “I thought you said it wasn’t serious?”
I had told him that after he caught us in the less than innocent position against the counter the other week. But I still didn’t know what we were then, and I didn’t want him to worry.
“It’s... complicated.” I dragged a hand over my face.
“Isn’t it always, Son? Isn’t it always?” Sadness washed over him, and I knew he was thinking about Mom. “Just be careful. I’ve heard things about that family and they’re not all good. I don’t want you to end up in the middle of their family soap opera, okay?”
“Got it, Dad.” I pulled open the refrigerator and stuck my head inside searching for a soda. I’d waited for months for Dad to have a regular conversation with me, and the first time he did, he chose to warn me about Macey. Not quite the pep talk I was hoping for. But then, what did I expect?
I knew people would look at us and see two kids from opposite sides of the social spectrum. That’s just how it was around here. I’d be the guy batting way out of his league, and Macey would be the girl slumming it with the guy with no real prospects. We weren’t exactly a match made in heaven. Macey was set for college. She wanted to pursue dancing. When I’d asked her where she was applying to she’d mentioned UCLA but said she still hadn’t decided. At least she was going to be around. If this thing between us worked out—and I hoped it did—we could make the distance work.
Shit.
I was already getting way ahead of myself.
Maybe I had bigger abandonment issues than I wanted to believe.
Changing the subject, I said, “So, Miss Tamson, the guidance counsellor at school, wanted to see me.”
Dad stiffened, but it passed quickly as he shook the pages of his newspaper. “Feeding your head with all that nonsense talk of college again?”
My stomach bottomed out.
“She said she thought I could get a full scholarship.”
I don’t know why I said it. The second the words ran off my tongue, I wanted to snag them back and swallow them down where he could never hear them. But it was too late. They were out in the open, filling the space between us, and Dad looked at me with so much disappointment guilt filled every corner of me.
“A full ride, huh? I guess they’re just giving them out to anyone these days, kid. It wasn’t like that in my day.”
He might as well have reached over with his butter knife and stabbed me right in the chest. He didn’t even ask if it was what I wanted. As if we’d laid that conversation to bed a long time ago. And maybe we had. Maybe I’d been too easy to persuade that college was not for me. Or maybe I was too much of a coward to fight for what I wanted.
I’d fought for Macey, and now something had loosened in me, and I wanted more. I wanted to be someone she could be proud of. Someone who chased their dreams; not rolled over and followed someone else’s. She believed in me, she’d said as much. And I wanted to prove her right. But if I did it—if I walked into Miss Tamson’s office later and told her I wanted to apply to college—I was choosing Macey over my dad. And after everything we’d been through—he’d been through—how could I do that?
I had to figure out the answer soon because time was running out.
“HOLY SHIT, DUDE, WHAT happened?” Liam gawked at me, his eyes tracking my face as I shook my hair forward.
“I got into a fight with door. The door won.”
“No shit.” He leaned in to inspect the bruise. Thanks to a bag of frozen peas and tube of Arnica, it no longer hurt like a bitch, but it still looked gruesome.
“I hope you showed the door who’s boss?”
“Damn right I did.” I smirked, relieved he was playing along. Even if there was a hint of suspicion in his eyes.
“Fuck, Lions,” Jared joined us. “Did Prince finally decide to give you a beating?”
I stiffened. If only he knew. If only they all knew. But I couldn’t tell them because I’d made a promise to a girl. One I intended to keep. No matter how much I wanted to talk to someone about her.
“Nah, just had an unlucky encounter with a door. How was your weekend?” I didn’t give Jared chance to pry any further.
“I took Sara Miller for another test drive, if you know what I’m saying.” He slapped my chest, his own rumbling with laughter. “Oh shit, baby Stone alert.”
I turned expecting to see Macey’s sister, Summer Stone-Prince, but when my eyes landed on Kiera Lessinger, Kyle’s recently discovered half-sister, I frowned. “Don’t even think about it; he’d kill you. First you go after his girl, and now you’re staring at his baby sister with stars in your eyes.”
“He couldn’t take me.”
That was up for debate after Kyle put Jared on his ass at a party over the summer when he tried to comfort Laurie.
Liam cocked his brow at me and then Jared. “You do know we saw him do it, right?”
“Fuck you. He caught me off guard.”
“Yeah, yeah, keep telling yourself that.”
Just then, Macey rounded the hall with Kara and some other girls from the squad. I knew I should look away, but my vision shrunk until I could see nothing but her. Everything about her drew me in. Her guarded eyes that I knew softened when I pushed inside her. The tight smile of her lips that curved with laughter at my lame jokes. How she reached out for me in her sleep as if she needed me to fight off the monsters in her dreams.
It had never been as good as it was with Macey, and the fact I couldn’t scream it from the rooftops almost killed me. But I’d keep our secret, for her.
They passed us, not sparing our group a second look. We didn’t wear the right clothes or play the right sports to attract the attention of girls like them. But I knew different.
Deep down, I knew Macey didn’t give a shit about all that, and that’s what had me smiling as we headed in the opposite direction pretending we were nothing to one another.
LATER THAT NIGHT, LIAM and Autumn managed to persuade me to attend the football game with them. The Wreckers were playing at home and with the play-offs in reach, everyone was hoping Kyle Stone would lead the team to victory this year.
Everyone except me apparently.
“Remind me why I agreed to this again?”
The entire school and their families were crammed in the bleachers, ready to see the Wreckers kick the Kineton Kings asses. Laurie and Lo sat down front in the section reserved for the players’ family and friends. I recognized Mrs. Prince and her husband. Summer was tucked into her boyfriend’s arm. Watching them tightened my chest. It would never be me down there, arm curled around Macey’s shoulder as we chatted and laughed with her family. I guess until seeing them, I hadn’t really given much thought to all the things we wouldn’t get to experience together. Family dinners with bad sweaters, and awkward Thanksgiving speeches. Maybe they’d eventually come to accept me, but I doubted Maverick would ever be okay with me sitting around his table.
And fuck if it didn’t sting.
I averted my gaze, finding Macey in the crowd on the field. She looked something else in the tight-fitting red and white skirt and tank top. Loosely curled hair barely grazed her shoulders as she waved her Pom-Poms high, working the crowd into a frenzy.
“They’re looking good out there,” Liam commented, earning him a swift elbow to the ribs from Autumn. “Shit, babe. I was just saying. Obviously, they don’t look as good as you.”
I snickered. The guy was so whipped, it was sometimes hard to see where he ended and Autumn began. But if anything, I envied him. I’d never had that.
Until Macey.
But do you have it? The little voice of doubt whispered in my head. When we were together, I didn’t doubt she was right there with me. But out here, in public, it was hard to remember why we had to keep this thing to ourselves. That was until Maverick slid in beside Lo and glanced back, finding me in the crowd. His eyes narrowed, staring right through me and then he looked away, disgust rolling off him.
I sank down in my seat. If that wasn’t a big fat warning from the universe as to why we couldn’t go public, I didn’t know what was.
I MUST HAVE BEEN A sucker for punishment because after the game, I didn’t go home. Instead, Liam and Autumn dragged me to The Shack for milkshakes. Usually, one of the football players threw a party after the game, but because the team had a big game coming up at the weekend, they were on strict orders from Coach Munford to keep things low key tonight. That didn’t stop most of the team stopping by the diner to blow off steam though.
“Who died?” Jared slid in beside me.
“He’s sulking because we made him come.” Autumn shot me an apologetic smile.
“I’m not sulking, I’m just tired.”
Liam watched me carefully. He’d been doing that more and more lately, as if he knew something was up with me.
“Come on, dude. You can’t deny they kicked ass on the field tonight.”
I shrugged. Football had never been my thing, or any sports for that matter. I was happier jamming on my guitar or chilling with my friends, drinking beer and playing video games.
“Damn right we kicked ass.” Kyle Stone paused at our table with a couple of his teammates. They began cheering and whooping. Even Jared and Liam joined in, but I grabbed a menu and buried my head in it. To my relief, they kept walking, leaving us to our little corner of the diner.
“Stone’s in a good mood. Maybe I should ask him about Kiera—”
“Dude, quit while you’re ahead,” Liam said leaning back against the red leather bench. “He’s never going to want someone like you making a move on his sister.”
“Someone like me? What the fuck does that mean?”
“Come
on, J, you know what I mean.”
But from the way Jared’s mouth hung open, I figured he really didn’t know.
“They live in a different world and you know it.”
Jared rolled back his shoulders and ruffled his hair. “I think she likes me. I caught her looking in my direction today.”
Autumn snickered into Liam’s shoulder while he said, “I don’t even know why I bother. You’re going to do exactly what you want anyway.”
I scanned the diner hoping to see Macey. I’d texted her asking what her plans were for after the game, but she hadn’t replied. But with Maverick in town, I wasn’t surprised she hadn’t.
“I think I’m going to head home. I’m beat.” I nudged Jared to let me out.
“Already?” Liam said. “It’s not even nine-thirty.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
We said goodbye, and I made for the door. I didn’t expect to walk right into Macey and Maverick arguing.
Chapter 19
MACEY
“I’m not doing this here,” I said to my brother, who had decided to surprise us all by driving down to watch Kyle’s game. I really didn’t want to have another conversation with him, especially out here where anyone could overhear. But from the thin set of Rick’s lips, the hardness to his eyes, I knew he wasn’t giving me much choice.
Until Devon walked out of The Shack and my heart went into overdrive.
He wasn’t supposed to be here.
And he definitely wasn’t supposed to see this.
“Macey, come on, you can’t ignore me forever,” Rick said, but I was too focused on Devon, who put his head down, shoved his hands in his pockets, and kept walking.
“Macey?”
“Huh? What?”
“What are you—” Rick’s voice trailed off as he followed my line of sight.
Shit.
“Is that Lions?” he ground out. “I fucking hate that piece of shit.”
“Is it? I didn’t notice.” The lie soured on my tongue, knotting my stomach. But at least Devon was already at his car, safe from my brother’s anger. “What were you saying?”
