Not Yet

by Alexa Riley

  Not Yet

  Alexa Riley

  Contents

  HEA on the go

  Not Yet

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Epilogue

  Epilogue

  Epilogue

  Her Touch

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Stalk the Author

  Copyright © 2019 by Author Alexa Riley LLC. All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, email to riley_alexa@aol.com

  http://alexariley.com/

  Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.

  Edited by Aquila Editing

  Cover Designer: Mayhem Cover Creations

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  Not Yet

  by Alexa Riley

  Ali’s mom married Drake’s dad when they were just little kids. They became best friends instantly and spent years thick as thieves, but that all changed in high school. All she has to do is make it through the homecoming dance and then she and Drake can go their separate ways, but when he asks to be her date, suddenly she sees the boy she once loved.

  Drake has loved Ali since the day they met and nothing has changed since then. He’s had to keep her at arm’s length because he can’t have a happily ever after with her. They’ve been raised as siblings and she doesn’t deserve that kind of gossip. But when it’s time for the homecoming dance, he can’t let anyone else be by her side. It’s time to give in to what his heart has always wanted and what it’s waited for.

  Warning: These childhood best friends can’t make this work…or can they? Fall in love with us as these two finally realize what’s right in front of them and dare to hold on to it. We promise it’s worth the wait!

  Chapter One

  Ali

  Five years old

  “Is that a castle?” I squeal as I unclick my seatbelt before my mom can get the car fully into park.

  “Ali-bug,” she scolds me, nodding pointedly at the seatbelt.

  “Sorry!” I shout as I open the car door and jump out.

  “You live in a castle, Mr. Hawthorne?” I ask, running toward him.

  I’ve known Mr. Hawthorne for a while now. He was my mom’s boss at work. I think he owns it or something. I jump toward him and he leans down to catch me midair.

  “David,” he reminds me as he lifts me up.

  “You live in a castle, David?” I ask again.

  It’s hard to remember to call him David. Everyone else calls him Mr. Hawthorne, even Mom when she’s at work. The only time she ever calls him David is when we’re alone with him or she’s talking to me about him. I get to see him bunches since my mom has to take me into work with her sometimes. He lets me play in his office, and when we order lunch he always sneaks me dessert.

  “I was thinking about living here.” He smiles at me. “But a castle needs a princess.” I know he’s teasing me. I also know this isn't really a castle, but it looks like one. Not only that but there’s so much land everywhere. Mom and I don't have a yard so we have to drive to the park if we want to play outside.

  “Sorry, Mommy,” I say before she can scold me again. I got out of the car too fast but it was a castle and I got excited.

  “Do you know of any princesses, Ali?” David asks me.

  “Not a real one.” I scrunch my nose as I think and remember that David always calls me a princess.

  “You’re not my princess?” he asks.

  When I look at my mom I see she’s biting her bottom lip.

  “Yours?” I ask, not understanding what he means.

  “Well, I’d like you to be, if you’d give me that honor.” I look at my mom to see what she says.

  “David and I want to get married, Ali-bug.” I squeal as I throw my arms around David and hug him tightly. “Well, that was easier than I thought it was going to be,” I hear my mom say with a small laugh in her voice.

  “Do we get to have a wedding and live in this castle?” David’s whole body shakes as he tries to cover a laugh. “Does that mean you’ll be my dad?”

  I’ve never had a dad before, but I sometimes secretly pretend David is mine. He’s always so sweet to me and my mom, and we don't have any other family besides the two of us.

  “If you want me to be.” I nod my head and I feel my braids wiggle. “But you know I have a son, princess, so I’ll be his dad too.”

  I think back to the picture that sits on his desk of the boy with dark hair. I’ve never met him before but I’ve heard David talk about him.

  David turns a little and I see the same boy from the picture standing in the entryway of the house and he’s watching us. David puts me down on my feet as the boy walks over to me.

  “Drake, this is Ali.” Drake looks just like David and I smile at him. He studies me for a second and it’s the same face David makes when he’s staring at his computer screen at work. After a moment he holds his hand out to me and I take it, but he doesn't let go like you're supposed to.

  “You wanna play?” he asks.

  He doesn't look like he plays. He’s in a button-up shirt and pants and he’s so clean. Maybe that’s why he looks so much like his dad. They dress the same. I don’t normally like playing with boys because they don’t want to play with my dolls. He might though.

  “Yes,” I agree and I let his hand go. I run back to the car to grab my backpack then rush back to him and unzip it. “I have Barbies.”

  He stares at the Ken doll I hold out to him and for a second I think he’s going to tell me no. But he reaches his hand out and takes it and nods.

  “Okay,” he says and I smile even bigger.

  Not only am I getting a dad but I’m getting a brother, too. This is the best day ever.

  Chapter Two

  Drake

  Nine years old

  “Guys, I said bedtime half an hour ago,” Carmen says as she comes into my bedroom.

  Ali and I have been playing the new Mario game since we ran in the door from school. She got it for her birthday last week and we’ve almost beaten it.

  “Mom, come on, we’re almost to the end,” Ali pleads and I back her up.

  “Five more minutes. Please.”

  “No, you’ve both got swim lessons and soccer tomorrow. You’ll be bears if you stay up any later.” She turns off the television and we both plug in our controllers to charge them.

  Ali stomps her foot as she goes into the bath
room to brush her teeth. I’m just as mad as she is, but I don’t like to show it in front of Carmen. She’s my stepmom but she’s basically been my mom since the day I met her.

  My real mom died when I was just a baby and my dad raised me by himself until he met her. Of course he had help with nannies and babysitters, but when Carmen came along she was like a real mom. She taught me how to tie my shoes and how to bake cookies. I didn’t really know what I was missing out on until she came along, and now I don’t want to do anything that might make her go away.

  “Mom?” I say while Ali is out of earshot.

  “Yeah, buddy?” She’s in my room putting away a stack of laundry and I sit on the edge of the bed. I must be quiet too long because she turns around and looks at me. “Is everything okay, Drake?”

  “It’s Muffins for Moms tomorrow and I, um, wanted to know if you’d come to my class.” I stare down at my feet as I kick them back and forth. I don’t know why I’m so nervous to ask her.

  I feel her walk over and sit down on the bed next to me. After a moment I look up and see her smiling so sweetly down at me.

  “I know it’s tomorrow. I’ve had it on my calendar all week. Of course I’ll be there, you know that.” She puts an arm around me and I lean into her softness. She’s always so warm, I can see why my dad likes hugging her.

  “Okay, cool.” I try to play it off like I wasn’t worried, but deep down the knot in my stomach loosens.

  “I’ll pop into Ali’s class and then come to yours afterward. But don’t worry, I’ll save room.” She winks at me and I smile again, realizing that I was worried for no reason.

  Ali and I are in the same grade, but after we talked to one another nonstop through kindergarten and first grade our parents made us split up. I still get to see her throughout the day and we have recess at the same time so it’s not so bad. She’s my best friend so I wish we could spend all of our time hanging out.

  “Night, Mom,” Ali calls out as she climbs onto the air mattress on the floor that’s already made up. Mom put it in here for Ali’s birthday and it’s been here ever since.

  “Night, Ali-bug.” She leans down and cuddles her as I get into my bed and she comes and does the same.

  “Get some sleep, buddy,” she says as she tucks me in. “Can’t wait for tomorrow,” she whispers before she turns out the light and closes the door.

  As soon as the door shuts, I feel my bed dip and Ali crawls in beside me. “How long do you think we have before we can start playing again?”

  “Maybe we should just get some sleep?” I say, never wanting to be the one that makes Mom mad. I save up all my sneaky stuff for Dad.

  “Nah, she’ll send Dad up here if she hears us. Remember they take turns.”

  “True,” I say, grinning at her, and grab the remotes again.

  “Turn down the volume,” Ali hisses when the game console comes to life.

  “Just remember if Dad comes up I’m pretending to be asleep,” I say because we both know he won’t get mad at Ali.

  “You’re terrible at faking sleep.”

  “Here, you take the black one, it’s got more power,” I say, handing it to her.

  “Thanks.”

  “You be Mario this time. You’re better with the jumps.” I watch her play for a bit before I join her. She’s always so happy when she’s gaming and even though we’re both tired, I wouldn’t turn down a chance to play with her.

  We end up staying up a lot longer than we thought but we beat the game. Afterwards we both fall into my bed and pass out, but just as I fall asleep I think how cool it is that I get to live with my best friend. I never understood when some of my friends at school complained about their sisters. Ali is awesome.

  Chapter Three

  Ali

  Thirteen years old

  I reach for my backpack and take it from Drake’s hand. “Don’t go through my stuff,” I snap at him but then instantly feel guilty. I’m going to blame it on the hormones Mom said are making me moody.

  Drake stares at me with a shocked expression and then his eyes narrow. I’m not usually short with him because there’s never a reason to be. Drake’s my best friend but I’m worried things are going to change.

  “I was just getting a pen.” His eyes flick to my backpack once more and now he’ll never let this go.

  He’s going to want to know why I was so defensive over my bag. I didn't mean to be, it was just my first reaction. I’m new to this whole period thing and Mom told me to keep a pad with me at all times. I put one in my backpack, not thinking that Drake might get into it.

  I should have known. He always loses his pens or pencils and digs through my bag to get a new one. He holds his hand out and I know he’s not asking for me to give him a pen. He wants the backpack.

  “Whatever.” I toss it to him and he catches it.

  I throw the worst passes to him in the yard when he wants me to help him practice his football skills. I’m not trying to be bad at it, but somehow I suck and he still manages to catch them all. He tells me it’s good that I throw so bad because it makes him work harder to catch the ball. I don’t know if that’s true or if he’s trying to make me feel better.

  As he opens my backpack I stomp out of the dining room where we’ve been doing our homework. I go straight to my room because my face is already hot. I don’t know why I’m embarrassed, because I know it’s normal. It’s just weird and I don’t want to talk about it with Drake. I’ve already had to listen to it from my mom, the school nurse, and my health class.

  I think I’m most upset about things changing between Drake and me. It makes us different and defines us more as boy and girl. It’s like there’s a new part of my life and I don't like that he isn’t a part of it in some way. I can’t even make sense of it in my head.

  I fall onto my bed and stare up at the ceiling, knowing I need to go back downstairs. Drake needs help with his science project and I have a crap ton of math homework I need to get done. I have to face the music at some point and get this weird conversation over with. Maybe I’ll get lucky and he won’t say anything.

  My door flies open and I pop up from the bed to see something white in Drake’s hand.

  “You took it out of my bag!” I scream, pointing at the white square in his hand. My face burns with embarrassment so brightly I can feel the heat.

  “Yeah, because you shouldn't have it!” Now he’s the one shouting at me. He steps into my room and closes the door behind him. He’s already changed out of his school uniform into a shirt and gym shorts. He can’t stand the school uniforms but they don't bother me.

  “I need it.” I put my hands over my face, praying for a hole in the floor to swallow me. Oh God, this is not happening.

  “You need a note from Ben?”

  I drop my hands from my face to look at Drake standing a few feet from my bed. He’s got that same stern face Dad gets when he’s in a meeting or on a conference call.

  “Ben?” What is he talking about? He lifts his hand and I see he’s not holding my pad but a folded piece of paper.

  “Oh,” is all I say because I have absolutely no idea what we’re talking about.

  “He’s a dick.”

  Ben is a dick, but not to me. I’ve seen him be a jerk a few times so I nod my head in agreement.

  “Then why is he telling you to text him?” Drake shakes the paper in his hand.

  “That was in my backpack?”

  “Yeah.”

  I reach for the note to look but Drake steps back so I can’t grab it. I’m guessing it has Ben’s number on it.

  “Do you want to text him?” he asks. “Maybe Dad was right and we’re too young for cell phones.” I start laughing because he’s never looked more like Dad than in this moment. “It’s not funny.” He’s agitated and I laugh harder.

  “No, I don’t want to text him. I didn't know he put a note in my backpack,” I say through laughter.

  “I’ll have a talk with him.” Tears leak down my cheeks a
t Drake’s expression.

  “I can’t. You look so much like Dad right now.”

  Finally Drake smiles and sits down on the bed next to me. “You done?”

  “I think so,” I say, but my body keeps shaking as I hold in the laughter.

  “Stay away from Ben,” he adds when I finally get it together. I’ll stay away from Ben. He’s a jerk and I trust Drake.

  “Ben who?” I tease, and he shakes his head before standing up and holding out his hand. I take it and he pulls me to my feet.

  “I need help with my science project.”

  “I know.” I let out a long sigh, feeling a lot better.

  “Ali?”

  “Hmm?” I say as I follow him out of my bedroom and back downstairs.

  “It changes nothing.” He stops walking to look at me. We’re on the stairs and he’s two steps below me so we’re actually eye level for once. I realize then that he saw the pad in my backpack. “I just want you to know that. Like if you have an accident or something, you can tell me. I can get you whatever you need or whatever,” he rushes to say, and I can see he’s really trying not to make it uncomfortable.

  “You’re saying if I need a pad you’ll go get me one?” I don’t know why, maybe it’s because I was just laughing hysterically and I’m still riding that wave, but it feels okay to tease about it.