I tried to ignore the butterflies in my stomach, but that was pretty hard to do considering my heart was beating so fast I thought that I was going to pass out.
Caleb Martin was going on and on and on about his daddy’s cottage and a lake and a boat and a Fourth of July party.
What. Ever. God, he liked to listen to himself talk. And Hailey wasn’t any better. She was sitting in Link’s lap, listening to whatever was on his mind as if he was Jesus giving a sermon. I had to admit that they looked cute together, but still…she should be paying attention to what was going on with me. At least a little bit.
Because what was going on with me was pretty pathetic. I didn’t know how to act like I didn’t care that Drive-In Girl was practically mauling Trevor, so I prayed that no one would notice.
Not that anyone other than Caleb was paying attention to me. I felt like I was in sixth grade all over again. Playing with the big boys and having no clue.
I exhaled. Good. Breathe. You can do this.
I nodded when Caleb asked me if I liked to water-ski. Um, no, but it seemed easier to just agree with whatever he was saying. He’d been pretty much glued to my side since we arrived nearly half an hour ago. Which was weird. It’s not as if we ran in the same social circles, but then, I guess I presented a bit of a challenge. I knew what some of the guys in town thought of me, and I knew that they considered “nailing the pastor’s daughter” as some sort of win.
Whatever. It used to bother me, but now it seemed so immature and silly, considering all the other stuff going on in my life.
The bonfire glowed red, and I stared into the flames because I didn’t know where else to look. Why had I agreed to come to this party?
Oh. Right. Because Hailey convinced me that I needed to. You know, because it was going to be fun. A blast. A totally epic party, I think she’d said, adding that as a bonus, I could show Trevor Lewis what he was missing.
I’d told her I didn’t care what Trevor Lewis thought.
She rolled her eyes and grabbed a skimpy top from her closet.
Her enthusiasm, coupled with the fact that my parents were home but not speaking to each other, made my decision way easier than I would have liked. So I let Hailey dress me up and do my makeup. The end result was that I looked a little on the trashy side and felt a whole lot uncomfortable.
“Do you want to walk a bit?”
Hailey and Link’s lips were locked together. “Sure,” I found myself saying. It’s not like I was going to be missed here anyway. I felt like an idiot nursing a red Solo cup of Jack and Coke, and I don’t care what Hailey said—it was just as gross cold as it was warm.
Caleb grabbed my hand, and we trudged in the opposite direction of Trevor and Drive-In Girl. We walked past a couple who were half undressed and pushed up against a tree and another couple whose moans made them sound like a bunch of wild animals caught in a trap. Seriously? Pride, people.
It didn’t take long for the forest at the edge of the clearing to swallow us up.
“This is much better,” Caleb said.
I wasn’t exactly sure that this was, but so far, other than having an extremely high opinion of himself and his father’s money, he seemed harmless.
“I don’t think I’ve seen you at one of these bashes before.” His hand was still on mine.
“Jason wasn’t exactly a party animal.”
Ha. That was an exaggeration. Jason had been into Star Trek, The Big Bang Theory, and books. Three things that had been totally fine with me. We’d sort of gotten into some heavy-duty touching and exploring one night after a movie, but I’d been kind of freaked out by my lack of wanting him to touch me, and I don’t think I’d hidden it very well.
I guess it says something about our relationship that we continued to date for nearly a year after that, and though he tried for more than a kiss a few times, we’d never progressed to anything beyond that.
“Your ex?”
I nodded.
Caleb’s grin widened, and he reached for the Solo cup in my hand. “You’re not liking this?”
I wrinkled my nose. “It’s awful.”
He tossed the cup, both of his hands suddenly on my arms. “So, you’re like a party virgin.”
“Um, I guess.” He said virgin in a way that made me uncomfortable.
His breathing was different, and he leaned closer. “That’s freaking hot.” I could smell cigarettes and the sweet scent of whiskey.
“Caleb, maybe we should get back to the party.”
“Sure, babe.”
Babe? Babe?
“Are you for real?” I asked, trying to yank my arms from his grasp. “Guys still say babe?”
“Calm down,” he said with a smile, and suddenly I knew exactly how he got girls to give him what he wanted. The guy had a great smile. I’d give him that, but his smile wasn’t the one I wanted for myself. “Sorry.” He murmured. “Got it. Mental note. Everly Jenkins does not like the word babe.” He paused. “But maybe she likes a kiss?”
“Not gonna happen.” Was there something wrong with me? Had I been sending out mixed signals and didn’t know it?
“Everly likes to play hard to get. I’m cool with that. I’ll take you out in my father’s boat on Monday. You’ll see. I know how to show a girl a good time.”
Oh. My. God. This guy didn’t get it.
“She can’t,” Trevor said, startling both of us, and I took the chance to yank my arms from Caleb.
Trevor stood about a foot away, alone and looking more adorable than he had a right to. He wore boots, jeans that fit him way too nicely, and a plain black V-neck T-shirt that showed off his chest, biceps, and abs. How that was possible, I don’t know, but there you have it.
His hair waved to the tops of his shoulders, his eyes glittered, and there was a dusting of stubble on his chin. Like I said, adorable. And sexy.
And I didn’t care because he was here with Drive-In Girl.
“Dude, who the hell asked you? Uh, the party is that way.” Caleb had a smile on his face but his voice wasn’t exactly sunshine. He squared his shoulders and faced Trevor, who kind of did the same thing. Total macho posturing, but it made me realize that they were sort of squaring off because of me.
For some reason I was kind of okay with that.
“Everly and I have a date on Monday,” Trevor said softly.
Caleb’s eyebrows shot up. “A date?”
That particular bit of info was news to me too.
“You guys are together?” Caleb asked, his eyes on me and his expression more than a little pissed off.
“No,” I said.
“Yes.” That was from Trevor.
“You could have said something.” That was for me. “Dude, I didn’t mean to chat up your girl. I had no idea you guys were hooking up.” That was for Trevor.
“Oh my God, we’re not hooking up.”
Okay, so I shouted. And maybe half the kids at the party might have heard me. Whatever. My top was way too skimpy, my jeans on the low side of low rise, and the flats I wore pinched my toes. They belonged to Hales, so it wasn’t surprising. I’d worn them because she’d insisted the sparkles would look great with my barely there top.
Most important, the guy I liked had been sucking face with Drive-In Girl, or at the very least, I’d watched her grind up against him.
“Everly,” Trevor said. “Can we talk?”
I could have done one of two things at this point.
Who was I kidding? I was never going to do the second one.
“Sure,” I said sharply.
Caleb muttered a bunch of stuff, and I’m sure none of it was nice, but neither Trevor nor I was paying any attention to him. He took off, and then Trevor and I were alone with only the echoes of the party and the flickering fireflies among the trees.
It was warm—June usually was—and the air was heavy. I closed my eyes and dragged in great big gulps of it, trying to calm my butterfly-infested stomach.
“Everly.”
He was close. So close.
Slowly, my eyes opened and, well, wouldn’t you know…that big old lump of something was back clogging my throat. I couldn’t swallow. Couldn’t speak. I couldn’t do anything but look up into the face of the most beautiful guy I’d ever seen.
Suddenly, I didn’t want to do the whole “I’m going to play games and be mad at you” thing. Not anymore. I wasn’t a kid. I wasn’t some girlfriend who’d been wronged either, and I guess that was the problem.
Trevor was looking at me in a way that had all sorts of things zigging and zagging inside me. Maybe it was time for me to find out what all of this meant.
“Did you come with Drive-In Girl?” I asked, careful to keep my voice neutral.
“Who?”
Right. No more games. “Jess. Because that’s fine, Trevor. I just…”
He stepped closer. “You just what?”
Could he hear my heart beating? Or the blood rushing through my veins like a tidal wave? Or how my breaths were ragged, catching on the emotion inside me as I exhaled?
“You just what, Everly?”
His hands were at his sides, and he kept opening and closing them. It was dark, so I couldn’t be sure if the beating I saw at the base of his neck was his pulse or just a play of shadows.
“Everly.”
Something in the way he said my name made my knees go weak, and I spoke in a rush.
“I just need to know what this is.”
There. Good. I got it out.
“This?” His voice was low and kind of raspy. Of course it was. Because how sexy was that?
“Us. When you said we had a date on Monday, what did you mean by that?”
“I wanted Caleb Martin to back off.”
“Why?”
“He’s bad news, Everly. Caleb is a player, and he’s only looking to get laid. He’s not the guy for you.”
My cheeks burned at his descriptive use of the English language. “And I suppose you know who is?” Wow, that wasn’t leading or anything.
“Yes,” Trevor said. “Yes, I do.”
He moved closer, until there was only a whisper between us. I could smell his cologne, a light scent of woods and something else I couldn’t put my finger on. But it was nice. It was more than nice. It was amazing.
Whatever this was between us, whether it was flirting or foreplay or something else entirely, it was exciting, electric, and scary.
I had to tilt my head because he was a lot taller than me, and this angle? Sheer perfection. The stars cast down their light, and the shadows on his face made him appear mysterious and more beautiful than he already was.
“So.” I wet my lips because they were suddenly dry. “Who exactly is the guy for me?”
His hands crept up either side of my face, and I wanted to melt into them. Into him. Then Trevor bent low, his warm breath sending shivers across my skin. His mouth was at my ear, and I shuddered when I felt his lips move there. “Everly, he’s standing right in front of you.”
A pause.
“He’s just not sure…”
I could barely breathe, and if you could ache all the way to your bones just from a touch, then I was there.
“He’s just not sure that you want him.”