The only problem I had now was Mrs. Taylor,and Mr. Taylor. Mitch was fine with Payton and me, and he evenapologized for being such a dick early on, but I didn’t blame him.I’d have been mad, too, if the situation were reversed. I stillhated Cassie for what she’d done to my brothers.
“What are you still doing here?” Mrs. Taylorasked. She was no longer Shelia; she had madethat clear when she first saw Payton and me working on the fort afew days ago.
“Just waiting for Paytonto get dressed. We’re going to put up one of the walls today.” Itried to sound excited, but to be honest, I was terrified. I neverknew how much Mrs. Taylor loved her son until I royally fucked uphis life. She was a mother lion, and I was the evil bitch thattried to take her baby away.
“Why are you doing this?”she asked, and I sensed that she wanted to like me, but couldn’tjust yet.
“I love him.”
“For how long this time?”And just as she said that, I heard Payton come out of the bathroom.I looked her in the eyes and sighed.
“Til death do us part.” Idon’t know why I said it just then, but I meant it. If I had thechance someday to marry my best friend, I’d do it in aheartbeat.
Shelia’s eyes widened and her liptrembled. I stood still in fear that she may either attack or notdo anything. I wasn’t sure which was worse at thispoint.
“You meanthat?”
I nodded. “I do. I feel so bad aboutwhat happened. I will regret that for my whole life. You have toknow that I’d never hurt him on purpose.”
She nodded. “I didn’t think you would,Keri, but honey, you don’t know what it was like…”
“I know,” I said, and myface fell. “For the rest of my life I’ll regretDecember.”
Just as I spoke, Payton came aroundthe corner, and I knew that he’d heard me. His eyes were different.That light that I’d seen before, when he told me he loved me everyfive minutes, was back. I gasped, and he kissed me full on themouth in front of his mom. I laughed, and he hugged me to hisbody.
“You ready?” heasked.
I nodded, and I looked over and sawhis mom wipe her eyes.
“Yeah, I’mready.”
Payton smiled that one-hundred-wattsmile that I loved more than anything, and I took his arm. Wewalked out of the house like we owned the world, and to becompletely honest, I felt like I did.
ChapterNine
*Rock, Paper,Scissors…*
I looked at Paytonthrough the small window that we just finished building on the treefort. It was ridiculous, really, building this thing in the samemanner as we’d done before. There was only one thing missing, welltwo, actually. My dad, and his. Payton waved and I laughed, blowinghim a kiss.
“What’re you doing in there?” he asked, andI grinned.
“Thinking about bedrooms,” I said, andwinked.
Payton blew out a breath. “I can’t think ofbedrooms around you. We’re supposed to be friends.”
I laughed and winked back at him. He smiled.“Are we friends again?”
“Best friends,” he said, repeating the samemantra he’d spoken for the last twenty years.
“Hey, I was just thinking, maybe we shoulddo something special when we finally finish this thing,” I said,thinking that we could totally do it. The floor looked a whole lotsturdier than the last fort we’d had. Plus, we got rid of the wonkyladder and added a small staircase. Payton contributed his weeklychecks to the build, too, and this place was looking prettysweet.
“Oh yeah?” he said, and he headed up thesteps. I laughed, and ran as far as I could to one of the cornersthat was done.
“What are you doing?”
“What are you doing?” Payton asked,laughing.
“I’m just looking…”
“At what?” he asked, breathless.
“You.”
He grinned. “I’m looking at you, too.”
“Still friends?” I asked. I needed to hearhim repeat it a million times a day, and I needed to repeat it tomyself. Things were finally going well, and I was happy.
“Yes, ma’am.”
I grinned, and then frowned, realizing thatI only had two full weeks of summer vacation until school startedback up.
“What’s wrong?” Payton asked. He backed meup completely and put his hands on either side of where my headwas. I didn’t want to say anything. I didn’t want to bring himdown.
“Nothing.”
“Liar.”
“I was just thinking… I only have a fewweeks until school starts back up.” I looked up and watched asPayton frowned for a second, and then just as fast, itdisappeared.
“Yeah, but we still have two weeks,” hesaid, and then pulled me into his arms.
“But I go back,” I said, trying to, foronce, talk about the one thing which neither of us wanted tomention. The whole ‘elephant in the room’.
“I know,” he said, calmly.
I pulled away. “It doesn’t bother you?” Ifelt put off all of a sudden. Why wouldn’t he be bothered bythis?
“Nope.”
I shook my head fast, and waited for him toexplain himself, but he didn’t. He just leaned in and kissed me onthe nose.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Kissing you.”
“No, I know that you’re kissing me, youidiot, what I want to know is why? And why doesn’t me goingback to school bother you?”
“It just doesn’t anymore,” Paytonreplied.
“Why not?”
“Because I know now.”
“Why do you look so smug all of a sudden?” Iasked, and couldn’t help myself I smiled.
“I heard what you said to my mom.”
I looked at him just then, and my smilegrew. “Oh, yeah?”
He nodded. “Yep.”
“And what do you have to say aboutthat?”
“I guess we’ll have to wait until we finishthis thing,” he said, and gestured to the unfinished tree fort thatsurrounded us. “You said we had to finish this thing first and thenwe’d talk. So, we’re going to do that.”
I hated when my words were thrown back in myface. I frowned. “Seriously, you’re going to make me wait?”
Payton chuckled. “Yep.”
“And I can’t change your mind?” I asked, andthen I fiddled with my bra strap. I looked him in the eye and triedto convey something seductive. I probably ended up lookingconstipated.
“Nope.”
“What if we,” I said, and leaned in towhisper in his ear, “you know, played?”
Payton’s eyes widened and he stepped awayfrom me. “I can’t believe you just said that.”
I laughed and watched the
