“How sweet! You guys should keep hanging out.” Zoe stood.
Drew’s mouth formed a thin line.
“Yeah.” Amelia nodded politely. “Though I think he’s into one of my friends now.”
“Bummer,” Drew said quickly. “He’s such a good catch.”
His words dripped with sarcasm, but Zoe didn’t seem to notice.
“Yeah, well…” Zoe grinned. “…it’s just high school. Who knows what the future holds?”
“No Ryans,” Drew mouthed at me.
I covered my laugh with a cough and thanked Zoe. We kept straight faces until we made it to the elevator, and then Drew was the first to lose it.
“A GOOD CATCH?”
“Shhh!” I smacked him in the arm. “And he’s not that bad.”
“His poem was pretty good.” Amelia shrugged. “‘Aliens, aliens, visit me below, because right now, this planet’s got me feeling kinda low.’”
Drew gaped at her. “You’re. Shitting. Me.”
“Yup, I just wanted more money to go into Trevor’s swear jar,” She held out her hand. “Or you could just donate to the poor-high-school-kid fund and give Not-Your-Daughter some cash so she can leave you in peace and go hang out with her friends…”
His eyes narrowed. “This feels like bribery and extortion. It’s strange how okay I am with it since you gave me your mom’s yearbook this morning.”
“The world works in mysterious ways.” She moved her hand closer to his face.
He pulled out his wallet and handed her a crisp fifty-dollar bill. I almost swatted it out of her hand, but when I saw her eyes go wide as saucers, I realized she deserved some good after this scare.
“Don’t eat too much candy. You know how you get.” He winked.
She just stuck out her tongue, took the cash, and immediately grabbed her phone from her back pocket. “Promise.”
“And be home by curfew,” he added, then whispered under his breath, “What’s curfew again?”
“Eleven.” I grinned.
“Home by ten!” He jabbed a finger at her.
“Mommm!” She stomped her foot.
“Ten thirty.” He glared. “And no boys. They have thoughts.”
“This again.” She threw her hands in the air.
He mimicked her high voice “This again… yes, this again, because I’m a guy, and I was on tour with whores at your age—” He stopped talking then shot me an apologetic look. “Too much information?”
I just sighed and looked upward.
“Whores? Really?” Amelia asked.
“Never mind.” He pulled her in for a hug. “Hugs, not drugs, know your worth, kick boys in the balls hard enough to crunch something, and I’m not bailing you out of prison.”
“You’re not so bad at this whole… fake dad thing.” She looked away. I didn’t miss the sadness in her eyes, and then she was hugging both of us and jogging off as her friends pulled up in their Camry.
“They grow up so fast.” Drew elbowed me. “You did good, B.”
“Not doing so bad yourself, D. So what now?”
“Oh, I thought we could go eat our body weight in fries since it was your only life goal in high school… LITERALLY.”
“I was young!”
“Hey, it’s good to have goals. I mean, I wanted to be an astronaut, but whatever—”
I smacked him in the arm. “Just feed me.”
“Food or—”
“Drew.”
“Fine…” He opened my door, and before I could say anything else, he pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Forehead kisses don’t count. They’re just proof that you’re special, that you’re safe.”
Tears welled in my eyes. “I needed that.”
“I think I did too,” he admitted.
I almost asked him to kiss me.
But I was afraid of what that kiss would mean.
Where it would lead.
I would want more.
And in five days, he was walking out my front door back to LA, back to his life, back to his fame.
And I would be left to pick up the pieces.
So, I got in the car, put on my seatbelt, and told myself that this was a time to get back to me, back to what made me happy, and I wasn’t going to be able to do that imagining coming home to Drew and having dinner.
Or walking down the aisle, into his arms.
CHAPTER 13
Andrew
I was going to die if she didn’t let me kiss her soon. I figured that the easiest way to drive her crazy with the same need I was struggling with was to find excuses to touch her.
A light shove here, a little crowding in tight spaces there.
An “Oh, how silly. Your hair was stuck to your lip-gloss. Let me get it” hair tuck.
An “Oops, sorry” brush of my hand against hers as we both reach for the salt.
A “Let me get that door for you and then place my hand on the small of your back, so you feel the heat from my palm and imagine it on your breasts” act of chivalry…
A shudder rippled through me. My imagination was really starting to get away from me, and she was so damn cute when she ate her fries that I almost threw them in the trash for betraying me and being allowed access to her mouth while I suffered with blue balls and a needy heart.
“So…” She popped another fry in her mouth. We were at one of my favorite spots right on the boardwalk, eating outside and people-watching. You could almost taste the salt in the air as the light breeze picked up and wrapped around both of us. A cluster of people walked by, followed by a sea of kids on bikes. It was a beautiful day for Seaside, and I was just praying the weather continued to stay like this, so my plan didn’t completely fall through.
A young waitress with jet black hair and black glasses stopped by and dropped off our food; she gave me a doubletake but thankfully didn’t ask for an autograph and left us in peace.
Small freaking favors.
“…what are we going to do today?”
I grinned. “I’m so glad you asked.”
Bronte’s eyes narrowed. “Well, that’s terrifying.”
“What is?”
“That.” She pointed her fry at me. “That smile on your face that just keeps growing the more I talk.”
“First
