Текст книги "The First Last Boy"

Автор книги: Sonya Weiss

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Текущая страница: 3 (всего у книги 16 страниц)

Chapter Three

TANA

I had this thing I did every Saturday that my mom and Creature didn’t know about. While she took him with her to run errands and pay the bills, I’d take a detour before I went to the grocery store. I’d head toward our old neighborhood near the Caldwell Institute of Arts.

I know that some people, those too ignorant to know better, thought Caldwell was just a hell-hole where bad things happened twenty-four seven. But it was no different than any other city. There were neighborhoods you didn’t want to be a part of, those that you longed to be a part of, and the ones sandwiched in the middle.

I slowed the Honda as I turned onto our former street and took a breath. The death of my old life and the birth of my new one had taken place just up ahead at the three million dollar French Renaissance mansion. With over 12,000 square feet, fifteen rooms, and a carriage house out in the back, you would think that in this mansion, the people were happy as well as rich.

Oh, we had a ton of money then. But we were all so very poor. My father worshipped at the altar of the green god and when your god is money, you must keep sacrificing more of your life to him so that he doesn’t get angry. When you do screw up and he curses you, he gives you stress and pressure and the ability to become a screaming monster. He gives you glass balls to add to your juggling act and demands you push yourself even harder to please him.

You cut corners. You lie, cheat, and steal and in the end when all those glass balls fall and the money is lost, you are too. The investment business went belly up and with my father’s hand up his puppet-ass, his attorney told the judge everything had been lost—everything but the few million he’d managed to hide in an offshore bank account in the Bahamas that we could never prove he had.

I didn’t make this trek because I longed for my old life. I did it to remind myself I was a better person and how far I’d come since then. I wanted to remember that the old me, the girl caught up in material things in an attempt to deal with all the mind games her father played, wasn’t who I was any more. I wanted to remember that I’d survived a time in my life that had been so destructive that the then fifteen-year-old me didn’t think I would make it. Remembering made me feel stronger.

Today, I had another motive for returning to my old stomping grounds. I wanted to visit my former doctor. She had Saturday hours and I knew she wouldn’t mention to my mom that I wanted a prescription for birth control pills like the doctor closer to my house might since she and Mom were friends.

I did a quick calculation in my head. It would take me ten to fifteen minutes to get to the doctor’s office beside Caldwell Medical Center, another ten to fifteen to wheedle a prescription and then the trip back. I would have to rush through the grocery shopping. Even though I was eighteen, Mom still treated me like I was a lot younger. Exasperated, I’d called her on it once.

She’d blinked and looked at me, smiled sadly and whispered that time was a thief who’d stolen her daughter. Then she’d gone to her room and cried, so I never pointed it out again.

Thirteen minutes later, I whipped the car into a parking spot, snatched my purse and hopped out. Losing my virginity was part of my life list. Next was college, then after I graduated, I planned to backpack through parts of Europe. I’d make sure to do it during the summer so I could take Creature with me. When he was four, he used to beg me to take him “anywhere, everywhere” and I’d promised him I would.

I walked into the doctor’s office and greeted the receptionist. Today was just the beginning. Every good thing that I wanted was going to come true, exactly as I’d planned. I looked forward to the future I was creating for myself instead of the one life had tried to hand me.

After I had the prescription in hand, I left the doctor’s office and stopped by the pharmacy. From there, I went to the ice cream place that I used to frequent all the time. It’s where I’d first met Tristan. His grandparents owned the place and he’d always kind of hung out there. I walked up to the counter and placed my order. As soon as I’d paid and walked over to one of the tables to wait for my cone, I heard my name called in a surprised voice.

When I turned around, I came face to face with my past. Tristan. He still wore the same preppy clothes, still had the same perfectly styled blonde hair and not a lock of it was out of place.

His lip curved up into what I’d once thought was a sexy smile but now just looked like a leer. “Babe, you are...” He waved his hand up and down my figure. “Amazing.”

I hadn’t seen him in years. My hair was longer, my skin clearer, and I’d lost the few extra pounds I’d carried back then. Plus, even though summer had just started, I was already sporting a light tan. While I would never qualify as beautiful, I did have a confidence now that I didn’t have back then thanks to learning that I could go through hell and still be able to stand. “Tristan.”

How had I never noticed before how soft and boyish he looked? Or the ugly gleam in his eyes? The thought of being with him made my skin crawl. I was so thankful I’d never crossed that line with him. He was boy where Ryan was man, weak where Ryan was strong, cowardly where Ryan was courage. I smiled at the thought of Ryan.

I guess Tristan took that as encouragement because he stroked my arm. “I’m having a party at my house tonight. Why don’t you come?”

I had no desire to be around him or my former friends and was about to tell him that when he said, “I have a date, but I’ll ditch her. We can use my room and I’ll whisper all the things I plan to do to you before I show you. We have some unfinished business, remember?”

Did I ever remember. On our last evening together, he’d showed up at my house drunk, talked about how much he was going to miss me, given me a sloppy kiss and passed out on my bed before anything could happen. Judging from the photos I’d seen on Instagram, he’d missed me for less than a day before he’d moved on.

I crossed my arms to get away from his touch. “Unfinished business?”

He leaned in. “Come on, you know what I mean. It’ll be great. We were the perfect couple.”

I wasn’t one for retaliation or karma or whatever. Life was too short for getting even drama. I’d never felt the need for any kind of payback toward Tristan. So I don’t know why I said, “Sure. Is it okay if I bring friends?”

His eyes dropped to my breasts and he actually ran his tongue over his lips like I’d think that was sexy. Ew. Gonna. Puke.

“Bring as many as you want. Starts at nine.” He slipped his hand to my waist, his finger stroking my skin. “You remember the way to my house, right?”

I managed not to shudder at his touch, then smiled and reached for my ice cream when the guy behind the counter called it out. “Sure. I’ll see you then.”

He quirked an eyebrow at me. “I’ll make it a night you won’t forget.”

“I’ll bet.” I gave him a little finger wave and walked out. How disgusting and phony and lecherous could one guy be? Maybe it was him dumping me on social media that had given me clarity or maybe it was that I’d learned the difference between a guy who wasn’t worthy and one who was.

The second I climbed into my car, I called my friends Shelby and Brooklyn and told them about Tristan and the party. Brooklyn said she couldn’t make it, but Shelby said she could.

Shelby lived in my old neighborhood and was still a good friend. Her family had more money than they’d be able to spend in a thousand years but Shelby had never been stuck up. I’d hurt her feelings by pulling away from her when my family drama unfolded but I’d thought like my other friends that she’d want to keep her distance. After a month, I’d called her and received an earful for thinking she was a fair-weather friend. I’d apologized, then we’d both cried, and downed a few beers at her house when her parents had left for some society function. Our friendship had been fine ever since.

She squealed in my ear. “This is perfect. I know the girl Tristan has been dating. They’ve been seeing each other about a year. While she’s not my favorite person, she doesn’t deserve his planning to sneak around with you.”

“I don’t know what I ever saw in him.” I eased the car onto the freeway.

“It’s not your fault. He talks a good game and he fooled you. Are you bringing Ryan to the party? You totally should. Tristan will shit.”

“I don’t know. I don’t think Tristan’s party is Ryan’s kind of scene.”

“Probably not, but you’re his scene. He’ll go for you,” Shelby said.

Would he? I gave myself a mental shake. I didn’t want to or need to spin castles in the air when it came to Ryan. But to hang out together? Ryan would probably go for that. “I’ll mention it to him.”

“You do that. I’m going to make sure the girl Tristan is dating shows up late to the party and catches him acting like the sleaze he is. We’ll let the shit hit the fan.” She gave an evil laugh that made me laugh too.

“As long as it doesn’t hit us,” I said.

She laughed again. “Like Ryan would ever let that happen. For someone who’s just a friend, he’s very protective of you.”

“Will you stop. It’s not like that. I need to go. I’ll see you at my place later.” After I hung up, I took the exit leading toward the garage where Ryan worked. I could have gone straight home and called him and I should have. What Ryan and I had was a good friendship with a hookup on the horizon. Based on the satisfied expressions on the faces of the girls I’d seen him with, it would probably be an amazing hookup, a once in a lifetime kind that a girl never forgot. I wouldn’t forget either, but I’d put it behind me afterwards. I had to. My life was going to fork away from his. I planned to sleep with Ryan and then leave for college not long after that.

A feeling of unease grew and settled in the pit of my stomach as images of Ryan flashed in my mind. Was I sure that I could handle my plan of walking away when the time came?

*

RYAN

My half day came and went and at five o’clock, I was still at Abraham’s garage, elbow deep in parts and grease. During the week, Cooper was here part time along with Ryker and Zane full time, all guys who at one point had lived in Mama Leena’s house. I’d known all three before then. We’d run the streets together as angry little shits lashing out at the world.

The garage was an older brick building, hulking on a corner lot, hopeless looking when Abraham bought it ten years ago. He’d extended the garage by adding two extra bays, repaved the parking lot and added lights around the perimeter.

The heating in the building sucked so in the winter, when the snow and ice coated the ground, even in long underwear, you’d freeze your junk off. In the summer, especially once the temperatures hit the mid 80s, the bricks absorbed the sun so you’d end up with your balls practically sunburned and dripping sweat. The building had bad acoustics and despite how many times Abraham cleaned it, the bathroom always smelled like vomit and piss. I wouldn’t rather be anywhere but here.

A 1986 Ford Bronco owner had shown up two hours ago complaining the truck idled rough and didn’t want to start. Abraham rubbed his goatee and looked at me. His dark eyes and ebony skin gleamed in the bright overhead lighting. He searched the pocket of his coveralls for his tobacco and sent me a sly grin. “What do you think?”

I knew he was testing me. Abraham had degrees in automotive training as long as my leg, but he’d said time and again that book learning is a different animal than hands on knowledge. It was one of the reasons he’d hired me. I didn’t have the book learning, but I’d worked on cars since I was seven years old when I’d first been taught how to hot-wire them.

“I think it’s a burnt valve.”

After we’d torn it down and I proved it was a burnt valve, Abraham laughed, spit a stream of tobacco into a can and said, “Damn, boy. You’re the only kid I know that can listen to the sound an engine makes and have an idea about what’s going on. That’s a gift.”

A gift I intended to use to open up my own garage one day. It was also the reason I had no intention of going to any of the colleges Mama Leena had picked out for me to study business management. All I wanted to do was be around cars.

“You clean and prep for tomorrow. Don’t forget to lock up,” Abraham said. He left at five fifteen five days a week. Even if he was right in the middle of something, he’d stop, clean his hands, and walk off. I’d asked him once why he didn’t just finish a job that would only have taken him another half hour at most and he’d said, “You have to own the job, son, or it’ll own you.”

He left carrying the day’s deposit and I started cleaning the tools and putting them back where they belonged. Easiest way to piss Abraham off was to treat his tools poorly.

I knelt in front of the Bronco to pick up a torque wrench I dropped, heard the soft growl of an engine, and stood up fast. Though the garage was in a fairly decent area, people were always the surprise element. You never knew about them.

Tana parked her Honda and walked across the oil stained concrete. For someone who used to have more money than I could imagine, she never acted like a once-rich girl even though she looked like she still belonged in that circle. Her hips swayed gently in a west to east movement. She had on a pair of old jeans with a scarf as a belt and a sleeveless blue vest over something lacy that was cut so low I could see plenty of cleavage and it interested me a lot more than I had the right to be.

I picked up a rag and started wiping off the wrench, trying to stop thinking with my dick. “What’s up?”

She huffed out a breath that ended in a small laugh. “I headed this way, then changed my mind and went home, then drove back here.”

“Are you okay?” I imagined shit had started up with her dad again. Though I’d never met the man, I despised him. She’d glossed over some of it, but Tana had told me how her father used to put her down, telling her she was worthless, and that going to college would be a waste of time for her because she was too stupid to handle it. When she swallowed and tore her gaze away from mine, I said, “Tana, tell me what’s going on.”

“I um...wanted to show you this.” She ducked her head and yanked open her purse. The force she used caused the contents to fly upward and crash to the floor. Dropping to her knees, she shoved things back in and I wondered why she acted so nervous. Then I saw the prescription bag and it didn’t take a genius to put two and two together.

This was exactly the reason why I had doubts about getting involved with Tana. She was my best friend. The light to my darkness. With the possibility of sex in the picture, all of a sudden our friendship took a new, awkward turn. If it was this bad now, how much worse would it get after we’d seen each other naked? After I’d felt her come apart under me? I savagely squashed the thought when my dick started to flagpole to attention.

She stood up, opened the prescription bag, and held out a round container. “The pills. I wanted you to know.”

I clenched my teeth together, then exhaled when visions of the two of us naked, sweaty, and driving each other crazy wouldn’t stop flashing in my mind. “Give me a time frame.”

“The doctor said to take the first pill within twenty-four hours of my period—”

“I don’t want to know all the shit about your period. Just give me a date.” I knew I sounded like a jerk but it was my fear of damaging us speaking. This was new territory for our friendship. I felt out of my normal and part of me regretted saying I would have sex with her. It was smarter to tell her this was a mistake but I didn’t know that I was strong enough to watch her walk away with some other guy.

She crammed the container back into her purse. “Dammit, Ryan. Is this part of the asshole act you use to make sure girls don’t waste their hearts on you?”

“Who says it’s an act?”

“I do, because I know you better,” she snapped.

“You don’t know the me you’ll fuck.”

“Whatever, Ryan.” She turned around to stomp back toward her car.

Beneath the anger, there was a hitch to her voice. Any other girl, I would have gone right back to wiping down the tools. But Tana wasn’t any other girl. I couldn’t let her walk away.

“Hey!” I caught up to her before she could get into her car. I stuck my hands in the pockets of my jeans to keep from reaching for her. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

“You didn’t. I can separate sex from friendship, Ryan, and I can do it without acting the way you’re acting. If you changed your mind about sleeping with me, all you have to do is say so.” She sounded like she had an attitude a mile wide and that she wasn’t hurt, but I saw her lower lip tremble slightly.

I didn’t have a chance to respond to that because a black SUV pulled up behind her car, blocking her in and when the driver’s door opened, I knew my past had just caught up to me.

Chapter Four

TANA

When the SUV pulled up and the driver’s side door opened, Ryan’s demeanor changed. The expression on his face was one I’d never seen before. He looked totally different. Hard and mean. Like he was about to kick ass.

“Don’t say a word and don’t react to anything anyone says,” he warned.

I nodded and turned my attention to the guy walking toward us. He was a skinny Asian guy, probably in his late twenties. Not handsome, but eye-catching. His face was square, defined with all sharp edges like the old comic book heroes. His pupils were so big, it looked like his eyes were filled with black oil. He was dressed in black and every tattoo lining both his arms was just as devoid of color as his clothes.

“Ryan. How you been, my brother?”

“What do you want, Chanos?”

“Am I so unwelcome?” He flung his arms out. “I can’t pay my brother a little visit for old times sake?”

His gaze flicked to me and his eyes crawled over my skin. I shuddered.

“You traded up, bro. Nice. You wanna deal for the ‘ho?” Chanos reached out his hand toward the side of my face and I clenched my teeth together, fighting the urge to slap him.

His hand never connected with my skin. Ryan moved, putting himself between the guy and me. “You wanna keep that hand?”

Chanos’ eyes widened with surprise and he lowered his arm. “You boned out and you want to talk that trash?”

“I didn’t bone out. I took a bullet and we were clear.”

“Yeah. We were. Then.” He rubbed his forehead with his thumb. “Everybody living happily ever after. But now, I’m missing a little something from the warehouse where your dumbass brothers work and I think you might know where it’s hiding.”

“That’s not my scene anymore.” Ryan put his hand out behind him when I made a noise. He pushed me slightly to the side so that I was completely covered by his body.

“Not your scene?” Chanos lips turned upward in amusement. “Mama Leena has you in the church to spoon feed you some religion?” He raised his hands toward the sky and shook them. “Hallelujah.” He lowered his hands and smirked. “Don’t you know, boy, there ain’t no redemption for motherfuckers like you and me?”

I peeked up at Ryan’s face. He yawned and crossed his arms.

That action made Chanos laugh. “You always were one cocky sonofabitch.” His laughter faded. “Street value thirty eight thousand. You think you might know somebody besides yourself with balls big enough to walk out with my product?”

I’d known Ryan long enough to know when something upset him and he didn’t want to let on. There was a slight shift in the way he stood, in the way he curled his lip at one corner. “Can’t think of anyone.”

Chanos rapped his knuckles on the side of the SUV. The back doors opened and two other guys stepped out. One black, one white, both with shaved heads, baggy pants and lifeless eyes focused on Ryan. Their T-shirts were caked with spots of what looked like dried blood. My stomach churned.

“I wish I could accept that, but you know how it is.” Chanos shook his head. “You let one fucker slide and the next thing you know, there goes the goddamn neighborhood.”

“You want me to talk to him?” The white guy took a step forward right into Chanos’ upraised hand.

“It’s not necessary. My brother, Ryan, is a reasonable man. He knows that when one family member owes a debt, they all owe a debt.”

Ryan looked at the white guy with a sneer. “Still Chanos’ bitch.”

When the white guy took another step forward, Chanos warned him, “Ryan’s the king of bare knuckle hurt. I once saw him break a man’s jaw who was twice his size. Put that baby in the dirt begging for mercy. He’ll fuck you up the same if you touch him. Make you wish you were dead. Isn’t that right, Ryan?”

Ryan didn’t answer and the guy looked at Chanos and then back at Ryan.

Chanos moved closer and looped his arm around Ryan’s shoulder. “I think you can ask some questions, yeah? Find out who’s playing hide and seek with my kilogram, for old time’s sake, huh?”

“Yeah. Sure.”

Chanos smiled and patted Ryan on the back. “See? I knew I could count on you. Once a family, always a family.” His dark gaze switched to me and his voice lowered like the hiss of a snake. “And you know how much it hurts to lose a member of the family.” He made a twirling motion with his hand and the two guys with him went back to the SUV. Chanos opened the driver’s door and looked at Ryan. “I’ll be waiting.”

As soon as the SUV was gone, I breathed out. “Losing a member of the family? He was threatening me.”

“Uh huh.” He was edgy, impatient.

“Because someone took drugs that belonged to him?” I wanted to hear Ryan say it because I could hardly believe one of his brothers was messing with a drug dealer.

Ryan headed back to the garage and started turning off the lights. When he was through, he came back to where I waited. “Why don’t you go home and I’ll call you later?”

“I’m not stupid, Ryan. Something is going on with your brothers and that guy’s drugs, right?”

For a second, I thought Ryan was going to tell me again to leave, but he sighed. “Yeah, something bad.”

I rubbed my hands on my arms and shivered.

He shot me a look. “What’s wrong?”

“Seeing that out there made me realize that even though you and I have been friends for years, there’s a part of your life I don’t know anything about,” I said, hoping maybe he’d tell me what that part was.

“And it’s going to stay that way.”

Ryan should know I didn’t blow off that easily. “You said you took a bullet. What did you mean?”

The impatience was back, stronger this time. He gave me a hard look. “Tana, trust me when I tell you my past is a world you don’t want to know anything about.”

“If it concerns you, I do.”

He assessed me, his eyes going dark and then haunted. “You think you’re ready for my world?”

His question was heavy with a meaning I didn’t really understand, but I nodded anyway.

“Come inside.” He walked back into the garage and without turning on the light headed into the small office. Pushing open the door, he stepped in, waited for me to enter and then slammed the door hard behind me. The glass in the small window rattled and I jumped slightly. “Alright, rich girl, I’ll show you.”

I hated when he called me that. Rich girl was a different world, a different person. He was only saying it to try and get under my skin. When he wanted me to stop pushing him for answers that bothered him, he would needle me, trying to drive me away but this time it wasn’t going to work. “Show me what?”

Dropping his hands to his belt buckle, he unfastened it and slowly unzipped his jeans. I breathed faster and jerked my gaze to his face. “What are you doing?”

“Showing you the world you’re so concerned about.”

He pushed his jeans down to his knees and I gasped at the long, puckered scar on the upper part of his right thigh. He tapped the area. “I took a bullet meant for Chanos.”

I tried not to focus on the hard muscles of his legs, on the outline of what I could see he was packing in his boxers. It became harder to breathe as a wave of desire slammed into me and I had to force my attention away from the bulge. “You saved a life. Even if the guy is a bad person like that dealer. That makes you a hero.”

“Shit, Tana.” He jerked his jeans up and zipped them. “I’m not a hero.” He stared down at me, his eyes a riptide of danger. “Especially yours.”

I stared back at him, catching how his own breathing picked up, how he swallowed hard, clenched his hands into fists and held himself so rigidly away from me. “You’re thinking about how much you want me,” I said.

“No, I’m not.” His voice denied what his body told the truth about.

Feeling bold, I put my hand at the base of his throat, touching his skin just above the fabric of his shirt. His pulse raced against my fingertips and it thrilled me that he wasn’t immune to me. “Liar.”

Ryan’s hands shot out and clasped me around the waist. He lifted me off my feet and dropped my backside onto the desk. “Run away, Tana.”

I could sense the wildness in him trying to push past the self-control. I took a breath. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Dammit. Please.” He forced out through clenched teeth. His gaze dropped to my lips.

“No. And do you know why I’m not leaving? Because I’m thinking about how much I want you, too.” I put my hands on his arms, dancing my fingertips across the tattoos covering his flesh. He was exciting. Beautiful. I caressed his biceps. “You’re so strong.” I stroked his arms rhythmically. “Always so in control. Let it all go with me, Ryan.”

“You don’t know what the fuck you’re messing with.”

“Show me.”

Using his leg, he pushed mine apart and shifted to stand between them until he was pressed intimately against me and I could feel the firmness of his erection. He pushed enough to make it uncomfortable.

My stomach tightened, not from fear but from wanting him. I could feel myself getting wet. “Ryan...”

His lips crashed down onto mine with a hunger that felt as if I was being devoured. I was caught in the middle of a tornado that was pulling me apart. I’d been kissed before but never the way Ryan kissed—an all-consuming onslaught that made my blood feel as if it was turning into liquid fire.

He pulled at my lower lip with his teeth, biting hard enough to make it sting and I wanted more. I needed more. Working a hand between our bodies, he slipped his hand into my jeans and into my panties to stroke the aching flesh, still keeping the pressure of his erection against me. I thought I was going to skyrocket off the desk.

Moaning, I tugged at his shirt to pull it free of his waistband and moved my hands along the sides of his abdomen. His skin was so hot, so hard. I lowered my hands to his legs, feeling the strength in his thighs when his muscles contracted beneath my touch. I wanted him closer. Wanted him inside me. I put my hands behind him to press them against his ass and wished our clothes weren’t between us.

His lips left mine and dropped to the base of my neck, then dipped lower until his tongue touched the valley between my breasts. Gripping the sides of my vest, he pulled it apart, tearing the buttons off. Pushing aside the lacy camisole I wore, he put a hand into my bra and lifted my breasts up. I leaned my head back when he gently sucked on the side of one breast then worked his way to the nipple. I had no oxygen, no ability to move and didn’t want to. My bones and muscles were melting. “Ryan,” I whispered again, shifting to touch the button on the front of his jeans, trying to get inside.

He jerked upright, grabbed my hands in his, and breathing heavily leaned his forehead against mine. “Get out.” His voice was angry, but controlled, his lips tight.

“What?” I asked, still dazed and aching from the sensations flooding my body.

“Get out now before we screw right here on the desk. If you don’t leave, I’ll take you in ways that’ll make you blush when you think about them. It’ll be hard and painful for you. I’ll drive into you until you feel my balls practically inside of you. You deserve better than a bastard who fucks you like that. A lot better. Now go.” He took a step back, adjusted himself and walked to the door. His shoulders were rigid. “I can withstand a lot of things, but hurting you physically because I’m thinking with my dick isn’t one of them.”

With legs that shook like I was walking for the first time, I slid off the desk and moved to him. I pressed my hand against his racing heart and did my best to concentrate on what I wanted to say rather than how my body still screamed in hunger. “I’m scared.”

Understanding flitted across his handsome face and he nodded. “Of me,” he said in a flat, emotionless voice.

I shook my head at his misunderstanding. “No, I mean I’m scared because I didn’t expect to feel so strongly about the thought of being with you.”

The understanding fled. “It’s just sex. Don’t confuse it with something more. I don’t want to hurt you that way either. I meant what I said about not falling in love with me. I won’t love you back if that happens.”

“I’m not expecting you to.”

His shoulders relaxed. “Keep it that way, okay?” He smiled and it was like the sun coming out after a storm. “You want to hang out later?”

“Actually, I do. My old boyfriend is having a party at his house. Starts at nine.”

His eyebrows went up. “The one who dumped you.”

“Yep. I ran into Tristan today and he was so sleazy I thought I was going to throw up. I don’t really know why I said I’d go to his party. Maybe I need closure. He said it was okay for me to invite friends. You’re my friend.”

Ryan chuckled and ran a hand down his right arm across the tattooed images. “This sounds a little devious.”

“Maybe a little. You can see where I came from and how it turned me into the wonderful, drama free person that I am today.” He rolled his eyes and laughed and I smacked his arm lightly. “You’ll go with me?” I asked, plucking at the fabric of his shirt.

“Yeah, I’ll go. I’ll pick you up.”

His agreeing made me beam with pleasure and before I thought about it, before he could pull away, I kissed him, then walked backward across the parking lot. “So it’s a date. The party this weekend and us next weekend.” I held my breath, waiting to see if he understood what I meant.