It Was You (13 page)

I closed my eyes and smiled, pushinginto him as he wrapped his arms around me.

“
Me, too,” I whispered, my ear to his chest, his heart beating almost as quickly as mine. “Me, too.”

NINETEEN

Annika stared across the breakfast table at me, spinning her English muffin in a slow circle on her plate. “You were out late last night. Again.”

I finished the orange juice in my glass. “Yep.”

“Where?”

“
Jamaica.”

“
There were no parties down on Jamaica,” she said, raising an eyebrow. “I would've known.”

“
Not the street,” I answered. “The country.”

She rolled her eyes. “You're hilarious.”

I chuckled and pushed my plate away. I was in a great mood. I'd had a great night. I slept well. And it was killing my sister that she had no idea what was going on in my life.

“
Who are you seeing?” she asked, unable to help herself.

I picked up my plate and glass and took them to the sink. “Right now? Well, it looks like Mr. Simpson is outside getting ready to mow his lawn...”

“Fuck you, Abby,” Annika spat.

“
Why do you care?”

“
Because I just wanna know.”

“
Hmm. Sorry.”

“
I'll find out, you know.”

She probably would. I had no idea how, but she'd find out. She'd make it her mission. It's what she did, what she was good at. But I wasn't going to tell her. She could do the legwork and when she wanted me to fill in the blanks, I wouldn't do that, either.

“Good luck,” I said, smiling at her. “And shouldn't you be at your brand new dorm by now? Didn't we move you out?”

“
If you were going to a real school, you'd know,” she said, seizing the opportunity to make me feel inferior once again. “We could move our stuff in yesterday. But we don't have to move in for good until Monday.”

“
Gonna sponge off Mom and Dad through the weekend, then?”

She picked up her plate and set it on the counter next to mine. “Yep. Probably steal a few more clothing items from you, too.” She smiled sweetly. “So don't stray too far, dear sister.”

She strutted out of the kitchen and I hated that she always got to me.

Almost gone, I reminded myself. She's almost gone.

I went upstairs, changed my clothes and saw a message on my phone from Tana.

CALL ME!

So I did. “What's up?”

“
I need your help,” she said breathlessly.

“
Of course.”

“
So you'll come up to San Luis Obispo with me this weekend?”

“
What?”

“
My brother bailed on me,” she said. “He was supposed to help me take all of my stuff up there and now he's bailing. My parents are out of town. You have to help me!”

My immediate thought was that I wouldn't be able to see West, which then made me feel awful for choosing a boy I barely knew over my best friend.

“Ab, please. I need you. I'll do all the driving and I'll get you home Sunday night. Pretty pretty pretty please??”

I smiled. West was going to have to wait.

“OK,” I said. “I'll help.”

She squealed with happiness. “You rock, Abs!”

We chatted for a few more minutes and I gave her the lowdown on the previous night with West.

She whistled into the phone. “Sounds like you found a keeper.”

“I'm not sure he's a keeper yet.”

“
Sounds like you've already decided.”

“
I dunno.”

But I did. I was thinking about him constantly. I was wondering what he was doing when I wasn't with him. I was wishing he was with me when he wasn't. And I was wishing he was kissing me every single waking moment.

“I gotta run,” Tana said. “Call you later and we'll make a plan.”

We said goodbye and hung up.

I collapsed on my bed. I wanted to help Tana and I knew we'd have fun getting her set up at college. But I knew I'd miss out on West.

And I really didn't want to tell him I was going to be gone.

TWENTY

“
You have to go?” West asked with a frown.

We were back at the taco shop, but this time we were sitting at one of the small plastic tables inside rather than driving through. He'd called right after I'd talked to Tana and wanted to have lunch.

Together.

I played with the straw in my drink and nodded. “Yeah. She needs help and has no one else to help her. Her brother bailed out on her for some reason and she's gotta move all of her stuff.”

“She can't find anyone else?” he asked, still frowning.

“
I'm her best friend,” I said. “I'm going to help her.”

He picked at the corner of the paper beneath his half-eaten burrito. “Sure.”

“It's one weekend,” I said. “That's all. I'll be back on Sunday night.”

He shrugged, tearing the corner of the paper.

I reached over and touched his hand. “Hey.”

He looked up at me, his blue eyes stormy.

“I'm flattered with the whole sulking because I'm gonna be gone thing,” I said, smiling. “But I'm not gonna leave my best friend hanging when she needs me. That's not me.”

He forced a half-smile onto his face. “I guess. I just...” His voice trailed off.

“You just what?”

He wrapped his fingers around mine, his eyes boring into me. “I'm just not crazy about the idea of sharing you with anyone.”

My heart fluttered and heat rushed into my cheeks. I always thought that if any guy had said that to me, it would've been a turn-off, like he was trying to control me or something. But there was something in the way he said those words, in the way he looked at me, that made me feel like I mattered more to him than anything else in the world.

He leaned forward on the table, a full smile now on his face. “I embarrassed you.”

“No you didn't,” I lied.

He squeezed my hand. “Then why is your face so red?”

I looked away. “It's hot in here.”

He looked around the restaurant interior. Apart from the girl working the counter and the cook in back, we were the only people in the place. “Actually, it's not. Not even a little bit.”

I rolled my eyes, tried to make him think he couldn't read me as well as he thought.

But he knew better.

“Don't be embarrassed, Abby,” he said, lowering his voice and tilting his head to the side. “I am one hundred percent into you. And I know it's completely irrational but I don't want you spending any time with anybody else. I want you all to myself.”

My stomach somersaulted and I knew my face was still red, but I smiled at him. “OK.”

“But a friend's a friend,” he said. “So I guess I'll just have to sulk while you're gone.”

“
You can sulk. I won't mind. I might even like it a little bit.”

“
You know what that means, though, right?”

I shook my head.

He stood and came around the table. He put his hand on my cheek, leaned down and kissed me, his lips covered in salt and hot sauce and I didn't care one single bit. I reached up and grabbed his shirt, pulling his mouth tighter to mine.

Finally, he pulled back an inch and I could breathe again.

“It means we're gonna have to spend a lot of time together before you leave,” he whispered, tucking my hair back behind my ear. “I'm gonna need my Abby Sellers fix.”

TWENTY ONE

I made sure West got his Abby Sellers fix before I left. And then some.

We finished lunch at the taco shop and spent the rest of the day up at Mesa, buying textbooks and finding our classrooms, holding hands and stealing long, slow kisses at completely random moments. Being with him was easy and natural and I wanted more of him. We finished the night at his place, curled up on his couch, me fending him off as his hands roamed my body and set my insides on fire. Not because I didn't want more, but because Griffin kept popping out from his room to chat, grab something from the kitchen, or find some other way to make his presence known. West had suggested that we disappear into his room but I'd hesitated. I wasn't sure I wanted to take those few steps down the hallway because I knew where they would lead. He must have sensed this because he didn't ask again.

I avoided Annika the next morning. I could hear her banging around in the bathroom, opening and closing drawers, the sound of the hair dryer. I wanted to leap out of bed and get my day started but I stayed huddled under my comforter instead. I didn't want to see her. I didn't want any more questions. I didn't want to share West with her in anyway, even to make her jealous. I just wanted her removed entirely from the equation.

After what seemed like forever, I heard the front door shut and then, a minute later, the sound of her car starting. Only then did I allow myself to get up and get moving.

After a quick shower and breakfast, I left the house, too, and spent the morning shopping for school stuff that I needed and trading texts with West. In the past, I might've felt suffocated by a guy's attention. But not with him. It would've bothered me more if I hadn't heard from him. I wanted to be suffocated.

And the more I talked to him via text that morning, the more I was starting to think I'd made a mistake the night before. Why had I stopped him when he'd suggested we go to his bedroom? What the hell was I waiting for? West Montgomery was sweet and funny and he set my insides on fire. And he wanted me.

I wasn't a prude. Far from it. I'd done my fair share of messing around, but I'd always stopped short, holding on to the big V for no particular reason.

I shook my head as I thought. I did know why. Because I'd always had something else to worry about. My sister. I'd never wanted to be compared to her, in any way. But having to worry that we'd somehow sleep with the same guy? It made my insides crawl. I wasn't going to put myself in that position. And, considering how she seemed to have a new favorite flavor every week, the chances were good that we'd find ourselves swapping leftovers at some point. Or that she'd steal the guy I was with. Or the guy I was interested in.

But West was different. He didn't graduate from our high school. He didn't run in any of the same circles I did. He was mine. All mine.

I knew things were moving fast with West, but I was OK with it. More than OK. I could see him with me. Not my sister. Me. I could see myself next to him, in bed, naked, his hands—and other parts—working their magic on me.

I wanted that.

On the spur of the moment, I decided to do a little extra shopping. Some naughty shopping. I wanted to have something ready, something that only he would see. Something that would make him beg to have me.

Not that I would've made him beg.

So I detoured toward Fashion Valley, a massive shopping mall in the heart of San Diego and decided to see what I could find.

Victoria's Secret was too easy. Every guy I knew had drooled over their catalogs, had seen what they had to offer—and on better bodies than mine. I wanted something a little different, something that he'd never seen, even if it was simple. I found a small lingerie store at the far end of the mall and, before I could let myself get embarrassed about what I was doing, I went in.

I was overwhelmed by the scanty pieces of clothing I had to choose from. Every time I pictured myself in something, I also pictured West running his hands over my body and taking them off of me. If he'd been with me, I might've pushed him into a dressing room and forgotten about buying something sexy for him to remove from my body.

I was sorting through a small basket of black panties adorned with silver sparkles when a familiar voice said “Well. Isn't this cute?”

It took me a moment before I could place her. Long blond hair, pulled back in a tight pony tail. Big brown eyes. Tight black workout shorts and a stark white running tank, exposing a perfectly toned stomach.

Kayla. West's ex.

I didn't say anything and went back to looking at the panties.

“West hates black,” Kayla said, inching closer. “I'd go for something else.”

I refused to look up. “Thanks for the advice.”

Kayla snorted. “It's not advice. It's a fact.”

She came over to the table and starting lifting a few things up, examining them. “So. You and West serious?”

“Not really any of your business,” I said, keeping my voice neutral. But my stomach was knotted and I could feel my blood begin to boil.

“
Anything with West is my business,” she said, smiling at me from across the table. She held up a pink G-string. “Something like this. I wore something like this one time. He could barely get his pants off...”