It Was You (17 page)

A knot formed in my stomach. “How do you know?”

“I was hoping you'd ask that,” Annika said, pleased with herself. Her eyes narrowed. “I did some...investigating.”

“
What the hell does that mean?”

“
It really wasn't that hard,” she said. “I asked around. Found out about the party down at Riviera. Someone thought they saw me there with some hottie. I knew I wasn't there and I knew their eyesight was poor, so I assumed it was you.” She smiled. “From there, it was just a matter of finding someone who was there. I have friends everywhere, sis.”

I knew that was true. If she set her mind to it, she could've found anyone. Her social network was bigger than Facebook.

“The Internet and social media make things so easy,” she said, grinning. “Wasn't hard to track down pictures. Plus, I was able to get someone to let me have a look at the Torrey Pines yearbook.”

Torrey Pines. That was her subtle way of letting me know she wasn't bluffing.

“He was quite the stud, I hear,” Annika continued. “Baseball. Everyone was sure he was gonna go pro. But I guess the shit hit the fan and things didn't go so peachy.”

“
Is there a point to this?” I said, standing up. “And get off my bed. Now.”

She slid off my bed. “Where'd you meet him?”

“Thought you knew everything,” I retorted.

She shrugged. “I'll find out eventually.”

“Why do you care, Annika?” I asked, annoyed. “What does it matter?”

“
Told you before,” she said, raising a thin eyebrow. “You're my twin sister. Everything you do is my business.”

I shook my head. It was such a stupid statement. All it really meant was that she wanted to stick her nose in my business, like she'd done ever since we were little kids. She took an inordinate amount of interest in anything I did so that she could either try and outshine me or throw a wrench in things for me. I just could never understand why.

“Well, go use your fantastic investigating skills,” I said. “Figure it out on your own.”

She eyed me carefully. “A boy like that. Pretty sure he isn't gonna be content to just kiss you goodnight at the door. Pretty sure he's got girls throwing themselves at him, begging to do whatever he wants.”

I nodded. “Probably. He's amazing looking. Better looking than anyone you've ever slept with.”

For a moment, her haughty demeanor cracked and a bolt of anger flashed in her eyes. Rarely did she let me see it when I was able to stick the needle in the right place, but this was one of those moments when she looked like she wanted to strangle me.

I smiled.

She knew I'd seen it, too, and quickly swept it aside. “I'm just saying. You wanna keep this guy, you better be ready to go a little further than you're used to.”

“Thanks for the advice, but I'll be fine.”

“
I mean, if you wanna have the birds and the bees talk now...” she offered.

“
Get out,” I said.

She smiled, happy to have recovered the upper hand. “Because you don't wanna go to bed with a guy like that without knowing what you're doing.”

“Out.”

She came around the bed, closer to me, staring at me. She cocked a thin eyebrow again. “He's probably used to someone who knows what they're doing. How to take care of him.” She smiled. “Not sure you're that girl.”

I resisted the urge to attack her as she strutted out of my room.

TWENTY FIVE

West was waiting for me at Mesa the next morning.

We'd talked on the phone Sunday night, and avoided discussing the blow up at his house, focusing instead on the fact that we'd been apart for the entire weekend and that neither of us had liked it. I had missed him. As much as the implosion of our date bothered me, I couldn't deny that I liked him. Really liked him.

And Annika's antagonism from the night before had spurred me on. I wasn't going to be afraid of being with a guy like West. It didn't mean I was going to sleep with him that minute, but I wasn't going to be afraid to go there if that's where it went. I wasn't going to let my bitch of a sister intimidate me out of a relationship. She didn't know West.

I did.

He was sitting at the bottom of steps in the parking lot, two cups of coffee next to him. When he saw me walking across the lot, he grabbed the cups and stood. He was wearing a light blue long sleeve T-shirt and white cotton shorts. His hair was combed back off his face and his tan looked darker than it had last week.

I wanted to devour him right there on the stairs.

“Hey,” he said, leaning down and kissing me. He lingered for a moment, then said, “I missed your lips.”

“
Mmmm,” I said. “Me too.”

He held out one of the coffees. “As promised.”

When we'd talked on the phone, he asked how he could get me to school a little early before classes to meet him. I told him coffee would do it and he'd delivered.

“
Thank you,” I said, the cup warm in my hands. I looked around at the lot, already nearly full. “It's already crowded.”

“
First day of classes,” he said. “Everybody shows. It'll be half empty by next week when they all bail and go look for a job at the mall.”

I laughed. “Maybe. I take it you won't be one of those?”

He shook his head, took a long sip from the cup. “Nope. I've got a plan.”

“
A plan?”

“
Taking this year off from baseball,” he said. “Focus on my classes. I'll play next year. And if all goes well, I'll get offered a chance to play somewhere for my last two years.”

“
Like Stanford again?”

He frowned, then shrugged. “Programs like Stanford don't take juco transfers. But if I get it right, someone will have something for me. Won't be as good of a school, but I can play and get my degree.”

“And then?”

“
And then what?”

“
And then, what? Major leagues? Don't they, like, draft you or something?”

He smiled, blew into the small hole in his lid. “If I'm good enough, maybe. But I'm not counting on anything. Just focusing on today.” He paused, looked at me over the coffee. “And you.”

A small thrill ran through me. “Hmm. Maybe.”

“
Not maybe,” he said. “I mean it. I'm focusing on you.”

“
What does that even mean?”

He rubbed at his chin. “It means I want to spend a bunch of time with you, Abby. I thought about you all weekend and I missed you like crazy. So I'd sorta like to kidnap you and run away with you.”

“Why?” I asked, blowing on the coffee. “Why me?”

He cocked his head like he couldn't believe I even had to ask. “You want the reasons?”

“Yeah. I want the reasons.” I did. I wanted to hear him say just what it was he liked about me. Why he wanted me more than Kayla. Why he'd chosen me that day, waiting in line to register.

He finished the coffee, then tossed the cup into the trashcan near the stair railing. “One, you are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen.” I started to protest but he held up his hand to stop me. “Let me finish. Two, you stand up to me, even if you're a smartass about it.” He winked at me. “Three, you haven't tried to rip open the partially open book.” He paused. “And four. That first day in line last week.”

I thought for a moment. “You mean when you were a complete ass to me?”

He laughed. “Haven't you ever heard that boys are mean to the girls they like?” He shook his head. “Yeah. When I was a complete ass to you.”

“How exactly does that make me attractive to you? How is that some point in my favor?”

He stared at me for a long moment, then moved his hand so he could cup my cheek, his fingers behind my ears. His touch was electric and I leaned into his soft hand, wanted to just close my eyes and float away.

“Because you didn't hold it against me,” he said, his voice quiet. “You didn't hold it against me. You let me apologize and you forgave me. That is no small thing, Abby Sellers. No small thing. I needed that. And it makes you one of a kind.” He leaned down and kissed me and I could taste the coffee on his lips. “So thank you.”

Right at that moment, I would've done anything with him. I would've gone anywhere with him. I would've done anything for him. I don't think I'd ever imagined anyone saying words like that to me. I'm not sure I'd ever thought I was worthy of being on the receiving end of those kind of words. So, right then, right at that moment, at the bottom of those stairs, on a chilly Monday morning before my first day at a brand new school, I knew one thing for certain.

I was his.

TWENTY SIX

West walked me to my first class, squeezed my hand and kissed my cheek. He made me promise to call him as soon as I was done with my classes. He only had two that morning and he was going to be gone by lunch. I promised him I'd call before I got to my car and that I'd see him that night.

“
I'll count the seconds,” he said, reluctantly letting go of my hand and heading off toward his class.

Trying to concentrate was a tough chore and I struggled with it. My first class was an English Composition class and I knew it would be easy as soon as I saw the syllabus and realized half of the work I'd already done in my senior A.P. class. My mind wandered and I wondered how West's class was, realizing I didn't even know what he had first. My second class was a political science class and I forced myself to pay attention because it looked significantly more difficult than English. But, still, I found myself smiling and thinking about West, anticipating seeing him later that night. By the time I'd finished the third class that day, a horrifically boring intro to nutrition, I was itching to see him again and it was only mid-afternoon.

I was walking to the car and pulled out my phone, about to text him, when it rang.

I didn't hide my disappointment when I answered it. “You are not the beautiful boy I was hoping was calling me.”

“Beautiful, yes,” Tana said. “Boy? Absolutely no. My boobs are too nice.”

“
Ha. What's up?”

“
How were your classes?”

“
They were...classes. Nothing exciting. Probably significantly less exciting than what I could've taken at State or what you're taking,” I said. “Easy work and kids who I'm not sure will make it through the month. So...eh.”

“
You're not there forever, Abs,” she said. “Remember that. It's a stepping stone to get to somewhere you wanna be.”

“
I know, I know,” I said, walking down the steps toward the parking lot. “Just kind of a letdown. But it's my choice. So I can't be mad about it.”

“
And if you hadn't made that, you wouldn't have met the beautiful boy.”

I smiled. She was absolutely right. “Excellent point. And I need to call him. So what's up?”

“Oh my God. Are you gonna be one of those?”

“
One of those what?”

“
One of those girls who dumps her friends for a dude?”

I felt a twinge of guilt. I had chafed a little bit, going to San Luis that weekend with Tana. Not because I didn't want to spend time with her, but because it meant leaving West.

“Shut up,” I told her. “You know better.”

“
I'm kidding,” Tana said. “I do know better.”

I was glad that she said that. As wrapped up as I was in West, I didn't want her thinking that I would be the kind of friend who would disappear just because I had a boyfriend. I'd never done that before and didn't plan to start. Tana and I had been friends for too long to let anything get in the way of our friendship. And if any guy—even West—didn't understand that, they wouldn't be around very long. I just had to sometimes remind myself of that, too.

“So here's why I'm calling,” she said. “I talked to my new roommate.”

“
Hadn't you talked to her before?”

“
Well, yeah. But I really talked to her this morning. Like for an hour.”

“
Okay.”

She paused for dramatic effect. “And she's insane.”

I laughed. “Is she on medication?”

“
I'm not kidding,” Tana said. “She's insane. Guess what she's bringing to the dorm with her?”

I stood at the bottom of the stairs, scanning the lot, trying to remember where I'd parked. “I have no idea.”

“Guns. She's bringing guns.”

“
What?”

She sighed loudly into the phone. “Her family hunts. Animals. And she has hunting rifles or something and she wanted me to know that she was going to bring her hunting rifles because she might be gone some weekends because she is going to have to go out and murder defenseless animals.”

I smothered a laugh. “Wow. Alright.”

“
And get this. Her name is Athena.”