Montana, I am an idiot. What you witnessed yesterday wasn’t what it looked like.
But as I watched her long bare legs eat up the distance between us, I again lost my breath—not only because of her legs, or the waves and waves of blond hair that felt soft between my fingers, or those pinkish lips that had turned blue when I saved her in the ocean, or the way her body felt against mine when we’d danced in my room. I lost my breath because I knew without a doubt that she had my heart in the palm of her hand. Sure, I’d told my dad and Austin I loved her, but at that moment, the realization became even clearer.
“You’re a little early,” she said. “The trash man doesn’t come until next week.” She hiked her bag higher on her shoulder and breezed past me in cute shorts and wedge sandals.
I hurried up to her. “I deserved that. But can we talk?”
She kept her head down. “Nah. You showed me enough yesterday.”
“Yeah, about that…”
She stopped and peered up at me. “I’m mad at you.”
Man, I wanted to kiss the pout off her face. “I’m a moron. What you saw yesterday was me trying to control a bad situation. When Nina came into the locker room, I saw red. She wouldn’t get out, and she wouldn’t leave me alone, and she was making a scene. So I brought her into the weight room to talk to her. And I thought it was a perfect opportunity to try to get her to confess.” I had threatened her by telling her the school could press charges for vandalizing. That part had gone over her head. “But all she tried to do was kiss me and get me to touch her. I tried every angle I could without hurting her. The only thing I could do was corner her to make her listen. I know what you saw looked bad, but I promise on my grandfather’s grave that I did not engage in any physical actions with her other than breathing on her.”
Montana let out a wild laugh. “Looked to me like you were trying to hump her. And why were you in your underwear?”
“I wasn’t thinking. You’ve got to believe me.” I would have gotten down on my knees and begged if Montana wanted me to.
She puckered her plump lips. “Why weren’t you in school yesterday? And how come you didn’t answer your phone?”
I backed away slightly, when all I wanted to do was pull her to me and hold her. “Things got crazy yesterday. I went over to Melanie’s house because I wanted to confirm Drew’s story, but then I lost my phone, and my mom fell. I had to take her to the emergency room.”
Several emotions flickered across Montana’s rosy cheeks. The one that resonated the most was regret. “I’m sorry about your mom. Is she okay?” Her voice was soft, but that hard glint in her eyes hadn’t gone away.
“In pain but okay.”
She lowered her shoulders. “A lot happened yesterday, and I haven’t gotten my brain around all of it. Oh wait, I haven’t gotten the image of you in your briefs almost plastered against Nina out of my head.” She huffed as she put one foot in front of the other.
“Montana, please. Hear me out.”
She pivoted on her wedge heel and stomped back to me. Then she poked me in the chest with her finger. “I’m not ready to listen to how Nina had her hands on you. You could’ve backed off. And you only did that when I walked in. What if I hadn’t shown up? Huh? What would’ve happened then?” Her little nostrils flared.
“I was about to leave when you came in. I swear.”
“Seems to me you only added fuel to her fire. Plus, she’ll probably try to grope you again now that you gave her an opening.”
“Montana, baby.”
She stuck her nose up in the air and turned to leave.
“I can give you a ride.” I would have done anything to keep us talking.
She didn’t look back, wave, or anything.
Her neighbor across the street chuckled. “Women, right?” the middle-aged businessman said.
Okay, she didn’t say we were through or that she didn’t want to see me anymore. So I had hope, and I wasn’t giving up.
As I trekked back to my Hummer, I had a thought.
