At first, he looked hurt. But a moment after our eyes locked, when Alex kissed me, Braden broke into a knowing smile. It was as if he was saying “gotcha”.
* * *
The next morning, I awoke to the smell of bacon and eggs. Voices floated up the stairs and through my bedroom door, which I’d left open a crack last night when I went to bed. Part of me had hoped that Alex would break my mother’s “no males upstairs” rule and sneak up to see me, but he didn’t. Alex was forever respectful. He wasn’t a risk taker.
Unlike Braden. When Braden had spent the night on the couch, he’d always snuck upstairs after my mom passed out—he had been very practiced in avoiding the creaky parts on the stairs.
Stop comparing, I scolded myself. I ran my hand through my tangled hair, kicked off my blankets and made my way downstairs.
Scrambled eggs, bacon, English muffins, and orange juice were all laid out on the table when I walked into the kitchen. “Good morning,” Alex grinned, approaching me with a cup of coffee fixed just the way I liked it. I accepted it with a small smile, and he kissed me on the cheek before gesturing to the table. “Are you hungry?”
I nodded tiredly and sat down—after all, the call of bacon was too hard to resist. “How long have you guys been up for?”
“Two hours or so,” Mom shrugged. She was always an early riser—me, not so much. I’d choose sleep over waking up early any day. I spooned some eggs onto my plate and loaded up on the bacon, reaching for a slice of buttered toast. Alex and Mom started eating too, the only sounds in the kitchen the occasional scraping of forks and knives against plates. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Mom and Alex exchanging looks with one another.
“Okay seriously, what’s going on?” I demanded, halfway through my breakfast and more than annoyed at the strange atmosphere. They looked at each other again, something passing between the two of them.
“I was just telling Alex about the events at the fairgrounds today,” Mom finally answered, taking a sip of her coffee, meeting my eyes with a challenge. “Tessa’s jumping competition, for one. It starts in a couple of hours and I know she’d love to see you both there. Plus, there’s the concert tonight.”
“I still can’t believe that you know Travis Channing. And the smash-up derby, how come you didn’t mention that earlier?” Alex added with a grin, shaking his head ruefully.
Because I didn’t want you to go, the little voice in my head answered. I took a sip of my coffee, buying myself some time while my heart hammered loudly in my chest. I knew that Braden was going to be in it—he always was. “I don’t know, it’s kind of lame.”
“Your mom said it was one of your favourite events,” Alex remarked.
I sent a dirty look to my mom. She was traitor if I ever did see one. “Fine, we can go if you really want to. But honestly, it was more exciting when I was in high school.”
“I’ll be the judge of that,” Alex said with a wicked grin.
“Go on and get ready Elle, I’ll keep him company,” Mom said.
With an exasperated huff, I padded upstairs to the bathroom and turned on the shower. As I washed my hair, I thought about the night before and Braden’s face when he’d told Alex that I didn’t like surprises. It was true; I didn’t. At least notthatkind of surprise.
I felt like I was two different people. The Elle that Braden knew—the Elle that Iwasunderneath it all—and the Elle that Alex knew…the Elle that I thought I was supposed to be. They both understood me in different ways—Alex knew the demands of the job we both shared, and he knew how it affected me emotionally. He also understood my reservations about love and trust. But Braden…Braden knew how I ticked. He knew how I was built. He knew how I loved and how I fought and how I rebelled at the thought of what I was supposed to do. Even when I was angry with him, even when I was avoiding him…I felt more like myself when I was around Braden than I did when I was around Alex.
When the hot water disappeared, I finally turned off the shower and stepped out. I took a long time getting ready; mainly because I just wanted to be by myself for a while. I dressed in a pair of my favourite jean shorts, a white tank top, and a plaid blouse. I paired it with my cowboy boots and blew out my hair.
“Are you just about ready, Elle?” Mom hollered from the front foyer. “I swear, that girl takes forever to get ready for anything. She’d be late for her own funeral,” I heard her add to Alex. He laughed in fond agreement, and I rolled my eyes. “This time, you two can drive yourselves,” Mom told me when I finally walked down the stairs.
“Why?” I asked, crossing my arms in front of my chest defiantly. “Got a hot date after?” Mom blushed a little and my jaw dropped open. “Oh my God, youdohave a hot date! Details, now.”
“If by hot date you mean a trip to the grocery store and an afternoon of chili making, then yes Elle…I have a hot date,” Mom replied.
“Are you going to want some help?” I asked, practically hopping at the change to avoid the smash-up derby.
“Don’t think I’ve forgotten about your disastrous use of salt,” Mom responded, shaking her head with a smile. “Cooking really isn’t Elle’s strong suit,” she added to Alex. “Keep her distracted and out of the house for me, and that’ll be more than enough help.”
“Come on,” Alex said to me, shaking his head with a smile.
* * *
“Does she compete every year?” Alex asked as we sat in the stands again, this time for the horse jumping competition—and this time without the Miller’s.
“Yep,” I answered, taking a bite of the pretzel he’d bought me. “She usually wins, too.”
“Cool. Did you ever compete in any of these events?” Alex looked at me, a grin on his lips. His hazel eyes assessed me with reverence.
“Nope,” I said, my lips popping to accent the word. “My mom wanted me to try out for Miss North.”
