“Oh, my God, I can’t believe Dad agreed to let me go to UCLA.” Samantha jumped up and down. “I thought I was going to be stuck in this town.” She pouted.
“Hey, what’s wrong with our town.” I smacked her shoulder.
“Well, speak for yourself, girl. Between your dad and Shay, you had a very liberal and if I dare say, a fun life, unlike the rest of us,” she scoffed.
My smile was half-hearted as I tried to ignore the searing pain that came with hearing his name. Sixteen months ago, he left with a promise to come back. He never did. I figured what he’d done to me in our kitchen spooked him. But like he’d said, he was drunk, and it meant nothing. Although I tried to act brave, that broke my heart.
I cried most days for the first couple of months until Dad began spending more time with me, doing stuff I normally did with Shay. He never wrote like he’d previously done and only remembered my existence on my birthday. Sadly, I still looked forward to the rose. It was something special that we shared and alone made Shay still impressive in my books.
But as love went, I decided and even though it hurt, to quit playing games with my heart. I had one experience to tide me over until I found a man who could belong to me unconditionally. A month after he left and when he hadn’t returned any of my messages, I stopped writing or texting. My sanity handled it better.
“Skye!” Laika’s yell brought me back to reality. “What the hell, girl, where did you go just now?”
Laughing, I shook my head. “Up in the mountains.” That was my favorite pastime with Dad when I wasn’t reading at my hideout.
“Are you coming with us for pizza and shakes at The Shack?” She referred to our usual hangout.
“What are we waiting for?” I sniggered at the roll of her eyes.
Two hours later, the girls and I were amid a brain freeze competition, something I’d only ever done with Shay, when a weird prickle along my spine had me lifting my head. The straw fell from my lips as they parted in surprise, my eyes connecting with beautiful smoky ones across the restaurant floor.
“Shay,” I whispered.
My world stopped spinning and everything between me and him seemed to still. I could no longer hear the laughter of students, the hiss of the air conditioner or the scrape of chairs against the linoleum floor every time someone moved to get up. Everything blanked out except the gentle pound of my heartbeat in my ears that grew louder with each breath.
“Oh, hell I think I just wet myself,” Laika sighed, gripping my hand. My gaze flicked to her. She was staring at Shay.
Samantha and Nyla followed suit a second later. “I swear that man gets hotter with age.” Nyla giggled.
Strangely, I ignored them and looked at Shay again. He cupped the back of his head as my gaze grazed his body, drinking in the sight of him in black boots, camo pants, stone-colored ribbed tank displaying tattooed muscles and his dog tags. His dark hair, so thick and shiny under the overhead halogens, looked like he’d just stepped out of the shower. A light stubble, something I’d never seen before, shaded his jaw, adding a prominence to his features. He cocked his head to one side as if waiting for me to run to him.
Not sure what came over me, I didn’t. His brow creased for a moment, his expression confusion. Then, his swagger lazy at the same time confident and draped in heightened whispers by others who took note of him, he approached us.
“Hey, Blue. Girls,” his husky voice carried around the room and I heard the wistful sighs.
I let my eyes trace the strong line of his square jaw, the fullness of pink lips now parted in a languid smile, dipping that dimple in its wake. My heart skipped a beat and I forgot to blink, unable to formulate a coherent thought. I could be wrong but judging by the look on his face, he couldn’t either. We stared at each other for a silent moment. How had two people, who’d practically lived on top of each other for most of their lives, become this awkward.
“No hug?” One dark brow inched up in question.
Sixteen long months he’d disappeared from my life and now he just expected me to jump into his arms. “You don’t deserve one,” I muttered and turned away. With my elbows on the table, I cupped my face and sipped the rest of my forgotten shake in a loud slurp.
His soft chuckle floated through the air, zapping the fine hairs at my nape. I hated the effect it had on me. Like wanting him to wrap his arms around me and hold on tight. Sickeningly, not in the way a brother would. I heard the girls’ swoony sighs and kicked Laika under the table. She grunted, glaring holes through me.
Shay dropped to his haunches next to my chair, ignoring Samantha’s request to take hers. She vacated it anyway, scooting over to the one between Laika and Nyla. Resting his elbow on the empty seat, he gripped the back of my chair, bringing his head in line with the table.
“I’m sorry, Blue,” he pleaded. I ignored him. “I missed your graduation, but I’m here now, just a little late.” Still, I ignored him. “Okay, what’s my punishment? Anything. You name it.”
This time, I half turned in my chair to look at him. “Anything?” He nodded, rising to take the empty chair. “Laika, Sam, give me your shakes.” Frowning, both girls slid their glasses to me. Nyla had already finished hers. I lined up the two drinks with my empty glass and looked at Shay. “You sure?”
His expression open curiosity, his gaze shifted between me, the milkshakes then back to me. “What are you up to?”
My brow shot up. “You did say anything, right?” He nodded. “Stand,” I ordered. He did as I asked. Rising, I grabbed the first glass and stepped closer to him. Our eyes locked, I placed my free hand on his chest, not missing his sharp inhale. Then I winked, catching him completely off guard before I yanked at his waistband and upended the milkshake down his pants.
“What the fuck.” He jerked backward, breathing hard from the sudden iciness. I slapped a hand over my mouth covering my chuckle while laughter broke out around us. Shay stared down at his soaked pants for just a moment then lifted eyes the color of danger to meet mine. “Happy?” he gritted.
Biting my lower lip didn’t help stop the giggles and I shook my head. “One simple dunk isn’t worth sixteen months of absence.”
“What is?” he grumbled, regret lining his brow.
