AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Lock walked me home after class, and I’d been in too good of a mood to fight him. He asked me why I was smiling to myself, and I just shrugged. He didn’t get to hear about my triumphs anymore. He’d lost that privilege.
Lock was there the next morning. And the next. He walked me to classes and sent me pictures. He told me how to get to his favorite tidepools and the exact time of day to go. I thought he was trying to be sweet, but the idea of going to the tidepools without him just made me sad.
The one thing he didn’t do was falter. No matter how many times I told him to go away, he stayed. He didn’t get mad at me for rejecting him. He didn’t try to touch me without my consent. Well…okay, except for a few hair brushes. But I’d consented to those in my mind. And he hadn’t pressured me. He had just been there. He was always, always there.
After class Friday, Sal and I had to set up our presentation for the alumni showing up in the morning as judges and potential investors. Sal was the numbers guy, while I had taken the reins of the marketing. And…well, as with most parts of my life, I was extra.
Each group was given an empty classroom to set up in. When Lock told us he’d help, I didn’t deny him. Because of said extraness, we needed all the help we could get. We had tents and a mock campfire. All around the room were blown-up photos of kids and adults camping. There was a hammock in one corner, an archery board in another. On the ceiling, we meticulously taped up constellations.
This was all to set the ambience and get our investors in the mood. Shana would be here in the morning to help sell her idea while Sal and I would share the nitty-gritty of profits, tax deductions, and the general projections of growth.
When everything was set up, Sal, Lock, and I stood back to check out our work.
“This is incredible.” Lock’s palm grazed my back, but he dropped it as quickly as it came.
“This is all Elena,” Sal said. “She came up with everything you see. If it were up to me, it would have been a plain room and a projector. She made it special.”
Lock looked down at me. “Yeah, she does that.”
My cheeks heated. Goddammit, he had me blushing again.
“Thanks, Salvatore. You’re the best partner a girl could ask for.”
We walked out and carefully closed the door. Voices at the end of the hall had all three of us turning our heads. Professor Seavers, Oliver, and Dylan were standing in a cluster, tension rising from their group. From what I’d gathered, Oliver had not been able to provide the appropriate numbers on time, and by the way he kept shaking his head and throwing his arms up, things weren’t looking so great.
Too bad, so sad, and all that jazz.
Oliver’s head turned, and his eyes zeroed in on me. I froze as he shot a vicious glare my way. I guess he knew who’d pointed out the flaw in his numbers. My chest rattled as his waves of fury pummeled into me.
Lock cupped the back of my neck. “He can’t do anything to you,” he murmured. “You’re safe. Breathe.”
“He’s mad.”
He hummed in agreement. “He can stay mad, but he can’t do a thing to you. Not while I’m here—and Iamhere, Elena.”
“Eff that guy,” Sal said. “He’s running a shady business. The only person he should be mad at is himself.”
“Yeah, eff that guy.” Shaking away my fear, I looked up at Lock, whose jaw was tight with tension. “I’m ready to go now. I’m good.”
I let Lock drive me home, and when he pulled into his driveway, I didn’t immediately jump out. He left the engine idling and the AC cooling the cab while we sat for a minute or two before I turned on the bench, pulling my leg up so I could fully face him. Of course, he was already looking at me.
I sucked in a breath, then went for it. “I don’t understand how it is so easy for you to flip a switch. We’re sleeping together, and it’s so good, but you send me packing. Then we’re together for real and—even if you don’t admit it, we both know we were falling in love—and you send me packing again. Now, you’ve flipped it yet again, deciding you want me back. If I forgive you, how can I trust you won’t do it again? How do I do that?”
This time, when his hand touched mine, I allowed it. I wasn’t proud, but after a solid week of Lock being close and denying myself contact, I gave in. Just a little. His fingertips were as light as feathers, brushing along my knuckles. When I didn’t pull away, he caught my hand in his and held on, rubbing his thumb along the back of it.
Tension flowed out of my body so quickly, I fell against the seat and sighed. I would have been embarrassed, but Lock didn’t react. His focus was on our joined hands.
“I do admit it.” His eyes flicked to mine.
“What?”
“That I was falling in love with you.”
I jerked back like he’d shot me, but he kept my hand in his. “What?”
“When it comes to you, there’s no switch. I never turned anything off because I can’t. I’m not capable of doing that. Not with you, Ellie.” He scoffed, lowering his eyes to our hands again. “I stayed away from you for exactly forty-eight hours, and I was only able to do that because I knew I’d see you in Spanish class. I had to replay my dad’s tears in my head so I didn’t follow you inside that first day.”
I wondered if it was too late for me to hear him. Maybe I’d gotten too hard to let what he was saying really penetrate.
