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Tomorrow morning, we leave on our trip, and if everything goes well, I will find out what happened to me.
Lilly disappearsto her room after dinner with the excuse that she needs to talk to Denielle about the schedule for the next few days. She’s avoided making eye contact with me since I complimented her by the car.
I’m aware that I made her uncomfortable but couldn’t stop my stupid mouth before the words came out. Damn brain-to-mouth connection went offline as it usually does when I get too comfortable with her. I contemplate if I should say something. Apologize? But in the end, all I did was tell her the truth. Most guys in school tuck their tails and run when it comes to her. And that’s not because she’sthe QB’slittle sister. She may not realize it, but she can be pretty intimidating all by herself. Add Denielle to the mix, and you get a recipe for "don’t fuck with us." Denielle is fiercely protective of Lilly, which earned her the nickname "Bulldog" a few years ago—not that I’d call her that to her face. She’s scary as fuck to anyone who is not in her inner circle. No one without a vagina voluntarily approaches her. Not that I’m complaining, either. That way, I don’t have to worry about potential boyfriends. I’m a possessive dick when it comes tomy girl—sue me.
It was bad enough when I saw Scott Grier, one of Charlie’s friends, tongue-diving in her mouth at Sloane’s end-of-summer party. Let’s just say that night did not end well for anyone involved. I almost blew my cover. The urge to beat the shit out of the asshole was overwhelming. It also didn’t help that none of us were sober. When Scott stumbled into me on his way to the patio, I had my opening. I ended up getting a good punch in, but Kat was livid.Her boyfriend does not behave like a pubescent Neanderthal.
Yes, ma’am.
It was one of the few times we fought. Usually, I just let her rant and move on. But that night, I yelled back and stormed away like a little bitch. Not my most manly moment, but I was also pissed at myself for dropping my act. Immediately after my embarrassing exit, I ran into Lilly in the hallway to the downstairs bathroom. Still amped up from sucker-punching the little tongue fucker, followed by getting ridiculed by my pretend girlfriend, I lost it on her. Asking if she enjoyed having Scott’s tongue down her throat in front of everyone like a cheap cheerleader was probably the low point of our relationship. Her eyes had widened, and that was the last I’d seen of her at a party I attended.
Yup, I think I need to apologize to her—at least for that stunt.
I’m finallyin bed by ten, after Dad gives me another lecture on how to keep Lillysafeas if I am still the sixteen-year-old boy he told to stay away fromhis sister. When he is satisfied that I understand all his instructions, I’mdismissed. It takes a lot of self-restraint not to salute him. I wonder if he’ll ever get that I’m not one of his little soldiers. I want to remind him that he’s freaking retired from the Marine Corps, and I’m his son. His. Son. Not his Marine. But that probably wouldn’t go over well, so I swallow my retort and leave, closing the door a little bit more forceful than necessary. My bad—not.
It’s 3:47 a.m.,and my alarm is set for four. I’ve barely slept all night. I rotate through my three pillows and change positions for the hundredth fucking time, but nothing helps. At one point, I’m so frustrated that I hurl my comforter off the bed but start freezing almost immediately—not surprising when one has the window open in the dead of winter. I pick it back up with a sigh.
I can’t stop thinking about Lilly, about what we’ll potentially find and how it’ll impact her life. I seriously question if we’re making a mistake going to California. Mom and Dad have been paranoid for ten years, and there has to be a reason for it. Then, there is the fact that we’ll be spending a lot of time in close quarters. I hope I can keep it together and not dry hump her in my sleep—that wouldn’t be weird at all, nope. It’s been fairly easy to stay in control since we can’t be seen together, but that’ll change as soon as we hit the road. Ten days, here we come.
I. Can. Do. This.
My little pep talk done, I throw my covers off and disable the alarm.
The coffeemaker takes unusually longthis morning; at least, that’s how it seems while I wait. I need caffeine—a lot of caffeine—if I want to make it through the fifteen-hour drive.
While waiting for my fix, I decide to make Lilly her usual morning drink: Earl Grey tea, no sugar or anything. I have no clue how she can drink that.
Lilly walks in around four-fifty and smiles broadly when she sees me holding out her white Yeti travel mug which she bought to match her white Jeep. To say that she has a fixation for color coordination is an understatement.
She is wearing black yoga pants with a white tank and a black—what I’m told is a Barre sweatshirt over it. Don’t ask me what a Barre sweatshirt is, but Kat had a whole ten-minute lecture for me when I had called something similar asweatera few weeks ago. Lilly has a massive scarf wrapped around her neck and her chocolate-brown UGGs on. The entire outfit is casual, but the way it accentuates her toned body, I have to pick my jaw up off the floor. Holy shit, this trip is going to test my self-restraint.
She grabs the mug, and her fingers brush against mine ever so slightly. "Let’s do this!"
Somethingstirs in my pants at the contact, and I readjust myself as soon as she turns away.
Fuck, I’m never going to make it ten days.
She sounds a lot more confident than I feel, but I decide this is about her—and her only. I’m here to help and support her, and that’s what I’ll do. I can do this.
We’re on the way out the front door when Dad appears at the foot of the stairs. He rubs his eyes and squints against the kitchen light that I was just about to switch off.
"I was just going to see you kids off." He gives me a hard look, and I hold his gaze.
Really?
He extends his arms out to Lilly, and, after a glance in my direction, she crosses the distance and lets him hug her. She has avoided any type of physical contact with either of my parents since the secret came out. I can see how stiff her posture is.
"We gotta get going if we want to meet up with the others on time, Lil-ly." I emphasize her name and try to sound annoyed that I got stuck chauffeuring her.
She takes a step back and plays along perfectly. "Caaalm. Dooown. We’re fifteen minutes ahead of schedule, thanks to you stomping around like an elephant this morning."
I’m so proud of her for sounding like a massive brat that I have to press my lips together to hide my grin. She turns toward me and is also struggling to keep her composure. At that moment, we’re just two kids conspiring against their parents, and my body buzzes with excitement.
Dad gives us one more lecture on driving safe and checking in daily before he lets us walk out the door.
Chapter Fourteen
Leaving town,we’re the only ones on the street. Most houses are still dark, and I’m watching the barely visible landscape go by as I relax into the leather seat. We’re on the road for over an hour before Rhys speaks. "I think we should cover as much ground as possible and then stop somewhere for the night."
