AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Come on.” Austin tilts his head away from the booth. I nod, thankful that he has the strength to pull me away.
“Hi, Ms. Parker. Hi, Mr. Hayes.” Beau’s girlfriend, Maddey, waves as we walk right behind them.
“Hey, Maddey. You got about fifteen minutes till you need to meet at the stage.” She nods in understanding.
“Beau,” Austin shouts over his shoulder, “you dunk him, you’ll automatically get an A on your next two tests.”
“Hey, that’s cheating,” Cooper barks.
Austin shrugs. Beau Marshall is an extremely smart kid and has gotten nothing less than an A in my class, so I imagine he doesn’t need that bribe.
Austin and I are a few feet away from the crowd when we hear a massive wave of cheers.I guess Beau finally hit his target.I let out a small giggle and quickly try to recover by bringing my lemonade to my lips.
I wince when I feel Austin’s elbow ram into my side. Turning to him with a small scowl, I find him shaking his head, smirking.
“What?” I gasp. “I’m just happy for Beau.”
“Uh-huh,” he hums. “Oh, there’s my parents. Want to swing in?”
I follow my gaze to where he points, finding his parents standing outside a tent that is selling homemade soaps and candles.
“Actually, I’m going to go drop this bear off in the car and head towards the main stage.”
“Alright, I’ll see ya afterwards. Good luck.” He leans in and presses a kiss to my temple.
As I head out to the parking lot, I toss my empty lemonade cup in the trash can. I grab my keys from the purse slung over my chest and unlock the car as I approach. I’m halfway in the back seat, settling the bear in his seat, when I feel the hairs on the back of my neck rise.
I don’t need to turn around to know who is near. Maybe if I don’t move, he won’t know I’m here. Maybe he’s just walking to his car.
“Riley.” The husky timbre of his voice travels through my veins, and I hate he has such an effect on me, even after everything we’ve been through.Well, so much for not knowing I’m here.
“Not now, Coop,” I bite back as I slam the door to the back seat rather harshly but don’t turn around to face him. I’m holding on by a thread, just waiting for it to snap.
I squeeze the keys tightly in my fist, no doubt the ridges of the key leaving its tooth marks in my skin.
He steps up close enough that I can see his reflection in the window. Water drips from his curls, slowly trickling down his skin, and a beach towel is draped around his neck, confirming that Beau did in fact dunk him.
“I don’t have anything else to say to you, and I need to go.”
He exhales. “That’s fine. What I need to say won’t take too long. Just let me get this out, and then I’ll leave you alone.” His tone is, I don’t know, almost dejected.
My back straightens, and I cross my arms over my chest as if they might protect my heart from anything else he has to say. Curiosity gets the best of me, which is why I’m not running away.
“I, umm—I just wanted to say I’m sorry. I had no right to say what I said the other night when I put you through the same thing. I was young and immature and will forever live with the pain I caused you.” He clears his throat and steps up right behind me. All I would have to do is take an exhaling breath and my back would be flush against his front.
His hands skate over my arms, never touching my skin, but I can feel the heat coming off him. “I’m sorry, Riles.” A lone tear trickles down my cheek as I squeeze my eyes shut. “I know my words will never be enough, but I just had tofinallysay those words aloud to you. They were long overdue.”
With that, he steps back. By the time I open my eyes, Cooper is feet away. I don’t even know how to respond to that. Why now? Why apologize?Fuck.I grind my teeth together and press my palms into the car door.
Inhale for three, exhale for three, I repeat over and over, trying to calm my heart rate.
It takes only a few minutes to compose myself. I refuse to let him have more power over me, but as I lock my vehicle and walk through the parking lot, Coop’s words play on repeat like my favorite song—words that I’ve been dying to hear for six fucking years.I’m sorry.
“Ms. Parker, over here,” Maddey shouts, waving her hand in the air. I was in such a daze, thinking about his words, that I hadn’t even realized that I had made it to my destination.
I shake his words out of my head as I approach the dance company. The girls are off to the side by the stage, stretching. “Alright, ladies, y’all ready?” I know they are, but I can’t help the smile that spreads on my face when they all cheer in unison.
Instead of wearing costumes for their two routines, the girls are wearing black halter leotards with black booty shorts and skin tone tights underneath, rolled halfway up their calves—our typical uniform for rehearsals. Each dancer has a different-colored Meadows Ridge High School Dance Company T-shirt cut off and hanging off one shoulder. The festival lacked the proper space for a costume change, so this was the easiest solution.
