Second Chance Summer (Chance Series, #1) (7 page)

I continue the chewing of the inside of my cheek and look up at the moon. “Fine. But call Adam, and I’ll call Luce.” I get up, taking my cell from my pocket.

“Why?” Reese asks. “Are you afraid I’ll turn on my irresistible charm and you’ll give in to it?” He grins.

I laugh quietly, my eyes meeting his. “Yep,” I reply honestly. “That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.”

I call Luce, telling her to meet us at the diner, and she agrees, subtly asking me if Adam will be there. I roll my eyes when I go back to Reese.

“Is Adam going?” I ask him.

“Yep, he’s gonna meet us there in a bit.” His eyes bore into mine.

“Yes he’ll be there,” I repeat into the phone. “Bye, Luce.” I hang up and slip it into my pocket. “Stop staring at me like that.”

“Why?” Reese pushes some hair back from my face. I step back.

“Because I don’t like it.”

“Why not?” His lips curve.

“Because I just don’t.” I spin and walk back to where he’s parked his truck. I wait impatiently with my back to the door, tapping my foot and following his approach with my eyes. He grins lazily as he saunters over me, making a show of digging his hand into his pocket for his keys. He gets them out, unlocks the truck, and slips his arm around me to open the door before I have a chance to move.

I look up at him through my lashes, and the gold flecks in his eyes are more pronounced. He tugs at the door, making it push into my back. It nudges me forward, and I catch myself before I’m right against him.

“Don’t get mad,” he says in a low voice.

“Why not?” I narrow my eyes at him.

He bends his head toward mine. “Because you’re really hot when you’re mad and that makes me want to grab you and kiss you until you can’t breathe.”

My heart practically jumps from my chest at his words, and I breathe in deeply. Reese’s eyes flick down to my mouth.

“Friends,” I remind him, letting the breath out at the same time.

“Then remember what I said,” he mutters, his eyes slowly crawling my face until they meet mine again. “Because if I have to kiss you again, you’ll be begging for something, and, baby, it won’t be friendship.”

Tingles spread through my body at his words as he drops his arm. I scoot around the door, climbing into the truck. He slams the door behind me, and I look down. My body is reacting to him in the way my heart wants to and its driving me crazy.

A year definitely hasn’t changed anything. I was a fool to think it would have –, or I was stupidly hopeful. Either way, I was wrong. Whatever was there last summer is still there, but this time it’s stronger, more obvious. And Luce was right, yet again.

Sooner or later we’re going to explode. I just have to hope I’m back in New York when that happens.

Reese glances at me as he pulls into the diner parking lot after a silent drive over. I don’t know what to say to him after what he said. I think if I do say anything, I’ll be asking him to make good on that threat and that would totally go against everything I’ve said in the last few days.

I jump from the truck without saying a word, spying Luce’s car on the other side of the near-empty lot. I leave Reese outside, pushing the diner door open.

Inside, I find my best friend sitting a corner booth. I pass the long bar and the brown booths lining the windows and slump into the seat opposite her.

“You look chirpy,” she comments sarcastically.

“Uuuuuugh,” I groan, dropping my head to the table.

“Uh oh.”

“Mmmph.”

“What did he do?”

“Is he in here?”

“No.”

“He was him. His usual irresistible, sexy, melt-chocolate-with-his-words self,” I mumble.

“Oh, he’s turned on the charm,” Luce says with laughter in her voice. I snap my head up.

“And the rest.” I sigh, sitting back.

“I warned you.” She sniffs. “I told ya he wanted it back, but cha din’t listen, did ya?”

“Shut up,” I grumble.

The door opens, and Reese walks in with Adam. They both go to the counter, make small talk with the owner, Chuck, and grab four milkshakes.

“Chocolate,” Reese says, setting mine in front of me. “With extra sprinkles.”

The exact drink I used to get every time we did an all-nighter. “Thank you,” I say quietly.

“Y’know,” Adam says, sitting next to Luce. “Y’all deciding on an all-nighter could make work a little tough tomorrow.” He looks pointedly at Reese, who shrugs.

“There ain’t much in. We’ll be fine.”

“We did like two a week last summer,” Luce reminds him. “And you were workin’ then. What’s the matter? Did you actually grow up?” She grins.

Adam smirks, slowly turning his head toward her. His eyes rake down to her chest and back up again. “Hell no, but you definitely did.”

I purse my lips to hold in my amusement, and Luce’s eyebrows shoot up.

“That the best you got?” she asks. “‘Cause my twelve year old cousin has got better lines than that, and he gets his from Family Guy.”

Reese chuckles next to me, and I glance away from them, sipping my milkshake.

“You know where the Family Guy writer got ‘em from?” Adam asks.

“Oh, I have
no
idea,” Luce drawls.

“He got ‘em from me.”

“Poor guy.”

I put my hand over my mouth and snort.

“All right, Kia?” Luce asks, smirking.

I nod, swallowing my mouthful of milkshake. “Fine.” I choke.

Reese reaches over, patting my back. I sputter a few times and finally get myself back together.

“Thanks,” I say.

“Any time.” He drops his hand, letting it slide down my back in an innocently seductive move. I put the straw back in my mouth, clenching my teeth together. Luce and Adam are too busy bickering to realize Reese is now drawing light circles on my hip with his hand. I shift in my seat slightly, and he drops his hand, touching his foot to mine instead.

I sneak a sideways glance at him. He’s looking at me; his eyes fixated on mine. He quirks an eyebrow, and I look away again. Sure, let’s be
friends
.

I’m starting to think we have a very different idea of friendship.

“Let’s go,” Luce says, breaking my reverie.

“Why?” I look at her.

“Because if we stay here any longer, I’m gonna kill Adam. That and Reese looks like he wants to be doing something other than sitting next to you.” She smirks at him knowingly.

“No point denyin’ it,” he shrugs.

I heave a sigh, standing. “This is gonna be a long night, ain’t it?”

“Yup,” Luce agrees, shoving Adam to the side and stalking past him.

“You know,” Reese whispers in my ear. “If you’d left it just us two, we could have made it go a whole lot quicker.”

I turn, jabbing a finger into his chest. “Keep it up, and I’ll be goin’ home. I mean it, Reese.”

He wraps his fingers around mine, lowering my hand slowly. “Keep gettin’ mad, and the only home you’ll be goin’ to is mine.”

I huff and turn away, following Luce’s footsteps. Douchebag.

CHAPTER 5

“You still ain’t told me much about Vegas.” I hop up into the truck bed and sit next to Luce.

She grins. “It’s amazin’, girl, I’m tellin’ you. All the lights and everything, it’s like a whole other world than here in the Grove. I love it there.”

“Sounds like New York,” I muse, smiling slightly. I lean my head back, resting it on the side of the bed.

“It’s kinda nice to be home, though,” she says.

I laugh. “Has the born and bred city girl been converted to a country girl?”

“Maybe.” She wiggles her eyebrows. “Naw, I love Vegas and the city, but comin’ home here at the end of the semester, it’s great. There’s a closeness here I ain’t got with anyone at UNLV.”

“That’s ‘cause everyone here knows everything about everyone, and probably even some stuff we don’t even know about ourselves.”

She looks at me slyly. “Like how we all know you and Reese are days away from getting it on, and you don’t?”

I half-grin. “That’s not gonna happen. We’re friends. That’s all.”

“Mmhmm. Friends don’t threaten to take the other back to their house just ‘cause they’re mad.”

Blood rushes to my cheeks. “You heard that, huh?”

“He ain’t as smooth as he’d like to think.” Luce laughs.

“I’m about as smooth as the peanut butter you girls put on your toast on the mornin’, Luce.” Reese drawls and pops his head over the side of the truck.

“I don’t have toast,” she retorts.

“And I prefer my peanut butter crunchy.” I smile.

Reese smirks. “You win.”

“What are you doin’?” Adam yells. “Get your asses down here! Ain’t no time to be sitting up there!”

“Sor-
ry
,” Luce shouts back sarcastically. “I wasn’t aware you had us on a schedule!”

“I’m tryin’ to build a damn campfire here so you can toast your freakin’ marshmallows!”

“Damn males! I should just do it my damn self!”

She jumps down from the truck, and Adam yells something back to her. I hear her gasp; then she stomps over to him. I smile, wondering when they’ll just give it up and accept their attraction for each other.

Reese puts his arms out at the end of the truck. “Come on.”

“I can climb down from a truck.”

“I know that,” he replies and shakes his arms once. “But I’m just helping you. You know, being friendly.”

I raise my eyebrows, letting him grip my waist anyway. I put my hands on his shoulders, and he lifts me down, lowering me slowly to the ground. His eyes are on mine, watching me intently, and a small smile plays on his lips. I lick my bottom lip without thinking, and his eyes flicker down. I swallow against the thumping of my heart and force my breath out slowly, resisting the urge to let my body take control.

Reese’s hazel eyes are darker as they meet mine again, and I let my hands slide slowly down his chest. His fingers flex against my waist, like he’s fighting with himself whether to let me go or not.

I breathe a little faster against my will, and I see his chest heave once. My fingers graze his stomach, and I step back, loosening his hold on me. His hands brush my hips as he drops them from my waist, and I have to stop myself from wrapping my arms around my waist to make up for the loss of him.

“There’s nothin’ friendly about that, baby,” he says in a low voice. “Nothin’ at all.”

I let out a shaky breath. “We’re never gonna be able to be friends, are we?” I whisper sadly. “We’ll never be able to get past whatever it is between us, will we?”

He shakes his head. “I don’t wanna get past it, Kia. Not at all.”

“I can’t have everything. I can’t. It’s always gonna be all or nothing for us, Reese. There’s no in between, there never will be.”

“I’m not asking you fall back into my arms and let me sweep you off your feet,” he whispers, moving some hair from my face gently. “No matter how much I want to, I’m not asking that. I’m just askin’ you to let whatever will happen, happen. I don’t get what good it is with you fightin’ yourself every time.”

“What’s meant to be will be, right?” I shake my head a little in disbelief. “It doesn’t-”

“Work like that?” He raises his eyebrows, his thumb trailing down my cheek and neck. “How do you know if you keep fighting it?”

His hand falls and as he walks past me, I realize tears are burning my eyes. My heart is thumping from being so close to each other, and I take a deep breath in.

“Shit,” I whisper, blinking frantically and turning around.

Luce is pointing her marshmallow prongs at Adam threateningly and he’s standing with his arms out innocently. Reese is sitting next to the fire with his arms hooked around his knees, staring into the flames. I flit my eyes between them all, finally letting my legs lead me toward Reese. I drop onto the ground next to him, crossing my legs, and stare at the fire the same way he is.

Just let it happen. Let it be. What’s meant to be will happen.

Right. Because this is a dang fairytale, and I’m a princess that needs saving. No, its real life. I may be cynical and jaded because of my parents, but I don’t need saving. I don’t need anything that could make me anything like my mom; I don’t want anything that could make me like her.

Reese is the only person and our relationship the only thing that could make me be like her… Yet despite it all, a rapidly growing part of me wants it.

~

After getting in at seven a.m. and promptly falling into bed, I crawled back out at two p.m. and finished the rest of the coffee we had laying around the house. Now, I make my way into the yard with my guitar as last night swirls in my mind.

Just like last summer, our all-nighter consisted of Reese burning marshmallows until Luce flipped and took over, and Adam making suggestive comments in her direction, all while I was sitting to the side, laughing and plaiting blades of grass. Because it’s strangely therapeutic. And it – almost – took my mind off Reese.

Almost.

I settle in the tire swing and rest my guitar on my knee, running my hand along it. It’s amazing that a bit of wood and string can bring me the peace I so badly crave.

I close my eyes. It’s been weeks since I’ve played, but my fingers find the strings as if they were made to be there. I let the music wash over me; I let myself feel it. I let myself feel everything I’ve been hiding away. The music vibrates through my body, and I can feel the tension leave me. As always, the urge to sing overtakes me. It builds inside of me until the only way I can relax is by letting my feelings go in the only way I know how.

You smile at me,

I know the rules,

Step this way,

I’m not a fool.

With a charmin’ smile,

You ask my name,

A flutter of my lashes,

An’ I know this game.

My fingers in your hair,

Your skin touchin’ mine,

Don’t hold back,

I’m feelin’ just fine.

Just one kiss,

See those darkened eyes,