The Crush (16 page)

We pulled up to Tessa’s house and the party was already in full swing. It looked like all of the windows were open and we could hear the sounds of the party drifting out into the warm summer night. People were already spilled out onto the front lawn and I could hear splashes coming from the pool in her back yard. Tessa’s parents had agreed on the party and vacated the premises, figuring this was the last time they would have to deal with something like this since she was leaving.

Collins and I soon split up, her mingling among the people that had shown up to see her off. Other than the small group of friends I had made in my senior year I didn’t know as many people as Collins did since she basically knew everyone since the time she was in diapers.

I found Hallie who was manning the bar and she quickly filled my empty hand with a drink. I took a drink and scrunched up my nose as it hit me. That fruit punch was most definitely spiked.

“You better pace yourself with those things,” she shouted over the music that was blaring out something about cheers to the freaking weekend. How fitting. I lifted up my cup to toast Hallie and gulped down about half the cup.

She giggled as she ran around to join me, abandoning her bartending position already.“Come on let’s dance!”

Even though Hallie told me to pace myself, she continued to be my own personal bartender and kept my cup nice and full. Whatever was in this special juice was going straight to my head, the room was spinning and Hallie just kept getting funnier and funnier by the minute as we danced till sweat was pouring down our backs.

Hallie whipped out her phone scrolling through the messages which I’m sure were all from Vance and probably naughty ones at that. She had mentioned something about sexting and I had quickly covered my ears to tune her out.

“I need to use the little girls room, c’mon.” Hallie yanked me through the overcrowded living room and I waved at Collins who was grinding up on some guys lap that I didn’t recognize. What a little whore, I knew she was looking to hook up with someone tonight.

“I’ll wait out here,” I told Hallie as she pushed herself to the front of the line and slammed the door in someone’s face. That girl had to pee.

 I grabbed my phone out of my dress that I had stashed in between my boobs, I knew those things were good for something. I scrolled through my own messages that I tried to read through but was finding it pretty difficult. I could pretty much get the gist of Griers, he missed me like crazy and couldn’t wait till we were together again. What did I do to deserve this guy?

I leaned one shoulder up against the wall that was probably holding me up and typed something back that I think resembled:
I miss you too, love you and I wish you were here
, before hitting the send button. Hallie was still in the bathroom and the line of people were getting restless, pounding on the bathroom door. Hopefully she hadn’t passed out in there.

“What in the hell does this say girl, you must be drunk outta your mind. I can’t read a thing you just sent me.”

I felt warm breath against my neck as the words were spoken and I instantly recognized the familiar voice that I had missed so much. It was totally different when you knew that voice was a couple hundred miles away. But he was here, like right now.

I turned around so quickly I instantly knocked myself off balance but I was rescued by a set of strong arms that wrapped around my waist and I locked eyes with him.

“What are you doing here? I can’t believe you’re here? Wait I didn’t pass out and I’m dreaming all of this am I? ‘Cause I’m going to be real pissed if that’s the case and I wake up without you.”

He gave me a little tiny pinch on my ass that made me squeal and he hit me with a breathtaking smile.

“Nope you’re not dreamin’ girl. I’m really here. Maybe I should’ve filled you in on the plan and you wouldn’t be so wasted but then I wouldn’t have gotten to surprise you like this.”

I heard the familiar squeals of Hallie coming down the hall before I could answer and Vance rushed past me with her thrown over his broad shoulder. Now I knew what Hallie was doing in the bathroom so long or should I say who? Judging by that cocky grin on Vances face I’d say I got that one right.

I glanced back at Grier who watched as his best friend continued on down the hallway probably heading to toss poor Hallie into the pool by the way she was kicking and screaming. Even in my drunken haze I could see how yummy he looked. In the short time we had been apart he had definitely bulked up and I could see his muscles through the tight fitted gray V-neck shirt he had on, paired with faded jeans that hung low on his hips. His black hair was a crazy mess just how I liked it and I didn’t know if it was possible but his blue eyes seemed even more intense and bluer than usual.

“Come here girl, I’ve missed you so much.”

He held his arms open for me and I jumped right into them and wrapped my legs around his waist as tight as I could before I attacked his mouth. I couldn’t get enough of his familiar minty taste as I explored his mouth with my tongue and then worked my way down his firm jaw with wet kisses and then moved to nip and suck at his neck where I could still taste the aftershave that I loved.

“I take it your happy I’m here,” he said after he managed to pull me off of him and set me down on my still wobbly feet.

I bobbed my ponytail up and down at him before giving him one more quick kiss. I couldn’t get enough of him and I couldn’t believe he was really here.

“What are you doing here exactly, I thought you weren’t coming to get me for like another week?”

“Well me and Vance were missing you girls like crazy and I did want to come and see mama for a bit. Coach told us that our schedules would start to get hectic once camp started up and we should visit with our families back home, so we headed out as soon as he gave us the ok.”

He looked down to assess me with his eyes before meeting mine again. “And I’m glad we got here in time ‘cause you look fuckin’ hot. I wouldn’t want to miss this for the world. I’m sure every guy in here has been checkin’ you out all night and if I see it myself I’m gonna beat the shit out of every one of ‘em.”

“Whoa slow your roll dude. You don’t need to injure that golden arm of yours. Now come dance with me!”

I could tell he was trying to keep from smiling by the way the corners of his mouth were turned up and I got just a hint of those dimples. I really didn’t need him to go all crazy on anyone though and everyone could look all they wanted, the only person that I cared about looking was him.

We made our way onto the dance floor after I got a much needed cup of water and weaved through the crowd that was excited their star quarterback had returned, by greeting him with high fives, back slaps, and fist poundings while he kept one hand glued to the small of my back.

I turned around to face away from him and he glided his warm hands over the thin material of my dress, slowly up and down, moving my hips to the music as I relaxed back into him. He leaned down to bury his head in my neck and pepper it with kisses and I wrapped an arm behind him to guide his mouth. If I had just a little bit more alcohol in me I would totally be jumping this boys bones right now, no matter who was watching

 I twisted my body around to whisper that very thing in his ear and he just looked back at me with a crooked grin through half lidded eyes. I could tell that he wouldn’t mind one bit if there wasn’t about a hundred people surrounding us.

We stayed for a little bit longer, doing a few slow dances and then finding the three girls to say goodbye. As I suspected Hallie had been dunked in the pool and was currently swimming in Vances shirt that he had stripped off for her but she looked about as happy as a clam at high tide. I learned that one from Grier.

Collins looked happy and content with some guy from another school and said she would be fine there for awhile and would get the golf cart home safely. And Tessa….well she was probably off somewhere with Dylan, they had broken up right before graduation since they were going to schools on either side of the country but they couldn’t seem to keep their hands off of each other.

“Let’s go for a walk on the beach, I’ve missed it.”

I let him lead the way, pulling off my sandals and just enjoying the feel of his hand in mine. I couldn’t believe we were finally back together even though it had only been a short time and now we would be leaving for school together.

We stopped right at the edge of the water and he wrapped his arms around my waist while he looked out at the waves and took a deep breath in to inhale the saltiness that lingered in the air that would always remind me of home.

“I think I missed this almost as much as I missed you.” He pulled me down to the sand to sit in his lap and I twisted around so I could bury my face in his chest. Having his arms around me made the world feel right again.

“Is it so bad to be away from the beach?”

“Naw it just takes some gettin’ used to. You’ll love the campus, its huge, I’m sure you’ll get lost a few times when you first get there but I’ll try and help you out. The city’s pretty close too and there’s lots do around there, me and Vance have checked it out a couple of times with some of the older guys on the team. The dorm you and Hallie got assigned is probably about a ten minute walk from where me and Vance are.”

“That sounds awesome. I’m glad I’ll have you as my own personal tour guide. Is Vance riding back with us?”

“No, he figured we’d want some alone time so he’s going to ride with Hallies family up to campus. I figured we would head out early on Tuesday morning, that’ll give us a chance to get you two settled in and then Coach wants us back for a meeting first thing Wednesday morning.”

“Perfect.”

Wynn

Over the next few days I managed to finish packing up all of my stuff with the help of mom. Grier and I squeezed in a little bit more time together but I knew we would have enough of that soon, so he spent most of his time back with his mom. He got together with his dad too who seemed to still be sober and I could tell how happy that made Grier. I was hoping he would stay that way so he could make it to some of his games.

We sent Collins and Tessa off through tears and I couldn’t believe how quiet the house was once she was gone. Aunt Gracie cried her eyes out for the first two days after she left but she tried to keep herself busy with the diner and it seemed to help some.

“You think you got everything together now sugar?” Grams asked as she sat down on Collins empty bed and patted the spot next to her. I went and sat down beside her and she threw an arm over my shoulder.

“Yup I think I am good to go. Hopefully Grier has enough room in his truck for all my stuff. I still have no idea how me and Hallie are going to cram all of our stuff into that small dorm room.”

“You’ll find a way I’m sure. Make sure you send your address to me when you get there and I’ll send some of those cookies that you two love every week.”

“Thanks Grams, that sounds amazing.”

“You call if you need anyone to talk to you hear? You’ve been doin’ so good after that mess with that snake. I’m just so happy your 18 now and we won’t have to deal with him again. I’ll keep an eye out for your mama too so you don’t need be worrying that little pretty head of yours. She’s been doin’ good at her new job and I have it on good authority that she’s been dipping her feet back into the datin’ pool.”

My mouth dropped open at that little fact. This was definitely news to me, mom hadn’t breathed a word of it to me but I was happy for her. And it did lessen the guilt I had of leaving her behind. She had always taking such good care of me, putting her life on hold and we had been through a whirlwind together.

“Shut that mouth dear you’ll be catchin’ some flies. Your mama is a grown woman and she deserves some happiness. I don’t think she every truly got over that daddy of yours and then Richard swooped in before she could even get her head on straight.”

“You think my parents would still be together if dad was still alive?”

She nodded her head back at me and patted my knee. “Absolutely. Your daddy looked at your mama the way that boy of yours looks at you. They were truly in love and when you came along they fell even more deeply. You stick with Grier Daniels and you’ll have that kinda love too.”

“Thanks Grams.”Not that I was thinking about getting married anytime soon but if I was it would definitely be to Grier.

                                                                           *****************************

I walked into the diner the next night and it was definitely a bittersweet moment. I was really going to miss this place and all of my regular customers that stopped in just to see me but I was all ready to go. Grier had walked to me work and then headed home to meet his mom. They were going out to dinner with his dad in the next county over and then we were planning on leaving the next day.

I couldn’t help but think about our day earlier when we had squeezed in a little time together. And it was definitely the best memory I had to date of the beach by far. I think I surprised Grier a little when I brought him to a secluded spot on the beach and proceeded to do a private show for him. He couldn’t keep his hands off of me after that.

“Hey Wynn, you ready for your last night?” Miranda came over and gave me a quick hug, pulling me out of my daydream. She was officially on her own and she was doing great. Grams really seemed to love having her around.

“Yup you mind if I take the counter for old times sake?”

“Not a problem.”

The night went by quickly with all of my regular customers coming in and fighting over the few seats at the counter. I promised to come back and visit as often as I could and everyone kept asking when the wedding was. I managed to keep my eyes from rolling every time I heard that one. But I managed to rake in a boat load of tips from all of my well wishers.

“You sure you don’t mind closing up honey?” Mom came over to stand behind me while I counted out the cash drawer.