I started jogging behind her. “Hey, I’m not the bad guy here. I didn’t say it was your fault. I think it’s cool that you waited. I wouldn’t want you to waste your virginity on an asshole like Taulson. Good for you. It’s his fucking loss.”
She came to a stop and when she turned around, tears ran down her pretty face. Jesus. I was in the midst of a shit storm that I wasn’t even involved in, and the crazy thing—I didn’t mind it.
“It is his loss. You’re right.” She marched back toward me and kept going, heading back to where we’d just been and dropped down to sit on the hammock.
“Make yourself at home,” I teased, trying to lighten the mood. Her world had been flipped on its ass, and I understood that feeling better than most. I’d experienced the same thing just a few months ago, and I was still dealing with it. I’d spent my life sainting a man who in turn was the devil. And my mother had paid the ultimate price.
“I’m sorry, Jett. You came out here to get away, and I’ve totally taken over your space. This is so not me. I don’t even know what’s happening. I feel—I don’t even know what I feel?”
I bent down in front of her, meeting her dark gaze. Pops of amber and topaz sparkled as the last of the light shined down on her. I saw the hurt and the disappointment. Hell, I recognized those feelings every time I looked in the mirror and saw my own reflection. But there was something else there that I couldn’t put my finger on.
“Obviously you’re feeling betrayed. That’s fair. And it’s okay to feel that.”
She nodded. “Why are you being so nice to me?”
I laughed. “Am I not normally nice to you?”
“Well, honestly, before taking AP calc together, you barely acknowledged me.” She tucked her hair behind her ears as she spoke. She wore a white sweater, faded jeans, and some sort of ankle-high cowboy boots that I’d seen her in most days.
“It’s no secret. I don’t like your boyfriend.”
She nodded. “So that means you and I can’t be friends?”
“Seeing as you aren’t together anymore, sure.” I raised a brow.
“Can I tell you something, and you swear you won’t tell anyone.” Her voice was just above a whisper.
I rolled my eyes. “If you haven’t noticed, I’m not big on high school gossip.”
“As much as I feel completely betrayed by Alec, I don’t know—a part of me feels…” She paused and bit down on her plump bottom lip, glancing back at the water.
“What?” I asked. Now she had me curious with how anxious she was to say it.
“Hopeful. It sounds terrible, but the truth is, my mom and Mama T, that’s Alec’s mom. They’ve had this plan for us for so long and I just went along with it. Alec drove the train and I was the passenger. And now, I don’t have to feel guilty about choosing a different path. One that I’m actually excited about.”
Hell, she was speaking my language. “I get that. What does that look like?”
She cocked her head to the side. “I don’t know for certain, but I kind of like that. I don’t see myself being a schoolteacher if I’m being honest. I see myself being a writer. That’s my passion, not that anyone really knows that.”
I nodded. “You are the editor of the school paper, so it shouldn’t be a huge surprise to people that that’s what you want to do. And you could do that anywhere. You don’t need to stay in this shit town your whole life just because you were born here. Spread your wings, Ace. See where they take you.”
She smiled, and I swear to fucking God my chest tightened. What the hell was up with that? Maybe we had more in common than I’d ever realized. Maybe talking to her was easier than talking to anyone else.
“I just might do that. Why do you hate this town so much?”
“I wouldn’t say that I hate it, per se. I’d say that I resent it.” I chuckled and she laughed, shaking her head at my ridiculous choice of words. “The people here are small-minded. They judge you by what you have, not who you are. Well, that is until you become the quarterback of East Texas High, and then you walk on water. But before that, the way a lot of people in this town treated my mom… treated me, I don’t like it.”
“That’s terrible. I’m sorry you and your mom have had to go through that. I feel like in a way this town shaped me for the good, but a lot of things have just been expected of me, you know? Being Ellis and Savannah Edington’s daughter comes with a lot of perks, but it also comes with a lifetime of expectations. Some that I’m not interested in fulfilling or even passionate about.”
“So, you’re not passionate about cheerleading?” I chuckled again, pushing up to stand and crossing my arms over my chest.
“Not even a little bit.”
“Why do you do it then?” I asked because I was surprised to hear that she didn’t like it.
“Haven’t you ever done something you didn’t want to do because someone expected you to?” Her eyes searched mine.
“No. Never. My mom raised me to choose my path, and I’ve done exactly that. Down to the sport I played, the school I choose to attend. It’s all on my terms.”
She frowned. “Wow. I can’t say the same. I cheer because my mom told me I would cheer for East Texas since I was old enough to walk.”
“Maybe it’s time you start making your own decisions about who you date, what you do with your time, and where you go to school.”
“Maybe it is.” She wrapped her arms around her shoulders, just as the sun dipped behind the clouds.
“Come on. I better get you home. I can drop you a block from your house if you want.”
“Why would you do that?” she asked, pushing to her feet and pulling her backpack over her shoulder.
“Because your mother will probably lose her shit if she sees you on the back of my bike. She doesn’t like me. That’s no secret.”
Adelaide studied me, her tongue peeking out to wet her lips. “She doesn’t know you.”
We walked toward my bike and she hopped on the back and I settled between her legs. My dick on high alert once again, sitting this close to her. Breathing in all that goodness.
“Jett,” she said as I started the engine.
“Yeah?” I glanced over my shoulder and waited for her to speak.
“Drop me off in front of my house, please.”
I nodded and my lips turned up in the corners for reasons I couldn’t begin to understand.
This day had not gone as planned.