Against the Rules (Even The Score #4)

32. willow

CHAPTER 32

WILLOW

EAT YOUR HEART OUT

I woke up early enough to comb my hair into two perfect puffs and spent forty minutes on my makeup, finishing with an ombre lip gloss and the kind of lashes I reserved only for shows.

Self-awareness only goes so far.

It turned out, I could understand how stupid we were both being, and not give a shit. If only it was a bad feeling. After years of trying to pick the perfect guy on paper to have sex with, and really not caring beyond that, having these kinds of weird, twisted feelings for someone was such a rush.

Music blared in my room while I rifled through my closet. When I agreed to move in, I picked the empty room above Lawson’s garage, just a walk away from the house. It was something I was really grateful for. At least it gave us some space and I could play my music as loud as I wanted. Especially on a day when angry, pissed off songs were such a necessity.

A grin crossed my face when I found it . The lace bodysuit dream of dreams that acted as a push-up bra and a beacon for every horny guy for miles around, which was why I always wore it with a hoodie until I walked on stage. Until today.

With a pair of dark jeans, I was good to go.

"Eat your heart out, King," I whispered.

Before school, I dropped by the kitchen for a bagel.

My mom hovered over her laptop, tapping on the keyboard, while Lawson had a hand on her waist.

I didn’t want them to see me. It was a weird combination of their PDA grossing me out but also…it was their morning too and I didn’t want to ruin it for them. Weird combination for sure. I tiptoed past and reached for the bag of bagels until the envelope caught my eye.

With my name on it?

Without thinking, I reached for it, fumbled, and the bag of bagels fell into the sink.

My mom glanced up. "Willow—" She stared. " Willow ."

Oh, right. The outfit .

The two of them stepped away from each other and heat rose to my face, embarrassed. I should’ve worn a hoodie in the house. I didn’t want to answer questions.

"Hi—um—morning."

Awkward .

Lawson cleared his throat. "I like the…hair you got going on."

"Um…thank you."

"Is there a special occasion?" my mom asked, eyebrows raised.

The two of them didn’t see me during shows and mics. At school, I wore minimal makeup, because all my makeup budget went to stage time. As far as they saw it, this was the first time I’d gone all out in years.

"Trying to show a stupid man what he’s missing out on." I held up the envelope. "What’s this?"

"A plane ticket," Lawson answered automatically.

"It’s a surprise—" My mom stopped herself and threw him an amused smile. "Mm, a plane ticket."

A plane ticket for…Austin, Texas.

Oh my god.

The live music capital of the US.

Real excitement took hold of me. I’d wanted to hit up Austin for such a long time, but it’d always been intimidating. But if I could do Houton shows, I could go to ATX for sure.

"We have a camp before summer training," Lawson explained, touching my mom’s shoulder. "We’re teaming up with two other schools to check on the high school lineup. Most of the team will be staying at a separate hotel but I thought the three of us could stay at this real nice place downtown."

The three of us?

God, that meant staying in rooms close together, and having schedules together, and eating dinner together…and getting caught, sneaking out.

Unless…?

"You mean like, the whole team?" I asked carefully.

"Yep, all of our show ponies."

"And…their girlfriends?"

"During the school year, plenty of them stay on campus but it’s summer term, some will be coming along."

Bet I can guess which ones.

"You guys could treat this like a second honeymoon." I cringed on the inside but was determined to keep cool. "I’ve been…making friends with the team."

My mom stared. " Football friends?"

"Yep. Kassie and Ryan and Piper and Adam and—" I stopped myself. "That’s it."

"Isn’t that fantastic." Lawson couldn’t hold back a grin. "Isn’t that something, amazing how that happens. But that’s the kind of team I cultivate, I guess." He scratched his beard. "I don’t know if you’re thinking along these lines, but the girls bunk together, I’m sure it’s not as appealing as your own room, but?—"

"Can I bunk with Kassie?"

"I’ll call one of Bennight’s replacements," he promised and strode away from the kitchen.

My mom caught my eye and mouthed two words. " Thank you ."

I nodded and smiled. Kassie was the only one that knew my Jade the Architect secret. Well, the only one who knew that I didn’t want to hit on the head with my backpack.

Staying with Kassie meant I could easily get stage time. Pulling the closed bag of bagels from the sink, I picked one out, feeling kind of good about the conversation.

It took me a while to push down my feelings about how long Lawson and my mom had actually been together, but it wasn’t worth being upset over it. The divorce was final. My dad knowing about the timeline wouldn’t change anything.

Besides, my mom loved Lawson with that kind of bottomless love she gave me. I didn’t have to like the situation, but I loved my mom. I could make peace with it.

Lawson appeared in the doorframe. "Kid—ah—if you’re looking to get going, I can give you a ride to school."

I picked up my backpack. This was where I could meet him. "Ready to go when you are."

While he put his stuff together, I waited by the garage, thinking of exactly what I wanted to say when I saw King again. He was going to get the surprise of his life. Forcing me to admit I had feelings for him and then a weird situationship breakup meant that this wouldn’t be pretty. I couldn’t wait.

My phone buzzed in my pocket.

I yanked up my phone, hoping it was him, until I saw my dad’s name. The instant reaction my body had wasn’t comforting. Dad is better, dammit. I didn’t need the butterflies in my stomach.

Papa Pruitt

I need to talk to you, Willie Low

Give me a call when you can

Me

Can I call you after class? 3

Papa Pruitt

Sure thing

I have a surprise