Chapter 17
Chapter seventeen
She was lying out in the gazebo, the sun dipping low, the breeze warm against her skin. Her thoughts were spiraling again, the kind that refused to be quiet no matter how hard she tried.
Gavin had left a little earlier. She'd bumped into him in the hallway, allowing her to inhale a lung full of his signature scent. He was fresh from the shower. She noted his still damp hair, and the way the thick scent of his cologne clung to the thick air around him.
She hadn’t asked where he was going and he hadn’t told her. But she felt it, the way his eyes had searched her face as they passed. Like they both wanted to speak but something held them back. Her pride. His something else.
She missed him. Not just missed, but mourned.
Mourned the loss of everything they once had.
She had loved being around him. Being in his presence.
Feeling the spark of his infectious charm warm the air around her.
She had loved watching as people couldn't help but smile in his presence as if affected by a chemical reaction.
She loved the way he made her feel. As if she was his best friend and together there was nothing they couldn't do.
Harvard. The future. All of it felt possible when it was the two of them.
And now? Now it was all gone. What would happen when they graduated?
Would they become strangers? Or just nothing at all.
The ache in her chest throbbed as her anxious thoughts spilled out unchecked.
Thankfully her phone buzzed beside her, saving her from her thoughts.
Cameron: I want to see you. Come out with me.
An hour later the wind was whipping through the cracked window as they drove. The low hum of the engine filled the silence between them. Ebony closed her eyes and tilted her face toward the last golden streaks of light painting the sky.
A sudden thought brought her back to reality and she opened her eyes and grabbed her phone and texted Beryl.
Me: If someone asks, I’m hanging with you.
Beryl: Pfft. You mean someone being Gavin’s crazy ass.
Me: [Heavy sigh emoji] Yes.
Beryl: I’ll be your alibi. But I expect full payment in juicy details with whatever or whoever you're doing it with.
Me: Fine.
"So where does Gavin think you are?" Cameron asked as if reading her mind.
She shot him a look. "Gavin doesn’t tell me anything. And since you brought him up, I heard there was a scene between you two in the locker room. Care to tell me about it?"
Cameron gave her a dramatic wince. "Okay, point taken. No more mention of Gavin. Besides," he added with shrug. "There’s not much to tell. He came in to talk and...we talked."
She didn’t buy that for a second. But if there’d been a fight, Taylor would’ve informed her. She shoved the thought, and all the drama attached to it, into a box and mentally shoved it off a cliff.
Eventually they were on the twisting road that led higher onto the mountain, the car hugging its gentle curves.
The mountain, which some Stardust Cove citizens bitterly referred to as just an oversized hill, led to Stardust Heights, the posher sister city to Stardust Cove filled with the wealthy elite.
Ebony leaned her head against the window, watching as the trees slipped past. A city within a city, Stardust Heights was a silent city that sat like a jewel on the crown of their town but at this time of year there was a not-so-subtle spark of rivalry in the air.
Football Season. The silent camaraderie of their towns disappeared for a few nights every fall as the two high schools competed fiercely on the field.
It was the game everyone in town vowed never to miss.
The streets were eerily quiet, shops shuttered early, restaurants dark behind their glass fronts, even the gas stations looked abandoned.
Everyone was at the stadium, this time at the Stardust Cove stadium, screaming themselves hoarse with unbridled fervor.
But up the mountain though, it felt like the world had been put on mute.
The perfectly manicured streets were empty and the air silent.
They pulled into a tiny coffee shop nestled right on the mountain’s edge.
The building looked like something out of a movie: two old airstreams welded together sitting in a beautiful garden.
Trellises were wrapped in purple wisteria, twinkling string lights flickered in the twilight, while the city and the sea cove glittered far below.
Cameron pulled the car to a stop.
"Wait a sec," Cameron said, and ran around to her side to open her door.
Ebony bit back a smile and followed him inside.
Her eyes were still adjusting as she caught sight of someone at the counter.
Ebony nearly groaned. Augustus Carrington, a Stardust Heights senior and son of the man who owned one of the nation's most powerful lobbying firms. Augustus stood at the counter, as smug and polished as ever.
Stardust Heights royalty, at least in his deluded mind.
Augustus turned at the sound of the bell and lit up at the sight of her.
His eyes darted between her and Cameron before landing on her with an evil little smirk. "Hey, Ebbs…and hey… Cameron, right?" He snapped his fingers, the name finally landing. "You're Gavin's friend."
Cameron gave a polite nod, voice dry. "Yeah, I met you at the country club this summer."
"Of course, when Gavin brought his friends to play," he said, and Ebony couldn't help but hear the snide tone in his voice as if he were talking about children on a play date. Augustus made a show of looking over their heads before adding. "And where's Gavin tonight?"
Ebony narrowed her eyes. "He’s elsewhere."
Augustus's grin deepened like a cat who just caught a mouse.
"I see." A bell chimed behind him at the pickup counter as the barista slid out a cup carrier filled with four steaming to-go cups.
"Well, that's me. Have a good night, Ebony…and Gavin’s friend," he added pointedly, grabbing his order and heading for the door.
Ebony forced herself not to turn and look but she knew without a doubt he was texting everyone he knew.
"Prick," Cameron muttered.
They took their time ordering and grabbed a picnic table outside beneath the string lights nearest the fenced edge that overlooked the city. From here they could see the brightly lit stadium and the muffled sound of the announcers as the game progressed.
Above them the sun faded completely from the sky, leaving it a dark canvas smeared with purples and indigos.
They talked about everything and nothing, steering clear of a certain blond blue-eyed menace.
At one point, she stole a piece of his cookie off his plate and he acted personally betrayed, which only made her laugh.
Somewhere between her teasing and his sarcasm, the ache in her chest eased—just a little.
Cameron was already through with his drink when he side-eyed her. "No. Do not tell me you watch that. The one where all the contestants have to live like naked Neanderthals' in caves and somehow are dating one another?!"
Ebony laughed. "Yes." she nodded. "Cave of Cravings is…is our favorite show," her voice nearly broke at that. Her smile faded a little.
It had been their favorite show. Gavin used to watch it with her, making fun of the people and providing constant commentary. It’d been months now since a moment like that.
Helplessly, she found herself glancing over the fence and towards the cliff's edge where the lights of the football stadium glittered.
Was he down there now laughing and holding Sienna?
A sick masochistic part of her yearned to pull out her phone and check the socials.
If he was down there it would be well documented.
As if sensing her change in mood, Cameron reached across the table and covered her hand with his. His thumb moved slowly, reassuring. "I’ll watch it with you. No guarantees I won’t make fun of it, though."
Ebony looked back at his handsome face and her throat tightened. She didn’t pull her hand away.
Eventually she excused herself to the bathroom, walking past the counter and around the back to where the restrooms were tucked behind a narrow hallway.
She had just come out of the bathroom when she paused. The lights were out in the hallway. They had been on moments before. Confused, she took a tentative step forward when someone grabbed her.
A hand closed around her wrist and she was yanked into a corner. Her back hit the wall and she opened her mouth to yell. It was all the opening the guy needed. The kiss came fast, hard, and without a single warning. Her eyes went wide as she felt and tasted the stranger.
The kiss wasn’t gentle. It wasn’t sweet. It was a command wrapped in heat. Minty and hot she felt his tongue swipe at her lips as his body crushed hers against him. His body was like a brick wall, huge and unmoving.
Her hands shot up, pushing at his chest, but he didn’t budge.
His other hand gripped her hip, locking her in place.
She gasped and tried to shove him back, fingers scrambling at the hoodie he wore.
But he was too close—too strong. Again, she tried to do something and lifted her knee up sharply.
He avoided that too. Her mind was screaming even as her body locked up.
Then suddenly he was gone.
The weight disappeared making her nearly fall to the floor. The warmth of him vanished and the emergency door groaned open and slammed shut behind him.
Ebony stood there, frozen.
Her heart was pounding too loud. Her fingers shook as she wiped at her mouth, her breath ragged. The scent of the man still clung to her, something crisp and warm. Bergamot maybe? She pushed the door open and stepped out into the night.
The garden was empty.