Chapter 32 #3
He pinned me to the mat, his palms digging into my shoulders.
“What is wrong with you?” He jumped up an inch and slammed back down.
“I mean, I’m glad you finally came to your senses.
Took you long enough.” Another mini jump and his knee was in my gut.
“But I spent the entire day building you up to her, telling her what a good guy you really are, and you just destroyed all of it.”
I stared up at him in surprise. “You did?”
“Yeah.”
I snorted. “Did you flirt with her to make me jealous? Or to make Griff jealous?”
His grin turned villainous. “Yup and yup.” As fast as it appeared, his smile vanished. “But also because I think you two would be great together.” He punched me in the pec and it nearly knocked the air out of me. “Or I did. But not if you’re going to be a douche.”
“You didn’t need to put your hands all over her the entire day,” I said through gritted teeth.
His brows flicked up. “Apparently, I did. It got you to finally act.” He shoved my face sideways. “Look what you did.”
Magnolia had made it back to the beach. Charlie was talking to her, hands moving frantically, probably apologizing for my behavior. From the stiffness of Magnolia’s shoulders and how aggressively she was pulling on her shorts, it looked like she was leaving.
Standing next to her, Abilene frowned at me, arms folded, shaking her head.
I tried to sit up but Liam wasn’t having it. He pinched my entire face between the fingers and thumb of his right hand, his brows lifted in a threat. “Don’t break her heart again. You hear me?”
“Since when do you care about Magnolia?” I asked lips forced into a little round O.
“Since always,” he said possessively. “She’s my friend and she’s one of the best girls I know and even though we have zero chemistry and she’s still stupidly attracted to you, don’t think I wouldn’t marry her in a heartbeat and love the heck out of her just to spite you and Griff.
” He said it like, try me and see. “We clear?”
But all I heard was that she was ‘stupidly attracted’ to me. “Did she say she’s attracted to me? Today?”
“No, jackweed. She’s keeping those feelings close to her chest—as she should, after what you did.
But it’s obvious. Her eyes kept darting around, searching for you when you disappeared.
” He popped me in the side of the head just like Ashton.
“If she decides to forgive you, don’t hurt her this time. ” Then he stood. “Go,” he ordered.
I looked over to see Magnolia grabbing her purse.
I dove into the water, swimming like I was fighting for a gold medal. When I reached land, she was hiking up the hill, Abilene at her side.
I took off at a run, water running down my legs.
“There he goes!” Holden hooted, spurring me on.
“Magnolia!” I called, cranking up my speed.
“Stop right there.” Abilene stepped in my way, shoving me back. “Make your escape,” she yelled over her shoulder to Magnolia. “We’ll meet at the rendezvous point.”
“What’s the rendezvous point?” Magnolia asked, bewildered.
“I’m not saying in front of him!” Abilene whisper-shouted. “Now go!”
Magnolia jogged up the hill like lava was coming for her.
“Seriously?” I said, not the least bit thwarted by Abilene’s puny efforts. But I was certain if I dodged, she’d just come at me again, maybe follow me as I tried to talk to Magnolia. I needed to shake her loose. Permanently.
Like a mind reader, Fletch pried us apart and moved between as a shield.
“Stay back, witch!” Flip-flops gone, he kicked at her, doing a cross between an Irish jig and one of those Bulgarian village dances that ward off evil spirits.
His feet were moving so fast I almost couldn’t see that he’d pulled a Sole Mates—ripping out the hair, and tearing off his toenails caveman style.
Abilene squealed in terror, tripping over a rock, before righting herself.
But then, her nostrils puffed and her eyes turned furious.
She waved her hands around like Professor McGonnagall when she fights Severus Snape at the end of the Deathly Hallows.
“Do not pass, hobbit feet,” she chanted.
“Do not pass or you will spend eternity in foot purgatory.” Then she curved her fingers into cat claws and hissed. Literally.
Theo guffawed, flopping over, breathless. My uncles and Blue looked mystified. My aunts and Anna, too. Nova watched from her seat at the quilt, eyes still red but grinning, like this was the best movie she’d ever seen.
“Bowen, why are you standing there?” Fletcher yelled, still doing his jig. “Go!”
My eyes swept the hill, freezing on Magnolia nearly at the top.
I sprinted harder than I had since the Spartan race, lungs wheezing at the effort. But I was gaining on her. Until I rounded the playground and she heard me. She looked over her shoulder and broke into a full-on run.
“Magnolia! I’m sorry, okay? I was a jerk.”
“You’re always a jerk!” She cut hard, disappearing around the side of the house. “You don’t know how to be any different.”
I deserved that.
I went faster, almost slipping on the grass as I came to the front yard. “I know that’s how it used to be, but I’m not anymore. I swear.”
“I’ll believe it when I see it and I haven’t seen it yet. Now l-leave me alone!” She sounded slightly unhinged.
“I can’t do that. Sorry!”
Her head turned to look at her car, parked a ways off in the grass. Then she looked at the bouncy castle. Then back to her car. She was trying to decide if she could make it to her Mini Cooper, slip inside, and lock the door before I got there. She couldn’t.
She bolted for the castle, dove over the ‘moat,’ and through the doorway. I raced up the ramp, banking on the fact that the time it would take her to get up would be my salvation. And it was.
She stumbled to her feet and hooked a right into the first room. I snatched her around the waist, pulling her to a stop.
She slammed her elbow into my gut and I doubled over.
“What is wrong with you?” she yelled.
I moaned, worried I might puke if I answered. But I lifted my head to gaze up at her.
She looked pissed and hotter than ever. She put her hands on her hips. “You don’t accuse a girl of being a Dupree chaser, humiliating her in front of everyone,” her voice trembled. “And then make a scene, chasing her up the hill as she tries to escape with what little dignity she has left!”
“I’m sorry,” I croaked. “I was jealous that—”
“You are sorry,” she said. “Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to be here today? First, Charlie cons me into coming, then sends Jeff to haul me to Ford’s, bounty hunter style.
And the minute I start to relax, thinking this might not be so terrible after all, Nova shows up.
The girl you jilted me for!” She shrieked, indignant.
But a single tear rolled out of her left eye, betraying her tough girl act.
“Do you know what that felt like?” Her voice rose an octave.
“I’d just lost Griffin and your entire, darling family.
But the thing that hurt the most was losing you.
” Another tear slipped out. “I already knew I wasn’t ever going to talk to you again.
I was trying to make peace with what I’d done.
It wasn’t enough for you that I didn’t text or call or try to see you.
Not once.” She shuddered, holding back a sob.
“No, you had to rub my nose in the fact that you didn’t care about me like I cared about you.
On Late Night TV! What kind of jerk does that?
” She wiped her cheeks aggressively, like she was angry that she was crying over me.
I wanted to hug her but I was pretty sure she’d bite off my fingers. My hands flexed uselessly at my sides, wanting to fix something I’d already broken. “I know. I did that. I’m so sorry. It was beyond stupid. But it wasn’t because I didn’t care about you. I did.” My shoulders fell. “I do.”
“Then why’d you do it?” she asked. “Were you embarrassed that I kissed you? Angry? Or did you blame me for ruining your relationship with Griff?”
“No, none of that. I did it…because I’d hurt Griff and I couldn’t stand it. And because he kept talking about leaving. I was trying to get him to stay. Trying to prove to him that you and I weren’t going to get together.”
It was the wrong response. Her face hardened, the tears coming faster.
“So you traded his pain for mine?” She stared at me like she couldn’t comprehend it.
“That’s what you always do. What is this hold Griffin has over you?
” It was a simple question, but the answer was…
complicated. When I didn’t respond in the next second, she huffed.
“That’s what I thought. Nothing has changed.
You never tell the truth. You or Griff. You clamp those lips shut and leave me in the dark, just like always. ”
Tell her.
Tell her everything.
But even in my desperation, I was wise enough to know that right now was not the time for whole-soul confessions.
I stepped closer and put a hand on her arm. “Wah-hoo-wah, Magnolia,” I said softly, hoping it would be enough to remind her of the friendship we’d once shared.
She knocked my hand off. “Don’t you dare say that to me. We’re not friends. You only care about me today because you think there’s something going on with me and Liam.”
“That’s not true—”
“It is,” her voice quivered, like it hurt her to think I was only acting out of jealousy.
“But you can quit worrying. I only flirted with him so you’d know how it felt.
” She shrugged again. “And you’re wrong.
I definitely don’t want my last name to be Du-pree.
” She hiccupped. “Any name but that.” Then she bounce-walked past me, toward the exit.
“Magnolia,” I whispered. “Can we please talk about this?”
“No. There’s nothing to talk about. All you ever do is hurt me.” She shook her head. “I’m going home now,” she said in a tone that made it clear I was not to try to stop her. “Don’t worry about helping me with Topher anymore. I’ve got it.” But there was no confidence behind it.
I stood there, respecting her wishes. As the up and down of her movement faded and the bouncy castle went still, the weight of my choices set in. I’d made my bed and now I got to lie in it.
Alone.
Arms wrapped around my head, I waited for the sound of her engine. Then I walked out of the room, flopped onto the ramp, and slid to the ground.
My uncles and Blue were waiting for me on the grass, doing their stupid golf clap again.
Ford offered me a hand. Once I was standing, he shook my shoulders. “Congrats! You made two women cry in under twenty minutes.”
I blew out a pfft and exhaled, more deflated than this castle would be by the morning. “Well, that was a train wreck.”
Holden folded his arms across his chest. “Eh. It went pretty much like we expected it to.”
Ford snorted. “Did you think she was going to forgive you just like that?”
“You have years of damage to undo.” Blue cuffed me on the back. “Been there, done that.”
“Don’t give up,” Ash said next. “It’s not the end.”
Holden nodded. “It’s just the beginning. Now, it’s time to get to work.”