Chapter 18
“ ‘Silver Springs!’ ”
“ ‘Landslide,’ ” he insisted.
I threw my head back and groaned. Dreux wasn’t making this easy.
As school let out Friday afternoon and we were heading down the hall, we argued over what song I should cover next. He’d uploaded my “Just for Fun” cover and had gotten a couple thousand views with dozens of comments praising it. Some even threw out suggestions they wanted to hear next.
I sent my mother the video and she’d called me in tears saying she was proud of me. Scott had hugged me and said, “That’s my girl.”
I guess I could sing.
If only Dreux and I could come to an agreement on Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide” or “Silver Springs.” I loved both—Stevie Nicks was a fucking goddess I discovered the more I listened to Fleetwood.
“Why not both?” I tossed out as an attempt for compromise.
The smirk on Dreux’s face told me that may have been his plan all along.
I pushed through the exit doors and stepped outside, half tempted to argue some more.
“You know—”
“Saylor!”
Someone distinctively male shouted my name, drawing my attention away from Dreux.
Scanning the parking lot, I came up empty, with no one standing out. Another look around and I spotted him.
At the curb, standing in front of Ian’s older brother’s shitty van, was Danny. Flanking either side of him was Jack and Ian.
My boys.
Tears rushed to my eyes and I didn’t hesitate to take off for them. I ran over and threw my arms around Danny, instantly burying my face into his familiar chest when he embraced me back, going and resting his chin on my head.
It had been too long.
“God, I missed you.” Danny groaned as he hugged me close and tight.
“I thought you hated me,” I let out, unable to keep my voice from cracking.
Danny tugged me closer. “Never.” He reeled back, holding me at arm’s length, looking me in the eye. “Your mom is scary as shit when she’s pissed.”
I paused. Unsure I’d heard him right.
“What?” In all my seventeen years, I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen my mother angry before.
Ian and Jack came closer, each giving me a hug.
“After the accident, she got all of us alone and threatened us,” Danny explained further. “She said if she ever saw any of us near you again, she’d call the police.”
Ian shivered. “That is one woman you don’t want to piss off.”
“But we missed you,” Jack added. “We never would’ve cut you off cold turkey. You’re a sister to us, Say.”
My heart throbbed at their words. They hadn’t abandoned me. More people hadn’t walked away.
Jack stood before me with a faded scar near his brow. No doubt his wound from my reckless choice.
“I’m so sorry, Jack. I could’ve killed us or ruined your life,” I said before throwing my arms around him next.
He nearly crushed me in his arms as he hugged me close. “We both were fucked up that night, but we made it.”
If barely.
“I’m so sorry,” I repeated.
“We’ve been missing you like crazy and worried,” Danny continued as I separated from Jack. “Finally, we grew a pair and begged your mom to let us know where you were and if we could see you.”
I was happy my mother relented and let them know where I was. I knew she was only looking out for me in wanting to protect me from them, but they were my friends and I’d missed them badly.
“Can I help you?” There was no missing the sudden bite in Danny’s voice as he was glaring past me.
The energy shifted to a fierce charge in the air.
I turned around, finding Dreux standing behind us. His eyes drifted to where Danny was tucking me under his arm protectively.
“Oh, this is my friend, Dreux,” I explained as I got back to Danny.
Right away, I could feel the burn of Dreux’s gaze on me, but I ignored it.
Things were…complicated. We’d made out twice now.
That second time in my bedroom cemented something neither of us had yet to speak on.
He’d been on top of me, between my legs—heavy, he was so much bigger than me.
Hot, the heat of his skin burned through my clothes.
Hard, there was no denying how turned on he was.
I could vividly remember rolling my hips against him and the moan he released as he gripped me closer.
Dreux had gotten off of me before things went too far. He came and laid beside me, and we stayed like that listening to music. He didn’t scoot away. Didn’t put space between us.
Friends didn’t behave like this.
But this wasn’t the time for the distinction to be examined.
“Dreux, these are my best friends from home,” I went on before gesturing to each one. “Danny, Ian, and Jack. They’re more like my brothers than anything.”
I finished talking and no one budged to greet each other or shake hands. Danny hadn’t stopped glaring because Dreux hadn’t stopped. Ian and Jack, while less menacing, both stood by Danny’s side ready for whatever.
What the hell was going on?
Dreux came out of it first. He came closer, extending his hand to Danny. “Dreux. Nice to meet you.”
Danny studied his hand before loosening up and shaking with him. “Danny.”
Ian and Jack came around next, and though it was still awkward, the tension had lessened a degree.
I understood why the boys were on edge, but Dreux was throwing me off.
“Can I talk to you for a second, Saylor?” he asked me.
I walked with him down the sidewalk, managing to steal glances over my shoulder to see that the boys hadn’t moved and were watching us.
“I guess you’re going to be too busy for work?” Dreux asked me first.
The shop. Angela. I hadn’t missed a day since this whole manual labor as punishment started, but I couldn’t leave the boys hanging after they’d made the trip to see me.
“I guess not,” I agreed. “I’ll call in. I haven’t seen my friends in—”
“I got you,” Dreux offered. He took a moment to look back at the guys before returning to me. “Like brothers, huh?”
“Yeah. They were my only real friends back in LA. Being here without them has been hard. No one gets me like they do,” I said as I stared down at my sneakers. “I thought they hated me.”
“You fucked up, but I’m sure they’ll forgive you,” Dreux said.
It seemed like they already had.
Dreux came back to me. “Next Thursday is my birthday. My dad wants us to go and have dinner…as a ‘family.’ ” He made a face at the thought as he shook his head. “I was thinking of cutting that day. Maybe we could finally go to the Pier.”
It wouldn’t take much convincing to get me to ditch school. I was honestly surprised Dreux was the one suggesting it. “I’m down.”
Dreux lightened up, giving me a small smile. “I’ll let you get back to your other friends.”
I started to walk off, but I stopped short to flash Dreux a grin. “Hey, don’t worry, you can be my best friend now that I’m here.”
Dreux shook his head, doing a long and thorough sweep of me. “Not what I’m after.”
My mouth snapped shut and I felt giddy. He didn’t want to be friends.
Quickly I whirled around, hurrying back to the boys.
“Everything good?” Danny wanted to know as he watched Dreux take off.
Dreux was more than a friend. Or, at least, he wanted to be.
Who was I kidding? I didn’t want to be friends either. Not with the way my heart raced every time Dreux was near me. Not when I loved the way he kissed me. Not when I wanted more. Crossing the line could be disastrous, but I’d always been reckless.
“Saylor?” Danny touched my arm to get my attention, his gaze shifting toward Dreux’s descending form. “You good?”
Figuring out things with Dreux could wait. Right now, I had to explain to Scott about the guys and their impromptu visit.
Danny drove me home and I had him, Ian, and Jack wait out on the front porch while I slipped inside to talk to Scott. These days, we had a good understanding. Still, I was nervous. As far as he knew, these guys were the reason I’d gone down a bad path.
“That you, Saylor?” Scott’s voice came from the kitchen. In another moment he was poking his head out down the hall to look. He grinned once he saw me, a warm crinkle in his brown eyes.
“Hey.” Slowly, I inched closer.
“Thought you had to work today.” Scott was back in the kitchen, pitching his voice to be heard.
In the room, the smell of raw meat and seasoning greeted me, as well as the sight of Scott preparing hamburgers with gloved-hands. There was a pack of hot dogs on the counter as well. On the island were packs of buns, bags of potato chips, and cases of soda and water.
Scott ducked his head, going bashful on me. “It’s a nice day out. Figured I’d grill. I got you some spinach and feta salmon burgers to try in case you weren’t feeling the beef.”
Considerate. From the day I’d arrived, he’d been nothing but considerate of my wants and needs. I wasn’t fond of our school lunch, so he went out of his way to pack me salads or homemade sandwiches. I opted for fish over meat some nights, so he got salmon burgers.
I looked on at Scott, feeling appreciative and fuzzy inside.
“Thank you, Scott,” I responded. “It means a lot. I’ll try a regular burger, too.”
“There’s plenty. Dreux out there? There were some good sales, so I grabbed a bunch of stuff,” Scott said.
“He’s, uh, at the barbershop,” I said. “I was supposed to work today, but something came up.”
Scott stopped what he was doing, looking back at me. A curious brow was raised as I had his full attention. “Oh, yeah? What’s up?”
I took a deep breath and just came out with it. “My mom was nice enough to let my friends know where I was, and they actually drove all the way here to see me.” I stuffed my hands into my pockets, rocking on the heels of my sneakers. “They’re outside on the porch.”
Scott blinked. More, he removed his gloves and went over to the sink to wash his hands. “Is that so?”
“I’m grateful for the friendships I’ve formed with Cameron and Vanity, but these guys are like my brothers. They’re the only people, outside of Mom, who’ve ever accepted me.”
Scott went and grabbed a paper towel, focusing as he dried his hands. “They know you’re doing good now?”