Chapter 9
I was beginning to think that Austin was full of shit.
Sure, he had said all the right words. He had given me all the right feelings.
He had given me butterflies I hadn’t even believed were real, the kind that only existed in cheesy movies and exaggerated stories.
He had proven the chemistry between us wasn’t imagined, but completely tangible.
He had been a gentleman. He had been creative.
Observant. He had been perfect. So why did I think he was full of shit?
The answer was simple. I hadn’t heard from him in over a week.
“Why can’t you just text him?” Cherry muttered through my phone speaker.
Her voice was groggy, like she had just woken up.
Even though it was almost one in the afternoon, that didn’t surprise me.
Cherry would sleep the day away if she could.
She would gladly rise when the sun disappeared and live her life in moonlight if given the chance.
I had already been up for hours, which was just another reminder that we were complete opposites.
“Why would I?” I muttered, staring up at my ceiling. “Why do I even care? This is embarrassing. I’m embarrassing myself.”
“It’s just weird,” Cherry hummed. “I mean, from everything you told me, he sounded like he planned on seeing you again. He wouldn’t even kiss you. That doesn’t exactly scream "hit it and quit it.”
My face tightened at her words, the faintly misogynistic undertone rubbing me the wrong way. “Maybe he just wasn’t that into me.”
“Good lord, Blair,” Cherry sighed. “I’ve told you this and I’ll tell you a thousand times more. You’re beautiful. You’re kind. You’re generous. You’re perfect. You should try to remember that.”
I felt the edge of my self pity soften at her words.
I tried to let them sink in, to really absorb them instead of brushing them off like I usually did.
I repeated them silently. I’m beautiful.
I’m kind. I’m… I didn’t get to finish the thought.
The sharp sound of the doorbell startled me, pulling me out of my head completely.
I stayed still, listening instead, hoping to hear footsteps that meant someone else in the house would answer it so I wouldn’t have to move from the impossibly comfortable position I was in.
When I heard them, I let out a quiet breath of relief.
“So you really don’t want to do anything tonight?” Cherry’s voice rang through my phone. “This is, like, the only Saturday night we’ll have off all summer, knowing Greg.”
I rolled her words around in my head. She was right. I knew she was. But after everything that had happened the last time we went out, I didn’t want to be anywhere except my bed. “Why don’t you come over here instead?” I tried. “We can watch—”
“Blair! Honey!” My mother’s voice cut through the air before I could finish. It was firm but calm, which was a perfect summary of her in general. “There’s someone at the door for you.”
My brows lifted in confusion as my mind scrambled for an answer. I came up empty. The only person who ever showed up at my house unannounced was the person currently on the other end of the phone.
“I have to go,” I muttered into the speaker.
Cherry sighed. “Okay, but promise me you’re not going to sit around moping over this guy. You, Blair Evanston, deserve to mope over absolutely no one. And for the record, you could get any guy you wanted—”
“Cherry, bye,” I laughed, ending the call just as she took a breath, no doubt preparing another speech.
Curiosity buzzed through me as I left my room, bounding down the stairs with a new kind of urgency. My dad stood near the front door, his arms folded loosely across his chest as he spoke to whoever was outside, a polite smile fixed on his face. My confusion only deepened as I drew closer.
“Well, I know West Bridge is a great school,” my dad was saying. “I wish we could’ve sent Blair and Holden there, of course, but the tuition just wasn’t realistic.”
My stomach dropped. Standing in the doorway, listening attentively to my father with an easy smile on his face, was Austin.
Something in his expression shifted when he saw me.
It was subtle, fleeting, but I caught it.
He looked different tonight. The leather jacket was gone, which made sense in the heat, but his blond hair was neater than I’d ever seen it, styled with intention instead of habit.
Then his lips curved into the familiar smirk I had already learned to expect, his blue eyes widening just slightly as they met mine.
“Yellow,” he said, using the nickname with effortless confidence, like he didn’t care in the slightest that my father was standing right there.
“Um,” was all I managed, my body still stunned by the fact that he was actually here. At my door. Like this.
“Ah, Blair,” my dad said, turning toward me. There was no suspicion in his expression. No concern. Just trust, as there always was. “You didn’t tell me your friend was stopping by.”
“I didn’t know myself,” I admitted, my eyes flicking between the two of them.
I’d always been good at reading energy. At sensing the undercurrent of a room, the invisible signals people gave off when they interacted.
I could do it now, just as easily. What surprised me wasn’t that I could read the moment.
It was what I was reading. There was no awkwardness here.
No tension. No stiffness or posturing. The two of them were completely at ease with each other.
Austin was still smiling at me, the kind of smile that made me feel like I was oxygen.
Like I was something he’d been looking for all day.
“I wanted to see you, Yellow,” he said simply.
“Yellow, huh?” my dad echoed, glancing between us with a knowing look. He looked entertained, not concerned. “Alright. I’ll leave you two to it. Have fun.”
“Have fun?” I repeated weakly, but he was already walking away, disappearing down the hall and leaving me alone with the boy who had said all the right things to me and then vanished for an entire week.
Austin stepped a little closer, his gaze softening as it traced my face. His smile faltered just slightly. Not enough to disappear, but enough to change the atmosphere.
“I was just telling your dad about my plans for today,” he said. Then he paused, watching me carefully. “If you want to come with me.” The question sat between us, heavier than it should have been.
“It depends,” I said with a small shrug, taking a second to check in with myself. Part of me buzzed with excitement at the sight of him standing in my house like he belonged there. The other part stayed cautious, arms crossed tight around my ribs.
“And I think I know what it depends on,” Austin said quickly.
His smile slipped further, something more serious settling into his expression.
“Trust me, Blair.” My head tilted at the sound of my name, spoken instead of the color he’d given me.
“You haven’t left my mind since the last time I saw you,” he continued.
“Hm,” I hummed, even as a small flame sparked in my chest. “Funny, considering I haven’t heard from you.”
“I know,” he admitted, shaking his head. “I’ve been dealing with some stuff. I didn’t want to drag you into it before I handled it.”
The irritation I’d been holding onto loosened, replaced by concern before I could stop it. “Is everything okay?” I asked. “Are you okay?”
His smile returned then, warm and familiar, like it knew exactly where to settle in the room. “I’m okay, Yellow,” he said gently. “But I’d be a lot better if you said yes.”
“Yes to what?” I asked, my own smile betraying me. I could feel the shift happen inside me, the way forgiveness slid quietly into place without asking permission. Judging by the way his shoulders relaxed, he felt it too.
“That you’ll come with me,” Austin said, his voice dropping just low enough to send a shiver up my spine. “A second date. If you think I deserve it.”
“I don’t know,” I teased, even though we both knew I was already halfway there.
“It’ll be worth the risk,” he said, lifting his hands in mock surrender, palms pressed together like he was pleading. “Please, Yellow.”
“Okay,” I agreed finally, the word coming out softer than I intended.
“Yeah?” His grin widened instantly.
“Yeah,” I nodded, my body finally relaxing as we held each other’s gaze.
“Fuck yes,” he breathed, making me laugh. Then he glanced past me into the house, his voice lifting just enough to carry. “I’ll bring her back before dark,” he called. “It was nice meeting you, Sean. And you too, Jane!”
I shook my head, still smiling, as he looked back at me like he’d just won something precious.
Austin moved closer as he spoke, his hand finding its natural place at the small of my back.
He guided me toward the door with an ease that felt practiced, and I didn’t protest. I only shook my head, caught somewhere between disbelief and quiet happiness.
Because as much as Cherry had known it while I’d been spiraling on the phone with her, I knew it too.
I wasn’t ready for this to be over. Not yet.
“You’re already on a first-name basis with my parents?” I asked, trying not to think about how the sides of our bodies brushed together with every step.
“I like your parents,” he said easily. There was something else in his voice though. An edge I couldn’t quite name. “Most parents don’t like me. The second they get a look at me, they usually decide they don’t want me anywhere near their kids.”
I nodded as we reached his black car, the weight of his words settling quietly.
He opened the passenger door for me and stepped back, watching as I climbed inside.
My mind flickered briefly to the last time I’d been here.
Back then, I’d noticed how new it was. How sleek.
How expensive. But that had been nothing compared to now.