15. Trevor
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
TREVOR
I close Willa’s car door and tap the roof, waiting until she drives around the corner before heading back inside to say goodbye to Hunter and Ashlie.
I’d leave my own birthday party if it meant spending more time with her.
And after our conversation in the backyard, I have absolutely no interest in talking to anyone else for the rest of the night.
Asking if she wanted company was a risky move, but I’m glad I took it. Her answer almost shot me to the moon.
Pitchy singing and loud laughter greet me as soon as I open the door to the Halloween party.
Hunter’s in the corner of the darkened room, drink in hand, likely taking a breather from Ashlie’s requests.
When I got here, she sent us upstairs to move a table, then immediately to the garage for folding chairs, and back upstairs for table linens.
The karaoke machine might have been his last straw. He’s fed up.
“Bruh, you good?” He bumps my knuckles in greeting when I lean on the wall next to him. “I was about to grab the ‘do not disturb’ sign for the back door. Looked pretty cozy out there.”
“Yeah. Willa invited me over, so I’m gonna head out.”
A smirk slides across his face. “I mean, I guess she’s already knocked-up. Can’t get into any more trouble. ”
“Nah, it’s not like that.” My face flushes because no matter how much it’s not like that , I wish it were. “We’re just getting to know each other.”
“For now. Keep showing up for her, and she’ll cave. Just watch, you’ll be singing a different tune by the New Year’s Eve party.”
Chuckling, I shake my head. Don’t jinx it .
“You wanna bet?” Hunter’s eyes narrow, his smirk growing.
“You and your bets can stay the hell away from me, bro.” I send a smile to Ashlie, who has wedged her way onto Hunter’s lap. He stiffens, but a kiss from her relaxes his shoulders.
“Hey, Trev. You heading out?”
“Yeah. Gonna go check on Willa.”
Hunter snorts and takes a sip of his drink. “New Year’s, if not before.”
“What’s happening on New Year’s?” Ashlie asks.
“Oh, just Willa and Trev doing the ‘do.’”
Ashlie throws her head back and cackles. “Oh yeah, that’s happening. One hundred percent. You’re good to her. She’s gonna crack.”
“Look”—Hunter snorts, pointing at my face—“he can’t stop smiling!”
“Aww.” Ashlie puts a hand on my arm.
Heat creeps up my neck as I shake my head and glance down at the floor. “It’s not like that.”
She tilts her head, scrutinizing me with a raised brow. “You wanna bet?”
“Why don’t you two bet with each other and leave me out of it?
” I say through my laugh. Their eyes spark, and when they turn and shake on it, I can’t believe I ever missed how perfect they are for each other.
When we were tangled in a weird secret bet love triangle a few years back, I had no idea they were anything more than friends.
Once it all came out, there was no denying they’re meant to be.
Bowing out wasn’t hard at all, especially since I was already stifling a small crush on Willa by then.
Watching them joke with each other about my sex life, I can’t imagine them any way except together.
Ashlie slips Hunter another kiss and rejoins the karaoke crowd. “Looks like she’s calmed down,” I say.
“Thankfully. If she asks me to do one more thing for this damn party, I’m out the door right behind you.”
Laughing, I clap his shoulder. “Thanks for the invite. I should get going.”
“Alright, bruh.” He nods, and I turn for the door. “Oh, hey, Trev?” I look over my shoulder, and his puckish grin prepares me for more bullshit. “Maybe use protection this time…”
Turning my back on him, I raise my middle finger in the air as his snickers follow me to the door.
“So, let me get this straight. You tease me for my ’90s music, meanwhile you’re sitting here watching teen movies from the early aughts?
” I settle into Willa’s couch, juggling bottles of water as she follows behind with a tray full of snacks.
She’s dressed in the same oversized TAILA shirt from a few weeks ago, with shorts this time.
“First of all”—she places the tray on the coffee table—“these are cinematic masterpieces. You can say you’re watching a ‘teen movie’ and everyone knows the exact genre and time period you’re talking about. And second, it’s all about nostalgia.”
“I didn’t realize you were so passionate about remembering your awkward prom night…” I tease.
“Well, considering I never went to prom, I can guarantee it’s not that.” She settles on the opposite end of the couch.
“Why didn’t you go to prom? It’s a rite of passage.”
“I was more of a bookworm, tutoring, no-social-life kind of girl back then. Doesn’t exactly scream ‘take me to prom.’ Ashlie was the popular one. I was the know-it-all.” She looks down and plays with her fingers before grabbing a cube of cheese. “And let me guess, you were exactly as you are now…”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I chuckle.
She points to the TV right as a letterman-wearing jock flips his hair, strolling through the cafeteria. “That.”
“I mean, I played sports, but I did everything else too.”
“Let me guess…football and basketball. Maybe track and field.”
“And swimming. Choir, piano, theater, and debate club?—”
Her mouth hangs open as my extracurricular list grows.
“—STEM, obviously. Oh, and farming club.”
“Farming club?” She shifts to sit cross-legged on the cushion, eyebrows bunching.
“It’s the Midwest. Even if I hadn’t grown up on one, farms abound.
Heritage was small enough that I did anything to keep me busy until I could get out.
That’s how I graduated from high school early.
Nothing else to do.” The way her face glitches makes me want to bite my lip.
Surprising her might be my new favorite thing .
“I have so many questions…”
Slinging an arm over the back of the couch, I turn to face her. “Go for it.”
“You graduated early? I didn’t even graduate early.”
“Yep. At seventeen and went right into the Coast Guard.”
“People don’t just graduate early, Trev.”
Trev … My heart leaps to my throat. Everyone uses that nickname all the time, but this might be the first time she ever has. I can’t help but smile. “Welp, I did. Wasn’t that hard. Just a few extra courses in the summer.”
“Yeah , okay .”
“What’s your next question?”
“A Black boy growing up on a farm?”
I laugh. “Yep. I mean, when you’re adopted by Black ranchers, that’s kind of how it works out. ”
“ Adopted ? How did I not know you’re adopted?”
“’Cuz you been keeping me away with a ten-foot pole.” I reach over and nudge her foot with my hand, daring to leave it for as long as she lets me. “My older sister and I were in foster care for a while before our adoptive parents found us.”
“That must have been hard,” she says softly. The silken pads of her fingers slide over my knuckles, giving a subtle squeeze. It takes everything within me not to knit our fingers.
“I was five when the adoption was finalized, so I don’t remember too much other than being excited to have a room of my own.
My parents are great, though. It all worked out.
” Shrugging, I send over a half smile with my partial truth.
There’s more to it, but I always give a feel-good response when anyone tries to delve too deeply into my early years.
In my experience, people don’t actually want to hear the sob story of siblings found hiding in a closet amid domestic violence.
Happy endings are better received. She holds my gaze as if she can see the shadows underneath my cover story, her thumb steadily stroking the back of my hand.
The repetitive zing is hypnotizing. I never want it to stop. “What were you like as a kid?”
She moves her hand from mine, simultaneously blinking away our little moment.
The double sensory loss punches me in the chest. “I was quiet, stayed out of the way, and did what everyone expected of me.” The hollow drop in her tone is unbearable.
Her eyes darken as if she’s transported into a memory that isn’t quite far enough away.
That solid barrier she’s kept in place around me has been a little more translucent tonight, but now, I feel her retreating into the locked away place she mentioned at the party.
“Hey,” I whisper, squeezing her foot to bring her back to me. “Where’d you go, Gem?”
“Just…” Willa clears her throat and shakes the scowl off her face. “Fort Bender, California. If I know my parents at all, you’ll understand completely before the end of Thanksgiving dinner. Just remember, you asked to come.”