Chapter 21
TWENTY-ONE
“That’s all,” Dr. Salco says, staring up at the big, ancient clock that hangs on the wall of the lecture hall. She never lets us out early. Not even by a second. “Don’t forget we’ll be having a quiz on Monday.”
There’s a collective groan as students file out.
“Mr. Scott,” she says, catching me before I leave. She motions me to the front.
I take my time, letting the room empty.
She’s shoving papers into her tote when I approach. “The banquet is next week. Are you ready?”
“I think so, yeah.”
She lifts a brow, calling my bluff without saying a word.
“I do have my speech written,” I assure her. “I just don’t love it yet. Speech writing is not my calling.”
“Write from your heart and edit with a heavy dose of logic.” She waves a hand. “That’s what my advisor told me once. You’ll be okay.”
It isn’t the words I’m worried about, though. I’d just rather not say them to a crowd of people. “Thank you, Dr. Salco.”
“And will your fiancée be joining us?”
“Right, about that.” I’ve somehow managed not to come clean on the subject of my fake fiancée. On the one hand, it hasn’t come up. On the other, I haven’t brought it up.
“She seems like a lovely girl.” Dr. Salco’s mouth tips up. I’m pretty sure she’s smiling. Wow. Reagan’s good.
“She is.” I nod my agreement. “Reagan is the best.”
“So, she’ll be there?”
Slowly, I nod. “She will.”
What’s the harm, really? Reagan and I are together. We’re just not quite as serious as Dr. Salco believes. We can tell her together at the banquet if it comes up again.
“Wonderful. Have a good day, Adam.”
I pick up Ginny from outside of her dorm.
“Yo,” she says as she gets into the passenger side of my Jeep.
“You’ve been around Heath too much. You’re starting to sound like him.”
“I am, aren’t I?” She settles in and buckles up.
I pull away from the curb and head off-campus. “The usual?”
“Sure,” Ginny says and then starts messing with my phone to change the music.
Our usual is grabbing burgers and fries and driving around. It was something we started when she first got to Valley so I could show her around the campus and town, but now it’s just nice to spend some time with her away from everyone else.
Today, I head for the outskirts of town. Valley is a decent-size city, but there’s still plenty of desert land when you get outside the city limits.
“I heard you and Reagan went up Mount Loken to the drive-in last weekend.” Ginny scrunches up her nose. “You took her to your usual spot?”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. She called me out on it too. I like it up there. It’s a great date location.”
“You need to get more creative.”
Oh, we did. I smile as I think about our night on top of the mountain. That’s the thing about Reagan. Even doing the same old things with her is fresh and exciting. I see things from a new perspective when I’m with her. But Ginny isn’t wrong.
“Any ideas or are you just gonna bust my balls?”
“Hmmm…” She chews and stares out the windshield. “Something uniquely Reagan, but that only you could give her.”
I wait for her to come up with something. She’s quiet for too long.
“Well?” I ask when I can’t take it anymore.
“I have no idea.” She laughs. “Sorry.”
My hands tighten on the steering wheel.
“Why are you so stressed about this? I’ve never seen you so spun up over where to take a girl on a date.”
“You were just telling me I need to be more creative.”
“Yeah, but I’ve told you that before, and you just brushed it off.” Ginny grins. “You really like Reagan.”
“Yeah, of course. She’s great.”
Ginny squeals—a high-pitched sound that makes me wince.
“I’m not sure why you find this so surprising. She’s your friend. You know how great she is.”
“I know, but honestly, I’ve been afraid you were going to break her heart.”
“No one’s worried about her breaking my heart?” I ask, shooting her an annoyed look.
Ginny rolls her eyes. “Please. You’re a pro at moving on to the next girl. Reagan’s been crushing on you for a long time. When you two got into it over the phone, she was a wreck.”
“Yeah, that was rough,” I admit. “But that wasn’t even about us. I was annoyed about Carrie weaseling her way back into Rhett’s life, and I got short with her.”
“Maybe it wasn’t a fight about the two of you, but it absolutely had everything to do with her concerns about you. She’s worried that what happened with Carrie will happen to her.”
“What? No.”
“Yes,” Ginny insists. “Carrie and Rhett broke up, and you’ve been very vocal in not wanting them to get back together.
And I get it. I didn’t like them together either, but it’s very much your MO.
You end things, and you move on, never speaking to them again.
Reagan doesn’t want that girl to be her. ”
“I don’t think I could ever move on from Reagan like that. If things didn’t work out with us…” My jaw tightens.
“Maybe you should tell her that, and I have the perfect plan.” Even with food in her hands, she manages to flail them around while she talks. She’s clearly excited about whatever she has cooked up, and I find myself hopeful that it will give me clarity on how to move forward with Reagan.
“Can’t I just text her and repeat what I said?” I’m kidding, but the outrage on Ginny’s face is totally worth it.
“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.” She finishes her food and turns toward me. “Maverick’s birthday is on Sunday. Let’s throw him a party.”
“I’m failing to see how a party for Mav is the perfect plan to tell Reagan how I feel about her.”
“Do I have to figure it all out for you? The place doesn’t matter.”
“Then why do I need a party?”
“You don’t. I just really want to throw a party at your place.”
I chuckle. “Does Maverick even want a party? This is the first I’ve heard about his birthday.” And when it comes to Johnny Maverick, he shares everything, so it’s suspicious if he’s not mentioned it yet. Then again, I have been preoccupied lately.
“Who doesn’t want a party thrown in their honor?”
“Whatever. As long as the rest of the guys are cool with it.”
“I already asked.” She claps. “Let’s go by the store.”
“Wait, the party is tonight?”
“Didn’t I mention that?” She smiles sweetly.
I shake my head. Such a pain in my ass.
Ginny does most of the work, and by the time we get back to the apartment with party food and alcohol, the entire team is already here.
Someone’s made Maverick a crown out of beer tabs, and he wears that shit proudly.
“Happy Birthday,” I say, handing him a bottle of Mad Dog 20/20.
“Aww, thanks, Scott,” he says and pulls me into a hug. He’s already missing his shirt. It’s not a party until Mav’s half-naked. I don’t understand the guy, but he’s definitely a good time.
I pat his back and pull away. “Seen Reagan?”
“Outside,” he says. He twists the top of the bottle and takes a drink, then passes it to me.
I manage to swallow the grossly sweet liquor and hand it back. “Enjoy.”
I grab a beer and head out to the deck. My gaze goes right to her. Sometimes I wonder how I went two years without looking at her—I mean really seeing her.
She’s standing in a group with Dakota, Rhett, and Liam. Reagan looks up as I approach and smiles. Stepping toward me, she wastes no time kissing me. I fucking love that.
I wrap an arm around her waist and lift her so I can kiss her harder.
“I missed you,” she says, tearing her mouth away. The girl I once described as shy and reserved never misses an opportunity to shower me with affection or tell me how she’s feeling. And I eat that shit up.
I suck on her lower lip. “Missed you too. Wanna get out of here?”
She laughs, and I place her on the ground.
Holding my hand, she pulls me into the circle. Guess that’s a no.
“How did everyone get here so quickly?” I ask Rhett.
“What do you mean?” He and Liam share a confused look.
“It’s barely been an hour since Ginny texted Heath to let everyone know.”
Dakota starts laughing. Then Rhett joins her. Reagan looks at me with a placating smile.
“What am I missing?”
“Uhh…” Liam starts. He’s a freshman and probably the nicest guy on the team, so I wait for him to tell me what’s going on because he’ll be straight with me.
Reagan squeezes my hand. “Ginny sent out a group text this morning.”
“But…”
“She knew you’d say yes. Besides, it’s Maverick’s birthday.”
I shake my head. It wasn’t about Reagan and me at all. Though maybe that’s the point.
For the next few hours, the party grows. More people arrive, and the music gets louder. I’m leaning against the railing, and Reagan stands in front of me, her back to my chest. The wind blows her hair away from her neck, and I dip my head to kiss her.
“This is kind of perfect. Me, you, our friends,” I say against her soft skin.
“It is, isn’t it?”
“How long until I can steal you away?”
She laughs like I’m kidding. My kisses on her neck become harder. It’s real easy to get carried away where Reagan is concerned.
“Mav requested that we play sardines later.”
“I don’t think that’s happening.” I point toward him across the deck. He’s kissing one girl, and another is plastered to his side, sucking on his neck.
“Oh,” Reagan says. “That’s kind of hot.” She turns in my arms. “Have you ever had a threesome?”
“Ummm…”
“Tell me. I don’t care,” she insists.
“Just once. It was… tricky.”
“I think I’d lose my mind if some other girl put her hands on you.” She slides her hands up my chest.
“Good, because I’m not big on the idea of sharing you either. I like this. Us. Just the two of us. Though I can think of some ways to get… tricky if you want later.”
Her smile is so big I want to keep talking to let her know how much I’m digging this, but my dick is growing harder against her.
Talk of sex, threesomes, or Reagan tends to have that effect.
Combined, and I’m ready to fuck her right here.
I guess she has the same idea because she pushes her hips into me and inhales sharply.
“Maybe we could sneak away just for a few minutes?”
I tug her, already halfway across the deck before she’s finished the last word. “I’m never going to say no to that.”