Chapter 11
Justin
T here are a thousand reasons why I shouldn’t have kissed Devan again today.
Two of them will be seated in the cab of the same truck for three hours later today.
There is only one reason I can justify what I did—I wanted to.
I wanted to know if I’d blown BK up in my memory, if she was not the absolute best kiss of my life.
I thought that knowing her identity would take away from the way her touch affects me.
Part of me wanted it to be true, for the feeling to be gone.
It only took a second of my lips on hers, her face in my grasp, the sounds of her breaths in my ears to know I’d made a horrible mistake. I should have spent the day pretending I didn’t recognize her. I should have kept with the mantra in my head about her being Ricky’s little sister.
Newsflash—she isn’t little anymore.
Shit.
I should have done almost anything other than kiss her again.
As soon as my lips captured hers, I was a fucking goner. I was already hard beneath my jeans before our tongues joined in on the action. Picking up that tote wasn’t because it needed to be packed. It was my shield. The last thing I need is Ricky to notice I have a hard-on with Devan.
“Something wrong?” Ricky asks as we move things around in the trailer.
“Hangry.”
“Yeah, me too. I’ll take Devan’s car and get us all some lunch.”
“And leave me here to carry the rest of the shit down?” I shake my head.
“Let’s find out what everyone wants, and I’ll go get it.
” Yes, and I consider staying away until the trailer is filled.
Staying away from the little firecracker upstairs that makes me want to forget everything and everyone but her.
Jack appears at the opening of the trailer with a large tote in his hands. “I’m running to McDonald’s. Can I get you two something?”
Shit.
There goes my chance at a reprieve.
We give Mr. Dunn our orders and head back up the stairs toward the apartment. Once inside, I stay out in the living room, making damn sure not to go back to Devan’s bedroom again. Taking a moment, I turn a full circle, curious what this place looked like before it was all boxed up.
“Justin,” Ricky calls, “get your ass in Marilyn’s room.”
I walk down the hallway, purposely not looking in the other bedroom.
“Fuck,” I mumble, seeing the tall dresser. “How did we miss that?”
“It was in the closet,” Marilyn says with a grin. “Sorry.”
Gritting my teeth, we remove the drawers, still filled with clothes.
After Ricky and I carry the shell of the dresser down to the parking lot, we start shifting shit around inside the trailer to make room.
Marilyn and Devan make two trips apiece carrying the drawers.
We finally have it all settled when Jack drives up with our food.
“Our table is in the truck,” Marilyn says, tilting her head. “There’s a picnic table this way.” She takes the tray of large drinks and walks between two buildings.
Saying I’d rather eat alone is on the tip of my tongue, but then I see Devan turn the corner, headed back upstairs.
Walking with Jack and Ricky, the three of us carry the food and follow Marilyn.
I stop, taking in the scene. On the other side of the cookie-cutter box buildings is a pond, manicured grass, and trees.
The picnic table is beneath the shade of a flowering tree.
As I sit and unwrap my burger, I wonder where Devan went.
As time passes, I wait for someone to bring her up. No one does.
Jack and Marilyn are laughing and talking about when the two girls moved into their freshman dorm room.
Ricky is busy making sure he gets every French fry from the container.
Taking a bite of my sandwich, I wait. This isn’t like me.
I’m hungry, hangry even, yet why isn’t Devan down here eating? She must be hungry too.
I notice the box of nuggets and large fries sitting untouched, getting cold.
I can’t take it any longer. “Where is Devan?”
Ricky looks around as if he didn’t notice she was missing. Seeing as he’s on his second quarter pounder, he might not have noticed.
“I’ll go check on her,” Marilyn says.
Tossing my burger onto the open wrapper, I stand. “I’ll go.”
As I’m making my way back into the building, my mind starts with all kinds of crazy scenarios.
We’ve left the damn door to their apartment open all morning.
Maybe someone was in there when she got there.
Their mission was to rob her, but she doesn’t have anything left up there.
The thieves got angry. My thoughts go darker.
I’m running by the time I get to the second staircase and clenching my jaw so hard my teeth ache. Breathing heavily, I get to their apartment. The door is closed.
Fuck.
I reach for the handle, but it’s locked.
Someone has her inside.
What if she’s unconscious?
What if they’ve hurt her?
Making a fist, I pound on the door. “Devan, open up. Devan.” I call her name. I’m about to kick the damn door down when it opens from the inside.
Her smile is breathtaking. “Whoa, what’s the emergency?”
Standing tall, I look over her shoulder into the apartment. My heart is beating so fast, I’m surprised she can’t see it through my shirt. “Um, are you okay?”
“Yeah,” she says with a grin as she lifts a jar of mayo. “I had to dig in the cooler. I love dipping my fries in mayo.”
“That’s disgusting.”
“Have you tried it?”
“No,” I admit.
“Then don’t knock it.” She steps into the hallway and closes the door.
I stuff my hands into the pockets of my jeans, afraid if I don’t, I might reach out and touch her, hold her hand, or do something I shouldn’t. Looking at the door, I ask, “Is it locked?”
“What will anyone take?”
“It’s better to be safe.”
She reaches for the handle. It rattles rather than turns. “Locked.”
The tension eases from me as we turn toward the staircase ready to join the others for lunch. I contemplate explaining why I was banging on her door like a wild man, but I’m not confident that an explanation will help things. Instead, I ask, “What made you decide to move back to Riverbend?”
“Are you really gone if it’s only for school? You went to Purdue, right?”
“Yeah. I never imagined staying away.”
“I did,” she says wistfully. She turns, her light brown eyes full of wonder. “If I told you, you’d probably go back to thinking of me as only a kid.”
My cheeks rise as I grin. “I’m not thinking of you as a kid. My little problem earlier wouldn’t have happened if I thought you were a kid.”
“Little?”
That makes me laugh. “A discussion for another time. Your move back to Riverbend?”
We’re now outside and as Devan lifts her face to the breeze, the sun hits her like a spotlight. The color of her eyes reminds me of soft suede. Browns and golds blend in the most unique of ways. Her hair is light yellow, and in the sunlight I see darker shades in it.
“I think I wanted the adventure of leaving, but when it came down to living, I wanted the familiarity of Riverbend.”
I lower my voice as we are closer to the others. “I was hoping it was that best kiss.”
Pink fills her cheeks as she looks at me and away.
“I found her,” I say as I take my seat at the picnic table.
Devan sits on the other side beside Marilyn and opens the jar of mayonnaise.
“Your food is cold,” Ricky says to her. “I was about to eat it for you.”
Devan dips a fry right into the jar.
Lifting my sandwich to my lips, I try to hide my smile. Watching her place each fry between her plump lips is the sexiest thing I’ve seen. And despite the mayo, I don’t find it the least bit disgusting.
It’s nearly three in the afternoon when we close the trailer and secure the door.
Nothing is left in the apartment, and both the ladies’ cars are filled to the brim.
I’m even sharing the back seat of the truck with a laundry basket filled with blankets, and on the floorboard are three potted plants.
My task is to make sure they stay upright.
Jack waits for Devan and Marilyn to pull out before he follows them.
My first thought is that the ride back will take twice as long.
With my mom and sister as the measurement, my experience is that women drive much slower than men.
However, once we’re on the interstate, I take that thought back.
Pulling the trailer slows us down. Devan and Marilyn leave us in their dust.
“Thanks again,” Ricky says as he cranks up the air conditioning.
“Third floor,” I say. “You owe me.” The unstated truth is that I’m glad I came. The mystery of BK is solved. Now the question is what to do with the knowledge. This morning’s kiss comes to mind.
“I told you,” Ricky says, bringing me to the present.
“Told me what?”
“She’s not a little kid anymore. It’s like she left for Ball State and suddenly is an adult.”
“You’re all kids,” Jack says.
All I do is nod. There’s really not an answer that I can give, one that won’t either get me punched by my best friend or tossed from his dad’s truck.