Chapter 12 #2
“Tell me if you get overwhelmed and want to go, okay?” When Indie lets herself go, she can be the life of the party.
But if she’s uncomfortable, she draws in on herself, and I don’t want that.
It’s too important that she be comfortable with me.
With us. That she wants to spend time with me and my friends.
If that means I ditch them and take her somewhere else tonight, I’m more than willing to do that.
“Shit, I didn’t even introduce you to everyone, did I? ” I wince.
“The ladies introduced themselves,” Indie says with a grin. “And I know who the rest of these guys are.”
“Still. That was shitty of me. I’m sorry.” Clearing my throat, I get everyone’s attention. “Guys, this is Indie and her friend Lola. Ladies, these idiots are Maddox, Ryder, Griffin, and Logan.”
The guys wave when I point them out, and none of them object to being called idiots, because they know they are.
“Hey, guys.” Indie gives a little wave.
“You’re all so much taller than you look on TV,” Lola adds.
“Are you a fan, half-pint?” Griffin asks, grinning.
“Hey! I’m not that short,” Lola objects.
She kind of is, though. The woman is shorter than Indie, and Indie’s only five foot five. Lola can’t be taller than five two.
“You totally are. But it’s cool. Not everyone can be tall and gorgeous like me.” He wraps an arm around Mira’s shoulders. “Isn’t that right, sunshine?”
I never should have told him Lola has a thing for Mira. He’s going to be pissing all over her leg for the rest of the night.
“Yes, husband. You are so tall and good-looking.” Mira pats Griffin’s cheek like she’s placating a toddler. “Which is good, because you can be kind of annoying.”
“Babe!” Griffin grabs his chest dramatically. “That’s cold.”
Lola laughs and leans over the table so she can look around Mira and meet Griffin’s eye. “Don’t worry, big guy. Your wife is pretty, but I’m no home-wrecker.”
Everyone falls silent for a beat at that proclamation, then everyone is cracking up. Indie covers her eyes and shakes her head at her best friend’s antics, and Griffin holds out a fist for Lola to bump again.
“Respect. Happy to be your wingman whenever you need one, half-pint.”
“I may take you up on that.” Lola flashes him a big, bright smile, her blue eyes sparkling with mischief.
“She’s like a female Griffin,” Isla says through her laughter. “I’m both scared and thrilled.”
“You know you’re more thrilled, teach. You love me.” Griffin puffs out his chest and gives Isla a wink.
“I do. God help me, I do.”
Blair leans toward Indie, and I split my attention between them and Griffin. “So, Logan said you’ve known Bash since you were kids?”
Indie tucks a strand of pink hair behind her ear. “Yeah. Well, teenagers. We were fourteen when we met.”
“Wow. That’s crazy. What was he like as a teenager? I can’t decide if I hope he was as responsible and wise as he is now, or if I want you to tell me he was an impulsive ball of chaos.” Blair grins at me before refocusing on Indie.
“He was pretty responsible. I mean, he was fourteen and had a job. But he was also always up for an adventure.” Indie glances briefly at me. “We had a lot of fun. He was the best part of summer.”
She clamps her lips shut like she didn’t mean to say that last part out loud, but thankfully, no one at the table draws attention to it.
Blair simply smiles and nods. “That makes sense. We love Bash. I don’t know what any of us would do without him.”
Indie swallows hard and shifts in her seat. “So, how long have you and Logan been dating?”
The next two hours fly by, but if someone asked me to recap what was said around the table, I wouldn’t be able to.
I only half followed the conversations because I was so focused on Indie.
The heat of her body beside me. The goose bumps that erupted across my skin any time her knee brushed mine.
How I could still pick out her citrusy scent over the smell of beer and onion rings.
So, of course, I noticed the first time she yawned. And the second and third.
“Why don’t I get you and Lola home?” I nudge Indie to get her attention. “You took a rideshare to the arena, right?”
She blinks up at me and nods. “Yeah.”
I’m hit with a flashback of a younger Indie as she fought to stay awake on the beach where we were stargazing.
We swore we’d stay awake for a meteor shower that was supposed to be visible starting at two a.m., but it was just after midnight, and she was already flagging.
We were sixteen, and I was so gone for her.
It’s a good thing I brought the thick blanket. The sand is cool beneath us, the sun long gone, dropping the temperature with its departure. But Indie is warm beside me, her head on my shoulder.
I sneak glances at her whenever I can. She’s been my best friend for the last two years, but this summer, my feelings for her have changed. My heart skips beats when she smiles at me, and I feel like a million bucks when I make her laugh.
The day I realized my feelings had shifted was the day I took her to the rink where I practice and taught her how to ice skate.
She was terrible, but she never gave up.
And when I held her hands to keep her from falling, my palms tingled and my stomach knotted.
Under the fluorescent lights of the arena, her cheeks pink from the cold, I didn’t think I’d ever seen anyone so beautiful.
And this beautiful girl trusted me completely.
She stared into my eyes as I tugged her along over the ice and never once looked scared.
Her eyelashes flutter in her sleep. Not even the can of Coke I’d handed her an hour ago could keep her awake.
The diffused light of the moon makes her pale skin glow, and the stars remind me of her freckles.
The meteor shower is supposed to start any minute, but I’d be okay with missing the whole thing if I get to stare at her like this.
A burst of light streaks across the sky, and I take one last deep breath of her before gently shaking her. “Hey. Wake up, Rosebud. The show’s starting.”
Her sleepy little “Hmm?” makes me smile so wide it almost hurts.
“The meteor shower. It’s starting. I don’t want you to miss it.”
“Oh.” Her eyelids pop open in time to catch another streak across the sky, and her little gasp rolls through me. “Oh my god, Bash, look! It’s so beautiful.”
“It is,” I say, but I’m not looking at the sky. While she stares up at the stars in open-mouthed wonder, I’m watching her. The urge to tell her how I feel hits me hard, but I keep the words inside.
We may only be sixteen, but I’m not stupid. Indigo Bloom isn’t a summer fling. She’s not some teenage crush. Indie is a forever kind of love, and I’m determined to wait until the time is right to confess my feelings. I need to be strategic. I need to play the game to win.
Another meteor illuminates the sky as if to tell me it agrees.
Indie never takes her head off my shoulder.
“Come on, sleepyhead. You never were good at staying up late.”
“I resent that,” she grumbles.
Lola chuckles. “He’s not wrong, boo.”
“Shut it, Lols.”
“So grumpy when you’re tired,” I tease. My friends try to stifle their amusement as they slide out of the booth to let us out.
“Don’t worry, Indie, Lexi gets grumpy when she’s tired, too,” Ryder offers.
“Freaking hockey players.” Indie rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling.
The ladies hug Lola and Indie, extracting promises they’ll join them for a girls’ night soon, and my teammates give fist bumps and hugs, telling them both how nice it was to meet them.
They each give me pointed looks before I escort Indie and Lola out of Chasers, to my car, and home to their little rental.
They don’t need to say anything. I know exactly what they’re thinking.
I’m screwed. Hopelessly and completely screwed. Because Indie owned my heart ten years ago, and I don’t think I ever managed to take it back.