“Kennedy Construction.”
“Not that Cooper asshole?”
“Yep.”
I hear her typing the same time Laney reaches up, combs her fingers through my hair, and I close my eyes. She shifts beneath me until her mouth is to my ear. “I miss you,” she whispers, and Lucy says, “Don’t say that, Luke. It’s so creepy.”
I stifle my laugh and Laney does the same, falling onto her back again.
“Yeah, it’s here,” Lucy says. “Registered business as of… four days ago.”
“Shit.”
“Why the urgency on this?”
I come up with a lie. “I just heard the rumors and wasn’t sure if it was true. I’m worried about them running Dad’s business to the ground.”
Lucy scoffs. “They can try, but Dad’s been at this for a long time, and he’s built a ton of great relationships with loyal clients. Also, the entire world hates that family… besides Lane of course, but Cooper has that charming, hot, older, bad boy thing going for—”
“They broke up,” I cut in.
She squeals. “So what’s the game plan?”
I smile down at Laney. “No game plan. I’m just going to do it right next time.”
“There’s a next time? Shit. I have to go, Cameron’s asking for thirds.”
“Thirds?”
Lucy’s voice softens. “Well, he thinks because my chances of getting pregnant are so low, the more sex we have, the better our chances.”
Lane’s brow knits, her eyes questioning.
“Makes sense,” I say. “Enjoy.”
As soon as I hang up, Lane asks, “Lucy can’t get pregnant?”
I nod.
She sits up, forcing me to do the same. “What happened?”
I try to hide my hurt by looking away because it’s painful to think about Cameron and Lucy and what all they went through. Plus, I’ve never spoken openly about it before. “Remember last summer, when I went to New Jersey? Lucy was there and something happened and I found her bleeding out on the bathroom floor.”
“Oh my God,” Lane whispers.
“They rushed her to the hospital and long story short, she had to have an ovary removed and they told her it’d be difficult for her to get pregnant.”
“That’s so tough for her and Cameron to go through so young.”
“Yeah,” I say. “They separated for a while. It was hard on all of us.”
“They broke up? Why didn’t you say something?”
I shrug. “Because it wasn’t my story to tell and I wasn’t sure if Lucy wanted people knowing, but now you know.”
She pouts. “That’s so sad.”
I inhale deeply, go back to the problem at hand. “What the hell are we going to do about your dad?”
“I don’t know,” she murmurs.
“Lucy said something about loyalty. You think that’s going to come up when your dad makes a decision?”
She shakes her head. “I really wish it would, Luke. But that extra salary alone plus the twenty-five grand, that’s my entire four-year college tuition and that’s all he can think about. He still feels so guilty about it all.”
“I hate your mom,” I say.
“Me too.”
“I should talk to Dad. See what he has to say.”
She nods. “I want to be there when you do it.”
I look back at her, smirk. “You want me to stay with you tonight?”
“See? You already suck at waiting.”
I don’t stay the night. Instead, I go home and I fall asleep sniffing my pillow. Whatever. Felicity was a creep, too.
Chapter Twenty-Six
LOIS
“And I think, ultimately, that’s what true love is, you know? To want to be someone’s hero when they’re faced with villains. To want to be the one who saves them. To be their Wonderwall.”
Lucas’s words replay in my mind, over and over, and I think about the way he looked at me last night, the way his eyes met mine. Is that what he saw? Someone who needs a hero, needs saving? Because Cooper saw me as that, and we confused his need to be those things as love, and I fell for him—hard and fast—and it got me here. And as much as I don’t want to admit it, I’m making the same mistakes again, only this time with Lucas. Lucas—who’s standing a few yards in front of me, his back turned, looking out over the school parking lot. His hair’s in need of a cut and his hands are in his pockets, his triceps on display. He’d changed over the past few months, physically and otherwise. His body had gotten harder, his demeanor the opposite.
I sneak up behind him, kick the back of his shoe and he turns swiftly, his eyes narrowed. Then he smiles. “Sneaky Lane,” he says. “Sneaky Lane does sneaky things with… never mind. I didn’t see your car pull in.”
I joke, “You stalking me, Preston?”
We begin walking together, two of my steps for every one of his. He says, ignoring my comment, “Seriously, where’s your car?”
“In my driveway. I caught the bus.”
“Why? Something happen to it? I can check it out after school if you want.”
“What do you know about cars?”
He laughs. “Not a lot, but knowing you, you probably left your lights on and drained the battery.”
I nudge his side, and he feigns hurt. “There’s nothing wrong with the car,” I tell him as he opens the door to the school for me. “I just feel weird driving it.”
“Why?”
“Because Cooper.”
“Because he got it for you?”
I nod.
“That’s dumb,” he says, and he has no idea.
I stop at my locker and turn to him. “I’m sure I’ll get over it, it’s just…” I don’t know what it is.
“Don’t catch the bus anymore. I’ll pick you up, okay?”
“There’s nothing wrong with the bus.”
“And there’s nothing wrong with my truck, either.”
“Fine.”
“Good!”
We’re twelve years old again.
I open my locker, get my books for first period, and he says, “Did you speak to your dad any more about the whole Cooper thing?”
I close my locker, hold the books to my chest. “Nah. He was gone by the time I got up.”
“I called Dad this morning, said we needed to talk to him. You free after school?”
“Yep.”
“Okay… Well, I’ll see you then.”
“Okay,” I say, but he doesn’t make a move to leave, and his locker’s on the other end of the hall. “I should get to class.”
“Yeah,” he says, but he still doesn’t budge.
“Bye, Luke.”
“Bye, Lane.”
I wait for him to leave and when he doesn’t, I walk around him and toward my class. When I glance over my shoulder, he’s still following me, looking down at my shoes. I stop abruptly, turn to him. “Luke?”
“Yeah?”
I point behind him. “Your locker’s that way.”
After school, in the Preston house, Luke and I wait for his dad in the office. It may not seem like a big deal that we’re in Tom’s office, but it is for me. I’ve walked past the room many a time and sometimes the door’s even been open and I’ve looked inside, but it’s been seven years since I first stepped foot in this house and I’ve never actually been in Tom’s office. It feels so forbidden, so grand, so—“What’s with your face, Lane?”
I side-eye Luke. “I’ve never been in here before,” I whisper, checking the door to make sure Tom isn’t coming. “I feel like I’ve been called to the principal’s office.” I use my jeans to wipe the sweat off my palms. “Doesn’t it feel like that to you?”
Luke shakes his head, looks at me like I’m stupid. “We normally get our punishments in the kitchen or living room so…”
“Wow… yeah… that’s true,” I whisper absentmindedly.
“I was kidding, Lane. What’s going on with you?”
“I don’t know.” I sigh. “I th
ink I’m nervous to tell your dad. What if he ends up hating me? I mean, let’s be real, this is all about Cooper getting back with me.”
“With you or at you?” Lucas says, and now he looks nervous.
Tom enters the room, saving me from responding, and he sits his big frame in his big leather chair behind his big desk and smiles just as big at us. “Hey kids, what’s up?”
I’m about to ruin everything you’ve worked so hard to build, that’s “what’s up.”
“The Kennedys are starting their own construction company in town,” Luke says, as if it’s that simple, as if that’s all there is to the story.
Tom’s eyebrows shoot up, and he looks from Luke to me. I look down at my hands. “I know this,” he says. “But how do you and why did you feel the urgency to tell me?”
“You’re not worried?” Luke asks.
“Should I be?”
“Sir Tom,” I start, and Luke chuckles.
“Sir Tom? Really?”
“Shut up.”
“Lane,” Tom says, “What’s wrong?”
“Cooper—my ex—”
“Your ex?” he asks. “I wasn’t aware…”
I force a smile. “Cooper offered my dad a job.”
“Right.” Tom nods. “And let me guess, he threw in a bunch of perks?”
“Yes, sir.”
Luke laughs. “What? No Sir Tom?”
I kick his leg.
Tom sighs. “You know what the good thing about our town is, kids? And I say kids because that’s what you are, and you really shouldn’t be worrying about this stuff. The good thing about our town is that everyone knows everyone’s business, and people like to talk about that business. I’ve known about this since the company was created five days ago.”
“And you’re not worried?” I ask.
“No.”
“How can you be so confident?”
Tom looks from me to Lucas and back again. Then he leans forward, lowers his voice. I find myself leaning into the conversation. “Because I had Wendy in the office call Lance Kennedy, make out like she was from the newspaper and asked for an interview about his new venture into the construction trade and you know what Lance said? He said, ‘What construction trade?’”
“So Lance doesn’t know?” I mumble.
Luke says, “So he lied to your dad?”
Tom leans back in his chair, gets more comfortable. “I spoke to Brian today, we had a good laugh about it. He didn’t mention anything about Cooper offering him a job.”
I sigh. “Maybe I made this a bigger deal than it is.”
Tom chuckles. “I love you both. Really, I do. But you’re only this young once, and you’ve both been through so much in your eighteen years. And Lucas, you carry more responsibilities than most your age. But this—worrying about me and the business—it’s something I never want either of you to have to be burdened with. Do me a solid? Let loose now and then, enjoy life, get into a little trouble, y’know?”
Luke smiles. “Yes, sir.”
“Good,” Tom says. “Now that that’s out of the way, what time’s your meet next weekend?”
“What meet?” I ask him. I have all of Luke’s track meets scheduled in my phone, and there’s no meet next weekend. “I don’t know about a meet.”
“It’s not a school one,” Luke assures and then eyes his dad, shakes his head, just slightly.
“What meet?” I ask again.
Tom doesn’t take Luke’s hint. “It’s an independent meet in Charlotte. Not school related.”
“I want to go!” I say.
Tom says, “He’ll probably beat his PB. He’s so close.”
I look at Luke. “You are?” I hate that I don’t know this about him. Up until this school year, I’d been to all his meets and knew all his times and now… “I didn’t know.”
“It’s cool,” Luke says. “But this meet—I mean, I’ll be competing in under 21s so I won’t be competing against Cooper, but he’ll probably be there so…”
Oh. “Oh.”
Luke’s gaze drops, and I feel his disappointment before I see it take over his body.
“So what?” I say, and I’m already preparing the excuses in my head. “I still want to go.”
Luke shrugs. “We’ll see,” he says. He knows me too well.
“I got to pick up Lachlan and take him to the store,” Tom says. “Lane, you staying for dinner? It’s LTT night!”
“What’s LTT?” I ask, looking between father and son.
“Lachlan’s Tasty Tacos!” Tom says.
I cringe. “That sounds scary.”
Tom chuckles. “It’s pancakes.”
“Folded,” Luke adds.
“Because tacos,” Tom says.
“Right.” I nod.
“And I take him to the store to select and buy his filling.”
“Candy,” Luke says.
My eyes light up. “Pancakes filled with candy?”
Tom says, “But the best part is the hit or miss salsa.”
Luke faces me. “Lachlan gets a bunch of candy and blends it together to make the sauce. As the name states, it’s very hit or miss.”
Tom’s standing now, pocketing his phone, keys, and wallet. “It’s dessert for dinner, Laney. Right up your alley.”
“And Luke actually eats this?” I ask Tom.
“He gets this twitch in his left eye and his hands shake and he breaks out in a sweat.”
“Probably pre-calculating the calories,” I say with a giggle.
“He has one bite and then runs for two hours afterward.”
Luke shakes his head. “I don’t like LTT night,” he murmurs, and I laugh, tell them that as much I’d love to stay for LTT night, I can’t. I have to work. Luke gives me a ride home so I can get ready, and I walk to work for my 4 pm shift. At 9 pm, an hour before my shift ends, Luke shows up with a Ziploc bag in his hand. “Lachlan didn’t want you missing out on his tasty tacos.” He slides it across the small opening of the ticket booth. The pancake’s still warm as if he’d just made it, and I’m almost positive that Lachlan has nothing to do with this. “And I thought I’d give you a ride home.”
“That’s really nice, Luke.” And it feels strange saying those words—as if I’m trying hard to be super, uber, extra polite, and I don’t know why. “But my shift doesn’t end for another hour.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah…”
“But you always finish at nine on Thursdays.”
“New roster. Sorry.”
“I’ll come back then,” he says quickly.
“Or you could stay,” I say, just as fast. Truthfully, I could use the company. “You can hang out with me in here. It’s quiet.” I lift my psychology textbook. “I’m just catching up on homework.”
Within seconds, he’s opening the side door and joining me in a small room made for one, not two, and now we’re close, too close, and it’s terrifying in all the best possible ways. He gets out his phone, takes a picture of the noticeboard on the wall. “What are you doing?” I ask.
“Getting your new roster. I don’t want you walking anywhere.”
“Okay, Cooper,” I say, and soon as his name leaves my mouth, I mentally cut off my tongue. Stupid. So stupid.
Luke’s eyes drift shut, his shoulders tense.
“Sorry,” I whisper. “I don’t know why I said that.” I try to find something to do so we can move on, and fast. I open the bag and pull out the pancake taco and a note falls out with it:
29 days, Lois Lane.
I find my voice, croak out his name and glance up at him. He looks from the note to me, his eyes searching. Then he leans against the wall, his shoulders slumped. “I get that you might feel pressured—with what’s going on between us—and I know you’re still at that stage where you probably have a ton of mixed feelings, but I don’t, Lane. I want to be with you. More than anything. And I’m willing to wait until you’re ready. But if there’s any chance that you’re still in love with him, or th
at you’re going to get back together with him without even giving me a chance, then I’d rather know now. Save myself the disappointment.”
“You’re right,” I say, and his gaze drops. “I do have a ton of mixed feelings, but none of them have to do with Cooper. They don’t even have to do with you. It’s all about me and whether or not I’m strong enough to go through it all again. As far as getting back with Cooper, that’s never going to happen. Ever.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m positive.”
A customer approaches then, asks Luke for two tickets to the latest Marvel movie even though I’m the one sitting behind the desk. “Sure.” Luke steps forward and presses random buttons on the register. I cringe, and Luke says, “That’ll be fifteen dollars, sir.”
The man looks at the admission sign, looks at Luke. “It should be twelve.”
“Sorry. My math is bad.”
The customer points to the register. “Isn’t that what that’s for?”
Luke glares at him, presses more random buttons until the cash drawer flies open, hits Luke in the junk. I giggle. I can’t help it. The man gives him fifteen dollars, tells him to keep the change. He earned it. Then I offer Luke my chair, and he sits, rests his head on my stomach. I stroke his hair, his ego. “Better?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “Not for another twenty-nine days.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
LUCAS
Over the next week, I spend more time with Laney than I did the entire time she was dating Cooper. I drive us to and from school, and when I’m available, I drive her to work. But I always pick her up, and I always show up an hour early. I don’t make excuses as to why I’m there, and she doesn’t ask, simply opens the side door for me. I now know how to work the register. When I drop her home, I walk her to the door. She doesn’t invite me in, and I don’t ask. But the question is there, hanging in the air, another one of our little games, and one day (soon) I’ll win. I always win. And so it’s been a week of conversation, a week of building back what we once had, a week of touching and teasing and mentally counting down the days. Today, it’s twenty-two.