“HEY THERE, HANDSOME.”
I looked up from the book I was reading to see Abigail standing in front of me. Her brown hair was pulled up into a braided ponytail and a few pieces hung down to frame her face. She had on skinny jeans with a tight tan sweater that showed off her figure. Her green eyes were filled with lust as she looked at me. I smiled and gave her a quick nod. “Hey, Abigail. What’s up?”
She sat down next to me and winked as she ran her tongue along her top teeth. “Not much. What about you? I haven’t heard from you in a while.”
I leaned back in my chair and smiled bigger. “Been lonely, Abigail?”
She chuckled. “Never. I have been horny though, and you haven’t been calling.”
My smile faded slightly. “I’ve been busy. This year has been tough with the class load I took on. Trying to finish up school early.”
Abigail tilted her head and looked at me. “Why?”
Shrugging my shoulders, I said, “I don’t know. Ready to get back home and help my father and uncle run the ranch I guess.”
Abigail leaned forward, allowing her breasts to rest on the table. I got a clear shot of her cleavage, but my body didn’t react like it had in the past. “I bet you look hot in those Wrangler jeans, tight white T-shirt and cowboy boots.” She closed her eyes and let out a moan. “Mmm … baby, I can practically feel you moving in and out of me. I’m so wet right now, Luke. If I slipped my hand into my panties, I’d come on the spot just daydreaming about you all sweaty and fucking me against an old truck.”
Abigail had a way of getting what she wanted from me, and the only thing she ever wanted from me was sex. I leaned forward and gave her my panty-melting smile as I watched her squirm in her seat.
“You weren’t kidding when you said you’re horny.” She smiled bigger and raised her eyebrow as she pursed her lips. “Does Abigail need some relief?”
She slowly nodded her head. “Yes. She does. And the only person who can do that is you, Mr. Johnson.”
I let out a laugh as I leaned back. My smile faded instantly. It was as if I felt her before I saw her. Turning, I saw Libby standing there. I pushed my chair back and stood. “Lib, what’s up?”
I watched as her eyes traveled down my body and I instantly adjusted my somewhat hard dick. She looked back up and all I saw was hurt. Again. Libby slowly looked to Abigail. Abigail smiled a fake-ass smile as she leaned back in her chair and began playing with her braid. I peeked over at Libby as she smiled weakly at Abigail before turning back to me.
Libby stood up a little taller and cleared her throat. “My car won’t start and I can’t get a hold of Will. I wouldn’t normally bug you about this, but I saw you and well …” Looking back at Abigail, Libby’s voice cracked. “If I’m interrupting something though.” Abigail started to say yes, but I cut her off.
“No, Abigail and I were just catching up.”
Libby turned and glared at me. “I heard.”
My heart slammed in my chest and my hands starting sweating. Fuck. I didn’t want Libby to overhear me talking to Abigail like that. Abigail cleared her throat and asked, “So you’re the hot roommate’s sister, huh?”
Libby’s head snapped back over to look at Abigail. “Yes, Will is my brother. Do you know him?”
Abigail laughed and shook her head. “No. I don’t know him that well. I’ve only seen him a few times.”
I reached down and scooped up my books and smiled at Abigail. “I’ll catch up with you later, Abigail.”
Abigail placed her finger in her mouth and giggled. “Sounds good, handsome.”
Smirking at Abigail, I glanced to look at Libby who rolled her eyes. Libby turned and walked to the exit. I followed her through the library and out the door. “Where are you parked, Lib?”
“Dorm.”
Great. She’s pissed.
“Let me drive you there, Lib.”
She held up her hand and waved it. “Just meet me there. I’ll text Will to let him know you’re helping me.”
I stopped walking and watched her quickly walk away. Turning, I headed to my truck. I pulled out my phone and hit Grace’s phone number.
“Hello, big brother. What’s cooking?”
“Explain women to me, Grace.”
Grace busted out laughing. “Do you have a few days?”
I rolled my eyes. “Seriously. Y’all love to fuck with men, don’t you?”
“No more than men love to fuck with the emotions of women. Take for instance when a guy kisses this girl in a full on passionate kiss and then tells her it was a mistake. As Uncle Matt would say, assmole move right there.”
Letting out a sigh, I pulled out onto the road. “I take it you talked to Libby?”
“Possibly. What in the hell is wrong with you? Pull your head out of your ass and get your shit together. You’re hurting her, Luke.”
Closing my eyes, I quickly opened them again, fighting to hold back the tears that were threatening to build. “I don’t mean too, Grace.” My voice cracked as I talked so I cleared it.
I ran my hand through my hair. I needed to leave Libby alone. I needed to let her move on and find someone else. Someone who will guard her heart and not hurt her. Not fall into bed with the first girl who makes him forget.
I heard Grace let out a breath and sigh. “I know you don’t, Luke. But you have to see how doing this to Libby is confusing her. She’s not going to wait forever. Libby is beautiful and sooner or later someone is going to catch her eye and she is going to move on, Luke. Without you I’m afraid.”
“Luke? Are you listening to me?”
Nodding my head, I whispered, “Yeah, I heard you.” I pulled into the guest parking outside of Libby’s building. I looked around and saw her car. “I’ve got to run, baby sister. I love you. I can’t wait to see you.”
“Same here. Hey, Luke?”
I put my truck in park and opened the door. Jumping out, I began making my way over to Libby’s car. “Yeah?”
“Listen to your heart, not your head.”
I let out a breath and shook my head. “If only it was that easy, Grace. Love you.”
“Love you too, Luke. Bye.”
“Bye, Grace.” I pulled the phone from my ear and hit End. I stopped at Libby’s car and checked to see if her car door was open. If it was, I was going to have a long talk with her about how unsafe that was. Lucky for her it was locked. I turned and leaned against it as I waited for her to show up. My mind couldn’t help but drift back to holding her in my arms as we danced in the rain. The way she smelled. The way she smiled. Closing my eyes I let the memory take me back.
TAKING IN A deep breath, I made my way over to Luke. He was leaning against my car with his eyes closed. His brown hair looked like a hot mess. He must be working out more because I swear his muscles looked bigger. I wanted nothing more than to run my hands over his body. Memorize every inch of him.
Then her words hit me like a brick wall.
“Mmm … baby I can practically feel you moving in and out of me. I’m so wet right now, Luke. If I slipped my hand into my panties, I’d come on the spot just daydreaming about you all sweaty and fucking me against an old truck.”
My stomach flinched as I thought of Luke with Abigail. The way he was looking at her told me he was getting turned on by the way she was talking. Why couldn’t he look at me that way? Why didn’t he want me like he wanted her?
I cleared my throat as I walked up. Luke opened his eyes and gave me a weak smile. “Hey,” he said as I walked by and unlocked the driver’s side door.
“Hey,” I whispered back. Opening the door, I pulled the latch for the hood. Luke opened it and began checking everything out.
My feet felt like lead. I couldn’t move. I stood there as I waited for him to find out what was wrong with my car. He poked his head around and said, “I think it’s your battery. There is a lot of corrosion on it. You wouldn’t happen to have any Coke in your car, would you?”
I shook my head. “I don?
??t drink Coke.”
Luke frowned. “Since when?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “Since about two months ago.”
Luke made a funny face and then chuckled. “Good for you, Lib. That shit is not good for you anyway.”
I wasn’t in the mood for small talk with Luke. “Can you fix it without Coke?”
I instantly felt guilty when his smile faded. He looked back at the engine and then looked at me. “I need to get the corrosion all cleaned off and then take it off and take it to get tested. The battery might be bad.”
Not wanting to spend any more time with Luke, I slowly nodded my head. “Will can probably take care of this.”
Luke pulled his head back and narrowed his eyes at me. “I’m not allowed to help you now, Lib? I thought we were friends.”
I let out a laugh. “That’s right; you haven’t reminded me of our friendship in a while. We certainly aren’t on the level of friends that you and the brown-haired Barbie doll at the library are. She seemed a bit pissed I walked up and interrupted your porn talk.”
“What did you hear?” Luke asked as he stepped around the car and walked toward me.
Swallowing hard, I watched his muscles move under his tight T-shirt as he made his way over to me. His eyes looked up and down my body and I was cursing myself for wearing sweatpants and an A&M T-shirt. I was sure I looked frumpy. I went to talk but nothing came out. I cleared my throat. “Enough to turn my stomach.”
Luke stopped walking. His eyes filled with something I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen before. He turned and started toward his truck as my heart starting beating faster. “Where … where are you going?” I called out.
He looked over his shoulder. “To my truck to get tools. I need to take your battery out and take it in to be tested.”
Glancing back to my car I nodded my head.
I SAT IN Luke’s truck and watched him walk out of the auto store carrying a new battery. I jumped out of the truck. “Your battery was no good.”
“How much do I owe you for the new battery?”
Luke set the battery in the bed of his truck. He looked at me and said, “Nothing.”
He opened the door to his truck, got in and started it. I sighed as I got back in the truck and I leaned my head back against the seat. The drive back to campus was no better than the drive to the auto store. Luke didn’t utter a word to me. The radio was playing and when the first few beats of the song came on my stomach dropped. Blake Shelton’s “Do You Remember” was filling the silent air in the truck cabin. It was the song Luke and I danced to the night he first kissed me. He told me it would always be our song. I turned and looked out the window. Luke probably didn’t even remember. Seeing as he was able to kiss me and leave like nothing magical had happened between us.
I felt the tears trying to build in my eyes and I refused to shed any more tears over him. He didn’t want me. He’d never want me.
Closing my eyes, I listened to the lyrics. I was instantly brought back to that night. The smell of his body invaded my senses. His green eyes looked into mine lovingly. He had been more than my best friend. He was my everything.
He still was. As much as I wanted to say he wasn’t … he was.
“Libby, I need to tell you something.”
I shook my head. “Please don’t talk to me, Luke.”
We drove the rest of the way listening to the song before it finally changed to a faster, louder song. The moment he parked his truck, I got out and made my way to my dorm room. As I walked by my car, Will started toward me. “Lib? Libby, what’s wrong?” he asked as he forced me to stop walking.
I tried to smile. “Nothing, Will. Just trying to figure out how to move on.” I looked back over my shoulder to see Luke standing there. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to talk, but he quickly shut it again.
Looking down, I turned my head back to Will. “I have a test to study for. Can you just be sure to bring me my keys?” I handed my keys to Will and walked away as I made a plan to avoid Luke Johnson as much as I possibly could.
I HAD SUCCESSFULLY avoided Luke up until Christmas break. Now that we were back home, he was everywhere.
“Let’s head to the barn and see what the boys are up to,” Grace said as she held her arm out. I laced my arm with hers and we headed to the barn. Taylor and Lex were talking about Taylor’s last year of high school.
When we entered the barn, we could hear the guys talking. Grace put her finger up to her mouth and began tiptoeing up the stairs.
I heard Colt talking as we made our way up. “Makes me want to give up on women altogether.”
“No! Don’t ever talk that way, dude. A man needs a vagina to function,” Luke said.
“Really? You just said that?” Will asked. We were almost to the top of the stairs.
Luke chuckled. “Hey, I could have said pussy, but I kept it clean. It’s true though. A man does need pussy to survive in this world.”
Colt began laughing. Grace stopped walking and turned and looked at me. I was furious hearing Luke talk like he was. I moved past Grace and stopped at the landing of the stairs. Luke was sitting in a chair, pushed back balancing on the back two legs.
Colt was shaking his head as he said, “Damn, Luke. What is wrong with you?”
Luke held up his hands and laughed. “Keeping it real. Just keeping it real.”
I felt the heat move through my entire body. All I could picture was that day in the library when I overheard him and Abigail talking. The idea of Abigail having Luke and not me turned my stomach. Hearing him talk like this made me wonder if Luke was even capable of loving anyone. Maybe all he wanted was his fuck buddy.
“That’s why he has his fuck buddy. No strings. Just a fun way to survive in this world. Isn’t that right, Luke?”
Grace started giggling behind me as Will turned and looked at us. Luke looked over at me with a shocked look on his face.
“What?” he asked as he lost his balance and dropped backward onto the floor. I smiled and shook my head. That’s what the bastard gets.
I glanced over and looked at Will. “I’m heading out for a while to meet someone. I don’t have my car. Can I borrow your truck, Will?”
Grace bumped me from behind. “Libby, don’t do this.”
I ignored Grace as Will stared at me. “Uh …”
Jumping up, Luke looked at me with a stunned, almost frightened expression. “You’re going out? On Christmas night? Who are you going out with?”
The anger kept building up. How dare he ask me who I was going out with it! I glared at him and he took a step back.
I had no idea where I was going to go and then I remembered Jason had texted me. “Jason’s in town and he asked if I wanted to meet him for dessert.”
Luke started laughing. “What kind of dessert, Lib?”
I was about to say something when Will did. “Watch it, Luke.”
Walking over toward Luke, I smiled. “The kind you’ll never get from me, Luke.”
I walked up to Will and held my hand out for his truck keys. I needed to get away from Luke. Being around him was more than I could take anymore.
Will was staring at me. “Wait. What did you just say?”
I let out a frustrated sigh. “Can I borrow your truck or not, Will?” Will pulled out his keys and handed them to me. One quick look at Luke showed that my comment about Jason and dessert made him mad.
Good. That’s what the asshole gets. Let him chew on that for a while.
AFTER LIBBY HAD left, I couldn’t push it out of my head what she had said. I wanted to track her down and beat the shit out of Jason. If that was who she was really with.
After everyone talked in the barn for a bit, we had all decided to head into town. We ended up at Pirates Miniature Golf where Colt and I got into an argument.
We had been bickering when I looked up and saw Libby walking by. I stopped talking and watched her walk by as she made her way over to the girls. Turning back around, I looked at Colt. “You
cheat, Colt.”
Colt’s mouth dropped open. “I do not, you asswipe. I got that hole in three swings. Lauren, did I not get that in three shots?”
I turned and looked at Lauren who smiled at me. “Hate to say it, Luke, but he got it in three swings.”
Shaking my head, I mumbled under my breath. “This night sucks.” I headed over to the counter. “I need a Coke.”
The few times I looked over at Libby, she seemed a million miles away. Grace would say something and cause Libby to smile. Then she would look at me and her smile would fade. I hated that I was the reason she was unhappy. I hated that I was the one who caused her to hurt. My phone went off and I pulled it out of my pocket.
Abigail: In serious need of a good fucking. When are you expected back?
Peeking over, I looked at Libby and decided not to text Abigail back. I looked up and Alex was looking at me. She tilted her head and mouthed, are you okay?
I nodded my head, but I knew by her expression she knew I was anything but okay.
Libby let out a scream and I jumped up. I quickly sat down when I saw she was smiling at Alex. “Y’all are coming to A&M next year?”
Alex nodded her head.
“What? So not fair!” Maegan shouted out.
Alex smiled bigger and said, “Yep, Grace and I are both transferring to A&M.”
Sitting down, Maegan pouted and said, “Ugh.”
Alex looked at her. “I thought you loved Baylor, Meg?”
Letting out a long sigh, Maegan said, “I do. It’s just … I miss y’all.”
As we all left Pirates Miniature Golf, I had the strangest feeling come over me. I peeked over and looked at Libby. My heart began to beat hard in my chest as the thought of losing Libby hit me like a brick wall.
IT HAD BEEN three months since Christmas break. I’d been doing nothing but working out, running, and studying in the library. Libby did her best to avoid me and I did my best to help her with that. Every time I saw her, I wanted to take her in my arms and kiss her.