Much better than, My parents abandoned me and I didn’t want everyone to know that I was an unloved loser so I lied my ass off. Kyle was the kind of guy who didn’t care what anyone else thought. She loved that about him, but she also knew it meant he just wouldn’t get it.
“Literally, in this case,” Kyle muttered under his breath as he finally pulled out of the parking lot. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were ashamed to be seen with me. It’s no Mercedes, but this truck is practically brand new, you know. Worked my ass off to pay for it.” She was so distracted she almost missed the hurt in his voice. Almost.
Rising as slowly as she could manage with her half-ruined cup of yogurt melting in her hand, Cami glanced around and saw that Raquel’s car was out of sight.
Whew. Crisis averted. The tight ball of nerves in her stomach finally eased up. But her sigh of relief caught in her throat when she saw that Kyle was gripping the steering wheel so hard his knuckles were turning white.
“Hey,” she said, setting her yogurt in the cup holder between them. “I’m not ashamed of anything.” Except my parents. And my lies. And my stupid friends who would’ve acted like total bitches.
He huffed out a breath and shot her a forced smile. “If you say so.”
Cami’s chest ached at the wounded expression that lingered in his eyes. She wanted to say something to fix it, to let him know she’d acted a fool because of her own screwed up issues, not because of anything to do with him.
But the words, the truth about why she was in hiding, were just too humiliating.
Cami Nickelson did not do humility.
21
Ella Jane
“HEY, you busy? I need advice.” Ella Jane stood in front of her open closet in her room, wrapped in a towel. She held the phone to her ear with the help of her shoulder.
“I’m heading out to the beach to watch fireworks with my lame-ass parents. Why, what’s up?”
Ella Jane breathed a sigh of relief. She was in the middle of a major freak-out and needed Lynlee’s expert opinion. “So I think I’m going on my very first date tonight. And I have no idea what to wear.”
Lynlee squealed into the phone, prompting Ella Jane to pull it a few inches from her ear. “You finally did it! You finally made a move on Coop. Go you!”
“Um, no, I didn’t.” Ella Jane paused as she held a red dress up in front of her and faced the full-length mirror. “Actually, that guy I told you about? The cocky one from Summit Bluffs? He kinda asked me to watch fireworks with him tonight.” Or did he? More like he just agreed to join her. Now Ella Jane was even more confused. Was this a date or wasn’t it?
“Nice. That’ll show Coop.”
Yeah, it had started that way. But now she wasn’t so sure she even wanted Coop to know about her and Hayden.
Coop had a girl in his life apparently, and she didn’t want him thinking everything she did was because of him. “I don’t really care anymore what Coop thinks. He’s got a girlfriend, I think. I don’t know. Whatever. The point is, I’m meeting Hayden in an hour at The Ridge and I need to know if I should wear a dress or just keep it casual. I don’t want to look like I’m trying too hard, you know?”
“What does he normally see you in?” Lynlee asked.
“Um, work clothes. And church clothes. That’s really it.”
Lynlee blew out a breath. “Okay, so you need something that looks casual like you just threw it on to watch fireworks but shows enough skin to be distracting. How about your denim dress with the cute pockets? It’s short enough to get his attention without being obvious. Throw a red cardigan over it and boom, you’re patriotic.”
“Um, okay. Let’s see if I can find it.” Ella Jane found it near the back. It actually showed a lot of skin in her opinion, which was why she hardly wore it. “Here it is.”
“And for God’s sakes, leave your freaking hair down. Ponytails are not sexy.”
EJ yanked the elastic band out of her wet hair. “Hair down, got it. Anything else?”
“Oh, and wear cute underwear. And a matching bra. Just in case.”
Whoa. Ella Jane’s eyes widened at her own reflection. “Just in case what? A spark falls and my clothes catch fire?”
“No, Virgin Mary. In case you decide to let anyone see them.”
Yeah, that wasn’t going to be an issue. Ella Jane had only kissed one guy—or rather, one guy had attempted to kiss her. Until Kyle jacked his jaw. And that was like almost three years ago. “Um, okay. Have fun with your parents.”
“Doubtful. I’ll be ditching them ASAP. Enjoy your date. Maybe we can compare stories later tonight.”
“Right. Thanks for the wardrobe help.”
EJ was one hundred percent positive her evening would pale in comparison. Lynlee was the furthest thing from being a virgin and EJ was the poster child for abstinence. Her friend had given her graphic tutorials on blow jobs, hand jobs, and the kinds of noises she should make when a guy touched her. It was pretty much a ton of useless advice she wouldn’t be able to put to use until long after Kyle was away at college and boys got bold enough to risk their lives to date her. So possibly never.
And if she was being honest with herself, she’d only ever pictured one boy doing any of those things to her. Only wanted to do those things to one guy.
She closed her eyes and tried to wipe the image of herself wrapped in Coop’s arms out of her head.
She let the word incest take its place. Then his smug smile when he’d rubbed it in about his favorite girl. The one he’d be with tonight.
Suddenly, the image in her head shifted. He was citified to the core, obnoxious, and utterly full of himself, but Hayden Prescott was the one meeting her tonight. The one who’d laughed with her all summer, teased her, watched trains with her. He was the one who’d showed when he’d said he was going to, been there to make her laugh when she’d cried. He was the one who made her nervous and unsure and crazy. He irritated her to death and excited her just as much.
Maybe Coop was right. Maybe different could be good and not all changes were bad.
AS she pulled her truck up to The Ridge, a small seed of nervousness began to grow. She tugged at the sleeve of her white cardigan as she got out of the truck. She hadn’t been able to find the red one because it was dirty. She’d forgotten she’d worn it to church last Sunday.
She wanted to kick herself. She’d put on a pink bra and teal panties and then stripped at the last second and put on matching red ones. She really was patriotic. And stupid, apparently, because the fireworks were starting and Hayden was nowhere in sight.
As she laid the blanket she’d brought across her rickety tailgate, the seed of nervousness became a vine of worry, which was rapidly growing into a thriving tree of full-blown panic. Maybe Coop had warned him about her brother and he’d decided not to show. Or maybe he’d forgotten. Or she was a complete idiot and he’d been messing with her all along.
Either way, it was hot and humid and she was sweating. She pulled her hair to one side, wishing she’d just ignored Lynlee’s advice and worn it up. Her heart grew heavy in her chest. Telling her friend she’d been stood up was going to suck. Lynlee wasn’t the kind of girlfriend who would be sympathetic. She was the kind who would laugh. Hysterically.
Glancing down, Ella Jane saw a few red specks on her white sweater. She’d helped her mom unload the salsa she’d made for the Founder’s Festival before coming here. Apparently some had splattered on her.