Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 111038 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 555(@200wpm)___ 444(@250wpm)___ 370(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 111038 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 555(@200wpm)___ 444(@250wpm)___ 370(@300wpm)
With that, I got in my Wagon and pulled out.
My words echoed in my ears, and I tightened my hold on the steering wheel.
My words had sounded good. They’d sounded confident, but they were empty. I might be able to wrangle up a group to have my back, but that wasn’t the point. Zeke wasn’t the bad guy Cross thought he was, but he wasn’t a great guy either. That’s where I understood him when no one else did, because he and I were the same.
We weren’t all bad.
There were pockets of good in us.
Or maybe that’s just what I told myself as I turned my car toward Aspen’s house.
20
Aspen
Knock, knock!
Keys and phone in hand, backpack on, I paused in my room. I’d been about to head to the store. There was a new camping security system I wanted to check out before buying.
“Yes?”
Miss Sandy opened the door, a frown on her face.
She’d been frowning most the week. I was sure she was on to me and my whole “sickness,” but she’d never said a word. She kept doting on me. I got hot packs, warm washcloths, and tea. I got bowls of chicken noodle soup, boxes of Kleenex, cough drops, medicine for nighttime, and medicine for daytime. You name it, I got it, so I was feeling all sorts of guilt. But my parents were still in LA, so I only had a few more days until I was in the clear.
“Miss Sandy! Hi.”
Her eyes traveled over my jeans, sandals, and tank top.
I was busted.
But after a small sigh, all she said was, “There’s a young man at the gate asking to come see you.”
I frowned. A young man? Blaise? “Oh.”
It was daytime, so he would’ve gotten Mr. Carl at the gate. That meant Tucker truly hadn’t put Blaise’s name on the list, which was cool of Tucker, but not so cool now.
I bit my lip, tugging at one of my backpack straps. “I’m feeling better, so I was going to go to the store. I’ll just talk to him out there.”
“We should tell him to wait?”
I nodded. “Yeah.” I slipped past her and hurried down the hallway. “See you tomorrow, Miss Sandy. I’ll be back later, and I might be worn out, ’cause I’m probably not back to a hundred percent.” Cough, cough.
I was such a shitty actress, which was ironic, considering my parents.
Then I was down the stairs, through the kitchen, and out to the garage. My parents had taken my dad’s vehicle, so my mom’s was still in the first stall. She always got the first stall because she said if she brought groceries home, she needed close access to the kitchen.
I couldn’t remember the last time she went grocery shopping, but it was what it was. She got the first stall.
I headed past the next three empty stalls to Maisie.
When I got to the front gate, Carl pointed me over to the side.
Blaise’s G Wagon was parked and Blaise was waiting beside the road.
He jogged over, and I tried not to ogle, but damn, he looked good.
He tapped on my window.
I rolled the window down. “Hey. I was headed out anyway and figured it’d be easier this way. Miss Sandy didn’t seem too approving.”
He nodded, his hands going into his pockets. “Where are you going?”
I hesitated, but this was me. I had to be me. “There’s some new camping gear at Holliston. I wanted to check it out, see if they had the new security system.”
He frowned, his head tilted to the side, and I sighed on the inside because even that looked good on him.
“Let’s take Maisie back, and I’ll drive,” he said.
“What?”
“Come on.” He tapped my window again, grinning—and my word, there was a dimple there. A dimple, folks. A dimple!
“I’ll follow you through, and then we can hang out.” His eyes darkened. His grin turned wolfish. “I need some Aspen time. Badly.”
I frowned, a little kick of concern tightening my throat, but I nodded.
He jogged back to his car, and I pulled around to explain the plan to Mr. Carl. He gave me a tight nod as his gaze looked back at Blaise. When we got to the house, I pulled Maisie into the driveway and hurried down to the road.
Blaise had brought his Wagon around, so I slipped in on the passenger side.
That’s when the nerves hit me.
I liked riding in Maisie, and getting in Blaise’s Wagon, I got all tongue-tied. This was a boy that had kissed me, made me explode, and I was in his vehicle. He was driving, and we were going to hang out. Was this an appropriate time to confess that I’d never been on a date?
Would he look at me weird?
Because I felt weird. I felt all sorts of what the hell am I doing? Blaise was so out of my league.