please.
I run my thumb over her bottom lip, wondering what it would feel like between my teeth. Or wrapped around my cock. Either one would do at the moment. She licks her lips, letting me know what she is thinking, and that’s enough for now.
I sit back in my seat and throw the car in reverse. Pulling out of the parking spot, I don’t look back once at the bastard who is going to pay for killing my best friend’s sister.
We’re ten minutes from Collins when she finally speaks to me. “What did Jeff mean by another one of your dares?”
My jaw tightens. She heard more than I would have liked. I don’t answer. Instead, I pull my cell out of my pocket and call Deke’s older sister. She answers on the third ring. “Hey. I need a favor,” I say, refusing to look over at Austin.
“Well, hello to you too, Cole,” she says with sarcasm.
“Can you help me or not, Shelby?” I snap.
She sighs heavily. “Is it illegal?”
I don’t answer, and a silence falls between us. I sit with my cell to my ear, waiting for a response. She knows she’s not going to get any info. After a minute, she finally answers. “Sure.”
“I’ll be there in fifteen.”
“I don’t want any trouble, Cole,” she says softly. “You know I can’t …”
“I know. It’s not like that,” I say and then hang up before she can say any more.
I chance a glance over at Austin, and she’s already staring at me. “We’re going to go see Shelby.”
“Is she your girlfriend?” she asks softly.
I almost laugh. Deke would kill me if I tried anything with his sister. Plus, she’s not my type. She wants commitment. Stability. Love. I have none of those things to give. Not to mention, I’m a senior in high school, and she is six years older than the guys and me. But I don’t respond to Austin either. Because a part of me likes that she is curious. Why would she care if I’m already taken?
I don’t have time to process that thought, though, because a phone rings, breaking the silence of the car.
Austin looks down at her cell in her hand, lets out a long sigh, and then places it to her ear. “Hey, Mom.” There’s a pause. “No, I haven’t seen him.” She bows her head and rubs her temple with her free hand. “I don’t know …” she growls. “What do you want me to do?” she snaps. “You’re the one who shipped me off like a Christmas present that you wanted to return.” Her voice grows inside my car. “If you want to speak to him, then you call him.” I glance over at her, and she stares straight ahead, but I can see her eyes start to glisten from unshed tears. “I’m not sending you money, Mom.” Her hand fists in her lap. “Is that why you sent me here?” she demands. “To send you his money?” She gives a dark laugh. “You call him and ask him to send you money for you and your piece of shit boyfriend,” she snaps. “I’m not gonna do it.” She pulls the phone from her ear, shuts it off, and tosses it into my back seat.
The silence fills the car once again. I shift uncomfortably. “Do you wanna …?”
“No!” she interrupts me.
I’m not sure how long she has been in town, and I never stopped to question why she was here in the first place. I didn’t even know that Bruce Lowes had a daughter. And today, standing outside the church, Celeste said she is a senior this year. I stayed up trying to decide what to do with her. How to corner her so she can’t run from me. Then I remembered that Celeste never misses church on Sunday mornings. So I sat in my car in the parking lot until I saw them leaving after the service was over. Then I made my move.
“Where did you move here from?” I ask.
She reaches up and quickly wipes away a tear from her cheek. “What does it matter?”
“It doesn’t. Just making small talk.”
“I prefer when I thought you were trying to kill me over small talk,” she snaps.
I smile. Yeah, there’s something about Austin Lowes that I like. A lot.
AUSTIN
My hands fist in my lap. My throat is tight and heart pounding. I’m so angry with my mother.
I haven’t always been the best daughter. I caused trouble. I got expelled from school for stupid