Meant To Be (The Callahans #4) - Monica Murphy Page 0,65
pussies!”
“But it’s raining!” one of them whines.
“Get over it! Let’s go!”
“Yeah, get out there! Now!” Coach says, backing me up.
I appreciate that, but I’m still annoyed he called Ava the enemy. I’m tired of the drama. Tired of the us versus them mentality. I sound kind of like a wimp, but damn. That girl, my supposed rival, is my world. I’m in love with her. Sometimes, I worry I love her more than she loves me. Isn’t that the way it happens in a relationship? There’s always one who loves harder than the other? I saw it with my parents. Mom had a perpetual boner for Dad, and he seemed only about fifty percent into her most of the time, if that.
Thinking back on it, seeing that sucked. Mom always sucking up to him. She used to talk in this simpering baby voice that grated on my nerves. He always seemed to respond to it too. As if he actually liked it.
Thank God, Ava doesn’t treat me like that. Talk to me like that. She’s real. As real as they get.
And I am real ready for this practice to be over so I can talk to her. Find out why she’s here. She should be at cheer practice. It’s difficult for us to see each other during the week. We’re both always so damn busy. There’s no normal reason for her to be here during this time of day.
I need to find out what’s going on.
Twenty minutes later and I’m heading toward the parking lot, satisfaction seeping through me when I see her car parked right next to mine. That sleek BMW is one fine ass vehicle, and my fingers are itching to drive it. Especially in the rain. I bet I could make the tires squeal like a mother on the wet roads.
“Why is she here anyway?” Brenden asks curiously. He’s walking beside me, Jackson on the other side.
“I don’t know. I didn’t ask,” I say. “But I’m about to find out.”
“Something’s up,” Jackson says.
“What makes you say that?” I ask, sending Jackson a skeptical look. I never thought of him being particularly perceptive, but maybe he is.
“I saw her face when she first showed up. She looked kind of upset,” Jackson says with a shrug.
She did. She also clung to me when I hugged her, and her throat sounded thick with tears. I hope nothing bad happened. I hope her brother didn’t do anything stupid. Or her parents said she couldn’t see me anymore.
Panic grips me in a chokehold, and I mentally tell myself to calm down. I hope to hell that’s not the case. I refuse to let anyone’s shit get between us ever again.
“Maybe cheer practice let out early,” I say, though I know deep down that’s not the case. She bailed and came to see me.
But why?
“I’ll see you guys later,” I tell Brenden and Jackson as I break away from them, heading straight for Ava’s car. She’s sitting in the driver’s seat, her head bent over her phone, I assume. She’s still got the light gray hood over her head, and I catch only a glimpse of her bright blonde hair, peeking out from under the hood. Her lips are pursed and just seeing her makes my heart swell full to bursting.
I round the front of her car and go to the passenger side door, knocking lightly on the window. She startles and jerks her head in my direction, rolling her eyes at herself when she spots me. She hits the unlock button and I open the door, slipping inside the sleek, leather scented interior.
A hint of her perfume lingers inside the car as well. Or maybe that’s just her. She smells fucking delicious. Makes me want to eat her whole.
But that’s not what this is about right now. I need to focus on my girl’s needs and make sure she’s okay.
“You’re wet,” she says, reaching out to brush rain drops from my cheek with a soft sweep of her finger.
Again, I’m tempted to make an inappropriate joke. Statement. Whatever. I am tested on a daily basis, swear to God.
“It’s starting to rain harder.” I point at the windshield. “See?”
We both look just in time to see a few of the girls from the cheer team walking by the front of her car. Including Josie Price. She does a doubletake when she spots me, her mouth forming an O as she blinks at me sitting in Ava’s car. She nudges one of the girls