of applause from the class, as well as a commendation from Mrs. Blevins, our teacher.”
She giggled. “You make me sound awful.”
“Nah, it was beautiful. I was hooked from that day on.”
“How long did we date?” She was eager to know everything about them.
“I asked you out a hundred times our sophomore year, but you turned me down.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“It’s true,” he asserted. “But I was persistent. I kept asking you out, until I finally wore you down. You said yes. We went to Six Flags together, right before the start of our junior year. The rest is history, as they say.”
A contented silence settled between them as Lemon ruminated over everything he’d said. In the semi-darkness, it was easier to be more open—say things they might not have said in the stark light of day. “Why did we break up?” Feeling him tense, she pushed out an irritated breath. “Look, I know you’re trying to protect me, which I appreciate, but the best thing you can do for me right now is to tell me the full, unvarnished truth.”
Surprise wrapped his voice. “You sure about that?”
“Yes.” No, she wasn’t sure of anything right now, but she was tired of running scared. She needed to face whatever monsters were under the bed. While she didn’t have the nerve to confront the biggest and scariest ones at the moment, she felt that she could handle hearing what had gone wrong between her and Jaxson.
“Okay. Everything fell apart the night of our senior graduation party.”
She wanted to pepper him with questions but sensed that she needed to remain quiet to give him space to get it all out.
“Things had been rocky. We argued a lot. You were ready to shake the dust off your heels and move to the big city.”
She made a face. “Which city?”
“You didn’t care. You wanted to do big things with your life. I wanted to stay around Franklin, or at least Tennessee. We got into a fight. Lucas was at the party. You asked if he’d take you home. He agreed.”
His voice was strained like he was building up to something. She braced herself for whatever it was.
He continued, “I went to your house to apologize …” His voice trailed off.
“It’s okay,” she said gently. “Whatever it is … I can handle it.”
He took in a breath. “Lucas’s truck was parked in your driveway. I was going to the front door, but then I heard voices, so I went around back. You and Lucas were sitting on the swing, locking lips.” He spoke in a monotone voice, as if the events had happened to someone else. “I went ballistic, accused you of being a two-timer. Then, I punched Lucas—broke his jaw. You and I never spoke again. We went our separate ways.”
Gloom settled over Lemon, her thoughts buzzing around her like frenzied bees. “I’m sorry,” she finally said, her voice sounding small in her own ears. She wanted to defend herself, to say that she’d never felt anything for Lucas, but how could she? She couldn’t even explain to Jaxson what she’d been thinking. Self-loathing crawled over her. “You must’ve hated me,” she said quietly.
“Hated you … loved you … missed you. All of the above.”
She took in a breath. “I’m so sorry,” she said again.
“It’s okay,” he replied genuinely. “It was a long time ago.”
Her heart hurt. “I cost us a lot of years,” she uttered. “Why didn’t I come back to you sooner?”
“We were kids. Both of us had a lot of growing up to do.”
Questions pressed around her like aggressive reporters, trying to get the full story. Where had she gone? What had she done with her life? Had there been other loves? Or had it always been Jaxson? She’d not felt the slightest inkling of attraction to Lucas. She couldn’t imagine a world where she’d find herself kissing Lucas, even if she was ticked at Jaxson. No wonder Jaxson had gotten so upset when he saw Lucas comforting her and thought they were together.
“Is that why you and Lucas hate each other? Because of me?”
He pushed out a long breath. “Lucas and I don’t hate each other. We just don’t always see eye to eye.”
“Could’ve fooled me,” she fired back.
“The two of us have always been rivals, practically since birth.” He paused.
“And?” she prompted.
“Things got much worse in high school, when we both fell for the same girl.”
Lemon’s stomach lurched. “You mean me?”
“Yep,” he clipped. “Lucas was madly in love with you.”
She gritted