“Hey, punk. Need a ride?”
He glowered at me for a moment and then stood up, following me to my car. As I pulled out onto the road, I asked, “So, another workshop, huh?”
“This one’s in Switzerland.” He slumped down in his seat. “They’re going to be gone for three weeks. It’s a month-long conference, that’s what Mom said.”
“And your dad?”
“He’s an asshole,” Austin mumbled, looking out his window.
I dropped him off at his friend’s house. When I started to get out and go inside, he pointed to the mini-van in the driveway. “They’re waiting for me.”
I stayed in my car. “Okay. Have fun. Call me when you’re back.”
He nodded, his shoulders were slumped over, but when he got to the mini-van, the cockiness came back over him. When I pulled away, I mused to myself. No middle finger again. We were making progress.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
I was sitting on the front step when Tray pulled up to the house. As he strolled over, he turned to survey the street. Then he twisted back and arched an eyebrow. “Are you people watching or waiting for winter?”
I laughed. As he sat next to me, I scooted over. His legs pressed against mine. I didn’t scoot over that far. “I like to people watch. Austin’s at a tournament. The folks are gone and Mandy’s with Devon. What else should I do?”
His voice dropped to a soft whisper. “Hang out with me?”
My heart slowed. Even with those four words, I was affected by him. Excitement and warmth began to build in me and a small shiver ran through me. It was a good shiver. I hugged my legs to my chest and rested my cheek against the top of my knees. Turning to him, I flashed him a smile. “After this week of friendliness?”
He laughed softly. “It was you too.”
It was. We had both been circling around each other. I let out a sigh. “It’s that time, isn’t it?”
“What is?”
“You and me.”
He frowned, but his eyes darkened to an amber color. “You and me?”
I nodded. “We were going to be assholes, right?”
He laughed, raking a hand through his hair. “We aren’t being assholes anymore?”
I shook my head, but I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face. “Maybe we could try. We can be true to our asshole insides.”
“You’re such a bitch,” he teased.
I teased back, “And you’re such a dick.”
He nodded. “You’ll never change, will you?”
“I’m all about being selfish. It’s only what I want. Everything’s about me.”
He tried to keep a straight face but failed. A grin slipped out. “We’ll never have a future like that.”
“I know.” A laugh was moving up my throat. I kept my lips pressed tight and tried to swallow it. When the other corner of his mouth curved up, my laughter almost boiled over. I sputtered, keeping it in. “You’re such an asshole.”
He ran a hand over his face. The smile was forced away and a blank expression looked back at me. His eyes sparked in amusement. “Don’t try to change me.”
I barked out a laugh, but silenced it. “Don’t try to change me.”
“Still an asshole. I stand by that.”
“I do too.” My head lifted up and down in a nod.
“Good.” He snorted from a choked laugh, but widened his eyes and put the blank wall in place. “So we’re on the same page again?”
“I think so.”
He put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me against him. His tone softened. “If we’re still going to do the asshole thing, are you up for Crystal Bay?”
“What’s that?” His hand dangled off the side of my shoulder and I reached up, lacing our fingers together. I leaned into him. In that moment, I didn’t feel so alone.
Squeezing my hand back, he answered, “It’s a cliff over the river. There’s a cave and a waterfall there. A lot of us like to go and jump from the top. It’s pretty nice, actually.” He hesitated. “A bunch of us are going.”
Of course. I should’ve known. “Mandy?”
He nodded. “She’ll be there.”
When he grew guarded, I asked, “Were you with them last night?”
“I stopped by. They were having a movie night. I just went to see if you were there.”
There it was. That same shiver wrapped all the way around me. I was beginning to forget what it felt like to not have this feeling around him. I was too far gone. At this point, I only hoped that I wouldn’t be crushed at the end of it. Whenever that would happen. My throat swelled.
“You’ll still come?”