“Everyone saw Travis holding my underwear and thought, ‘Boys will be boys,’ ” she said. “But then they looked at me and thought, ‘Slut.’ I swear there are still some people in this town who think I hypnotized him with my breasts and made him follow me to that wagon. He couldn’t help himself. And it will be the same thing this time. They’ll take one look at me and think, ‘No! Not our football star!’ ” She delivered those words in a familiar high-pitched, condescending tone.
“Josie—”
“Face it, Noah. As soon as you leave, Travis will take your place as the town Golden Boy. He’ll be the hero everyone pats on the back. They’ll tell the story of his winning touchdown at that game leading up to the state championship over and over just like they told yours.”
“We won state my year,” he pointed out. But after four years, the thrill of the win had faded. He hadn’t been able to afford college. And while he’d been the best in a small town, he wasn’t good enough for a full scholarship. He stayed in Forever along with his two best friends, all lost in a town they’d lived in their whole lives.
Now they’d finally settled on something. Military service. A career with purpose, challenge, and a steady paycheck. They were going to do something good and become heroes for something other than throwing a piece of pigskin.
“Travis will be untouchable,” Josie continued. “And I’ll still be . . . me.”
“There is nothing wrong with you,” he said quickly, wishing like hell she hadn’t hit the nail on the damn head with her summary of Forever, Oregon.
Sure, not everyone tossed Travis up on a pedestal. But most did. Football had a tight grip on the town. He knew that better than anyone. He’d spent years on his podium in the clouds. And yeah, it might have gone to his head if he hadn’t faced the day-to-day struggles of life with a widowed father working to make ends meet for him and his grandmother.
“There’s plenty wrong with me,” she shot back. “I’m stubborn, headstrong, and my best friend’s mother owns a strip club outside of town. Oh, and I like sex.”
“Nothing on your list points to a character flaw,” he said, lumping every bullet point together, not wishing to point out that “I like sex” was definitely in the plus category as far as he was concerned. But if her brother heard those words, he’d probably have a different opinion. And Noah should be approaching this situation—and any other that involved Josie—as if she were his kid sister.
She pulled away, stepping out of his reach. “I need your word,” she said, wrapping her arms around herself. “That you won’t tell anyone.”
“Three conditions.” He folded his arms across his chest in a pose that mirrored hers. “First, you stop seeing him.”
“Done,” she said. “I’ll tell him again and again until he gets the message.”
He shook his head. “No. You can call him. But I’ll make sure he understands. That’s my second condition. I’m going to have a chat with your soon-to-be ex.”
She nodded.
“Third condition,” he said, knowing this one would be tricky. “If you ever land in a situation you can’t handle, call me.”
She let out a raspy laugh. “And you’ll what? Ride in on your white horse and save me? From Afghanistan? Or Iraq? Or wherever else they’re sending recently enlisted marines these days?”
“Call, email, or send a letter. Hell, send a carrier pigeon. I don’t care how you get in touch, or where I am. If you need me, I’ll find a way to help. It doesn’t matter where I am or what I’m doing. You’re like family to me, Josie. And I’m always here for you.”
“Like family?” She raised an eyebrow. “So you’re doing this for Dominic? Because my brother is your BFF?”
“No, I’m doing this because I care about you,” he growled.
She stepped back and he wished he’d kept those words locked away. Let her think this was all about his best friend, her brother. But no, he had to toss out the “c” word, which in teenage speak probably held almost as much weight as “like” and, God help him, “love.”
“Like family,” she repeated.
And he nodded even though he had a feeling she was running through every look he’d ever given her, searching for a sign that he cared about her for the same base, physical reasons most guys looked at her and wanted a piece.
“Yeah,” he said. Then he quickly added a few words that he knew would stop her before she returned to the moment he’d first seen her in a bikini and admired the hell out of her Sports Illustrated–worthy body. “I’m also doing this because in my book it is always wrong to hit a woman. And I hope you’ll change your mind about telling your dad, because Travis belongs behind bars for what he did to you.”