It wasn’t a question, but a statement. She wasn’t sure what to do with it. Congratulate him, or give him a high-five. Instead, she looked at him, wondering where all this was coming from. “Are you excited?”
He raised his shoulders, but said nothing as he began walking backward.
Nervous energy shot through her heart and she looked down to her feet again. “Well you should be,” she said with a nod. “An acceptance to UT is an honor.”
He remained quiet, and she continued. “They have one of the best football teams in the US. It’ll be a great opportunity for you—”
He spun around, cutting off her last word as he picked up the pace again. She paused for a second, wondering if what she’d said offended him. Personally, she’d always thought of college as some big, exciting experience. The beginning of the future, the first step toward adulthood. And she knew from Renee that Tristan had a full scholarship—and like always, a whole plethora of new women were out there waiting for him to charm their panties off… But for some reason, he didn’t seem excited. Or happy about it at all, actually.
“I can’t wait to go to college,” she said, to fill the awkward space. “Though I probably won’t move away like you. Not that I don’t want to. But CalArts is my top choice, and it would be foolish to spend money on room and board when I could live at home for free.” She could hear Steven’s voice when she said it, but he was the smartest person in her life, and she was sure it was true.
He looked her over, his brows furrowing, and his feet slowing. “Don’t you ever do anything foolish?”
She lifted her chin. “Not really. Not like you do.”
He laughed. “You think I’m foolish?”
She shrugged. “You do foolish things.”
“Like?”
“Like jumping off your parents’ roof into the neighbor’s pool.”
He grinned. “That was one time.”
“And taking Suzy Baker to senior prom even though you knew her boyfriend was out to get you.”
His grin widened. “I never thought you paid that much attention, Sammie Smiles.”
She cleared her throat. “Well, you’re kinda hard to miss—I mean, the stuff you do. It always causes so much drama, and everyone can never stop talking about it. You’re like our local celebrity.”
They came to a full stop and he turned to face her. “Will you miss me?” he asked. But it wasn’t in that flirtatious way he used with other girls. He wasn’t even smiling when he looked up to meet her eyes; he was dead serious. His eyes held hers, his lips formed in a straight line as though he was holding his breath.
She looked into his clear blue eyes, her breaths becoming shallow and uneven. She shook her head. She didn’t know what was happening to her, but she didn’t like it. “No,” she finally said. “How could I? I hardly know you.”
He laughed, but it didn’t seem a happy one. Then, before she could recover from the whiplash conversation, he pulled his shirt overhead and began running toward the dock. “Maybe I can change your mind.”
Without waiting for her reply, he jumped off the dock and landed with a large splash in the water. He spun around, the light of the moon reflecting off his wet hair, glistening down his bronzed skin and bare chest. “Come on, Sam. Are you gonna swim with me or what?”
Present day
Samantha stared at the bright computer screen, her eyes glassy and aching, as she focused on the cursor in the middle of the page. Tristan terrified her. Not because of who he was, but because of how he affected her. He set the wild heart of hers free, and he did it in a way that was so subtle she didn’t even notice it happening until it was over.
But Renee was right. It would be silly for her to drive alone. Foolish to drive three thousand miles just to avoid the boy she hated. But it was also selfish. Because she knew Renee would worry if she tried to make the trip alone, and Renee already had enough to worry about. A whole wedding’s worth of worry.
Samantha held her finger on the delete key and erased the whole email before grabbing her phone from the mattress and opening up her texts.
Samantha: Tell your brother I’ll be ready at 10:00 a.m. sharp.
Reply dots came right away, as though Renee had been waiting.
Renee: Swwweeee! I will. Thank you!!!!
Samantha grinned.
Samantha: You’re welcome.
Samantha set the phone back on her desk, exhausted, and pushed her half-empty suitcase to the side of the bed and climbed in beside it.
“Seventy-two hours,” she whispered. That was all she had to survive to get to NY. Seventy-two hours with Tristan Montgomery.