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“You scare everyone away.”
Good.
“They don’t deserve you if they can’t handle our relationship.”
She opens her door, huffing. I hop out and meet her. “Lettie, you’re the most beautiful and smartest girl on this campus. You deserve someone who…” My heart beats faster than my body can handle. “Who…”
“Who what?” She crosses her arms over her waist. “Who can give me everything?” Tapping her toe against the pavement, she says, “I’m riding with Nick to the stadium. Do me a favor. Wake up tomorrow in a better mood. I don’t know what your dad said to you, but I’m sick of your moods when you talk to him.”
My dad’s constant hounding to do this or practice that. It’s like I’m never good enough, and I’m tired of it. This campaign has also gone to his head, so Lettie’s right. I need to lay my cards on the table and make him understand that he’s pushing me away.
After blowing out all the air in my lungs, I give her an apologetic hug. “Sorry, love you, Bug.” She’s always been my Lettie Bug.
“Love you, Dane the Great.”
When she closes the door to her apartment, I stand there looking at the stars. How many times I’ve wished for the strength to tell her how I truly feel. I almost told her tonight but of course, the wrong words came out.
I’m a jealous fuck, and I have no right to be.
Sitting outside her apartment I wonder how much our relationship will change this year. And if tonight is any indication, it’s taking a wrong turn.
Chapter Five
LETTIE
My eyes finally flutter closed as I mull over the argument between Dane and me. And when I wake, he’s the first person I think of. Fighting with Dane makes me feel sick inside. He’s the reason for everything I have.
I’m in college and training for the Olympics Trials in equestrian because of Dane and his family. We met in first grade, and I grew up in a trailer adjacent to his family's huge estate. Their property had several stables, and my grandad serves as their night watchman on the weekends.
I spent many summer days at Dane’s house. His mom recognized that I couldn’t focus on a particular task long enough to complete it, so she talked my granny into taking me to the doctor where I was diagnosed with ADHD, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
The doctor was friends with Mrs. Greathouse and he told her that riding horses is therapeutic for children with ADHD. The next afternoon, I had my first lesson and was hooked. I remember seeing Dane leaning against the white fence with his arms on the top slat and his chin resting on his wrist. We were eight. He was as handsome then as he is now, just younger. One of those boys that people always said, “He’s gonna be a heartbreaker.”
I never understood why his family practically took me in. My home address is my grandparents’ trailer, but I’ve slept at Dane’s at least half of my life. They have five bedrooms, and one is mine.
Dane: Morning, Bug. Sorry.
Me: Morning, Cotton Candy or Cherry Freeze?
Dane: Come on, you know the answer.
Taking a quick shower, I throw my hair in a ponytail, put on a bikini, and hop into some running shorts and slip on a tank top. The convenience store isn’t far from my apartment, so I walk over and grab his favorite drink—a cotton candy slushie to make amends for our argument last night. When basketball practice gets in full swing, he’ll swear them off, but for now, this is my peace offering.
Instead of going back to my apartment, I find myself in front of the new basketball lodge, and Dane comes out right as I’m texting him.
He looks up from his phone. “Hey, Nick already left to pick you up.”
“Oh, this is for you.” I hand the drink and grab him into a hug.
“Thanks. Why are you here when you know Nick is picking you up?” His eyebrows dip.
I play with the hem of my tank. “I wanted to get you an Icee and make sure we’re good.”
“We’re the dynamic duo. Nothing or no one will come between us. You know that, right?” He pulls me into a hug. “I’ll call Nick and tell him we’ll be there in a few minutes.”
A big, blue charter bus sits in the stadium parking lot with ten to fifteen of our friends chatting outside. Nick walks up behind us, lugging a cooler full of beer.
He swings his other arm around my neck. “Did we get our wires crossed? I thought I was picking you up.”
